<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Sharp spot rate increases could take effect as soon as Thursday.</div>

Sharp spot rate increases could take effect as soon as Thursday.

<div><a>The bankruptcy and apparent unraveling of Hanjin Shipping</a> on Wednesday — the world’s seventh-largest container line — following the withdrawal of support from its creditors after a lengthy period of financial distress, will cause an immediate upward adjustment in US import rates and untold headaches for shippers, sources told JOC Wednesday.A set of sharp trans-Pacific spot rate increases will take effect on Thursday, as the ocean carrier announced it has put a hold on container loadings on ships, and forwarders and Hanjin's alliance partners are canceling bookings with the Korean liner and frantically seeking to divert freight to other container...

The bankruptcy and apparent unraveling of Hanjin Shipping on Wednesday — the world’s seventh-largest container line — following the withdrawal of support from its creditors after a lengthy period of financial distress, will cause an immediate upward adjustment in US import rates and untold headaches for shippers, sources told JOC Wednesday. A set of sharp trans-Pacific spot rate increases will take effect on Thursday, as the ocean carrier announced it has put a hold on container loadings on ships, and forwarders and Hanjin's alliance partners are canceling bookings with the Korean liner and frantically seeking to divert freight to other container lines and the alliances in which Hanjin does not participate. JOC was told that Cosco, partners of Hanjin in the CKYHE Alliance, have ceased making bookings on Hanjin ships, as did a major forwarder according to what it told JOC. Evergreen Line, a CKYHE member, told customers Wednesday that none of its cargo would be loaded onto Hanjin ships and that Hanjin cargo wouldn't be loaded onto the Taiwan-based carrier's ships. Gemini Shippers on Wednesday warned its members of likely disruptions and delays of cargo riding on Hanjin ships and through its bill of ladings. With capacity from Asia to the US East and West coast already tight, the nonprofit serving various retail shippers urged its customers to book space at least three weeks in advance. Trans-Pacific eastbound rates were already trending higher in recent weeks owing to higher utilization amid the peak holiday shipping season, and now they will go higher still. According to one large forwarder, carriers as of Sept. 1 will implement a $600 increase per 40-foot-equivalent unit for freight all kinds (FAK) cargo to a level of $1,700, representing a 54 percent rate increase from Asia to the U.S. West Coast. The rate to the East Coast will go up by $800 per FEU to $2,400, a 50 percent hike. Similar increases were announced to Vancouver, Prince Rupert, Houston, Mobile, and inland ports such as Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, Fort Worth, and Kansas City. This comes on top of recent increases that have largely held; spot rates to the U.S. West Coast have climbed from $753 per FEU in late June to $1,153 in the latest reading from the Shanghai Shipping Exchange's Shanghai Containerized Freight Index, a 53 percent increase. Carriers will likely achieve these increases, and perhaps more to come, given that Hanjin, according to one larger forwarder, was carrying 20,000 TEUs to 25,000 TEUs in the trans-Pacific eastbound trade. The withdrawal of its capacity will create a rush of volume to other carriers who are already operating at 90 percent to 100 percent utilization. According to the Agriculture Transportation Coalition in a member advisory on Wednesday, “There is currently, overall for all carriers, about 8,000 TEUs to 10,000 TEUs of unused capacity (in the) trans-Pacific eastbound. So if Hanjin ceases operations, suddenly we are in [a] massive demand-over-supply situation. Impact on westbound shipments will be significant, but may be less than for eastbound imports.” “It is expected that rates will increase and capacity will tighten as previous Hanjin customers look for space with other carriers. This will create significant demand on a market which is already suffering from a lack of available space.” said Bruce Chilton, director of trade managment at freight forwarder Marisol International in an email bulletin. In other words, although it's a constaint refrain that a bankruptcy won't alter container shipping overcapacity, in the short-term, significant capacity will be temporarily removed until the Hanjin ships find new owners and get deployed in new services. That could take months, and with the peak shipping