<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Four lake vessels and one oceangoing ship will be subject to fines under agreements reached with Can</div>

Four lake vessels and one oceangoing ship will be subject to fines under agreements reached with Can

<div>Four lake vessels and one oceangoing ship will be subject to fines under agreements reached with Canadian and United States officials to travel the St. Lawrence Seaway system following the close of the shipping season.Seaway authorities in Canada and the United States report that other straggler ships, as well, were traveling at various points in the system Monday. It's unclear, however, whether they have permission to transit and will be subject to special surcharges that started applying Monday.The traditional shipping season closed Sunday.The ocean-bound vessel still traveling the system is the President Quezon, owned by Fednav Ltd., Montreal.The ship is...

Four lake vessels and one oceangoing ship will be subject to fines under agreements reached with Canadian and United States officials to travel the St. Lawrence Seaway system following the close of the shipping season. Seaway authorities in Canada and the United States report that other straggler ships, as well, were traveling at various points in the system Monday. It's unclear, however, whether they have permission to transit and will be subject to special surcharges that started applying Monday.The traditional shipping season closed Sunday. The ocean-bound vessel still traveling the system is the President Quezon, owned by Fednav Ltd., Montreal. The ship is loaded with grain and potash, and Fednav officials expect it will clear the seaway late Tuesday. As long as the President Quezon arrives at Cape Vincent at the eastern end of Lake Ontario and checks in with seaway authorities before midnight Monday, Fednav officials believe only a one-day surcharge will apply. The ship is bound for Europe, but it won't know its exact destination until it reaches open seas. Meanwhile, four lake vessels owned by Halco Inc., Westmount, Quebec, will be subject to substantial fines for travel well past the close of the season. Navican Management Inc., Montreal, which manages the vessels for Halco, said the ships had no choice but to seek special permission to transit after the close of the season because they are hauling grain for the Canadian Wheat Board, their best customer. Robert Matthews, Navican's manager of marketing and traffic, said the four vessels were load ed at Thunder Bay and will travel to the St. Lawrence River port, where the cargo will be trans-loaded for ocean shipment. The Frankcliffe Hall, which is leading the other three through the system, left Thunder Bay Dec. 20 loaded with wheat. The Beavercliffe Hall, also carrying wheat, was still at Thunder Bay Monday, seaway officials said, adding they expect the ship will be the final commercial lake vessel to transit the system this season. Two other Halco vessels, the Steelcliffe Hall and the Maplecliffe Hall, are carrying barley and are traveling immediately behind the Frankcliffe. Mr. Matthews said the company has not yet calculated what it will cost in penalties for the seaway passage this week. "It's something you've got to do. We have our agreements with the wheat board and it's to our mutual benefit" to pay the fines to haul the cargo, he added. Under procedures announced earlier this month, ships that travel the system after the clearance date must get permission from seaway authorities in Canada and the United States. The seaway season was extended to Dec. 21 and fines of $30,000 for ships traveling Monday, $60,000 on Tuesday and $90,000 on Wednesday will be assessed. The St. Lawrence Seaway Authority in the United States said one other ocean vessel, the Federal Rhine, also a Fednav ship, will spend the winter at Detroit.

Maritime

FIVE STRAGGLER SHIPS FACE SEAWAY FINES

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">With less than half the CMA CGM's fleet built in China, CFO Ramon Fernandez believes US services can be structured to avoid the incoming tonnage fees.</div>

With less than half the CMA CGM's fleet built in China, CFO Ramon Fernandez believes US services can be structured to avoid the incoming tonnage fees.

Feature image

<div class="phx-topic">CMA CGM will arrange its fleet and Ocean Alliance services to ensure it does not have to pay the recently revised Chinese tonnage tax plan that for some carriers could add $1 million per voyage calling at US ports, said CFO Ramon Fernandez. Fernandez told reporters Friday that less than half the CMA CGM fleet of 680 ships were built in China, which enables the carrier to avoid the tonnage tax to be imposed from Oct. 14. “If Chinese built vessels have to pay a fee, we will make sure that this will not happen to us,” he said in a press conference to announce CMA CGM’s first quarter result. Asked if CMA CGM would shoulder the load of US services in the Ocean Alliance, Fernandez only said, “We have plenty of vessels which have not been built in China, so we can make sure that these vessels will be reaching US ports.” The US Trade Representative (USTR) in April <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/revised-china-tonnage-tax-less-disruptive-still-costly-6005402">narrowed the scope of its tariffs against China’s maritime industry</a> to a fee based on the cargo capacity or container volume of Chinese-operated and -built ships entering US ports. The more targeted actions follow industry warnings that earlier proposals would <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/us-port-tax-would-scramble-ocean-services-raise-shipper-costs-drewry-5952046">increase costs for US shippers and pose an existential threat to smaller ports</a>. CMA CGM’s Ocean Alliance partners Cosco and OOCL face tariffs more than twice as large as their peers. <h3>Shipping operations drive Q1 result </h3>CMA CGM’s solid first quarter followed the industry trend. Revenue in the first quarter reached $13.3 billion, up 12.1% year over year, and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased 29.1% to $3.1 billion. The group’s net profit of $1.1 billion was up 42% compared to the first three months of last year. The earnings were driven by an increase in volume that was up 4.2% in the first quarter at 5.8 million TEUs and supported by average revenue per TEU of $1,498 that was up 7.1% year over year. Consolidated revenue from maritime shipping operations of $8.8 billion in the first quarter increased 11.5%, while the shipping division’s EBITDA of $2.5 billion was 30.0% higher than in first quarter of 2024. The group's logistics activities under CEVA Logistics continued to grow, boosted by the consolidation of Bolloré Logistics in February last year and good momentum in contract logistics, although the finished vehicle logistics and road haulage segments faced market challenges, mostly in Europe. Revenue from logistics of $4.3 billion in the first quarter was up 10% year over year with EBITDA growing 10.5% to $399 million. CMA CGM Air Cargo is grouped in the “other activities” section along with the group’s port terminals and CMA Media. Revenue in this section rose 31% year over year in the first quarter to $899 million with EBITDA was up 91.5% at $157 million, thanks to strong performances in terminals and air cargo. CMA CGM also announced a €100 million ($112 million) investment in a strategic partnership with Mistral AI, a French artificial intelligence startup headquartered in Paris. The partnership aims to develop bespoke artificial intelligence solutions for the maritime, logistics and media sectors by mobilizing Mistral AI teams alongside CMA CGM teams, according to a company statement. Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

