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UPS will raise freight rates for air and ground packages, domestic and international shipments and less-than-truckload freight by 4.9 percent on average Dec. 29, the company said Monday.

The book is closed on a three-year cross-border trucking pilot project, but the debate over cross-border trucking with Mexico is far from finished.

Panalpina’s ocean freight traffic increased by 9 percent in the third quarter, more than twice the market growth, but profit shrunk due to pressure on margins and adverse currency movements.

The nature of footwear sourcing is such that it raises red flags at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, so importers should make commercial compliance an integral part of their business plan, an industry consultant said Monday.

Air cargo terminals in the Asian hubs of Shanghai and Hong Kong have reported another strong month, with the annual throughput shaping up to be the best in years.

More than 100 national, state and local organizations have signed a letter urging a speedy agreement on a West Coast port labor contract “to allay growing concerns of thousands of businesses” that rely on the ports.

India will invest $85.21 million in the development and operation of cargo facilities at Iran’s Chabahar port, as New Delhi seeks to enhance its strategic interest in Central Asia.

A sharp drop in spot rates from Asia to the Mediterranean was facilitated by slowing cargo volumes and overcapacity, Drewry Maritime Research says.

The South Carolina Ports Authority today received the first ship call of a new consolidated South American east coast service that brings additional post-Panamax vessels to Charleston.

The Harbor Trucking Association will explore the possibility of filing a class action lawsuit against the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland as congestion worsens at the California ports, the association announced today.

State and federal politicians are balking at the potential privatization of the Port of Boston’s busiest terminal, an option brought forth by the port authority as it continues to look for ways to erase a funding shortfall totaling $200 million.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection should improve its analysis and circulation of border security data, a new report from the Government Accountability Office says.

Members of the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement have filed for their 11th general rate increase this year in a continuing effort by carriers to shore up spot rates from Asia to North America.

A stronger, steadier North American economy is generating more intra-Canada truckload freight and cross-border shipping demand from U.S. partners and customers.

The HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co. estimates it can complete a Nicaragua canal in five years at a cost of $40 billion, but more realistically, it will cost at least twice that amount and take 10 or more years to build the 173-mile-long waterway.

The slump in crude oil prices over the past three months has sharply reduced ocean carriers’ unit costs as they face declining cargo volumes in the seasonally slack fourth quarter.

The global shipping community is feeling the effects of Ebola in the form of vessel delays and schedule changes, along with potential quarantines and ship health screenings.

Canadian Pacific said its exploratory discussions with CSX Corp. about a possible merger have ended and that no further talks are planned.

Kansas City Southern Railway said it’s investing in its network at a higher rate than most other Class I railroads, as the company expects to increasingly handle more U.S.-Mexico cross-border intermodal, vehicle, crude oil and agriculture and mineral shipments.

The Transpacific Stabilization Agreement said most of its member lines are moving forward individually with previously surcharges on intermodal store-door deliveries from Asia to North American points in an effort to offset higher costs.

Lufthansa Cargo said all its freighter flights will operate as scheduled as pilots began a 35-hour strike at midday that forced the parent airline to cancel 1,450 short- and medium-haul passenger flights.

The No. 1 commercial issue for U.S. Customs and Border Protection is completing its automated commercial environment and linking ACE with the 46 other government agencies involved in clearing shipments at the border Commissioner Gil Kerlikowkse said Saturday.

The executive director of the Port of Los Angeles said efforts to fix the congestion problem in Southern California will fall short until the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Pacific Maritime Association negotiate a new contract.

Severe port congestion at the Philippines’ port of Manila in recent months resulted in average vessel delays of more than five days, according to a recent report from CargoSmart.

U.S. and Mexican shippers and transportation providers in their countries’ trusted trader programs can expect to see faster cargo processing at the shared border, following an agreement between the two nations’ customs agencies that promises to ease shipments of cross-border goods.

Growing U.S.-Mexico trade has attracted a new player into the sparse short-sea market connecting the two countries, with a service aimed at the U.S. Southeast market for northbound cargo.

U.S. imports of ocean containers reached a record high in September, as retailers expect a robust holiday season, but exports continued to decline from soft global demand, making 2014 so far the worst year for container exports in the past four years.

Northern Southern Railway has increased the frequency of its intermodal service to the inland port of Greer, South Carolina, partially reflecting growth at the adjacent BMW plant.

A European construction consortium will begin work this year to expand the Suez Canal under a $1.5 billion contract from the Egyptian government announced on Saturday.

Mexican intermodal volume jumped this week, reaching a high not seen in the last two years, according to the Association of American Railroads, as Mexican shippers increasingly turn to rail to protect their cargo.

Kansas City Southern Railway rode a rebound of container traffic at Lazaro Cardenas port in the third quarter, helping the company hit record revenue in the period.

Coverage on congestion at the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex continued to interest JOC.com readers this past week, as what could be the worst gridlock to hit the largest port complex in the Americas continues.

An environmental accident was averted Friday after a Canadian tugboat rescued a stranded Russian container vessel hauling hundreds of tons of fuel, according to the Canadian Press.

Truckers or cargo interests who contend that terminal operators have unlawfully billed them for late retrieval of containers while the ports were congested have the right to file a complaint with the Federal Maritime Commission, according to a commission staff member.

The Port of Long Beach is temporarily giving container cargo owners three extra days of free time to keep import containers on the docks.

Two organizations in Rotterdam are calling for urgent dialogues concerning the ports' congestion and overcapacity

Congestion-caused delays at the largest U.S. port complex are pushing up outbound spot market truck rates from the Los Angeles-Long Beach market to inland distribution points.

U.S. spot market truck rates were stable last week, and while freight volume dropped from the previous week, demand and pricing are still robust, DAT Solutions said.

An analysis of recent lane-by-lane trucking activity in the U.S. turns on their heads some assumptions about spot market load boards and how they’re used by carriers.