<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Over 100 House members want waterborne transportation issues removed from international trade negoti</div>

Over 100 House members want waterborne transportation issues removed from international trade negoti

<div>Over 100 House members want waterborne transportation issues removed from international trade negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.Rep. Walter D. Jones, D-N.C., chairman of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, launched the bipartisan effort in the form of a non- binding House concurrent resolution he introduced Tuesday.Rep. Jones said including maritime transportation in the Uruguay Round of the GATT talks "offers no prospect for benefiting our maritime transportation industry or international trade interests."He asserted the United States "already has the most open international maritime trade; GATT negotiations could only result in trading away our present programs."The...

Over 100 House members want waterborne transportation issues removed from international trade negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Rep. Walter D. Jones, D-N.C., chairman of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, launched the bipartisan effort in the form of a non- binding House concurrent resolution he introduced Tuesday.Rep. Jones said including maritime transportation in the Uruguay Round of the GATT talks "offers no prospect for benefiting our maritime transportation industry or international trade interests." He asserted the United States "already has the most open international maritime trade; GATT negotiations could only result in trading away our present programs." The 96-nation GATT sets the ground rules for most trade worldwide from its Geneva, Switzerland headquarters. In a rare show of unity, a 250-member maritime industry coalition last month urged U.S. Trade Representative Carla Hills to drop maritime services from any agreement on trade services. Rep. Jones and over 20 colleagues also have written Ms. Hills on the matter. Now there is the House resolution. Thus, the battle over maritime services in GATT is moving along the same lines as last year's struggle over a transportation section in the bilateral agreement on free trade between the United States and Canada. Shipping ultimately was dropped from the agreement. Congressional and maritime interests are hoping for the same result this year. But trade officials so far have shown no inclination to remove any subjects from the services negotiations. The resolution, co-sponsored by 102 House members, refers to the deletion of maritime transportation services from the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement because of the "unique national security aspects" of the maritime industry. An agreement that would restrict Congress' power to help the U.S. merchant marine "would be contrary to the national defense and economic security policy of this nation," continues the resolution. It calls on the Bush administration to "refrain from submitting any proposal" to include maritime transportation in upcoming GATT discussions and to oppose any proposals on the subject made by other nations both because of the "disastrous impact" it would have on the maritime industry and because ''such results would gravely imperil the outcome of the entire negotiation."

Maritime

102 IN HOUSE BACK EFFORT TO OMIT SHIPPING FROM GATT TALKS

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Some of the largest less-than-truckload carriers are announcing non-contract GRIs, but the state of the freight market argues against substantial rate increases.</div>

Some of the largest less-than-truckload carriers are announcing non-contract GRIs, but the state of the freight market argues against substantial rate increases.

Feature image

<div class="phx-topic">Whether freight demand is up or down, US less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers are planning to hike pricing in 2026, starting with tariff rates for non-contractual customers. LTL capacity remains lower than before Yellow went out of business in July 2023, and operating costs are rising. But industrial and retail shippers still waiting for a surge in demand for their products are expected to resist significant rate hikes while rethinking transportation choices. That includes moving more LTL freight to less expensive <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/truckload-carriers-capturing-more-ltl-shipments-fedex-freight-6083463">truckload trailers</a>, where possible. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="b8bff0bb-e602-4052-88a8-7955d25f97d2"></dynamic-object></div>The two largest US LTL trucking companies — FedEx Freight and Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) — have announced average general rate increases (GRIs) of 5.9% and 4.9%, respectively. ODFL’s rate hike takes effect Nov. 3; FedEx Freight’s on Jan. 5. Saia, the sixth-largest US LTL provider as ranked by revenue by SJ Consulting Group, raised its non-contract rates 5.9% on average effective Oct. 1, highlighting the need to reinvest in its network after spending a projected $600 million to $650 million on expansion in 2025. “As we continue to face rising costs across our industry, this rate increase helps offset a portion of inflationary expenses,” Saia CFO Matthew Batteh said in a statement. However, the GRIs only apply to non-contractual tariff rates, used in a minority of LTL transactions, and the increases carriers are calling for are averages. The GRIs also seem to run counter to reports that carriers are offering lower rates to gain freight in key lanes. LTL carriers are “defending their turf in a sea of uncertainty,” Mike Regan, chief relationship officer at TranzAct Technologies, said during the Journal of Commerce <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/inland-25-low-demand-putting-pricing-pressure-on-us-ltl-carriers-6090269">Inland Distribution Conference</a> in Chicago Sept. 29. “We’re seeing carrier pricing behavior that’s irrational.” It may not be surprising, then, that some LTL trucking companies would advance GRIs with one hand and offer rate cuts with another. “It’s all about building efficiency and density,” Mich Fabriga, vice president of LTL pricing at AFS Logistics, said at Inland ’25. <h3>A 17% increase since 2023 </h3>LTL costs to shippers have risen significantly since Yellow, formerly the third-largest US LTL provider, according to SJ Consulting Group, went out of business in July 2023. The US LTL producer price index (PPI) rose nearly 17% from that month through August 2025. In August, the last month for which PPI data is available from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the LTL PPI rose 1.5% from July and 10.5% year over year. The BLS release of September PPI data was suspended by the US government shutdown. The change in the PPI, which represents all-inclusive “selling prices” paid by shippers, is greater than rate increases or improvements in yield reported by carriers, and it’s not clear why. September data, when available, may show a correction. Northeastern regional LTL provider A. Duie Pyle, a privately owned company, said in an email that heavy reliance on “aggressive pricing strategies” by publicly owned LTL carriers led to “notable price degradation” early in the fourth quarter. But Pyle said it expects “more disciplined pricing” as carriers work to protect “service quality.” Carriers that can maintain high-quality service and flexibility will be best positioned going into 2026, the company said. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="799271a6-275e-4d6d-b89d-76843dd07721"></dynamic-object></div>AFS Logistics believes LTL pricing still has legs — and it’s still much higher than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic. The TD Cowen/AFS LTL Freight Index is projected at 64.8% in the fourth quarter, a 0.2% decline from the third quarter but a 1.1% year-over-year increase. The index hit a four-year peak of 65.1% in the last quarter. “Even as LTL networks pick up smaller shipments and experience some turnover, carriers have kept a keen eye on profitability and network efficiency,” Fabriga said last week, when TD Cowen and AFS Freight released their fourth-quarter forecast. The AFS index indicates rates per pound are up about 65% from January 2018. “Emphasizing yield rather than volume has proven to be a successful formula for carriers in previous down freight cycles and rates are again proving resilient,” Fabriga said. The price degradation noted by Pyle and rate cuts witnessed by TranzAct may yet prove a temporary tactic designed to keep freight where it’s most needed in LTL networks. Contact William B. Cassidy at <a href="mailto://bill.cassidy@spglobal.com">bill.cassidy@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