season already under way the market impact will be immediate. The rate increases come as the Hanjin business appeared to be coming apart on Monday. One large forwarder on Monday told JOC it was immediately cancelling all bookings with Hanjin. Another forwarder said it was told by Hanjin officials that the company is entering bankruptcy and to cease booking with the carrier. One forwarder told JOC on Wednesday that it is “devanning containers that are loaded at origin to get it on other carriers.” In a customer announcement on Wednesday Hanjin said, “All containers intended to load on vessel are put on-hold for loading as per instruction of our Head office to avoid further problems that may incur at transshipment port.” It further stated, “Advance booking confirmation which has been released will also be put on-hold. Kindly refrain from sending out truckers to our CY [container yard] for empty container withdrawal, our CY has been advised not to release empty containers to truckers.” “While Hanjin Shipping has not yet officially announced the court receivership, all new bookings, ground operations and loading processes have ceased,” Marisol's Chilton said. Shippers on Wednesday were scrambling. According to one U.S. agricultural shipper, "We are currently pulling containers from the port and rail, and cross-docking product into other carriers. We have exposure with containers on the water and at ports right now. This is consuming a great deal of time and we are trying to be proactive with our communication with our customers." Some saw the writing on the wall and took action in advance of the bankruptcy. Two non-vessel-operating common carriers doing business with Hanjin dramatically pulled back their exposure to the ailing carrier in June, according to an analysis of the latest data available via PIERS, a sister product of JOC within the maritime and trade business of IHS Markit. Between May and June, Seattle-based Expeditors, the largest trans-Pacific NVOCC, went from shipping nearly 2,100 TEUs to moving under 100. Vilden Global Transportation Solutions also pulled back its exposure in the same period, going from 2,334 TEUs to 663 TEUs. Expeditors and Vilden didn’t respond to requests for comment. Unlike Expeditors and Vilden Global Transportation Solutions, the third- and fifth-biggest movers of NVO cargo for Hanjin, OEC Group, Orient Star International and an undisclosed NVOCC that commands the top spot increased their exposure. Translink, the fourth-biggest source of NVO business, reduced its monthly volume from 1,750 TEUs in May to 1,374 TEUs in June. United Arab Shipping Co., a fellow CKYHE Alliance member of Hanjin, told customers Tuesday it was closely monitoring their cargo that is aboard Hanjin ships and has taken emergency contingency planning of such cargo. China Cosco Shipping told JOC Wednesday morning that it hadn’t heard of any of its customers’ cargo on Hanjin ships being seized. “We are trying to get all the information we can. Our first objective is to protect shippers,” said Howard Finkel, executive vice president of China Cosco Shipping Americas. “We have to find out legally what we can and can’t do.” “We’re going into brand new territory so there are a lot of questions that need to get answered. This is going to hurt,” Finkel said. A Hanjin bankruptcy, according to Alphaliner, would be by far the largest container line collapse in history, dwarfing prior bankruptices such as Cho Yang in 2001, Hainan POS in 2013, Grand China Shipping in 2013 and U.S. Lines in 1986. Hanjin operated a peak of over 600,000 TEUs of capacity at its peak, compared with barely 100,000 TEUs by U.S. Line and well less than 100,000 TEUs by Cho Hang. "Hanjin Shipping's potential bankruptcy would be the largest container shipping failure in history, dwarfing all previous carrier bankruptcies in absolute terms," it said on Tuesday. The bankruptcy begins what will be a “complex insolvency process,” said the UK law firm Psydens, which issued an initial advisory with preliminary details on shippers’ options. A big issue for shippers will be getting cargo released from terminals that are owed money by Hanjin and will use loaded containers as leverage to get paid. One forwarder told JOC on Wednesday that it has containers that have been refused release by the terminal because of unpaid balances owed to the terminal by the carrier. "In a receivership situation, the party going into receivership cannot trade (accept cargo) once they know they are insolvent. Hanjin appeared to find this out on Tuesday when it was reported that key lenders had withdrawn their support," Psydens said.

