A worldwide glut of containers and a fall in demand for shipped goods during the global financial crisis have pushed shipping prices to unsustainable levels, the director of sales at Maersk Line Gerard Morrison said, reported Dow Jones Newswires.

Container volume at the Port of Haifa in the first half of 2012 reached the level of TEU 719,883, an increase of nearly 12 percent compared to the corresponding period last year.

Following the end of its cooperation with Maersk Line on the South America East Coast- Caribbean Trade, CMA CGM has decided to maintain and upgrade its fixed-day weekly Brazil Express service as from end August with the introduction of two new Brazilian ports on its rotation, Manaus and Salvador de Bahia.

The year 2012 is a significant year to Vietnam, especially to the logistics and sea port sector. The 1st International Sea Port Festival in Vietnam, 2012 shows the logistics sector will be one of the spearheads of the country’s economy. And Ba Ria-Vung Tau, a place that possesses all necessary factors to develop the logistics and the sea port services, will surely be a pioneer to fulfill the task.

In global map, most deep-water ports are located in strategic positions of economy, politics and defense. Developed countries and developing countries as well like Japan, the U.S, France, Netherlands, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, China… has been making good use of their deep-water port systems and their coastal economic zones as well.

Demand for less-than-containerload (LCL) services is rising among global importers and exporters whose business models rely on cost, inventory control, and supply chain visibility. The shift to more LCL services in industries such as oil and gas (O&G), retail, and automotive can be attributed to several factors.

The liner carrier CMA CGM said it is joining with Maersk Line on a new Asia/East Africa service as a vessel operator from July 24.