Alibaba Buys Stake in Ocean Liner Company Transfar Shipping

Chinese eCommerce platform Alibaba last year bought just over 10% of Singapore-based ocean liner operator Transfar Shipping, which sails between China and the west coast of the U.S., according to a report in The Loadstar on Monday (Oct. 18).

Zhejiang Cainiao Supply Chain Management Co, a unit of Alibaba logistics-focused subsidiary Cainiao, bought a 10.33% stake in Worldwide Logistics Group in September 2020.

“Transfar is also carrying cargo from its other customers, and Alibaba’s cargo only makes up part of its total volumes,” said Linerlytica analyst Tan Hua Joo. “Retailers are using various means to secure cargo space, but there are only very limited instances where they have chartered their own ships.”

Transfar agreed in August to charter container ship Martinique from Zeaborn Ship Management for two to three months, and the Minna from Peter Dohle for five months for $150,000 per day. Martinique collected cargo in Shanghai, Qingdao and Yantian before heading to Long Beach, California.

Transfar also chartered Filia T from Lomar Shipping for three to four months starting in September at a daily rate in excess of $100,000. Filia T and Minna are assigned to intra-Asia routes, the former carrying goods from Nansha to Jakarta International Container Terminal on Oct. 5 before going to Yantian port.

Related: Retailers Outline Supply Chain Strategies in Bid to Win Customers

American Shipper recently reported that the rent on a 747 freighter for a flight from China to Chicago is $1.5 million to $2 million, up from about $500,000 two years ago. A customer also recently paid an aircraft charter company $2.5 million to charter a flight carrying mostly garments and electronics from Vietnam to the U.S.

Salesforce projected in July that retail supply chain costs would spike $223 billion in the second half of 2021, including $163 billion for logistics companies dealing with shortages in shipping containers and ship capacity.

Jack Kleinhenz, chief economist for the National Retail Federation, said rising inflation and supply chain bottlenecks offset two consecutive months of increased consumer spending, adding that spending might have been higher if there weren’t so many supply shortages.