<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The Southern California mayors emphasized that their ports will remain competitive. </div>

The Southern California mayors emphasized that their ports will remain competitive.

<div>Long Beach mayor Robert Garcia, left, and Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti reaffirm their commitment to making port operations more environmentally sustainable.The mayors of Los Angeles and Long Beach this week reaffirmed the commitments of their ports to work toward adoption of zero-emission trucks and cargo-handling equipment and to further reduce pollution from vessels while continuing to grow the cargo base of the largest US port complex.This commitment to balance environmental sustainability with sound business practices, which has been an ongoing demand of port users and cargo owners, will be embodied in the latest version of the ports’ joint <a>Clean...

Long Beach mayor Robert Garcia, left, and Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti reaffirm their commitment to making port operations more environmentally sustainable. The mayors of Los Angeles and Long Beach this week reaffirmed the commitments of their ports to work toward adoption of zero-emission trucks and cargo-handling equipment and to further reduce pollution from vessels while continuing to grow the cargo base of the largest US port complex. This commitment to balance environmental sustainability with sound business practices, which has been an ongoing demand of port users and cargo owners, will be embodied in the latest version of the ports’ joint Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP) that should be finalized in November. “Our ports are the engines that power our economy. They must also be the forces that drive our region toward a greener, more sustainable future,” Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti said Monday when the two cities signed a joint declaration. “With the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach ranked as the nation’s two largest ports, it is crucial to double down on our commitment to combatting climate change by achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement and by committing to zero emissions goals for the Clean Air Action Plan,” said Long Beach mayor Robert Garcia. The mayors’ joint declaration came as Los Angeles and Long Beach are finalizing the third iteration of their landmark CAAP that was adopted in 2006 and updated in 2010. Port staff since late last year has been holding public meetings and gathering written comments from stakeholders and local communities on the final version of CAAP 3.0. Port staff intends to deliver the final version in November to the two harbor commissions for adoption, Rick Cameron, managing director of planning and environmental affairs at the Port of Long Beach, said Tuesday. The Southern California mayors emphasized that their ports will remain competitive despite the recent action by the Trump administration to pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement , which has been adopted by almost 200 nations with input from many of the world’s top climatologists and the backing of the world’s leading and largest corporations. Cameron said that achieving a balance between environmental sustainability and cargo growth is crucial to the competitive position of the Southern California ports. “We don’t want to be the outlier,” he said. However, all ports at their state and local levels contend with the same pollution and health-risk issues that face Los Angeles-Long Beach, so they are also under pressure to reduce harmful emissions from port operations. In this latest revision of CAAP, the two greatest areas of concentration are trucks and cargo-handling equipment, where zero- and near-zero emission technologies have advanced the furthest. The ports’ clean-truck programs, which mandate the use of 2007 or newer model trucks, have reduced emissions by more than 90 percent compared with the pre-2007 model year trucks that formerly dominated harbor haulage and are still in widespread use at many other US ports. CAAP 3.0 intends to promote a zero-emission drayage fleet by 2035 as electric and battery-power technology is developed. The ports also intend to implement similar technology for cargo-handling equipment. As the Middle Harbor terminal in Long Beach and the TraPac terminal in Los Angeles complete their automation projects over the next two years, they will approach zero-emissions with their electric cargo-handling equipment. Automation is quite costly, however, so the ports are working with technology providers as they develop zero- and near-zero emission equipment for non-automated terminals, Cameron said. The ports have significantly reduced emissions from vessels at berth through mandatory electric plug-in technology (cold-ironing), and vessels in transit through slow-steaming requirements within coastal waters. Emissions from vessels in transit during the long voyages from Asia and other markets to the United States are being addressed by the low-sulfur fuel requirements of the International Maritime Organization that will take effect in 2020. Since those regulations are international in scope, the competitiveness of the Southern California ports will not be affected, he said. Cameron noted that the ports are also working to comply with regulatory requirements affecting freight transportation developed by the South Coast Air Quality Management District and the California Air Resources Board. The ports will also ensure that their stakeholders have access to any grants and other financial incentives that are available at the state level to foster compliance with California regulations, he said. Likewise, the ports continue to promote innovations through the technology advancement program under the CAAP, which provides financial assistance for development and testing of technologies that reduce emissions. Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at bill.mongelluzzo@ihsmarkit.com and follow him on Twitter: @billmongelluzzo .

