Cargo Volumes Hit Record High at Port of Savannah, Important Change in CSX Free Time for CY Customers, Mexico Breaks Record for Exports and Production of Cargo Trucks.

Ocean

Secondhand containerships face acute pricing drops. Secondhand boxship prices are falling following a muted second half of 2022 and severe drops in prices during the first two weeks of 2023. Boxship S&P volumes fell last year from 1.6m teu down to 0.6m teu sold in 2022. Clarksons Research’s secondhand boxship index fell 46% across the year as dropping markets and increased investor uncertainty took their toll, according to Splash247.

Ports

Cargo volumes hit record high at Port of Savannah. The Georgia Ports Authority announced this week that the Port of Savannah handled a record 5.9 million TEUs in 2022 for an increase of 5% over 2021. GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch said that “it was a challenging year, but collaborative effort across Georgia’s supply chain ensured cargo movement remained fluid.” The port is being billed as the fastest growing container terminal in the U.S.

Port of Halifax crosses new throughput threshold. The Port of Halifax in Nova Scotia, Canada, has a new record of “crossing the 600,000 [twenty-foot equivalent units] annual throughput threshold for the first time.” In 2022 the Canadian government invested CA$7 million ($5.4 million) to build a marine container examination facility that aims to reduce inspection turnaround times and port congestion. This year, the port will add more yard handling space and equipment, as well as two additional super post-Panamax cranes at PSA Halifax Atlantic Hub, according to FreightWaves.

Rail

Important change in the CSX free time for CY customers. From Maersk: “Beginning January 1, 2023, free time at the CSX is now day of notification plus 2 days for CY customers. Please spend some time reviewing the applicable storage rates and terms, which can be found on Page 31 of the CSX Transportation Inc Intermodal Service Directory. Cargo that fails to out gate within free time will be subject to daily storage charges as detailed in the terms outlined in the CSX Transportation Inc Intermodal Service Directory, with peak periods being notified by CSX with 30-day advanced notice.” See the full notice here.

Trucking

Mexico breaks record for exports and production of cargo trucks. Truck making production increased 20.6% year over year (y/y) in Mexico, assisted by exports of heavy-duty cargo trucks to the U.S., according to Miguel Elizalde, president of Mexico’s National Association of Bus, Truck and Tractor Producers (Anpact). The 16 truck makers that are members of Anpact manufactured 195,789 heavy vehicles in 2022, beating the previous 2019 record of 195,499 vehicles. According to FreightWaves, exports of trucks in 2022 totaled 166,878 units, an 18% y/y increase.

Air

NATA wants comment period extension on SMS proposal. The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) is looking to request an extension of the comment period on the FAA’s notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to extend safety management system (SMS) mandates. Published in the Federal Register on January 11, the proposal is open for comment through March 13. The proposal would require on-demand operations, commercial air tour operators, production certificate holders that are holders or licensees of a type certificate (TC) for the same product, and holders of a TC who license out that TC for production to comply with the SMS requirements, according to Aviation International News.

FAA says deleted files led to NOTAM outage. The Federal Aviation Administration said that last week’s computer system outage appears to have been the result of “unintentionally deleted files.” The outage caused a temporary grounding of the nation’s airspace and delayed thousands of flights across the U.S. In a statement, the FAA said that “a preliminary FAA review of last week’s outage of the Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system determined that contract personnel unintentionally deleted files while working to correct synchronization between the live primary database and a backup database. The agency has so far found no evidence of a cyber-attack or malicious intent. The FAA continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding the outage.”

International

UN searching for affordable tanker for oil transfer off Yemen coast. UN officials reported they are struggling to find an affordable tanker to remove and store the oil stored on a decaying tanker off the coast of Yemen. In a briefing at UN headquarters, they said they are making good progress both in the financing and planning for the effort, but that the cost and availability of tankers is their latest challenge, according to Maritime Executive.

Other

Amazon to shut down charity donation program. Amazon announced this week that it plans to shut down its charity donation program, AmazonSmile, by the end of February, according to a notice that the company posted to its website. When a shopper uses the platform, Amazon donates a percentage of eligible purchases on the site to a charity organization of the shopper’s choosing. Since the program began in 2013, Amazon has donated roughly $500 million to charities. The discontinuation of the program is part of recent cost-cutting efforts by the retail giant.