Whether freight demand is up or down, US less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers are planning to hike pricing in 2026, starting with tariff rates for non-contractual customers. LTL capacity remains lower than before Yellow went out of business in July 2023, and operating costs are rising. But industrial and retail shippers still waiting for a surge in demand for their products are expected to resist significant rate hikes while rethinking transportation choices. That includes moving more LTL freight to less expensive truckload trailers , where possible. The two largest US LTL trucking companies — FedEx Freight and Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) — have announced average general rate increases (GRIs) of 5.9% and 4.9%, respectively. ODFL’s rate hike takes effect Nov. 3; FedEx Freight’s on Jan. 5. Saia, the sixth-largest US LTL provider as ranked by revenue by SJ Consulting Group, raised its non-contract rates 5.9% on average effective Oct. 1, highlighting the need to reinvest in its network after spending a projected $600 million to $650 million on expansion in 2025. “As we continue to face rising costs across our industry, this rate increase helps offset a portion of inflationary expenses,” Saia CFO Matthew Batteh said in a statement. However, the GRIs only apply to non-contractual tariff rates, used in a minority of LTL transactions, and the increases carriers are calling for are averages. The GRIs also seem to run counter to reports that carriers are offering lower rates to gain freight in key lanes. LTL carriers are “defending their turf in a sea of uncertainty,” Mike Regan, chief relationship officer at TranzAct Technologies, said during the Journal of Commerce Inland Distribution Conference in Chicago Sept. 29. “We’re seeing carrier pricing behavior that’s irrational.” It may not be surprising, then, that some LTL trucking companies would advance GRIs with one hand and offer rate cuts with another. “It’s all about building efficiency and density,” Mich Fabriga, vice president of LTL pricing at AFS Logistics, said at Inland ’25. A 17% increase since 2023 LTL costs to shippers have risen significantly since Yellow, formerly the third-largest US LTL provider, according to SJ Consulting Group, went out of business in July 2023. The US LTL producer price index (PPI) rose nearly 17% from that month through August 2025. In August, the last month for which PPI data is available from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the LTL PPI rose 1.5% from July and 10.5% year over year. The BLS release of September PPI data was suspended by the US government shutdown. The change in the PPI, which represents all-inclusive “selling prices” paid by shippers, is greater than rate increases or improvements in yield reported by carriers, and it’s not clear why. September data, when available, may show a correction. Northeastern regional LTL provider A. Duie Pyle, a privately owned company, said in an email that heavy reliance on “aggressive pricing strategies” by publicly owned LTL carriers led to “notable price degradation” early in the fourth quarter. But Pyle said it expects “more disciplined pricing” as carriers work to protect “service quality.” Carriers that can maintain high-quality service and flexibility will be best positioned going into 2026, the company said. AFS Logistics believes LTL pricing still has legs — and it’s still much higher than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic. The TD Cowen/AFS LTL Freight Index is projected at 64.8% in the fourth quarter, a 0.2% decline from the third quarter but a 1.1% year-over-year increase. The index hit a four-year peak of 65.1% in the last quarter. “Even as LTL networks pick up smaller shipments and experience some turnover, carriers have kept a keen eye on profitability and network efficiency,” Fabriga said last week, when TD Cowen and AFS Freight released their fourth-quarter forecast. The AFS index indicates rates per pound are up about 65% from January 2018. “Emphasizing yield rather than volume has proven to be a successful formula for carriers in previous down freight cycles and rates are again proving resilient,” Fabriga said. The price degradation noted by Pyle and rate cuts witnessed by TranzAct may yet prove a temporary tactic designed to keep freight where it’s most needed in LTL networks. Contact William B. Cassidy at bill.cassidy@spglobal.com .

