<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The United States and Mexico have resolved a long-standing dispute over cement trade, clearing the w</div>

The United States and Mexico have resolved a long-standing dispute over cement trade, clearing the w

<div>The United States and Mexico have resolved a long-standing dispute over cement trade, clearing the way for increased supplies of Mexican cement to assist the rebuilding of the U.S. Gulf Coast, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced.The agreement will allow for increased imports of Mexican cement, while encouraging U.S. cement exports to Mexico. According to the USTR, the agreement resolves all actions on cement trade pending before the World Trade Organization and NAFTA in connection with an anti-dumping order on Mexican cement. The agreement also responds to the needs of U.S. consumers and builders, particularly those rebuilding Gulf...

The United States and Mexico have resolved a long-standing dispute over cement trade, clearing the way for increased supplies of Mexican cement to assist the rebuilding of the U.S. Gulf Coast, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced. The agreement will allow for increased imports of Mexican cement, while encouraging U.S. cement exports to Mexico. According to the USTR, the agreement resolves all actions on cement trade pending before the World Trade Organization and NAFTA in connection with an anti-dumping order on Mexican cement. The agreement also responds to the needs of U.S. consumers and builders, particularly those rebuilding Gulf Coast communities. The three-year agreement calls for the import of as much as 3 million metric tons of Mexican cement into the U.S. at an antidumping duty of $3 per metric ton. The pact also provides for additional imports of 200,000 metric tons at the same rate if a natural disaster warrants. -- Alan Field

Transport, Trade and Regulation News

Cement pact for Mexico, U.S.

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Ocean carrier profits this year are expected to be less than half of what they were in 2024 amid an uncertain macroeconomic outlook. </div>

Ocean carrier profits this year are expected to be less than half of what they were in 2024 amid an uncertain macroeconomic outlook.

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<div class="phx-topic">The container shipping industry is on track for a profitable year, though not as strong as 2024, as higher operating expenses dampen rate momentum driven by tariff uncertainty, according to analysts. Among nine publicly traded ocean carriers, revenue for 2025 is expected to reach $138.2 billion, according to Capital IQ Estimates, down from $155.5 billion reported for 2024. Capital IQ is a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global. Steadily strengthening freight rates spurred by resilient consumer and industrial demand was the main driver for last year’s results, with the Platts Global Container Index rising from $2,300 per standard container to almost $5,000 by the end of 2024. And while rates remain elevated, particularly in the trans-Pacific, the outlook for earnings is dimmer. Industry-wide net income is expected to be $11.6 billion in 2025, compared to $28.6 billion in 2024, data from Capital IQ Estimates shows. After most carriers reported first-quarter earnings for 2025, analysts trimmed collective earnings forecasts for ocean carriers by $600 million since the beginning of April. Even with the recent tariff turmoil, most ocean carriers saw few, if any, market catalysts to create a repeat of 2024. Other industry watchers also see a tougher comparison for ocean carriers this year. Alphaliner noted the average first-quarter operating margin for ocean carriers fell to 18.1%, the lowest in four quarters. Maritime consultancy Drewry sees operating profit for the container shipping industry falling to $20 billion this year, down from about $50 billion in 2024. Ocean carriers are flagging higher operating expenses in 2025 as ships get delayed and the costs of container repositioning weigh. Hapag-Lloyd highlighted a 9% increase in handling and haulage costs for the first quarter, primarily because of having to secure storage for empty containers and higher drayage expenses for door moves. <h3>Muted rate outlook </h3>While higher freight rates can offset those increases, carrier chief executives remain cautious on how far the current rally will go. Maersk Chief Executive Vincent Clerc offered a forecast of global container demand ranging anywhere from a decline of 1% to growth of 4% during the company’s second-quarter earnings call on May 8, down from a forecast of 4% in February. Clerc said President Donald Trump’s trade policies are forcing more Maersk customers to reconsider where they source goods. While some shippers highly dependent on China are looking to frontload goods, others are drawing inventory in North America or looking at how to exit China. “The increased macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties since we shared our guidance in February inevitably affects our outlook for the rest of the year, especially on the back of the escalation we saw of the US-China trade tensions as well as the unresolved questions around the other tariffs currently under the 90-day reprieve,” Clerc said. Even though container freight bookings out of China saw a resurgence following the 90-day tariff reprieve, Hapag-Lloyd Chief Executive Rolf Habben Jansen said during a May 14 earnings call he expects only a “little bit of a surge” over the next two or three months. He said Hapag-Lloyd is maintaining its current 2025 outlook based on the “assumption that we expect to see freight rates declining based on the trends that we have seen in the market over the last couple of months.” “I think (the) demand trend for 2025 at the moment is pretty uncertain,” Habben Jansen said. “We see new developments every day. I think the only thing we know for sure is that the first quarter was pretty good.” Contact Michael Angell at <a href="mailto:michael.angell@spglobal.com">michael.angell@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

