Commentary

Forget Gloria Steinem. Forget Betty Friedan.

The nation’s trade deficit hit its lowest point in two years this July, a hopeful sign of economic recovery as U.S. companies increase exports to overseas markets.

Having read through the Federal Maritime Commission’s proposed reforms to the Shipping Act (“FMC Gets Aggressive,” Sept.

Most supply chain managers aren’t terribly concerned with the price of cotton on a typical day at the office, but what’s going on in that business may provide some important guideposts to

Q: We’re a third-party provider, and have a copy of the second edition of your book, “Manager’s Guide to Freight Loss and Damage Claims.” In your book is a section on the value

When my JOC colleagues and I set out to plan the agenda for last month’s East Coast Maritime Conference in Jersey City, N.J., one of our goals was to put to rest the debate about what the impact

One of the last vestiges of the shipping industry in Lower Manhattan is following the liner shipping industry to New Jersey.

Of all transportation modes, air seems to be the most fascinating.

A Death Blow to Small Brokers

Q: In the maritime sector, much attention has been paid to the peak season, the shortage of space and the increase in ocean freight costs this year. What a crazy year!

The gap between the service shippers say they’re getting and what logistics providers think they’re providing remains startlingly large, but in an industry of troubled relationships, many

For example, whether or not you agree that legislative fixes are needed to restore rail price and service equilibrium in the U.S.

A colleague and I went out to Port Newark midday Wednesday to see firsthand what was going as striking longshoremen walked a picket line, and it was interesting to see the difference in moods between

As trucking emerges from the recession, many less-than-truckload carriers are struggling to rebuild. But those LTL truckers had razor-thin profit margins even before the downturn.

President Obama’s call for a doubling of exports by U.S. companies over the next five years holds enormous potential for the U.S. economy.

As a species, we humans don’t like change. It makes us nervous and uncomfortable. We’re much happier when most things in our personal environment are stable and predictable.

Q: The following is published in the Code of Federal Regulations, 49 CFR Section 377.205(b)(2), under the subsection heading “Presentation of Freight Bills” and the additi

It’s not a stretch to say the general sentiment about the U.S. economy is negative, but is this thinking overblown? Is a contrarian view warranted? The obvious answer is no.

We call it infrastructure. President Obama calls it infrastructure.

The State Department on Aug.

The changing landscape of the global economy has pushed efficiency to the forefront of world trade.

The Great Recession could be the best thing that’s happened to supply chain management.

Remember FastShip?

Q: When a carrier sells its accounts receivable to a bank, can the shipper still offset unpaid (but acknowledged valid by the carrier) claims against the freight invoices due?

A letter from more than 30 shipper groups sent last week to House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee James L.

Is the day coming when the U.S. will need to get back into the business of subsidizing container shipping to support exports? Change may be in the wind.

To get the unvarnished view of a top Senate committee chairman venting his frustration, to see how serious he is in threatening a long-running fight to toughen rail regulations, you might need to see

Before President Obama can achieve his vision of a new world for transport infrastructure, he may first have to accommodate Sen. Jay Rockefeller.

Clean Trucks, Again

Most people in the work force will not look back fondly on last year, unless they were supply chain professionals responsible for procuring transportation services.

Last month’s column (“Debatable Ideas,” Aug. 2) generated significant feedback.

It’s been a perplexing and exciting year for global trade.

Shippers develop all kinds of strategies to cope with seasonal shipping trends, but one we had not heard about was the impact of college football on coal shipping; another is the conflict between ener

Q: I have written to you a few times in the past and value your professional advice. I seek it once more.

Big questions surround the future of the East Coast as a port range as we finalize the agenda for the The Journal of Commerce’s 5th Annual East Coast Maritime Conference, to be held Sept.

It may be time to close the door to the one-stop shop.

Container lines have surprised even themselves by moving so quickly, after years of dithering, to quit providi

The Association of American Railroads delivered half-year results for rail volumes recently, so it probably isn’t too soon to forecast intermodal volume for the year, and to take a deeper look a

Q: Can you clarify why the Supreme Court ruled the way it did in the so-called “K” Line case?

Old myths die hard. Case in point, the myth that U.S.