<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Below are a few tweets from the JOC Container Shipping Conference last week sent out via Linked In (Twitter is blocked in China), including some expanded commentary. 
 
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Below are a few tweets from the JOC Container Shipping Conference last week sent out via Linked In (Twitter is blocked in China), including some expanded commentary.

<div>Below are a few tweets from the JOC Container Shipping Conference last week sent out via Linked In (Twitter is blocked in China), including some expanded commentary. 4 Jun @PeterTirschwellJeffries: GRI plans in Asia-Europe &amp;ldquo;would be all in vain, in our view, if the liners do not cut capacity to reverse the negative sentiment.&amp;rdquo; Jeffries analyst Johnson Leung&amp;rsquo;s latest shipping research note was issued in the midst of the Shanghai conference and was noteworthy, as it introduced an element of caution to what has been an upbeat view on container carriers from this analyst over the past few months. He...

Below are a few tweets from the JOC Container Shipping Conference last week sent out via Linked In (Twitter is blocked in China), including some expanded commentary. 4 Jun @PeterTirschwell Jeffries: GRI plans in Asia-Europe &ldquo;would be all in vain, in our view, if the liners do not cut capacity to reverse the negative sentiment.&rdquo; Jeffries analyst Johnson Leung&rsquo;s latest shipping research note was issued in the midst of the Shanghai conference and was noteworthy, as it introduced an element of caution to what has been an upbeat view on container carriers from this analyst over the past few months. He seems alarmed at the recent dip in Asia-Europe rates, the biggest dip since January, as it suggests the momentum that allowed carriers to double rates in this market since early in the year has been lost amid recent capacity additions and continuing economic negativity out of Europe. 5 Jun @PeterTirschwell Eastbound transpac peak season will be &ldquo;fairly muted&rdquo; this year, but US looking better than Europe &mdash; Simon Heaney of Drewry at #JOCShanghai. After seeing April U.S. containerized imports come in at negative 2 percent, it&rsquo;s hard to disagree. Upcoming indicator of the market will be the success of TSA carriers&rsquo; plans to implement a $600 per-FEU peak-season surcharge this week. 4 Jun @PeterTirschwell Lars Jensen of @SeaIntel at #JOCShanghai forecasts global container growth in 2012 of 7-8%, higher than Maersk Line estimate of 4-6% growth. If he&rsquo;s right, that is nice growth, but even though it&rsquo;s roughly in line with new capacity coming on stream this year, there still may be overcapacity in the market. The next tweet gets into why. 4 Jun @PeterTirschwell Disconnect between Asia-Europe deployment of mega-ships and fact that most growth is now in developing world, Lars Jensen tells #JOCShanghai. What SeaIntel&rsquo;s Jensen is pointing out is that most container tonnage on order is in the mega-ship category, which can only be deployed optimally in Asia-Europe. The trouble is the Asia-Europe market will grow much slower than the global average, reflecting Europe&rsquo;s economic woes, while developing market trade routes, such as China to Latin America or China to Africa, are growing at double-digit rates but can&rsquo;t accommodate tonnage in the mega-vessel category. Thus, when assessing global supply and demand in trying to assess market conditions, it isn&rsquo;t simple enough to look at the numbers on global basis. 4 Jun @PeterTirschwell &ldquo;Very little containerized rail thus far,&rdquo; in China, says Mark Miller of M Power Associates at #JOCShanghai. One issue with China&rsquo;s continuing lack of development of intermodal rail, which stands in stark contrast to its extraordinary buildup of port, road and river capacity, is that it may be inhibiting the flow of goods from interior locations, where manufacturing is migrating in search of lower costs, to the coast. One speaker in Shanghai last week said the Chongqing-Shanghai barge recently took 22 days because of a seven-day delay in transiting the Three Gorges Dam. 3 Jun @PeterTirschwell Samsung has designed a 13,200-TEU ship that will &ldquo;fit nicely&rdquo; into expanded Panama Canal, incoming administrator Quijano tells #JOCShanghai. 4 Jun @PeterTirschwell The expanded Panama Canal will be able to handle ships of over 14,000 TEUs, incoming administrator Jorge Quijano says at #JOCShanghai. It has been widely understood that the capacity of ships able to transit the expanded Panama Canal in 2014 would be nearly triple the size of current Panamax-size vessels &mdash; 12,000 TEUs versus roughly 4,500 TEUs today. The 2006 Proposal for the Expansion of the Panama Canal, posted on the canal&rsquo;s Web site, speaks only of a 12,000-TEU ship as the new Panamax class. But Quijano, whose current job is managing the expansion project as executive vice president of the canal authority&rsquo;s engineering department, is in a position to know the real size, and it&rsquo;s bigger than what&rsquo;s been reported. The implications of even larger ships being able to transit the canal are potentially huge. The economics improve as the ship gets larger, meaning that all else being equal, the competitiveness of the canal route will improve as ships get larger. Ultimately, supply and demand will determine freight rate levels at any given time, of course, but the ability to handle larger ships will benefit the canal and those ports on the other side able to handle them. Peter Tirschwell is senior vice president of strategy at UBM Global Trade. Contact him at ptirschwell@joc.com, and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/PeterTirschwell.

