<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The Department of Defense has been widely praised for its role in mobilizing men and materiel for Op</div>

The Department of Defense has been widely praised for its role in mobilizing men and materiel for Op

<div>The Department of Defense has been widely praised for its role in mobilizing men and materiel for Operation Desert Shield. Yet, the apparent success of DOD and its Military Sealift Command, in particular, was due more to luck than good management.The availability of time, rather than skillful planning or performance, allowed the sealift command to complete its job. And while it is fine for the MSC to bask in the success of the war effort, luck should not be the basis of U.S. military policy.U.S. planners benefitted immeasurably from the "phoney war" that lastedfrom Aug. 2, whenIraq invaded Kuwait, to...

The Department of Defense has been widely praised for its role in mobilizing men and materiel for Operation Desert Shield. Yet, the apparent success of DOD and its Military Sealift Command, in particular, was due more to luck than good management. The availability of time, rather than skillful planning or performance, allowed the sealift command to complete its job. And while it is fine for the MSC to bask in the success of the war effort, luck should not be the basis of U.S. military policy.U.S. planners benefitted immeasurably from the "phoney war" that lasted from Aug. 2, whenIraq invaded Kuwait, to Jan. 16, when the United States attacked Iraq. The delay was not unlike the period between Germany's attack on Poland in September 1939 and its invasion of France in June 1940. During that time, England had a chance to build up its Royal Air Force, coastal defenses and early warning systems. The "phoney war" in the gulf gave DOD the time to charter ships mostly foreign and to call up its Ready Reserve Fleet to move equipment and munitions. In truth, the United States has no coordinated public policy for rapidly deploying men and materiel by sea. Key activities are spread among several government agencies, the various branches of the armed forces and the civilian merchant marine. The sealift command's mission is a basic one: move goods in the fastest, most efficient manner possible. The gulf war proved that splitting the activities between the government and civilian sectors is not the answer. Only a single agency responsible for the overall performance of the mission and capable of bringing government agencies and the maritime industry together will work. This agency would make its decisions based on several assumptions. First, the United States cannot afford to have a military "fleet in waiting," as it has now with its Ready Reserve Fleet. To start, reserve ships are always an easy target for budget cutters. Moreover, a reserve fleet results in obsolete ships with outdated propulsion and cargo handling systems. Properly maintaining this fleet is also a problem. The requirement that government use the lowest bidder in choosing civilian ship managers has led in the past to the selection of unqualified companies. During the gulf crisis, some of these reserve vessels were late in joining the fleet and others never arrived at all. This forced the government to charter additional ships, most of which were foreign-flag. The obvious answer to the U.S. military sealift problem is to ensure a sizeable and financially sound peacetime civilian industry. The American merchant marine must be composed of strong companies carrying the natural flow of export and import commerce. It also must be large enough to provide the needed crews, with vessels capable of performing the sealift mission. These ships must be modern, diesel-driven vessels with the capability of handling container, bulk and break-bulk cargoes. They must be cost efficient and competitive in world transportation markets. And they must be able to load in primitive ports as well as modern container ports. With the use of properly designed cargo stowage equipment, a military tank can be placed in a slot normally used for a container filled with commercial cargo. By employing properly designed packaging, military cargo can be moved from point of manufacture, to storage, to point of delivery in commercial ships. During the gulf war, MSC break-bulk ships took entirely too long to load ammunition, most of it handstacked and palletized out of rail cars and warehouses at ammunition depots. It looked more like a World War II era operation than that of a modern-day sea power. How can the country improve its military sealift? First, a total public policy must be formulated to tie our national defense, maritime and international trade policies together. The United States should require that a percentage of all cargo imported into this country move in U.S.-flag ships. For the last 40 years, the United States has protected freedom of the seas. Our allies and trading partners must be willing to support the U.S. merchant marine as the price for this protection. This policy would add no more than a fraction to the cost of the average imported television or VCR. Next, we must end bureaucratic infighting among government agencies involved in maritime activities. The best example is the well-known turf battle between the Maritime Administration and the MSC over control of the Ready Reserve Fleet. Moreover, these two agencies have conflicting missions. Marad is charged with fostering the development of a viable merchant marine while the sealift command must buy transportation at the cheapest cost. This low-cost purchasing requirement at the MSC the largest shipper of outbound freight in the United States has contributed to the failure of several American flag carriers. The MSC also is the largest single employer of civilian merchant seamen. But because these seamen are covered by a government pension plan, they will not move back and forth into the truly civilian merchant marine. This creates dual workforces, which further restricts the use of an already shrinking number of seamen. Any new ships acquired by the government must be suitable for commercial operation and not be reserved just for military purposes. Until this happens, the Ready Reserve Fleet must be kept actively employed. Unfortunately, plans are being discussed in Washington to concentrate reserve fleet vessels at East Coast and Gulf ports. That will position the United States to fight the last war, not respond flexibly to the next conflict with a fleet that ties together our commercial and military sealift needs.

