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Import container throughput at the San Pedro Bay ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach is booming, with the neighbour facilities reporting year-on-year growth of 19% and 23.5%. The spike in demand for Asia-US west coast services, partly driven by Panama Canal transit restrictions, the Red Sea crisis and looming labour contract negotiations on the east coast, has encouraged ocean carriers to deploy extra loaders – and in the case of ONE and Wan Hai, to launch a new joint service, the Asia Pacific 1 (AP1).   Source : https://theloadstar.com/carriers-sail-in-to-take-advantage-of-strong-us-west-coast-growth/

Malaysia's largest port, on the major sea route of Malacca Strait, plans to double its capacity over the coming decades, chasing neighboring hub Singapore as the shift in global supply chains adds to the competition in Southeast Asia's logistics sector. Port Klang, the world's 12th-largest port and second only to Singapore in Southeast Asia in terms of capacity in 2021, plans to increase its annual capacity from 14 million twenty-foot equivalent units -- a standard measure for container volume -- to 27 million TEUs, with operator Westports Holdings investing 39.6 billion ringgit ($8.34 billion) over the coming decades. "The whole expansion will take over 40 years, and the starting point is 2024," Ruben Emir Gnanalingam, the executive chairman and group managing director of Westports, told Nikkei Asia in an interview. "Funding comes mostly through internally generated funds first, and then we've upsized our sukuk (Islamic bond) program to about 5 billion ringgit."   Source : https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Supply-Chain/Malaysia-s-largest-port-to-double-capacity-to-chase-Singapore

The wood-furniture sector experienced a challenging third quarter in 2023, marking a -7.8% decline from January to September compared to the same period in 2022. Both exports (constituting 41% of the sector) and the domestic market witnessed downturns of -7.5% and -8.1%, respectively. Looking ahead, a phase of adjustment and normalization in an unstable international context, projecting a potential positive upturn in 2024. This recovery could alleviate the market difficulties experienced in 2023, particularly in traditional markets like Germany and the United States.   Source : https://www.ibai.or.id/news/item/4395-the-wood-furniture-supply-chain-is-expected-to-experience-a-positive-trend-in-exports-starting-from-2024.html

The Indonesian Government has determined 14 new national strategic projects (PSNs) in a range of sectors in a bid to actualize equitable development in the country. The 14 newly announced projects are scattered in several provinces, namely Riau Islands, Banten, Jakarta, West Java, East Java, East Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi, and Southeast Sulawesi. Among the 14 projects is the development of an area of 1,756 hectares of land envisioned as a green tourism destination called Tropical Coastland in Pantai Indah Kapuk 2 area in Banten Province. Another newly announced PSN is the development of a special economic zone (SEZ) on 59.6 hectares of land situated within Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD) satellite city in the same province.   Source : https://en.antaranews.com/news/309192/government-announces-14-new-national-strategic-projects

Britannia, the insurer of container ship the Dali, is working with the vessel’s owner and U.S. authorities on the investi- gation into the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, the insurer said on Thursday. The bridge collapsed on Tuesday after the Dali suffered a power outage and struck a pylon, causing huge disruption in the port. The disaster is likely to result in industry-wide multi-billion-dollar insurance claims, which could make it the largest single marine insurance loss, Lloyd’s of London chairperson Bruce Carnegie-Brown told Reuters earlier on Thursday.   Source : LFS Group Newsletter

In February, container exports from 18 Asian countries and regions to the United States experienced a significant rebound compared to the previous year. Container exports fuelled by robust demand, surged by 29.4% year-on-year, reaching 1.6 million TEUs. Nearly all of the 18 economies witnessed double-digit growth in exports, with notable increases seen in shipments from China. Moreover, shipments from Southeast Asia saw a significant increase, up by 41.9%. Notable contributions came from Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia.   Source : LFS Group Newsletter

S&P Global reports that the Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) for Indonesian Manufacturing in March 2024 is at 54.2. This increase is supported by a rise in new demand, where companies also increased production volume. The rate of expansion is considered sharp and is the strongest in 27 months. Report data shows that the total order increase was driven by the domestic market, while demand from abroad contracted after stagnating in February. However, the negative impact of this sharp increase is that price pressure is gaining momentum. Strong input demand caused further price list adjustments on the supplier side, with cost inflation accelerating in a year and a half.   Source : https://english.kontan.co.id/news/indonesia-manufacturing-pmi-rises-to-level-542-in-march

President Xi Jinping and Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto agreed to develop a closer relationship by deepening cooperation in various areas including poverty alleviation as the 72-year-old Indonesian politician arrived in China for his first overseas visit after winning the race to lead Southeast Asia's biggest economy last month.   Source : https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/JrM18wVqKZoZdBRgFNiKEw