Trucking News

Surface

LTL carriers push general rate hikes despite lackluster US freight demand

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">One possible explanation for the gain is the softer volumes that were artificially suppressed and shifted in August and September of 2024 due to separate labor-related events, but clarity should come over the next week when market players report third-quarter earnings.</div>

One possible explanation for the gain is the softer volumes that were artificially suppressed and shifted in August and September of 2024 due to separate labor-related events, but clarity should come over the next week when market players report third-quarter earnings.

<div class="phx-topic">Domestic intermodal volumes surged 5.8% in September year over year, according to new data from the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA), an unexpected gain considering cautious end-of-quarter signals from major providers after lackluster volumes in July and August. One possible explanation for the September gain is the softer volumes that were artificially suppressed and shifted in August and September of 2024 due to separate labor events involving Canadian railroads and longshoremen on the US East and Gulf coasts. Data provider RailState estimated that Union Pacific Railroad’s (UP’s) domestic intermodal loads in Southern California rose more than 10% from early July to late September, which could explain some of the results in September. Sources told the Journal of Commerce that two large retailers accelerated third-quarter shipments on UP out of Southern California. The late third-quarter surge this year caused domestic intermodal volumes to rise 2.5% for the full quarter, according to IANA; volumes had been up just 0.7% through August. Flows between the Southwest and Midwest specifically, including the Los Angeles-Chicago and Oakland-Chicago lanes, climbed 6.8% last month compared with September 2024, helping to flip third-quarter volumes on the lane to a 1.4% increase after declining 1.1% through August, the IANA data showed. Backhauls on the same routes jumped 4.6% year over year in September, according to IANA, after declining 3.1% combined through August. <h3>Q3 earnings reports coming </h3>J.B. Hunt Transport Services, the largest US domestic intermodal provider, reported that volumes year over year were down 3% in July, 2% in August and flat in September, with a fair amount of West Coast import cargo having not yet moved through the inland supply chain. Other intermodal executives attending the Journal of Commerce’s Inland Distribution Conference late last month described a muted domestic peak season. “It was much heavier on the international side in July, so we all expected this big surge for domestic, and we didn’t see the pull through or the transloads into domestic containers,” Taylor Harrington, director of intermodal for C.H. Robinson Worldwide, said at the conference on Sept. 30. Clarity on the September figures should arrive in the coming days when Knight-Swift Transportation, UP, Hub Group and Schneider National report their third-quarter earnings. Contact Ari Ashe at <a href="mailto:ari.ashe@spglobal.com">ari.ashe@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

Domestic intermodal volumes surged 5.8% in September year over year, according to new data from the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA), an unexpected gain considering cautious end-of-quarter signals from major providers after lackluster volumes in July and August. One possible explanation for the September gain is the softer volumes that were artificially suppressed and shifted in August and September of 2024 due to separate labor events involving Canadian railroads and longshoremen on the US East and Gulf coasts. Data provider RailState estimated that Union Pacific Railroad’s (UP’s) domestic intermodal loads in Southern California rose more than 10% from early July to late September, which could explain some of the results in September. Sources told the Journal of Commerce that two large retailers accelerated third-quarter shipments on UP out of Southern California. The late third-quarter surge this year caused domestic intermodal volumes to rise 2.5% for the full quarter, according to IANA; volumes had been up just 0.7% through August. Flows between the Southwest and Midwest specifically, including the Los Angeles-Chicago and Oakland-Chicago lanes, climbed 6.8% last month compared with September 2024, helping to flip third-quarter volumes on the lane to a 1.4% increase after declining 1.1% through August, the IANA data showed. Backhauls on the same routes jumped 4.6% year over year in September, according to IANA, after declining 3.1% combined through August. Q3 earnings reports coming J.B. Hunt Transport Services, the largest US domestic intermodal provider, reported that volumes year over year were down 3% in July, 2% in August and flat in September, with a fair amount of West Coast import cargo having not yet moved through the inland supply chain. Other intermodal executives attending the Journal of Commerce’s Inland Distribution Conference late last month described a muted domestic peak season. “It was much heavier on the international side in July, so we all expected this big surge for domestic, and we didn’t see the pull through or the transloads into domestic containers,” Taylor Harrington, director of intermodal for C.H. Robinson Worldwide, said at the conference on Sept. 30. Clarity on the September figures should arrive in the coming days when Knight-Swift Transportation, UP, Hub Group and Schneider National report their third-quarter earnings. Contact Ari Ashe at ari.ashe@spglobal.com .

