News - Industry News

Digitization to transform US LTL trucking

[caption caption="LTL carriers are using technology to streamline the flow of data from bills of lading through delivery receipts. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]Less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers set the pattern for US trucking a hundred years ago, but due to the complexity of the business, LTL operators and their shipper customers have been...

Carriers need to come to table to help solve ‘chassis crisis’

When the Harbor Trucking Association began advocating for the adoption of empty appointments, it was to help avoid the impact of extreme congestion at marine terminals generated by empty returns directed by the ocean carriers. The concept was based on the belief that appointments would be guaranteed and used as...

Container lines diverting ships from strike-hit Montreal

[caption caption="Other carriers serving Montreal are also looking to divert ships' calls, suggesting they expect strike actions to extend beyond Friday, when checkers and longshore workers are due to return to work. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]Container lines are diverting calls from the Port of Montreal and one marine terminal has begun...

Brokers tapping consumer tech to extend value for small shippers

[caption caption="Freight brokers can connect with enterprise shippers through transportation management system integrations but are using third-party service enticements to lure smaller shippers. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]Freight brokers are taking the unusual step of offering value-added services such as third-party accounting software and independent contractor marketplaces to lure small and mid-sized...

The 4 Most Common Challenges in Providing PPE and How to Conquer Them

At the start of April, America’s Strategic National Stockpile of emergency supplies was almost nonexistent. According to reports, when it was running frighteningly low, containing only about 9,000 ventilatorsii, New York state alone needed an additional 37,000 ventilators.The Coronavirus pandemic has exposed the undeniable connection between our healthcare quality and...

UP expands California surcharge to all shippers

[caption caption="Union Pacific Railroad's volume, which was down more than 20 percent in April, has turned positive year over year for the first time in 2020 in the last three weeks. Photo credit: Angel DiBilio/Shutterstock.com."][/caption]All Union Pacific Railroad shippers will be subject to a $500 surcharge out of California for...

July jump in Chittagong exports linked to COVID-delayed orders

[caption caption="Apparel manufacturers in Bangladesh say western buyers have canceled or suspended some $4 billion worth of work orders since March, but have since restored some of the orders. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]Export volumes through the Bangladeshi port of Chittagong saw an almost 50 percent jump in July, but sources say...

Dredging to boost vessel size limit for Port of New Orleans

[caption caption="The deepening project adds New Orleans to the list of Gulf Coast ports looking to service larger ships that can transit the Panama Canal’s wider locks. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has taken the first steps to deepen a 256-mile stretch of the Mississippi River...

Forager adds instant long-term contract rates to cross-border marketplace

[caption caption="Forager hopes to build density in its marketplace by inducing enterprise shippers to access cross-border capacity via direct links to their transportation management systems. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]Cross-border freight marketplace Forager on Tuesday released a new version of its software that allows shippers to secure instant contract pricing for up...

Terminal technology helps Crowley adapt to need for speed

[caption caption="Crowley wanted to avoid the traps that come with customizing terminal operating software so it adjusted its operations to fit Tideworks' standard product. Photo credit: Crowley Maritime Corp. "][/caption]A change in the terminal operating system (TOS) used by Crowley Maritime Corp. has sped up truck turn times and allowed for...

Port checkers to join in second week of Montreal strikes

[caption caption="Montreal port checkers said employers had implemented technology in an attempt to replace their jobs. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]Montreal port checkers said they will strike for 48 hours starting Wednesday morning at the Termont terminals, paralleling an ongoing strike by longshore workers that is also set to end Friday morning. The...

ONE reports $167 million profit; sees volumes recovering

[caption caption="With volumes down 20 percent in the April-June period, the carrier blanked capacity to boost ship utilization. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]Ocean Network Express (ONE) Monday reported a $167 million profit in its first fiscal quarter, saying pandemic-hit volumes are rebounding from the 20 percent drop it saw in the April...

Asia-US import surge, tight capacity to last into August

[caption caption="Carriers have maintained 10-year highs in spot rates by carefully managing capacity. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]Carriers, ports, and forwarders say the current spike in US imports from Asia that began in early July will last at least through August, but their vision is blurred beyond that.Some stakeholders, including the importers...

JOC Rankings: Top trans-Atlantic carriers, ports weather lower volumes

[caption caption="US containerized imports from Europe slipped 4.5 percent to just shy of 1.41 million TEU in the first five months of the year, while outbound US–Europe trade tumbled 11.9 percent to 730,034 TEU. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]The combination of a steep decline in demand caused by the economic effects of...

Transport capacity tightening for Amazon third-party sellers

[caption caption="Strong consumer demand stressed Amazon’s logistics network as third-party seller services net sales increased 53 percent, outpacing online stores’ net revenue increase of 49 percent. Photo credit: VDB Photos/Shutterstock.com."][/caption]Third-party sellers on Amazon will find it even harder to get transport capacity from the e-commerce giant as its fulfillment centers...

Caterpillar says heavy equipment dealers slashing ro-ro orders

[caption caption="A Caterpillar bulldozer at work in Germany. Photo credit: EdgarGBiehle/Shutterstock.com."][/caption]Heavy equipment dealers cut global inventories of Caterpillar rolling stock by about $1.2 billion during the first half of 2020 and are expected to cut another $1 billion in the second half, sending a broader warning of reduced roll-on, roll-off...

Asia-US West Coast FEU spot rates clear $3,000 bar

[caption caption="The Asia–US West Coast spot rate is now 121 percent higher than at the same time last year, while the East Coast rate is up 24.8 percent. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]Spot rates in the eastbound trans-Pacific this week continued to surge, blowing past $3,000 per FEU to the US West...

COVID-19 outbreak disrupts Asia-South Africa container service

[caption caption="The number of new cases in the city of Durban alone (port pictured) has surged this week, with more than 20,000 new cases reported in the last two days. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]Hapag-Lloyd and Ocean Network Express (ONE) say Asia-South Africa services are disrupted by an outbreak of the coronavirus...

Montreal longshore workers to begin another 96-hour strike Monday

[caption caption="Montreal port unions can strike for a set period, or indefinitely, as long as they issue a 72-hour notice to employers. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]Montreal longshore workers have issued a 72-hour notice that they will begin another 96-hour strike targeting the Termont terminals, the latest escalation as marine terminal operators...

JOC Uncharted: Latam logistics ripe for technological innovation

[caption caption="Logistics providers in South America have a huge addressable market but also contend with divergent customs regulations and customer expectations across the continent"][/caption]Technology can help the Latin American market address logistics inefficiencies, but convincing shippers of this will be a gradual process, Janan Knust, CEO of Santiago, Chile-based KGroup...