The container shipping industry is on track for a profitable year, though not as strong as 2024, as higher operating expenses dampen rate momentum driven by tariff uncertainty, according to analysts. Among nine publicly traded ocean carriers, revenue for 2025 is expected to reach $138.2 billion, according to Capital IQ Estimates, down from $155.5 billion reported for 2024. Capital IQ is a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global. Steadily strengthening freight rates spurred by resilient consumer and industrial demand was the main driver for last year’s results, with the Platts Global Container Index rising from $2,300 per standard container to almost $5,000 by the end of 2024. And while rates remain elevated, particularly in the trans-Pacific, the outlook for earnings is dimmer. Industry-wide net income is expected to be $11.6 billion in 2025, compared to $28.6 billion in 2024, data from Capital IQ Estimates shows. After most carriers reported first-quarter earnings for 2025, analysts trimmed collective earnings forecasts for ocean carriers by $600 million since the beginning of April. Even with the recent tariff turmoil, most ocean carriers saw few, if any, market catalysts to create a repeat of 2024. Other industry watchers also see a tougher comparison for ocean carriers this year. Alphaliner noted the average first-quarter operating margin for ocean carriers fell to 18.1%, the lowest in four quarters. Maritime consultancy Drewry sees operating profit for the container shipping industry falling to $20 billion this year, down from about $50 billion in 2024. Ocean carriers are flagging higher operating expenses in 2025 as ships get delayed and the costs of container repositioning weigh. Hapag-Lloyd highlighted a 9% increase in handling and haulage costs for the first quarter, primarily because of having to secure storage for empty containers and higher drayage expenses for door moves. Muted rate outlook While higher freight rates can offset those increases, carrier chief executives remain cautious on how far the current rally will go. Maersk Chief Executive Vincent Clerc offered a forecast of global container demand ranging anywhere from a decline of 1% to growth of 4% during the company’s second-quarter earnings call on May 8, down from a forecast of 4% in February. Clerc said President Donald Trump’s trade policies are forcing more Maersk customers to reconsider where they source goods. While some shippers highly dependent on China are looking to frontload goods, others are drawing inventory in North America or looking at how to exit China. “The increased macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties since we shared our guidance in February inevitably affects our outlook for the rest of the year, especially on the back of the escalation we saw of the US-China trade tensions as well as the unresolved questions around the other tariffs currently under the 90-day reprieve,” Clerc said. Even though container freight bookings out of China saw a resurgence following the 90-day tariff reprieve, Hapag-Lloyd Chief Executive Rolf Habben Jansen said during a May 14 earnings call he expects only a “little bit of a surge” over the next two or three months. He said Hapag-Lloyd is maintaining its current 2025 outlook based on the “assumption that we expect to see freight rates declining based on the trends that we have seen in the market over the last couple of months.” “I think (the) demand trend for 2025 at the moment is pretty uncertain,” Habben Jansen said. “We see new developments every day. I think the only thing we know for sure is that the first quarter was pretty good.” Contact Michael Angell at michael.angell@spglobal.com .

Maritime

Container Shipping News

Container lines

 Global uncertainty to erode ocean carrier profits in 2025

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">An aging MPV fleet is causing concerns for shippers and forwarders in a market where the fleet has limited capacity to accommodate cargo growth. </div>

An aging MPV fleet is causing concerns for shippers and forwarders in a market where the fleet has limited capacity to accommodate cargo growth.