CMA CGM will arrange its fleet and Ocean Alliance services to ensure it does not have to pay the recently revised Chinese tonnage tax plan that for some carriers could add $1 million per voyage calling at US ports, said CFO Ramon Fernandez. Fernandez told reporters Friday that less than half the CMA CGM fleet of 680 ships were built in China, which enables the carrier to avoid the tonnage tax to be imposed from Oct. 14. “If Chinese built vessels have to pay a fee, we will make sure that this will not happen to us,” he said in a press conference to announce CMA CGM’s first quarter result. Asked if CMA CGM would shoulder the load of US services in the Ocean Alliance, Fernandez only said, “We have plenty of vessels which have not been built in China, so we can make sure that these vessels will be reaching US ports.” The US Trade Representative (USTR) in April narrowed the scope of its tariffs against China’s maritime industry to a fee based on the cargo capacity or container volume of Chinese-operated and -built ships entering US ports. The more targeted actions follow industry warnings that earlier proposals would increase costs for US shippers and pose an existential threat to smaller ports . CMA CGM’s Ocean Alliance partners Cosco and OOCL face tariffs more than twice as large as their peers. Shipping operations drive Q1 result CMA CGM’s solid first quarter followed the industry trend. Revenue in the first quarter reached $13.3 billion, up 12.1% year over year, and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased 29.1% to $3.1 billion. The group’s net profit of $1.1 billion was up 42% compared to the first three months of last year. The earnings were driven by an increase in volume that was up 4.2% in the first quarter at 5.8 million TEUs and supported by average revenue per TEU of $1,498 that was up 7.1% year over year. Consolidated revenue from maritime shipping operations of $8.8 billion in the first quarter increased 11.5%, while the shipping division’s EBITDA of $2.5 billion was 30.0% higher than in first quarter of 2024. The group's logistics activities under CEVA Logistics continued to grow, boosted by the consolidation of Bolloré Logistics in February last year and good momentum in contract logistics, although the finished vehicle logistics and road haulage segments faced market challenges, mostly in Europe. Revenue from logistics of $4.3 billion in the first quarter was up 10% year over year with EBITDA growing 10.5% to $399 million. CMA CGM Air Cargo is grouped in the “other activities” section along with the group’s port terminals and CMA Media. Revenue in this section rose 31% year over year in the first quarter to $899 million with EBITDA was up 91.5% at $157 million, thanks to strong performances in terminals and air cargo. CMA CGM also announced a €100 million ($112 million) investment in a strategic partnership with Mistral AI, a French artificial intelligence startup headquartered in Paris. The partnership aims to develop bespoke artificial intelligence solutions for the maritime, logistics and media sectors by mobilizing Mistral AI teams alongside CMA CGM teams, according to a company statement. Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

Container Shipping News

Container lines

Asia-Europe

Trans-Pacific

CMA CGM fleet will not need to pay Chinese tonnage tax: CFO

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The Denmark-based carrier has been growing its multipurpose vessel (MPV) fleet since entering the project cargo sector with the acquisition of Thorco Projects in 2023.</div>

The Denmark-based carrier has been growing its multipurpose vessel (MPV) fleet since entering the project cargo sector with the acquisition of Thorco Projects in 2023.

