<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">US chemical producers knew a sector boom would create logistics challenges. But what they did not anticipate was other growing sectors putting extreme pressure on US trucking as well, with a huge spillover to intermodal rail.</div>

US chemical producers knew a sector boom would create logistics challenges. But what they did not anticipate was other growing sectors putting extreme pressure on US trucking as well, with a huge spillover to intermodal rail.

<div><div><img></div>US chemical producers knew a sector boom would create logistics challenges. But what they did not anticipate was other growing sectors putting extreme pressure on US trucking as well, with a huge spillover to intermodal rail. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.US chemical producers have always understood that the current investment boom would create logistical challenges, but steady economic growth is compounding the problem. Rail remains a sore point, while <a>US trucking has become increasingly scarce</a>and unreliable. With the system maxing out, shipping costs have shot up.<div><img></div><a>Click to enlarge</a>The Cass Truckload Linehaul Index, a measure of truckload pricing published by Cass Information Systems,...

US chemical producers knew a sector boom would create logistics challenges. But what they did not anticipate was other growing sectors putting extreme pressure on US trucking as well, with a huge spillover to intermodal rail. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com. US chemical producers have always understood that the current investment boom would create logistical challenges, but steady economic growth is compounding the problem. Rail remains a sore point, while US trucking has become increasingly scarce and unreliable. With the system maxing out, shipping costs have shot up. Click to enlarge The Cass Truckload Linehaul Index, a measure of truckload pricing published by Cass Information Systems, shows that the situation is not improving. In June, the index increased 9.5 percnet year over year, for a 15th consecutive monthly gain. “We are increasing our realized contract pricing forecast for 2018 from a range of 6 to 8 percent to a range of 6 to 12 percent, and current data is clearly signaling that the risk to our estimate may be to the upside,” says Donald Broughton, principal managing partner of Broughton Capital and a contributor to the index. “We believe that this is the strongest normalized percentage level of truckload pricing achieved since deregulation.” Producers have begun to pass the cost along. On April 25, Oxea announced a freight adjustment, citing “escalating costs associated with securing truck carrier capacity. ” BASF followed on May 21. “It has become increasingly difficult to meet growing market demand in the current transportation environment,” said Teressa Szelest, president, market and business development, at BASF. “We are implementing additional supply models and other means to secure the freight capacity that allows us to provide our customers with the products they need, when they need them.” Celanese made a similar announcement on June 8. Pressure on transport infrastructure A crunch of some sort had always been in the cards, given the number of plants being built in the United States. To get ahead of the issue, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) commissioned a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), “Transporting Growth: Delivering a chemical manufacturing renaissance.” Published in March 2017, it projected an additional 1.8 million annual shipments by 2020 across all modes of transportation. PwC estimated that transportation delays would result in excess inventories costing $22 billion in working capital, that logistical inefficiencies would drive up operating costs by $29 billion over a 10-year period, and that additional investments in the equipment and infrastructure necessary to handle the increased congestion and delays would cost $23 billion. Click to enlarge The costs could be even higher, says ACC’s Scott Jensen. “Those estimates were based on investment numbers of $160 billion and 260 projects,” he notes. “The figure is now closer to $200 billion and 325 projects.” The projects include a host of world-scale polyethylene (PE) plants, mostly located on the US Gulf Coast in Texas or Louisiana. The first six, totaling almost 3.6 million metric tons per year of production capacity, began operation in late 2017, and at least eight more totaling 3 million metric tons per year of capacity are slated for start-up by early 2020. PE sales ticked upward just 3 percent year over year during the first quarter of 2018, but as the new plants ramped up, volume surged 16 percent year over year during the second quarter to nearly 5 million metric tons, according to data from the ACC. Production has increased throughout the US chemical industry as well, driven by both new capacity and solid demand, says ACC. After a slow start during the first quarter, output increased 2.3 percent year over year during the second quarter, and ACC expects 3.4 percent for the year. Delivering this product might have been easier a few years ago, but production has meanwhile rebounded throughout the industrial sector. Freight