Rail News

North-American rail

September domestic intermodal volumes show unexpected boost: IANA

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The financial risks to shippers are rising as the increasing costs of EU carbon tax and fuel intensity regulations are passed on by Mediterranean carriers, a report from maritime technology company OceanScore has found.</div>

The financial risks to shippers are rising as the increasing costs of EU carbon tax and fuel intensity regulations are passed on by Mediterranean carriers, a report from maritime technology company OceanScore has found.

<div class="phx-topic">A new report has found that European cargo owners should be factoring in carbon emissions when securing feeder shipping services as the financial costs of regional decarbonization regulations begin to bite. The report — Scope 3 at Sea: Intra-Mediterranean &amp; Black Sea Edition by maritime technology provider OceanScore — found that shipper exposure to so-called Scope 3 emissions on feeder-dominated routes was clearly influenced by carrier selection and behavior. Scope 3 emissions are indirect emissions generated along a company’s supply chain. “You can’t control if a ship sails full or half-empty, but you can choose carriers who operate predictably and efficiently,” said Thomas Smith, head of cargo solutions at OceanScore. “That’s where real Scope 3 reduction potential lies.” Adding to the financial risk of cargo owners was the FuelEU Maritime and EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) rules that enter full effect in 2026, the report said. The EU ETS for shipping includes 100% of emissions from intra-EU voyages, while coverage for voyages starting or ending in an EU port is 50%. Drawing on more than 45,000 voyages across the intra-Mediterranean and Black Sea corridor, OceanScore found that emissions intensity on the same trade lane could vary by up to 10 times. “The same corridor, the same vessel class, yet emissions can range from 9 to over 80 [grams of carbon dioxide] per tonne-kilometer,” said Smith. “That’s not a distance problem; that’s a consistency problem.” The report found that Mediterranean Shipping Co. and CMA CGM dominated the intra-Mediterranean and Black Sea corridor by voyage count, while carriers such as Maersk and Turkey’s Arkas Denizcilik achieved stronger emissions efficiency. High-intensity operators such as X-Press Feeders and Boluda Lines displayed greater volatility, which inflated Scope 3 exposure when used at scale. <h3>Volatile operators increase pass-through costs </h3>OceanScore’s analysis mapped the top feeder operators across the corridor using two metrics — average carbon intensity and voyage consistency. Carriers with narrower, stable distributions such as MSC, Maersk and Arkas Denizcilik offered predictable Scope 3 outcomes, while more volatile operators exposed shippers to reporting risk and inflated cost pass-throughs. The report found that ship utilization was a key factor driving both efficiency and predictability of emissions. Most voyages on the East Mediterranean and Black Sea routes operated at 37% to 67% utilization, with the higher load factors corresponding to significantly lower carbon intensity per metric ton. CMA CGM maintained the highest proportion of heavily loaded voyages (52% to 72%), while MSC’s wider spread led to more variable utilization patterns. Maersk displayed the most balanced distribution with steady clustering in the 57% to 67% range. The data also revealed that emissions of a vessel can quadruple from a single port delay, particularly on shorter routes around the Mediterranean. “Short-sea operations are far less predictable than long-haul,” said Eduardo Ramos, senior data analyst at OceanScore. “On these routes, every delay or underutilized sailing compounds emissions.” Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

A new report has found that European cargo owners should be factoring in carbon emissions when securing feeder shipping services as the financial costs of regional decarbonization regulations begin to bite. The report — Scope 3 at Sea: Intra-Mediterranean & Black Sea Edition by maritime technology provider OceanScore — found that shipper exposure to so-called Scope 3 emissions on feeder-dominated routes was clearly influenced by carrier selection and behavior. Scope 3 emissions are indirect emissions generated along a company’s supply chain. “You can’t control if a ship sails full or half-empty, but you can choose carriers who operate predictably and efficiently,” said Thomas Smith, head of cargo solutions at OceanScore. “That’s where real Scope 3 reduction potential lies.” Adding to the financial risk of cargo owners was the FuelEU Maritime and EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) rules that enter full effect in 2026, the report said. The EU ETS for shipping includes 100% of emissions from intra-EU voyages, while coverage for voyages starting or ending in an EU port is 50%. Drawing on more than 45,000 voyages across the intra-Mediterranean and Black Sea corridor, OceanScore found that emissions intensity on the same trade lane could vary by up to 10 times. “The same corridor, the same vessel class, yet emissions can range from 9 to over 80 [grams of carbon dioxide] per tonne-kilometer,” said Smith. “That’s not a distance problem; that’s a consistency problem.” The report found that Mediterranean Shipping Co. and CMA CGM dominated the intra-Mediterranean and Black Sea corridor by voyage count, while carriers such as Maersk and Turkey’s Arkas Denizcilik achieved stronger emissions efficiency. High-intensity operators such as X-Press Feeders and Boluda Lines displayed greater volatility, which inflated Scope 3 exposure when used at scale. Volatile operators increase pass-through costs OceanScore’s analysis mapped the top feeder operators across the corridor using two metrics — average carbon intensity and voyage consistency. Carriers with narrower, stable distributions such as MSC, Maersk and Arkas Denizcilik offered predictable Scope 3 outcomes, while more volatile operators exposed shippers to reporting risk and inflated cost pass-throughs. The report found that ship utilization was a key factor driving both efficiency and predictability of emissions. Most voyages on the East Mediterranean and Black Sea routes operated at 37% to 67% utilization, with the higher load factors corresponding to significantly lower carbon intensity per metric ton. CMA CGM maintained the highest proportion of heavily loaded voyages (52% to 72%), while MSC’s wider spread led to more variable utilization patterns. Maersk displayed the most balanced distribution with steady clustering in the 57% to 67% range. The data also revealed that emissions of a vessel can quadruple from a single port delay, particularly on shorter routes around the Mediterranean. “Short-sea operations are far less predictable than long-haul,” said Eduardo Ramos, senior data analyst at OceanScore. “On these routes, every delay or underutilized sailing compounds emissions.” Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

