<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">A drive to put a lower auto insurance rate proposal before New Jersey voters in November is picking </div>

A drive to put a lower auto insurance rate proposal before New Jersey voters in November is picking

<div>A drive to put a lower auto insurance rate proposal before New Jersey voters in November is picking up speed and an organizer of the campaign says it will force elected officials to act.''You cannot legally force legislators to do anything," Jay Angoff, one of the campaign organizers, said Monday. "But if it is supported by a substantial majority of the people in New Jersey, I think it would be very difficult to ignore."Top elected officials in Hudson and Camden counties agreed Monday to place a non-binding referendum on the ballot that would roll back auto insurance rates by 20...

A drive to put a lower auto insurance rate proposal before New Jersey voters in November is picking up speed and an organizer of the campaign says it will force elected officials to act. ''You cannot legally force legislators to do anything," Jay Angoff, one of the campaign organizers, said Monday. "But if it is supported by a substantial majority of the people in New Jersey, I think it would be very difficult to ignore."Top elected officials in Hudson and Camden counties agreed Monday to place a non-binding referendum on the ballot that would roll back auto insurance rates by 20 percent. The Citizens Auto Revolt has asked each of the 21 county freeholder boards to vote to place the referendum on their ballots. Organizers say the campaign aims to let politicians know that New Jersey voters want rates slashed. "That's the most effective pressure there is on a politician," Mr. Angoff said. Hudson County Executive Robert C. Janiszewski called soaring auto insurance rates in the state "scandalous" and said he would ask the board of freeholders to approve putting the insurance referendum on the county ballot. "It's time we allowed the people to speak up on the issue," Mr. Janiszewski said Monday. "When the people of New Jersey talk, the governor, the Legislature and the insurance companies are going to get a strong message - lower insurance rates or get out." In southern New Jersey, Camden County Freeholder Director Robert E. Andrews said he also would ask the board of freeholders to formally accept the proposal at its meeting Thursday. "New Jersey residents have suffered the injustices of the auto insurance law long enough," Mr. Andrews said. "Price increases are being forced upon all of us." The announcements came a week after the Citizens Auto Revolt and the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group began the latest in a series of grassroots efforts to reduce the state's automobile insurance rates, which are among the highest in the nation. Mr. Angoff said Atlantic County Freeholder Director John Gaffney has also endorsed the proposal. "If 21 counties say we want this referendum, the politicians ignore it at their own peril," Mr. Angoff said in launching the statewide referendum drive last week. The proposed referendum also calls for abolishing the $152 per car the average motorist pays in surcharges toward keeping the troubled Joint Underwriting Association afloat. The JUA, a state-backed insurance agency that covers high-risk drivers, faces a deficit of nearly $3 billion and insures about half of the state's 4 million drivers.

DRIVE LAUNCHED TO PUT RATE-CUTTING MEASURE ON NEW JERSEY BALLOTS

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">California must immediately stop issuing CDLs to drivers not “domiciled” in the state and revoke the licenses of unqualified drivers or face the loss of federal highway funds. </div>

California must immediately stop issuing CDLs to drivers not “domiciled” in the state and revoke the licenses of unqualified drivers or face the loss of federal highway funds.