capacity tightened significantly in 2017, and logistics now seems to be a strong seller’s market, according to the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals’ “2018 State of Logistics Report,” published in June. “United States business logistics costs rose 6.2 percent last year, following a rare decline in 2016,” says the report’s author, firm A.T. Kearney. “Transportation led the way with a 7 percent overall increase, with costs running well above inflation for every shipping mode except waterborne freight. Private or dedicated fleet and rail saw the biggest hikes as shippers scrambled to lock up capacity.” US truck driver shortage: longstanding, national “No sector saw more change last year than motor freight, where severe capacity pressures sparked sharp rate hikes,” A.T. Kearney notes. The problem is mainly a labor shortage. According to a recent report in The Washington Post, the industry is short 63,000 drivers, and with annual turnover at 94 percent, uncertainty is rife. That has been bad news for US chemical producers, who relied on trucks to deliver 480 million metric tons of product in 2017 — 55 percent of all shipments, according to figures from the ACC. US chemical producers sent 20 percent of shipments by rail in 2017, but prices are increasing there also. “As cargo shifted to rail from trucks, railroads were able to raise prices sharply , reversing a 2016 decline,” says A.T. Kearney. The Cass Intermodal Index has reflected the change, leaping 8.8 percent year over year during the second quarter. “Tight truckload capacity and higher diesel prices are creating incremental demand and pricing power for domestic intermodal,” explains Broughton. Chemical rail volume continues to swell, according to data from the Association of American Railroads . Railcar loadings, which exclude intermodal, increased 3 percent year over year during the first quarter, and 4.5 percent year over year during the second quarter. Total freight rail likewise surged, rising 3.7 percent year over year during the first half, with most of the gain from intermodal traffic, which increased 6 percent year over year. Waterborne shipping, unlike truck and rail, has not yet become more expensive. “Water shippers capitalized on lax pricing discipline among carriers to negotiate 2018 contracts at or below last year’s rates,” says A.T. Kearney. “Industry fundamentals are expected to balance out this year, with higher fuel prices likely to boost shipping costs.” However, there are other issues to consider, particularly where to load for export. Geographically, the Port of Houston is the logical point of embarkation for the millions of tons of additional PE resin to be produced on the Texas coast. It already handles nearly half of US resin exports, but it is crowded. To improve access, the state of Texas last year enacted a law allowing heavier trucks along designated corridors in the region. The port itself has spent over $1 billion on improvements. East Coast, West Coast ports benefit Even so, ports on the east and west coasts of the United States have been attracting a greater share of the business. During the first five months of 2018, resin volume through the Port of Charleston, South Carolina, increased 15 percent year over year. The port accounted for a 6.7 percent share of US resin exports during the period, up from 5.5 percent for the whole of 2017. Other key port alternatives on the east coast are Savannah, Georgia, and Norfolk, Virginia, and on the west coast Long Beach, California. Click to enlarge To facilitate these options, warehouse operator Katoen Natie has built a plastics packaging facility in Dallas, Texas, where hopper cars of resin pellets can be received, repackaged to order, and reloaded into intermodal containers for shipment by Union Pacific Railroad , which has a nearby intermodal terminal. UP calls the service “Dallas to Dock." “Houston will take about 50 percent of total exports, but we feel there need to be alternatives, and Dallas could be a great one,” says Frank Vingerhoets, president, petrochemicals, who spoke in March at IHS Markit’s World Petrochemical Conference. Katoen Natie already operates two facilities in Houston. Together they total almost 5 million square feet, with another 5 million available for build out. They also have a combined 1,300 railcar spots, with options for more. “What is very important is having the capacity to store railcars,” he notes. Fog or any other kind of port delay can quickly create a backlog. The initial phase of the new Dallas facility has an area of 250,000 square feet and 220 railcar spots, but 2.5 million square feet and 600 railcar spots are planned. This article originally appeared on ChemWeek.com a sister title to JOC.com within IHS Markit. ** RELATED STORIES: Delayed US resin export boom arrives this year Houston packagers ready for resin boom

Trucking News

Rail News

Port News

US chem sector jockeys for trucking capacity

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Within a span of roughly 24 hours, one court decision blocked the US tariffs and a separate ruling restored the tariffs through June 9, if not longer. </div>

Within a span of roughly 24 hours, one court decision blocked the US tariffs and a separate ruling restored the tariffs through June 9, if not longer.

