News - Industry News
Ørsted partners with Virginia for wind energy projects
[caption caption="A jack-up vessel installing wind turbines at Block Island, now owned by Ørsted."][/caption]The Virginia Port Authority Tuesday took a step toward joining the United States' newest emerging market — offshore wind — when Danish developer Ørsted and the port signed an agreement to lease a portion of the Portsmouth Marine Terminal...
US truck capacity peaks, demand flattens
[caption caption="The number of for-hire carriers jumped 9 percent from 2016 through 2019, according to FTR. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]ATLANTA — US truck capacity hit a peak in the fourth quarter of 2019, as the wave of new vehicles entering the market since 2018 grew to a crescendo. At the same...
USMCA gives sluggish Mexican economy trade hope
[caption caption="While the revamped agreement could spur investment, the deal does little to address the delays and disruptions cargo owners face in moving goods across the US-Mexico border. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]The expected signing of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) by President Donald Trump on Wednesday will remove uncertainty for multinationals...
UP to resume service on nearly 60 lanes it cut in 2018
[caption caption="Union Pacific reversed course on service cuts it made in late 2018, restarting interline service with CSX and NS to recapture lost cargo. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]Union Pacific Railroad, which struggled with lackluster intermodal volume in 2019, will restart interline service Feb. 1 on nearly 60 lanes in coordination with CSX...
IMO to review black carbon fuel emissions concerns
[caption caption="The CMA CGM Jacques Saade, launched in September last year, is the first in a nine-fleet order of French-flagged 23,000-TEU LNG-powered container ships. Photo credit: CMA CGM."][/caption]The International Maritime Organization (IMO) next month will review concerns that some blends of the new very low-sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) emit higher...
Mixed messages from ro-ro market likely to persist
[caption caption="Vehicles are unloaded and staged at Port Newark. Photo credit: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey."][/caption]The US auto and roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) markets gave mixed messages in 2019: Global auto sales were down, but volumes at the top 10 US gateways were up. Tariffs precipitated declines for some...
China virus threatens US freight recovery: SMC3 speakers
[caption caption="The US freight slump may not end until the second half of the year, speakers warned attendees of the SMC3 Jump Start 2020 conference. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]ATLANTA — The US freight cycle may not have hit bottom yet, but it could be close, speakers at the SMC3 Jump Start 2020...
Shipamax snares $7 million funding round
[caption caption="Robotic process automation is a growing field in enterprise software that is designed to shift repetitive and error-riddled tasks away from humans to systems better able to accomplish those tasks. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]London-based Shipamax, a technology company focused on automating the identification and extraction of key data across systems...
DCSA pushes out track-and-trace standard
[caption caption="In less than a year, the nine-carrier-strong consortium has mapped standard processes for container booking through return and now visibility events. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]A consortium of nine container lines established to develop technology standards in container shipping on Tuesday released a new set of recommended processes and a system...
Bolloré picks Asia veteran to lead Americas region
[caption caption="A new CEO is leading the Americas operation of Bolloré Logistics, which has 45 offices in eight countries. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com. "][/caption]Bolloré Logistics has appointed Yves Laforgue, a company veteran with more than two decades of experience in the Asia market, to lead the company’s Americas region, the France-based transport and...
US ‘high and heavy’ imports rose in 2019 despite trade war
[caption caption="Breakbulk cargo at the Port of Tacoma’s East Blair One terminal. Photo credit: NWSA."][/caption]Trade tariffs complicated economics in the high and heavy sector in 2019, but the top 10 US gateways saw year-on-year import volume increases through October. The final tally of 717,717 metric tons of non-vehicle rolling stock...
FlexiVan grows chassis fleet with AIM merger
[caption caption="FlexiVan Leasing said the merger with AIM was an easy process because both companies believe in open choice and trucker-friendly chassis policies. Photo credit: Ari Ashe/JOC.com."][/caption]FlexiVan Leasing has upgraded its chassis fleet with the addition of 12,500 units through a merger with American Intermodal Management (AIM), bringing the combined...
US East Coast ports investing to capture more intermodal cargo
[caption caption="Intermodal rail volume share at the Port of Charleston rose 2.7 percentage points to 24.8 percent in 2019, and 0.6 points to 19.8 percent at the Port of Savannah. Photo credit: Alan Stoddard/Shutterstock.com."][/caption]After attracting the largest share of Asia imports to the United States in four years, the coming...
Container lines call Indian terminal pricing regulation a ‘trade disruptor’
[caption caption="Carriers are unhappy over a move by Indian regulators to allow shippers to settle terminal handling surcharges directly with terminal operators. Photo credit: APM Terminals Mumbai."][/caption]Container lines active in Indian trades say the latest government regulatory actions around terminal handling charges (THC) could have a disruptive effect on the...
Backhaul trades show carrier struggle to recover low-sulfur costs
[caption caption="Recouping the added costs of low-sulfur fuel is proving to be difficult as carriers struggle to get the rate levels they need. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]While the price of low-sulfur fuel has fallen sharply from its early January high, headhaul and backhaul rates on the major trades have not been...
US freight economy ‘rebalancing’: US Bank
[caption caption="US Bank foresees trucking recovering some speed lost in 2019. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]The US freight economy is “rebalancing” in early 2020 after taking a hit in the fourth quarter, according to Bobby Holland, US Bank vice president and director of freight data solutions. An increase in housing permits in...
The State of Intermodal
STRENGTHEN YOUR STRATEGY WITH INTERMODALAmid mounting disruptions to the transportation industry, now is the time for shippers to both diversify shipping strategies and lock in relationships with strategic intermodal carriers. Read this guide to learn about the mounting disruptions to consider when planning your transportation strategy and how to:Increase on-time delivery...
Lunar New Year calm sets path for less volatile trans-Pacific
[caption caption="Industry analysts project that going forward into the spring trade conditions in 2020 should resemble the years before the US-China trade war was launched in 2018. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]Spot rates in the week leading up to the start of the Lunar New Year on Saturday were basically flat, and...
Container carriers gaining greater control of market
[caption caption="Container lines blanked 253 sailings in the east-west lanes in 2019 compared with just 145 skipped voyages in 2018. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]Container shipping this year will continue to evolve away from its volatile past, with carriers taking more control of a market that, for most of the post-financial crisis...
Mexican port volumes in 2019 lowest in six years on slowing economy
[caption caption="Cargo volumes through the Port of Manzanillo, Mexico, fell by 3.8 percent in 2019, including a 7.2 percent decline in exports, according to Mexican government figures. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com "][/caption]Cargo volumes through Mexican ports fell in 2019 for the first time in six years as the country and some of...