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<div class="phx-topic">The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) on Friday said it is cracking down on state licensing of “non-domiciled” commercial truck drivers, threatening states with the loss of millions of dollars in federal funds unless they comply with USDOT requirements. “Moving forward, non-citizens will not be eligible for a non-domiciled CDL (commercial driver’s license) unless they meet a much stricter set of rules, including an employment-based visa and undergoing a mandatory federal immigration status check,” USDOT said. The department spelled out its requirements for new non-domiciled CDL applicants — drivers who don’t permanently reside in the state issuing the license — in an interim final rule that will be published in the Sept. 29 edition of the Federal Register. But the USDOT also took specific additional action against California, ordering the state to immediately stop issuing non-domiciled CDLs and to identify all unexpired non-domiciled CDLs that fail to comply with USDOT rules and revoke them within 30 days. “California must get its act together immediately, or I will not hesitate to pull millions in funding,” US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said in a statement. “To every other state around the country — find all improperly issued CDLs and revoke their licenses now.” <h3>Heightened enforcement effort </h3>The order is the latest push by USDOT to get states to adopt and enforce tougher driver licensing standards. Duffy in August gave California, Washington and New Mexico 30 days to <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/us-dot-presses-states-to-enforce-english-language-trucking-rules-6069884">adopt and enforce English-language proficiency (ELP) requirements</a> or risk losing funds. The USDOT’s latest move followed a nationwide audit of non-domiciled CDL licensing by states that found “systematic non-compliance" with federal rules across several states, including California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas and Washington. “In California alone, more than 25% of non-domiciled CDLs reviewed were improperly issued,” the USDOT said in a statement. An unspecified number of these non-domiciled licenses went to foreign drivers in the US illegally, according to USDOT. USDOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) launched its nationwide audit of non-domiciled CDLs in June. USDOT did not release data on how many drivers with non-domiciled CDLs it believes are unqualified or in the country illegally. Non-domiciled CDLs are not issued to Mexican or Canadian truck drivers. Commercial driver’s licenses from Mexico and Canada are recognized in the US. The US State Department has suspended certain visas issued to foreign truck drivers, including the H-2B, E-2 and EB-3 visas. Only a small number of truck drivers are believed to hold such visas, with about 1,500 truck drivers receiving H-2B visas each year. Trucking groups including the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and American Trucking Associations have been pushing USDOT to crack down on the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs, claiming thousands of unqualified drivers are obtaining them. Contact William B. Cassidy at <a href="mailto://bill.cassidy@spglobal.com">bill.cassidy@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) on Friday said it is cracking down on state licensing of “non-domiciled” commercial truck drivers, threatening states with the loss of millions of dollars in federal funds unless they comply with USDOT requirements. “Moving forward, non-citizens will not be eligible for a non-domiciled CDL (commercial driver’s license) unless they meet a much stricter set of rules, including an employment-based visa and undergoing a mandatory federal immigration status check,” USDOT said. The department spelled out its requirements for new non-domiciled CDL applicants — drivers who don’t permanently reside in the state issuing the license — in an interim final rule that will be published in the Sept. 29 edition of the Federal Register. But the USDOT also took specific additional action against California, ordering the state to immediately stop issuing non-domiciled CDLs and to identify all unexpired non-domiciled CDLs that fail to comply with USDOT rules and revoke them within 30 days. “California must get its act together immediately, or I will not hesitate to pull millions in funding,” US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said in a statement. “To every other state around the country — find all improperly issued CDLs and revoke their licenses now.” Heightened enforcement effort The order is the latest push by USDOT to get states to adopt and enforce tougher driver licensing standards. Duffy in August gave California, Washington and New Mexico 30 days to adopt and enforce English-language proficiency (ELP) requirements or risk losing funds. The USDOT’s latest move followed a nationwide audit of non-domiciled CDL licensing by states that found “systematic non-compliance" with federal rules across several states, including California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas and Washington. “In California alone, more than 25% of non-domiciled CDLs reviewed were improperly issued,” the USDOT said in a statement. An unspecified number of these non-domiciled licenses went to foreign drivers in the US illegally, according to USDOT. USDOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) launched its nationwide audit of non-domiciled CDLs in June. USDOT did not release data on how many drivers with non-domiciled CDLs it believes are unqualified or in the country illegally. Non-domiciled CDLs are not issued to Mexican or Canadian truck drivers. Commercial driver’s licenses from Mexico and Canada are recognized in the US. The US State Department has suspended certain visas issued to foreign truck drivers, including the H-2B, E-2 and EB-3 visas. Only a small number of truck drivers are believed to hold such visas, with about 1,500 truck drivers receiving H-2B visas each year. Trucking groups including the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and American Trucking Associations have been pushing USDOT to crack down on the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs, claiming thousands of unqualified drivers are obtaining them. Contact William B. Cassidy at bill.cassidy@spglobal.com .

Trucking News

Transport, Trade and Regulation News

Trucking labor

Surface

USDOT cracks down on ‘non-domiciled’ CDLs, targets California

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The Port of Los Angeles is meeting with California state officials to promote its plan to extend the Vincent Thomas Bridge repair project to allow 23,000-TEU ships to call all six of its marine terminals. </div>

The Port of Los Angeles is meeting with California state officials to promote its plan to extend the Vincent Thomas Bridge repair project to allow 23,000-TEU ships to call all six of its marine terminals.

<div class="phx-topic">The Port of Los Angeles and its industry stakeholders are trying to convince the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to expand a key bridge project to allow ships up to 23,000 TEUs to call the other half of its terminals. The port says expanding the Vincent Thomas Bridge redecking project to include raising the height of the bridge by 26 feet will increase the total cost from $1.5 billion to $2.2 billion and extend its timeline — and, in turn, disruptions to truck traffic in and out of the port — from 16 months to 28 months. The Vincent Thomas Bridge is crossed daily by 53,000 vehicles, about 3,400 of which are heavy-duty trucks, according to Caltrans. But without the additional clearance under the bridge, access to three of Los Angeles’ six container terminals will remain limited to vessels with 15,000 TEUs of capacity. Increasing the clearance to 211 feet will allow super-post-Panamax vessels with up to 23,000 TEUs of capacity to serve Yusen Terminals, TraPac and the West Basin Container Terminal, according to Gene Seroka, executive director at the Port of Los Angeles. Terminal operators and industry representatives joined Seroka in Sacramento on Friday to discuss the details of the port’s proposal with Caltrans officials. “We believe they’re willing to listen. We began talking about this months ago,” Seroka told the Journal of Commerce Thursday, adding that he expects Caltrans to announce a decision “soon.” <h3>One fell swoop? </h3>Caltrans representatives in late May told the Propeller Club of Los Angeles the agency <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/la-port-stakeholders-warming-to-plan-to-mitigate-impact-of-bridge-project-6013847">must address the 62-year-old bridge’s structural defects</a>, which have been judged to be a safety hazard. Caltrans’ initial plans included resurfacing the deck of the bridge and replacing its railings, fences and median barrier. At the Propeller Club meeting, Caltrans representatives said construction would begin in early 2026 and would involve one-directional lane closures at night, followed by complete closure of the bridge from November 2026 to March 2028. The port estimates its proposal to raise the height of the bridge will delay completion of the project into 2029. However, Seroka said it would make more sense to do the bridge repairs and raise the structure all at once rather than having to return some years later to finish the job. He pointed to the project to <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/us-gulf-trade-momentum-puts-focus-on-houston-port-channel-widening-5251013">raise the height of the Bayonne Bridge</a> that connects New Jersey with Staten Island as the model that could be used in Los Angeles. Caltrans said it is well along in designating and repaving detour routes in the harbor area to prepare for when construction shuts down the bridge. Caltrans said it is also developing a real-time communications network to update motorists and truckers on traffic conditions. Seroka said access by the largest and most efficient ships in use today will not only increase the effective capacity of Yusen, TraPac and West Basin by 20%, but will also attract the newest, greenest vessels afloat. Those container ships are often equipped with fuel tanks that carry alternatives to traditional higher-emission bunker fuel, he said. As for the increased cost, Seroka said he has lined up commitments of private equity financing, including from banks, pension funds and industry sources, which he planned to detail at Friday’s meeting with Caltrans in Sacramento. Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at <a href="mailto:bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com">bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