Feature image

<div class="phx-topic">US importers ended Thursday with little clarity on the permanence of sweeping tariffs after an appeals court allowed President Donald Trump’s tax to go forward for a least a week-and-a-half. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s decision Thursday to pause the International Trade Court’s <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/federal-court-ruling-blocking-tariffs-resets-shipping-outlook-6013402">rejection of the tariffs Wednesday</a>, citing a lack of constitutionality, comes in the early days of peak season and with inbound capacity from Asia generally booked through next month.The appeals court laid out a briefing schedule through June 9 but did not detail its reasoning for the pause.The Trump administration has said it is also looking at other ways to maintain tariffs, suggesting importers won’t have clarity on the permanence of tariffs in the foreseeable future. The rulings don’t apply to US tariffs of aluminum and steel, which put downward pressure on US breakbulk demand.Amid a flurry of mixed signals, smaller shippers may be gauging whether to rush or slow shipments, logistic consultant Kevin Parkerson told the Journal of Commerce. But, he said, the largest retailers are keeping their strategies consistent with how they’ve operated since tariffs were announced in April: maintain imports to keep goods on shelves, whatever the tariff rate. US importers had little time to change their booking plans given that the two rulings occurred within roughly 24 hours of each other. Before this week, container lines warned that container space from Asia to the US <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/ocean-carriers-bring-in-more-trans-pacific-container-services-amid-rate-surge-6012725">would be tight through June</a> as they worked to restore capacity removed following the plunge in bookings out of China. The peak season ahead of the winter holidays generally begins in June and runs through August, though it has moved to other windows in recent years due to various external dynamics. US retail imports are <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/us-retailers-project-first-year-over-year-import-cut-in-19-months-as-tariffs-bite-6001817">forecast to end this month with the first decline</a> in more than a year and a half, according to Global Port Tracker (GPT) published in early May by Hackett Associates on behalf of the National Retail Federation. US imports will end May down 13% May 2024, and will mark the first year-over-year decline in 19 months. </div>

US importers ended Thursday with little clarity on the permanence of sweeping tariffs after an appeals court allowed President Donald Trump’s tax to go forward for a least a week-and-a-half. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s decision Thursday to pause the International Trade Court’s rejection of the tariffs Wednesday , citing a lack of constitutionality, comes in the early days of peak season and with inbound capacity from Asia generally booked through next month. The appeals court laid out a briefing schedule through June 9 but did not detail its reasoning for the pause. The Trump administration has said it is also looking at other ways to maintain tariffs, suggesting importers won’t have clarity on the permanence of tariffs in the foreseeable future. The rulings don’t apply to US tariffs of aluminum and steel, which put downward pressure on US breakbulk demand. Amid a flurry of mixed signals, smaller shippers may be gauging whether to rush or slow shipments, logistic consultant Kevin Parkerson told the Journal of Commerce. But, he said, the largest retailers are keeping their strategies consistent with how they’ve operated since tariffs were announced in April: maintain imports to keep goods on shelves, whatever the tariff rate. US importers had little time to change their booking plans given that the two rulings occurred within roughly 24 hours of each other. Before this week, container lines warned that container space from Asia to the US would be tight through June as they worked to restore capacity removed following the plunge in bookings out of China. The peak season ahead of the winter holidays generally begins in June and runs through August, though it has moved to other windows in recent years due to various external dynamics. US retail imports are forecast to end this month with the first decline in more than a year and a half, according to Global Port Tracker (GPT) published in early May by Hackett Associates on behalf of the National Retail Federation. US imports will end May down 13% May 2024, and will mark the first year-over-year decline in 19 months.

Maritime

Trans-Atlantic

Forwarding

Trans-Pacific

North American ports

Container lines

Appeals court temporarily restores US tariffs

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The industry says consistency and communication are the key to minimizing disruption to port traffic during the project to repair the deck of the Vincent Thomas Bridge.</div>

The industry says consistency and communication are the key to minimizing disruption to port traffic during the project to repair the deck of the Vincent Thomas Bridge.