<div class="phx-topic">Norden is further expanding its multipurpose vessel (MPV) fleet after signing lease agreements for two new 17,500-deadweight ton (dwt) ships scheduled for delivery in 2026 and 2027, the company said in a statement Monday. The vessels, in addition to lease deals announced in January for up to four 17,500-dwt MPVs also expected to hit the water in 2026 and 2027, will expand the Denmark-based carrier’s MPV fleet to around 50 ships, a Norden spokesperson told the Journal of Commerce. Under the terms of the deals announced Monday, Norden will have the option to purchase the vessels, which will be biofuel compatible and feature a similar design to the ships it agreed to lease in January. The ships will be deployed in Norden’s projects and parceling division, which generated $90 million in revenue in the first quarter, up from $55 million in the same three-month period last year, according to the firm’s latest financial statements. Norden, which entered the sector in June 2023 with the acquisition of Thorco Projects, said the latest orders reinforce “our commitment to building a core [MPV] fleet and growing our presence in the project cargo market.” The expansion comes amid “a strong projected demand outlook coupled with a rapidly ageing fleet and low order book,” the company added. According to data from shipbroking house Clarksons, there are 197 MPVs with a combined capacity of 4 million dwt on order for delivery through 2028, compared with a global fleet of 3,371 ships (32 million dwt). Shipbroker Toepfer Transport estimates the average age of the MPV fleet is around 18 years with about 35% of vessels in need of replacement over the next five to 10 years. Contact Keith Wallis at <a href="mailto:keithwallis@hotmail.com">keithwallis@hotmail.com</a>. </div>

Norden is further expanding its multipurpose vessel (MPV) fleet after signing lease agreements for two new 17,500-deadweight ton (dwt) ships scheduled for delivery in 2026 and 2027, the company said in a statement Monday. The vessels, in addition to lease deals announced in January for up to four 17,500-dwt MPVs also expected to hit the water in 2026 and 2027, will expand the Denmark-based carrier’s MPV fleet to around 50 ships, a Norden spokesperson told the Journal of Commerce. Under the terms of the deals announced Monday, Norden will have the option to purchase the vessels, which will be biofuel compatible and feature a similar design to the ships it agreed to lease in January. The ships will be deployed in Norden’s projects and parceling division, which generated $90 million in revenue in the first quarter, up from $55 million in the same three-month period last year, according to the firm’s latest financial statements. Norden, which entered the sector in June 2023 with the acquisition of Thorco Projects, said the latest orders reinforce “our commitment to building a core [MPV] fleet and growing our presence in the project cargo market.” The expansion comes amid “a strong projected demand outlook coupled with a rapidly ageing fleet and low order book,” the company added. According to data from shipbroking house Clarksons, there are 197 MPVs with a combined capacity of 4 million dwt on order for delivery through 2028, compared with a global fleet of 3,371 ships (32 million dwt). Shipbroker Toepfer Transport estimates the average age of the MPV fleet is around 18 years with about 35% of vessels in need of replacement over the next five to 10 years. Contact Keith Wallis at keithwallis@hotmail.com .

Breakbulk carriers

Project cargo

Breakbulk News

Norden continues MPV expansion amid ‘strong projected demand’

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Caterpillar and Deere are counting the sizeable costs of tariff-related expenses, even with the announced 90-day tariff pause between the US and China. </div>

Caterpillar and Deere are counting the sizeable costs of tariff-related expenses, even with the announced 90-day tariff pause between the US and China.

<div class="phx-topic">Heavy equipment manufacturers Caterpillar and Deere are feeling the sting of global import tariffs, with Deere bracing for a half-billion dollars in tariff expenses in 2025, according to the companies’ latest quarterly earnings results. Although both US-based high-and-heavy manufacturers produce and source much of their equipment domestically, they also rely on imports for goods and components. The companies are considered bellwether roll-on/roll-off (ro/ro) cargo providers and breakbulk shippers. Illinois-based Deere &amp; Company estimates it will incur $500 million in tariff costs for the fiscal year, even after factoring in a 90-day reduction announced by the Trump administration for reciprocal and retaliatory tariffs between the US and China beginning May 14. “This quarter was marked by historic levels of volatility and significant uncertainty across our end markets given the dynamic global trade backdrop,” Deere chairman and CEO John May said in the earnings call. Deere sources over three-fourths of its complete goods and components in the United States, but global imports — mostly from Mexico and Europe — account for the remainder. “The trade environment is certainly fluid, evidenced by trade agreements and adjustments to tariff levels announced in this past week,” Deere investor relations director Josh Beal said in the company’s second-quarter earnings call on May 15. Deere reported $100 million in tariff expenses in the second quarter, while the company adjusted its profit outlook downward for the full fiscal year. Overall net sales and revenues fell 16% to $12.8 billion in the second quarter and dropped 22% to $21.3 billion for the first half of the year. Equipment sales in all of Deere’s sectors continued to slide, with the sharpest declines in construction and forestry (23% to $2.5 billion) and in production and precision agriculture (21% to $5.2 billion). <h3>Caterpillar looks to tariff relief </h3>Tariff reductions for China could soften the $250 million to $350 million blow Texas-based Caterpillar is preparing to endure in the upcoming quarter because of these duties, according to the company’s first-quarter earnings results, released April 30. Half of those costs are expected to cut into the company’s construction equipment segment. Another 25% would affect Deere’s mining equipment business, while energy and transportation equipment would account for the remaining quarter of the tariff expenses. In his remarks in the company’s April 30 earnings call, Caterpillar chief operating officer Joseph Creed said the tariff situation remains in flux but that Caterpillar is closely monitoring developments and evaluating various long-term mitigation strategies. “Many of these actions require more time to implement and are more difficult to reverse, and therefore require more clarity and certainty on the long-term environment around tariffs,” Creed said in the company’s April 30 earnings call. Imports from China would create about half of Caterpillar’s tariff expenses. Speaking ahead of the Trump administration’s announcement to temporarily lower its maximum tariff rate on Chinese imports from 145% to 30%, chief financial officer Andrew Bonfield said easing up on tariffs could bring about a “significant reduction” in its estimated costs. The tariff cost projections came as Caterpillar reported a 10% decline in sales to $14.2 billion in the first quarter, with the company citing changes in dealer inventories. Sales fell across all of Caterpillar’s machinery, energy and transportation segments, with the steepest drop being in construction equipment, which fell 19% to $5.2 billion. The company is projecting that revenues should be flat for the remainder of 2025. Contact Autumn Cafiero Giusti at <a href="mailto:autumn@autumngiusti.com">autumn@autumngiusti.com</a>. </div>