Container lines

Container Shipping News

Intra-Europe emissions exposure affected by feeder services selection: report

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Amid tariffs of up to 130%, US laden imports from China for the six months between April and September fell to levels not seen since 2013.</div>

Amid tariffs of up to 130%, US laden imports from China for the six months between April and September fell to levels not seen since 2013.

<div class="phx-topic">President Donald Trump’s tariff onslaught has, arguably, forever shifted US import flows away from China after a six-month rollercoaster of ever-changing amounts and deadlines. But US tariffs — while denting shipments from China — aren’t yet showing signs of hurting overall global container volumes. “The rest of the world trucks along just nicely,” said Lars Jensen, a maritime analyst and Journal of Commerce contributor. “It’s a little bit volatile. It’s a bit up and down, but basically throughout the year, you’ve seen global growth in container volumes around 6%, which is twice what you expect given global development. <div class="wrapper-narrow float-right-element"><img src="/images/phoenix/6101629_0.1.jpg"></img></div>“So the rest of the world is doing just fine, more or less unperturbed by the US trade war,” Jensen added. “It’s the US that’s suffering from this, not everybody else.” US laden imports between April, when sweeping tariffs were imposed on all trade partners, and September are virtually flat compared with a year earlier, according to PIERS, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global. US laden exports in the five months ending in August, the most recent data available, are flat as well. Global container volumes, including empties, rose 4.1% in that same period, according to data from Container Trade Statistics. But the extent to which US tariffs on China imports — currently up to 130% — have upended the trans-Pacific is clear: Imports from China for April through September were at levels not seen since 2013. US imports from China were down 15% from a year earlier, equating to 875,000 fewer TEUs. Looking at it another way, one-third of laden, ocean-going imports that came into the US during the six-month period originated from China. Last year, four out of 10 laden containers entering US seaports came from China. Some of those volumes from China were lost due to Canadian importers diverting goods away from US ports in favor of domestic ports to avoid paying tariffs. Other shipments, as tracked by PIERS, originated from China and were illegally declared differently. <h3>Beneficiaries of China tariffs </h3>Vietnam, facing a US tariff rate of 20%, has been the biggest benefactor from tariffs on China. US laden imports from Vietnam jumped nearly 26% in the six-month period and volumes accounted for 16.8% of all inbound traffic into the United States. India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Cambodia all gained from the higher US tariffs on China. And while each still accounted for less than 1% of total US laden imports, Columbia, Ecuador, and Guatemala were leaned on more by US importers. Notably, the US tariffs on imports from the European Union haven’t stopped import growth, with laden volumes expanding 4.9% between April and September. Despite high US tariffs on its exports, China’s factory production hasn’t slowed yet, with activity in September rising at its fastest pace since March, according to the RatingDog China General Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index, which is compiled by S&amp;P Global. Chinese exporters have found buyers for their wares, contributing to <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/growing-box-backlogs-at-europes-strike-hit-hubs-could-take-weeks-to-clear-6098397">port congestion in Europe</a> and increasingly feeding factories in Mexico. With record profits from the pandemic and a scale-up of ship deliveries, container lines are following the growth, deploying tonnage and investing in marine terminals that strengthen so-called secondary trades. Evergreen Line, for example, in its five-year plan released last month, said it would focus on expanding service to Latin America and the Middle East. The carrier plans to increase the number of vessels deployed on the Asia-Latin America trade and deploy 12,000-TEU ships on the Asia-West Coast of South America trades. Evergreen also plans to add capacity between Europe and Mexico, and from Asia to the Caribbean. Still, container lines, importantly, aren’t abandoning the US market, even if it comes at a higher cost than other markets thanks to elevated labor costs and the inability to impose terminal handling charges on cargo owners and consignees. “If you look at the United States, the market is not going anywhere. This is an extremely strategic market for our group, and we will continue to invest here,” Adeline Chouraqui, CEO and president at CMA CGM Americas, said Oct. 16 at the Virginia Maritime Association’s International Trade Forum. CMA CGM in March <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/cma-cgm-to-invest-20-billion-in-us-shipping-ports-and-logistics-5957748">committed to investing $20 billion in the US over the next five years</a>. “It’s a continuation of what we’ve always done, but changes in flows do bring opportunities for investment,” she said. Contact Mark Szakonyi at <a href="mailto:mark.szakonyi@spglobal.com">mark.szakonyi@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