Maritime

Container lines

Forwarding

News and Views From JOC Shipping Conference

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The widely used freight forwarding software vendor said artificial intelligence is enabling it to reduce staff in roles that include programming, product development and customer service.</div>

The widely used freight forwarding software vendor said artificial intelligence is enabling it to reduce staff in roles that include programming, product development and customer service.

Feature image

<div class="phx-topic">WiseTech Global will lay off approximately 2,000 of its employees — nearly 30% of its current workforce — over the next two years because of the efficiencies artificial intelligence will bring to its ability to develop products and interact with customers, the forwarding software vendor said Wednesday. The announcement overshadowed WiseTech’s earnings release for the first half of its fiscal year and sparked a double-digit spike in the company’s share price. WiseTech CEO Zubin Appoo explained in a pre-recorded video message that the workforce reduction was due to the progression of AI tools, those developed internally and by the largest AI model developers such as Anthropic, OpenAI and Google. Cuts will come from roles that include programming, product development, and customer service. “This decision was not taken lightly, but it was necessary to ensure we stay disciplined, nimble, competitive, and future-ready,” Appoo said in the video. “A transformation of this scale will fundamentally reshape our cost base while allowing for an uplift in productivity.” The move comes months after Australia-based WiseTech shook the market <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/cargowises-pricing-model-change-could-mark-final-milestone-in-market-ascent-6133279">with a pricing model change</a> that affected virtually all of its forwarder, customs brokers and third-party logistics provider customers. It also comes as WiseTech integrates its <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/wisetech-makes-2-billion-gamble-on-overturning-complicated-software-history-6013221">largest-ever acquisition</a>, a $2.1 billion purchase of E2open last May, one that expanded the company’s customer reach from 3PLs to shippers. Taken together, those moves could be seen as WiseTech prepping itself for a future where AI transforms how software is built, sold and used, rather than waiting for those changes to undermine its business. WiseTech’s planned layoffs and its emphasis on AI can also be seen as a warning shot to software providers that either act as agentic layers on top of CargoWise — WiseTech’s flagship product — or focus on automating processes inside of CargoWise. Either way, the news will surely reverberate around the market, with software companies that have a fraction of WiseTech’s revenue and a lower operating margin asking themselves if their headcount is optimal given the impact AI is having. The move to cut a significant portion of its workforce should also be viewed through the lens that WiseTech must juggle public market scrutiny in a way that privately-held logistics technology providers do not. The narrative around AI potentially eroding the value of publicly-traded software vendors and data providers has surely spooked companies into showing that they are indeed ready for what AI will do to their products, customers, market share and profit margin. <h3>Revenue growth </h3>The announcement of layoffs comes as WiseTech reported solid financials for the first half of its fiscal year. The company posted operating profits of $252.1 million for the period between July 1 and Dec. 31 on revenue of $672 million, an operating margin of 38%. Total revenue in the first half increased 76% year over year, but much of that growth was attributable to the addition of E2open revenue. Organic revenue growth in the period was 12% Additionally, the company said it has lessened its reliance on its biggest customers over the past year, with 23% of its revenue coming from its top 20 customers in the first half of its current fiscal year, down from 33% in the same period in 2025. Another development worth noting from WiseTech’s fiscal year first-half earnings is its continued focus around building a one-stop shop for logistics software, one that encompasses international and domestic freight procurement, execution, payment and analytics, alongside trade compliance and accounting. The company is not there yet, as most of its customer base is still tied to international forwarding or customs compliance, but the intent is to move in that direction. WiseTech’s share price rose 11% Wednesday on the Australian stock exchange after the planned layoffs were announced. Contact Eric Johnson at <a href="mailto:eric.johnson@spglobal.com">eric.johnson@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