Heavy equipment manufacturers Caterpillar and Deere are feeling the sting of global import tariffs, with Deere bracing for a half-billion dollars in tariff expenses in 2025, according to the companies’ latest quarterly earnings results. Although both US-based high-and-heavy manufacturers produce and source much of their equipment domestically, they also rely on imports for goods and components. The companies are considered bellwether roll-on/roll-off (ro/ro) cargo providers and breakbulk shippers. Illinois-based Deere & Company estimates it will incur $500 million in tariff costs for the fiscal year, even after factoring in a 90-day reduction announced by the Trump administration for reciprocal and retaliatory tariffs between the US and China beginning May 14. “This quarter was marked by historic levels of volatility and significant uncertainty across our end markets given the dynamic global trade backdrop,” Deere chairman and CEO John May said in the earnings call. Deere sources over three-fourths of its complete goods and components in the United States, but global imports — mostly from Mexico and Europe — account for the remainder. “The trade environment is certainly fluid, evidenced by trade agreements and adjustments to tariff levels announced in this past week,” Deere investor relations director Josh Beal said in the company’s second-quarter earnings call on May 15. Deere reported $100 million in tariff expenses in the second quarter, while the company adjusted its profit outlook downward for the full fiscal year. Overall net sales and revenues fell 16% to $12.8 billion in the second quarter and dropped 22% to $21.3 billion for the first half of the year. Equipment sales in all of Deere’s sectors continued to slide, with the sharpest declines in construction and forestry (23% to $2.5 billion) and in production and precision agriculture (21% to $5.2 billion). Caterpillar looks to tariff relief Tariff reductions for China could soften the $250 million to $350 million blow Texas-based Caterpillar is preparing to endure in the upcoming quarter because of these duties, according to the company’s first-quarter earnings results, released April 30. Half of those costs are expected to cut into the company’s construction equipment segment. Another 25% would affect Deere’s mining equipment business, while energy and transportation equipment would account for the remaining quarter of the tariff expenses. In his remarks in the company’s April 30 earnings call, Caterpillar chief operating officer Joseph Creed said the tariff situation remains in flux but that Caterpillar is closely monitoring developments and evaluating various long-term mitigation strategies. “Many of these actions require more time to implement and are more difficult to reverse, and therefore require more clarity and certainty on the long-term environment around tariffs,” Creed said in the company’s April 30 earnings call. Imports from China would create about half of Caterpillar’s tariff expenses. Speaking ahead of the Trump administration’s announcement to temporarily lower its maximum tariff rate on Chinese imports from 145% to 30%, chief financial officer Andrew Bonfield said easing up on tariffs could bring about a “significant reduction” in its estimated costs. The tariff cost projections came as Caterpillar reported a 10% decline in sales to $14.2 billion in the first quarter, with the company citing changes in dealer inventories. Sales fell across all of Caterpillar’s machinery, energy and transportation segments, with the steepest drop being in construction equipment, which fell 19% to $5.2 billion. The company is projecting that revenues should be flat for the remainder of 2025. Contact Autumn Cafiero Giusti at autumn@autumngiusti.com .

Transport, Trade and Regulation News

Supply chain

High-and-heavy shippers sound alarm on rising tariff costs

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The purchase of Outgo, founded in 2022, is meant to help DAT gather more transactional data but also to make its freight marketplace more complete for carriers and brokers. </div>

The purchase of Outgo, founded in 2022, is meant to help DAT gather more transactional data but also to make its freight marketplace more complete for carriers and brokers.