Container lines

Hanjin unraveling as US import rates set to soar

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The overhaul marks the latest in a series of network shakeups among North American railroads competing for international intermodal freight. </div>

The overhaul marks the latest in a series of network shakeups among North American railroads competing for international intermodal freight.

Feature image

<div class="phx-topic">Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) is reshaping its international intermodal network, consolidating and reducing service between the US West Coast and several Midwest markets while expanding train capacity from East Coast ports into the Midwest. The most significant changes affect Ohio and the Upper Midwest, where the railroad will consolidate all Cincinnati-area traffic into a single large terminal in Sharonville, just north of the city. Under the new plan, international trains will interchange in Chicago and terminate in Cincinnati, no longer continuing to Cleveland or Detroit. The changes take effect Oct. 20. The decision was made to consolidate into a single terminal in Cincinnati to put ocean containers into stacks, following similar NS projects in Atlanta, Memphis and Chicago in the last two years. In the long term, ground stacking will allow Norfolk Southern to be better equipped for import surges. Meanwhile, the railroad’s decision to cancel international trains from Chicago to Cleveland and Detroit reflects low volume. Most cargo destined for Cleveland arrives at East Coast ports, or in the case of Detroit, the East Coast and Canadian ports. “We’re not trying to consolidate international traffic from [Cleveland and Detroit] through Sharonville,” Norfolk Southern said in a statement to the Journal of Commerce. “For the limited international volumes moving to/from Cleveland and Detroit, Sharonville may occasionally serve as a routing option, but it’s not being positioned as a hub for those markets.” The overhaul by NS marks the latest in a series of network shakeups among North American railroads competing for international intermodal freight. In April, BNSF Railway introduced a joint service with Norfolk Southern to move import containers from <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/bnsfs-new-seattle-to-ohio-service-avoids-chicago-dray-5203416">Seattle and Tacoma to the Ohio Valley</a> with a quick crew change in Chicago, eliminating the need to truck cargo across the city. BNSF added another inland service in July, linking Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland with <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/bnsf-to-use-southern-route-to-salt-lake-city-under-up-intermodal-deal-6045357">Salt Lake City</a>. In July, Union Pacific Railroad also opened a new terminal in <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/ups-kc-terminal-will-change-approach-on-ocean-cargo-6013727">Kansas City</a> and reconfigured its intermodal network to accelerate domestic and international trains from Southern California in a bid to better compete against BNSF. In September, Canadian National Railway and CSX Transportation unveiled a joint service to move containers from Western Canada <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/cn-csx-joint-service-to-connect-west-canada-and-nashville-6077903">directly to Nashville</a>, rather than depositing the cargo in Memphis and trucking it across Tennessee. <h3>Adjustment for NS shippers </h3>Cargo owners in Cleveland and Detroit will lose access to major West Coast ports unless they are willing to truck containers to Chicago or Cincinnati, but alternative options are available. Detroit shippers can redirect international volumes to the East Coast ports of New York-New Jersey and Virginia, where CSX and Norfolk Southern already operate frequent service. They can also route freight through Vancouver using Canadian National Railway, which maintains a large terminal in Detroit. Norfolk Southern, meanwhile, will replace West Coast options for those in Cleveland with new departures from the Port of New York and New Jersey. A new thrice weekly train from Port Liberty Bayonne will launch Oct. 21, the railroad announced, supplementing its existing daily train from APM’s Elizabeth Marine Terminal. Shippers in Kansas City will also see adjustments on Oct. 21. The current daily train from Elizabeth Marine Terminal will be replaced by a three-day-per-week schedule but originate from Elizabeth, Port Liberty Bayonne, and Port Liberty New York on Staten Island, offering service from more terminals despite fewer weekly departures. Contact Ari Ashe at <a href="mailto:ari.ashe@spglobal.com">ari.ashe@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) is reshaping its international intermodal network, consolidating and reducing service between the US West Coast and several Midwest markets while expanding train capacity from East Coast ports into the Midwest. The most significant changes affect Ohio and the Upper Midwest, where the railroad will consolidate all Cincinnati-area traffic into a single large terminal in Sharonville, just north of the city. Under the new plan, international trains will interchange in Chicago and terminate in Cincinnati, no longer continuing to Cleveland or Detroit. The changes take effect Oct. 20. The decision was made to consolidate into a single terminal in Cincinnati to put ocean containers into stacks, following similar NS projects in Atlanta, Memphis and Chicago in the last two years. In the long term, ground stacking will allow Norfolk Southern to be better equipped for import surges. Meanwhile, the railroad’s decision to cancel international trains from Chicago to Cleveland and Detroit reflects low volume. Most cargo destined for Cleveland arrives at East Coast ports, or in the case of Detroit, the East Coast and Canadian ports. “We’re not trying to consolidate international traffic from [Cleveland and Detroit] through Sharonville,” Norfolk Southern said in a statement to the Journal of Commerce. “For the limited international volumes moving to/from Cleveland and Detroit, Sharonville may occasionally serve as a routing option, but it’s not being positioned as a hub for those markets.” The overhaul by NS marks the latest in a series of network shakeups among North American railroads competing for international intermodal freight. In April, BNSF Railway introduced a joint service with Norfolk Southern to move import containers from Seattle and Tacoma to the Ohio Valley with a quick crew change in Chicago, eliminating the need to truck cargo across the city. BNSF added another inland service in July, linking Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland with Salt Lake City . In July, Union Pacific Railroad also opened a new terminal in Kansas City and reconfigured its intermodal network to accelerate domestic and international trains from Southern California in a bid to better compete against BNSF. In September, Canadian National Railway and CSX Transportation unveiled a joint service to move containers from Western Canada directly to Nashville , rather than depositing the cargo in Memphis and trucking it across Tennessee. Adjustment for NS shippers Cargo owners in Cleveland and Detroit will lose access to major West Coast ports unless they are willing to truck containers to Chicago or Cincinnati, but alternative options are available. Detroit shippers can redirect international volumes to the East Coast ports of New York-New Jersey and Virginia, where CSX and Norfolk Southern already operate frequent service. They can also route freight through Vancouver using Canadian National Railway, which maintains a large terminal in Detroit. Norfolk Southern, meanwhile, will replace West Coast options for those in Cleveland with new departures from the Port of New York and New Jersey. A new thrice weekly train from Port Liberty Bayonne will launch Oct. 21, the railroad announced, supplementing its existing daily train from APM’s Elizabeth Marine Terminal. Shippers in Kansas City will also see adjustments on Oct. 21. The current daily train from Elizabeth Marine Terminal will be replaced by a three-day-per-week schedule but originate from Elizabeth, Port Liberty Bayonne, and Port Liberty New York on Staten Island, offering service from more terminals despite fewer weekly departures. Contact Ari Ashe at ari.ashe@spglobal.com .