WiseTech Global will lay off approximately 2,000 of its employees — nearly 30% of its current workforce — over the next two years because of the efficiencies artificial intelligence will bring to its ability to develop products and interact with customers, the forwarding software vendor said Wednesday. The announcement overshadowed WiseTech’s earnings release for the first half of its fiscal year and sparked a double-digit spike in the company’s share price. WiseTech CEO Zubin Appoo explained in a pre-recorded video message that the workforce reduction was due to the progression of AI tools, those developed internally and by the largest AI model developers such as Anthropic, OpenAI and Google. Cuts will come from roles that include programming, product development, and customer service. “This decision was not taken lightly, but it was necessary to ensure we stay disciplined, nimble, competitive, and future-ready,” Appoo said in the video. “A transformation of this scale will fundamentally reshape our cost base while allowing for an uplift in productivity.” The move comes months after Australia-based WiseTech shook the market with a pricing model change that affected virtually all of its forwarder, customs brokers and third-party logistics provider customers. It also comes as WiseTech integrates its largest-ever acquisition , a $2.1 billion purchase of E2open last May, one that expanded the company’s customer reach from 3PLs to shippers. Taken together, those moves could be seen as WiseTech prepping itself for a future where AI transforms how software is built, sold and used, rather than waiting for those changes to undermine its business. WiseTech’s planned layoffs and its emphasis on AI can also be seen as a warning shot to software providers that either act as agentic layers on top of CargoWise — WiseTech’s flagship product — or focus on automating processes inside of CargoWise. Either way, the news will surely reverberate around the market, with software companies that have a fraction of WiseTech’s revenue and a lower operating margin asking themselves if their headcount is optimal given the impact AI is having. The move to cut a significant portion of its workforce should also be viewed through the lens that WiseTech must juggle public market scrutiny in a way that privately-held logistics technology providers do not. The narrative around AI potentially eroding the value of publicly-traded software vendors and data providers has surely spooked companies into showing that they are indeed ready for what AI will do to their products, customers, market share and profit margin. Revenue growth The announcement of layoffs comes as WiseTech reported solid financials for the first half of its fiscal year. The company posted operating profits of $252.1 million for the period between July 1 and Dec. 31 on revenue of $672 million, an operating margin of 38%. Total revenue in the first half increased 76% year over year, but much of that growth was attributable to the addition of E2open revenue. Organic revenue growth in the period was 12% Additionally, the company said it has lessened its reliance on its biggest customers over the past year, with 23% of its revenue coming from its top 20 customers in the first half of its current fiscal year, down from 33% in the same period in 2025. Another development worth noting from WiseTech’s fiscal year first-half earnings is its continued focus around building a one-stop shop for logistics software, one that encompasses international and domestic freight procurement, execution, payment and analytics, alongside trade compliance and accounting. The company is not there yet, as most of its customer base is still tied to international forwarding or customs compliance, but the intent is to move in that direction. WiseTech’s share price rose 11% Wednesday on the Australian stock exchange after the planned layoffs were announced. Contact Eric Johnson at eric.johnson@spglobal.com .

Logistics Technology News

Supply chain

WiseTech says to cut nearly 30% of workforce as it preps for AI era

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Nixon, one of the most recognized executives in container shipping, led the transformation of legacy Japanese carriers K Line, MOL and NYK into a unified global company based in Singapore. </div>

Nixon, one of the most recognized executives in container shipping, led the transformation of legacy Japanese carriers K Line, MOL and NYK into a unified global company based in Singapore.