The Port of Los Angeles and its industry stakeholders are trying to convince the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to expand a key bridge project to allow ships up to 23,000 TEUs to call the other half of its terminals. The port says expanding the Vincent Thomas Bridge redecking project to include raising the height of the bridge by 26 feet will increase the total cost from $1.5 billion to $2.2 billion and extend its timeline — and, in turn, disruptions to truck traffic in and out of the port — from 16 months to 28 months. The Vincent Thomas Bridge is crossed daily by 53,000 vehicles, about 3,400 of which are heavy-duty trucks, according to Caltrans. But without the additional clearance under the bridge, access to three of Los Angeles’ six container terminals will remain limited to vessels with 15,000 TEUs of capacity. Increasing the clearance to 211 feet will allow super-post-Panamax vessels with up to 23,000 TEUs of capacity to serve Yusen Terminals, TraPac and the West Basin Container Terminal, according to Gene Seroka, executive director at the Port of Los Angeles. Terminal operators and industry representatives joined Seroka in Sacramento on Friday to discuss the details of the port’s proposal with Caltrans officials. “We believe they’re willing to listen. We began talking about this months ago,” Seroka told the Journal of Commerce Thursday, adding that he expects Caltrans to announce a decision “soon.” One fell swoop? Caltrans representatives in late May told the Propeller Club of Los Angeles the agency must address the 62-year-old bridge’s structural defects , which have been judged to be a safety hazard. Caltrans’ initial plans included resurfacing the deck of the bridge and replacing its railings, fences and median barrier. At the Propeller Club meeting, Caltrans representatives said construction would begin in early 2026 and would involve one-directional lane closures at night, followed by complete closure of the bridge from November 2026 to March 2028. The port estimates its proposal to raise the height of the bridge will delay completion of the project into 2029. However, Seroka said it would make more sense to do the bridge repairs and raise the structure all at once rather than having to return some years later to finish the job. He pointed to the project to raise the height of the Bayonne Bridge that connects New Jersey with Staten Island as the model that could be used in Los Angeles. Caltrans said it is well along in designating and repaving detour routes in the harbor area to prepare for when construction shuts down the bridge. Caltrans said it is also developing a real-time communications network to update motorists and truckers on traffic conditions. Seroka said access by the largest and most efficient ships in use today will not only increase the effective capacity of Yusen, TraPac and West Basin by 20%, but will also attract the newest, greenest vessels afloat. Those container ships are often equipped with fuel tanks that carry alternatives to traditional higher-emission bunker fuel, he said. As for the increased cost, Seroka said he has lined up commitments of private equity financing, including from banks, pension funds and industry sources, which he planned to detail at Friday’s meeting with Caltrans in Sacramento. Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com .

Port News

Port infrastructure

North American ports

Maritime

LA port wants California to raise bridge to accommodate big ships

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Evergreen’s plan to focus on adding more tonnage between Asia and Latin America over the next five years comes as US import volume growth cools. </div>

Evergreen’s plan to focus on adding more tonnage between Asia and Latin America over the next five years comes as US import volume growth cools.

<div class="phx-topic">Evergreen Marine will focus on expanding service to Latin America and the Middle East over the next five years, a pivot that comes as container growth momentum shifts away from the US to secondary ocean trades. The Taiwan-based carrier plans to increase the number of vessels deployed on the Asia-Latin America trade and deploy 12,000-TEU ships on the Asia-West Coast of South America trades, according to Wilson Chen, head of Evergreen’s project division. Evergreen will also add capacity between Europe and Mexico, and from Asia to the Caribbean, Chen added. The boost in services will be possible thanks to a 29% surge in capacity between now and 2029, when Evergreen’s total fleet capacity will reach 2.5 million TEUs. Figures from MDS Transmodal show that while Evergreen Marine is the third-largest carrier in terms of deployed capacity on the China-Latin America trade, year-over-year capacity has slipped slightly. Evergreen deployed about 500,000 TEUs in the second quarter, from about 513,000 TEUs in the same period last year, according to MDS figures. Evergreen will reinforce Middle East connections with Asia, India and East Africa and the Red Sea region in 2027, as well as enhance its links between China and Southeast Asia with connections between central China and the Philippines, Chen said. Evergreen recently launched a North China-Indonesia-Manila service that includes calls at Dalian, Xingang, Surabaya and Jakarta. Chen said the carrier plans to deploy larger, 3,000-TEU ships on services in the Caribbean Sea by 2030 and expand its regional route network in the Mediterranean. In the first eight months of 2025, Evergreen’s cumulative operating revenue has fallen 13% year over year to $8.6 billion, including a 39% tumble in August alone, according to the firm’s latest filings to the Taiwan stock exchange. Contact Keith Wallis at <a href="keithwallis@hotmail.com">keithwallis@hotmail.com</a>. </div>