North American ports

LA, Long Beach double down on clean ports goal

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Paul Bird will be the next chief executive of the Montreal Port Authority as the gateway looks to his infrastructure expertise amid a major expansion project.</div>

Paul Bird will be the next chief executive of the Montreal Port Authority as the gateway looks to his infrastructure expertise amid a major expansion project.

Feature image

<div class="phx-topic">The Port of Montreal is bringing back former commercial officer Paul Bird as its new chief executive, citing his experience with large-scale projects as the port embarks on its biggest expansion ever. The Montreal Port Authority said in a statement Friday that Bird will take over as president and chief executive on June 8. Bird, who had been with the MPA since June 2020, had left to pursue new professional opportunities, the MPA said in March. Much of Bird’s previous tenure at the MPA involved helping shepherd through development of the Contrecoeur marine terminal project, which <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/montreal-expands-to-handle-container-growth-5212062">had been proposed back in 2015</a>. It faced several delays <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/montreal-relaunches-search-process-for-contrecoeur-terminal-operator-5204826">as the port faced difficulties in finding operating partners</a> willing to help finance the project. The MPA has since <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/montreal-port-gets-federal-funds-for-mega-terminal-after-operators-balk-at-risk-5222977">agreed to handle the underwater work at Contrecoeur</a>, with the help of <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/quebec-provides-new-funding-for-proposed-montreal-terminal-citing-us-trade-tensions-5947783">government funding</a> and a recently secured C$1.16 billion loan from the Canada Infrastructure Bank. Citing Bird’s previous experience with global steel producer ArcelorMittal, the MPA said it was important to have someone with infrastructure experience to develop Contrecoeur, expected to come online in 2030. “Building on significant achievements during his six years at the Port of Montreal, (Bird) is fully committed to contributing actively to the commissioning of the Contrecoeur terminal and to the continued development of new markets,” Nathalie Pilon, chair of the MPA’s board of directors, said in the statement. Contact Michael Angell at <a href="mailto:michael.angell@spglobal.com">michael.angell@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

The Port of Montreal is bringing back former commercial officer Paul Bird as its new chief executive, citing his experience with large-scale projects as the port embarks on its biggest expansion ever. The Montreal Port Authority said in a statement Friday that Bird will take over as president and chief executive on June 8. Bird, who had been with the MPA since June 2020, had left to pursue new professional opportunities, the MPA said in March. Much of Bird’s previous tenure at the MPA involved helping shepherd through development of the Contrecoeur marine terminal project, which had been proposed back in 2015 . It faced several delays as the port faced difficulties in finding operating partners willing to help finance the project. The MPA has since agreed to handle the underwater work at Contrecoeur , with the help of government funding and a recently secured C$1.16 billion loan from the Canada Infrastructure Bank. Citing Bird’s previous experience with global steel producer ArcelorMittal, the MPA said it was important to have someone with infrastructure experience to develop Contrecoeur, expected to come online in 2030. “Building on significant achievements during his six years at the Port of Montreal, (Bird) is fully committed to contributing actively to the commissioning of the Contrecoeur terminal and to the continued development of new markets,” Nathalie Pilon, chair of the MPA’s board of directors, said in the statement. Contact Michael Angell at michael.angell@spglobal.com .

Port News

Maritime

Port of Montreal’s former commercial chief to return as CEO

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Vancouver and Prince Rupert recorded solid year-over-year gains in the eastbound trans-Pacific as they focused on improving their intermodal efficiency to the interior of Canada and the US.</div>

Vancouver and Prince Rupert recorded solid year-over-year gains in the eastbound trans-Pacific as they focused on improving their intermodal efficiency to the interior of Canada and the US.