<div class="phx-topic">Ocean Network Express CEO Jeremy Nixon will step down on July 1 from the leadership position he has held since ONE’s inception in 2018 and turn over the helm to industry veteran Till Ole Barrelet. The change was part of a “planned leadership transition” and will not have any impact on customers, the carrier said in a statement Wednesday. Nixon is one of the most recognized executives in container shipping and will stay on with ONE as a senior advisor after Barrelet becomes CEO. “Leading ONE from day one has been the defining chapter of my career,” Nixon said in the statement. “Now is the right time for new leadership, and I am very confident in Till’s ability to lead ONE forward.” Barrelet has more than 20 years of maritime and logistics experience, most recently serving as CEO of Emirates Shipping Line. He has expertise in ship owning, financing, container shipping and trade development across Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa. In addition to a change at the top, ONE will transition to a new executive management team structure comprising the CEO and seven representatives from across all the carrier’s divisions. The new executive team, together with six regional leaders, will report into the CEO. “As our founding CEO, Jeremy has helped build ONE from the ground up, establishing our corporate culture and market position,” said Jotaro Tamura, representative director and chairman of Ocean Network Express Holdings. Nixon has been a regular presence at the Journal of Commerce’s TPM conference in Long Beach, and will speak at TPM26 next Monday. <h3>Transforming three Japanese carriers </h3>As CEO of ONE, Nixon presided over the transformation of the container segments of legacy Japanese carriers K Line, MOL and NYK into a unified global container shipping company based in Singapore. Prior to taking the top job at ONE, he headed up the container division at NYK and served in senior management positions at P&amp;O Nedlloyd and Maersk. Under his stewardship, ONE’s fleet grew from 1.5 million TEUs to more than 260 vessels with capacity exceeding 2 million TEUs. Another 1.15 million TEUs of capacity are on order. ONE recorded a loss in 2018–19, its first year of operation, but rode the massive profitability wave generated during the pandemic-impacted years that followed. That profitability came to an end in the fiscal third quarter of ONE’s 2025 financial year when <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/frontloading-drags-one-to-a-loss-in-its-fiscal-third-quarter-6161263">the carrier posted an $88 million net loss</a>. “ONE is well-positioned to navigate industry headwinds with an increasingly modern fleet, financial strength, and proven capabilities,” Till said in the statement. Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/frontloading-drags-one-to-a-loss-in-its-fiscal-third-quarter-6161263">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Ocean Network Express CEO Jeremy Nixon will step down on July 1 from the leadership position he has held since ONE’s inception in 2018 and turn over the helm to industry veteran Till Ole Barrelet. The change was part of a “planned leadership transition” and will not have any impact on customers, the carrier said in a statement Wednesday. Nixon is one of the most recognized executives in container shipping and will stay on with ONE as a senior advisor after Barrelet becomes CEO. “Leading ONE from day one has been the defining chapter of my career,” Nixon said in the statement. “Now is the right time for new leadership, and I am very confident in Till’s ability to lead ONE forward.” Barrelet has more than 20 years of maritime and logistics experience, most recently serving as CEO of Emirates Shipping Line. He has expertise in ship owning, financing, container shipping and trade development across Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa. In addition to a change at the top, ONE will transition to a new executive management team structure comprising the CEO and seven representatives from across all the carrier’s divisions. The new executive team, together with six regional leaders, will report into the CEO. “As our founding CEO, Jeremy has helped build ONE from the ground up, establishing our corporate culture and market position,” said Jotaro Tamura, representative director and chairman of Ocean Network Express Holdings. Nixon has been a regular presence at the Journal of Commerce’s TPM conference in Long Beach, and will speak at TPM26 next Monday. Transforming three Japanese carriers As CEO of ONE, Nixon presided over the transformation of the container segments of legacy Japanese carriers K Line, MOL and NYK into a unified global container shipping company based in Singapore. Prior to taking the top job at ONE, he headed up the container division at NYK and served in senior management positions at P&O Nedlloyd and Maersk. Under his stewardship, ONE’s fleet grew from 1.5 million TEUs to more than 260 vessels with capacity exceeding 2 million TEUs. Another 1.15 million TEUs of capacity are on order. ONE recorded a loss in 2018–19, its first year of operation, but rode the massive profitability wave generated during the pandemic-impacted years that followed. That profitability came to an end in the fiscal third quarter of ONE’s 2025 financial year when the carrier posted an $88 million net loss . “ONE is well-positioned to navigate industry headwinds with an increasingly modern fleet, financial strength, and proven capabilities,” Till said in the statement. Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

Container Shipping News

Jeremy Nixon to step down as ONE CEO after eight years at the helm

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Forwarders say reefer-centric Indian grape exports combined with sporadic vessel schedule disruptions have enabled carriers to adjust rates upward on the trade lane.</div>

Forwarders say reefer-centric Indian grape exports combined with sporadic vessel schedule disruptions have enabled carriers to adjust rates upward on the trade lane.

