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The nation’s largest truckload operator is keeping a firm grip on costs and lowering its expectations for the second quarter as US motor carriers prepare for a potentially bumpy road ahead.

As volumes front-loaded by retailers and manufacturers ahead of planned tariff increases during the winter months have subsided, so too has the congestion that gripped the largest US port complex.

Two inland ports tied to the Port of New York and New Jersey by rail could help get trucks off the road but, if completed, they won’t alleviate storage pressure expected to rise as the port grows its discretionary rail volume to the Midwest.

Norfolk Southern saw big gains in international containers in the first quarter, but the railroad rejects the idea of domestic intermodal weakness in 2019 and is confident that rail pricing won’t be challenged by a much looser truck market.

Container carriers are caught in a classic “prisoner’s dilemma.” If they all install scrubbers, none of them reap the benefits of cheap, plentiful high-sulfur fuel that would come from widespread adoption of low-sulfur fuel.

A new joint venture between Wallenius Lines and Swedish Orient Lines (SOL) has ordered LNG-fueled newbuildings intended to serve paper product and breakbulk shippers.

Tough new truck emissions reduction rules by European regulators have brought mixed reactions from freight transportation providers.

India’s largest freight rail operator will maintain its current pricing through March 31, 2020, as part of a greater effort to encourage containerized rail movements throughout the country.

An influx of new Class 8 tractors and straight trucks is easing capacity constraints and pulling truck pricing downward as the US economy expands at a slower pace.

The US Maritime Administration has awarded $6.79 million in federal marine highway grants to container-on-barge projects in Louisiana and Virginia and a waterborne service that will move farm products between Long Island and Connecticut.

Investments in warehousing technology are being driven not just by e-commerce growth but also by larger shippers wanting to optimize inventory placement as their networks get more complex.

HMM’s new CEO is on a European tour that will focus on three key challenges: the future of its 2M Alliance relationship, winning customer trust, and gaining insight into the low-sulfur fuel mandate.

US containerized imports from Asia dropped 0.5 percent year over year in the first quarter of 2019, after rising 15.5 percent in the fourth quarter, according to the PIERS data, a sister product of JOC.com within IHS Markit

While the Port of Houston Authority ruled that only one container vessel larger than 9,500 TEU could traverse the port channel each week, the authority argues that enshrining the limit into law could have sweeping consequences that would damage the port economy.

Applications are now being accepted for $900 million in USDOT BUILD grants for the upcoming fiscal year, a 40 percent reduction from the $1.5 billion made available last year for port, road, and rail projects.

After months of heated debate, lawmakers in India are moving forward with new port tariff regulations designed to roll back competitive advantages afforded to newer terminal operators within the current framework.

The 50 largest US trucking operators grabbed a larger share of the market, while smaller carriers raised the bar in terms of revenue growth last year thanks to the strongest freight market since the 2009 recession.

Container vessel on-time performance could degrade even further as carriers remove ships from service to install equipment that “scrubs” harmful sulfur particles from ship exhaust in lieu of burning low-sulfur fuel.

As ongoing, rolling delays at the US-Mexico border threaten cross-border manufacturing operations that rely on quick, dependable deliveries, some shippers are taking drastic measures to keep their supply chains running smoothly.

Although the e-commerce giant doesn't describe itself as a third-party logistics provider (3PL), Amazon has surpassed major global players such as DHL and Kuehne + Nagel in 3PL revenue.

The World Trade Organization has downgraded its 2019 outlook for world trade growth to 2.6 percent from a 3 percent clip in 2018, and global manufacturing is weakening.

The eight-year trend of declining industrial space availability could soon be over, with a more even balance between the demand for space and the amount of new space completed, even as rents continue to go up.

Kansas City Southern referred to congestion in Houston as a smaller version of Chicago gridlock, while acknowledging coordination with Union Pacific Railroad needs to be better and precision scheduled railroading could help.

Slowing international growth and declining domestic volume in the first quarter point to the worst performance in intermodal since the freight recession ended in late 2016.

Chainalytics sees contract truckload rates turning ‘negative’ year over year as oversupply hits softer US freight demand.

Kansas City Southern (KCS) reported a decline in first-quarter intermodal volumes due to the teacher blockade that stopped cargo going in and out of the port of Lazaro Cardenas by rail.

Pending antitrust approval, Zeaborn Group will take full ownership of the Zeamarine joint venture, consisting of Zeaborn Chartering, Rickmers Line, and Intermarine, after buying out New Mountain Capital’s interest.

A large number of small and midsize US trucking companies report competitors charging “unsustainably low rates” in a recent Bibby Financial Services survey.

Maersk’s commitment to a fully decarbonized fleet by 2050 is ensuring that decarbonization will immediately come onto the container shipping industry’s agenda.

Declines in the Asia-North Europe and intra-European trades were more than offset by growing demand for feeder and transshipment services at Europe’s largest port.

Some Customs agents are returning to US-Mexico border crossings following weeks of cargo congestion, but long delays continue in locations such as Pharr, Texas.

Container carrier Zim is the second independent line to join Maersk and IBM’s blockchain platform, with other European carriers poised to join, JOC.com has learned.

Jeffrey A. Bader, the former president of the largest trucking group in the Port of New York and New Jersey, will be succeeded by Lisa Yakomin, who has held responsibility for communications and government affairs at the association.

Intermodal volume will be down for many of the Class I railroads and trucking companies providing intermodal service, and although weather is an excuse, larger questions remain about the sector in the short and long term.

The latest multipurpose/heavy-lift sector forecast from Drewry projects a decent year ahead but slowing growth in the longer term.

The UK freight transport industry will need government support if any real advances are to be made in decarbonizing the supply chain.

Customs services at Mexico’s largest port will be available round the clock under a plan that federal customs authorities are putting together to help move cargo through the port more quickly.

Ryder urges shippers to apply for expedited clearance to mitigate disruption from US-Mexico cross-border congestion as it adds equipment and builds out its truck yards and warehousing space near the border.

Four of the world’s largest shipping lines received clearance this week to begin developing data standards through a new association designed to help carriers to tap more quickly into outside digital innovation.

The Los Angeles Harbor Commission has again delayed a decision on APM Terminals' plan to automate a portion of its Pier 400 facility in the Port of LA, giving the terminal operator and the ILWU 30 days to reach an agreement on how best to proceed with the project.