<div class="phx-topic">DAT Freight &amp; Analytics has acquired a payments and factoring technology provider that caters to truckload carriers in an attempt to make its freight load board more useful and trustworthy for both carriers and brokers. The acquired company, Outgo, was founded in 2022 by veterans of Uber and now defunct freight broker Convoy. Terms of the deal, announced Thursday, were not disclosed. Outgo will be integrated within DAT One, the company’s carrier-facing platform, with any loads that have been approved for factoring services noted by a blue checkmark. Carriers can use the tool to get paid no longer than four hours after issuing an invoice, even if their payment terms with brokers are 30 days or longer. Freight factoring is a financial service in which carriers sell their unpaid invoices to a third party that advances them the cash they are owed, generally in exchange for a single-digit percentage of the invoice amount. The acquisition helps round out DAT’s offerings, which include a rate benchmarking platform for a large swathe of the truckload market. DAT, the largest load board for truckload freight in North America, has offered factoring services to its carrier customers since 2007 via external partnerships, most recently with OTR Solutions. The move also comes just a few months after Triumph Financial, a large factoring provider, purchased DAT competitor Greenscreens.ai. Describing Outgo as “fintech meets freight,” CEO Jeff Clementz said the acquisition is designed to provide augmented value for carriers beyond just finding available loads to move. Adding integrated factoring services comes as carriers struggle with a persistently low-rate truckload market where cash flow is paramount. “Outgo will be our focus going forward,” Clementz told the Journal of Commerce. Clementz said bringing factoring in-house allows DAT to not only glean data from transactions but also to build trust with carriers and brokers, who would see DAT as a more comprehensive marketplace. “It’s not just being paid, it’s giving you a banking-like platform,” he said. “Our mission is to create the most trusted marketplace in freight.” Outgo automates broker setup, invoicing, factoring and collections without long-term contracts or minimums. It commits to settling approved unpaid invoices within four hours, with many processed in 15 to 90 minutes. Outgo’s technology also lets carriers use what it calls “partial” factoring, where an invoice can be partly factored to cover the costs of running their businesses, rather than taking a discounted payment for an entire invoice. “We felt there was a better way for carriers to manage their cashflow,” Outgo CEO Marcus Womack told the Journal of Commerce. “On a 30-day payable, they have high operating costs with fuel and payroll. They generally have to accept early payment on all of the invoice, where we give them flexibility to fund what they need in a payment cycle.” Womack and all 30 of Outgo’s employees will move to DAT as part of the transaction. The acquisition is DAT’s second in six months, after it acquired Trucker Tools, a load visibility tool for brokers, in December. Clementz called the acquisitions part of a strategy to better leverage DAT’s presence in the market. Responding to issues around system downtime and the increasing threat of freight fraud and theft, DAT has also invested in identity authentication tools for carriers and carrier management tools for brokers. “We’ll have the largest list of factorable brokers in the industry,” Clementz said. “We’ll know who these carriers are and pass that trust onto the broker. Eventually the goal is to make sure every time they connect, they feel more confident that their freight will move successfully.” Contact Eric Johnson at <a href="mailto: eric.johnson@spglobal.com">eric.johnson@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

DAT Freight & Analytics has acquired a payments and factoring technology provider that caters to truckload carriers in an attempt to make its freight load board more useful and trustworthy for both carriers and brokers. The acquired company, Outgo, was founded in 2022 by veterans of Uber and now defunct freight broker Convoy. Terms of the deal, announced Thursday, were not disclosed. Outgo will be integrated within DAT One, the company’s carrier-facing platform, with any loads that have been approved for factoring services noted by a blue checkmark. Carriers can use the tool to get paid no longer than four hours after issuing an invoice, even if their payment terms with brokers are 30 days or longer. Freight factoring is a financial service in which carriers sell their unpaid invoices to a third party that advances them the cash they are owed, generally in exchange for a single-digit percentage of the invoice amount. The acquisition helps round out DAT’s offerings, which include a rate benchmarking platform for a large swathe of the truckload market. DAT, the largest load board for truckload freight in North America, has offered factoring services to its carrier customers since 2007 via external partnerships, most recently with OTR Solutions. The move also comes just a few months after Triumph Financial, a large factoring provider, purchased DAT competitor Greenscreens.ai. Describing Outgo as “fintech meets freight,” CEO Jeff Clementz said the acquisition is designed to provide augmented value for carriers beyond just finding available loads to move. Adding integrated factoring services comes as carriers struggle with a persistently low-rate truckload market where cash flow is paramount. “Outgo will be our focus going forward,” Clementz told the Journal of Commerce. Clementz said bringing factoring in-house allows DAT to not only glean data from transactions but also to build trust with carriers and brokers, who would see DAT as a more comprehensive marketplace. “It’s not just being paid, it’s giving you a banking-like platform,” he said. “Our mission is to create the most trusted marketplace in freight.” Outgo automates broker setup, invoicing, factoring and collections without long-term contracts or minimums. It commits to settling approved unpaid invoices within four hours, with many processed in 15 to 90 minutes. Outgo’s technology also lets carriers use what it calls “partial” factoring, where an invoice can be partly factored to cover the costs of running their businesses, rather than taking a discounted payment for an entire invoice. “We felt there was a better way for carriers to manage their cashflow,” Outgo CEO Marcus Womack told the Journal of Commerce. “On a 30-day payable, they have high operating costs with fuel and payroll. They generally have to accept early payment on all of the invoice, where we give them flexibility to fund what they need in a payment cycle.” Womack and all 30 of Outgo’s employees will move to DAT as part of the transaction. The acquisition is DAT’s second in six months, after it acquired Trucker Tools, a load visibility tool for brokers, in December. Clementz called the acquisitions part of a strategy to better leverage DAT’s presence in the market. Responding to issues around system downtime and the increasing threat of freight fraud and theft, DAT has also invested in identity authentication tools for carriers and carrier management tools for brokers. “We’ll have the largest list of factorable brokers in the industry,” Clementz said. “We’ll know who these carriers are and pass that trust onto the broker. Eventually the goal is to make sure every time they connect, they feel more confident that their freight will move successfully.” Contact Eric Johnson at eric.johnson@spglobal.com .

