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Mark Szakonyi

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editormail

Mark Szakonyi leads the editorial team of more than a dozen editors and correspondents in providing business-critical and data-heavy business intelligence and analysis. He joined the Journal of Commerce in 2011 as daily content editor and has served in various roles of increasing responsibility since. His analysis of container shipping and other transportation markets has been quoted in general business news media including the BBC, Bloomberg, The Economist, NPR, and USA Today.

Read Mark's Latest Coverage

Slump of US imports from Asia deepening

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
Months of frontloading explain the harsher-than-usual import slowdown in the final months of this year, but uncertain consumer sentiment and ever-changing US tariff policy are keeping retail inventories running lean.
Container Shipping NewsPort NewsContainer linesForwardingTrans-PacificNorth American ports

Widening China import-export imbalance soaking up container capacity

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
The yawning imbalance between China’s imports and exports is another way functional ocean capacity, like with port congestion, is being sapped by forces beyond the control of ocean carriers.
MaritimeTrans-PacificContainer Shipping News

Houthi pause on shipping attacks lowers tensions, but risk remains

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
The rebels are incentivized to keep up some level of threat in the Red Sea because they are loathe to give up leverage that generates financial and military support, according to an S&P Global analyst.
MaritimeContainer linesAsia-EuropeContainer Shipping News

US retailers throttle back on imports amid uncertain consumer sentiment

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
The latest Global Port Tracker report warns of double-digit declines in imports for the rest of the year and no growth in early 2026.
MaritimePort NewsContainer linesTrans-AtlanticTrans-PacificNorth American ports

US port capacity lagging ahead of potential volume growth: MSC

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
The carrier, as it seeks with BlackRock to acquire the majority of Hutchison Port Holdings, is developing a mega-terminal in New Orleans and another terminal in Baltimore.
MaritimePort NewsPort infrastructureNorth American ports

New Charleston CEO seeks to regain container growth ‘momentum’

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
Micah Mallace said SC Ports needs to return its focus to serving cargo owners and carriers after recent below-market volume growth.
MaritimePort NewsNorth American portsMarine terminalsContainer Shipping News

US tariffs dent China import volumes, but not global container growth

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
Amid tariffs of up to 130%, US laden imports from China for the six months between April and September fell to levels not seen since 2013.
MaritimeTrans-Pacific

US presses forward on port fees despite China’s warning

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
The onus of calculating new US port fees that kick in next week falls on ocean carriers.
MaritimePort NewsTransport, Trade and Regulation NewsTrans-PacificInternational ports

China’s port fee warning to US puts ocean carriers on edge

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
The vagueness of China’s potential retaliation against the US puts not just US-flag vessels under threat, but also any individuals and organizations accused of harming Beijing’s shipping interests.
MaritimeContainer linesTrans-PacificContainer Shipping News

Montreal joins Vancouver in levying empty container fee

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
Canadian transportation regulators are considering whether empty container fees are justified, following protests from shipowners and vessel operators.
MaritimePort NewsNorth American ports

China flexes maritime power in response to coming US port fee

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
A regulation change that went into effect over the weekend allows Beijing to penalize and block vessels from countries that it accuses of targeting its own shipping activities.
Transport, Trade and Regulation NewsMaritimeTrans-PacificSupply chainContainer Shipping News

UP-NS merger could extend West Coast market share reach

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
The proposed creation of a transcontinental railroad could allow West Coast ports to better compete for Asia cargo destined for markers east of Chicago, writes Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.
SurfaceRail NewsNorth-American railIntermodal providers

Ocean market in trans-Pacific arrives at spot pricing tipping point

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
Ocean carriers are seeking to curb the sharp decline in spot rates in the run-up to next month’s Golden Week holiday.
Container Shipping NewsContainer linesForwardingTrans-Pacific

DP World aims to run Carney-backed Montreal terminal

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
The Montreal Port Authority (MPA) is expected later this fall to announce the winning bid to run the Contrecoeur terminal.
Port NewsNorth American portsMarine terminals

