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Outlook 2022: Preventing the next supply chain meltdown

There is no single solution to the problems underlying the international supply chain meltdown, but the steamship lines, port terminals, railroads, and cargo owners can take action now to fend off a repeat occurrence of 2021’s disruption.

Ex-JOC publisher Don Becker dead at 88

Don Becker’s public-facing approach served him well once he took over The Journal of Commerce in 1984, quickly establishing relationships with key shipping business leaders.

Outlook 2022: West Coast ports face continued congestion, vessel backlogs

Plagued by vessel bunching, terminal congestion, and equipment shortages for much of last year, North America’s West Coast ports are cautioned that these conditions are likely to persist well into 2022 even if imports slow from the double-digit gains in 2021.

Maersk’s Q4 profit upgrade adds $1 billion to 2021 earnings

Soaring rate levels swept aside a decline in Maersk’s Q4 volumes and set the carrier on course to report an even more profitable 2021 than expected.

Delays await US-Canada truckers as vaccine mandates loom

Shippers “will have to be innovative” to avoid delays caused by COVID-19 vaccine mandates for truck drivers crossing the US-Canadian border.

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Holidays, Omicron hit NY-NJ berth capacity at start of 2022

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Outlook 2022: Shippers sign elevated trans-Atlantic contracts to lock in capacity

The trans-Atlantic trade will report significant volume growth in 2021 as heavy US demand fills all available capacity and pushes rates to record levels.

Ocean carriers keeping containers close to port stymies on-dock rail

Ports and marine terminals say that more containers can be moved through on-dock rail now that service has improved, and rail car supply has eased.

FMC probing Wan Hai over empty container detention charges

Wan Hai has come under scrutiny from the US Federal Maritime Commission for assessing detention charges on containers that shippers assert could not be returned to a container terminal.

Oakland opens container yard for agricultural shippers

The Port of Oakland opens an off-site container yard that aims to make it easier for ag shippers to access empty containers to use for exports.

Outlook 2022: Air cargo recovery hinges on easing of Asian border restrictions

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to hang over the air cargo business, and until regular international travel resumes, shippers will find space in tight supply and rates at elevated levels.

JOC Shipping & Logistics Pricing Hub

The pricing data found here allows shippers and transport providers to more accurately benchmark and forecast for their supply chains. The various spot prices and indices are collected from third-party sources and updated weekly, monthly and quarterly, depending on the data set.

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Maritime News

Outlook 2022: Preventing the next supply chain meltdown

By converting from wheeled inland terminals to grounded operations, railroads can prevent chassis issues from metastasizing across other portions of the supply chain. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

Ex-JOC publisher Don Becker dead at 88

Don Becker quickly established relationships with key shipping business leaders, including the then-leaders of Maersk, Sea-Land, APL, and many other carriers, forwarders, and shippers, visiting them in their offices and quoting them in his column. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

Don Becker’s public-facing approach served him well once he took over The Journal of Commerce in 1984, quickly establishing relationships with key shipping business leaders.

Outlook 2022: West Coast ports face continued congestion, vessel backlogs

Asian imports moving through Los Angeles–Long Beach, Seattle-Tacoma, and Vancouver in 2021 increased about 20 percent compared with 2020. Photo credit: Port of Long Beach.

Maersk’s Q4 profit upgrade adds $1 billion to 2021 earnings

Maersk is heading for another highly profitable year after what it labeled an "exceptional market situation" within ocean shipping that has generated significantly higher rate levels. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

Soaring rate levels swept aside a decline in Maersk’s Q4 volumes and set the carrier on course to report an even more profitable 2021 than expected.

Trucking News

Trucking Logistics

Outlook 2022: Preventing the next supply chain meltdown

Delays await US-Canada truckers as vaccine mandates loom

Starting Saturday, US truckers entering Canada must prove they are vaccinated against COVID-19. The US is expected to impose a reciprocal mandate for Canadian truckers. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

Shippers “will have to be innovative” to avoid delays caused by COVID-19 vaccine mandates for truck drivers crossing the US-Canadian border.

