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Finding an alternative fuel whose production can be scaled up to meet the enormous demands of a wide range of industries makes it a daunting challenge, say industry experts.

The latest new ship contracts come despite concerns that falling cargo volumes and new vessel deliveries will create a yawning gap between ship supply and demand starting next year.

The JOC Intermodal Savings Index shows intermodal contracts saved shippers a lot of money in the third quarter, but spot rail rates saved very little, especially on short hauls in the eastern US.

Hub Group and Schneider National sidestepped questions about intermodal contracts for 2023, a far different approach than the two companies took a year ago when the pricing power was on their side.

The Port of New York and New Jersey and two of its marine terminals are funding further planning on a track project that would mean fewer delays out of the port.

The US Department of Transportation will provide record funding for 41 port projects, including infrastructure upgrades and emissions improvements.

Growing use of equipment pools and power-only trucking support long-term demand for 53-foot trailers that transcends short-term economic trends, manufacturer Wabash says.

The new ships ordered by the Grimaldi Group, designed for carrying electric vehicles, will burn 50 percent less fuel than earlier car carriers.

Carriers in the eastbound trans-Pacific continue to improve their on-time vessel arrivals at US ports as softer import volumes contributed to reductions in vessel backlogs and marine terminal congestion.

Now that a second rail union has rejected the tentative contract deal brokered by the Biden administration, trade associations are asking the White House to intervene before a potential November strike.

Schneider says the peak season will be muted because shippers moved inventory into warehouses earlier this year, but the weaker volumes do not necessarily mean steep rate cuts for shippers in 2023 contracts.

The move to impose fees on long-dwelling containers comes as the import backlog at Port Houston has created truck queues outside its terminals and increased turn times for drivers.

The severe space constraints that drove container shipping rates to record levels over the past two years are over, easing shippers' reliance on long-term fixed rates.

The longer it takes for the ILWU and West Coast longshore employers to agree on a new contract, the threat of disruption grows and more cargo will be diverted elsewhere – some of it permanently.

A Geodis initiative around automating service requests from shippers is an example of growing consumption of robotic process automation in the third-party logistics industry.

Canadian freight forwarders and their shipper-clients are calling on federal transportation agencies to address supply chain bottlenecks they say have resulted in delays and mounting detention and demurrage costs.

Less demand for its customers’ goods is cutting into tonnage and shipments at Old Dominion Freight Line, but not the company’s revenue or profit.

Container analysts and carriers differ widely on how much impact two new IMO rules will have in softening a wave of tonnage hitting the water in two years, writes JOC Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.

While US intermodal shippers are pleased service has improved, some don’t need the service reliability they sought earlier in the year because of elevated inventories and fears of an economic recession.

Cosco’s acquisition of the stake in the Hamburg terminal was subject to approval by the German government, but significant resistance due to political sensitivities prolonged the process.

Mediterranean Shipping Co.’s terminal arm is working with a developer to build a container facility at the Sparrows Point industrial park near the Port of Baltimore.

A funding round into Shippeo shows that demand for visibility and fragmentation of the market continue to grow despite a slowing venture capital environment.

The inability to get past the jurisdictional issue in Seattle has now led some observers to conclude that contract negotiations between the ILWU and longshore employers on the West Coast are unlikely to be resolved this year.

The FMC is attempting to define when it’s reasonable for ocean carriers to refuse export cargo, but some shippers say the agency is making it too easy for that to happen.

Volume and rates fell through the third quarter, but not enough to slow the highly elevated earnings reported by two of the world’s largest forwarders.

The surcharge revisions come as average contract prices out of Indian trades have already declined to the mid-2021 trendline and could drop further to near pre-pandemic levels.

Freight congestion, now at inland distribution sites such as warehouses and intermodal rail terminals, and on-time delivery continue to be problems for shippers despite falling trucking costs.

More than two years in development, a standard electronic bill of lading for less-than-truckload shipments promises to streamline the flow of data, providing greater visibility to shippers.

US ports saw a jump in shipments from Bangladesh this year through August, mostly from apparel and clothing accessories, as importers support a “China-plus-one” sourcing strategy.

The rate declines seen in major ocean trades this year have begun to seep into intra-Asia markets, with regional carriers now reporting lower revenues and volumes.

US shippers will find LTL savings in 2023, but the biggest savings will go to those who can accurately forecast demand and fit freight to carrier networks, according to BlueGrace Logistics.

The increasingly bitter dispute between the union and Liverpool’s terminal operator is over pay increases labor is seeking to compensate workers for the UK’s runaway inflation rate.

South Florida Container Terminal will be handling more volumes after the start of a new trans-Atlantic service from the Mediterranean, with the CMA CGM Navegantes making its first call to Miami this week.

The industrial warehouse market in the US has enough supply to last through the next year, but logistics developer Prologis cautions there could be an emerging gap in capacity starting as soon as late next year.

The rank-and-file of the US’s third-largest rail union rejected a tentative deal hammered out last month, raising fears of a crippling strike just days before Thanksgiving.

Europe’s two largest container port hubs have reported declining throughput in the first nine months of the year as a series of factors stacks up to put the brakes on demand.

Rates on ocean trades from India continue to slide, although the country’s shipping lobby thinks prices will eventually settle at a midpoint between pre-pandemic levels and the record highs of earlier this year.

US shippers will win transportation savings in 2023 bids, but large truckload carriers haven’t lost all pricing muscle.

Carriers will continue to skip calls at South African ports next week even with the end of the strike, which has caused widespread disruption to terminal operations with cargo backlogs and omitted calls on key services.

Reduced backlogs in Southern California due primarily to the diversion of cargo to the East and Gulf coasts have shifted the congestion problems to ports in those regions.