Toll of US tariffs begins to emerge on unsettled trans-Pacific

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
A sense of uncertainty — if not alarm — about future demand and tariff levels on China has slowed, and even paralyzed, some orders from small and medium-sized importers, four veteran forwarders told the Journal of Commerce.
MaritimeTransport, Trade and Regulation NewsTrans-PacificSupply chainContainer Shipping News

Tariff volatility puts smaller US importers in planning limbo

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
Higher costs and shifting deadlines are making business difficult for small cargo owners and those shipping low-value goods.
Supply chainTransport, Trade and Regulation NewsTrans-Pacific

Carney has fresh opportunity to galvanize Canadian shipping industry

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
Canada’s port stakeholders are hopeful the new prime minister and world-renowned economist will fast-track major projects and modernize labor negotiations.
North American portsMaritimePort NewsSupply chainLongshore laborNorth-American rail

FMC probing service agreements between Port Houston, ocean carriers

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
The investigation centers on terminal service agreements that may have required container lines to commit to route a share of their cargo through Port Houston.
Port NewsMaritimeContainer linesNorth American portsContainer Shipping News

Container lines cutting trans-Pacific capacity overhang

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
In the latest course correction in the US’ busiest trade lane, carriers are set to deploy less tonnage in August as spot rates fall and retail import forecasts weaken.
Container Shipping NewsContainer linesTrans-Pacific

Ocean carriers flex tonnage control, but overcapacity is mounting

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
Internal and external forces in the first half of 2025 mitigated container vessel overcapacity, but steep challenges lie ahead, writes Journal of Commerce Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.
MaritimeContainer linesTrans-AtlanticAsia-EuropeNorth American portsInternational ports

Fred Smith, FedEx founder and visionary, dead at 80

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
From his hometown hub of Memphis, Fred Smith built FedEx from a $4 million inheritance to an $88 billion behemoth.
Air Cargo Carriers NewsTrucking NewsAir Cargo Forwarder NewsLTL

Closure of Strait of Hormuz would further stretch global container capacity

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
While just 2% to 3% of global container traffic transits the key chokepoint, any restrictions would further tie up global vessel capacity and cut off the ports of Jebel Ali and Abu Dhabi.
MaritimePort NewsContainer linesInternational portsContainer Shipping News

Zim restarts China-Los Angeles service to capture fresh import demand

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
The Zim Central China Xpress will restart next week, little more than a month after Zim announced its suspension as part of the carrier’s broader 30% to 35% trim in its trans-Pacific network.
Container linesMaritimePort NewsTrans-PacificSupply chainNorth American portsInternational portsContainer Shipping News

Revised China tonnage tax less disruptive, still costly

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
Industry backlash mitigated the costliest components of the US Trade Representative’s proposed fees, but surcharges from some carriers are still likely on the way, writes Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.
Transport, Trade and Regulation NewsMaritimePort NewsTrans-PacificSupply chainNorth American portsContainer Shipping News

Apparent Houthi ceasefire raises container shipping overcapacity risk

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
The freeing up of vessel capacity that has been diverted around southern Africa for the past 18 months could inject as much as 2 million TEUs of functional capacity into the global container shipping market.
MaritimePort NewsContainer linesAsia-EuropeTrans-PacificContainer Shipping News

Container lines warn of congestion threat when Asia imports rebound

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
US ports and support infrastructure such as warehouses and rail connections aren’t better equipped to handle import surges than they were during the pandemic when record volumes drove congestion to historic highs, carrier executives said this week.
Port NewsMaritimeTrans-PacificPort infrastructureNorth American portsContainer Shipping News

Breakbulk25: Shipping industry faces rising likelihood of US recession: analyst

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
S&P Global’s Flash PMI for April, released Thursday, shows that economic output in the developed world hit its lowest point since 2023, boding poorly for container growth this year.
Container Shipping NewsMaritimeContainer linesSupply chain