President Donald Trump’s tariff onslaught has, arguably, forever shifted US import flows away from China after a six-month rollercoaster of ever-changing amounts and deadlines. But US tariffs — while denting shipments from China — aren’t yet showing signs of hurting overall global container volumes. “The rest of the world trucks along just nicely,” said Lars Jensen, a maritime analyst and Journal of Commerce contributor. “It’s a little bit volatile. It’s a bit up and down, but basically throughout the year, you’ve seen global growth in container volumes around 6%, which is twice what you expect given global development. “So the rest of the world is doing just fine, more or less unperturbed by the US trade war,” Jensen added. “It’s the US that’s suffering from this, not everybody else.” US laden imports between April, when sweeping tariffs were imposed on all trade partners, and September are virtually flat compared with a year earlier, according to PIERS, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global. US laden exports in the five months ending in August, the most recent data available, are flat as well. Global container volumes, including empties, rose 4.1% in that same period, according to data from Container Trade Statistics. But the extent to which US tariffs on China imports — currently up to 130% — have upended the trans-Pacific is clear: Imports from China for April through September were at levels not seen since 2013. US imports from China were down 15% from a year earlier, equating to 875,000 fewer TEUs. Looking at it another way, one-third of laden, ocean-going imports that came into the US during the six-month period originated from China. Last year, four out of 10 laden containers entering US seaports came from China. Some of those volumes from China were lost due to Canadian importers diverting goods away from US ports in favor of domestic ports to avoid paying tariffs. Other shipments, as tracked by PIERS, originated from China and were illegally declared differently. Beneficiaries of China tariffs Vietnam, facing a US tariff rate of 20%, has been the biggest benefactor from tariffs on China. US laden imports from Vietnam jumped nearly 26% in the six-month period and volumes accounted for 16.8% of all inbound traffic into the United States. India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Cambodia all gained from the higher US tariffs on China. And while each still accounted for less than 1% of total US laden imports, Columbia, Ecuador, and Guatemala were leaned on more by US importers. Notably, the US tariffs on imports from the European Union haven’t stopped import growth, with laden volumes expanding 4.9% between April and September. Despite high US tariffs on its exports, China’s factory production hasn’t slowed yet, with activity in September rising at its fastest pace since March, according to the RatingDog China General Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index, which is compiled by S&P Global. Chinese exporters have found buyers for their wares, contributing to port congestion in Europe and increasingly feeding factories in Mexico. With record profits from the pandemic and a scale-up of ship deliveries, container lines are following the growth, deploying tonnage and investing in marine terminals that strengthen so-called secondary trades. Evergreen Line, for example, in its five-year plan released last month, said it would focus on expanding service to Latin America and the Middle East. The carrier plans to increase the number of vessels deployed on the Asia-Latin America trade and deploy 12,000-TEU ships on the Asia-West Coast of South America trades. Evergreen also plans to add capacity between Europe and Mexico, and from Asia to the Caribbean. Still, container lines, importantly, aren’t abandoning the US market, even if it comes at a higher cost than other markets thanks to elevated labor costs and the inability to impose terminal handling charges on cargo owners and consignees. “If you look at the United States, the market is not going anywhere. This is an extremely strategic market for our group, and we will continue to invest here,” Adeline Chouraqui, CEO and president at CMA CGM Americas, said Oct. 16 at the Virginia Maritime Association’s International Trade Forum. CMA CGM in March committed to investing $20 billion in the US over the next five years . “It’s a continuation of what we’ve always done, but changes in flows do bring opportunities for investment,” she said. Contact Mark Szakonyi at  mark.szakonyi@spglobal.com .

Trans-Pacific

US tariffs dent China import volumes, but not global container growth

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Record container volumes resulted in greater port activity amid an increase in calls by vessels, trucks and trains, as well as increased use of cargo-handling equipment.</div>

Record container volumes resulted in greater port activity amid an increase in calls by vessels, trucks and trains, as well as increased use of cargo-handling equipment.