<div class="phx-topic">The state of California’s plan to minimize disruption of truck traffic serving the Port of Los Angeles during a 16-month-long bridge repair project is building confidence among harbor truckers and other stakeholders that they’ll be able to plan and manage accordingly. The California Department of Transportation is designating and re-paving detour routes and has agreed to establish an extensive real-time communications network to update motorists and truckers about traffic conditions in the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex throughout the construction project, Matt Schrap, CEO of the Harbor Trucking Association (HTA), told the Journal of Commerce Wednesday. “We need consistency. If communication is consistent, we can plan,” he said. The Vincent Thomas Bridge deck replacement project will begin this winter with one-directional night closures to be announced. This is just the prelude to full closure of the bridge for 16 months from November 2026 to March 2028, Rimma Tebeleva, senior transportation engineer and project manager at Caltrans District 7, told the Los Angeles-Long Beach Propeller Club on Wednesday. The bridge, located at the approach to Los Angeles harbor, handles 53,000 vehicles each day, about 3,400 of which are heavy-duty trucks, Tebeleva said. Caltrans in recent months has held meetings with port stakeholders including representatives of the HTA; the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, which represents terminal operators; the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which represent management and labor; and the Port of Los Angeles. “We are currently working with port pilots, engineers and consultants to fully understand the impacts from construction,” a port spokesman told the Journal of Commerce. The traffic management and communications program will respond in real time to issues as they arise, said Kenneth Young, chief in the Office of the District Traffic Manager at Caltrans District 7. “It will detect queries as they develop and advise on alternate routes,” Young told the meeting. He added that Caltrans intends to divert traffic as necessary to state highways in order to minimize use of local roadways. Schrap agreed that this strategy is necessary in order to prevent friction in communities near the port. “We don’t want trucks going through neighborhoods,” he said. The work in the coming year will involve temporary placement of a platform underneath the bridge to support it during the construction process, Tebeleva said. This will reduce the air draft underneath the bridge by about 2.5 feet during construction. Port engineers and pilots are studying the impact this will have on vessel traffic in the channel, the port spokesman said. The Vincent Thomas Bridge opened in 1963. In recent years, structural problems such as cement cracking have accelerated, Tebeleva said. Schrap said the working group will continue to alert Caltrans on measures port stakeholders feel are needed to maintain traffic flow in the harbor area, and he anticipates the agency will respond accordingly. “We feel our messaging has gotten through. We feel we’re in a good place,” he said. Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at <a href="mailto:bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com">bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

The state of California’s plan to minimize disruption of truck traffic serving the Port of Los Angeles during a 16-month-long bridge repair project is building confidence among harbor truckers and other stakeholders that they’ll be able to plan and manage accordingly. The California Department of Transportation is designating and re-paving detour routes and has agreed to establish an extensive real-time communications network to update motorists and truckers about traffic conditions in the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex throughout the construction project, Matt Schrap, CEO of the Harbor Trucking Association (HTA), told the Journal of Commerce Wednesday. “We need consistency. If communication is consistent, we can plan,” he said. The Vincent Thomas Bridge deck replacement project will begin this winter with one-directional night closures to be announced. This is just the prelude to full closure of the bridge for 16 months from November 2026 to March 2028, Rimma Tebeleva, senior transportation engineer and project manager at Caltrans District 7, told the Los Angeles-Long Beach Propeller Club on Wednesday. The bridge, located at the approach to Los Angeles harbor, handles 53,000 vehicles each day, about 3,400 of which are heavy-duty trucks, Tebeleva said. Caltrans in recent months has held meetings with port stakeholders including representatives of the HTA; the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, which represents terminal operators; the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which represent management and labor; and the Port of Los Angeles. “We are currently working with port pilots, engineers and consultants to fully understand the impacts from construction,” a port spokesman told the Journal of Commerce. The traffic management and communications program will respond in real time to issues as they arise, said Kenneth Young, chief in the Office of the District Traffic Manager at Caltrans District 7. “It will detect queries as they develop and advise on alternate routes,” Young told the meeting. He added that Caltrans intends to divert traffic as necessary to state highways in order to minimize use of local roadways. Schrap agreed that this strategy is necessary in order to prevent friction in communities near the port. “We don’t want trucks going through neighborhoods,” he said. The work in the coming year will involve temporary placement of a platform underneath the bridge to support it during the construction process, Tebeleva said. This will reduce the air draft underneath the bridge by about 2.5 feet during construction. Port engineers and pilots are studying the impact this will have on vessel traffic in the channel, the port spokesman said. The Vincent Thomas Bridge opened in 1963. In recent years, structural problems such as cement cracking have accelerated, Tebeleva said. Schrap said the working group will continue to alert Caltrans on measures port stakeholders feel are needed to maintain traffic flow in the harbor area, and he anticipates the agency will respond accordingly. “We feel our messaging has gotten through. We feel we’re in a good place,” he said. Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com .