Outlook 2022: Houston port pushes infrastructure plans to keep ahead of growth

The start of the ocean contracting season has seen more shippers approach Houston about vessel services. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

Houston is seeing a surge in imports thanks to the upsizing of vessel services from Asia as other Gulf Coast ports look for a similar uplift.

Transporeon continues buying spree with two more European deals

Belgium-based SupplyStack’s customers are large European shippers that use its platform to manage planning and load tendering for domestic shipments. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

Transporeon is adding a transportation management software provider focused on automation and a tool for carriers to optimize truckload capacity, the latest acquisitions in a run that started in fall 2020.

Port News

Outlook 2022: West Coast ports face continued congestion, vessel backlogs

Ocean Alliance adds new Asia services into US, Canada

The Ocean Alliance comprises some 352 container ships of 4.43 million capacity. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

Members of the Ocean Alliance outline plans to add new Asia services to the US West and East coasts as part of a series of 2022 network changes.

Outlook 2022: Houston port pushes infrastructure plans to keep ahead of growth

Houston is seeing a surge in imports thanks to the upsizing of vessel services from Asia as other Gulf Coast ports look for a similar uplift.

Holidays, Omicron hit NY-NJ berth capacity at start of 2022

NY-NJ vessel backlogs are expected to remain in the low double-digits through January as more seaport workers return. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

The port of New York and New Jersey saw more ships wait longer for an open berth to start 2022 as holidays and the Omicron outbreak dealt a swift hit to port-wide capacity.

Technology News

Technology

Transporeon continues buying spree with two more European deals

project44 doubles valuation with latest funding injection

Gartner forecasts the real-time visibility market will reach $1 billion by 2024, with project44 saying its annual subscription revenue surpassed the $100 million mark in 2021. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

Customer growth, geographic expansion, and supply chain disruptions in 2021 helped multi-modal visibility provider project44 secure $420 million in new investment, its third multi-million-dollar funding round in 13 months.

Blume acquires sourcing collaboration platform

LiveSource, which allows manufacturers to coordinate raw materials procurement, said it is seeing greater demand for a solution that integrates logistics management. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

Blume Global’s acquisition of a sourcing collaboration platform gives it more upstream visibility into manufacturing activity after a year in which component shortages hampered international supply chains.

Tech demand leads to ‘buy and build’ push for 3PLs

Ohio-based Kingsgate Logistics turned to Trucker Tools to build a carrier portal after its internal efforts to do so were put on the back burner. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

Logistics providers are largely embracing a buy-and-build approach to serve their shipper and carrier ecosystems, realizing that internal development resources aren’t usually enough to cater for all their software needs.

Breakbulk News

Breakbulk

Expect high MPV rates, tight capacity through 2022, say analysts

Soaring freight rates are incentivizing MPV carriers to turn down lower-value backhauls and return empty to load ports.

Outlook 2022: MPV/HL demand to remain elevated despite receding container ‘spillover’

With nearly 400 gigawatts of onshore wind power and 70 gigawatts of offshore wind power development slated for the next few years, wind power cargo demand will soak up huge amounts of MPV/HL capacity for the foreseeable future. Photo credit: AAL.

Although spillover cargo from the congested container market will recede as the market stabilizes, breakbulk and recovering project demand coupled with shrinking capacity are expected to keep MPV/HL rates from sinking to pre-COVID-19 levels

Container imports jump at Everett as carriers seek alternative ports

G2Ocean delivering containers for Seattle-based Amazon at the Port of Everett, Washington. Photo credit: Port of Everett.

Extra-loaders carrying spillover cargo are dramatically increasing container imports at the Port of Everett in Washington state.

MPV extra-loader demand expected to last into 2022

Forwarder Geodis expects to continue using MPVs as container-carrying extra-loaders in 2022. Photo credit: Geodis.

In a bid for predictability, shippers are signing up for long-term MPV charters despite rocketing rates fueled by strong cargo demand from traditional customers and freight forwarders managing spillover container cargo.

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