Transatlantic turmoil as lines face soaring costs

Government imposes 100% tariff on EVs and 25% tariff on some steel products from China.

The Port of Los Angeles has decreased its business reliance on China from 57% in 2022 to the low-to-mid 40% by mid-2024, aiming to adapt to evolving trade policies and tariffs.

One port operator claims the “pending tariff decision halted our procurement process”, while another says it has explored the possibility of cancelling crane contracts.

APM Terminals (APMT) was able to offset a 9.3% decrease in revenue per move (to US$310) in Q2 2023 by increasing tariffs and reducing costs per move by 7.6%. However, its impact on the group’s overall result is diminishing as AP Møller-Maersk (APMM) expands in Logistics and Services (see p11).

Discussing the “strongest result on record” for its ocean freight business in 2022, A.P. Moller-Maersk’s CEO Vincent Clerc said he does not think the end of the 2M Alliance will start a wider shake-up among other leading carriers

That is the overriding message in a report recently published by Carl Bentzel, a commissioner at the Washington (DC)-based Federal Maritime Commission (FMC).