Port infrastructure

Marine terminals

LA port stakeholders warming to plan to mitigate impact of bridge project

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Sources have linked some of the US-India blankings to carriers shifting capacity to capitalize on surging volumes on the eastbound trans-Pacific trade following a temporary 90-day tariff truce between the US and China.</div>

Sources have linked some of the US-India blankings to carriers shifting capacity to capitalize on surging volumes on the eastbound trans-Pacific trade following a temporary 90-day tariff truce between the US and China.

<div class="phx-topic">Ocean freight rates from India to US East Coast trade are gaining momentum as carriers shift vessels to the trans-Pacific following a pause in the steepest US tariffs on Chinese goods. Carriers plan to blank five sailings across two India-US East Coast services — the CMA CGM-operated Indamex and Ocean Network Express’ (ONE’s) WIN service — in June, in addition to one sailing on the Indamex in late May, according to forwarders. The US and China on May 12 agreed to pause reciprocal tariffs for at least 90 days while they negotiate a more permanent trade agreement, prompting a rush of bookings out of China and a <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/trans-pacific-services-set-for-restart-as-carriers-scramble-to-restore-capacity-6009352">rapid redeployment of capacity</a> that had been idled or shifted to other trade lanes. A federal trade court on Wednesday <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/federal-court-ruling-blocking-tariffs-resets-shipping-outlook-6013402">struck down the US tariffs on Chinese goods</a>, along with a blanket 10% duty on imports from India. The administration of President Donald Trump will likely appeal. Although US imports from India have been rising for months — hitting a nearly two-year high in March and April, according to PIERS, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global — that hasn’t been enough to move the needle on spot rates. That is, until this week. Average India-US East Coast spot rates surged to $2,733 per FEU this week, up 30.2% from last week and 32.7% year over year, according to Platts, also part of S&amp;P Global. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="012ef4fa-2944-47b8-a1aa-f17c27744520"></dynamic-object></div>All major carriers on the West India-US East Coast trade lane have lined up multiple rounds of general rate increases (GRIs) and peak season surcharges (PSSs) — ranging from $1,500 to $2,500 per container — through June. Sources who spoke with the Journal of Commerce believe the tightening of capacity gives carriers an opportunity to push through rate hikes of at least $1,000 per container beginning June 1. Hapag-Lloyd, for example, will roll that amount into its spot pricing, while Maersk has pushed back a planned $1,500-per-box PSS from June 2 to June 16. Forwarders also said spot space on Maersk’s first two sailings in June is already sold out. “With anticipated lower capacity, our estimate is that average spot booking rates [ex-West India] will land somewhere between $2,500 and $3,000 per FEU in June,” an executive at a Mumbai-based forwarder who asked not to be identified told the Journal of Commerce. “For long-term contract clients, the average level should be between $2,500 to $2,700 per FEU.” Contact Bency Mathew at <a href="mailto:bencyvmathew@gmail.com">bencyvmathew@gmail.com</a>. </div>

