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West Coast port officials say excessive rail container dwell times due to insufficient rail assets and capacity threaten the gains ports are making in clearing vessel backlogs and lowering truck turn times.

Four of the top five ports in the Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) rankings for 2021 were in the Middle East, as widespread disruption challenged productivity at major gateways in North America, Asia, and Europe.

Thailand-based Regional Container Lines is adding a new intra-Asia service out of Ho Chi Minh starting June 22, following the recent trend of expanded capacity to and from Indian ports in response to sustained demand.

With importers taking longer to pick up their containers from overflowing terminals at hub ports in North Europe, ship delays are increasing, particularly for the largest vessels serving the Asia–Europe trade.

Messaging from employers and longshore unions indicates that the contentious issue of automation is coloring recently suspended contract talks between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association.

Shanghai’s lockdown has continued this month, although carriers such as Maersk and CMA CGM said regional logistics and supply chains are gradually improving.

US retail spending is increasing despite inflationary pressures, while bookings and port volumes remain strong, suggesting the inventory warnings of Walmart and Target have not hit the larger retail industry yet.

Drayage technology rollup Envase has added GeoStamp, a GPS-based port and drayage visibility and analytics provider, to its roster of tools for port carriers and intermodal providers.

Domestic containers have been idling in a Norfolk Southern terminal in eastern Pennsylvania because of a chassis shortage, but the railroad said it is delivering new equipment to the region and repositioning chassis from other markets to deal with the disruption.

Powering its ships with green methanol will come with a significant increase in fuel costs for Maersk, but the carbon-free fuel offers greater scalability than other options.

The Jacksonville Port Authority plans to meet next month with a regional electric utility on how power lines that impose a draft restriction on ships can be raised.

An unexpectedly large drop in spot market capacity last week during the annual “Roadcheck” program pushed dry-van and refrigerated spot rates up for the first time since January, according to DAT.

Norfolk Southern Railway is hopeful that intermodal service in Jacksonville, which has been inconsistent since January 2021, will improve as damaged cranes are repaired in the next two months.

Nowports has landed a cash infusion from logistics technology investor SoftBank to expand its reach in the LatAm market, as investment in the so-called digital forwarding model shows no signs of slowing.

US chemical shippers saw a rare decline in export volumes during 2021 as the lack of railcars and the imports inundating ports.

Major carriers are skipping port calls and changing around schedules for services into Canada and the US East Coast amid high congestion and vessel delays.

US Labor Department data that includes contract rates shows no drop in overall truck pricing in April, despite a truckload spot market rate plunge.

Technology provider Draying.io wants to use its experience in developing a transportation management tool for carriers to help shippers automate the sourcing and pricing of port moves.

Coastwide contract negotiations between the ILWU and West Coast waterfront employers have been put on hold, although individual committee meetings on specific issues such as worker safety will continue.

Walmart remained atop the list of the 100 largest US importers by a wide margin in 2021, while Koch Industries retained the No. 1 export spot.

For some US retailers, inventories are too high, but others are steadily building stockpiles to mitigate supply chain risks ahead of the year-end holidays, keeping freight demand high.

Like most importers, toy makers struggled to get the ocean vessel capacity they needed in 2021 while also dealing with multiple COVID-19 lockdowns in China, where 89.7 percent of all US toy imports are sourced.

Norfolk Southern Railway is reducing service on 120 international intermodal lanes to simplify its network and improve service, but some companies are worried it will harm exporters and chassis supply.

The ILWU wants to temporarily suspend contract talks with West Coast waterfront employers, according to sources, with one saying little progress has been made since negotiations began May 10.

The latest vessels in UHL’s F-900 series will be built in Hudong, China, and are due to be delivered in late 2023 and early 2024.

The Port of Mobile said a new weekly service to and from Guatemala and Honduras will allow shippers to tap the growing trade between the US and Central America.

Profits reaped by carriers during the COVID-19 pandemic will result in greater strategic differentiation among carriers, while tensions with China could cause shippers to rethink their reliance on the world’s manufacturing hub.

Software provider Everstream Analytics plans to use a new $24 million investment to expand the geographic reach of its suite of supply chain risk and network planning products.

China continues to hold the largest share of US imports despite years of retaliatory tariffs and the ongoing efforts of US importers to diversify their sourcing to countries such as Vietnam, India, and Brazil.

The container ship orderbook currently stands at 26.7 percent of the global fleet, with much of the new capacity to be delivered in 2023 and 2024, but carriers have no intention of allowing the additional supply to undermine rates and profitability.

COVID-19 lockdowns in Shanghai may not result in a sudden flood of volumes to the US, but the GPA says additional storage capacity at Savannah’s Garden City Terminal and pop-up storage sites will allow it to handle any unexpected spikes.

Increases in industrial production and retail sales in April suggest continuing strength in overall freight demand, despite tumbling truckload spot rates.

Executives say Zim will use its record quarterly profits to pay shareholder dividends, purchase new ships, and possibly to acquire a regional intra-Asia line, if the right opportunity arises.

It was a positive start to the year for the port of Hamburg as Baltic volume shifting from Russia and a rise in China cargo pushed up first quarter throughput.

In just 18 months, CMA CGM has gone from providing air cargo as part of its CEVA Logistics suite of services to becoming a major player in the global air freight market.

Intra-Asia carriers are posting record first-quarter profits, stepping into a profitable void left by mainline carriers who redeployed capacity to more lucrative east-west trades.

Amid supply chain gridlock throughout the US, the Port of Houston has signed an agreement to investigate the potential use of an electric rail shuttle system for inland container movement.

New data suggests fears of renewed and widespread port congestion in the US this summer are valid, particularly if growing imports collide with the start of peak shipping season and the return of normal cargo flow from post-lockdown Shanghai.

Fresh Del Monte is offering slots and logistics services to other companies as the fresh produce shipper sees an opportunity to use six new vessels to drive logistics services.

Hapag-Lloyd's sensor initiative is aimed at maximizing the use of its container fleet in an environment where global port congestion has reduced the number of turns each box makes on an annual basis.