<div class="phx-topic">Major container lines operating on the India-Europe/Mediterranean trades have pushed spot rates for February sailings noticeably higher while signaling that further increases are in the cards for March. Carrier spot rate asks are up by $400 to $500 per TEU/FEU from January, according to forwarder sources. Average spot pricing from Nhava Sheva/Mundra (West India) to Felixstowe/London Gateway/Rotterdam now stands at $1,300 to $1,400 per dry standard container, up from $800 to $900 a month ago. Sources reported similar spot gains for Indian loads to the Mediterranean, with February quotes hovering at $1,400 to $1,500 per TEU/FEU for Genoa (Italy) bookings and $2,000 to $2,200 per TEU/FEU for Egypt’s Port Said. Forwarders believe that seasonal reefer-centric Indian grape export bookings combined with sporadic vessel schedule disruptions have enabled carriers to adjust rates upward on the India-Europe trade lane. “Even some of the typically cargo-hungry Asian carriers have lifted spot rates as their slot allocations from network-leading capacity partners dropped,” a Mumbai-based forwarder executive who didn’t want to be identified told the Journal of Commerce. But lead carriers have chosen to hold quarterly contract rates firm because they seem to consider spot gains a temporary or seasonal blip and not a market shift, sources explained. Overall grape volumes in the current season will likely be lower than the historical pattern due to weaker harvest conditions. Available forward vessel schedules point to a few blankings across West India-North Europe networks in March, so forwarders expect tighter capacity to work in favor of the carriers in the spot market in the coming weeks. “Some space crunch is imminent for Europe,” said another executive at a niche reefer forwarder company. “Over the next six to eight weeks, close to 6,000 boxes of grapes have to be exported.” Contact Bency Mathew at <a href="mailto:bencyvmathew@gmail.com">bencyvmathew@gmail.com</a>. </div>

Major container lines operating on the India-Europe/Mediterranean trades have pushed spot rates for February sailings noticeably higher while signaling that further increases are in the cards for March. Carrier spot rate asks are up by $400 to $500 per TEU/FEU from January, according to forwarder sources. Average spot pricing from Nhava Sheva/Mundra (West India) to Felixstowe/London Gateway/Rotterdam now stands at $1,300 to $1,400 per dry standard container, up from $800 to $900 a month ago. Sources reported similar spot gains for Indian loads to the Mediterranean, with February quotes hovering at $1,400 to $1,500 per TEU/FEU for Genoa (Italy) bookings and $2,000 to $2,200 per TEU/FEU for Egypt’s Port Said. Forwarders believe that seasonal reefer-centric Indian grape export bookings combined with sporadic vessel schedule disruptions have enabled carriers to adjust rates upward on the India-Europe trade lane. “Even some of the typically cargo-hungry Asian carriers have lifted spot rates as their slot allocations from network-leading capacity partners dropped,” a Mumbai-based forwarder executive who didn’t want to be identified told the Journal of Commerce. But lead carriers have chosen to hold quarterly contract rates firm because they seem to consider spot gains a temporary or seasonal blip and not a market shift, sources explained. Overall grape volumes in the current season will likely be lower than the historical pattern due to weaker harvest conditions. Available forward vessel schedules point to a few blankings across West India-North Europe networks in March, so forwarders expect tighter capacity to work in favor of the carriers in the spot market in the coming weeks. “Some space crunch is imminent for Europe,” said another executive at a niche reefer forwarder company. “Over the next six to eight weeks, close to 6,000 boxes of grapes have to be exported.” Contact Bency Mathew at bencyvmathew@gmail.com .

Asia-Europe

India-Europe spot rates climb on seasonal booking demand, tighter capacity

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">A number of forwarders and software vendors are providing products, often for free, to help shippers and customs brokers calculate refunds they may have coming following Friday’s Supreme Court ruling. </div>

A number of forwarders and software vendors are providing products, often for free, to help shippers and customs brokers calculate refunds they may have coming following Friday’s Supreme Court ruling.

