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Over a third of container shipping capacity is operated by just three shipping companies according to a new report by the Paris based analysis company, Alphaliner.  The clear leader remains Maersk with just over 2 million TEU, representing 14.6% of global capacity. Next largest is Mediterranean Shipping Line (MSC) with 1.693m TEU or 11.9% of capacity, with the third largest being the troubled CMA-CGM 1.118m TEU or 7.9%.
These three have a clear differentiation in terms of size, with the next largest container shipping line, APL, having just 4.1% of the market, less than a third of the size of Maersk. From fourth to eighteenth largest lines, the difference in size is approximately 50%, with these companies composing what might be called a 'second tier' of providers.  Below this group the companies are generally regional operators, although they may serve individual global routes.
This differentiation by size is not a clear trend, however, as the leading company, Maersk, has suffered a 2% loss of market share since its takeover of P&O Nedlloyd in 2005. In contrast MSC has more than doubled its market share in the past decade, whilst CMA-CGM has almost tripled its share. Amongst the second tier companies, former leaders such as COSCO and Evergreen have either had static or declining market shares.
Consequently it is hard to discern a clear pattern. Nevertheless, insiders predict large scale consolidations are on the horizon. They say this will be driven in part by lack of access to finance. In particular that banks would refuse to support "speculative" orders of ships. It was also commented that the structure of the market would change as the big liner companies, many of whom are really logistics enterprises now, will most probably invest in more intelligence systems than ships.

More than 1 million TEU are back in action so far this year, reports IFW. The world’s active containership fleet has grown by 15% over the last six months, according to analyst AXS Alphaliner. Figures from Paris-based Alphaliner show the fleet grew from 11.5 million teu at the start of 2010 to 13.3 million teu by the end of June. Alphaliner maintains that his was largely due to the higher-than expected recovery in demand in the first half of the year and to the impact of extra-slow-steaming, which has absorbed an additional 320,000teu TEU in six months. 
New build capacity is expected to reach 1.4 million TEU this year, or 11% of the fleet as at January 2010, said Alphaliner, while scrapping is expected to fall to 220,000teu this year, down on 2009’s 380,000teu. The increase in capacity reflects year-on-year global container port throughput, which researcher Macquarie estimated would grow by 17% year-on-year over the second quarter of 2010.

IFW reports that clerical workers at the two busiest container ports in the US have gone on strike after demands for wage increases were turned down by Long Beach and Los Angeles. 
A spokesman for the Local Office Clerical Unit (OCU) of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, said the workers had taken action after their contracts expired without a new agreement in place. In response, the ports have called the strike “illegal” and that it threatened thousands of jobs. 
Initially dockworkers had refused to cross picket lines, but an arbitrator ruled that the clerical unit had bargained in bad faith and ordered the longshoremen back to work. Completely out of step with today’s economic conditions, the proposals seek to boost average annual pay of US$96,900 by 21% over three years, resulting in total wage and benefits increases of 32% over the same period. 

IFW reports that losses were too heavy as Miami cargo-carrier ceases operations. Miami-based cargo-carrier Arrow Air has gone out of business after filing for bankruptcy protection. The firm, which traded as Arrow Cargo and operated out of Miami International Airport, said it was stopping services because of the losses it had sustained. It had been searching for a buyer, but after failing, had decided to file for bankruptcy, with Reuters reporting it had plans for liquidation. 
The carrier operated a fleet of B757 and DC10-30 freighters and had been a leading player in cargo markets in the Americas for almost 60 years. The firm employs around 670 people. 

Recently several publications reported that airlines are furious over the revelation that an International Air Transportation Association (IATA) employee at its Bangkok office could have swindled 550 million baht (US$ 17 Million) from the global settlement system used by airlines to collect remittances from travel agents (BSP). The case has escalated and peaked with the reported death of the “responsible employee” and IATA’s resistance to take responsibility to make up the losses of affected airlines, including Thai, Emirates, Lufthansa and KLM. The absence of an obligation to bear the financial responsibility for an IATA employee defrauding the BSP over an extended period from 2005 to 2009 alarms the airlines, who speculate of a scenario, in which the next time the amount, might be ten times greater. 
An investigation was launched into the matter last August, but the unnamed employee was found dead by police shortly after, IATA informed affected carriers in a letter. Member airlines have been advised they are contractually bound to cover their own losses from the fraud. This stunning revelation, plus fact that the fraud went undetected for almost 4 years, has shaken the confidence of airlines in IATA’s billing and settlement systems, both the passenger BSP, and the cargo CASS.

In a surprise announcement, the level of forwarder bank guarantees will be increased by 300 percent. Thailand’s CASS management have Thai forwarders in shock.  No reason was given for this new requirement, and there have been no reported CASS defaults by forwarders in Thailand.  In Thailand (as well as many other countries) CASS Rules require forwarders to provide IATA with bank guarantees, and IATA can arbitrarily and unilaterally decide on their amounts.

On Wednesday June 30, as America prepared to take a break to celebrate its annual rite of Summer—Independence Day, on July 4th—an important hearing held by the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. titled “100% Air Cargo Screening: Remaining Steps to Secure Passenger Aircraft,” took place at 2:00 pm inside the Cannon House Office Building. Barely a month before TSA mandated 100 percent screening of all belly lift air cargo, the Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection is meeting with the Subcommittee on Emergency Communications, Preparedness, and Response to discuss these matters. However, it is more than likely that this deadline cannot be met as there is lack of the necessary infrastructure to perform these duties faultlessly. For more, go to:
http://www.aircargonews.com/0710/FT100701.html