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Shippers plagued by capacity shortages need to eliminate inefficiencies and wasted time to effectively create capacity now out of reach.

Investment is growing in start-up collaborative logistics platforms that connect parties and break down silos between areas such as procurement, visibility, and payment.

Hapag-Lloyd became the latest example of how rising volume and revenue is being thoroughly eroded by increasing bunker fuel prices.

Some are predicting a continuation of peak season-like conditions not just through the end of the year but continuing until the Chinese New Year holiday beginning in early February. Beyond that, two sector variables will determine the extent of anticipated first-quarter weakness in spot rates.

The triple threat of e-commerce retailers, logistics technology startups, and ocean carriers pushing into the logistics services space is creating pressure on forwarders to innovate in the way they adopt new technology and engage with shippers to maintain value in those relationships.

Blockchain is one of the most-often discussed topics in the shipping industry. Proponents argue it has the potential to transform shipping and supply chain management, among many other uses. JOC senior technology editor Eric Johnson provided a primer on the subject at the recently completed JOC Logistics Technology Conference in Las Vegas.

The terminal, which does not normally process trucks and containers on the weekend, opened the gates Saturday from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. and plans to do so every Saturday until the end of the year. Furthermore, the first Saturday’s turn time reduction was substantial.

Machine learning tools are often touted as mechanisms to drive next-level benefits in freight movement, but current use cases are more feet-on-the-ground than head-in-the-cloud applications.

Executives from Imperial Logistics International participated in a wide-ranging question and answer session concerning the mounting intermodal transport challenges facing shippers and forwarders moving cargo around Europe.

While container shipping fundamentals are improving, 2019 holds major challenges for ocean carriers.

At the recently completed JOC Inland Distribution Conference 2018 in Illinois, shippers and executives received a clear message concerning the economy and their shipping plan, among other insights.

A report on the status of instant quotes in container shipping.

The addition of Express Havre St-Pierre helps 'build out' Manitoulin Transport's truckload and LTL service map in Quebec, especially in the province's rural areas, and complements its westward expansion.

The new consortium, powered by Oracle Cloud Blockchain Service, involves CMA CGM, Cosco Shipping (and subsidiary brand OOCL), Evergreen Marine, and Yang Ming, and the lines represent about one-third of total global container ship capacity.

New port data collected indicate Chennai is slowly establishing a footprint in transshipment handling.

This Sunday, Nov. 11, will see the annual Singles' Day online ordering frenzy in mainland China that is expected to surpass the 254 billion yuan ($37 billion) in e-commerce sales generated in 2017.

Carriers on the Asia-Europe trade are heading into the final month of the year with rates declining and contract negotiations for 2019 beginning, and that could mean capacity cuts on the way for the historically busy December-January period.

India officials say the establishment of an alternative, river transport will help reduce highway congestion and improve supply chain efficiency.

The number of for-hire US trucking employees skyrocketed in the first 10 months of 2018, fueled by freight demand, but large trucking operators are short truck drivers in a tight labor market.

Brunswick is the second-busiest roll-on, roll-off port in the United States by tonnage, and although tariffs have affected trade, the upward trajectory remains intact regarding 2019.

In the shipping industry, it’s an exciting but risky time. Because tech innovation isn’t native to incumbent players, the risks of a wrong decision are inherently greater and are compounded by the accelerating pace of development and the increasing presence of tech-native players asserting themselves in many segments of the market.

Coupled with other, recent logistics-focused, blockchain developments, the announcement by Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge, Cargill, and Louis Dreyfus on Oct. 25 could be seen as tangible progress in the advancement of commercially viable uses of the somewhat controversial technology.

The Trump administration's initial 10 percent tariff on China prompted front-loading of holiday goods earlier this year. Now, the prospect of an additional 25 percent tariff on China on Jan. 1 is affecting spring shipments. Each is among the chief reasons trans-Pacific spot rates have maintained their strength.

What triggered the walkout in the Baltimore terminal, which is operated by Ports America Chesapeake, is unclear, but the job action is a reminder that although the signing of the six-year master contract was seen as a harbinger of stability along the two coasts, disputes over local issues and actions can intervene.

The World Shipping Council, which represents the container shipping industry, said the paper by the OECD’s International Transport Forum that wants the European Commission’s block exemption for container shipping lines to end without renewal in April 2020 demonstrated “a fundamental misunderstanding” of how the consortia block exemption works.

If shippers reorganized efficiently and put an end to procurement teams focused solely on price and transactions instead of supply chain efficiency, we would have more drivers available and motivated to take time to train and become more valuable as well as get paid more.

Although the industry is unlikely to see another all-encompassing fiat like IMO 2020, the International Maritime Organization's (IMO’s) ambition is to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from international shipping to 50 percent of 2008 levels by the year 2050, and to someday eliminate the fleet's GHG emissions entirely.

Less-than-truckload (LTL) shippers must scramble to find alternatives and anticipate higher pricing, as UPS Freight stops taking freight ahead of a Teamster vote on its ‘last, best, final’ contract offer. Freight is unlikely to be stranded, but it will probably move at a premium, as LTL carriers prioritize freight from existing customers.

A dynamic, demand-based pricing system similar to those used by airlines and hotels is one part of a broader plan that would affect how freight is shipped in the US LTL market.

The port may find its modest salary compared with other port directors and nuanced politics may challenge recruitment.

Effective in February, Stehle will focus on business development, key accounts, and managing large projects, as well as supporting organizational restructuring efforts that began earlier in 2018.

Not even the revenue and volume from the acquisition of OOIL, one of the better managed global carriers, and $162 million in government subsidies Cosco Shipping Holdings received between January and September, could prevent its net earnings falling by 68 percent.

The Lineage Cool Port Oakland cold storage facility offers direct access for up to 36 refrigerated rail box cars and also features 90 truck doors.

Itajai this year has received seven roll-on, roll-off vessels and is slated to handle more through November and December.

That impressive ease-of-doing-business performance, following a 30-spot improvement in the previous survey, has positioned India as the “top-ranked economy” in the South Asian region, according to the World Bank.

Starting Thursday, shippers will be able to complete their bookings and receive confirmation within seconds compared with previous waiting times of up to two hours, a delay that has created uncertainty and extra workload, as shippers followed up bookings with thousands of phone calls and emails.

The acquisition of Canada’s largest privately owned transport operator will help Canadian National “lay down track” into new markets as intermodal revenue increases.

The investment is a part of a strong push by DP World to diversify beyond its core container cargo handling business with more investment in assets that link the global terminal operator directly with shippers and logistics service providers.

Keep this in mind: Every innovation in technology and transportation since the fax machine was invented, that was intended to disrupt or to disintermediate, was adopted and deployed first by 3PLs and carriers. Hence, your action item lies with your 3PLs and their carrier partners.

Shippers came to the JOC Inland Distribution Conference on Oct. 22-24 in Oak Brook, Illinois, to connect with carriers and third-party logistics providers, discuss problems, and get a sense of where the market is headed. But if they came hoping to hear that a buyer’s market in US transportation is around the corner, they were sorely disappointed.