Logistics Technology News

Truck brokers

Truckload

DAT adds in-house factoring services with latest acquisition

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Container lines are looking to capitalize on a ramp-up in Asia-US bookings during the 90-day tariff reduction that followed Monday’s deal between the Trump administration and China.</div>

Container lines are looking to capitalize on a ramp-up in Asia-US bookings during the 90-day tariff reduction that followed Monday’s deal between the Trump administration and China.

<div class="phx-topic">Major container lines are seeking spot rates on service from China to the US West Coast that are more than double the current level as they look to capitalize on an anticipated surge of volume triggered by a 90-day pause in the steepest US tariffs. Container spot rates are already spiking following the Monday announcement, and if carriers are successful in imposing a combination of general rate increases (GRIs) and peak season surcharges (PSSs) set to take effect June 1, pricing would jump to approximately $6,000 per FEU to the West Coast and $7,000 per FEU to the East Coast. GRIs apply to all shippers regardless of size, while PSSs are only imposed on smaller shippers that don’t have agreements with carriers prohibiting their use. Momentum appears to be on the carriers’ side. Hapag-Lloyd said it has seen <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/china-us-ocean-bookings-surge-since-weekend-trade-deal-hapag-lloyd-6004653">a 50% increase in bookings</a> from China to the US this week, while forwarders have reported jumps as high as 100%. Given the short window of the agreement, and the need to ship fall and holiday merchandise before tariffs may increase if the deal falls apart, forwarders report that bookings are soaring. “It’s shades of 2024,” Benton Kauffman, head of trans-Pacific air and sea logistics at forwarder DSV, told the Journal of Commerce, referring to last summer, when container spot rates jumped to upward of $8,000 per FEU to the West Coast during acrimonious dockworker contract negotiations on the East and Gulf coasts. As of Wednesday, average spot rates from Asia to the West Coast rose to $2,567 per FEU, up from $1,600 per FEU at the end of March, while Asia-East Coast pricing rose to $3,567 per FEU from $2,600 per FEU during the same period, according to Platts, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global. Last year, spot rates <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/carriers-to-deploy-extra-loaders-to-los-angeles-long-beach-amid-import-surge-5714861">peaked at $8,133 per FEU to the West Coast</a> and $10,133 per FEU to the East Coast in the week of July 5. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="46178020-96a6-492f-89e0-3e6fc2624113"></dynamic-object></div>Carriers Hapag-Lloyd, Mediterranean Shipping Co., CMA CGM, Ocean Network Express (ONE) and Zim Integrated Shipping have filed spot rates of $6,000 per FEU starting June 1. Another round of increases is poised for June 15, with Hapag-Lloyd, MSC and CMA CGM set to increase rates to $8,000 per FEU, according to rate notices from the carriers. “Of course, these are just their filings,” noted a forwarder who asked not to be identified. “We will see what levels they really pass on once we get to these dates.” <h3>Bookings from China surge </h3>The carrier rate increases appear to be supported by a spike in bookings since the US and China announced an agreement that reduced US tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30% for at least the next 90 days. “There’s definitely been a ramp up in orders during this 90-day window,” said Robert Khachatryan, CEO of forwarder Freight Right Global Logistics. Khachatryan explained that importers appear to be in a rush to get their shipments into the US while the 30% tariff on China is in effect. They are concerned that after 90 days, if a permanent agreement is not reached, the tariffs could shoot back up. “Everyone seems to be concerned with the 90-day window,” Khachatryan said. Revelyst, an importer of outdoor apparel, paused its purchase orders with factories in China in April, said John Pace, senior manager of global logistics. Now, the company is prioritizing those shipments that are ready to move, to be followed by shipments that will depart in the coming weeks as factories ramp up production. A carrier executive who asked not to be identified told the Journal of Commerce that factories in China should be able to quickly increase production as most vendors paused or slowed down production after the 145% duty went into effect in early April, rather than completely shutting down and laying off staff. Similar to Khachatryan, the carrier executive said importers are frontloading as much merchandise as they can. “They have to ship now in case there is another tariff increase in August,” the source said. However, forwarders and importers say the huge increases in spot rates and surcharges that carriers announced over the past few days would put a large dent in the savings they had anticipated from the tariff cuts. “We are being careful,” Pace said. “Shipping rates are certainly a factor in our decisions.” Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at <a href="mailto:bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com">bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com</a>. Contact Laura Robb at <a href="mailto:laura.robb@spglobal.com">laura.robb@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Major container lines are seeking spot rates on service from China to the US West Coast that are more than double the current level as they look to capitalize on an anticipated surge of volume triggered by a 90-day pause in the steepest US tariffs. Container spot rates are already spiking following the Monday announcement, and if carriers are successful in imposing a combination of general rate increases (GRIs) and peak season surcharges (PSSs) set to take effect June 1, pricing would jump to approximately $6,000 per FEU to the West Coast and $7,000 per FEU to the East Coast. GRIs apply to all shippers regardless of size, while PSSs are only imposed on smaller shippers that don’t have agreements with carriers prohibiting their use. Momentum appears to be on the carriers’ side. Hapag-Lloyd said it has seen a 50% increase in bookings from China to the US this week, while forwarders have reported jumps as high as 100%. Given the short window of the agreement, and the need to ship fall and holiday merchandise before tariffs may increase if the deal falls apart, forwarders report that bookings are soaring. “It’s shades of 2024,” Benton Kauffman, head of trans-Pacific air and sea logistics at forwarder DSV, told the Journal of Commerce, referring to last summer, when container spot rates jumped to upward of $8,000 per FEU to the West Coast during acrimonious dockworker contract negotiations on the East and Gulf coasts. As of Wednesday, average spot rates from Asia to the West Coast rose to $2,567 per FEU, up from $1,600 per FEU at the end of March, while Asia-East Coast pricing rose to $3,567 per FEU from $2,600 per FEU during the same period, according to Platts, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global. Last year, spot rates peaked at $8,133 per FEU to the West Coast and $10,133 per FEU to the East Coast in the week of July 5. Carriers Hapag-Lloyd, Mediterranean Shipping Co., CMA CGM, Ocean Network Express (ONE) and Zim Integrated Shipping have filed spot rates of $6,000 per FEU starting June 1. Another round of increases is poised for June 15, with Hapag-Lloyd, MSC and CMA CGM set to increase rates to $8,000 per FEU, according to rate notices from the carriers. “Of course, these are just their filings,” noted a forwarder who asked not to be identified. “We will see what levels they really pass on once we get to these dates.” Bookings from China surge The carrier rate increases appear to be supported by a spike in bookings since the US and China announced an agreement that reduced US tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30% for at least the next 90 days. “There’s definitely been a ramp up in orders during this 90-day window,” said Robert Khachatryan, CEO of forwarder Freight Right Global Logistics. Khachatryan explained that importers appear to be in a rush to get their shipments into the US while the 30% tariff on China is in effect. They are concerned that after 90 days, if a permanent agreement is not reached, the tariffs could shoot back up. “Everyone seems to be concerned with the 90-day window,” Khachatryan said. Revelyst, an importer of outdoor apparel, paused its purchase orders with factories in China in April, said John Pace, senior manager of global logistics. Now, the company is prioritizing those shipments that are ready to move, to be followed by shipments that will depart in the coming weeks as factories ramp up production. A carrier executive who asked not to be identified told the Journal of Commerce that factories in China should be able to quickly increase production as most vendors paused or slowed down production after the 145% duty went into effect in early April, rather than completely shutting down and laying off staff. Similar to Khachatryan, the carrier executive said importers are frontloading as much merchandise as they can. “They have to ship now in case there is another tariff increase in August,” the source said. However, forwarders and importers say the huge increases in spot rates and surcharges that carriers announced over the past few days would put a large dent in the savings they had anticipated from the tariff cuts. “We are being careful,” Pace said. “Shipping rates are certainly a factor in our decisions.” Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com . Contact Laura Robb at laura.robb@spglobal.com .