<div class="phx-topic">The Western Canadian ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert are enhancing their presence in the Asia-North America trade by building on their intermodal advantages in serving the interior of North America, resulting in an increase in imports in the first quarter while their western US counterparts recorded a first-quarter import decline. Containerized imports moving through Vancouver in the first quarter increased 9% year over year, while imports in Prince Rupert grew 7.8%, according to data from Sea-Intelligence Maritime Analysis. Vancouver, Canada’s largest container gateway, serves both the interior of Canada and the US Midwest with direct inland point intermodal (IPI) service. The most obvious advantage this gives Vancouver over US West Coast ports is that “rail costs are significantly lower from Vancouver to the Midwest than from any US port,” Cliff Stewart, vice president of operations for the Vancouver-Fraser Port Authority, told the Journal of Commerce. The rail passage route through the Canadian Rockies to the North American interior is at a much lower altitude than through the US Rocky Mountains, Stewart explained. “It just takes a whole lot less fuel to move a train from Vancouver to Chicago than it does to move a train from either Los Angeles-Long Beach, Northern California or the Puget Sound area,” he said. The Trump administration’s tariffs that were levied on imports from Asia a year ago do not generally influence retailers on how to route their goods because importers must pay the tariffs regardless of whether the containers move through a US or Canadian port, Stewart said. But the tariffs do influence some retailers, namely big-box stores that have outlets in both countries. Those retailers had been shipping their Canadian-destined merchandise as a subcomponent of US shipments from common origins in Asia. The containers entered a US West Coast port, and then the Canadian freight was broken out and moved by truck into Canada. Those big box retailers are now choosing to ship their Canadian freight through Vancouver or Prince Rupert so the Canadian freight is not subject to a US duty, Stewart said. “There’s some repatriation of Canadian-destined cargo back to Canadian ports,” he acknowledged. <h3>US-destined import share declining </h3>That’s not to say that British Columbia ports are growing by focusing only on US-destined cargo. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. The port’s records show that US-destined imports as a percentage of Vancouver’s total import volumes have declined steadily from about 25% in 2010 to about 8% today, Stewart said. Rather, the BC ports are focusing even more on attracting import and export cargo to and from Canada’s interior. “Canada is certainly where the growth is coming from,” said Stewart. Still, some high-volume retailers and importers of high-value merchandise are saving money by shipping through the British Columbia ports to avoid other costs, such as the US Harbor Maintenance Tax, he said. Vancouver has also been attracting cargo destined for the Canadian interior that was moving through Montreal and Halifax before the <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/maersk-mulls-potential-red-sea-return-as-hopes-rise-over-us-iran-deal-6217039">attacks on vessels transiting the Red Sea began more than two years ago</a>, effectively closing the Suez routing and forcing shipowners to take the longer, costlier route around the southern tip of Africa. “It’s cheaper now to come through Vancouver and then rail it to central Canada,” Stewart said. Prince Rupert is likewise experiencing steady growth this year. “We have seen a sustained recovery in all imports compared to previous years,” the port authority said in a statement. This is especially true compared with the first quarter of 2025, when volumes were softer as reconfigured alliances and service strings affected carriers’ arrival schedules, the port said. Prince Rupert, which is also working to <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/prince-rupert-promoting-transload-operations-to-improve-logistics-efficiency-5937532">attract more export cargo as well as imports</a>, is developing an intermodal center close to the port to improve intermodal efficiency. The LinX facility is scheduled to open in 2027. <h3>Sharp declines in NWSA </h3>While Vancouver and Prince Rupert saw their import volumes increase in the first quarter, imports declined by 3.6% in Los Angeles, 5.6% in Long Beach, and 6.8% in Oakland, according to Sea-Intelligence. The Northwest Seaport Alliance of Seattle and Tacoma (NWSA) was especially hard-hit, with first-quarter imports declining 18% year over year. For more than a decade now, US West Coast ports have been losing market share of US imports from Asia to ports along the East and Gulf coasts, given their location closer to major population centers in the eastern half of the country where two-thirds of the US population resides. Still, that share can shift considerably from month to month based on market dynamics and seasonality. In March, the West Coast had a market share of 53.2% for US imports from Asia, with the East Coast at 37.8% and the Gulf Coast at 9%, according to PIERS, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global. For April, the shares had moved significantly, with the West Coast jumping to 61.9%, the East Coast falling to 30.5%, and the Gulf slipping to 7.6%. The West Coast’s share last month was the highest since last June. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="14122523-b515-4dea-a851-1389ef954bcd"></dynamic-object></div>Competition among US West Coast ports for imports from Asia has become a battle of internal competition, with Los Angeles-Long Beach capitalizing on the steep losses in the NWSA, said Mike Jacob, president of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association (PMSA). PMSA represents shipping lines and USWC terminal operators on regulatory issues. “You’re looking at an amazing amount of consolidation in Southern California,” Jacob told the Journal of Commerce. Carriers and railroads seek density in freight volumes. Carriers continue to deploy the bulk of their assets in Southern California, which has not only a much larger local population, but also offers intermodal services to most regions to the east, including Dallas, Kansas City, Chicago, Columbus, and Atlanta. Intermodal services from the NWSA are limited primarily to Chicago and the Midwest, Jacob said. “LA-LB isn’t just attempting to claw back market share from the East and Gulf coast ports,” he said. “They’re at the same time consolidating volumes from across the entire West Coast.” In order to stem its loss of cargo and return to growth, Jacob believes the NWSA must double down on its investments in intermodal infrastructure and focus on promoting more efficient, lower-cost IPI service. For its part, the NWSA said it is taking PMSA’s admonition to invest in infrastructure and intermodal efficiency seriously. “The market share trends PMSA has documented are real and we are investing accordingly — in terminal infrastructure, increased intermodal efficiency and aggressive efforts to attract and retain services,” the NWSA said in a statement to the Journal of Commerce. “We are not complacent about our long-term competitive position and instead are doubling down on our best-in-class service and port investment.” Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at <a href="mailto:bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com">bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

