News - Industry News
Rising volumes slowing port flow on East, Gulf coasts
<img class="img-responsive" src="https://www.joc.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field_feature_image/maersk_0.jpg?itok=CIUEoyGx" width="100" height="67" alt="" title="Containerized imports into the US East and Gulf coasts rose another 6.1 percent and 21.3 percent, respectively, in the first five months of 2022. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com." /> US East Coast ports anticipate a busy third quarter and are bracing now to handle the volume with off-dock storage of long-dwelling imports and empty containers to keep cargo flowing smoothly.
Vancouver to start phasing out aging trucks from mid-September
<img class="img-responsive" src="https://www.joc.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field_feature_image/Vancouver_2.jpg?itok=YlzHhRu7" width="100" height="67" alt="" title="The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s Rolling Truck Program will take effect Sept. 15, phasing out older trucks serving the port. Photo credit: Eric Buermeyer/Shutterstock.com." /> Older container trucks serving the Port of Vancouver will begin to be phased out from mid-September as the port looks to replenish the fleet with cleaner-running vehicles.
Asia–USEC reliability dipped in May amid West Coast vessel diversions
<img class="img-responsive" src="https://www.joc.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field_feature_image/NY%20NJ.jpg?itok=Q_FraL7Z" width="100" height="59" alt="" title="Almost 7 percent of the cargo imported to New York-New Jersey through the first five months of the year had been rerouted from the West Coast, according to Port Director Bethann Rooney. Photo credit: Dragos Asaftei/Shutterstock.com." /> While ocean carrier reliability from Asia to the US West Coast ticked higher in May, a dip for East Coast calls showed the result of delays coming amid vessel diversions.
WiseTech’s Bolero buy signal of continued eBL progress
<img class="img-responsive" src="https://www.joc.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field_feature_image/Shutterstock_1619490106.jpg?itok=vdxyGtLg" width="100" height="67" alt="" title="No electronic bill of lading provider has yet been able to carve out a dominant position, as container lines have partnered with a range of software vendors to build their own products. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com." /> Forwarding software provider WiseTech Global has waded into the fragmented electronic bill of lading space with the purchase of Bolero, an early provider of trade finance and electronic documentation tools.
Some shippers sticking with MPVs even as ‘spillover’ market subsides
<img class="img-responsive" src="https://www.joc.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field_feature_image/SpilloverPorts_TBT_small.jpg?itok=jYuRdIiq" width="100" height="67" alt="" title="Dockworkers discharging containers from a multipurpose ship at Houston’s City Docks. Photo credit: Port Houston." /> The breakbulk industry’s scramble to manage spillover cargo is ebbing as shippers' need for alternative tonnage eases, but that does not necessarily mean a rush back to pre-COVID norms.
Port congestion in Europe at ‘critical’ levels: carriers
<img class="img-responsive" src="https://www.joc.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field_feature_image/Barge%20Swissterminal%20Rotterdam.%20Copyright%20Swissterminal%20.jpg?itok=2158XEzi" width="100" height="67" alt="" title="The average wait times for barges in Rotterdam arriving to collect import cargo for inland terminals was 56 hours last week. Photo credit: Swissterminal." /> Falling import volumes into North Europe amid rapidly deteriorating economic conditions have not provided any relief for hub ports in the region as logistics challenges mount.
International unions rally behind German port workers
<img class="img-responsive" src="https://www.joc.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field_feature_image/Cosco%20Hamburg%20stake%20700.jpg?itok=UDAzKwzp" width="100" height="75" alt="" title="Workers in hub ports in North Europe faced difficult working conditions through the pandemic. Photo credit: Shutterstock " /> German port union ver.di and port employers are locked in their sixth round of wage negotiations this week in a dispute over inflation-matching increases.
Scan Global becomes latest European forwarder to target Asia-based rival
<img class="img-responsive" src="https://www.joc.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field_feature_image/ScanGlobal.jpg?itok=3XezQh3x" width="100" height="67" alt="" title="Copenhagen-headquartered Scan Global Logistics said Sea-Air Logistics will become part of the Scan group from July 5. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com." /> Sea-Air Logistics will increase Scan’s market share on the trans-Pacific, Asia-Europe, and intra-Asia trades through nine warehouses and offices in China, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
California truckers expect ‘business as usual’ amid AB5 implementation
<img class="img-responsive" src="https://www.joc.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field_feature_image/LAtrucks.jpg?itok=ebjvRyUx" width="100" height="67" alt="" title="The California Trucking Association said 70,000 independent contractor drivers will eventually be forced to change their operating model under AB5. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com." /> Despite uncertainty over how implementation of AB5 will play out, California trucking executives say truck capacity in the state’s ports will not suddenly dry up with the peak-shipping season at hand.
Shippers renew concerns over potential disruption linked to USWC contract expiration
<img class="img-responsive" src="https://www.joc.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field_feature_image/LB.0723_0.jpg?itok=IbCLAZw2" width="100" height="67" alt="" title="Neither the PMA nor the ILWU have indicated what the major contract issues are this year, although union resistance to the spread of automation is most likely a sticking point. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com." /> With Friday’s expiration of the contract between the ILWU and West Coast marine terminal employers, negotiations for a new deal enter a new and more unpredictable phase that has shippers on edge.
