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Spot rates on the Asia-Europe trade plunged 13.3 percent this week to $809 per 20-foot container, the third straight week of heavy declines since the Nov. 1 general rate increases failed to stick, according to the latest reading of the Shanghai Containerised Freight Index (SCFI).

Container throughput at Shanghai edged closer to the 30 million TEU mark in October, with the 3.02 million 20-foot containers handled in the month putting the port on course to blow last year’s 33.6 million box record out of the water by the close of business in December.

For a single product, the iPhone plays a leading role in Taiwan’s export orders, helping push the key economic indicator to a record $44.9 billion in October on demand for the smartphone and other consumer electronics.

The freight transportation industry remains bitterly divided over the future of the organization that was established in 2005 by marine terminal operators in Los Angeles-Long Beach to manage the extended gates program at the largest U.S. port complex.

West Coast states would be hit hardest if their ports are shut by a longshore strike or lockout, but the most severe impact would be longer-term, according to maritime economist John C. Martin.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association will not have a contract settlement until December at the earliest because the ILWU is suspending negotiations on coastwide issues until Dec. 2, according to the employers’ organization.

U.S. intermodal volume growth appears to be slowing, reflecting the winding down of the peak season and potential delays caused by U.S. West Coast port congestion.

Just days after postponing a surcharge on cargo heading from Asia to U.S. West Coast ports, Mediterranean Shipping Co. today told customers it would impose a surcharge next week to mitigate losses from terminal congestion.

A Teamsters union election for drivers at a FedEx Freight terminal in Richmond, Virginia, has been canceled, the third election withdrawal in three weeks.

Zim Integrated Shipping Services’ net loss narrowed in the third quarter as the Israeli ocean carrier started to benefit from a $3.4 billion debt restructuring.

The Port of Oakland is closed today following the death Wednesday night of a longshoreman in Benicia, a breakbulk and bulk port on the San Francisco Bay.

The South Carolina Ports Authority’s inland port of Greer continues to exceed performance expectations with rail lifts at the facility up 1.5 times over plan, with 17,714 moves since July.

North America has “Third World” ports that charge carriers “very high costs for very low efficiency,” a senior executive of United Arab Shipping Co. says.

BNSF Railway plans to spend a record $6 billion on capital projects next year and will invest $500 million more this year than it originally planned, it said today.

A federal judge has refused to block the next phase of a multiyear increase in tolls for bridges used by trucks and cars crossing waterways between New York and New Jersey.

In an effort to reduce congestion caused by mega-vessels, the Port of Hamburg has launched an initiative to better coordinate the handling of the vessels — even before they make their way up the estuary of the Elbe river.

Industry officials in the Port of New York and New Jersey have agreed on a plan to create a “gray” chassis pool that would allow truckers to freely interchange chassis throughout the port as soon as early 2015.

An independent organization of ocean industry executives seeks to enhance the efficiency and popularity of electronic invoicing by establishing a single standard that simplifies ocean freight invoicing by automating the time-consuming and costly manual invoicing and reconciliation process.

Japan’s trade surplus with the United States expanded for the second consecutive month in October on a year-over-year basis despite a double-digit rise in imports, as exports also posted robust growth, according to preliminary trade figures released by the Japanese Finance Ministry.

DHL Supply Chain will expand its warehousing and transport capabilities in China by 50 percent over the next three years, investing $140 million in modern logistics facilities across the country to address huge demand for services from inland cities.

Fresh from a dismal third quarter, freight forwarding and logistics provider Damco is expanding its multimodal presence in China’s electronics manufacturing hub of Zhengzhou.

U.S. Federal Maritime Commissioners voted 3-2 to ask members of the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement more questions on their proposal to permanently include westbound trans-Pacific trade in their discussion agreement.

The port of Charleston saw double-digit increases in container traffic in October, marking another month of what the head of the South Carolina Ports Authority says is “exceptional” above-average growth.

The Pacific Maritime Association said work slowdowns continued in the northern ports, while the International Longshore and Warehouse Union was not dispatching sufficient skilled labor to handle cargo volumes in Los Angeles-Long Beach.

CMA CGM will use at least some of its new reefer fleet to serve growing produce trade between countries bordering both the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey approved $2.42 million to continue a four-year-old program to help port truckers replace older, higher-polluting vehicles with newer, cleaner burning ones.

Representatives of global dockworkers’ unions pledged “active solidarity” to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and questioned the Pacific Maritime Association’s willingness to reach a contract with the U.S. West Coast union.

China Shipping said it will launch the first of five 19,100-TEU container ships by end of the month, supplanting Maersk Line as the operator of the world’s largest container vessel.

Major U.S. retailers don't expect U.S. West Coast port congestion to hamper getting Black Friday products on the shelves, but they’re far less confident on their ability to keep stores stocked through the entire holiday season.

The Port of Long Beach today will be the focus of attention by a Teamsters-affiliated group that is attempting to organize drayage drivers in Southern California.

Peel Ports CEO Mark Whitworth says a $480 million container port rising along the river Mersey will provide the port of Liverpool with “a fantastic opportunity to take back its national market share.”

Ports are set to dominate container shipping strategy with the focus on terminal productivity and capacity expansion, industry analysts said at the JOC Group’s Port Performance Conference Europe in London.

The good news is the U.S. economy will continue to expand through at least 2017. The bad news is it won’t expand that much

Shippers who came to the National Industrial Transportation League’s annual conference in Florida hoping to hear U.S. freight rates would moderate after rising significantly in 2014 are heading home disappointed.

Collaboration, cooked with perspiration and flavored by imagination with a dash of desperation, is the main course being served at the National Industrial Transportation League’s annual conference and TransComp Exhibition in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Terminal operator Gulftainer is a step closer to readying its Al-Sharjah Emirati terminal for mega-ships after it received $60 million of new crane equipment for the Khorfakkan Container Terminal.

Trans-Pacific carriers only achieved half the general rate increase gain they hoped to via a $600-per FEU hike, Drewry Maritime Research said today.

The new ocean carrier alliances set to launch in 2015 will operate more reliable schedules, removing a major factor behind the congestion that has plagued major container ports this year, marine terminal operators said at the JOC Group’s Port Performance Conference in London today.

Amid pleas of major shippers for a federal mediator, President Obama says he's confident U.S. West Coast longshoremen and waterfront employers can reach a labor contract.