LUCK, NOT SKILL HELPED SEALIFT

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Maritime employers along Canada’s West Coast have a new agreement that will avert the type of labor actions seen late last year. </div>

Maritime employers along Canada’s West Coast have a new agreement that will avert the type of labor actions seen late last year.

Feature image

<div class="phx-topic">Maritime employers at the Port of Vancouver have agreed on a new contract with the union representing longshore foremen that will ensure labor peace at Canada’s biggest gateway for the next two years. The deal was reached between the two sides after Canada’s labor board said it wanted to force an agreement on employers and the union. The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association said in a statement Wednesday that it and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 both ratified a new four-year collective bargaining agreement for longshore foremen. The agreement lasts through March 2027 as its retroactive April 2023 start coincides with the expiry of the previous master contract that covered about 700 members across both Vancouver and Prince Rupert. “We look forward to working together to implement the terms of the agreement,” the BCMEA said in its statement, without providing further details of the deal. The agreement comes after <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/bc-container-ports-ready-to-lock-out-longshore-foremen-after-strike-vote-5784004">Canada’s labor board forced striking foremen in British Columbia back to work</a> last November, ruling their strike was illegal because <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/ilwu-canada-illegal-strike-ruling-averts-vancouver-shutdown-5192250">it targeted one terminal</a>, DP World Centerm, for its use of semi-automated rail cranes. When the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) sought to put the contract dispute to binding arbitration, Local 514 mounted a legal challenge to the process back in December. Contact Michael Angell at <a href="mailto:michael.angell@spglobal.com">michael.angell@spglobal.com</a> </div>

Maritime employers at the Port of Vancouver have agreed on a new contract with the union representing longshore foremen that will ensure labor peace at Canada’s biggest gateway for the next two years. The deal was reached between the two sides after Canada’s labor board said it wanted to force an agreement on employers and the union. The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association said in a statement Wednesday that it and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 both ratified a new four-year collective bargaining agreement for longshore foremen. The agreement lasts through March 2027 as its retroactive April 2023 start coincides with the expiry of the previous master contract that covered about 700 members across both Vancouver and Prince Rupert. “We look forward to working together to implement the terms of the agreement,” the BCMEA said in its statement, without providing further details of the deal. The agreement comes after Canada’s labor board forced striking foremen in British Columbia back to work last November, ruling their strike was illegal because it targeted one terminal , DP World Centerm, for its use of semi-automated rail cranes. When the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) sought to put the contract dispute to binding arbitration, Local 514 mounted a legal challenge to the process back in December. Contact Michael Angell at michael.angell@spglobal.com

Longshore labor

North American ports

BC longshore foremen reach deal with port employers on new contract

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The terminal operator said it has reduced the inventory of rail-bound containers at its Elizabeth facility to about 1,600, down from about 4,000 in early May. </div>

The terminal operator said it has reduced the inventory of rail-bound containers at its Elizabeth facility to about 1,600, down from about 4,000 in early May.