CMA CGM to cut targeted French contract rates from Aug. 1
<img class="img-responsive" src="https://www.joc.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field_feature_image/Le%20havre.jpg?itok=lla_N_Mo" width="100" height="58" alt="" title="Long-term rates for cargo shipped from Asia to the French hub of Le Havre are up 53 percent year over year. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com." /> French carrier CMA CGM has responded to a government call for price cuts to help inflation-hit consumers by announcing a 500 Euro cut in long-term rates for imports of essential household goods through French ports.
Maersk resigns from ICS board amid push to hasten decarbonization
<img class="img-responsive" src="https://www.joc.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field_feature_image/Maersk.1023_1.jpg?itok=Kzf_iYc4" width="100" height="67" alt="" title="Maersk has placed an order for eight 16,000 TEU capacity ships that run on green methanol, the first of which will be delivered in 2024. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com." /> Maersk’s decision to resign from the board of the International Chamber of Shipping is a sign of the divergence among shipowner group as pressure builds to more aggressively address climate change.
US shipping probes turn up heat on Europe block exemption: shipper group
<img class="img-responsive" src="https://www.joc.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field_feature_image/shutterstock_1481560670.jpg?itok=pUzVyiRF" width="100" height="67" alt="" title="Shippers on the trades in and out of Europe have faced soaring rates and deteriorating service levels over the past two years. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com." /> A global shippers’ group believes US regulatory probes into container shipping practices through the pandemic will add pressure on the European Commission to formally review its carrier exemption from antitrust law.
ILWU study proposes surcharge penalties for LA-LB port automation
<img class="img-responsive" src="https://www.joc.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field_feature_image/LA.Mar3022_0.jpg?itok=4x-j0ElU" width="100" height="67" alt="" title="An ILWU-commissioned study proposes creation of a surcharge to compensate California exporters for lost business when containers are returned empty to Asia. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com." /> A report commissioned by the International Longshore & Warehouse Union suggests California levy a tax on automated terminals in Los Angeles-Long Beach, with revenues directed to communities that suffer economic harm from the loss of dockworker jobs.
FMC’s Sola urges Biden to intervene in Leatherman terminal dispute
<img class="img-responsive" src="https://www.joc.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field_feature_image/Charleston_0.jpg?itok=TNq6kNF4" width="100" height="67" alt="" title="The Port of Charleston’s Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal has only been 50 percent utilized despite as many as 27 ships waiting outside the port earlier this year. Photo credit: Daniel Wright98/Shutterstock.com." /> A Federal Maritime Commissioner is calling on the White House to step in and help end the labor dispute that has kept Charleston’s Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal significantly underutilized since its opening last year.
CMA CGM makes industrial scale move into biomethane production
<img class="img-responsive" src="https://www.joc.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field_feature_image/CMA%20CGM%20JACQUES%20SAADE_Le%20Havre_%C2%A9Eric%20Houri-HAROPA.jpg?itok=cRzwTZ1h" width="100" height="56" alt="" title="The LNG-powered ships of CMA CGM can run on bio LNG or biomethane. Photo credit: CMA CGM." /> French carrier CMA CGM is investing in a green gas project that aims to ramp up the production of biomethane in support of shipping decarbonization efforts and to fuel the carrier’s own vessels.
UP realigning intermodal network ahead of Northern California expansion
<img class="img-responsive" src="https://www.joc.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field_feature_image/slc-train.jpg?itok=RzY0YYPW" width="100" height="67" alt="" title="Union Pacific Railroad said it understands there needs to be more intermodal capacity in Lathrop, California, and realigning lanes to Oakland will allow construction work to begin to address the need. Photo credit: Andriy Blokhin/Shutterstock.com." /> Union Pacific Railroad will temporarily re-align its domestic intermodal network in Northern California to accommodate a construction project meant to expand container capacity in the region ahead of Schneider National bringing more volume in 2023.
Rising demand keeps China-Europe 'middle' rail route under pressure
<img class="img-responsive" src="https://www.joc.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field_feature_image/shutterstock_2161151423.jpg?itok=PWUPBwLP" width="100" height="67" alt="" title="The Black Sea hub of Odessa has been closed since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, with cargo diverted to other terminals in the region. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com." /> Elevated demand for rail cargo on the only viable China-Europe rail route continues to overwhelm the existing infrastructure, with congestion building at Central Asian intermodal points.
Convoy injects brokerage tech into MercuryGate TMS
<img class="img-responsive" src="https://www.joc.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field_feature_image/Convoy2.jpg?itok=uVV8zQjU" width="100" height="67" alt="" title="Convoy for Brokers, launched in November, is software designed for other freight intermediaries to drive loads into Convoy’s base of truckload carriers. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com." /> Convoy has expanded existing relationships with transportation management software provider MercuryGate and forwarder Flexport to give brokers access to more automation and shippers access to transload activity.
FedEx forecasts strong profits for LTL division
<img class="img-responsive" src="https://www.joc.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail/public/field_feature_image/FedExFreight_0.jpg?itok=GbSOL6m8" width="100" height="67" alt="" title="FedEx told investors that operating margins at trucking arm FedEx Freight will hit 20 to 22 percent by fiscal 2025, after reaching 17.4 percent in fiscal 2022. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com." /> FedEx expects its trucking operating profits to keep rising, despite what could be a rocky economic road in the second half of 2022, executives said at an investor meeting.