<div class="phx-topic">A range of software tools has emerged over the past few months that should help importers and customs brokers determine the level of refunds available to them as a result of Friday’s Supreme Court ruling rejecting the mechanism used by the Trump administration to collect tariffs over the past 10 months. The decision, which ruled the administration improperly assessed an estimated $175 billion in tariffs on importers by using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), has set in motion a scramble to claw back refunds on those tariffs. But the process is far from clear. The Court made no determination on how the refund process should be handled and President Donald Trump suggested on Friday after the ruling that refunds might be tied up in legal disputes for two or more years. Trade experts have said the US Court of International Trade (CIT) will ultimately decide the refund process. While importers await word from the government about the process, or until a case is brought before the CIT that might provide clarity, most will be turning to an administrative filing called a post-summary correction (PSC) to get in line to claim their refund. A PSC is an electronic tool within the government’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) that allows importers to fix errors in their customs entries and claim refunds for any duty improperly collected. To calculate what those refunds might amount to, software vendors and forwarders have established products for customs brokers and importers to use. Digital forwarder Flexport, well-versed in marketing its services to shippers in trying times, has been front and center on the tariff issue by promoting its free-to-use tariff refund calculator. It has added an IEEPA tariff refund product that calculates the refund amount and starts the process for claiming refunds. <h3>Multiple tools available </h3>Flexport is far from the only refund tool on the market. Wove, an automation technology provider for forwarders, customs brokers and shippers, launched an IEEPA tariff refund calculator over the weekend that allows users to upload a spreadsheet into a web portal with the harmonized tariff schedule (HTS) code, country of origin, customs value and entry date information to determine their refunds. Amari AI, which last week landed a $4.5 million seed funding round from venture investors, also has a tariff calculator based on HTS code and shipment details. That’s aside from its core product, which automates the extraction of information from commercial invoices, packing lists, bills of lading and arrival notices to help customs brokers file entries more efficiently. Reform, yet another provider catering to customs brokers and importers, this week said a post-summary correction audit and filing tool that helps determine in minutes whether an entry error has occurred has seen demand increase significantly since the Supreme Court decision. “Brokers simply import their 7501 entry summaries and supporting commercial invoices, and the tool delivers results in a matter of minutes,” Reform said in a blog Tuesday. Reform said brokers can receive a corrected entry formatted for transmission to CBP through systems such as Descartes NetCHB or CargoWise or a detailed spreadsheet flagging missing HTS codes, provisional tariffs, and discrepancies between entries and invoices. Reform said the issue is particularly acute for importers and the customs brokers they use because CBP is itself using artificial intelligence and automation to better target incorrect entries. Pallet, another logistics automation specialist, said it has enabled forwarder Mallory Alexander to double the number of import filings its employees can handle while increasing the accuracy of those filings from about 80% to 97%. In addition, importers are turning to tax and trade compliance advisory specialists to ensure that the paperwork they need to apply for refunds is in order. All this comes as the Trump administration, seeking to pivot after the Court ruling, implemented on Monday a 10% tariff on all trade partners using so-called Section 122 authority. But there are myriad exemptions for specific products or countries covered by existing trade agreements, as well as legal questions about whether the market factors that would justify using Section 122 powers are even in place. Contact Eric Johnson at <a href="mailto:eric.johnson@spglobal.com">eric.johnson@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