<div class="phx-topic">APM Terminals is looking to move a backlog of rail containers at its New Jersey facility stemming from the first wave of tariff-driven frontloading and the startup of the Gemini Cooperation alliance. US East Coast ports anticipate more waves of frontloading ahead, but their lesser exposure to China may mean only small surges, at best. APM said in a statement Wednesday that it has reduced the inventory of rail-bound containers at its Elizabeth terminal to about 1,600, from about 4,000 in early May. The heavy inventory resulted in dwell times for intermodal imports into the port reaching almost nine days by the end of May, according to data from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), the highest in two years of data. Rail dwell is typically three to four days. The rail inventory had been growing through spring, with the PANYNJ reporting March and April import volumes that were the highest since September and October of 2024. The number of rail lifts for containers during April was the highest since October 2022. APM said the volumes were likely driven by <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/us-in-race-to-replenish-china-stocks-to-avoid-summer-shortages-maersk-ceo-6001159">shippers concerned about ever-changing US tariff policy</a>. APM also saw heavier volume with <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/apm-to-spend-500-million-to-enhance-cargo-handling-at-elizabeth-terminal-5969027">the start of vessel services offered through the Gemini Cooperation between Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd</a>, further adding to the backlog. APM is owned by Maersk. Along with APM extending shifts and operating hours at its rail yard, Norfolk Southern also added another daily train from Elizabeth to handle the added volume. APM anticipates that rail dwell should be back to normal by mid-to-late June. “As of early June, we have seen significant improvement in rail flow,” it said. “Average rail dwell times are improving daily with higher utilization of rail assets.” <h3>Surge, but not severe </h3>Lowering rail dwell will be critical in the coming weeks. At a recent update meeting convened by PANYNJ, multiple port stakeholders said they anticipate <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/china-us-ocean-bookings-surge-since-weekend-trade-deal-hapag-lloyd-6004653">a volume surge starting around the middle of June</a> that could last through much of summer. However, the degree of that surge could be tempered by the port’s lower exposure to freight from China. “While we do expect a surge, we don’t expect it to be as severe as other gateways since China accounts for about 25% of our volume,” the PANYNJ said in a statement to the Journal of Commerce. Nonetheless, the PANYNJ said area marine terminals are evacuating as much cargo as possible to make room for more imports and may extend gate hours or open on Saturdays as needed. The Shipping Association of New York and New Jersey (SANYNJ) said in a statement that it is balancing vacation requests from longshore workers with demand from marine terminals. Thanks to stricter terms around absenteeism negotiated in local union contracts, the SANYNJ said there should be fewer concerns about longshore workers not showing up as scheduled. Some terminals have also agreed to higher staffing levels for longshore workers in some crafts in return for productivity gains on each shift. Anticipating a buildup of empty containers that would reduce truck fluidity, the PANYNJ is looking for additional empty depot space around the port. Port Director Bethann Rooney asked ocean carriers in a May letter to “implement aggressive plans to evacuate accumulated empty containers and prioritize balancing containers in the port to ensure fluidity.” “During the last major cargo surge in 2022, empty containers remained in the port for extended periods of time, which limited the trucker’s ability to efficiently return empties,” Rooney said in the letter. “This contributed to significant congestion, chassis shortages, inefficient land use, and increased and unnecessary costs for our shared stakeholders and customers.” Ports America Chief Executive Matthew Leech told the Journal of Commerce that he expects multiple waves of container frontloading through summer. The first wave of freight trying to beat the April implementation of President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs — since paused — has already reached US ports and will recede shortly. But the next round of frontloading could pick up in mid-to-late June as importers from Europe try to get ahead of the July 9 delayed start of Trump’s 50% tariff against the European Union. After that, shippers from China have until mid-August before Trump’s 145% tariffs go back into effect. “We’re at the tail end of the first frontloading from early April,” Leech said. “Now with the other tariff reprieves, it could start to accelerate through mid-August.” Leech said the surge may be constrained by the availability of empty containers in Asia for imports. The cancellation of freight bookings from China immediately after the announcement of Trump’s tariffs meant a lot of containers were used to store goods. Leech estimated a backlog of some 500,000 containers packed for shipment but delayed due to tariffs. Now with those goods finally moving, any additional purchase orders will have to wait on those empty containers being returned to their origin, he added. “The surge is coming, but the issue is equipment availability,” Leech said. “There’s a significant inventory of empties that need to be returned.” <h3>Railroad expects surge </h3>Norfolk Southern (NS) said in a statement to the Journal of Commerce that it expects a “surge in traffic in the coming weeks.” After a crane outage last week at its Landers intermodal yard in Chicago, NS said all four cranes at Landers are currently running. The <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/ns-opening-lots-in-memphis-to-address-terminal-gridlock-5242669">additional space</a>, <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/norfolk-southern-adds-to-southeast-intermodal-capacity-with-new-cranes-5217288">increased crane capacity</a> and <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/norfolk-southern-debuts-atlanta-appointment-system-for-import-loads-5222077">appointment system</a> at its intermodal yards should be able to handle the surge, it said. “NS is in a strong position to manage through the anticipated volume fluctuations,” the railroad said. “We have taken the lessons we learned during past disruptions and will leverage them in the coming months.” Other East Coast ports, though, are taking concerns about a cargo surge in stride. A spokesperson for the Port of Virginia told the Journal of Commerce the terminals there are running at about 60% to 65% capacity, so there’s room for more imports. Moreover, China only represents about 20% of the port’s inbound volumes. A spokesperson for the South Carolina Ports Authority told the Journal of Commerce that while it does expect increased volumes from China, operations at Charleston are fluid. “We feel comfortable to handle what’s coming,” the spokesperson said. Contact Michael Angell at <a href="mailto:michael.angell@spglobal.com ">michael.angell@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