<div class="phx-topic">Emissions from vessel and surface operations at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach were up by only small to moderate amounts in 2024 despite the Southern California gateway handling record container volumes that jumped about 20% from the year prior. The new data was included in the annual emissions inventories published separately last week by each port. “Cargo volume shot up from 2023 to 2024, and we did see increases in emissions in that time period,” said Noel Hacegaba, COO at the Port of Long Beach. “However, the reduction figures from the baseline year of 2005 to 2024 show we still have dramatically reduced air pollution in the long run.” Record container volumes resulted in greater port activity amid an increase in calls by vessels, trucks and trains, as well as increased use of cargo-handling equipment, said Jacqueline Moore, vice president of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association (PMSA), which represents marine terminal operators and shipping lines in legislative matters. Los Angeles in 2024 handled 10.3 million laden and empty TEUs, up 19% from 2023. Long Beach handled 9.6 million TEUs, up 20% from 2023, according to statistics in their emissions reports. Despite the growth in activity, “the increases in emissions were small to moderate,” Moore told the Journal of Commerce Tuesday. Los Angeles and Long Beach each year release details of more than a half-dozen health risk categories of emissions at the ports, including diesel particulate matter (DPM), nitrogen oxide (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2). In most categories, the increase in emissions for 2024 was in the mid- to upper-single-digit range, Moore said. <h3>Ports account for ‘miniscule” percentage of regional pollution </h3>Port-generated emissions are a “miniscule” percentage of total pollutants in Southern California, Moore said. That includes mobile sources such as automobiles and regional trucking, and stationary sources such as manufacturing and residences. For example, the ports account for 0.5% of all NOx emissions in the South Coast region, 1.3% of DPMs and 5.6% of NOx, she said. The ports’ emission inventories have been measuring gains in emission reductions since 2005. According to an Oct. 16 PMSA release, the port complex has reduced DPMs by 90%, NOx by 70%, SOx by 98%, and greenhouse gas emissions by 10% since that baseline year. The ports will continue to cite these figures before regional, state and federal regulatory agencies to show that they and their stakeholders are doing their part to reduce pollution, Moore said. Last month, the ports reached a “cooperative” agreement with the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) to seek further emissions reductions. The PMSA said at the time gains should now be realized without resorting to burdensome measures proposed by the AQMD in its <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/proposed-emissions-rule-would-cap-la-lb-port-volumes-5679341">original Indirect Source Rule.</a>The AQMD agreement recognizes the ports’ achievements to date. The easier gains have been made, and squeezing further reductions from vessels, trucks, trains and cargo-handling equipment <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/la-lb-likely-to-work-with-regulator-on-emissions-cutting-plan-for-ports-6084550">will be much more costly to achieve</a>, PMSA President Mike Jacob told the regulatory agency last month. The ports will also work in a similar capacity with the California Air Resources Board and the federal Environmental Protection Agency to further reduce emissions in areas where those agencies’ jurisdictions intersect with port operations, Moore said. Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at <a href="mailto:bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com">bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

Emissions from vessel and surface operations at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach were up by only small to moderate amounts in 2024 despite the Southern California gateway handling record container volumes that jumped about 20% from the year prior. The new data was included in the annual emissions inventories published separately last week by each port. “Cargo volume shot up from 2023 to 2024, and we did see increases in emissions in that time period,” said Noel Hacegaba, COO at the Port of Long Beach. “However, the reduction figures from the baseline year of 2005 to 2024 show we still have dramatically reduced air pollution in the long run.” Record container volumes resulted in greater port activity amid an increase in calls by vessels, trucks and trains, as well as increased use of cargo-handling equipment, said Jacqueline Moore, vice president of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association (PMSA), which represents marine terminal operators and shipping lines in legislative matters. Los Angeles in 2024 handled 10.3 million laden and empty TEUs, up 19% from 2023. Long Beach handled 9.6 million TEUs, up 20% from 2023, according to statistics in their emissions reports. Despite the growth in activity, “the increases in emissions were small to moderate,” Moore told the Journal of Commerce Tuesday. Los Angeles and Long Beach each year release details of more than a half-dozen health risk categories of emissions at the ports, including diesel particulate matter (DPM), nitrogen oxide (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2). In most categories, the increase in emissions for 2024 was in the mid- to upper-single-digit range, Moore said. Ports account for ‘miniscule” percentage of regional pollution Port-generated emissions are a “miniscule” percentage of total pollutants in Southern California, Moore said. That includes mobile sources such as automobiles and regional trucking, and stationary sources such as manufacturing and residences. For example, the ports account for 0.5% of all NOx emissions in the South Coast region, 1.3% of DPMs and 5.6% of NOx, she said. The ports’ emission inventories have been measuring gains in emission reductions since 2005. According to an Oct. 16 PMSA release, the port complex has reduced DPMs by 90%, NOx by 70%, SOx by 98%, and greenhouse gas emissions by 10% since that baseline year. The ports will continue to cite these figures before regional, state and federal regulatory agencies to show that they and their stakeholders are doing their part to reduce pollution, Moore said. Last month, the ports reached a “cooperative” agreement with the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) to seek further emissions reductions. The PMSA said at the time gains should now be realized without resorting to burdensome measures proposed by the AQMD in its original Indirect Source Rule. The AQMD agreement recognizes the ports’ achievements to date. The easier gains have been made, and squeezing further reductions from vessels, trucks, trains and cargo-handling equipment will be much more costly to achieve , PMSA President Mike Jacob told the regulatory agency last month. The ports will also work in a similar capacity with the California Air Resources Board and the federal Environmental Protection Agency to further reduce emissions in areas where those agencies’ jurisdictions intersect with port operations, Moore said. Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com .

