JOC.com | Container shipping and trade news and analysis

Trans-Atlantic container volumes rebounding

A long-awaited recovery in the trans-Atlantic trade appears to be underway with a steep increase in US import volume from Europe for some previously hard-hit commodities.

As US truck capacity tightens, ‘shippers of choice’ first in line

US shippers are returning to the ‘shipper of choice’ model as a peak season unlike any other looms ahead, trucking executives told the virtual CSCMP 2020 Edge conference this week.

Magaya buys Catapult to bolster quoting power for forwarders

The forwarding operations software provider Magaya has acquired rate management software stalwart Catapult to integrate quoting capability into its set of solutions for third-party logistics providers.

Ro-ro carriers report modest bounceback after dismal first half

Risk of excess capacity in the global roll-on, roll-off (ro-ro) fleet remains high even as sales improve, as car and high and heavy volumes are not expected to return to 2019 levels until 2023.

Asia–US West Coast spot rate eclipses $4,000 per FEU: Drewry index

According to Drewry's container freight rate index, some spot pricing from China to the US West Coast surpassed $4,000 per FEU this week, a psychological barrier that appeared to be insurmountable just last week due to admonitions from regulators in China and the US about aggressive carrier pricing.

Previous Pause Next

Stay connected with news affecting the industry with a group subscription!

More News & Analysis

Chipolbrok, Crane join forces to extend MPV/HL service to Japan

Breakbulk Carriers

Jaxport secures final dredging funds to deepen to 47 feet

Port of Jacksonville

Retail logistics processes could replace physical stores: Target’s Valdez

International Logistics

CMA CGM expands air cargo reach with airline stake

Maritime News

US intermodal volumes show signs of recovery

Intermodal Shipping

US retailers begin holiday sales earlier to curb parcel costs

Trucking Logistics

Record Asia–ECSA rates set to climb higher on soaring demand

Container Lines

JOC Uncharted: Vaccine delivery to soak up air capacity for up to 18 months

Air Cargo

JOC Uncharted: Episode 18

JOC Uncharted

Partner Content

Global Retail and Manufacturing Brand Turns to QuestaWeb for Integrated, Modular Automated Global Trade Management Software

Shippers save money, time with automated transportation bidding tools

LTL Trucking Logistics

Essential Reads

Maersk to ditch Safmarine, Damco brands in revamp

Maersk’s reorganization is expected to lead to a raft of redundancies and possible office closures, with Danish newspaper Borsen reporting a loss of 3,400 jobs, or roughly 4 percent of its workforce.

Alliance structure hampers expanding container line offerings

New service offerings announced recently by CMA CGM demonstrate that while alliances serve the carriers well in terms of cost efficiencies, the benefits may not extend much further.

E-commerce changing peak-season shipping patterns

The US import surge that began in late June now looks like it will continue at least through October as consumers turn to e-commerce for purchases, including holiday season merchandise.

Pandemic disruption spurs C.H. Robinson’s TMS integrations

Shippers need quicker access to carrier, rate information as lanes, customers, and pricing shift under COVID-19, C.H. Robinson says.

Importers concentrating peak season shipments in LA–LB

The Los Angeles–Long Beach gateway’s market share increased in July as retailers focused just-in-time shipments through Southern California, a trend that is expected to continue through September.

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.

Container | US Surface Transport

Subscribe Now

Maritime News

Trans-Atlantic container volumes rebounding

Containerized US imports bounced back in August, the first month of year-over-year growth since April. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

A long-awaited recovery in the trans-Atlantic trade appears to be underway with a steep increase in US import volume from Europe for some previously hard-hit commodities.

Magaya buys Catapult to bolster quoting power for forwarders

The deal marks the econd time in the last five years that Catapult has been sold. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

Asia–US West Coast spot rate eclipses $4,000 per FEU: Drewry index

Drewry said the 2021-22 service contracts that carriers will sign with customers next May could likely be in the range of $2,000-$2,500 per FEU, or more than $600 higher than this year’s contract rates. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

CMA CGM expands air cargo reach with airline stake

CMA CGM has taken a 30 percent stake in Air Caraïbes that flies to the French overseas territories. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

Marseilles-based carrier CMA CGM has strengthened its air cargo position with an investment that gives the carrier access to belly capacity on two airlines.

Trucking News

Trucking Logistics

As US truck capacity tightens, ‘shippers of choice’ first in line

Truck capacity will only tighten in the months ahead, carrier executives warned CSCMP attendees. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

US shippers are returning to the ‘shipper of choice’ model as a peak season unlike any other looms ahead, trucking executives told the virtual CSCMP 2020 Edge conference this week.

Retail logistics processes could replace physical stores: Target’s Valdez

Target is transforming its stores into fulfillment hubs offering same-day delivery. Photo credit: Target Corp.

Speaking at the virtual 2020 CSCMP Edge conference, Target’s Arthur L Valdez, Jr., forecasts a reinvention of retailing based on logistics and increasingly precise and rapid transportation.