Evergreen Marine will focus on expanding service to Latin America and the Middle East over the next five years, a pivot that comes as container growth momentum shifts away from the US to secondary ocean trades. The Taiwan-based carrier plans to increase the number of vessels deployed on the Asia-Latin America trade and deploy 12,000-TEU ships on the Asia-West Coast of South America trades, according to Wilson Chen, head of Evergreen’s project division. Evergreen will also add capacity between Europe and Mexico, and from Asia to the Caribbean, Chen added. The boost in services will be possible thanks to a 29% surge in capacity between now and 2029, when Evergreen’s total fleet capacity will reach 2.5 million TEUs. Figures from MDS Transmodal show that while Evergreen Marine is the third-largest carrier in terms of deployed capacity on the China-Latin America trade, year-over-year capacity has slipped slightly. Evergreen deployed about 500,000 TEUs in the second quarter, from about 513,000 TEUs in the same period last year, according to MDS figures. Evergreen will reinforce Middle East connections with Asia, India and East Africa and the Red Sea region in 2027, as well as enhance its links between China and Southeast Asia with connections between central China and the Philippines, Chen said. Evergreen recently launched a North China-Indonesia-Manila service that includes calls at Dalian, Xingang, Surabaya and Jakarta. Chen said the carrier plans to deploy larger, 3,000-TEU ships on services in the Caribbean Sea by 2030 and expand its regional route network in the Mediterranean. In the first eight months of 2025, Evergreen’s cumulative operating revenue has fallen 13% year over year to $8.6 billion, including a 39% tumble in August alone, according to the firm’s latest filings to the Taiwan stock exchange. Contact Keith Wallis at keithwallis@hotmail.com .

Trans-Atlantic

Trans-Pacific

Container Shipping News

Evergreen to expand Latin America, Middle East services

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The disruptions in the Howard Street Tunnel in Baltimore and Blue Ridge subdivision on the Tennessee-North Carolina border resulted in longer transits for intermodal shippers on CSX this year. </div>

The disruptions in the Howard Street Tunnel in Baltimore and Blue Ridge subdivision on the Tennessee-North Carolina border resulted in longer transits for intermodal shippers on CSX this year.

<div class="phx-topic">The restart of CSX Transportation services through the Howard Street Tunnel on Friday put the railroad back on track to offer double-stack container services to and from Baltimore by the second quarter of next year. The nearly $500 million project still requires work on two bridges before trains can carry containers stacked two high along the Interstate 95 corridor and between the Port of Baltimore and the Midwest. But reopening the tunnel removes the chokepoint that had <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/csx-q1-service-metrics-take-hit-amid-storm-recovery-tunnel-project-5978828">slowed freight flows</a> since its closure on Feb. 1. “The tunnel opens up for us options all the way from the Southeast to the Northeast and across to Chicago,” CSX CEO Joe Hinrichs told the Journal of Commerce. “Double-stacking opens up between 75,000 and 125,000 new container opportunities once everything is finished.” The official reopening of the Howard Street Tunnel ends a turbulent nine-month stretch for CSX. During the closure, its East Coast network was effectively cut in half. Trains from the Northeast stopped at the Port of Baltimore, then truckers drayed containers across the city to the Curtis Bay terminal where new trains were constructed to the Southeast. Trains from the Southeast did the reverse to access the Northeast. The reopened Howard Street Tunnel should immediately eliminate 24 hours from transit times, CSX said. It also marks the end of a four-year construction project to raise the vertical clearance in the tunnel built in the 1890s. <h3>New possibilities </h3>Through its double-stack service, CSX will be better positioned to compete with trucking and rival Norfolk Southern Railway between Atlanta and key Northeast markets such as Harrisburg (Chambersburg), Pennsylvania; Philadelphia; and Newark, New Jersey, three high-volume freight lanes. The completion of the project opens an opportunity for CSX to collaborate with BNSF Railway via a joint-line service from Southern California to Philadelphia and Newark, as it has done to Atlanta for nearly two decades, and the company recently expanded to <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/bnsf-csx-unveil-new-joint-intermodal-lanes-in-aftermath-of-up-ns-merger-6067789">Charlotte and Jacksonville</a>. It also opens the possibility for BNSF and CSX to create a joint single-line service from Southern California to Philadelphia and Newark in the future. Opening a double-stack option through Baltimore would allow BNSF and CSX to avoid routing cargo through upstate New York, making the service viable even in winter months. International intermodal service from the Port of Baltimore will also become more competitive with the Port of New York and New Jersey and Port of Virginia, which already offer double-stack service. Because Baltimore is farther inland than neighboring ports, the transit times to Chicago and the Ohio Valley are shorter. “It’s hard to imagine that this tunnel could be such a chokepoint,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) told the Journal of Commerce Friday. “It’s been constricting the amount of cargo that we can bring out of the Port of Baltimore, but now we can double the throughput [to] 160,000 containers annually and that’s important for us to compete in international trade.” On Thursday, CSX also reopened the Blue Ridge subdivision on the Tennessee-North Carolina border, which was significantly damaged during Hurricane Helene in September 2024. The first coal train moved through the region ahead of a ceremony scheduled for Oct. 2. Since the hurricane, trains from Alabama, Florida and Georgia have been detoured to Nashville, Tennessee, before turning back east to the Carolinas. The Howard Street Tunnel and Blue Ridge subdivision shuttered two of CSX’s four north-south routes. CSX’s service <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/csx-q1-service-metrics-take-hit-amid-storm-recovery-tunnel-project-5978828">suffered in the first quarter</a> before the railroad implemented workarounds last spring. “We learned that if we focus, work together with our customers and our internal team, we can get around these obstacles and still deliver a strong service product,” Hinrichs said. “Now that we open these routes back up, it gives us even more fluidity to our network, and it unleashes us to even run better.” Contact Ari Ashe at <a href="mailto:ari.ashe@spglobal.com">ari.ashe@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

