The Loadstar

• Shippers want more from their 3PLs – but do they really need a 4PL?  September 16, 2026
  Shippers are demanding far more from their logistics providers as disruption and supply chain complexity increase – but that does not necessarily mean they are ready to make the leap from 3PL to 4PL.  The latest annual Third-Party Logistics Study paints a contradictory picture of the shipper-3PL relationship: 88% of shippers describe their relationships with […]
• Maersk on cusp of doubling orderbook with 40-ship ‘mega’ newbuild spree September 16, 2026
  Rumours are gaining ground in shipbroking circles that Maersk is on the verge of making a series of huge new orders for vessels, potentially doubling its newbuilding pipeline. Over the course of last week, analysts at Linerlytica noted that the Danish carrier had been the most active carrier on the charter market “as it scrambles […]
• General Average declared on CMA CGM Petra as Maersk wins $13m fire case September 16, 2026
  CMA CGM yesterday declared General Average on the 8,000 teu CMA CGM Petra, which suffered a fire in one of its containers on 23 August, while the vessel was en route from Singapore to Colombo. The fire was initially contained by the crew, with no injuries reported, and was later assisted by professional salvors with […]
• Maersk overtakes Cosco to top intra-Asia capacity rankings September 16, 2026
  Maersk has overtaken Cosco to become the largest container shipping line in the intra-Asia market by deployed capacity, according to the latest analysis by Alphaliner. The analyst’s mid-August review revealed capacity on the intra-Asia trade grew 6.2% year on year to just below 2.6m teu. This was slightly ahead of the global container fleet’s growth […]
• South Korea’s Arctic shipping ambitions on ice due to high costs and low volumes September 16, 2026
  South Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) is struggling to attract local shipping companies to build ice-class container ships, despite dangling $8m of subsidies. The idea was to build ice-class ships in a local shipyard in the hope of running regular liner services through the Northern Sea Route by 2030. South Korea is keen […]
• Polish road haulage success story hits the buffers September 16, 2026
  Following Poland’s accession to EU membership in 2004, its road haulage sector underwent a meteoric rise to the top. Business tripled and its truckers became European leaders with an estimated market share of 20%. Just over two decades on, the picture is radically different. “We’re operating with no profit margin and hoping for a miracle,” […]