APM Terminals is looking to move a backlog of rail containers at its New Jersey facility stemming from the first wave of tariff-driven frontloading and the startup of the Gemini Cooperation alliance. US East Coast ports anticipate more waves of frontloading ahead, but their lesser exposure to China may mean only small surges, at best. APM said in a statement Wednesday that it has reduced the inventory of rail-bound containers at its Elizabeth terminal to about 1,600, from about 4,000 in early May. The heavy inventory resulted in dwell times for intermodal imports into the port reaching almost nine days by the end of May, according to data from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), the highest in two years of data. Rail dwell is typically three to four days. The rail inventory had been growing through spring, with the PANYNJ reporting March and April import volumes that were the highest since September and October of 2024. The number of rail lifts for containers during April was the highest since October 2022. APM said the volumes were likely driven by shippers concerned about ever-changing US tariff policy . APM also saw heavier volume with the start of vessel services offered through the Gemini Cooperation between Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd , further adding to the backlog. APM is owned by Maersk. Along with APM extending shifts and operating hours at its rail yard, Norfolk Southern also added another daily train from Elizabeth to handle the added volume. APM anticipates that rail dwell should be back to normal by mid-to-late June. “As of early June, we have seen significant improvement in rail flow,” it said. “Average rail dwell times are improving daily with higher utilization of rail assets.” Surge, but not severe Lowering rail dwell will be critical in the coming weeks. At a recent update meeting convened by PANYNJ, multiple port stakeholders said they anticipate a volume surge starting around the middle of June that could last through much of summer. However, the degree of that surge could be tempered by the port’s lower exposure to freight from China. “While we do expect a surge, we don’t expect it to be as severe as other gateways since China accounts for about 25% of our volume,” the PANYNJ said in a statement to the Journal of Commerce. Nonetheless, the PANYNJ said area marine terminals are evacuating as much cargo as possible to make room for more imports and may extend gate hours or open on Saturdays as needed. The Shipping Association of New York and New Jersey (SANYNJ) said in a statement that it is balancing vacation requests from longshore workers with demand from marine terminals. Thanks to stricter terms around absenteeism negotiated in local union contracts, the SANYNJ said there should be fewer concerns about longshore workers not showing up as scheduled. Some terminals have also agreed to higher staffing levels for longshore workers in some crafts in return for productivity gains on each shift. Anticipating a buildup of empty containers that would reduce truck fluidity, the PANYNJ is looking for additional empty depot space around the port. Port Director Bethann Rooney asked ocean carriers in a May letter to “implement aggressive plans to evacuate accumulated empty containers and prioritize balancing containers in the port to ensure fluidity.” “During the last major cargo surge in 2022, empty containers remained in the port for extended periods of time, which limited the trucker’s ability to efficiently return empties,” Rooney said in the letter. “This contributed to significant congestion, chassis shortages, inefficient land use, and increased and unnecessary costs for our shared stakeholders and customers.” Ports America Chief Executive Matthew Leech told the Journal of Commerce that he expects multiple waves of container frontloading through summer. The first wave of freight trying to beat the April implementation of President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs — since paused — has already reached US ports and will recede shortly. But the next round of frontloading could pick up in mid-to-late June as importers from Europe try to get ahead of the July 9 delayed start of Trump’s 50% tariff against the European Union. After that, shippers from China have until mid-August before Trump’s 145% tariffs go back into effect. “We’re at the tail end of the first frontloading from early April,” Leech said. “Now with the other tariff reprieves, it could start to accelerate through mid-August.” Leech said the surge may be constrained by the availability of empty containers in Asia for imports. The cancellation of freight bookings from China immediately after the announcement of Trump’s tariffs meant a lot of containers were used to store goods. Leech estimated a backlog of some 500,000 containers packed for shipment but delayed due to tariffs. Now with those goods finally moving, any additional purchase orders will have to wait on those empty containers being returned to their origin, he added. “The surge is coming, but the issue is equipment availability,” Leech said. “There’s a significant inventory of empties that need to be returned.” Railroad expects surge Norfolk Southern (NS) said in a statement to the Journal of Commerce that it expects a “surge in traffic in the coming weeks.” After a crane outage last week at its Landers intermodal yard in Chicago, NS said all four cranes at Landers are currently running. The additional space , increased crane capacity and appointment system at its intermodal yards should be able to handle the surge, it said. “NS is in a strong position to manage through the anticipated volume fluctuations,” the railroad said. “We have taken the lessons we learned during past disruptions and will leverage them in the coming months.” Other East Coast ports, though, are taking concerns about a cargo surge in stride. A spokesperson for the Port of Virginia told the Journal of Commerce the terminals there are running at about 60% to 65% capacity, so there’s room for more imports. Moreover, China only represents about 20% of the port’s inbound volumes. A spokesperson for the South Carolina Ports Authority told the Journal of Commerce that while it does expect increased volumes from China, operations at Charleston are fluid. “We feel comfortable to handle what’s coming,” the spokesperson said. Contact Michael Angell at michael.angell@spglobal.com .

Container lines

Marine terminals

Intermodal providers

APM clearing out New Jersey rail container backlog ahead of a summer surge

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The shift of some capacity to the Asia-US trade to meet surging demand there is contributing to tighter vessel space in the ECSA market, forwarders tell the Journal of Commerce. </div>

The shift of some capacity to the Asia-US trade to meet surging demand there is contributing to tighter vessel space in the ECSA market, forwarders tell the Journal of Commerce.

