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Restrictions to East Coast service extended amid port congestion

East Coast congestion continues to be a concern for carriers as more West Coast volumes are diverted, slowing cargo flow at East and Gulf coast ports.

HMM expects ‘highly volatile’ Q3 after H1 net profit surges to $4.6 billion

HMM said it would tackle the coming market uncertainty by focusing on long-term shipper contracts and increasing the volume of reefer and special cargoes.

Slync.io looks to turn the page on Kirchner era with new leadership

Slync.io’s widely reported payroll woes and the departure of its CEO last week have had a minor impact on the broader logistics industry due to the technology provider’s relatively small customer base.

MPV/HL charter rates may have peaked, but no crash ahead: analysts

Easing container congestion and the summer “doldrums” have sent MPV rates drifting downward, but carriers expect energy-related demand and tight capacity to keep the sector healthy in the long term.

UP giving partial rebates for Lathrop–Oakland shift

Union Pacific Railroad will issue a partial rebate on intermodal loads in Northern California to help defray the cost of moving boxes between Lathrop to Oakland starting next month.

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Talks to avert Felixstowe dock strike break down as workers weigh Liverpool action

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Performance Team expands end-to-end reefer service with Charleston warehouse

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Knight-Swift expects H2 intermodal rebound as UP deal evolves

Rail & Intermodal

US second-half imports to slow vs. year ago: retailers

Container Lines

Convoy–DAT battle a sign of impending load board disruption

Convoy

Wan Hai, Evergreen latest carriers to report record first-half profits

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MSC revises peak surcharge for India–US trade amid softening demand

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Multiple pain points test forwarders on China–Europe rail route

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Inland congestion cuts LA-LB intermodal rail service to record low

The steep reduction in rail services to Los Angeles-Long Beach is having a knock-on impact at the terminal gates, with the average truck turn time increasing by four minutes in July.

Falling rates no threat to profitability: Maersk

Maersk’s strategy of aggressively expanding long-term contracts is paying off, and with many of the agreements covering multi-years, the carrier is set to reap the financial rewards far beyond 2022.

US truckers flip back into drayage as long-haul spot rates dive

Drivers are returning to port drayage as long-haul trucking rates slide and operating costs for small, independent motor carriers rise.

NITL backs proposal repealing antitrust immunity for carriers

Despite the FMC finding there was no collusion among ocean shipping alliances causing elevated freight rates, NITL believes there are still concerns about the industry that new antitrust legislation could address.

FMC reorganizes enforcement duties in aftermath of OSRA-22

The reorganization within the FMC comes as the agency steps up its enforcement and compliance activities in the wake of US shipping reform.

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

HMM expects ‘highly volatile’ Q3 after H1 net profit surges to $4.6 billion

HMM said liftings dropped 6.2 percent to 1.8 million TEU in the first half of the year. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

HMM said it would tackle the coming market uncertainty by focusing on long-term shipper contracts and increasing the volume of reefer and special cargoes.

Easing bottlenecks could bring ‘significant overcapacity’ on Asia–Europe: Sea-Intelligence

The drop in demand is being reflected in container freight rates, with spot rates from Shanghai (above) to Rotterdam slipping 2 percent to $8,939/FEU last week, according to Drewry. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

The Asia–Europe trade could face “significant overcapacity” when port congestion and related bottlenecks are resolved due to the slump in demand growth that has been ongoing for more than a year, according to analyst Sea-Intelligence.

US second-half imports to slow vs. year ago: retailers

Despite the softening imports, retailers forecast that calendar year 2022 imports will on the whole be up 2 percent from the record year in 2021. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

US retailers note that two wild cards that could affect supply chain fluidity in the second half of the year remain — the outcome of West Coast longshore contract talks and the status of freight railroad negotiations.

Wan Hai, Evergreen latest carriers to report record first-half profits

Evergreen posted net profit of $3.5 billion on revenue of $5.8 billion in the second quarter. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

Two of Taiwan’s largest carriers have joined Maersk, ONE, and Cosco in posting highly profitable financial results for the first half of 2022 amid a still-elevated rate environment compared to the year-ago period.

Trucking News

Trucking Logistics

Convoy–DAT battle a sign of impending load board disruption

Freight broker Convoy spent a year developing its Convoy for Brokers product, a rival to DAT’s load board that the latter believes violates a non-compete contract clause between the two companies. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

Convoy’s counterpunching approach to being sued by load board provider DAT Freight & Analytics is as much about winning the battle of public opinion as it is about winning in court, a transportation attorney told JOC.com.