A range of software tools has emerged over the past few months that should help importers and customs brokers determine the level of refunds available to them as a result of Friday’s Supreme Court ruling rejecting the mechanism used by the Trump administration to collect tariffs over the past 10 months. The decision, which ruled the administration improperly assessed an estimated $175 billion in tariffs on importers by using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), has set in motion a scramble to claw back refunds on those tariffs. But the process is far from clear. The Court made no determination on how the refund process should be handled and President Donald Trump suggested on Friday after the ruling that refunds might be tied up in legal disputes for two or more years. Trade experts have said the US Court of International Trade (CIT) will ultimately decide the refund process. While importers await word from the government about the process, or until a case is brought before the CIT that might provide clarity, most will be turning to an administrative filing called a post-summary correction (PSC) to get in line to claim their refund. A PSC is an electronic tool within the government’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) that allows importers to fix errors in their customs entries and claim refunds for any duty improperly collected. To calculate what those refunds might amount to, software vendors and forwarders have established products for customs brokers and importers to use. Digital forwarder Flexport, well-versed in marketing its services to shippers in trying times, has been front and center on the tariff issue by promoting its free-to-use tariff refund calculator. It has added an IEEPA tariff refund product that calculates the refund amount and starts the process for claiming refunds. Multiple tools available Flexport is far from the only refund tool on the market. Wove, an automation technology provider for forwarders, customs brokers and shippers, launched an IEEPA tariff refund calculator over the weekend that allows users to upload a spreadsheet into a web portal with the harmonized tariff schedule (HTS) code, country of origin, customs value and entry date information to determine their refunds. Amari AI, which last week landed a $4.5 million seed funding round from venture investors, also has a tariff calculator based on HTS code and shipment details. That’s aside from its core product, which automates the extraction of information from commercial invoices, packing lists, bills of lading and arrival notices to help customs brokers file entries more efficiently. Reform, yet another provider catering to customs brokers and importers, this week said a post-summary correction audit and filing tool that helps determine in minutes whether an entry error has occurred has seen demand increase significantly since the Supreme Court decision. “Brokers simply import their 7501 entry summaries and supporting commercial invoices, and the tool delivers results in a matter of minutes,” Reform said in a blog Tuesday. Reform said brokers can receive a corrected entry formatted for transmission to CBP through systems such as Descartes NetCHB or CargoWise or a detailed spreadsheet flagging missing HTS codes, provisional tariffs, and discrepancies between entries and invoices. Reform said the issue is particularly acute for importers and the customs brokers they use because CBP is itself using artificial intelligence and automation to better target incorrect entries. Pallet, another logistics automation specialist, said it has enabled forwarder Mallory Alexander to double the number of import filings its employees can handle while increasing the accuracy of those filings from about 80% to 97%. In addition, importers are turning to tax and trade compliance advisory specialists to ensure that the paperwork they need to apply for refunds is in order. All this comes as the Trump administration, seeking to pivot after the Court ruling, implemented on Monday a 10% tariff on all trade partners using so-called Section 122 authority. But there are myriad exemptions for specific products or countries covered by existing trade agreements, as well as legal questions about whether the market factors that would justify using Section 122 powers are even in place. Contact Eric Johnson at eric.johnson@spglobal.com .

Transport, Trade and Regulation News

IEEPA tariff decision prompts flood of correction tools for refunds, customs entries

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The forwarder has contracted a total of 18,000 metric tons of CO₂ equivalent emission reductions on a well-to-wake basis that will be derived through the carrier’s Ship Green product.</div>

The forwarder has contracted a total of 18,000 metric tons of CO₂ equivalent emission reductions on a well-to-wake basis that will be derived through the carrier’s Ship Green product.