The Western Canadian ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert are enhancing their presence in the Asia-North America trade by building on their intermodal advantages in serving the interior of North America, resulting in an increase in imports in the first quarter while their western US counterparts recorded a first-quarter import decline. Containerized imports moving through Vancouver in the first quarter increased 9% year over year, while imports in Prince Rupert grew 7.8%, according to data from Sea-Intelligence Maritime Analysis. Vancouver, Canada’s largest container gateway, serves both the interior of Canada and the US Midwest with direct inland point intermodal (IPI) service. The most obvious advantage this gives Vancouver over US West Coast ports is that “rail costs are significantly lower from Vancouver to the Midwest than from any US port,” Cliff Stewart, vice president of operations for the Vancouver-Fraser Port Authority, told the Journal of Commerce. The rail passage route through the Canadian Rockies to the North American interior is at a much lower altitude than through the US Rocky Mountains, Stewart explained. “It just takes a whole lot less fuel to move a train from Vancouver to Chicago than it does to move a train from either Los Angeles-Long Beach, Northern California or the Puget Sound area,” he said. The Trump administration’s tariffs that were levied on imports from Asia a year ago do not generally influence retailers on how to route their goods because importers must pay the tariffs regardless of whether the containers move through a US or Canadian port, Stewart said. But the tariffs do influence some retailers, namely big-box stores that have outlets in both countries. Those retailers had been shipping their Canadian-destined merchandise as a subcomponent of US shipments from common origins in Asia. The containers entered a US West Coast port, and then the Canadian freight was broken out and moved by truck into Canada. Those big box retailers are now choosing to ship their Canadian freight through Vancouver or Prince Rupert so the Canadian freight is not subject to a US duty, Stewart said. “There’s some repatriation of Canadian-destined cargo back to Canadian ports,” he acknowledged. US-destined import share declining That’s not to say that British Columbia ports are growing by focusing only on US-destined cargo. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. The port’s records show that US-destined imports as a percentage of Vancouver’s total import volumes have declined steadily from about 25% in 2010 to about 8% today, Stewart said. Rather, the BC ports are focusing even more on attracting import and export cargo to and from Canada’s interior. “Canada is certainly where the growth is coming from,” said Stewart. Still, some high-volume retailers and importers of high-value merchandise are saving money by shipping through the British Columbia ports to avoid other costs, such as the US Harbor Maintenance Tax, he said. Vancouver has also been attracting cargo destined for the Canadian interior that was moving through Montreal and Halifax before the attacks on vessels transiting the Red Sea began more than two years ago , effectively closing the Suez routing and forcing shipowners to take the longer, costlier route around the southern tip of Africa. “It’s cheaper now to come through Vancouver and then rail it to central Canada,” Stewart said. Prince Rupert is likewise experiencing steady growth this year. “We have seen a sustained recovery in all imports compared to previous years,” the port authority said in a statement. This is especially true compared with the first quarter of 2025, when volumes were softer as reconfigured alliances and service strings affected carriers’ arrival schedules, the port said. Prince Rupert, which is also working to attract more export cargo as well as imports , is developing an intermodal center close to the port to improve intermodal efficiency. The LinX facility is scheduled to open in 2027. Sharp declines in NWSA While Vancouver and Prince Rupert saw their import volumes increase in the first quarter, imports declined by 3.6% in Los Angeles, 5.6% in Long Beach, and 6.8% in Oakland, according to Sea-Intelligence. The Northwest Seaport Alliance of Seattle and Tacoma (NWSA) was especially hard-hit, with first-quarter imports declining 18% year over year. For more than a decade now, US West Coast ports have been losing market share of US imports from Asia to ports along the East and Gulf coasts, given their location closer to major population centers in the eastern half of the country where two-thirds of the US population resides. Still, that share can shift considerably from month to month based on market dynamics and seasonality. In March, the West Coast had a market share of 53.2% for US imports from Asia, with the East Coast at 37.8% and the Gulf Coast at 9%, according to PIERS, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global. For April, the shares had moved significantly, with the West Coast jumping to 61.9%, the East Coast falling to 30.5%, and the Gulf slipping to 7.6%. The West Coast’s share last month was the highest since last June. Competition among US West Coast ports for imports from Asia has become a battle of internal competition, with Los Angeles-Long Beach capitalizing on the steep losses in the NWSA, said Mike Jacob, president of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association (PMSA). PMSA represents shipping lines and USWC terminal operators on regulatory issues. “You’re looking at an amazing amount of consolidation in Southern California,” Jacob told the Journal of Commerce. Carriers and railroads seek density in freight volumes. Carriers continue to deploy the bulk of their assets in Southern California, which has not only a much larger local population, but also offers intermodal services to most regions to the east, including Dallas, Kansas City, Chicago, Columbus, and Atlanta. Intermodal services from the NWSA are limited primarily to Chicago and the Midwest, Jacob said. “LA-LB isn’t just attempting to claw back market share from the East and Gulf coast ports,” he said. “They’re at the same time consolidating volumes from across the entire West Coast.” In order to stem its loss of cargo and return to growth, Jacob believes the NWSA must double down on its investments in intermodal infrastructure and focus on promoting more efficient, lower-cost IPI service. For its part, the NWSA said it is taking PMSA’s admonition to invest in infrastructure and intermodal efficiency seriously. “The market share trends PMSA has documented are real and we are investing accordingly — in terminal infrastructure, increased intermodal efficiency and aggressive efforts to attract and retain services,” the NWSA said in a statement to the Journal of Commerce. “We are not complacent about our long-term competitive position and instead are doubling down on our best-in-class service and port investment.” Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at  bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com .