<div class="phx-topic">A perceived imbalance in the multipurpose vessel (MPV) fleet could prompt shippers to think differently about overage tonnage. Currently, MPVs over 20 years old are widely viewed as too old by project cargo shippers and are thought to pose safety risks. A shipper who did not wish to be identified told the Journal of Commerce their company’s risk profile does not permit them to charter ships over 20 years old, regardless of the safety record of the ship. As the MPV fleet ages, they acknowledged that this artificially reduces the available tonnage for projects. As such, they are actively considering how to allow the chartering of MPVs over 20 years old. Kai von Taube, head of global chartering at freight forwarder deugro, expressed concern that there are already not enough ships running on the trades where they are needed to meet project cargo demand. “Age does not matter; it’s the technical performance that matters,” he said. Von Taube referred to the existing so-called OVID vetting system in place for technical certification, which the MPV industry could adopt. The Offshore Vessel Inspection Database (OVID) was developed by the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) to provide a database of offshore inspections. It is an inspection protocol that allows project and marine assurance teams to assess the safety and environmental performance of a vessel and its operators effectively and uniformly. “Shippers could accept this,” von Taube said. However, when asked, the shipper said they did not see OVID as a viable solution. “OVID is a nightmare,” the source said, adding the certificate needs to be regularly renewed and all ships would need to maintain their certificates to be useful to project shippers. <h3>A view of the fleet in balance </h3>Speaking to the Journal of Commerce, Christophe Grammare, managing director of AAL Shipping, gave a counter view of an MPV fleet in balance with no need for shippers to start accepting overage tonnage. “The issue with MPV supply is cargo segmentation and specialization,” Grammare said. “In the current global fleet, most of the tonnage is light-geared MPV vessels. That is a dying breed, as the cargo that they can carry has now been containerized and does not need to be replaced.” While he agreed that the industry needs to keep a keen eye on fleet development, Grammare said that the fleet is only decreasing at the bottom end. “We are still seeing investment in project heavy-lift vessels,” he said. “MPV owners and project operators such as AAL are investing in these types of vessels with a clear view of what’s needed to meet customer demand. It’s not speculative.” Grammare added that privately owned MPV operators are concerned about the flood of investment in tonnage from state-owned operators merely “for the sake of investment.” “The current market is...balanced after decades of hardship for shipowners,” he said. “We still can trigger investment in additional tonnage at any time but remain very cautious not to unsettle the supply and demand balance, which remains fragile.”  Contact Carly Fields at <a href="mailto:carly.fields@spglobal.com">carly.fields@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

A perceived imbalance in the multipurpose vessel (MPV) fleet could prompt shippers to think differently about overage tonnage. Currently, MPVs over 20 years old are widely viewed as too old by project cargo shippers and are thought to pose safety risks. A shipper who did not wish to be identified told the Journal of Commerce their company’s risk profile does not permit them to charter ships over 20 years old, regardless of the safety record of the ship. As the MPV fleet ages, they acknowledged that this artificially reduces the available tonnage for projects. As such, they are actively considering how to allow the chartering of MPVs over 20 years old. Kai von Taube, head of global chartering at freight forwarder deugro, expressed concern that there are already not enough ships running on the trades where they are needed to meet project cargo demand. “Age does not matter; it’s the technical performance that matters,” he said. Von Taube referred to the existing so-called OVID vetting system in place for technical certification, which the MPV industry could adopt. The Offshore Vessel Inspection Database (OVID) was developed by the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) to provide a database of offshore inspections. It is an inspection protocol that allows project and marine assurance teams to assess the safety and environmental performance of a vessel and its operators effectively and uniformly. “Shippers could accept this,” von Taube said. However, when asked, the shipper said they did not see OVID as a viable solution. “OVID is a nightmare,” the source said, adding the certificate needs to be regularly renewed and all ships would need to maintain their certificates to be useful to project shippers. A view of the fleet in balance Speaking to the Journal of Commerce, Christophe Grammare, managing director of AAL Shipping, gave a counter view of an MPV fleet in balance with no need for shippers to start accepting overage tonnage. “The issue with MPV supply is cargo segmentation and specialization,” Grammare said. “In the current global fleet, most of the tonnage is light-geared MPV vessels. That is a dying breed, as the cargo that they can carry has now been containerized and does not need to be replaced.” While he agreed that the industry needs to keep a keen eye on fleet development, Grammare said that the fleet is only decreasing at the bottom end. “We are still seeing investment in project heavy-lift vessels,” he said. “MPV owners and project operators such as AAL are investing in these types of vessels with a clear view of what’s needed to meet customer demand. It’s not speculative.” Grammare added that privately owned MPV operators are concerned about the flood of investment in tonnage from state-owned operators merely “for the sake of investment.” “The current market is...balanced after decades of hardship for shipowners,” he said. “We still can trigger investment in additional tonnage at any time but remain very cautious not to unsettle the supply and demand balance, which remains fragile.”  Contact Carly Fields at carly.fields@spglobal.com .

