ON MONDAY, Descartes released data on January containerised imports. Inbound volumes to all US ports totalled 2,487,470 teu, making it the best January on record, wrote senior reporter Greg Miller.

January imports were up 5% versus December and up 9% year on year.

During the peak of the pandemic boom, US imports reached 2.5m-2.6m teu in some months, but were often below current levels.

Some of the recent import strength appears to be front-loading, which could lead to inventory overhangs later in the year.

“Retailers have been front-loading imports of key products for several months because of the potential for the port strike in January as well as to get ahead of potential tariffs,” said the NRF. “Imports are expected to remain high as retailers continue to bring in cargo ahead of growing tariffs on China and threats against other nations.”

Descartes said the import surge in January came “amid rising trade tensions between the US and its top trading partners, with importers pushing to secure goods ahead of tariffs”.

New LNG supply to help uptake as ship fuel

Growing supplies of LNG will help improve the business case for use as an alternative ship fuel, according to Clarksons’ head of green transition Kenneth Tveter, wrote senior reporter Declan Bush.

Some 650 LNG dual-fuel ships are already on the water, with a similar number on order.

While not all ships able to run on LNG do so, the LNG-capable fleet is soon expected to reach 6% of the global ship fleet in gross tonnage terms.

Orders for LNG dual-fuel vessels, especially containerships, rebounded in 2024 amid doubts over future supplies of green methanol.

India’s latest attempt to become a shipbuilding powerhouse appears more convincing

The recent announcement by the Indian government to provide increased development funding to boost local shipbuilding capability shows India has not given up on becoming a leading shipbuilding nation, reported markets editor Rob Willmington and reporter Joshua Minchin.

Previous attempts by India to become a shipbuilding powerhouse failed, but the Indian government has reportedly been talking to the big shipbuilders and equipment manufacturers of South Korea and Japan to convince them that expanding their production to India would be worth their attention.

The government is attempting to kick-start India as a leading shipbuilder with a multi-billion-dollar cash injection, as it seeks to become a developed economy by 2047.

Panamax sector shows signs of recovery

The panamax sector has shown signs a recovery could be underway, after several consecutive days of gains on key Baltic Exchange indices, wrote Joshua Minchin.

The exchange’s P5 (South China to Indonesia) time charter average index has increased more than 30% to $8,895 per day, from the low of $6,736 per day seen on January 29.

Similarly, the exchange’s Baltic Panamax Index gained more than 250 points since early last week.

Shipbroker BRS said market activity had begun to increase following the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays, with transatlantic trades approaching the $10,000 per day level and fronthaul cargoes fixing for $18,000 per day.