US retailers begin holiday sales earlier to curb parcel costs

Holiday season sales are expected to rise 1 percent to 1.5 percent from 2019 levels, with e-commerce sales projected to jump 25 percent to 35 percent, according to professional services consulting firm Deloitte. Photo credit: James R. Martin/Shutterstock.com.

To mitigate sudden increases in demand for last-mile capacity and high peak season parcel surcharges, US retailers are extending sales promotions through the holiday season.

Warehouses holding onto chassis, prolonging LA-LB port congestion

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach expect calls from about 20 more extra-loader vessels through October. Photo credit: Ken Wolter/Shutterstock.com.

Equipment providers and terminal operators say excessive container and chassis dwell times at import warehouses in Southern California are the main culprit in recent congestion at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Port News

Jaxport secures final dredging funds to deepen to 47 feet

The Jacksonville Harbor dredging project will go to SSA Marine's Blount Island Terminal, but the port authority has not decided whether to seek funding for an additional two miles to the TraPac terminal. Photo credit: Ari Ashe.

The Jacksonville Port Authority (Jaxport) has secured the final piece of the funding pie needed to deepen the port’s main harbor to 47 feet to Blount Island, a critical step toward handling more post-Panamax vessels in the trans-Pacific trade.

Warehouses holding onto chassis, prolonging LA-LB port congestion

CMA CGM slaps congestion charge on Felixstowe

The congestion at Felixstowe is increasing operating costs of calling at the port, says CMA CGM. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

Congestion at the UK’s busiest port has prompted CMA CGM to impose a surcharge on all Asian imports and exports through the gateway.

Exports leading India’s nascent trade recovery

From April through August, exports accounted for 50 percent of the 3.2 million TEU in container traffic handled by India’s 12 public ports, up from 47 percent the previous year. Photo credit: Maersk (India).

The balance of trade in and out of India has shifted in favor of exports as the country begins to recover from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Technology News

Technology

C.H. Robinson takes aim at trucking procurement

C.H. Robinson customers testing its new Procure IQ tool increased savings across 60 percent of their truckload lanes, the logistics provider said. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

A new service from C.H. Robinson could replace the annual truckload bidding process with a more dynamic approach to procuring trucks and increasing savings across networks of freight lanes.

JOC Study: Outsourced payment leads to lower processing costs for shippers

Larger shippers are more likely to outsource some component of the audit or payment process and have access to products that provide longer payment terms, respondents told the JOC. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

Shippers using third-party vendors to help them manage auditing and paying their freight bills see a sizable advantage in process costs versus those that manage the function in-house, new research has found.

JOC Uncharted: Small shippers flocking to freight marketplaces during COVID-19

Small shippers have an avenue to secure ocean capacity in a more streamlined way through freight marketplaces, especially when those platforms are connected directly to e-commerce enablement sites. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

Forwarders can use logistics marketplaces to cater to small shippers that want to be able to secure international freight capacity, a group that is expanding during the COVID-19 pandemic, the head of Freightos’ marketplace told JOC Uncharted this week.

Convoy seeks to reshape annual truckload bid process

A range of truckload technology-oriented companies, from early stage to incumbents, are urging shippers to move away from cumbersome annual procurement events. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

Convoy is providing shippers an avenue to avoid what it considers unnecessary procurement costs associated with negotiating annual truckload bids that aren’t generally honored by either the shipper or carrier.

Breakbulk News

Breakbulk

Ro-ro carriers report modest bounceback after dismal first half

The 31,000 dwt car carrier WWL Titania docking at IJmiuden, Netherlands. Photo credit: Aerovista Luchtfotografie/Shutterstock.com.

Risk of excess capacity in the global roll-on, roll-off (ro-ro) fleet remains high even as sales improve, as car and high and heavy volumes are not expected to return to 2019 levels until 2023.

Chipolbrok, Crane join forces to extend MPV/HL service to Japan

Stevedores secure project cargo in the hold of a Chipolbrok ship. Photo credit: Chipolbrok.

Although the specific port rotation of the semi-liner service will depend on the cargo mix, Japan will now be a regular call for MPV/HL carrier Chipolbrok thanks to a new business relationship with third-party logistics provider and agent Crane Worldwide.

Fluor extends supply chain services beyond EPC clients

Project cargo heading for the BHP South Flank project in Australia, being built by Fluor. Photo credit: Fluor.

As COVID-19 hamstrings the capital projects outlook, engineering, procurement, construction, and maintenance company (EPC) Fluor is pivoting to leveraging its supply chain buying power, know-how, and network for external clients.

Modest time charter rate rally holds for F-type MPV/HL sector

The installation ship Innovation transfers massive offshore wind foundations from the SAL Svenja. Photo credit: SAL.

In a three-tiered market, F-types hold their own, high-end MPV/HL ships reap the rewards of DP systems and super-heavy cranes, while lower-geared, less specialized ships suffer.

Stay connected with news affecting the industry with a group subscription!

More News & Analysis

Partner Content

Essential Reads

JOC Shipping & Logistics Pricing Hub

Maritime News

Trucking News

Port News

Technology News

Breakbulk News

White Papers

Most Read Articles

Commentary

Webcasts

Podcasts