<div class="phx-topic">Shippers moving cargo from Asia to the East Coast of South America (ECSA) are dealing with peak season delays and a doubling of container spot rates in recent weeks amid equipment imbalances and congestion at major destination ports. The shift of some capacity to the Asia-US trade to meet surging demand there is also contributing to tighter vessel space in the ECSA market, forwarders tell the Journal of Commerce. Congestion at the Brazilian ports of Itapoa, Santos, Rio Grande and Pecem and at Buenos Aires in Argentina, has soaked up newly deployed tonnage, pushing container spot rates to $4,650 per FEU, up from $2,360 per FEU, in just the last two weeks on the eastbound leg of the trade, according to data from Platts, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global. Forwarders say inbound space is booked for at least the next two weeks. Marcelo Machado, a freight forwarder at CSS Logistics in Brazil, said vessel slots for the first half of June were bought quickly as blank sailings exacerbated an already significant capacity reduction. “Blank sailings had a great deal to do with the situation,” said Machado. “Then carriers like Hyundai started directing vessels to the US. There was a lot of demand and carriers had to redirect vessels to the US.” <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="3255cb79-f66b-43bf-b624-083a7fa64a93"></dynamic-object></div>Container lines are seeking peak season surcharges (PSSs) on contract rates valid for more than 90 days. CMA CGM said on May 30 it would impose a $2,000-per-container surcharge on all cargo from Asia to ECSA from July 1 until further notice. The carrier said another $1,000-per-container surcharge would be introduced June 7, followed by a third surcharge of $2,000 per container on June 22. “Spot rates have been going up week by week,” Mauricio Fisch, director of Brazil logistics company Ocean Express, told the Journal of Commerce. <h3>Equipment, congestion difficulties </h3>As the Asia-ECSA trade is in peak season, rate increases have been further bolstered by equipment scarcity and congestion at the key Brazilian ports, which are experiencing “slightly disrupted operations,” according to Kuehne + Nagle’s SeaExplorer platform. Buenos Aires is seeing berthing delays of one to three days due to congestion, while Rio Grande, Itapoa, Santos and Pecem are seeing average vessel waiting times of about two to three days, said Kuehne + Nagle. Forwarders say congestion has been getting progressively worse since January, when an ongoing strike by Brazilian customs workers began, increasing cargo delays. “The customs [workers] are intensifying the strike and won’t [serve] any activities other than priority shipments that are time critical,” said another Brazil forwarder. Forwarders also report ECSA equipment issues, noting a lack of TEUs from Zim Integrated Shipping Services across all Brazilian ports and Cosco Shipping lacking volume at Rio de Janeiro. Cosco and Zim declined to comment. Another forwarder said carriers are prioritizing more lucrative spot market shipments over contracted cargo, “causing a lot of cargo to roll or miss equipment availability, leading to delays and forcing [later] bookings [at] higher rates.” <h3>Capacity management </h3>Forwarders say carriers are aggressively managing capacity, driven partly by volatile North American demand. HMM canceled several calls on its Far East-India-East Latin America service due to vessels being redeployed on the Asia-US trade, Fisch said. Asia-ECSA also saw more May blanks, with 12.6% of the total capacity blanked and 250,000 TEUs of active capacity, according to maritime visibility platform eeSea. In April, only 2.8% of the lane’s capacity was blanked. Projections from eeSea show capacity is due to increase on the trade this month. While most carriers increased capacity on direct services quarter over quarter, Hapag-Lloyd and Cosco were outliers, choosing to remove approximately one-third and one-fifth of capacity, respectively, in the second quarter compared with the first quarter, according to MDS Transmodal. <h3>West Coast also seeing impacts </h3>Seeing similar increases, the Platts index shows North Asia to West Coast South America (WCSA) rates rose 63% in the past two weeks to reach $3,700 per FEU amid equipment and space issues, with forwarders reporting rates as high as $5,000 per FEU. CMA CGM said it would impose two PSSs in June for cargo from Asia to WCSA, Central America and the Caribbean — $1,000 per FEU on June 7 and $2,000 per FEU on June 22. Meanwhile, Valparaiso in Chile and Buenaventura in Colombia are considered “slightly disrupted” by SeaExplorer, with vessel waiting times of about three and four days on average, respectively. Peru’s Port of Callao is “heavily disrupted” due to local street closures, which could increase port entry times by 30%, Kuehne + Nagle said. Additionally, a forwarder noted equipment scarcity for all container equipment from CMA CGM throughout WCSA. The carrier declined to comment. Contact Laura Robb at <a href="mailto:Laura.Robb@spglobal.com">laura.robb@spglobal.com</a>.  Contact Keith Wallis at <a href="mailto: keithwallis@hotmail.com">keithwallis@hotmail.com</a>. </div>