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Trans-Pacific carriers announce massive June rate hikes

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The world of LTL is slow to embrace change. Business anachronisms permeate current supply chain processes. These vestiges of the way things used to work define the LTL freight transportation procurement process of many modern shippers.David Knuth, logistics specialist at IEWC, a global supplier of cable and wire based in Wisconsin, is happy to have modernized the RFP process, automating the entire LTL bidding procedure with Bid$ense, SMC³’s automated truckload and LTL freight transportation sourcing solution. But when prompted, he can still recall what once was.In his previous job, a large part of his duties were consumed by creating an intermodal bid package for carriers. In a spreadsheet, Knuth detailed the company’s volumes lane by lane, taking care to delete any errant keystrokes or misleading data. He would then email out the information to each carrier, taking time to respond to detailed technical questions about the spreadsheet data. Finally, he had to compile all the results, create an algorithm that would compare the carriers on each lane, and award the business.“It was a huge undertaking. It took about four months to do,” Knuth said of the old process. “It was almost a full-time job for that part of the year, every year.”In his new job at IEWC, he sat down with Bid$ense on day one and was amazed at the capabilities. Knuth had never before used a bid tool. SMC³’s latest versions of Bid$ense automate the process even further, taking truckload and LTL RFPs entirely online. The tool draws on RFP best-practices protocols to streamline the bidding communication process, enabling bidding carriers to respond accurately and promptly to shipper requests. The solution also does all the distribution work automatically, electronically submitting shipper bid data to carriers based on their actual service capabilities and performance records. Carriers are alerted with timely prompts for RFP deliverables, so shippers aren’t waiting by the phone for responses.Another benefit of automating the process is the data-cleansing assistance. When Knuth sent spreadsheets to carriers, data errors might cloud the bidding process; he might have to resend data or simply accept a price that did not truly reflect the costs of doing business. Data cleansing is incredibly beneficial, he said.The spreadsheet technique also made bidding analysis an onerous task. Since Bid$ense automates and streamlines the entire RFP process, intensive examination is now simple. SMC³ knows that each bid has more than one best outcome. With uniform responses from each carrier, shippers can quickly rank results and create an unlimited quantity of what-if scenarios to make the optimal procurement decision.Jesse Burnett of Central Garden &amp; Pet experiences many of the same benefits. Founded in 1980, Central Garden &amp; Pet has spent the last three decades growing from a small garden supply company to a provider of a range of products from dog chews and bird seed to soil supplements and natural insecticides. For much of its life, the company shipped these disparate goods via LTL and truckload carriers to retailers throughout the country, relying on each business unit to negotiate directly with their freight transportation providers. This arrangement worked fairly well for a small company, but as Central Garden &amp; Pet expanded, leadership decided to consolidate decision making.Burnett helped centralize the transportation decision making in 2015 with SMC³’s Bid$ense. Before Bid$ense, every business unit operated independently as far as negotiating with carriers.“There were a lot of different things just floating around,” he said. “We didn’t have master agreements in place; no national pricing at all. The pricing from carriers was just all over the place, depending on where you were.”The transformations he saw with Bid$ense were immediate. Burnett has been using the tool about every other year since its implementation at the company. Central Garden and Pet’s $19.6 million 2019 LTL bid saved the company just more than 9 percent when compared to its historical average. For Burnett, though, bid automation extends far beyond savings.“We knew that we weren’t getting the best pricing offer from our carriers just because nothing was centralized,” he continued. “We knew that if we combined everything from all these business units and paired it with one corporate offering, then it would drive some cost benefit with it.”When the company initially decided to centralize bid procurement, executives researched a number of different methodologies and technologies. In the end, though, Burnett found that Bid$ense was both widespread and well known, and that his carrier partners already knew how to use the application. Burnett also highlighted the data-cleansing process as a major benefit, saying the rigorous process ensures that carriers always return the best price.“It definitely has helped drive savings,” he said. “Any time you go out there and you drive that competitiveness with the carriers and they know they’re in a bid environment, it seems to sharpen their pencils.”Transportation procurement is an integral part of the modern supply chain. With Bid$ense, shippers can develop a strategic implementation plan that saves them time and money, but also helps them create strong relationships with their carrier partners. These carriers appreciate the solution’s data-cleansing process; when carriers receive a complete shipment history and future volume forecast, they don’t have to guess on pricing. Carriers that receive more data from shippers get a complete picture of that shipper’s freight, allowing them to accurately plan instead of simply preparing for the worst-case scenario. Clean data presented through an automated system can lead to both bigger shipment savings and a lasting partnership between carrier and customer.Whether customers are looking to streamline over-the-road transportation bidding by automating the RFP process or create an entirely new, centralized sourcing process, Bid$ense has the analytical horsepower to get the job done.SMC³ 2020 Customer Case Study

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Shippers save money, time with automated transportation bidding tools

If there’s one immutable truth in the world of logistics, it’s this: LTL is an inherently complex form of transportation. Tariffs, rates, DIM weights, transit times — it’s enough to confuse even seasoned logistics professionals. The solution to this knowledge gap has historically been on-the-job training or university supply chain education, but for a variety of reasons there is now a pressing need for third-party, remote LTL training that prepares logistics workers for transportation success. Global Scope Can Overlook Local Intricacies In the past, professionals looking to move into a supply chain career learned about the basics of supply chain from universities. However, many of these college supply chain programs are now global in scope, focusing on worldwide supply chain management instead of the intricacies of specialized domestic transportation. And even these programs, which used to be widespread, are becoming less common. LTL is not an industry of broad-brush strokes; supply chain professionals really need a pointillistic understanding of the logistics of LTL in order to excel in the industry. Accelerating Need for Dedicated LTL Education This lack of specified training put the onus on employers to prepare new hires with the LTL knowledge needed to do their jobs. Dedicated LTL study is a necessity, not a luxury. At the same time, changes in LTL and the broader supply chain world are accelerating. The reliance on e-commerce has ballooned since the start of the pandemic, and last-mile LTL shipments and related e-commerce strains on the supply chain won’t diminish once social distancing abates. That genie isn’t going back into the bottle. So supply chain employers need logistics workers that are fully versed in all aspects of the industry, ready to solve unique shipping and delivery problems based on their extensive supply chain knowledge But why care about LTL? It’s been reported that some shippers in today’s world are no longer concerned with what mode is used to ship their goods. A Multimodal Approach Ensures On-Time Delivery This mode agnosticism means supply chain stakeholders have to be well versed in all modes of transportation. As unforeseen weather events and other disruptions, such as protests, become more common, savvy logistics employees will need to be armed with familiarity of all modes, not just the most popular, to ensure that freight is delivered on time, without damage, and in the most financially expedient way possible. Offerings like SMC³’s LTL online education courses cover a wide range of topics from LTL basics and operations to more advanced concepts like pricing analytics and transportation law. The company also has plans to continually refresh content, adding new expert presenters and taking the feedback of students to make the courses even better as time goes on. Learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://logisticstrainingcenter.com/smc3-courses/" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link">SMC³’s LTL Online Education program</a>&nbsp;and view the 2021 hybrid schedule, featuring live industry experts,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.smc3.com/onlinelearning2021/" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link">here.</a>

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