Commentary

Shipping is an industry that doesn't spend much time on its image among the general public, and it pays a price for it when there's an accident, oil spill or some other incident that casts the in

Twenty years ago, American filmgoers embraced the feel-good story of “Field of Dreams.” The movie was filmed in Dyersville, Iowa, where, less than a year ago, one of the largest ethanol re

Q: A broker paid a carrier for freight moved for one of the broker’s customers. The customer is in financial trouble and is refusing payment to the broker.

HONG KONG — The skies last week in Hong Kong and Shenzhen were perpetually the dark blue-gray of an impending downpour, the air thick with humidity as the outer bands of a typhoon swept through

No New Diesel Taxes

When trucking analysts talk about the need to reduce capacity in the industry to bolster rates, revenue and stock value, it's important to remember that "capacity" has a name.

Federal prosecutors are ready to have another go at proving links between organized crime and the International Longshoremen's Association.

Asian port throughput figures these days need to be taken with even more than the usual grain of salt.

Glyn Richards wasn't in the same league as Bernie Madoff, but the Ponzi scheme he ran under the cover of All Freight Logistics did as much damage to its victims as Madoff's much larger scam.

Friday's Wall Street Journal has a front-page story that homes in on a key issue for retail supply chains.

Think you have a tough logistics job? Imagine running a supply chain to a landlocked, mountainous country where people keep trying to blow up your personnel and cargo.

You could see this one coming: A.P Moller-Maersk's chief executive was quoted as telling a Danish newspaper that the comp

Transportation bloggers — especially advocates of high-speed rail and transit — may like Rep. James L.

The Obama administration and House transportation leaders both grabbed for the wheel of the surface transportation bill yesterday.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is expected to release its version of the next highway bill in a matter of minutes ... or hours ... or perhaps tomorrow.

You know the debate over the next highway bill is getting serious when AARP chimes in. It just goes to show that transportation affects everyone — and every stage of life.

It's a little early for pre-season football forecasts, but AMR Research has issued a ranking that is sure to generate lively debate among supply chain professionals.

It is a commonly held notion that container lines are inefficient in the management of their container fleets.

Not to be outdone by the Department of Transportation, the Department of Homeland Security now has its own blog.

Where is my product? When will it arrive? What documents do I need to have for Customs? What’s an MID, an ELVIS, the AES, the e-manifest, ACE or ABI?

Even the president of the United States can’t escape the United States’ jammed highways.

Theo Zwygers of LyondellBasell, a shipper of chemicals for plastics, made a critical point at the North American Rail Shippers annual meeting when he noted of his transportation use, “It doesn’t come

Don’t be surprised if one or more railroads drop their membership in the National Industrial Transportation League.

When importers rallied last fall in a surprise and ultimately unsuccessful revolt against the 10+2 security rule, it was not just a one-dimensional protest against perceived excessive container securi

I recently sat through a House hearing in which members of Congress spoke at length about the need to come up with “creative” ideas to fund highway infrastructure. Creative what?

Are U.S. export controls keeping dangerous goods and technologies out of the hands of hostile powers?

A recent comment from the chairman of the Asian Shippers’ Council recalls many discussions I’ve heard in my 35 years in the industry over the conflict between service providers and their customers.

The bar code is a small thing, but it’s changed our lives in a big way.

The mood at The Journal of Commerce's Breakbulk Europe conference in Antwerp wasn't giddy -- probably a good sign -- but it didn't have the gloom that surrounds most container shipping gatherings th

Now that the International Chamber of Shipping has added its backing to a new international agreement governing liability for cargo lost or damaged at sea, the European Shippers' Council looks increas

I thought I'd pass along these thoughts from Drewry's Neil Dekker in response to my column last week on the deteriorating eastbound

This week the JoC launched its online special report on piracy, featuring stories by JoC staff and links to external resources.

Q: Ocean piracy has been in the news a lot lately because of the activities of Somali-based pirate gangs off the northeast coast of Africa.

Small businesses that want a bigger voice in trade policy may soon get a break.

As go oil prices, so goes the breakbulk industry. That's an exaggeration, but there's more than a grain of truth to that statement.

Those watching container shipping from Asia are taking note of this week's uptick in consumer confidence.

William Zollars sent a bit of a bombshell through the trucking industry and the larger world of freight transportation last week when he said his troubled company, YRC Worldwide, would seek $1 billion

The New York Times reported a few days ago that a recent count showed 735 ships jamming anchorages in Singapore and its environs, an indication of the state of the shipping market.

Two maps from the International Maritime Bureau clearly depict a shift in the worldwide battle against piracy.

As governor of Virginia, Mark Warner often wondered why Congress, with 535 members, couldn’t come up with a national transportation policy.