Rail News

North-American rail

Intermodal providers

Surface

Norfolk Southern tweaks international services from West, East coasts

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The carrier’s operational update did not provide profit and loss figures, but the declining revenue is an indication of tough times ahead as liners sail into their financial reporting season.</div>

The carrier’s operational update did not provide profit and loss figures, but the declining revenue is an indication of tough times ahead as liners sail into their financial reporting season.

<div class="phx-topic">Hong Kong-based ocean carrier OOCL on Thursday reported a significant drop in third-quarter revenue as fast-declining rates on the trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe trades dragged down its top-line earnings. The operational update did not provide profit and loss figures, but the declining revenue is an indication of tough times ahead as carriers sail into their financial reporting season. The Cosco Shipping Holdings subsidiary ended the third quarter with total revenue of $2.26 billion, down 25.9% year over year, as the average revenue per TEU dropped 26%. The two east-west routes out of Asia were mainly responsible for the declining revenue. Frontloading on both the trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe led to an early end to the peak season, which was evident in the drop in OOCL’s revenue on the two trade lanes as falling demand and excess capacity dragged down rates. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="e8c13a3e-9f5a-412f-8741-adbf5e1a7779"></dynamic-object></div>Historically, the trans-Pacific is the largest earner among OOCL’s trade lanes, but third-quarter revenue on the route was down 33.2% at $837 million. On Asia-Europe, revenue fell 38.3% to $479 million, while intra-Asia/Australasia revenue was down 12.9% at $766 million. The trans-Atlantic, the smallest of OOCL’s main trades, was the only lane where third-quarter revenue growth was recorded, increasing 25.4% to $180 million. <h3>Flat volume across trade lanes </h3>Third-quarter volume across all four trade lanes was almost flat, increasing 0.7% year over year to 1.9 million TEUs, while the total available capacity rose 4.2%. From a trade lane perspective, the trans-Pacific recorded volume of 526,032 TEUs, a decline of 4.7%, while Asia-Europe volume was flat at 346,001 TEUs. Intra-Asia/Australasia volume was up 1.7% at 938,090 TEUs, with the trans-Atlantic recording a sharp 22.8% increase to 137,016 TEUs. Over the first nine months of the year, OOCL’s total revenue fell 8.3% year over year to $6.9 billion, dragged down by average revenue per TEU that fell 12.4%. Trans-Pacific revenue declined 14.6% to $2.5 billion, while Asia-Europe revenue was down 20.3% at $1.4 billion. Nine-month intra-Asia/Australasia revenue rose 4.2% to $2.2 billion, with trans-Atlantic revenue up 20.3% at $544 million. Volume handled by OOCL in the first nine months was up 4.7% at 5.8 million TEUs. Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Hong Kong-based ocean carrier OOCL on Thursday reported a significant drop in third-quarter revenue as fast-declining rates on the trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe trades dragged down its top-line earnings. The operational update did not provide profit and loss figures, but the declining revenue is an indication of tough times ahead as carriers sail into their financial reporting season. The Cosco Shipping Holdings subsidiary ended the third quarter with total revenue of $2.26 billion, down 25.9% year over year, as the average revenue per TEU dropped 26%. The two east-west routes out of Asia were mainly responsible for the declining revenue. Frontloading on both the trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe led to an early end to the peak season, which was evident in the drop in OOCL’s revenue on the two trade lanes as falling demand and excess capacity dragged down rates. Historically, the trans-Pacific is the largest earner among OOCL’s trade lanes, but third-quarter revenue on the route was down 33.2% at $837 million. On Asia-Europe, revenue fell 38.3% to $479 million, while intra-Asia/Australasia revenue was down 12.9% at $766 million. The trans-Atlantic, the smallest of OOCL’s main trades, was the only lane where third-quarter revenue growth was recorded, increasing 25.4% to $180 million. Flat volume across trade lanes Third-quarter volume across all four trade lanes was almost flat, increasing 0.7% year over year to 1.9 million TEUs, while the total available capacity rose 4.2%. From a trade lane perspective, the trans-Pacific recorded volume of 526,032 TEUs, a decline of 4.7%, while Asia-Europe volume was flat at 346,001 TEUs. Intra-Asia/Australasia volume was up 1.7% at 938,090 TEUs, with the trans-Atlantic recording a sharp 22.8% increase to 137,016 TEUs. Over the first nine months of the year, OOCL’s total revenue fell 8.3% year over year to $6.9 billion, dragged down by average revenue per TEU that fell 12.4%. Trans-Pacific revenue declined 14.6% to $2.5 billion, while Asia-Europe revenue was down 20.3% at $1.4 billion. Nine-month intra-Asia/Australasia revenue rose 4.2% to $2.2 billion, with trans-Atlantic revenue up 20.3% at $544 million. Volume handled by OOCL in the first nine months was up 4.7% at 5.8 million TEUs. Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

Asia-Europe

Trans-Pacific

Container Shipping News

Maritime

Tumbling rates on trans-Pacific, Asia-Europe drag down OOCL Q3 revenue

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">A lack of transparency in carbon pricing from carriers is frustrating breakbulk shippers, while the industry must strike a balance that supports environmental goals without undermining the sector’s ability to function.</div>

A lack of transparency in carbon pricing from carriers is frustrating breakbulk shippers, while the industry must strike a balance that supports environmental goals without undermining the sector’s ability to function.

