MID-SHIP Report and November Shipping News

Shipping through the Panama Canal reached its third highest annual cargo tonnage with 13,114 vessels transiting through the Canal from Oct. 1, 2015 to Sept. 30, 2016, reports MID-SHIP. Container shipments accounted for 37 percent of the total cargo during the period, followed by bulk carriers, tankers and vehicle carriers.

The Panamax Market has seen a sharp increase in average time charter rates, increasing by 40 percent in the last 10 days. Coal shipments have spiked following the decision by China to close some domestic mines and reduce working days. MIDSHIP says the current spike in rates may be due to a “fundamental change in seaborne demand rather than by a temporary squeeze in the shipping market.”

Rivers

Drought conditions in the Eastern U.S. have caused river levels to drop, affecting navigation on the Tennessee, Cumberland and lower Ohio rivers. Winter cold fronts and fog have caused delays for barges between the Mississippi River and the Eastern Gulf, says MID-SHIP. Barge rates for grain shipments continue to be below peak season levels despite healthy cargo levels.

Railroad

The Association of American Railroads reported U.S. rail traffic for the week of Nov. 12 was down 0.5 percent compared to a year ago. Carloads totaled 271,131 and were down 0.5 percent compared to the same week in 2015. Intermodal volume was 268,996 containers and trailers, down 1.4 percent. Rail shipments of metallic ores and metals were up 5.2 percent to 21,806 carloads.

The AAR has called for the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to defer regulatory proposals, including the unpopular forced access proposal, until the new administration is settled.

“The policy landscape in Washington, D.C. dramatically shifted on Election Day, and as such, the freight rail industry believes the STB should suspend its misguided quest to reregulate freight rail,” said Edward R. Hamberger, president and CEO of the Association of American Railroads. “Now is not the time for midnight regulations, let alone the enactment of the unfounded proposals currently arising from the STB that will surely fail to meet the rigorous examination promised by future leaders.”

Hamberger added, “Our industry has made it clear that rules should protect a true free market, and that no agency can spur ‘competition’ through regulation.”

Trucking

Diesel full pricing remained flat in the past weeks at a national average of $2.443 per gallon. MID-SHIP expects fuel surcharges to range from $0.32 to $0.34 per one way mile.

DAT Trendlines reports national flatbed load-to-truck ratio remained steady at 14.1 loads per truck in the week Nov. 6 – Nov. 12. The national average flatbed rate declined 2 cents per mile to $1.89 per mile. Rates ranged from $1.60 in Phoenix to $3.08 in Harrisburg, PA.

The trucking industry completed its first shipment using a self-driving truck in October. Otto, a company owned by Uber and Budweiser, sent 51,744 cans of Budweiser beer from Fort Collins, CO to Colorado Springs using an autonomous vehicle. A computer system controlled acceleration, braking, and steering using a system of cameras, radar and lidar sensors while the driver monitored the trip from the sleeper berth of the truck. Such autonomous trucking may become more frequent in the future, but in the near term platooning may be the next stepping stone. In platooning, trucks are electronically linked and the lead truck controls to some extent the one that is following. Drivers are still present in both vehicles for steering.

“You can think of it sort of like Wi-Fi, but it’s an automotive standard that’s much more reliable,” said Josh Switkes, president and CEO of Peloton Technology. “This allows the second truck to “draft,” to borrow a racing term, behind the first truck at a set following distance. This differs from the regular adaptive cruise control and braking systems because it allows the second truck to respond to the first truck braking before the first truck even starts slowing or showing brake lights. It reduces braking time from 1.5 seconds to 0.03 seconds.”

Great Lakes

The first winter storm of the season on the Great Lakes sent vessels running for the safety of harbors on Friday and Saturday. Waves of 19-20 feet were anticipated on Lake Superior between Houghton and Marquette and waves of up 13 feet for the east shore of Lake Michigan. High winds and heavy snow of 10 to 24 inches fell in Northern Minnesota and its Iron Range on Friday and Saturday causing hundreds of vehicle crashes and at least three reported deaths.

“Our biggest concern is the dangerous conditions of Lake Superior,” USCG Sector Sault Ste. Marie chief of response, Carolyn Moberley, said Saturday. “The conditions on the Great Lakes can change very quickly and can become very dangerous.”