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Gulf crisis sees Jebel Ali crash out of top 30 box port ranks after 20 years

It took just six months for Jebel Ali to crash out of the top 30 container ports ranks, after more than two decades among the 10 busiest gateways in the world, as the impact of the US/Israel war on Iran continues. Alphaliner's half-year assessment of box port standings is bleak reading for gateways on the west side of the Persian Gulf, with Abu Dhabi's Khalifa dropping out of the top 50, having occupied 32 place in the list. "Renewed disruption in Hormuz, which resulted in a near shutdown of the waterway from March onwards and only a partial and unstable reopening in June saw volumes plummet over 90% at Dubai's Jebel Ali to just 374,000 teu in Q2," Alphaliner said. "Combined with a Q1 decline of 23%, Dubai's flagship port handled 3.14m teu in the first six months of the year, less than half the 7.77m teu recorded a year earlier. As a result, the port fell out of the top 30, dropping from 10 to 32." Khalifa's disappointing performance is in strong contrast to where it was just a year ago, when a year-on-year volume surge saw it handling some 21.4% more than it had in 2024, putting it in a position to challenge Lianyungang for a spot in the top 30. For its part, Lianyungang has shown no great shakes, reporting flat to marginal growth, but doing just enough to retain its position from last year, albeit leaving it well short of the average 3.7% growth rate recorded across the 11 Chinese ports in the top 30. Alphaliner noted: "With strong export growth driven by hi-tech and manufactured goods, plus a successful diversification drive, volumes at China's seaports reached 161m teu in the period, a rise of 5.8% and a new six-month record. It added that "while exports to the US rose just 4%, China reported increased shipments to Africa, Latin America, Europe, and South-east Asia", which climbed 30%, 14%, 10%, and 9% respectively. Although in terms of growth rates, South Asia was the standout star, with Sri Lanka's Colombo and India's Nhava Sheva climbing 11.9% and 13.6% year on year respectively, as carriers and shippers sought alternatives to the Gulf routings. But with Colombo's 4.4m teu and Nhava Sheva handling just over 4m teu, both are a long way off challenging for a spot among the biggest players, given Singapore and Ningbo-Zhousan both handle some 22m teu a year and Shanghai handles 28.7m teu. "Sri Lanka's leading port saw stronger transhipment demand as well as new capacity at its Colombo West International Terminal, which cut congestion and attracted additional volumes," Alphaliner said. It pointed out: "Nhava Sheva also benefited from India's strong export growth, and expansion through the Bharat Mumbai Container Terminal and Nhava Sheva Freeport."

MSC schedules more east-west liner services for Suez Canal transit

MSC is continuing its restoration of Suez Canal transits for selected east-west services, joining the Gemini Cooperation and Ocean Alliance in a cautious return to the Red Sea route. The move follows last week's announcement that the world's largest container shipping line would be sending seven ships through the waterway this month. It said on Monday: "Following a comprehensive review of the latest security and operational conditions in the Red Sea region, MSC has decided to partially restore Suez Canal transits on a limited number of its east-west services." These are both eastbound and westbound voyages, and comprise: MSC Michel Cappellini, on the Asia-Mediterranean Jade service; MSC Josefina, on the Asia-North Europe Albatros service; MSC Beryl, on the India-Mediterranean Himalaya service; and MSC Anna and MSC Tina, on the Asia-Mediterranean Tiger service. MSC said: "Contingency arrangements remain in place, allowing individual voyages to be adjusted should circumstances require," adding that the protection of seafarers, vessels and cargo remained its "overriding priority". The move leaves the Premier Alliance as the major grouping to begin a broader transition of its services. However, it has slots on MSC's Tiger service, meaning some alliance cargo will move via Suez. Industry consultant Lars Jensen said the moves could point towards a broader return to normality. "At this pace it might be reasonable to see a normalisation by end-2026. This normalisation can still involve a few services going around Africa for the carriers to absorb some of the resultant excess capacity being released." However, carriers continue to deal with the knock-on effects of the Red Sea crisis on container equipment and network efficiency. Sea-Intelligence's latest analysis, based on Container Trade Statistics data from December 2017 to June 2026, found: "Essentially empty containers are - roughly - shipped 4% longer than head-haul containers, although presently the level is around the 4.5% mark. This means that not only do head-haul shippers need to compensate for the imbalances in terms of higher freight rates, they also need to compensate for the added imbalance in sailing distances for those empties." MSC's move therefore marks another step towards restoring the pre-crisis network, but the transition is likely to be gradual as carriers balance security, capacity, and equipment considerations.