<div class="phx-topic">Project cargo shippers are demanding greater visibility and clear, uniform pricing for carbon mitigation measures undertaken by carriers, arguing that carbon levies should be integrated directly into freight rates. “Carriers need to be way more forthcoming with charges, even if two years out,” a shipper told the Journal of Commerce. “Volume is volume.” Another shipper added that carbon costs should “be part of the freight rate, not a handshake fee at the end.” Current practices mean that while “some carriers disclose, some just give us an $80,000 bill after the fact,” the source said. Project cargo shippers also called for a global carbon pricing standard to level the competitive playing field. “We need a cost of carbon for everyone across the world,” said a third shipper. “It is a disadvantage to certain sectors if we are not going to play in the same space.” The source added that inconsistent regulation creates unfair burdens for compliant regions or companies. <h3>Need to balance environmental goals </h3>Shippers said that “flow down” environmental processes now reach deep into the project cargo supply chain. Increased environmental reporting demands from downstream come from freight forwarders, carriers and trucking companies who are often mandated to report carbon and offsets for carbon emissions. “We have a responsibility to have these discussions with our vendors,” said one shipper. “But it comes at a cost and there is a balance to play,” which highlights the trade-off between sustainability and financial viability. Another shipper said the industry must strike a balance that supports environmental goals without undermining the sector’s ability to function. “We need to think about whether we want a voice about regulations that are responsible but don’t destroy the business,” the sources said. From a carrier perspective, the technological hurdles to decarbonization remain immense. “One of the biggest challenges [to decarbonization] is scalability and availability of fuels,” Ben Collins, global project cargo manager at Mediterranean Shipping Co., told a Breakbulk Americas panel last week. “There is a lot of work still to be done on this.” Collins also posed the question of whether customers are willing to pay for decarbonization. “There is a long way to go before this nut can be cracked, but cracked it will be,” he said. Despite the challenges, the adoption of green initiatives appears to be gaining momentum in the sector. Vedran Muratbegovic, senior vice president/industrial at carrier Wallenius Wilhelmsen, noted the level of uptake was “increasing among customers.” For carriers such as Wallenius, achieving ambitious decarbonization targets means “partnerships have become increasingly important,” Muratbegovic said at Breakbulk Americas. Contact Carly Fields at <a href="mailto:carly.fields@spglobal.com">carly.fields@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

Project cargo shippers are demanding greater visibility and clear, uniform pricing for carbon mitigation measures undertaken by carriers, arguing that carbon levies should be integrated directly into freight rates. “Carriers need to be way more forthcoming with charges, even if two years out,” a shipper told the Journal of Commerce. “Volume is volume.” Another shipper added that carbon costs should “be part of the freight rate, not a handshake fee at the end.” Current practices mean that while “some carriers disclose, some just give us an $80,000 bill after the fact,” the source said. Project cargo shippers also called for a global carbon pricing standard to level the competitive playing field. “We need a cost of carbon for everyone across the world,” said a third shipper. “It is a disadvantage to certain sectors if we are not going to play in the same space.” The source added that inconsistent regulation creates unfair burdens for compliant regions or companies. Need to balance environmental goals Shippers said that “flow down” environmental processes now reach deep into the project cargo supply chain. Increased environmental reporting demands from downstream come from freight forwarders, carriers and trucking companies who are often mandated to report carbon and offsets for carbon emissions. “We have a responsibility to have these discussions with our vendors,” said one shipper. “But it comes at a cost and there is a balance to play,” which highlights the trade-off between sustainability and financial viability. Another shipper said the industry must strike a balance that supports environmental goals without undermining the sector’s ability to function. “We need to think about whether we want a voice about regulations that are responsible but don’t destroy the business,” the sources said. From a carrier perspective, the technological hurdles to decarbonization remain immense. “One of the biggest challenges [to decarbonization] is scalability and availability of fuels,” Ben Collins, global project cargo manager at Mediterranean Shipping Co., told a Breakbulk Americas panel last week. “There is a lot of work still to be done on this.” Collins also posed the question of whether customers are willing to pay for decarbonization. “There is a long way to go before this nut can be cracked, but cracked it will be,” he said. Despite the challenges, the adoption of green initiatives appears to be gaining momentum in the sector. Vedran Muratbegovic, senior vice president/industrial at carrier Wallenius Wilhelmsen, noted the level of uptake was “increasing among customers.” For carriers such as Wallenius, achieving ambitious decarbonization targets means “partnerships have become increasingly important,” Muratbegovic said at Breakbulk Americas. Contact Carly Fields at carly.fields@spglobal.com .