Ocean freight rates from India to US East Coast trade are gaining momentum as carriers shift vessels to the trans-Pacific following a pause in the steepest US tariffs on Chinese goods. Carriers plan to blank five sailings across two India-US East Coast services — the CMA CGM-operated Indamex and Ocean Network Express’ (ONE’s) WIN service — in June, in addition to one sailing on the Indamex in late May, according to forwarders. The US and China on May 12 agreed to pause reciprocal tariffs for at least 90 days while they negotiate a more permanent trade agreement, prompting a rush of bookings out of China and a rapid redeployment of capacity that had been idled or shifted to other trade lanes. A federal trade court on Wednesday struck down the US tariffs on Chinese goods , along with a blanket 10% duty on imports from India. The administration of President Donald Trump will likely appeal. Although US imports from India have been rising for months — hitting a nearly two-year high in March and April, according to PIERS, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global — that hasn’t been enough to move the needle on spot rates. That is, until this week. Average India-US East Coast spot rates surged to $2,733 per FEU this week, up 30.2% from last week and 32.7% year over year, according to Platts, also part of S&P Global. All major carriers on the West India-US East Coast trade lane have lined up multiple rounds of general rate increases (GRIs) and peak season surcharges (PSSs) — ranging from $1,500 to $2,500 per container — through June. Sources who spoke with the Journal of Commerce believe the tightening of capacity gives carriers an opportunity to push through rate hikes of at least $1,000 per container beginning June 1. Hapag-Lloyd, for example, will roll that amount into its spot pricing, while Maersk has pushed back a planned $1,500-per-box PSS from June 2 to June 16. Forwarders also said spot space on Maersk’s first two sailings in June is already sold out. “With anticipated lower capacity, our estimate is that average spot booking rates [ex-West India] will land somewhere between $2,500 and $3,000 per FEU in June,” an executive at a Mumbai-based forwarder who asked not to be identified told the Journal of Commerce. “For long-term contract clients, the average level should be between $2,500 to $2,700 per FEU.” Contact Bency Mathew at bencyvmathew@gmail.com .

Container Shipping News

Restrained capacity sparks India-US ocean rate momentum

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Union Pacific Railroad struggled during the pandemic with wheeled facilities where containers are pre-mounted onto chassis before a driver arrives, but in 2021 and 2022 there were periods with no chassis to be found.</div>

Union Pacific Railroad struggled during the pandemic with wheeled facilities where containers are pre-mounted onto chassis before a driver arrives, but in 2021 and 2022 there were periods with no chassis to be found.