Tariff spat sees Canadian shippers eye alternatives to US market

Commercial relations between Canada and its southern neighbour have hit a new low, and logistics providers are seeing more clients trying to diversify from the US market. Trade negotiations broke down on Friday when the Canadians walked away, citing new US demands tabled at the last minute, as well as a litany of justifications Washington invoked to force Ottawa to make concessions. These range from fentanyl smuggling and Canadian dairy rules to failure to weed out slave labour upstream. The end of talks opened the door to new US tariffs on Canadian goods that day, and Ottawa has pledged to impose retaliatory tariffs on US goods, starting 8 September. Prime minister Mark Carney said the decision had been taken "reluctantly", but Washington's offer was not good enough and that conciliatory moves, like the suspension of earlier retaliatory tariffs, had been to no avail. Polls indicate his stance is supported by the majority of Canadians and the business community. "We are, in general, opposed to tariffs because businesses and households ultimately pay the price. But if Canada responds, it should do so with a strong hand -- surgically, strategically, and in close consultation with business," said Candace Laing, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. She described Washington's Section 338 tariffs as "a body blow to North American competitiveness in this self-defeating trade saga". "A whopping, non-absorbable tariff is not sustainable or viable for business," she added. The Canadian government has yet to publish a full list of US goods that will be hit by the new tariffs. Early indications suggest steel, dairy products, appliances, agricultural equipment, and electronics will be on the list According to Mr Carney, Canada will match the new US tariffs dollar for dollar. Washington's 50% tariff targets goods including electronics, industrial equipment, liquor, dairy, building materials, and hockey sticks and other sporting goods - an estimated $20bn worth of Canadian exports, a relatively minor sliver in a trade that amounted to nearly $900bn both ways last year. However, the US measure will have a knock-on effect on employment. According to one estimate, this could eliminate more than 87,000 jobs in Canada, with the biggest impact on the transport and warehousing. Indeed, Canadian logistics firms are bracing for more headwinds. Business suffered from Washington's previous tariffs. Montreal-based AGO Transportation has seen volumes decline since the White House started its tariff offensive, said VP Sandra Faraj. And Mo Datoo, COO of Toronto-based eShipper, reported that many of the firm's customers had been affected, causing some to move to the US while others shut down. Many of eShipper's clients source products from China, so the new US levies will hit them on top of tariffs on China-made products. Ms Faraj heard from clients that their US customers have been reluctant to sign contracts, "because they don't know what will happen tomorrow". She added that Canadian firms had also been hesitant, wondering if they would be able to recoup duties if customers declined to accept the higher charges. On past experience, there are also worries that Washington might suddenly announce new tariffs at any point. "The uncertainty is what's killing everyone," Mr Datoo said. "People want to plan now, they want to order, but they can't do it because they don't know what will happen next month." In a LinkedIn post, Pete Mento, MD of global trade advisory services at Baker Tilly, commented that he still expected Ottawa and Washington to come to an agreement, given the dire repercussions of a prolonged escalation on their highly integrated economies. "But the real question isn't whether these particular tariffs survive. It is whether the eventual settlement restores confidence in the rules governing North American trade," he warned. More and more Canadian managers appear to have concluded that waiting for a settlement probably is not the answer. "A lot of our clients are looking for new markets," reported Ms Faraj, adding that Ottawa had been actively supporting this trend, aiming to double exports to non-US markets by 2035 to halve the share of exports going to the southern neighbour. This wou;d bring an estimated $220bn in new orders for Canadian goods and services. Both Mr Datoo and Ms Faraj see Europe at the top of many clients' diversification agenda. Transportation costs to Europe are lower than to Asia or Latin America, and Europe offers the additional benefit of a free-trade agreement. And for AGO, this would not require a significant tweak of its set-up, Europe has been the traditional focus for the company, and its agency network there is well established. "It's more of a challenge shipping to the Middle East now," Ms Faraj said. eShipper opened a branch in Dubai last year. After a good start business stalled because of the outbreak of war in the region, Mr Datoo reported. At the moment he is more bullish on India, where his company has also established an office. "India is starting to become a big market," he said, adding that Australia was also on the rise, albeit to a smaller extent, given the smaller population.