Port News

North American ports

Marine terminals

LA-LB saw ‘small to moderate’ rise in emissions despite record volumes in 2024

Use code GTW595 at checkout and save $900 on first year of an annual Gold subscription!

Upgrade Subscription - Gold Trials

Become a Gold Subscriber and Save!

Arm your team with the most trusted information portal for the international container shipping industry.

Group Subscriptions - Wide Box

Get into a group subscription today

Use code FSW30 at checkout to save 30% on a Silver or Silver Plus annual subscription! 

Subscribe Now - FT/Anonymous to S/SP - Wide Box

FALL SALE

Use code FSW595 and upgrade to Gold for just $595! Valid for first year of subscription.

Upgrade Subscription - S/SP to Gold - Wide Box

Access Journal of Commerce content for 30 days

Free Trial - Wide Box

START A FREE TRIAL TODAY

Use code FSW995 at checkout to save $500 on first year of a Gold subscription!

Subscribe Now - FT/Anonymous to Gold - Wide Box

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

SMC3rates_shutterstock_5247046.jpg

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>

SMC3rates_shutterstock_5247046 (1).jpg

Filling the Supply Chain Education Gap with LTL Education Courses

START A FREE TRIAL: Access Journal of Commerce content for 30 days

Free Trial - Offer Box

Free Trial

FALL SALE: Use code FSW30 to save 30% on first year of a Silver or Silver Plus annual subscription!


Subscribe Now - FT/Anonymous to S/SP - Offer Box

SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE

GET INTO A GROUP SUBSCRIPTION: Arm your team with unlimited Journal of Commerce content

Group Subscriptions - Offer Box

Group Subscriptions

UPGRADE TO GOLD AND SAVE: Use code GTW595 at checkout and save $900 on first year of a Gold subscription!

Upgrade Subscription

FALL SALE: Use code FSW595 and upgrade to Gold for just $595! Valid on first year of subscription.

Upgrade Subscription - S/SP to Gold - Offer Box

FALL SALE: Use codeFSW995 at checkout to save $500 on a Gold subscription!

Subscribe Now - FT/Anonymous to Gold - Offer Box

Monthly publication providing an editorial deep dive into global supply chain news

Journal of Commerce Magazine - Rectangle Box

Journal of Commerce Magazine

A premium access index of savings using domestic intermodal vs. OTR 

ISI Report - Rectangle Box

Intermodal Savings Index

An in-depth analysis of transport trends in the multipurpose and heavy-lift fleet segment

Breakbulk Report - Rectangle Box

Breakbulk Quarterly

An extensive dashboard of charts organized by trade lane, mode, and topic

Gateway - Rectangle Box

Gateway

Customers scoring their intermodal partners to identify the best service providers

Intermodal Service Scorecard - Rectangle Box

Intermodal Service Scorecard

A premium access outlook critical to shippers and transportation providers

QI Report - Rectangle Box

Quarterly Intelligence

The premier conference for the global container shipping and supply chain community

TPM Conference - Rectangle Box

Attend TPM26

The only editorially independent conference for the breakbulk & project cargo industry

Breakbulk Conference - Rectangle Box

Attend Breakbulk26

The Journal of Commerce is the industry’s source for maritime news and analysis about ocean container shipping, logistics, supply chains, global shipping ports, shipping technology solutions and end-to-end connectivity. Coverage tracks the movement of containerized cargo — from origin to destination — handled by marine terminals in the US and abroad, depots, container ports, container lines, drayage, consignees and shippers, forwarders, non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOs) and off-dock warehousing providers, as well as pricing, capacity, volume and reliability on the trans-Pacific, Asia–Europe, North America–Caribbean, Central and South American and intra-Asia trades.

Discover comprehensive trucking news and trends with Journal of Commerce - from trucking LTL to regulation and trucking supply and demand.

Breakbulk News shipping | Journal of Commerce

Breakbulk News

Container shipping news and analysis of ocean container shipping, logistics, supply chains, technology and end-to-end connectivity.

Container Shipping News | Journal of Commerce

Stay informed on port news worldwide with Journal of Commerce. From decarbonization to labor updates, get insights on global developments.

Port News | Journal of Commerce

News and analysis of ocean containerized cargo movement, logistics, supply chains, technology, and end-to-end connectivity. Maritime news and analysis of containerized ocean cargo movement, breakbulk and roll-on and roll-off shipping from origin to destination.

Latest News

More News & Analysis

LTL carriers push general rate hikes despite lackluster US freight demand

September domestic intermodal volumes show unexpected boost: IANA

Intra-Europe emissions exposure affected by feeder services selection: report