Asia-US blank sailing forecast for May increasing amid cancellations

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
The increase in blank sailings coincides with the Port of Los Angeles’ expectation that container volumes will plunge 14% month over month in week 18 and 38.6% in week 19.
Trans-PacificPort NewsContainer linesNorth American portsContainer Shipping News

Container ship overcapacity may be more ‘benign’ than order book suggests

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
Consolidation in container shipping over the last two decades and better capacity management in recent years show that the old ways of looking at vessel capacity are outdated, writes Journal of Commerce Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.
MaritimeContainer lines

Tariffs, USTR uncertainty cloud Zim’s outlook after banner 2024

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
Zim’s decision to keep more capacity available for spot rather than contract business on the trans-Pacific allowed it to capitalize on the expanded deployment of capacity on the trade.
Container linesMaritimePort NewsTrans-PacificNorth American ports

CMA CGM to invest $20 billion in US shipping, ports and logistics

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
The carrier’s investment, announced while its chief executive met at the White House with President Donald Trump, comes amid heightened political sensitivities in the US as far as the container shipping industry is concerned.
MaritimePort NewsContainer linesSupply chainPort infrastructureNorth American portsContainer Shipping News

Trump’s expansionist worldview puts US maritime interests in spotlight

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
As the new US administration looks to strengthen its regional sphere of influence, bipartisan political support is building to boost US shipbuilding, and thus, the country’s ability to project power in the Arctic and reduce dependence on foreign carriers.
International portsPort NewsTransport, Trade and Regulation NewsPort infrastructureMarine terminalsContainer Shipping News

FMC chair questions ‘level playing field’ in Panama Canal operations

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
The comments by Louis Sola during a Senate hearing come amid rising US scrutiny of Chinese influence over the crucial waterway.
Trans-PacificMaritimePort NewsSupply chainPort infrastructureInternational portsContainer Shipping News

Bolder Trump injects new volatility into container shipping

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
President Donald Trump injecting himself into longshore labor talks and his recent threat to take over the Panama Canal are a precursor to the unpredictability container shipping will face over the next four years, writes Journal of Commerce Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.
Container Shipping NewsPort NewsTransport, Trade and Regulation NewsContainer linesTrans-Pacific

Legislation aims to mandate rising share of China imports on expanded US-flag fleet

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
Bills introduced in the House and Senate seek to expand the US-flag international fleet from the current level of about 80 ships to 250 in 10 years and would require all government cargoes to be carried on US-flag vessels.
Container linesTrans-Pacific

New Year heralds triple threat to US container shipping

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
The risk of an East and Gulf coast port strike, US tariffs on China, and service disruptions through the launch of new alliances and networks await the industry in the first two months of 2025, writes Journal of Commerce Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.
Longshore laborPort NewsContainer linesTrans-AtlanticTrans-PacificNorth American portsMarine terminalsContainer Shipping News

US retailers prepare for new ILA strike threat, tariffs on China imports

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
Major retailers such as Ralph Lauren and Target say they successfully mitigated disruptions from the early October port strike and are ready for the next labor threat and the fallout from likely higher tariffs on Chinese goods.
Container Shipping NewsPort NewsTransport, Trade and Regulation NewsTrans-PacificSupply chain

US importers dabbling in frontloading ahead of new tariff threat

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
While there is some frontloading of US imports from China to get ahead of expected tariffs in the coming Trump administration, most cargo owners appear to be holding their fire, writes Journal of Commerce Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.
Trans-PacificPort NewsContainer linesNorth American ports

Cargo push to continue amid mounting market pressures: Zim

Laura Robb, Associate Editor and Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
The carrier’s CFO pointed to the rising ratio of US retail sales to inventories as a sign that retailers are still bringing in new inventory.
Container Shipping NewsMaritime

Employer-labor tensions in North America disrupting more cargo

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
The disruptions coming out of disagreements during port work contract negotiations in North America have intensified, as seen currently in Western Canada and Montreal, and possibly again on the US East and Gulf coasts come mid-January.
Longshore laborPort NewsNorth American portsMarine terminalsContainer Shipping News
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