U.S. customer activity boosting transatlantic shipping, Hapag-Lloyd says

By Vera Eckert

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Transatlantic container shipping volumes into the United States are rebounding, the head of Hapag-Lloyd said on Monday, boosted by restocking and a rush to fill up inventories amid a risk of possible strike action at U.S. ports.

Freight sector analysts are keeping an eye on contract talks between cargo worker unions and port managers in case the end of September deadlines are missed and strike action looms.

"There is some temptation by customers to bring in goods ahead of the labour contract expiry on Sept. 30," CEO Rolf Habben Jansen, who heads the world's fifth-biggest container liner, said in an online news briefing.

Habben Jansen also said restocking was another driver for demand in the region.

"We see U.S. inventory levels getting back to normal, last year, they were down off the back of higher interest rates and they're now being built back up," he added.

U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump has pledged to hike import tariffs if re-elected but Habben Jansen said Hapag-Lloyd is not yet seeing any frontloading of exports to the United States due to this risk.

"That (motivation) would have an effect, at the earliest, at the beginning of 2025, and people would not pull forward orders that much," he said.

Habben Jansen also commented on customer behaviour in light of ongoing disruptions to shipping in the Red Sea, which is exposed to attacks by Yemen-based Houthi militants.

Many customers had made adjustments to their supply chains, factoring in longer voyage times around Africa and higher costs to make the situation manageable, he said.

"I don't hope and I don't think that this is the new normal," Habben Jansen said.

Last week, the company reported a 75% drop in first half net profit as trade steadied after a post-pandemic rebound in 2023.

(Reporting by Vera Eckert, editing by Miranda Murray and Susan Fenton)