Alan Murphy
Latest From Alan Murphy
Between the lines: Fourth-quarter performance shows signs of carrier weakness
A stellar financial performance last year was clouded by a significantly weak fourth quarter, as demand waned and average freight rates fell across the board
Between the lines: Stemming the decline
Carriers are pulling capacity in the face of reduced demand, but not fast enough. Schedule reliability is improving as congestion eases
Between the lines: First-quarter carrier results show scale of cash windfall
Lines’ level of profitability is not driven by a volume growth, as apart from Zim, all other carriers that report global volumes either recorded sharp on-year declines, or in the case of Hapag-Lloyd, a marginal 0.4% increase. The ebit figures are more so a reflection of the current freight rate environment
Between the lines: Container sector faces uncertainty ahead of peak season
Sea-Intelligence’s Alan Murphy highlights a shift in North American traffic, systemic changes in transpacific vessel sizes and the prospect of an equipment capacity crunch
Between the Lines: Empty box flood poses new supply chain challenges
A return to normality for the global supply chain will bring huge relief to container shipping, but the next headache will be repatriating empty boxes particularly on the transpacific trade
Between the Lines: Bad news for shippers in 2022
Freight rates are expected to remain at record highs, as congestion problems that plagued 2021 continue. Schedule reliability will also likely repeat last year’s dismal performance, making ‘resilience and robustness’ essential to supply chain planning