News - Industry News

Tighter US freight capacity driving 3PL growth, mergers

[caption caption="Difficulty sourcing truck and intermodal capacity is creating opportunities for logistics providers, and will encourage more mergers and acquisitions. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]An unprecedented US freight market is creating new opportunities for third-party logistics (3PL) providers, as shippers increasingly desperate for freight capacity turn to intermediaries. Freight brokers and third-party freight managers are digging...

Congress to address port congestion, US export challenges

[caption caption="Members of the House and Senate in March publicly voiced concerns about carriers rejecting export loads and encouraged the FMC to act if such practices in fact violate the Shipping Act. Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com"][/caption]Congress on Tuesday will question US maritime regulators and a group representing container lines, longshore labor, exporters, and the Port...

Congress to address port congestion, US export challenges

Congress on Tuesday will question US maritime regulators and a group representing container lines, longshore labor, exporters, and the Port of Los Angeles on what can be done to mitigate container shortages and delays affecting US containerized shippers. The scheduled hearing of the House Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation subcommittee will be the first to address the...

Asia-US shipping chaos has window to ease in second half

[caption caption="The National Retail Federation forecasts US containerized imports will grow 33 percent year over year in June, 14 percent in July, 7.5 percent in August, and 1.7 percent in September. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]With freight rates in the eastbound trans-Pacific spiraling well above levels anyone in the market has ever...

Concor launches intermodal reefer service from JNPT

[caption caption="The first train of Concor’s new intermodal reefer service was loaded with 44 FEU of fresh fruit imports at PSA’s Bharat Mumbai Container Terminal at JNPT (pictured). Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]Demand for containerized rail service at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) is growing, evidenced by Container Corporation of India (Concor) launching a new intermodal link from India’s busiest public container complex to Concor’s ICD Whitefield...

Trans-Pacific carriers pushing rate increases more often

[caption caption="Peak season holiday shipments on top of back-to-school merchandise are creating unprecedented demand for vessel space in June. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]Carriers in the eastbound trans-Pacific are now pushing general rate increases (GRIs) every two weeks, rather than monthly as they had in the past, as strong demand and severe capacity constraints at Asian load ports intensify. Further,...

Forwarders tapping visibility APIs to automate container updates

[caption caption="Terminal49 in September released an application programming interface designed to enable forwarders and other software vendors to plug container status data into their existing systems. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]New York-based forwarder Shifl is partnering with container visibility data company Terminal49 to supply it with the ability to predict estimated times of arrival (ETAs) and independently verify its own container status data, the...

Container lines levy Yantian congestion surcharges as berth reopens

[caption caption="As of Monday morning local time, there were 31 container ships at YICT berths and 19 ships destined for the complex, according to Sea-web, a sister product of JOC.com within IHS Markit. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]Container lines are levying surcharges tied to congestion at Yantian International Containers Terminals (YICT) as...

What do agriculture exporters need from Congress?

[caption caption="Twenty-two percent of US agriculture exports that could be shipped, are not being shipped due to container shipping restraints, according to AgTC. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]Following are two of the highest priorities of US agriculture exporters. Currently, shippers are pursuing congressional mandate (legislation), including AgTC’s own proposals described below. However,...

GlobalTranz, Worldwide Express merging amid tight freight capacity

[caption caption="The GlobalTranz-Worldwide Express merger will give the new logistics provider greater reach across modes as shippers struggle to secure capacity. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]Third-party logistics (3PL) companies GlobalTranz and Worldwide Express are merging to create a company that would be the fourth-largest freight brokerage in North America, the two companies said Friday. The new 3PL would have a reach embracing the...

Yellow’s Hawkins defends $700 million US loan

[caption caption="Yellow’s military contract with Crowley Logistics accounts for only one in four Defense Department shipments handled by the less-than-truckload carrier, the company said. Photo credit: Yellow Corp."][/caption]Yellow is a larger trucking supplier to the US military than congressional investigators have been told and was correctly certified as being critical to national security when it received a $700 million US coronavirus-relief...

North American freight volumes, spending at multiyear highs: Cass

[caption caption="Supply chain costs show no sign of slowing and capacity shows no sign of increasing, Cass says. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]Freight shipments within North America in May reached the second-highest monthly level recorded in 31 years of data, according to Cass Information Systems, a provider of freight payment services and...

Knight-Swift leaving BNSF to partner with UP on intermodal

[caption caption="Knight-Swift Transportation believes the Union Pacific network will better complement its trucking business in California, Colorado, Texas, Utah, and Washington states. Photo credit: John Quinn."][/caption]Knight-Swift Transportation, a top US intermodal provider, will terminate its exclusive agreement with BNSF Railway (BNSF) to partner with Union Pacific Railroad (UP) to handle its container business effective January 2022, the...

Long Beach terminals step up to clear clogging rail containers

[caption caption="Terminal operators say excessive rail container dwell times of more than 11 days are the main cause of congestion in the harbor. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]Terminal operators in the Port of Long Beach have begun using the Pier S overflow facility to provide temporary storage for rail containers that would otherwise be stuck inside active marine...

Cargo owners prioritizing capacity over price in hot breakbulk market

[caption caption="Average one-year charter rates reached $12,500 per day for a 12,000 dwt MPV in May. Photo credit: Spliethoff."][/caption]Strong demand and healthy freight rates in the multipurpose vessel and heavy lift (MPV/HL) markets are expected to last through the end of 2021, driven by continued investment in wind energy projects...

Hapag-Lloyd moves to improve NY-NJ truck flow

[caption caption="Hapag-Lloyd will allow truckers more time to return empties and pay fees to address long waits at terminals. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]Hapag-Lloyd said Thursday it will extend the free time for returning empty containers in the Port of New York and New Jersey, pay truckers there a congestion fee, and...

Rapidly rising MPV/HL rates still well below 2007 levels: Drewry

[caption caption="dship Carriers' multipurpose ship Mick loading seven straddle carries, each 71 metric tons, for transport from Poland to Australia. Photo credit: dship Carriers."][/caption]Fierce competition for shipping capacity and record port congestion continue to benefit the multipurpose vehicle/heavy-lift (MPV/HL) fleet, but rates in the sector are just reaching levels that...

CMA CGM taps Singapore software startup to manage Thailand drayage

[caption caption="Drayage markets in Southeast Asia tend to be fragmented, and most companies lack a digital backbone to plan container pickups and drop-offs. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]A software provider aiming to digitalize port drayage processes in Southeast Asia has expanded into Thailand through a partnership with liner carrier CMA CGM’s local office. Singapore-based Haulio develops software to help drayage carriers — called “hauliers” in...

No boost to trans-Atlantic air cargo capacity in short-term: forwarders

[caption caption="Drip feeding passenger flights back into the trans-Atlantic, with limited city-to-city connections, will not bring belly capacity back into service at the sort of scale needed by the market to ease space constraints. Photo credit: Air France KLM."][/caption]Forwarders do not expect a return of capacity to the deeply constrained trans-Atlantic air freight market anytime...

New Montreal feeder service gives exporters alternative to trucking

[caption caption="The Sedna Desgagnés, above, will eventually build to over 20 sailings next year. Photo credit: HOPA."][/caption]An Ontario-based terminal operator started a new ad-hoc container feeder service along the St. Lawrence Seaway that will offer shippers an alternative to the 377-mile truck route between the Canadian ports of Hamilton and Montreal.The...