Rail News

Surface

North-American rail

Intermodal providers

Western Canadian ports push IPI advantage to grow Q1 imports from Asia

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">New legislation passed by the US House will help fight cargo crime, but theft prevention starts with identity verification, experts told a Journal of Commerce webcast.</div>

New legislation passed by the US House will help fight cargo crime, but theft prevention starts with identity verification, experts told a Journal of Commerce webcast.

<div class="phx-topic">Logistics groups and executives are welcoming federal legislation that would help combat cargo crime, but warn that new laws are no “silver bullet” in the battle for supply chain security. Speakers on a Journal of Commerce webcast this week emphasized the need for freight shippers and brokers to verify the identities of truck drivers and motor carriers. Proactive verification of identities is a key step toward preventing cargo crime in the first place, before a theft takes place and law enforcement becomes involved, they said. “We’ve seen a lot of investment in carrier onboarding, and we haven’t seen as much on driver verification until recently,” Aqil Naeem, co-founder and CEO of technology company E3 Group, said during the webcast. His company launched a driver verification system last month. “There are really three tiers to the ID of anyone picking up a load: the dispatcher, the carrier and the actual driver,” Naeem said. “It would be a mistake to focus only on one layer.” Naeem spoke after the US House of Representatives easily <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2853">passed the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA) of 2025</a> on Tuesday. The bill would make it easier for federal and state authorities to prosecute cargo crimes. CORCA, which now goes before the Senate Judiciary Committee, would also establish a supply chain crime response center within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). That could foster greater coordination among federal and state agencies. “It’s a significant step in the right direction,” Jeff Tucker, CEO of logistics provider Tucker Company Worldwide, told the Journal of Commerce webcast. “The proof is going to be in the execution. What will the coordination look like?” <h3>Supreme Court ruling raises stakes </h3>On Thursday, the US Supreme Court ruled that federal law does not <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/knight-swift-making-safety-related-cuts-to-brokerage-fleet-6210440">automatically shield freight brokers</a> from accident lawsuits alleging they hired unsafe motor carriers. The unanimous decision in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II is expected to focus more attention on verification and vetting throughout the supply chain, starting with brokers. That has implications for cargo security, as well as highway safety. “Brokers are best positioned to detect anomalies,” said Naeem. “But you can’t just point your finger exclusively at brokers if something goes wrong.” Fraud permeates every link in the supply chain, according to Tucker. “To suggest this issue is a broker problem is missing a huge point,” he said. “There’s fraud happening at the broker, carrier and shipper level. We recently experienced a fraudulent shipper, an imposter. Bad actors are trying to find a weak link.” Many brokers already go far beyond federal requirements when it comes to carrier vetting. Shippers are demanding greater security, Tucker said. “We had one recent RFP [request for proposal] which had 70 questions about our technology,” he said. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/knight-swift-making-safety-related-cuts-to-brokerage-fleet-6210440">made deep cuts</a> in its pool of third-party brokerage carriers in the first quarter, targeting businesses that company officials said may be unsafe. Identifying and monitoring who is driving a brokered truck is a real challenge for brokers and shippers, Knight-Swift CEO Adam Miller said. “We’re anticipating that our customers are going to start being more concerned about this as this becomes more of a relevant issue,” he said. “We’re already seeing that.” Greater coordination, not just among agencies but among supply chain partners, is crucial, said Keith Lewis, vice president of operations at CargoNet, a Verisk company. “This is not a broker issue. This is an everybody involved in the supply chain issue,” Lewis said during the webcast. “Don’t look at the government as a silver bullet,” he added. “We already have cargo theft laws on the books. We need money to pay for enforcement.” Contact William B. Cassidy at <a href="mailto:bill.cassidy@spglobal.com">bill.cassidy@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

