Article

2016-02-28 Economy

Canals Feel Ripples of Container Shipping Crisis

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Posted by badanov 2016-02-28 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11125 views ] Top

#1 Gee Jimmy, maybe they'll give the canal back!

Posted by Skidmark 2016-02-28 00:43|| 2016-02-28 00:43|| Front Page Top

#2 interesting. probably temporary, given the factors described. but still interesting.

Posted by Nguard 2016-02-28 00:45|| 2016-02-28 00:45|| Front Page Top

#3 Item 1: During the time frame in question, both canals were undergoing expansion projects that created delays.
Item 2: Earlier this month the Panama Canal experienced a traffic jam of epic proportions. Almost a week with over 100 vessels waiting for transit at any one time.
Go read GCaptain for info on commercial shipping.

Posted by ed in texas 2016-02-28 09:31|| 2016-02-28 09:31|| Front Page Top

#4 I remember whe Flight Sim 10 came out, you could see the New excavation of the big new locks. Started by ' mericans of course in 1939. Excavation mostly complete, built to allow (in theory) The passage of the then planned Montana Class BBz. Coral Sea and Midway could have made passage as well, but they were unknown and unplanned.

We are fast approaching the 74th Anniversary of the carrier engagements at Coral Sea and Midway. Dawg bless you Wade McClusky where-ever you are.

Posted by Shipman 2016-02-28 11:14|| 2016-02-28 11:14|| Front Page Top

#5 The rates Panama will charge on very large container ships will be $450k for a transit through the canal. This will be a major influence on whether the ship goes through the canal or around the Cape of Good Hope; even when bunker fuel prices rise back up.

Posted by Alaska Paul 2016-02-28 13:51|| 2016-02-28 13:51|| Front Page Top

#6 Here is a screen shot of the Panama Canal traffic I took on February 11 using the MarineTraffic app. The ship icons are ones moving and the diamonds are anchored ships. Backlog for transit at that time was at least one week, unless one was willing to pay higher transit fees to cut in line.

The new locks that will double traffic were scheduled to be opened in April, but are not to be opened to June, due to cold concrete joints and major water leaks on the base of one of the new locks.

I wonder how the upgrades in both the Suez and Panama Canals will be utilized when the canal authorities raise their transit fees to what they think that the market will bear. Shades of Nassar.

Posted by Alaska Paul 2016-02-28 14:12|| 2016-02-28 14:12|| Front Page Top

#7 2013 information about transiting the Panama Canal I found on the web.

"Cargo ships are billed $82 per full container, $74 for an empty one. (So you really don’t want to have a lot of empties.) Then in a system that seems like it was copied from U.S. airlines, there are lots of extra fees on top of that. The ship passing by in the photo above was loaded with 3,800 containers, so here’s what the captain paid:

– $321,446 for the containers

– $11,445 for the work of 7 tugboats

– $4,745 for ground assistants

– $3,600 for ground wires

When they exit the other side of the canal, that transit alone will have added 1/3 of a $million to the cost of the goods on the ship. So if you’re in Boston getting coffee from Sumatra or a car from Korea, keep this in mind when you look at the price."

LINK

Posted by Alaska Paul 2016-02-28 14:52|| 2016-02-28 14:52|| Front Page Top

#8 AP: a standard shipping container can carry about 50,000/pounds of material.

Retail, coffee costs about 8.00 a pound. I don't have a bag handy, I will estimate the dimensions as about 3" x 5" x 10", or 150 cubic inches.

The standard TEU has a weight capacity of about 47,600 (I forgot about the container itself), and a cubic capacity of 1360 cubic feet.

So if my guesstimate is right, I wind up with

(/ (* 1360 12 12 12) 150.0) which evaluates to 15667.2 pounds, which retails for $ 125,000, of which the 82.00 fee per TEU is .06 %, or .0006.

Assuming, of course, you're shipping the coffee in vacuum packed bags in a TEU.

Posted by Thing From Snowy Mountain 2016-02-28 16:23|| 2016-02-28 16:23|| Front Page Top

#9 You're right Snowy. Calculating costs is a complicated affair. It is a big equation that both sides (canals and ship owners) play to maximize profits. A miscalculation on the part of a canal will lose traffic even though it costs the ship owners more time. With the Baltic dry index so low, ship profits are really squeezed.

Posted by Alaska Paul 2016-02-28 17:27|| 2016-02-28 17:27|| Front Page Top

#10 Sniff, sniff, IS THERE NO LOVE FOR THE NICARAGUA CANAL, THE ONE AFGAIK THAT CONTRACTOR CHINA HAS YET TO START BUILDING???

Iff-n-when Beijing does start contruction of same, IMO 'tis all the more reason again for the US to dredge to RIO GRANDE from TX side to Baja, CA or Baja Peninsula-Sea.

Posted by JosephMendiola 2016-02-28 20:48|| 2016-02-28 20:48|| Front Page Top

#11 Hello, Joe in Guam. I have thought of that idea but the length and the topo would make it cost prohibitive. Instead of a wall one could build a moat, heh, with Mexico.

Posted by Alaska Paul 2016-02-28 21:14|| 2016-02-28 21:14|| Front Page Top

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