Breakbulk News

Breakbulk carriers

Shippers mull new lease on life for overage multipurpose vessels

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The acquisition of Cole Group brings Mullen trade consulting and additional non-asset logistics leverage in the US and Canada.</div>

The acquisition of Cole Group brings Mullen trade consulting and additional non-asset logistics leverage in the US and Canada.

<div class="phx-topic">Alberta-based Mullen Group, one of Canada’s largest logistics and transportation companies, is extending its international reach by acquiring Cole Group for $190 million. The deal, first announced in April, adds Cole Group, Cole International and Abco International Freight among related entities to Mullen’s portfolio effective June 1, the company said Friday. Cole Group, also a Canadian company based in Alberta, expands Mullen’s presence in global logistics, adding customs brokerage, freight forwarding and trade consulting to a network of companies that includes less-than-truckload, truckload, warehousing, logistics and energy and forestry businesses. “Not only is the Cole Group an industry leader in customs brokerage and trade consulting, which happens to be one of the most talked about issues of the day, they have a sizeable 3PL freight service offering, a service that aligns very closely with our US and international logistics segment,” Murray K. Mullen, chair and senior executive officer, said in a statement. Founded in the 1920s, Cole Group operates from 43 locations, including offices at airports, seaports and land border crossings in the US and Canada. Cole had about $300 million in revenue last year, according to Mullen Group. “We’ve always liked the customs brokerage business,” Mullen told investment analysts during a first-quarter earnings call in April. “By investing in Cole, we’re now helping with the transaction of any cross-border or importation or export of any goods.” Contact William B. Cassidy at <a href="mailto:bill.cassidy@spglobal.com">bill.cassidy@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Alberta-based Mullen Group, one of Canada’s largest logistics and transportation companies, is extending its international reach by acquiring Cole Group for $190 million. The deal, first announced in April, adds Cole Group, Cole International and Abco International Freight among related entities to Mullen’s portfolio effective June 1, the company said Friday. Cole Group, also a Canadian company based in Alberta, expands Mullen’s presence in global logistics, adding customs brokerage, freight forwarding and trade consulting to a network of companies that includes less-than-truckload, truckload, warehousing, logistics and energy and forestry businesses. “Not only is the Cole Group an industry leader in customs brokerage and trade consulting, which happens to be one of the most talked about issues of the day, they have a sizeable 3PL freight service offering, a service that aligns very closely with our US and international logistics segment,” Murray K. Mullen, chair and senior executive officer, said in a statement. Founded in the 1920s, Cole Group operates from 43 locations, including offices at airports, seaports and land border crossings in the US and Canada. Cole had about $300 million in revenue last year, according to Mullen Group. “We’ve always liked the customs brokerage business,” Mullen told investment analysts during a first-quarter earnings call in April. “By investing in Cole, we’re now helping with the transaction of any cross-border or importation or export of any goods.” Contact William B. Cassidy at bill.cassidy@spglobal.com .

Trucking News

Air Cargo Forwarder News

Surface

Acquisition expands Canada’s Mullen Group customs brokerage, forwarding

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">That the port is the largest transshipment hub makes it convenient for carriers to transship cargo as they redeploy vessels from European and other long-haul trades to US-focused services. </div>

That the port is the largest transshipment hub makes it convenient for carriers to transship cargo as they redeploy vessels from European and other long-haul trades to US-focused services.