Shippers moving cargo from Asia to the East Coast of South America (ECSA) are dealing with peak season delays and a doubling of container spot rates in recent weeks amid equipment imbalances and congestion at major destination ports. The shift of some capacity to the Asia-US trade to meet surging demand there is also contributing to tighter vessel space in the ECSA market, forwarders tell the Journal of Commerce. Congestion at the Brazilian ports of Itapoa, Santos, Rio Grande and Pecem and at Buenos Aires in Argentina, has soaked up newly deployed tonnage, pushing container spot rates to $4,650 per FEU, up from $2,360 per FEU, in just the last two weeks on the eastbound leg of the trade, according to data from Platts, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global. Forwarders say inbound space is booked for at least the next two weeks. Marcelo Machado, a freight forwarder at CSS Logistics in Brazil, said vessel slots for the first half of June were bought quickly as blank sailings exacerbated an already significant capacity reduction. “Blank sailings had a great deal to do with the situation,” said Machado. “Then carriers like Hyundai started directing vessels to the US. There was a lot of demand and carriers had to redirect vessels to the US.” Container lines are seeking peak season surcharges (PSSs) on contract rates valid for more than 90 days. CMA CGM said on May 30 it would impose a $2,000-per-container surcharge on all cargo from Asia to ECSA from July 1 until further notice. The carrier said another $1,000-per-container surcharge would be introduced June 7, followed by a third surcharge of $2,000 per container on June 22. “Spot rates have been going up week by week,” Mauricio Fisch, director of Brazil logistics company Ocean Express, told the Journal of Commerce. Equipment, congestion difficulties As the Asia-ECSA trade is in peak season, rate increases have been further bolstered by equipment scarcity and congestion at the key Brazilian ports, which are experiencing “slightly disrupted operations,” according to Kuehne + Nagle’s SeaExplorer platform. Buenos Aires is seeing berthing delays of one to three days due to congestion, while Rio Grande, Itapoa, Santos and Pecem are seeing average vessel waiting times of about two to three days, said Kuehne + Nagle. Forwarders say congestion has been getting progressively worse since January, when an ongoing strike by Brazilian customs workers began, increasing cargo delays. “The customs [workers] are intensifying the strike and won’t [serve] any activities other than priority shipments that are time critical,” said another Brazil forwarder. Forwarders also report ECSA equipment issues, noting a lack of TEUs from Zim Integrated Shipping Services across all Brazilian ports and Cosco Shipping lacking volume at Rio de Janeiro. Cosco and Zim declined to comment. Another forwarder said carriers are prioritizing more lucrative spot market shipments over contracted cargo, “causing a lot of cargo to roll or miss equipment availability, leading to delays and forcing [later] bookings [at] higher rates.” Capacity management Forwarders say carriers are aggressively managing capacity, driven partly by volatile North American demand. HMM canceled several calls on its Far East-India-East Latin America service due to vessels being redeployed on the Asia-US trade, Fisch said. Asia-ECSA also saw more May blanks, with 12.6% of the total capacity blanked and 250,000 TEUs of active capacity, according to maritime visibility platform eeSea. In April, only 2.8% of the lane’s capacity was blanked. Projections from eeSea show capacity is due to increase on the trade this month. While most carriers increased capacity on direct services quarter over quarter, Hapag-Lloyd and Cosco were outliers, choosing to remove approximately one-third and one-fifth of capacity, respectively, in the second quarter compared with the first quarter, according to MDS Transmodal. West Coast also seeing impacts Seeing similar increases, the Platts index shows North Asia to West Coast South America (WCSA) rates rose 63% in the past two weeks to reach $3,700 per FEU amid equipment and space issues, with forwarders reporting rates as high as $5,000 per FEU. CMA CGM said it would impose two PSSs in June for cargo from Asia to WCSA, Central America and the Caribbean — $1,000 per FEU on June 7 and $2,000 per FEU on June 22. Meanwhile, Valparaiso in Chile and Buenaventura in Colombia are considered “slightly disrupted” by SeaExplorer, with vessel waiting times of about three and four days on average, respectively. Peru’s Port of Callao is “heavily disrupted” due to local street closures, which could increase port entry times by 30%, Kuehne + Nagle said. Additionally, a forwarder noted equipment scarcity for all container equipment from CMA CGM throughout WCSA. The carrier declined to comment. Contact Laura Robb at laura.robb@spglobal.com .  Contact Keith Wallis at keithwallis@hotmail.com .

Maritime

Container Shipping News

Port News

Forwarding

International ports

China-ECSA spot rates climb amid bullish market pressure

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The hub in northern Germany is expecting rapid volume growth for the rest of the year following a record first quarter spurred on by the launch of the carrier alliance. </div>

The hub in northern Germany is expecting rapid volume growth for the rest of the year following a record first quarter spurred on by the launch of the carrier alliance.