<div class="phx-topic">Union Pacific Railroad (UP) is taking a different operational approach at its soon-to-open intermodal terminal in Kansas City, choosing to stack containers rather than keep on chassis to better respond to import surges. Union Pacific will place all international containers into stacks, rather than place them on chassis in parking spots, adopting lessons learned during the pandemic, when inland terminals became chokepoints in the global supply chain. The Kansas City terminal will operate more like a traditional marine terminal, with stacks and crane operators lifting boxes to and from trucks. “We integrated the hybrid model into our new Kansas City Intermodal Terminal to provide a high level of fluidity for drivers and our customers, and to maximize capacity at the facility,” said Robynn Tysver, spokesperson for UP, in a statement to the Journal of Commerce. “A grounded operation provides for the efficient delivery of marine containers to any pool or trucker-owned chassis.” Before the pandemic, UP and rival BNSF Railway both handled international and domestic containers in what is known as a “wheeled” operation. All containers were mounted onto chassis as they were unloaded off the train, then placed in designated parking spots to enable truck drivers to retrieve loads more quickly. During 2021 and 2022, however, the “wheeled” operation for international freight buckled after a widespread marine chassis shortage across the US. Terminal crews were unable to unload incoming trains because the chassis were in short supply. Containers sat idle with no place to go, contributing to gridlock that rippled back to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The new “hybrid” terminal in Kansas City reflects an important lesson from that ordeal. All ocean freight will now be placed into container stacks, while domestic containers will remain in parking spots. Union Pacific has been focused this year on capturing a larger share between <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/union-pacific-makes-push-to-grab-more-los-angeles-to-kansas-city-freight-5933096">Los Angeles and Kansas City</a>, a route where BNSF Railway has maintained an edge thanks to faster transit times and more consistent service. UP believes the new, larger terminal, along with upgrades to infrastructure and scheduling, will close that gap significantly. Instead of Los Angeles-Kansas City being a block within a larger train to places like Chicago, UP will run dedicated trains between the two cities, reflecting the growing importance of the Midwest city to US commerce.<h3>Applying the right lessons </h3>Union Pacific’s approach in Kansas City mirrors a change made in <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/up-shifting-to-stacked-container-operation-at-joliet-for-california-imports-5227108">February 2023</a> at its Global IV terminal in Joliet, outside of Chicago, where all ocean containers traveling to and from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are placed in stacks. The distinction between international and domestic intermodal is becoming increasingly important across the US. As Norfolk Southern Railway noted <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/norfolk-southern-revamping-international-network-in-2023-5218178">in late 2022</a>, domestic intermodal operations face far fewer chassis shortages because providers including J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Schneider National and others own their chassis fleets. By contrast, international cargo relies upon third-party lessors such as DCLI, Flexi-Van Leasing, and TRAC Intermodal to supply roadworthy equipment. UP has already gained experience operating grounded terminals. The Twin Cities Intermodal Terminal, opened in 2021, operates entirely with stacked containers due to its smaller volume. BNSF has also made strides to reflect new realities. Most international cargo traveling through BNSF Logistics Park Chicago and Memphis is grounded. BNSF retained the “wheeled” model in the Fort Worth terminal while also expanding the footprint to accommodate future surges. Both railroads are also responding to a fundamental shift in chassis provisioning in the US. Since the pandemic, cargo owners and truckers have purchased or leased their own chassis to reduce their dependence on shared pools. This flexibility is especially valuable in merchant haulage, where cargo owners retain control over equipment choices outside the port. “[A grounded operation] avoids the need for flips from pool chassis to private chassis, while freeing up space and managing fluidity, allow[ing] us to handle more volume,” UP said in the statement. “Additionally, by leveraging the UPGo app, drivers can coordinate pickups, including those in stack, to increase efficiency and productivity for drivers and terminal operations.” Contact Ari Ashe at <a href="mailto:ari.ashe@spglobal.com">ari.ashe@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Union Pacific Railroad (UP) is taking a different operational approach at its soon-to-open intermodal terminal in Kansas City, choosing to stack containers rather than keep on chassis to better respond to import surges. Union Pacific will place all international containers into stacks, rather than place them on chassis in parking spots, adopting lessons learned during the pandemic, when inland terminals became chokepoints in the global supply chain. The Kansas City terminal will operate more like a traditional marine terminal, with stacks and crane operators lifting boxes to and from trucks. “We integrated the hybrid model into our new Kansas City Intermodal Terminal to provide a high level of fluidity for drivers and our customers, and to maximize capacity at the facility,” said Robynn Tysver, spokesperson for UP, in a statement to the Journal of Commerce. “A grounded operation provides for the efficient delivery of marine containers to any pool or trucker-owned chassis.” Before the pandemic, UP and rival BNSF Railway both handled international and domestic containers in what is known as a “wheeled” operation. All containers were mounted onto chassis as they were unloaded off the train, then placed in designated parking spots to enable truck drivers to retrieve loads more quickly. During 2021 and 2022, however, the “wheeled” operation for international freight buckled after a widespread marine chassis shortage across the US. Terminal crews were unable to unload incoming trains because the chassis were in short supply. Containers sat idle with no place to go, contributing to gridlock that rippled back to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The new “hybrid” terminal in Kansas City reflects an important lesson from that ordeal. All ocean freight will now be placed into container stacks, while domestic containers will remain in parking spots. Union Pacific has been focused this year on capturing a larger share between Los Angeles and Kansas City , a route where BNSF Railway has maintained an edge thanks to faster transit times and more consistent service. UP believes the new, larger terminal, along with upgrades to infrastructure and scheduling, will close that gap significantly. Instead of Los Angeles-Kansas City being a block within a larger train to places like Chicago, UP will run dedicated trains between the two cities, reflecting the growing importance of the Midwest city to US commerce. Applying the right lessons Union Pacific’s approach in Kansas City mirrors a change made in February 2023 at its Global IV terminal in Joliet, outside of Chicago, where all ocean containers traveling to and from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are placed in stacks. The distinction between international and domestic intermodal is becoming increasingly important across the US. As Norfolk Southern Railway noted in late 2022 , domestic intermodal operations face far fewer chassis shortages because providers including J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Schneider National and others own their chassis fleets. By contrast, international cargo relies upon third-party lessors such as DCLI, Flexi-Van Leasing, and TRAC Intermodal to supply roadworthy equipment. UP has already gained experience operating grounded terminals. The Twin Cities Intermodal Terminal, opened in 2021, operates entirely with stacked containers due to its smaller volume. BNSF has also made strides to reflect new realities. Most international cargo traveling through BNSF Logistics Park Chicago and Memphis is grounded. BNSF retained the “wheeled” model in the Fort Worth terminal while also expanding the footprint to accommodate future surges. Both railroads are also responding to a fundamental shift in chassis provisioning in the US. Since the pandemic, cargo owners and truckers have purchased or leased their own chassis to reduce their dependence on shared pools. This flexibility is especially valuable in merchant haulage, where cargo owners retain control over equipment choices outside the port. “[A grounded operation] avoids the need for flips from pool chassis to private chassis, while freeing up space and managing fluidity, allow[ing] us to handle more volume,” UP said in the statement. “Additionally, by leveraging the UPGo app, drivers can coordinate pickups, including those in stack, to increase efficiency and productivity for drivers and terminal operations.” Contact Ari Ashe at ari.ashe@spglobal.com .