<div class="phx-topic">Singapore has joined Shanghai, the world’s second-busiest and busiest ports, respectively, in facing congestion driven by a rush of exports to the US during a 90-day tariff cooldown, according to forwarder and carrier sources. Operations in Singapore have been “heavily disrupted,” with transshipment cargo delayed by up to two weeks, forwarder Kuehne + Nagel said in an update Wednesday on its SeaExplorer visibility platform. According to a Monday update from container carrier Hapag-Lloyd, ships are waiting up to three days to berth at Singapore’s primary terminals due to vessel bunching and congestion. That Singapore is the world’s largest transshipment hub makes it convenient for carriers to transship cargo as they redeploy vessels from European and other long-haul trades to US-focused services. Congestion at other Asian ports is also contributing to a backlog of ships in Singapore. “PSA Singapore has seen a high concentration of container vessel arrivals in recent weeks, attributable to several factors, including some service reconfigurations by shipping lines in response to various business changes and global issues to optimize their network operations, as well as ripple effects from congestion and delays at other locations,” a PSA spokesperson told the Journal of Commerce. The spokesperson said the port’s spare capacity and resources are being utilized to mitigate the impact of the rise in vessel arrivals. <h3>Shanghai congestion worsens</h3>The situation has also deteriorated in Shanghai, with carriers reporting wait times of up to five days, compared with about three days last week, according to K+N. The largest global forwarder said shippers are diverting cargo away from Shanghai to Ningbo to avoid delays, slowing operations in Ningbo. Similarly, congestion has worsened at Port Klang, Malaysia’s gateway terminal complex, with “heavily disrupted operations” and vessel wait times of up to three days, K+N said in its SeaExplorer update. Tan Hua Joo, co-founder of shipping data platform Linerlytica, told the Journal of Commerce, “Both Singapore and Port Klang are experiencing longer berthing delays due to heavy vessel traffic and bunching of arrivals due to delays at upstream ports.” And in South Asia, the ports of Colombo, Sri Lanka; Mundra, India; and Chittagong, Bangladesh, “are also seeing increased waiting times at the moment,” Hua Joo said. Vessel schedules from Ocean Network Express (ONE) this week provide an example of how the additional pressures in Singapore and Port Klang are impacting network fluidity. ONE’s 3,000-TEU Wan Hai 331, deployed on its Japan-Straits-Malaysia service, was four days late departing Hong Kong last Friday, but berthing delays in Singapore and Port Klang have increased these delays to eight days, with the ship scheduled to arrive in Singapore on June 3. Schedules for June and July indicate ONE has lengthened the estimated time of arrival from four days to up to seven days from Hong Kong to Singapore for a raft of vessels operating on intra-Asia and Europe-Mediterranean services to account for berthing delays in Singapore. Other ports in Asia, including Tianjin, Qingdao, Shenzhen, Nansha and Hong Kong in China; Busan, South Korea; Yokohama, Japan; Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam; and Manila, Philippines, are also dealing with declining port performance, K+N said. The number of vessels waiting at key ports in Asia has been trending upward again in the last two weeks after plunging from a high at the start of May, according to Portcast’s ship tracking index. There were 62 ships waiting to berth at Shanghai on Wednesday, approximately double the number in mid-May. The vessel backlog outside Singapore hit 55 on May 14, before plunging as low as 23 on May 21, Portcast data shows. <h3>Attention turns to US West Coast</h3>During Evergreen Marine’s annual general meeting Thursday, chairman Chang Yen-yi said port congestion would spread to US West Coast ports next month as vessels from Asia, including extra capacity that carriers are deploying during the current tariff pause, start arriving at Los Angeles and Long Beach. Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, is confident that the nation’s busiest US container gateway is ready to handle what he expects to be a relatively minor surge in volumes compared with previous sudden demand increases, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic. “You won’t see a deluge of freight here at the Port of Los Angeles,” Seroka said in a May 18 briefing. “We will not be caught off guard.” Similar to during the pandemic, the sharpest limits to capacity during an import surge will be outside the truck gates, not at the marine terminals. As containers exit the ports, the influx of international intermodal shipments will test rail car supply, and importers and consignees could face less availability of warehousing and chassis. Contact Keith Wallis at <a href="keithwallis@hotmail.com">keithwallis@hotmail.com</a>. </div>