The restart of CSX Transportation services through the Howard Street Tunnel on Friday put the railroad back on track to offer double-stack container services to and from Baltimore by the second quarter of next year. The nearly $500 million project still requires work on two bridges before trains can carry containers stacked two high along the Interstate 95 corridor and between the Port of Baltimore and the Midwest. But reopening the tunnel removes the chokepoint that had slowed freight flows since its closure on Feb. 1. “The tunnel opens up for us options all the way from the Southeast to the Northeast and across to Chicago,” CSX CEO Joe Hinrichs told the Journal of Commerce. “Double-stacking opens up between 75,000 and 125,000 new container opportunities once everything is finished.” The official reopening of the Howard Street Tunnel ends a turbulent nine-month stretch for CSX. During the closure, its East Coast network was effectively cut in half. Trains from the Northeast stopped at the Port of Baltimore, then truckers drayed containers across the city to the Curtis Bay terminal where new trains were constructed to the Southeast. Trains from the Southeast did the reverse to access the Northeast. The reopened Howard Street Tunnel should immediately eliminate 24 hours from transit times, CSX said. It also marks the end of a four-year construction project to raise the vertical clearance in the tunnel built in the 1890s. New possibilities Through its double-stack service, CSX will be better positioned to compete with trucking and rival Norfolk Southern Railway between Atlanta and key Northeast markets such as Harrisburg (Chambersburg), Pennsylvania; Philadelphia; and Newark, New Jersey, three high-volume freight lanes. The completion of the project opens an opportunity for CSX to collaborate with BNSF Railway via a joint-line service from Southern California to Philadelphia and Newark, as it has done to Atlanta for nearly two decades, and the company recently expanded to Charlotte and Jacksonville . It also opens the possibility for BNSF and CSX to create a joint single-line service from Southern California to Philadelphia and Newark in the future. Opening a double-stack option through Baltimore would allow BNSF and CSX to avoid routing cargo through upstate New York, making the service viable even in winter months. International intermodal service from the Port of Baltimore will also become more competitive with the Port of New York and New Jersey and Port of Virginia, which already offer double-stack service. Because Baltimore is farther inland than neighboring ports, the transit times to Chicago and the Ohio Valley are shorter. “It’s hard to imagine that this tunnel could be such a chokepoint,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) told the Journal of Commerce Friday. “It’s been constricting the amount of cargo that we can bring out of the Port of Baltimore, but now we can double the throughput [to] 160,000 containers annually and that’s important for us to compete in international trade.” On Thursday, CSX also reopened the Blue Ridge subdivision on the Tennessee-North Carolina border, which was significantly damaged during Hurricane Helene in September 2024. The first coal train moved through the region ahead of a ceremony scheduled for Oct. 2. Since the hurricane, trains from Alabama, Florida and Georgia have been detoured to Nashville, Tennessee, before turning back east to the Carolinas. The Howard Street Tunnel and Blue Ridge subdivision shuttered two of CSX’s four north-south routes. CSX’s service suffered in the first quarter before the railroad implemented workarounds last spring. “We learned that if we focus, work together with our customers and our internal team, we can get around these obstacles and still deliver a strong service product,” Hinrichs said. “Now that we open these routes back up, it gives us even more fluidity to our network, and it unleashes us to even run better.” Contact Ari Ashe at ari.ashe@spglobal.com .

Rail News

North-American rail

CSX restarts Baltimore tunnel service for double-stack in 2026

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The Gulf Coast port faced the potential that later US actions against Chinese ship-to-shore cranes would raise costs more if it deferred delivery. </div>

The Gulf Coast port faced the potential that later US actions against Chinese ship-to-shore cranes would raise costs more if it deferred delivery.

<div class="phx-topic">Port Freeport is taking direct delivery of two Chinese-made ship-to-shore cranes, determining that the cost of the current US tariffs against China outweigh the risk of further punitive tariffs against that country’s maritime industry. Port Freeport said in a statement to the Journal of Commerce that it plans to install and commission two new super-Post-Panamax cranes manufactured by China’s ZPMC before the end of the calendar year. The cranes arrived at the port this week, were entered into US Customs, and the “applicable tariff has been paid.”<a href="https://www.joc.com/article/ports-america-to-pay-30-tariff-on-china-made-ship-to-shore-crane-6080582">Chinese cranes are subject to a 30% import duty</a> that is the result of an August trade truce between the US and China, with the Trump administration agreeing to that baseline tariff before the Nov. 10 deadline for a new trade deal. Port Freeport will face a $7.5 million bill at the current tariff rate. The cranes are arriving as Freeport prepares for a deepening project that will bring its ship channel down to 56 feet from 51 feet. Port Freeport prepared to put the cranes into a bonded warehouse to defer any import duties, according to meeting minutes of Port Freeport’s commission. That would give the port time for US-China trade negotiations to take place or the US Supreme Court to rule that Trump’s tariffs were illegal. However, commission staff said the port faced the risk of an additional tariff up to 100% from the US Trade Representative’s (USTR’s) proposed action against Chinese crane makers. While the USTR has not made a final decision on the proposed action, commission staff said they understand a decision is coming in October. Port Freeport was among those that <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/ports-look-to-delay-proposed-us-tariffs-on-chinese-made-cranes-6007628">provided feedback to the USTR</a> about its proposal, saying in May that it would face a $25 million USTR tariff bill on cranes ordered in November 2023. “Port Freeport and other U.S. seaports with cranes under contract are in an untenable situation,” according to its written report. “If the cranes are put in customs bonded warehouse status, it’s unlikely that tariffs will go lower than 30%; however, there is a greater risk the rates could go higher,” commission staff said. Contact Michael Angell at <a href="mailto: michael.angell@spglobal.com">michael.angell@spglobal.com</a> </div>