Heavy-haul transport

Project cargo

Project cargo shippers urge shakeup for inconsistent carbon costs

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">A range of vendors have emerged in recent years with a singular focus on improving coordination of truckload arrivals, keying on load prioritization and performance metrics.</div>

A range of vendors have emerged in recent years with a singular focus on improving coordination of truckload arrivals, keying on load prioritization and performance metrics.

<div class="phx-topic">Fragmentation in the truckload market is behind many of the challenges that have prevented shippers, brokers and carriers from coordinating more effectively on appointment scheduling. But technology that assists all three parties, especially software focused on system connectivity and appointment performance, is driving progress in this long-neglected corner of the industry. <div class="wrapper-narrow float-right-element"><img src="/images/phoenix/6094563_0.1.jpg"></img></div>In particular, software is aiming to help receivers coordinate with carriers by pulling data from their respective backbone systems, whether it’s a purchase order management system or warehouse management system used by a shipper or a transportation management system used by a carrier. Because more than one in five truckloads is brokered, technology is also geared toward letting the broker manage appointment coordination. “Connectivity is really the solution to that problem, not necessarily saying one specific group has to own it,” Tom Curee, president of appointment scheduling software vendor Qued, said at the Journal of Commerce’s Inland Distribution Conference in Chicago last week. “Because then you’ve got two other groups that are pointing the fingers at one group, and I just don’t think that ever ends.” Taking responsibility for the challenges of appointment scheduling remains an issue, largely because of the inherent fragmentation of the industry. That manifests itself in a lack of clarity over who takes the lead in setting up the appointment, and who invests in technology to improve the process. “It is a challenge for everyone, but it impacts different parties to different degrees,” Jesse Buckingham, CEO of truckload automation vendor Vooma, said at the Inland conference. “If you’re running a warehouse, you’re really thinking about the optimization of your labor, and that might actually mean having a bunch of trucks stacked up outside. You want to be a good shipper, but being a good shipper might not actually matter quite as much to your bottom line.” A carrier, meanwhile, will focus on whether a driver is waiting at a facility. “That can really destroy the utilization of that driver’s time and that asset,” Buckingham said. “If you’re a broker, you know the difference between scheduling a really good appointment and a bad one can be $100 or $200 of margin.” <h3>Proper incentives </h3>For Buckingham, that is a matter of incentive structure, and his assertion is that the newer, technology-focused approaches to the appointment scheduling problem are best aimed at brokers, “who, frankly, care a little bit more.” But Tony Botos, vice president of operations at Capstone Logistics and a former shipper, said at the conference that shippers have a huge incentive to invest in scheduling technology. He said a former shipper where we he worked “saw over a million dollars in labor savings” by being able to reduce the number of customer service representatives responsible for coordinating carrier arrivals at receiving facilities.“And it’s not too capital intensive,” Botos said. “You can quickly establish this type of software in your environment and get the systems to talk to the TMS. The [return on investment] on this is less than six months in most cases.” One way he navigated those competing priorities was to focus on appointment performance. “That’s maybe adjusting that appointment from 60 minutes to 65 minutes to 67 minutes,” Botos said. Deema Adama, CEO of scheduling software company Bigger Picture, said a platform should be able to gauge not just how an appointment is scheduled but also the effectiveness of those appointments. “Are we making the right decisions when we’re setting those target times based off of performance that we’re learning from these interactions?” Adama said at the Inland conference. “And the warehouse can judge how they are allocating labor based off of the trends of capacity coming in and out of their warehouse.” <h3>Prioritization problem </h3>One other element that vendors are focused on is allowing shippers to prioritize appointment-setting based on the demands of individual shipments. For instance, if an appointment is available at 9 a.m., it’s likely that a shipper or broker will grab a time slot regardless of how important it is for that load to use that appointment. “There may be an inbound load of Styrofoam material that isn’t going to actually halt production for something that you’re doing,” Curee said. “Meanwhile, that buffalo seasoning actually has to be here at 9 a.m. because the buffalo seasoning is going to stop the line. And the receiver doesn’t have an appointment until 3 p.m. Well, we would have taken 9 a.m. if we would have had access to it, but appointment scheduling is nothing more than a glorified ‘first-come, first-served.’” Contact Eric Johnson at <a href="mailto:eric.johnson@spglobal.com">eric.johnson@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