Singapore has joined Shanghai, the world’s second-busiest and busiest ports, respectively, in facing congestion driven by a rush of exports to the US during a 90-day tariff cooldown, according to forwarder and carrier sources. Operations in Singapore have been “heavily disrupted,” with transshipment cargo delayed by up to two weeks, forwarder Kuehne + Nagel said in an update Wednesday on its SeaExplorer visibility platform. According to a Monday update from container carrier Hapag-Lloyd, ships are waiting up to three days to berth at Singapore’s primary terminals due to vessel bunching and congestion. That Singapore is the world’s largest transshipment hub makes it convenient for carriers to transship cargo as they redeploy vessels from European and other long-haul trades to US-focused services. Congestion at other Asian ports is also contributing to a backlog of ships in Singapore. “PSA Singapore has seen a high concentration of container vessel arrivals in recent weeks, attributable to several factors, including some service reconfigurations by shipping lines in response to various business changes and global issues to optimize their network operations, as well as ripple effects from congestion and delays at other locations,” a PSA spokesperson told the Journal of Commerce. The spokesperson said the port’s spare capacity and resources are being utilized to mitigate the impact of the rise in vessel arrivals. Shanghai congestion worsens The situation has also deteriorated in Shanghai, with carriers reporting wait times of up to five days, compared with about three days last week, according to K+N. The largest global forwarder said shippers are diverting cargo away from Shanghai to Ningbo to avoid delays, slowing operations in Ningbo. Similarly, congestion has worsened at Port Klang, Malaysia’s gateway terminal complex, with “heavily disrupted operations” and vessel wait times of up to three days, K+N said in its SeaExplorer update. Tan Hua Joo, co-founder of shipping data platform Linerlytica, told the Journal of Commerce, “Both Singapore and Port Klang are experiencing longer berthing delays due to heavy vessel traffic and bunching of arrivals due to delays at upstream ports.” And in South Asia, the ports of Colombo, Sri Lanka; Mundra, India; and Chittagong, Bangladesh, “are also seeing increased waiting times at the moment,” Hua Joo said. Vessel schedules from Ocean Network Express (ONE) this week provide an example of how the additional pressures in Singapore and Port Klang are impacting network fluidity. ONE’s 3,000-TEU Wan Hai 331, deployed on its Japan-Straits-Malaysia service, was four days late departing Hong Kong last Friday, but berthing delays in Singapore and Port Klang have increased these delays to eight days, with the ship scheduled to arrive in Singapore on June 3. Schedules for June and July indicate ONE has lengthened the estimated time of arrival from four days to up to seven days from Hong Kong to Singapore for a raft of vessels operating on intra-Asia and Europe-Mediterranean services to account for berthing delays in Singapore. Other ports in Asia, including Tianjin, Qingdao, Shenzhen, Nansha and Hong Kong in China; Busan, South Korea; Yokohama, Japan; Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam; and Manila, Philippines, are also dealing with declining port performance, K+N said. The number of vessels waiting at key ports in Asia has been trending upward again in the last two weeks after plunging from a high at the start of May, according to Portcast’s ship tracking index. There were 62 ships waiting to berth at Shanghai on Wednesday, approximately double the number in mid-May. The vessel backlog outside Singapore hit 55 on May 14, before plunging as low as 23 on May 21, Portcast data shows. Attention turns to US West Coast During Evergreen Marine’s annual general meeting Thursday, chairman Chang Yen-yi said port congestion would spread to US West Coast ports next month as vessels from Asia, including extra capacity that carriers are deploying during the current tariff pause, start arriving at Los Angeles and Long Beach. Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, is confident that the nation’s busiest US container gateway is ready to handle what he expects to be a relatively minor surge in volumes compared with previous sudden demand increases, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic. “You won’t see a deluge of freight here at the Port of Los Angeles,” Seroka said in a May 18 briefing. “We will not be caught off guard.” Similar to during the pandemic, the sharpest limits to capacity during an import surge will be outside the truck gates, not at the marine terminals. As containers exit the ports, the influx of international intermodal shipments will test rail car supply, and importers and consignees could face less availability of warehousing and chassis. Contact Keith Wallis at keithwallis@hotmail.com .

Port News

Trans-Pacific

North American ports

Marine terminals

International ports

Asia port disruption wave reaches Singapore

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Trucking executives don’t believe a crackdown on truck drivers who can’t speak or read English will significantly reduce truck capacity.</div>

Trucking executives don’t believe a crackdown on truck drivers who can’t speak or read English will significantly reduce truck capacity.