<div class="phx-topic">MUNICH — The establishment of Gemini Cooperation’s hub in Wilhelmshaven has been “a game changer” for the north German port, with container volume rising rapidly since the carrier alliance was launched in February. A record 300,000 TEUs crossed the port’s wharves in the first quarter, and with the Gemini business of partners Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd being directed through Wilhelmshaven, the volume will continue to grow rapidly through the year, according to Marc-Oliver Hauswald, CEO of JadeWeserPort Wilhelmshaven. “In Germany, Gemini has two hubs, one in Wilhelmshaven and the other in Bremerhaven, so the biggest vessels in their network are now coming to these ports,” Hauswald told the Journal of Commerce at the Transport Logistic exhibition in Munich this week. “This is a game changer for us.” JadeWeserPort is responsible for the marketing and management of the industrial and logistics areas in Wilhelmshaven. “If you multiply first quarter volume by four quarters, you get to 1.2 million TEUs, and with the first Gemini vessel starting in the middle of February, we are expecting to handle over 1 million TEUs,” Hauswald said. The port handled 840,000 TEUs in 2024, and although Hauswald said it was “not very much,” he noted it was a record annual result for the gateway. Wilhelmshaven is Germany’s only deepwater container port. Hapag-Lloyd has held a 30% stake in the container terminal there and a 50% stake in its rail terminal since 2022, with the remaining shares held by Hamburg-based Eurogate, the operator of the container terminal. Another driver of volume for Wilhelmshaven is the China-Europe Express service that provides a direct service with Ningbo routed via the Suez Canal. It was launched by Kawa Shipping in January and offers a 26-day transit time. Kawa started with one 5,000-TEU vessel in January, adding a second last week; a third is scheduled to join the fleet by the end of the year. “The capacity of the vessels are not high compared to the 24,000-TEU ships on Asia-Europe, but even when the big ships call, they have container exchanges similar to 5,000 TEUs, so it is comparable,” Hauswald said. <h3>Automation plans </h3>Automation features prominently in the plans for Wilhelmshaven. The existing port was designed for a capacity of 2.7 million TEUs, but under Eurogate’s automation plans, the handling capacity will increase to 4.5 million TEUs. “In the future, maybe in five or 10 years, the major shipping lines will only go to the ports that have automated systems,” Hauswald said. “In Asia, you can see more and more ports becoming automated because it’s a guarantee of fast and efficient operations at a lower cost.” Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

MUNICH — The establishment of Gemini Cooperation’s hub in Wilhelmshaven has been “a game changer” for the north German port, with container volume rising rapidly since the carrier alliance was launched in February. A record 300,000 TEUs crossed the port’s wharves in the first quarter, and with the Gemini business of partners Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd being directed through Wilhelmshaven, the volume will continue to grow rapidly through the year, according to Marc-Oliver Hauswald, CEO of JadeWeserPort Wilhelmshaven. “In Germany, Gemini has two hubs, one in Wilhelmshaven and the other in Bremerhaven, so the biggest vessels in their network are now coming to these ports,” Hauswald told the Journal of Commerce at the Transport Logistic exhibition in Munich this week. “This is a game changer for us.” JadeWeserPort is responsible for the marketing and management of the industrial and logistics areas in Wilhelmshaven. “If you multiply first quarter volume by four quarters, you get to 1.2 million TEUs, and with the first Gemini vessel starting in the middle of February, we are expecting to handle over 1 million TEUs,” Hauswald said. The port handled 840,000 TEUs in 2024, and although Hauswald said it was “not very much,” he noted it was a record annual result for the gateway. Wilhelmshaven is Germany’s only deepwater container port. Hapag-Lloyd has held a 30% stake in the container terminal there and a 50% stake in its rail terminal since 2022, with the remaining shares held by Hamburg-based Eurogate, the operator of the container terminal. Another driver of volume for Wilhelmshaven is the China-Europe Express service that provides a direct service with Ningbo routed via the Suez Canal. It was launched by Kawa Shipping in January and offers a 26-day transit time. Kawa started with one 5,000-TEU vessel in January, adding a second last week; a third is scheduled to join the fleet by the end of the year. “The capacity of the vessels are not high compared to the 24,000-TEU ships on Asia-Europe, but even when the big ships call, they have container exchanges similar to 5,000 TEUs, so it is comparable,” Hauswald said. Automation plans Automation features prominently in the plans for Wilhelmshaven. The existing port was designed for a capacity of 2.7 million TEUs, but under Eurogate’s automation plans, the handling capacity will increase to 4.5 million TEUs. “In the future, maybe in five or 10 years, the major shipping lines will only go to the ports that have automated systems,” Hauswald said. “In Asia, you can see more and more ports becoming automated because it’s a guarantee of fast and efficient operations at a lower cost.” Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

Port infrastructure

Gemini ‘game changer’ for Wilhelmshaven as volume soars

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Lower LTL volumes are likely in the coming months, but pricing remains elevated, according to producer price index data. </div>

Lower LTL volumes are likely in the coming months, but pricing remains elevated, according to producer price index data.