<div class="phx-topic">Hapag-Lloyd and forwarder DSV have extended their sustainable biofuels partnership for two years with an agreement signed Tuesday that increases the pool of alternative fuels that can be used across the carrier’s fleet. In addition to second-generation biofuels, the agreement now allows for the inclusion of other sustainable fuel sources, Hapag-Lloyd and DSV said in a joint statement. Under the new agreement, DSV has contracted a total of 18,000 metric tons of CO₂ equivalent emission reductions on a well-to-wake basis that will be derived through Hapag-Lloyd’s Ship Green product. “Sustainable marine fuels are a tangible and scalable solution to reducing CO₂ emissions, and through close collaboration with Hapag-Lloyd, we are enabling our customers to decarbonize their supply chains," Michael Hollstein, head of ocean product at DSV, said in the statement. Danny Smolders, Hapag-Lloyd’s managing director of global sales, said both companies shared a clear ambition to accelerate the decarbonization of global supply chains. “By working closely together, we can turn this ambition into action,” Smolders said. “This agreement demonstrates how carriers and forwarders can jointly drive meaningful progress and scale lower-emission shipping solutions.” Hapag-Lloyd aims to achieve net-zero fleet operations by 2045, while DSV has committed to reaching net-zero emissions across its own operations and value chain by 2050. Offering sustainable logistics solutions to customers was a key lever toward achieving those goals. The agreement is based on a book-and-claim chain-of-custody mechanism that allows customers to claim verified emission reductions, regardless of the physical fuel allocation to specific vessels or routes. Only emissions avoidance from biofuel that has already been used in Hapag-Lloyd’s owned and operated fleet is allocated to DSV. The model enables shippers to comply with emissions-reduction regulations, such as the European Union Emissions Trading System, while sustainable marine fuels remain limited in availability. Biofuels currently represent the most available and scalable option in sea freight, although the volume used across the Hapag-Lloyd fleet remains in the low single-digit percentages, according to a spokesperson for the carrier. <h3>Regulatory safeguards needed </h3>While biofuel usage increases across the fleets of several carriers, climate campaigner Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) has expressed concern over the absence of regulatory safeguards and careful management of the full value chain impacts. The EDF noted in a recent report that the popularity of biofuels was rising as a fast-track option for the transition to low-carbon shipping, raising fears that land use may be converted from food production to instead produce feedstock for biofuels. The components of direct or indirect land use have not yet been clearly defined as the International Maritime Organization is still developing methodological guidance on how to incorporate them. “How the IMO defines these terms and sets up safeguards will determine whether an increase in demand for certain biofuels results in deforestation, loss of wetlands, displaced communities and food insecurity,” the EDF report stated. The Hapag-Lloyd spokesperson told the Journal of Commerce the carrier supports the development of a global framework that regulates the sustainable criteria for alternative fuels worldwide. “What matters now is maintaining ambition and reaching agreement on a framework that combines environmental integrity, robust sustainability criteria and practical feasibility,” the spokesperson said. Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Hapag-Lloyd and forwarder DSV have extended their sustainable biofuels partnership for two years with an agreement signed Tuesday that increases the pool of alternative fuels that can be used across the carrier’s fleet. In addition to second-generation biofuels, the agreement now allows for the inclusion of other sustainable fuel sources, Hapag-Lloyd and DSV said in a joint statement. Under the new agreement, DSV has contracted a total of 18,000 metric tons of CO₂ equivalent emission reductions on a well-to-wake basis that will be derived through Hapag-Lloyd’s Ship Green product. “Sustainable marine fuels are a tangible and scalable solution to reducing CO₂ emissions, and through close collaboration with Hapag-Lloyd, we are enabling our customers to decarbonize their supply chains," Michael Hollstein, head of ocean product at DSV, said in the statement. Danny Smolders, Hapag-Lloyd’s managing director of global sales, said both companies shared a clear ambition to accelerate the decarbonization of global supply chains. “By working closely together, we can turn this ambition into action,” Smolders said. “This agreement demonstrates how carriers and forwarders can jointly drive meaningful progress and scale lower-emission shipping solutions.” Hapag-Lloyd aims to achieve net-zero fleet operations by 2045, while DSV has committed to reaching net-zero emissions across its own operations and value chain by 2050. Offering sustainable logistics solutions to customers was a key lever toward achieving those goals. The agreement is based on a book-and-claim chain-of-custody mechanism that allows customers to claim verified emission reductions, regardless of the physical fuel allocation to specific vessels or routes. Only emissions avoidance from biofuel that has already been used in Hapag-Lloyd’s owned and operated fleet is allocated to DSV. The model enables shippers to comply with emissions-reduction regulations, such as the European Union Emissions Trading System, while sustainable marine fuels remain limited in availability. Biofuels currently represent the most available and scalable option in sea freight, although the volume used across the Hapag-Lloyd fleet remains in the low single-digit percentages, according to a spokesperson for the carrier. Regulatory safeguards needed While biofuel usage increases across the fleets of several carriers, climate campaigner Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) has expressed concern over the absence of regulatory safeguards and careful management of the full value chain impacts. The EDF noted in a recent report that the popularity of biofuels was rising as a fast-track option for the transition to low-carbon shipping, raising fears that land use may be converted from food production to instead produce feedstock for biofuels. The components of direct or indirect land use have not yet been clearly defined as the International Maritime Organization is still developing methodological guidance on how to incorporate them. “How the IMO defines these terms and sets up safeguards will determine whether an increase in demand for certain biofuels results in deforestation, loss of wetlands, displaced communities and food insecurity,” the EDF report stated. The Hapag-Lloyd spokesperson told the Journal of Commerce the carrier supports the development of a global framework that regulates the sustainable criteria for alternative fuels worldwide. “What matters now is maintaining ambition and reaching agreement on a framework that combines environmental integrity, robust sustainability criteria and practical feasibility,” the spokesperson said. Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

Hapag-Lloyd inks new sustainable biofuel deal with DSV

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