North-American rail

UP’s KC terminal will change approach on ocean cargo

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">A portion of the money will be used for Project 11, which will ultimately allow an additional 1,400 vessels of all types to call the port each year by deepening portions of the channel to accommodate larger ships. </div>

A portion of the money will be used for Project 11, which will ultimately allow an additional 1,400 vessels of all types to call the port each year by deepening portions of the channel to accommodate larger ships. 

<div class="phx-topic">Port Houston will receive $131 million from the US Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE’s) fiscal year 2025 work plan, with 25% of that helping to fund the so-called Project 11, the multi-year endeavor that will widen the Houston Ship Channel to accommodate two-way traffic of neo-Panamax vessels. The other $98 million will be used for the ongoing operation and maintenance of the key ship channel, Port Houston said. The $33 million for <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/houstons-new-port-chief-plots-terminal-fluidity-as-key-to-container-growth-5719796">the widening project</a> brings it to about 87% funding, with $162 million in federal funding left to come. “This means that Port Houston is no longer obligated to pay the costs to dredge these locally preferred plan [LPP] elements of Project 11,” Port Houston told the Journal of Commerce. The port said Project 11 is expected to be completed in October 2029, pending the receipt of the balance of federal funding. It will ultimately allow an additional 1,400 vessels of all types to call the port each year, deepening portions of the channel to 46.5 feet to accommodate larger ships.  “We are waiting to see the president’s budget specifics released for [fiscal year] 2026, which could come this week,” the port said. “We hope to see funding included in it for Project 11 and/or [operations and maintenance] for the next fiscal year.” As Project 11 continues, the Houston-area’s Cedar Port industrial park and barge port is pursuing an unrelated dredging project that could increase <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/stakeholders-look-to-advance-possible-houston-area-dredging-project-6009979">container competition on the Gulf Coast</a>.Contact Laura Robb at <a href="mailto:Laura.Robb@spglobal.com">laura.robb@spglobal.com</a>.  </div>

Port Houston will receive $131 million from the US Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE’s) fiscal year 2025 work plan, with 25% of that helping to fund the so-called Project 11, the multi-year endeavor that will widen the Houston Ship Channel to accommodate two-way traffic of neo-Panamax vessels. The other $98 million will be used for the ongoing operation and maintenance of the key ship channel, Port Houston said. The $33 million for the widening project brings it to about 87% funding, with $162 million in federal funding left to come. “This means that Port Houston is no longer obligated to pay the costs to dredge these locally preferred plan [LPP] elements of Project 11,” Port Houston told the Journal of Commerce. The port said Project 11 is expected to be completed in October 2029, pending the receipt of the balance of federal funding. It will ultimately allow an additional 1,400 vessels of all types to call the port each year, deepening portions of the channel to 46.5 feet to accommodate larger ships.  “We are waiting to see the president’s budget specifics released for [fiscal year] 2026, which could come this week,” the port said. “We hope to see funding included in it for Project 11 and/or [operations and maintenance] for the next fiscal year.” As Project 11 continues, the Houston-area’s Cedar Port industrial park and barge port is pursuing an unrelated dredging project that could increase container competition on the Gulf Coast . Contact Laura Robb at laura.robb@spglobal.com . 

Port Houston secures $131 million in federal funds for ship channel work

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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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