<div class="phx-topic">Soft demand for less-than-truckload (LTL) freight and service in the US appears poised to get even softer, as publicly owned LTL providers prepare to release mid-quarter market reports. Shippers should expect volumes to vary across carriers, but pricing is likely to stay at its current elevated levels, with the US long-distance LTL producer price index (PPI) at 259 for the past three months, a record high and about 5% higher than a year ago. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="9014abeb-369b-4328-97ae-ee1793647b6e"></dynamic-object></div>Shipments and tonnage both decreased year over year in May at Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL), the <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/journal-of-commerce-rankings-us-ltl-sector-defies-soft-demand-regains-traction-6010008">second-largest US LTL trucking company</a>, ODFL said Wednesday. ODFL reported an 8.4% decrease in LTL tonnage and a 6.8% drop in LTL shipments per day Revenue fell 5.8% year over year in May, but LTL revenue per hundredweight, excluding fuel surcharges, rose 5.6%. ODFL remains one of the most disciplined LTL carriers when it comes to pricing, and its operating ratio — a measure of profitability — is in the 70s. A drop in LTL revenue, or shipments, may not point to a broader market slump, but may reflect a carrier’s refusal to lower rates to get freight at the expense of profitability. Last year, the aggregate LTL shipment count among the Top 25 LTL Carriers rose 2.5%. The drop in demand ODFL saw in May comes as US manufacturers cope with high input inventories and fluctuations in orders as vendors frontload freight to avoid high US tariffs. Industrial manufacturing makes up the bulk of LTL freight in the US. The S&amp;P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 52 in May, up from 50.2 in April and the fifth straight month the PMI has been above 50, the breaking point dividing expansion from contraction. But that’s not necessarily a sign of industrial health. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="56be088e-5b54-4d09-add3-f841e65711ec"></dynamic-object></div>“The rise in the PMI during May masks worrying developments under the hood of the US manufacturing economy,” said Chris Williamson, S&amp;P Global’s chief business economist. “While growth of new orders picked up and suppliers were reportedly busier as companies built up their inventory levels at an unprecedented rate, the common theme was a temporary surge in demand as manufacturers and their customers worry about supply issues and rising prices,” Williamson said in a statement this week. That surge in demand and inventories also coincides with frontloading of goods from China and elsewhere during a pair of 90-day pauses on higher US tariffs, pauses that will expire in July and August, barring further extensions or the successful negotiation of trade deals. While the S&amp;P Global monthly US Manufacturing PMI has shown tepid expansion in 2025, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) PMI has been in contraction for four months, dropping 0.2 percentage point in May to 48.5. The ISM inventories index dropped into contraction after three positive months as businesses completed frontloading of goods ahead of tariffs, ISM said. Contact William B. Cassidy at <a href="mailto:bill.cassidy@spglobal.com">bill.cassidy@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

Soft demand for less-than-truckload (LTL) freight and service in the US appears poised to get even softer, as publicly owned LTL providers prepare to release mid-quarter market reports. Shippers should expect volumes to vary across carriers, but pricing is likely to stay at its current elevated levels, with the US long-distance LTL producer price index (PPI) at 259 for the past three months, a record high and about 5% higher than a year ago. Shipments and tonnage both decreased year over year in May at Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL), the second-largest US LTL trucking company , ODFL said Wednesday. ODFL reported an 8.4% decrease in LTL tonnage and a 6.8% drop in LTL shipments per day Revenue fell 5.8% year over year in May, but LTL revenue per hundredweight, excluding fuel surcharges, rose 5.6%. ODFL remains one of the most disciplined LTL carriers when it comes to pricing, and its operating ratio — a measure of profitability — is in the 70s. A drop in LTL revenue, or shipments, may not point to a broader market slump, but may reflect a carrier’s refusal to lower rates to get freight at the expense of profitability. Last year, the aggregate LTL shipment count among the Top 25 LTL Carriers rose 2.5%. The drop in demand ODFL saw in May comes as US manufacturers cope with high input inventories and fluctuations in orders as vendors frontload freight to avoid high US tariffs. Industrial manufacturing makes up the bulk of LTL freight in the US. The S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 52 in May, up from 50.2 in April and the fifth straight month the PMI has been above 50, the breaking point dividing expansion from contraction. But that’s not necessarily a sign of industrial health. “The rise in the PMI during May masks worrying developments under the hood of the US manufacturing economy,” said Chris Williamson, S&P Global’s chief business economist. “While growth of new orders picked up and suppliers were reportedly busier as companies built up their inventory levels at an unprecedented rate, the common theme was a temporary surge in demand as manufacturers and their customers worry about supply issues and rising prices,” Williamson said in a statement this week. That surge in demand and inventories also coincides with frontloading of goods from China and elsewhere during a pair of 90-day pauses on higher US tariffs, pauses that will expire in July and August, barring further extensions or the successful negotiation of trade deals. While the S&P Global monthly US Manufacturing PMI has shown tepid expansion in 2025, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) PMI has been in contraction for four months, dropping 0.2 percentage point in May to 48.5. The ISM inventories index dropped into contraction after three positive months as businesses completed frontloading of goods ahead of tariffs, ISM said. Contact William B. Cassidy at bill.cassidy@spglobal.com .

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Weak US industrial activity casts cold light on LTL demand outlook

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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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Filling the Supply Chain Education Gap with LTL Education Courses

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