Fragmentation in the truckload market is behind many of the challenges that have prevented shippers, brokers and carriers from coordinating more effectively on appointment scheduling. But technology that assists all three parties, especially software focused on system connectivity and appointment performance, is driving progress in this long-neglected corner of the industry. In particular, software is aiming to help receivers coordinate with carriers by pulling data from their respective backbone systems, whether it’s a purchase order management system or warehouse management system used by a shipper or a transportation management system used by a carrier. Because more than one in five truckloads is brokered, technology is also geared toward letting the broker manage appointment coordination. “Connectivity is really the solution to that problem, not necessarily saying one specific group has to own it,” Tom Curee, president of appointment scheduling software vendor Qued, said at the Journal of Commerce’s Inland Distribution Conference in Chicago last week. “Because then you’ve got two other groups that are pointing the fingers at one group, and I just don’t think that ever ends.” Taking responsibility for the challenges of appointment scheduling remains an issue, largely because of the inherent fragmentation of the industry. That manifests itself in a lack of clarity over who takes the lead in setting up the appointment, and who invests in technology to improve the process. “It is a challenge for everyone, but it impacts different parties to different degrees,” Jesse Buckingham, CEO of truckload automation vendor Vooma, said at the Inland conference. “If you’re running a warehouse, you’re really thinking about the optimization of your labor, and that might actually mean having a bunch of trucks stacked up outside. You want to be a good shipper, but being a good shipper might not actually matter quite as much to your bottom line.” A carrier, meanwhile, will focus on whether a driver is waiting at a facility. “That can really destroy the utilization of that driver’s time and that asset,” Buckingham said. “If you’re a broker, you know the difference between scheduling a really good appointment and a bad one can be $100 or $200 of margin.” Proper incentives For Buckingham, that is a matter of incentive structure, and his assertion is that the newer, technology-focused approaches to the appointment scheduling problem are best aimed at brokers, “who, frankly, care a little bit more.” But Tony Botos, vice president of operations at Capstone Logistics and a former shipper, said at the conference that shippers have a huge incentive to invest in scheduling technology. He said a former shipper where we he worked “saw over a million dollars in labor savings” by being able to reduce the number of customer service representatives responsible for coordinating carrier arrivals at receiving facilities. “And it’s not too capital intensive,” Botos said. “You can quickly establish this type of software in your environment and get the systems to talk to the TMS. The [return on investment] on this is less than six months in most cases.” One way he navigated those competing priorities was to focus on appointment performance. “That’s maybe adjusting that appointment from 60 minutes to 65 minutes to 67 minutes,” Botos said. Deema Adama, CEO of scheduling software company Bigger Picture, said a platform should be able to gauge not just how an appointment is scheduled but also the effectiveness of those appointments. “Are we making the right decisions when we’re setting those target times based off of performance that we’re learning from these interactions?” Adama said at the Inland conference. “And the warehouse can judge how they are allocating labor based off of the trends of capacity coming in and out of their warehouse.” Prioritization problem One other element that vendors are focused on is allowing shippers to prioritize appointment-setting based on the demands of individual shipments. For instance, if an appointment is available at 9 a.m., it’s likely that a shipper or broker will grab a time slot regardless of how important it is for that load to use that appointment. “There may be an inbound load of Styrofoam material that isn’t going to actually halt production for something that you’re doing,” Curee said. “Meanwhile, that buffalo seasoning actually has to be here at 9 a.m. because the buffalo seasoning is going to stop the line. And the receiver doesn’t have an appointment until 3 p.m. Well, we would have taken 9 a.m. if we would have had access to it, but appointment scheduling is nothing more than a glorified ‘first-come, first-served.’” Contact Eric Johnson at eric.johnson@spglobal.com .

Logistics Technology News

Truckload

Truck brokers

Supply chain

Connectivity the key to bypassing hurdles in truckload appointment scheduling

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Gov. Gavin Newsom has until Sunday to sign or veto a bill that ocean carriers and terminal operators say would derail current and future attempts to automate cargo-handling operations in the name of reducing stress on the state’s power grid. </div>

Gov. Gavin Newsom has until Sunday to sign or veto a bill that ocean carriers and terminal operators say would derail current and future attempts to automate cargo-handling operations in the name of reducing stress on the state’s power grid.

