Latest news

Maritime employers and the longshore union representing dockworkers along the US East and Gulf coasts will restart negotiations in New Jersey next month, with automation the main issue at hand.

McBeth, who passed away last week at age 83, was remembered as instrumental in the development of the Prince Rupert container terminal.

Shippers and forwarders are reporting slowdowns at several inland gateways that are linked to seasonality, equipment placement, labor disruption and carrier behavior.

The recent rise in volume to Europe contrasts sharply with China-to-US tonnage that in the second half has fallen far below year-over-year levels following greater scrutiny by US authorities on e-commerce imports.

Jens Lund this week emphasized the earnings potential of the takeover, pointing to greater scale and a wider portfolio of services that would increase the combined entity’s reach.

The agency said it has secured more refunds and waivers for shippers in disputes with ocean carriers over detention and demurrage charges, with more investigations pending.

Beth Ann Branch is taking the reins as New Orleans develops the $1.8 billion Louisiana International Terminal, which will allow the port to service ultra-large container ships.

The Port of Montreal’s maritime employers warn that even a brief strike will add to shipper uncertainty over routing cargo through the port given other recent job actions taken by the union.

UP’s CEO Jim Vena, during the railroad’s Q3 earnings call, appeared to take a shot at ocean carriers for not informing landside stakeholders sooner about the heavy volumes that landed along the West Coast in recent months.

The ruling from the Canada Industrial Relations Board said union longshore foremen moved too late in raising the issue of automation’s impact on jobs at the Port of Vancouver.

The first signs of solid third-quarter performances are being reported by ocean carriers, and with greater visibility over the rest of the year, they are ramping up their profitability expectations.

A report from the US Governmental Accountability Office shows the possible, but narrow, path for adoption of automation at US ports as maritime employers and longshore labor along the East and Gulf coasts attempt to hammer out a new master contract.

Trucking companies large and small are considering adding more LTL providers to their portfolios, but finding the right acquisition targets is a challenge.

The move comes as container shipping affiliate Cosco Shipping Holdings is expanding services between China and Thailand and as overall shipping capacity is growing between the two countries.

Rising competition and tough negotiations with customers are believed to be behind the narrowing profit margins that were plainly displayed in the financial results of the two forwarders.

A rise in consumer spending in Europe has kept volume at the port in positive territory so far this year, but full vessels and “peak loads” are keeping pressure on terminals and inland connections.

Carriers are making up for lost time and accept, as the reality of doing business in this market, that actions that benefit them often work to the disadvantage of their customers, writes Peter Tirschwell.

Freight marketplaces report a new storm-related surge in spot volume, lifting transactional pricing as trucking heads toward its peak holiday season.

Market sources say cargo leaving ports in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay is being delayed because ships bound for those ports are arriving from the US with disrupted schedules following the Oct. 1-3 strike.

It marks the second time since August the carrier has increased its 2024 earnings guidance, an indication Maersk expects robust demand and rising rates to deliver a strong finish to the year.

The aim of the partnership with Suez is to establish a long-term industrial collaboration on biomethane, with the fuel generated supplying the carrier’s alternative fuel fleet.

The Belgian hub says it now handles almost one-third of the container trade in the busy Hamburg-Le Havre port range.

It’s not too soon for BCOs to begin game-planning for the results of the US presidential election and what a slew of new tariffs in a possible Trump administration could mean for importers, writes shipper consultant John McCauley.

Small farmers of commodities such as palm oil or cocoa remain concerned about the demanding traceability requirements of the regulation that is seen as a barrier to trade with the European Union.

The US Department of Transportation’s latest round of infrastructure grants also target port-adjacent roadways, berth expansions and yard equipment electrification.

The carrier will exit the 2M Alliance next January and has been on an acquisition spree over the past year to shore up its global logistics and container terminal operations.

The truckload spot market is cooling after a surge in rates and volume, but seasonality is expected to give it another boost as year-end holidays approach.

The test showed that eBLs sped the transfer of documents from the exporter to the importer using the WaveBL platform as a shared ledger.

The country could be on the verge of undoing legislation that abolished cabotage restrictions, saying the boost received by foreign-flag carriers has come at the expense of local shipping interests.

Frontloading of peak season cargo might have been a factor in why domestic intermodal volumes were higher than expected in the third quarter.

A year of disruption has been on-the-job training for air freight shippers that are now battle-hardened and prepared for a tough end-of-year peak season.

Despite its brevity, shippers can expect to see ongoing impacts on tonnage supply on some trade lanes from the Oct. 1-3 strike, Lars Jensen told the South Carolina International Trade Conference.

The Class I railroads are acquiring separate sections of a rail line in Alabama and Mississippi, allowing them to launch a new joint intermodal service between Mexico and the Southeast US.

The group, comprising ONE, HMM and Yang Ming, said the changes apply to two trans-Pacific services and an Asia-Mediterranean service.

The port’s main container terminals are among the facilities affected by the overtime strike that Montreal’s dockworkers have deployed as part of contentious contract negotiations.

Forwarders say their containers are sitting at some terminals for 10 days or longer before they can be retrieved, although some relief in import volumes and dwell times is expected next month.

Barbara Melvin says 2024 hit Charleston in unexpected ways, but the full reopening of the Leatherman terminal was a major achievement for the port’s future expansion.

Spot rates on the westbound route, India’s largest trade lane by volume, have nearly halved in the last two weeks, according to new data obtained by the Journal of Commerce.

Ocean carriers have so far been unable to stem the rate slide in the traditionally slow post-Golden Week period that followed an early peak season on the trade lane, but they are pulling hard on capacity management levers in a bid to balance supply and demand.

Rapid urbanization and strong economic growth are driving project cargo volumes in India, although heavier cargoes are becoming harder to handle due to port equipment and infrastructure limitations.