<div class="phx-topic">Members of Congress are joining a growing campaign to get US truck drivers who can’t communicate in English or read road signs off the road, introducing a bill in the US House of Representatives Thursday that would make that goal the law. That may help get some unqualified truck drivers off the road, but trucking executives don’t believe a crackdown on truck drivers who can’t speak or read English will significantly affect truck capacity, which is still oversupplied. The introduction of “Connor’s Law” by Rep. Dave Taylor, R-Ohio, and Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., follows an order from Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy that makes violation of the English-language proficiency (ELP) requirement an out-of-service violation. An English-language requirement for truck drivers has been part of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR) since 1937, but enforcement has varied. There’s no question these efforts restore teeth to enforcement of the ELP requirement. There is a question as to how much of an impact that will have on trucking or on highway safety. For one, there’s no census or other hard source of data on how many US truck drivers don’t meet the ELP requirement or how that correlates with road accidents. Sec. Duffy believes strict enforcement of the ELP requirement will help force “bad actors” out of a business he compared to the “Wild West.” That may reduce the risk of deadly accidents such as the one that killed Connor Dzion in 2017, but those who expect an exodus of unqualified drivers that would tighten capacity and reset pricing may be expecting too much. Many trucking executives believe truckers without English-language skills are “a small cohort” in a large driver pool. “It’s ridiculous to think that we’ll start enforcing this and it will have an impact on truck capacity,” said a trucking executive who asked not to be named. <h3>Cracking down </h3>Under new Department of Transportation (DOT) guidelines, truck drivers who cannot communicate with law enforcement will be placed out of service, meaning they will not be permitted to drive. The same holds true for those that can’t read US road signs. The DOT’s new enforcement guidelines take effect June 25. The passage of Connor’s Law would mean that guidance could not be changed except by congressional action. Connor’s Law also follows executive orders by President Donald Trump making English the official language of the US and ordering enforcement of truck driver ELP requirements. Similar legislation is moving through state legislatures, including bills with stiff penalties. Oklahoma Gov. Rick Stitt on Wednesday signed a bill into law that would impose a $3,000 fine on truck drivers that can’t meet US ELP requirements and jail time for repeat offenders. A similar law was enacted in Arkansas in April with fines of up to $1,000. Connor’s Law — named for Connor Dzion — is supported by the several trucking groups, including the Small Business in Trucking Coalition (SBTC), the Owner-Operator Independent Driver’s Association (OOIDA) and the American Trucking Associations (ATA), among others.Contact William B. Cassidy at <a href="mailto:bill.cassidy@spglobal.com">bill.cassidy@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

Members of Congress are joining a growing campaign to get US truck drivers who can’t communicate in English or read road signs off the road, introducing a bill in the US House of Representatives Thursday that would make that goal the law. That may help get some unqualified truck drivers off the road, but trucking executives don’t believe a crackdown on truck drivers who can’t speak or read English will significantly affect truck capacity, which is still oversupplied. The introduction of “Connor’s Law” by Rep. Dave Taylor, R-Ohio, and Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., follows an order from Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy that makes violation of the English-language proficiency (ELP) requirement an out-of-service violation. An English-language requirement for truck drivers has been part of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR) since 1937, but enforcement has varied. There’s no question these efforts restore teeth to enforcement of the ELP requirement. There is a question as to how much of an impact that will have on trucking or on highway safety. For one, there’s no census or other hard source of data on how many US truck drivers don’t meet the ELP requirement or how that correlates with road accidents. Sec. Duffy believes strict enforcement of the ELP requirement will help force “bad actors” out of a business he compared to the “Wild West.” That may reduce the risk of deadly accidents such as the one that killed Connor Dzion in 2017, but those who expect an exodus of unqualified drivers that would tighten capacity and reset pricing may be expecting too much. Many trucking executives believe truckers without English-language skills are “a small cohort” in a large driver pool. “It’s ridiculous to think that we’ll start enforcing this and it will have an impact on truck capacity,” said a trucking executive who asked not to be named. Cracking down Under new Department of Transportation (DOT) guidelines, truck drivers who cannot communicate with law enforcement will be placed out of service, meaning they will not be permitted to drive. The same holds true for those that can’t read US road signs. The DOT’s new enforcement guidelines take effect June 25. The passage of Connor’s Law would mean that guidance could not be changed except by congressional action. Connor’s Law also follows executive orders by President Donald Trump making English the official language of the US and ordering enforcement of truck driver ELP requirements. Similar legislation is moving through state legislatures, including bills with stiff penalties. Oklahoma Gov. Rick Stitt on Wednesday signed a bill into law that would impose a $3,000 fine on truck drivers that can’t meet US ELP requirements and jail time for repeat offenders. A similar law was enacted in Arkansas in April with fines of up to $1,000. Connor’s Law — named for Connor Dzion — is supported by the several trucking groups, including the Small Business in Trucking Coalition (SBTC), the Owner-Operator Independent Driver’s Association (OOIDA) and the American Trucking Associations (ATA), among others. Contact William B. Cassidy at bill.cassidy@spglobal.com .

Truckload

Congress, states join DOT targeting non-English-speaking truckers

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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

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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>

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Filling the Supply Chain Education Gap with LTL Education Courses

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