<div class="phx-topic">Whether or not ports in California can continue to automate seemingly hinges on whether Gov. Gavin Newsom signs legislation that would, in effect, render the equipment unusable. SB 34 is a state bill that would ban current and future automated or remotely operated technology used at California ports from plugging into the state’s power grid. The legislation, which is supported primarily by dockworkers, has already been approved by both houses of the California Legislature and awaits action by Newsom, who has until Sunday to sign or veto the bill. But terminal operators and shipping lines say the bill would undermine the billions of dollars already invested in marine terminal automation and likely threaten future investment in cargo-handling efficiency. Mike Jacob, president of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association (PMSA), which represents terminal operators and container lines that call at West Coast ports, told the Journal of Commerce Wednesday the bill’s supporters are pitching it as an environmental effort to reduce demand on the power grid, when in reality it is intended to block any automation that labor interests see as threatening to dockworker jobs. “This is ILWU’s priority bill,” Jacob said of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). Jacob also said the bill is vague and its language is so expansive that it could impact present and future funding from local, state and federal sources for port-related equipment, including charging infrastructure for zero-emission cargo-handling equipment and battery-electric trucks. Long Beach Container Terminal and TraPac in Los Angeles are the West Coast’s only fully automated container terminals. The APM terminal in Los Angeles is partially automated. So far, more than $2 billion has been invested in developing automated facilities, zero-emission cargo handling equipment and charging infrastructure in Southern California. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach did not respond to requests for comment. <h3>Bill ‘undermines’ labor agreement </h3>The Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), which represents terminal operators and shipping lines in negotiating coastwide labor contracts with the ILWU, emphasized in a Sept. 18 letter to Newsom that SB 34 “directly undermines the collective bargaining agreement between PMA and the ILWU.” PMA noted that dating back to the 2008 coastwide contract, the labor agreements “explicitly permitted automation in exchange for steep wage hikes, $100,000 pensions and fully employer-paid healthcare.” “...Any proposed changes should be addressed through the collective bargaining process, not through legislation that circumvents the contract,” PMA said. The presidents of ILWU Locals 13, 63 and 94 in Southern California recently distributed an “Urgent: Call to Action” flyer to union membership to publicly push labor’s support for SB 34 and to urge Newsom to sign the bill. “Protect good union jobs, strengthen our ports, keep California competitive,” the flyer read. An ILWU spokesman said Wednesday union leaders were not available for comment. SB 34 also comes at an inopportune time in that the ports and port stakeholders in Southern California last month reached an agreement with the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) to work cooperatively in the coming months to develop a plan to further reduce port-related emissions. The agreement would replace the <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/la-lb-likely-to-work-with-regulator-on-emissions-cutting-plan-for-ports-6084550">port Indirect Source Rule (ISR)</a> that the AQMD had originally proposed. Meanwhile, Jacob said it is difficult to gauge Newsom’s position on SB 34. “There’s still no clear indication as to where it is going,” Jacob said. Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at <a href="mailto:bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com">bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Whether or not ports in California can continue to automate seemingly hinges on whether Gov. Gavin Newsom signs legislation that would, in effect, render the equipment unusable. SB 34 is a state bill that would ban current and future automated or remotely operated technology used at California ports from plugging into the state’s power grid. The legislation, which is supported primarily by dockworkers, has already been approved by both houses of the California Legislature and awaits action by Newsom, who has until Sunday to sign or veto the bill. But terminal operators and shipping lines say the bill would undermine the billions of dollars already invested in marine terminal automation and likely threaten future investment in cargo-handling efficiency. Mike Jacob, president of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association (PMSA), which represents terminal operators and container lines that call at West Coast ports, told the Journal of Commerce Wednesday the bill’s supporters are pitching it as an environmental effort to reduce demand on the power grid, when in reality it is intended to block any automation that labor interests see as threatening to dockworker jobs. “This is ILWU’s priority bill,” Jacob said of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). Jacob also said the bill is vague and its language is so expansive that it could impact present and future funding from local, state and federal sources for port-related equipment, including charging infrastructure for zero-emission cargo-handling equipment and battery-electric trucks. Long Beach Container Terminal and TraPac in Los Angeles are the West Coast’s only fully automated container terminals. The APM terminal in Los Angeles is partially automated. So far, more than $2 billion has been invested in developing automated facilities, zero-emission cargo handling equipment and charging infrastructure in Southern California. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach did not respond to requests for comment. Bill ‘undermines’ labor agreement The Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), which represents terminal operators and shipping lines in negotiating coastwide labor contracts with the ILWU, emphasized in a Sept. 18 letter to Newsom that SB 34 “directly undermines the collective bargaining agreement between PMA and the ILWU.” PMA noted that dating back to the 2008 coastwide contract, the labor agreements “explicitly permitted automation in exchange for steep wage hikes, $100,000 pensions and fully employer-paid healthcare.” “...Any proposed changes should be addressed through the collective bargaining process, not through legislation that circumvents the contract,” PMA said. The presidents of ILWU Locals 13, 63 and 94 in Southern California recently distributed an “Urgent: Call to Action” flyer to union membership to publicly push labor’s support for SB 34 and to urge Newsom to sign the bill. “Protect good union jobs, strengthen our ports, keep California competitive,” the flyer read. An ILWU spokesman said Wednesday union leaders were not available for comment. SB 34 also comes at an inopportune time in that the ports and port stakeholders in Southern California last month reached an agreement with the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) to work cooperatively in the coming months to develop a plan to further reduce port-related emissions. The agreement would replace the port Indirect Source Rule (ISR) that the AQMD had originally proposed. Meanwhile, Jacob said it is difficult to gauge Newsom’s position on SB 34. “There’s still no clear indication as to where it is going,” Jacob said. Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com .

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Fate of future automation at California ports in governor’s hands

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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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