Port Freeport is taking direct delivery of two Chinese-made ship-to-shore cranes, determining that the cost of the current US tariffs against China outweigh the risk of further punitive tariffs against that country’s maritime industry. Port Freeport said in a statement to the Journal of Commerce that it plans to install and commission two new super-Post-Panamax cranes manufactured by China’s ZPMC before the end of the calendar year. The cranes arrived at the port this week, were entered into US Customs, and the “applicable tariff has been paid.” Chinese cranes are subject to a 30% import duty that is the result of an August trade truce between the US and China, with the Trump administration agreeing to that baseline tariff before the Nov. 10 deadline for a new trade deal. Port Freeport will face a $7.5 million bill at the current tariff rate. The cranes are arriving as Freeport prepares for a deepening project that will bring its ship channel down to 56 feet from 51 feet. Port Freeport prepared to put the cranes into a bonded warehouse to defer any import duties, according to meeting minutes of Port Freeport’s commission. That would give the port time for US-China trade negotiations to take place or the US Supreme Court to rule that Trump’s tariffs were illegal. However, commission staff said the port faced the risk of an additional tariff up to 100% from the US Trade Representative’s (USTR’s) proposed action against Chinese crane makers. While the USTR has not made a final decision on the proposed action, commission staff said they understand a decision is coming in October. Port Freeport was among those that provided feedback to the USTR about its proposal, saying in May that it would face a $25 million USTR tariff bill on cranes ordered in November 2023. “Port Freeport and other U.S. seaports with cranes under contract are in an untenable situation,” according to its written report. “If the cranes are put in customs bonded warehouse status, it’s unlikely that tariffs will go lower than 30%; however, there is a greater risk the rates could go higher,” commission staff said. Contact Michael Angell at michael.angell@spglobal.com

Marine terminals

Freeport pays crane tariffs to avoid USTR fee risk

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In today’s competitive logistical landscape, efficiency is an absolute necessity for smooth operations. Yet, in the barge sector, many operators still rely on fragmented systems, delayed updates, and manual tracking methods that slow decision-making and increase operational risk. OpenTug’s new eBook, How Enhanced Visibility Transforms Barge Operations, reveals how unified, real-time data can become your competitive advantage leading to improved voyage management and more actionable insights. Drawing on industry best practices and real-world examples, it explores how operational transparency empowers teams to: ●	Reduce delays with accurate ETAs and proactive scheduling decisions ●	Improve asset utilization by identifying underused equipment and optimizing cargos ●	Strengthen safety and compliance through consistent, accessible documentation and reporting ●	Boost customer satisfaction with transparent status updates and faster response time You’ll learn how visibility can connect every part of your operation into a single, actionable view. The ability to see and act on real-time information transforms the way you plan, execute, and deliver. From managing a small regional fleet to running a large, national operation, this eBook will help you understand the measurable benefits of enhanced visibility and how technology like BargeOS is transforming the way barge logistics is managed. Get your copy today and see how clear insights lead to stronger performance, smarter decisions, and more profitable operations. <a href="https://9315820.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/9315820/eBook/Nav-theFuture-AJW-08.19.25.pdf" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link">Click here</a><span class="joc_admin__inline-image joc_admin__inline-image-aspect-ratio-16_9 joc_admin__inline-image-position-left joc_admin__inline-image-size-small" data-figure-size="small" data-figure-position="left" data-figure-aspect-ratio="16:9"><img src="/content-assets/1756152344211_Opentug%20logo.png" alt="" class="joc_admin__inline-image-inherit">

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Transform Barge Operations with Total Visibility