JOC Intermodal Savings Index: Truck rates poached rail freight in Q2

The average intermodal contract saved more than 30 percent versus trucking in Q2, but spot intermodal rates saved little to no money compared with trucking. Photo credit: Nick Montavessi/Flickr.

Intermodal discounts declined in the second quarter both sequentially and year over year as shippers were able to negotiate lower spot and contract truckload rates with motor carriers.

US trucking demand steady despite steep spot rate correction

A growing backlog of warehoused freight could pump more demand into the US trucking market later in the third or fourth quarters. Photo credit: William B. Cassidy.

The US trucking market is reinventing itself after a significant spot market correction, with larger contract carriers expecting steady freight demand through 2022 despite economic fears.

NY-NJ port to impose dwell fee targeting empty containers

Thousands of empty containers are lingering throughout the NY-NJ port region due to its being the first call port of many vessel services. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said it will start charging an export container dwell fee in a bid to prod ocean carriers to remove more containers than they drop off.

Port News

Restrictions to East Coast service extended amid port congestion

Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk are extending restrictions on their New Tango service to the Port of Norfolk (above) into October. Photo credit: Kyle J Little/Shutterstock.com.

East Coast congestion continues to be a concern for carriers as more West Coast volumes are diverted, slowing cargo flow at East and Gulf coast ports.

Talks to avert Felixstowe dock strike break down as workers weigh Liverpool action

Felixstowe handles more than 4 million TEU annually, about half of the UK's total container volumes. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

About 1,900 stevedores plan on an eight-day strike at the UK’s busiest container port starting Aug. 21 if no new pay deal is reached.

Performance Team expands end-to-end reefer service with Charleston warehouse

Ground was broken last week on a 20,000 square foot cold storage facility near the Port of Charleston that is expected to open early in 2023. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

Performance Team has been evaluating the US South Atlantic cold chain market for further opportunities over the last three years, company officials say.

CMA CGM lands 50:50 India JV for Nhava Sheva terminal concession

A new CMA CGM joint venture will modernize Nhava Sheva’s own container terminal, the oldest of five facilities in the complex. Photo credit: JNPT.

CMA CGM believes the advantages from a dedicated terminal in India will help it enhance service levels there as the carrier vigorously pursues integrator goals.

Technology News

Technology

Slync.io looks to turn the page on Kirchner era with new leadership

Former Slync.io CEO Chris Kirchner’s termination last week was “an absentee CEO situation” and not indicative of a wider malaise in logistics technology adoption, according to an industry observer. Photo credit: Caught in the Moment Photography.

Convoy–DAT battle a sign of impending load board disruption

FMC to lean on DCSA standards for data-sharing plans: Bentzel

FMC Commissioner Carl Bentzel said the agency is intent on not “reinventing the wheel” by relying on existing data standards in the maritime sector. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

An FMC data initiative that launched late last year involved industry stakeholder meetings with participants from container lines, shippers, forwarders, longshore unions, railroads, and technology solutions providers.

Duplicate ocean invoices plague exporter Scoular: audit

Audit technology vendor OpenEnvoy said it unearthed $3.7 million in total billing discrepancies for Scoular over the past six months, with container lines the biggest culprit. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

Scoular, one of the US’ top exporters, discovered significant duplicate invoices from its ocean transportation providers in recent months, an issue likely to become more pervasive as regulators scrutinize carrier and terminal billing.

Breakbulk News

Breakbulk

MPV/HL charter rates may have peaked, but no crash ahead: analysts

The multipurpose AAL Kobe discharging RTGs at the Port of Felixstowe. Photo credit: AAL.

Maersk targets project cargo with latest acquisition

The transport of project cargo, such as this transformer that weighs 400 tons and has a 105-meter convoy, requires specialist know-how from heavy-lift logistics operators. Photo credit: Martin Bencher.

Maersk is expanding its footprint in the heavy-lift sector with the acquisition of specialist logistics provider Martin Bencher that will be central to its new Maersk Project Logistics product.

Specialized reefer fills gap for shippers of perishable goods

A Seatrade specialized reefer ship alongside a Trident Seafood production facility in Akutan, Alaska. Photo credit: Trident Seafoods.

Congestion and unreliable service from liner carriers is driving some cold chain shippers back to the conventional reefer fleet

Uneasy labor talks put US rail transport of energy-related project cargo at risk

Wind blades on a rail flatcar at the Port of Galveston. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

The transport of crucial project cargo bound for power generation facilities and renewable energy projects in the US could be stymied by a possible rail strike.

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