Latest news

All restrictions have been lifted on operations at the three container terminals in Ningbo’s Beilun district and around 80 percent of the available trucking capacity serving the key port has been restored.

Norfolk Southern Railway will reduce international intermodal service out of Cincinnati to the West Coast, calling the routes “low volume,” but exporters may end up paying more for the changes.

With no sign of relief in the high rate-low value container shipping environment, shippers on the major trades will be hoping the newfound prosperity being enjoyed by carriers results in a vast improvement in service levels.

Union Pacific Railroad will rescind its peak season surcharges, a sign that domestic intermodal congestion in the western US has improved considerably in recent weeks

Seasonality was behind the large increases in courier and delivery employment and a drop in trucking employment last month; beneath the surface, there’s tooth-and-nail competition for labor.

Global 3PLs are facing competition from digitally oriented forwarders and vertically integrated container lines and terminal operators.

Retailers are pulling back somewhat on their growth projection for imports because global supply chain problems will continue to restrict cargo volumes moving through US ports.

Cargo is being diverted from China’s Ningbo port as shippers continue to grapple with trucker shortages and warehouse closures that have made it impossible to get products to and from factories in areas that are locked down.

After 18 months of chaotic supply chains, cargo owners are searching for stability as they look ahead into 2022.

The Northwest Seaport Alliance is preparing for additional container and intermodal volumes with the opening Friday of the first phase of Terminal 5 in Seattle.

The fast-spreading variant of COVID-19 likely won’t affect trucking as much as warehousing and aviation, but its indirect impact will put more pressure on already high trucking costs.

While longer berth times in Los Angeles-Long Beach reflect, in part, higher “call sizes,” carrier executives say more than anything else the elevated times are a direct result of the lack of space on the terminal.

A fresh round of investor cash sets the stage for greater automation and expansion of facilities in Lineage’s global cold-chain network.

While most shippers are concerned about whether there will be enough chassis and fluidity in railroad terminals in 2022, they are also bracing for a steep increase in contract rates.

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach acknowledge the recent lack of conformity on the issue of container fees can be counterproductive as they attempt to reduce historic operational bottlenecks in the nation’s largest port complex.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. has edged out Maersk as the world’s largest containership company by capacity, according to Alphaliner, amid fleet growth and higher trans-Pacific volumes.

Vessels have backed up outside the Port of Charleston for the second time in as many months, but port officials believe they can resolve the issue within two weeks if importers retrieve their containers faster.

Increases in spot truckload rates to Chicago from eastern US ports are outpacing rate hikes off the West Coast, as the spot market enters 2022 at record price levels amid “extraordinary” demand.

The Omicron variant of COVID-19 represents yet a further setback for railroads, warehouse operators, and trucking companies to keep workers moving freight.

Carriers and their customers began their 2021-22 service contract negotiations several months earlier than usual, seeking stability and predictability is an eastbound trans-Pacific trade roiled by supply chain disruptions.

The purchase of Midwest Logistics Systems brings more than 1,000 drivers to Schneider National’s dedicated operations and brings the carrier’s annual dedicated revenue closer to $1 billion.

Alabama plans to beef up its main north-south rail line from the Port of Mobile with a series of upgrades and additional capital projects.

Employers and the ILWU fear that the spike in COVID-19 cases that surfaced about two weeks ago in Los Angeles and Long Beach is set to explode over the next two weeks, meaning historic vessel congestion could worsen.

While no COVID-19 cases have been reported at any of Beilun’s three container terminals, warehouse and container depot closures and trucking disruptions have made it difficult for manufacturers and suppliers to get goods to and from Ningbo port.

The creation of an ILWU-supported California task force on automation shows how the union is increasingly determined to fight automation outside the confines of a contract that allows employers to automate.

Ports and marine terminals say that more containers can be moved through on-dock rail now that service has improved, and rail car supply has eased.

Stoughton Trailers, one of two major 53-foot chassis manufacturers in the US, will open a production line in Texas, the third plant the Wisconsin-based company devoted to building chassis.

Blume Global’s acquisition of a sourcing collaboration platform gives it more upstream visibility into manufacturing activity after a year in which component shortages hampered international supply chains.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to hang over the air cargo business, and until regular international travel resumes, shippers will find space in tight supply and rates at elevated levels.

The number of vessels anchored outside Savannah has fallen to fewer than five, a significant improvement from September when the number was as high as 30.

The Port of Oakland opens an off-site container yard that aims to make it easier for ag shippers to access empty containers to use for exports.

Logistics providers are largely embracing a buy-and-build approach to serve their shipper and carrier ecosystems, realizing that internal development resources aren’t usually enough to cater for all their software needs.

The trans-Atlantic trade will report significant volume growth in 2021 as heavy US demand fills all available capacity and pushes rates to record levels.

The Port of Los Angeles has taken aim at empty containers at its terminals with a proposed fee in January that would penalize container lines for failing to move long-dwelling outbound boxes.

Wan Hai has come under scrutiny from the US Federal Maritime Commission for assessing detention charges on containers that shippers assert could not be returned to a container terminal.

An update to new COVID-19 quarantine rules in Hong Kong has prompted Cathay Pacific to halted long-haul freight flights, potentially exacerbating a supply crunch ahead of the Lunar New Year peak.

The Port of New York–New Jersey is seeing an uptick in ships waiting for an open berth as vessel calls rise and more freight gets diverted from other ports.

Canadian Pacific has signed a multi-year agreement to continue to move goods for Canadian Tire, which will include the inland port the tire company purchased a stake in this August.

With import volumes in the trans-Pacific projected to remain strong into the new year and water and landside congestion continuing, the first half of 2022 will look eerily similar to 2021.

Toughening Hong Kong’s quarantine requirement for air cargo pilots would severely disrupt airfreight operations during peak air cargo season and ahead of China’s Lunar New Year holiday.