At SSA Marine Mexico, we firmly believe that business development must go hand in hand with social and environmental well-being. Our vision is not solely focused on operating efficiently, but also on creating a meaningful and positive impact in the communities where we are present. Since 1995, we have reaffirmed this commitment through tangible actions that reflect our core values of responsibility, solidarity, and sustainability. <span class="joc_admin__inline-image joc_admin__inline-image-aspect-ratio-3_2 joc_admin__inline-image-position-left joc_admin__inline-image-size-medium" data-figure-size="medium" data-figure-position="left" data-figure-aspect-ratio="3:2"><img src="/content-assets/1752584535914_Photo%201.jpg" alt="" class="joc_admin__inline-image-inherit"> A Year of Major Achievements Over the past year, we allocated more than $107,000 USD to the implementation of 60 social and environmental projects, positively impacting over 7,800 people across various regions of Mexico. Each initiative was designed with a holistic approach, addressing key areas that contribute to long-term community development. Education: Laying the Foundation for the Future Education is one of the most powerful tools to promote social mobility and equitable development. At SSA Marine Mexico, we support academic initiatives that inspire and empower the next generation of leaders. One of our most impactful partnerships was with the University of Colima, where we sponsored the “Reto Camp” program. This initiative encourages university students to develop innovative solutions in the fields of sustainability, logistics, and port operations, offering them mentorship, tools, and real-world challenges to solve. In addition, we donated microscopes, school supplies, and educational materials to institutions in underserved communities, helping to improve the learning environment and provide students with the resources they need to succeed. Health and Sports: Promoting Wellness We believe that healthy communities are strong communities. We have supported several local sporting events and provided direct assistance to talented athletes, enabling them to pursue their passions and represent their regions with pride. Beyond sports, we also strengthened our collaboration with critical emergency response organizations such as the Mexican Red Cross and Civil Protection. Our contributions helped enhance their readiness and capabilities in times of crisis, ensuring better outcomes for those affected by emergencies. Supporting Vulnerable Groups: Reaching Those Who Need It Most A core part of our social responsibility efforts is directed toward supporting vulnerable populations. We have contributed to a range of initiatives focused on children, migrants, and at-risk families. These efforts included donations to orphanages and shelters, as well as support for the National Institute of Migration and grassroots organizations dedicated to protecting and empowering people facing adversity. By standing with those in need, we reinforce our commitment to inclusion and social justice, values that are central to our identity as a responsible company. <span class="joc_admin__inline-image joc_admin__inline-image-aspect-ratio-3_2 joc_admin__inline-image-position-left joc_admin__inline-image-size-medium" data-figure-size="medium" data-figure-position="left" data-figure-aspect-ratio="3:2"><img src="/content-assets/1752584944645_Photo%202.png" alt="" class="joc_admin__inline-image-inherit">Culture: Strengthening Community Identity Cultural identity is a key element in building resilient and united communities. At SSA Marine Mexico, we actively participate in the organization and sponsorship of cultural events that celebrate local traditions and foster civic pride. Working alongside port authorities and municipal governments, we helped bring music, art, and heritage to the forefront, creating spaces for community engagement and intercultural dialogue. Environment: Investing in the Planet Our commitment to sustainability goes beyond operations—it’s a philosophy that drives every decision we make. We have partnered with environmental institutions to carry out reforestation campaigns, beach cleanups, and conservation efforts. In collaboration with the Institute for the Environment, we supported initiatives aimed at decarbonization, biodiversity protection, and environmental education. By involving our employees and local volunteers in these actions, we also foster a culture of environmental stewardship throughout our organization and our surrounding communities. Innovation for a Sustainable Future Sustainability is not just about doing good—it’s also about doing things better. In 2024, we invested $22 million USD in the acquisition of 11 state-of-the-art E-RTG cranes. These electric rubber-tired gantry cranes represent a significant technological advancement in port equipment. Seven of them are already operating on clean electric energy, resulting in a reduction of nearly 4,000 tons of CO₂ emissions and improving operational efficiency by 7%. The remaining four cranes are fully compatible with future electrification, underscoring our long-term strategy to modernize our operations in an environmentally responsible way. This investment is part of a broader innovation roadmap that includes digitalization, automation, and cleaner energy sources—all designed to ensure that our ports continue to grow without compromising the health of our planet. Building a Better Tomorrow, Together At SSA Marine Mexico, we understand that sustainability is a shared and ongoing responsibility. True impact requires collaboration across sectors, long-term vision, and unwavering commitment. That is why we continue to work hand-in-hand with local authorities, non-profit organizations, universities, and our own employees to create solutions that are both scalable and sustainable. Our journey is far from over. In the years ahead, we will continue to deepen our community engagement, explore cleaner technologies, and strengthen the social fabric of the regions where we operate. Each initiative, no matter the size, is a step toward building a future where business success goes hand-in-hand with human and environmental prosperity. We are proud of what we have achieved in 2024, but we are even more excited about what lies ahead. SSA Marine Mexico — Moving the World, Caring for People and Planet. LINK: <a href="https://www.ssamarine.mx/" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link">https://www.ssamarine.mx/</a>

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SSA Marine Mexico: True Commitment to Sustainability

