IHSA

Space is Tight, Are Your Protected?

Container ships sailing from China to the U.S. have remained full since Hanjin unexpectedly filed for bankruptcy at the end of August. Specific areas, such as Ningbo and Shanghai, are providing far greater challenges for shippers to secure space than the Southern China region. Ocean carriers have been actively rolling cargo from Shanghai and Ningbo for over a month. Some…

Hanjin Bankruptcy is a Game Changer

It was only a matter of time before the unthinkable happened in the shipping industry. On August 31, 2016, Hanjin Shipping filed for bankruptcy protection sending shockwaves through the shipping industry. Bankruptcies are not new to the shipping industry. There have been numerous bankruptcies over the last 15 years with the most notables being Cho Yang in 2001 and Hainan POS in…

Possible Impacts of Hanjin’s Bankruptcy on Current Shipments

By: David P. Street and Brendan Collins, IHSA Legal Council As you are probably aware, Hanjin filed for bankruptcy protection in Korea on Wednesday August 31st. The filing came just a day after the company creditor's discontinued financial assistance of more than USD $896 million to keep the company operating. The Korean bankruptcy court will determine whether Hanjin should…

Hanjin Financial Issues

Although the International Housewares Shippers Association (IHSA) does not have a contract with Hanjin, we wanted to address their current financial situation. As expected, Hanjin did file for court receivership on August 31 after losing support of its banks. The court will decide whether Hanjin will continue to operate or be dissolved. This process normally takes two months…

Mounting Losses Persist for Container Lines

Carrier profitability, or lack of profitability, is causing uncertainty with shippers heading into the busiest shipping period of the year. After reaching historical lows, container rates from Asia to United States have stabilized. Although stabilized, the rates have not rebounded to profitable levels. Hanjin and Hyundai are two carriers that have been fighting off bad…

Asia to U.S.A. – Spot Rates Increase

The International Housewares Shippers Association (IHSA) has been closely monitoring freight rates in the Asia to United States market. The carriers have made eight attempts to increase freight rates in this market since May 2015. Every attempt failed until July 2016. The biggest obstacle to the previous attempted increases was simple economics. The amount of capacity in the…

Ocean Freight Update: Ocean Carriers’ Action Indicates Weak Demand

Ocean carriers are entering their busiest shipping phase known as peak season to those familiar with the container shipping industry. It is traditional for ocean carriers to impose a “Peak Season Surcharge” (PSS) on containers shipped from Asia to the United States during this peak period. The PSS is a good tool for shippers to gauge how carriers view future demand in the…

Is Your Company Prepared for SOLAS?

If your company ships ocean containers, you need to prepared for SOLAS. Effective July 1, 2016, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will be enforcing a new regulation in the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS). This new regulation mandates that shippers provide a Verified Gross Mass (VGM) for every container as a condition for loading onto a ship for export. VGM…

IHSA Finalizes Ocean Contract Negotiations

After two months of negotiating with ocean carriers, the International Housewares Shippers Association (IHSA) is pleased to report that contract negotiations have been finalized. IHSA’s 2016-17 ocean carrier program offers rates and services with 11 different ocean carriers capable of providing service to and from every major trade lane in the world. The contract rates are…