The world of LTL is slow to embrace change. Business anachronisms permeate current supply chain processes. These vestiges of the way things used to work define the LTL freight transportation procurement process of many modern shippers.David Knuth, logistics specialist at IEWC, a global supplier of cable and wire based in Wisconsin, is happy to have modernized the RFP process, automating the entire LTL bidding procedure with Bid$ense, SMC³’s automated truckload and LTL freight transportation sourcing solution. But when prompted, he can still recall what once was.In his previous job, a large part of his duties were consumed by creating an intermodal bid package for carriers. In a spreadsheet, Knuth detailed the company’s volumes lane by lane, taking care to delete any errant keystrokes or misleading data. He would then email out the information to each carrier, taking time to respond to detailed technical questions about the spreadsheet data. Finally, he had to compile all the results, create an algorithm that would compare the carriers on each lane, and award the business.“It was a huge undertaking. It took about four months to do,” Knuth said of the old process. “It was almost a full-time job for that part of the year, every year.”In his new job at IEWC, he sat down with Bid$ense on day one and was amazed at the capabilities. Knuth had never before used a bid tool. SMC³’s latest versions of Bid$ense automate the process even further, taking truckload and LTL RFPs entirely online. The tool draws on RFP best-practices protocols to streamline the bidding communication process, enabling bidding carriers to respond accurately and promptly to shipper requests. The solution also does all the distribution work automatically, electronically submitting shipper bid data to carriers based on their actual service capabilities and performance records. Carriers are alerted with timely prompts for RFP deliverables, so shippers aren’t waiting by the phone for responses.Another benefit of automating the process is the data-cleansing assistance. When Knuth sent spreadsheets to carriers, data errors might cloud the bidding process; he might have to resend data or simply accept a price that did not truly reflect the costs of doing business. Data cleansing is incredibly beneficial, he said.The spreadsheet technique also made bidding analysis an onerous task. Since Bid$ense automates and streamlines the entire RFP process, intensive examination is now simple. SMC³ knows that each bid has more than one best outcome. With uniform responses from each carrier, shippers can quickly rank results and create an unlimited quantity of what-if scenarios to make the optimal procurement decision.Jesse Burnett of Central Garden &amp; Pet experiences many of the same benefits. Founded in 1980, Central Garden &amp; Pet has spent the last three decades growing from a small garden supply company to a provider of a range of products from dog chews and bird seed to soil supplements and natural insecticides. For much of its life, the company shipped these disparate goods via LTL and truckload carriers to retailers throughout the country, relying on each business unit to negotiate directly with their freight transportation providers. This arrangement worked fairly well for a small company, but as Central Garden &amp; Pet expanded, leadership decided to consolidate decision making.Burnett helped centralize the transportation decision making in 2015 with SMC³’s Bid$ense. Before Bid$ense, every business unit operated independently as far as negotiating with carriers.“There were a lot of different things just floating around,” he said. “We didn’t have master agreements in place; no national pricing at all. The pricing from carriers was just all over the place, depending on where you were.”The transformations he saw with Bid$ense were immediate. Burnett has been using the tool about every other year since its implementation at the company. Central Garden and Pet’s $19.6 million 2019 LTL bid saved the company just more than 9 percent when compared to its historical average. For Burnett, though, bid automation extends far beyond savings.“We knew that we weren’t getting the best pricing offer from our carriers just because nothing was centralized,” he continued. “We knew that if we combined everything from all these business units and paired it with one corporate offering, then it would drive some cost benefit with it.”When the company initially decided to centralize bid procurement, executives researched a number of different methodologies and technologies. In the end, though, Burnett found that Bid$ense was both widespread and well known, and that his carrier partners already knew how to use the application. Burnett also highlighted the data-cleansing process as a major benefit, saying the rigorous process ensures that carriers always return the best price.“It definitely has helped drive savings,” he said. “Any time you go out there and you drive that competitiveness with the carriers and they know they’re in a bid environment, it seems to sharpen their pencils.”Transportation procurement is an integral part of the modern supply chain. With Bid$ense, shippers can develop a strategic implementation plan that saves them time and money, but also helps them create strong relationships with their carrier partners. These carriers appreciate the solution’s data-cleansing process; when carriers receive a complete shipment history and future volume forecast, they don’t have to guess on pricing. Carriers that receive more data from shippers get a complete picture of that shipper’s freight, allowing them to accurately plan instead of simply preparing for the worst-case scenario. Clean data presented through an automated system can lead to both bigger shipment savings and a lasting partnership between carrier and customer.Whether customers are looking to streamline over-the-road transportation bidding by automating the RFP process or create an entirely new, centralized sourcing process, Bid$ense has the analytical horsepower to get the job done.SMC³ 2020 Customer Case Study

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Shippers save money, time with automated transportation bidding tools

If there’s one immutable truth in the world of logistics, it’s this: LTL is an inherently complex form of transportation. Tariffs, rates, DIM weights, transit times — it’s enough to confuse even seasoned logistics professionals. The solution to this knowledge gap has historically been on-the-job training or university supply chain education, but for a variety of reasons there is now a pressing need for third-party, remote LTL training that prepares logistics workers for transportation success. Global Scope Can Overlook Local Intricacies In the past, professionals looking to move into a supply chain career learned about the basics of supply chain from universities. However, many of these college supply chain programs are now global in scope, focusing on worldwide supply chain management instead of the intricacies of specialized domestic transportation. And even these programs, which used to be widespread, are becoming less common. LTL is not an industry of broad-brush strokes; supply chain professionals really need a pointillistic understanding of the logistics of LTL in order to excel in the industry. Accelerating Need for Dedicated LTL Education This lack of specified training put the onus on employers to prepare new hires with the LTL knowledge needed to do their jobs. Dedicated LTL study is a necessity, not a luxury. At the same time, changes in LTL and the broader supply chain world are accelerating. The reliance on e-commerce has ballooned since the start of the pandemic, and last-mile LTL shipments and related e-commerce strains on the supply chain won’t diminish once social distancing abates. That genie isn’t going back into the bottle. So supply chain employers need logistics workers that are fully versed in all aspects of the industry, ready to solve unique shipping and delivery problems based on their extensive supply chain knowledge But why care about LTL? It’s been reported that some shippers in today’s world are no longer concerned with what mode is used to ship their goods. A Multimodal Approach Ensures On-Time Delivery This mode agnosticism means supply chain stakeholders have to be well versed in all modes of transportation. As unforeseen weather events and other disruptions, such as protests, become more common, savvy logistics employees will need to be armed with familiarity of all modes, not just the most popular, to ensure that freight is delivered on time, without damage, and in the most financially expedient way possible. Offerings like SMC³’s LTL online education courses cover a wide range of topics from LTL basics and operations to more advanced concepts like pricing analytics and transportation law. The company also has plans to continually refresh content, adding new expert presenters and taking the feedback of students to make the courses even better as time goes on. Learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://logisticstrainingcenter.com/smc3-courses/" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link">SMC³’s LTL Online Education program</a>&nbsp;and view the 2021 hybrid schedule, featuring live industry experts,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.smc3.com/onlinelearning2021/" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link">here.</a>

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Filling the Supply Chain Education Gap with LTL Education Courses

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