Logistics groups and executives are welcoming federal legislation that would help combat cargo crime, but warn that new laws are no “silver bullet” in the battle for supply chain security. Speakers on a Journal of Commerce webcast this week emphasized the need for freight shippers and brokers to verify the identities of truck drivers and motor carriers. Proactive verification of identities is a key step toward preventing cargo crime in the first place, before a theft takes place and law enforcement becomes involved, they said. “We’ve seen a lot of investment in carrier onboarding, and we haven’t seen as much on driver verification until recently,” Aqil Naeem, co-founder and CEO of technology company E3 Group, said during the webcast. His company launched a driver verification system last month. “There are really three tiers to the ID of anyone picking up a load: the dispatcher, the carrier and the actual driver,” Naeem said. “It would be a mistake to focus only on one layer.” Naeem spoke after the US House of Representatives easily passed the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA) of 2025 on Tuesday. The bill would make it easier for federal and state authorities to prosecute cargo crimes. CORCA, which now goes before the Senate Judiciary Committee, would also establish a supply chain crime response center within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). That could foster greater coordination among federal and state agencies. “It’s a significant step in the right direction,” Jeff Tucker, CEO of logistics provider Tucker Company Worldwide, told the Journal of Commerce webcast. “The proof is going to be in the execution. What will the coordination look like?” Supreme Court ruling raises stakes On Thursday, the US Supreme Court ruled that federal law does not automatically shield freight brokers from accident lawsuits alleging they hired unsafe motor carriers. The unanimous decision in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II is expected to focus more attention on verification and vetting throughout the supply chain, starting with brokers. That has implications for cargo security, as well as highway safety. “Brokers are best positioned to detect anomalies,” said Naeem. “But you can’t just point your finger exclusively at brokers if something goes wrong.” Fraud permeates every link in the supply chain, according to Tucker. “To suggest this issue is a broker problem is missing a huge point,” he said. “There’s fraud happening at the broker, carrier and shipper level. We recently experienced a fraudulent shipper, an imposter. Bad actors are trying to find a weak link.” Many brokers already go far beyond federal requirements when it comes to carrier vetting. Shippers are demanding greater security, Tucker said. “We had one recent RFP [request for proposal] which had 70 questions about our technology,” he said. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings made deep cuts in its pool of third-party brokerage carriers in the first quarter, targeting businesses that company officials said may be unsafe. Identifying and monitoring who is driving a brokered truck is a real challenge for brokers and shippers, Knight-Swift CEO Adam Miller said. “We’re anticipating that our customers are going to start being more concerned about this as this becomes more of a relevant issue,” he said. “We’re already seeing that.” Greater coordination, not just among agencies but among supply chain partners, is crucial, said Keith Lewis, vice president of operations at CargoNet, a Verisk company. “This is not a broker issue. This is an everybody involved in the supply chain issue,” Lewis said during the webcast. “Don’t look at the government as a silver bullet,” he added. “We already have cargo theft laws on the books. We need money to pay for enforcement.” Contact William B. Cassidy at bill.cassidy@spglobal.com .

Trucking News

Transport, Trade and Regulation News

Truck brokers

Trucking labor

Supply chain

Verify supply chain IDs, starting with drivers: logistics experts

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">SC Ports’ board of directors voted Friday to approve a design project to determine how to convert part of a 210-acre parcel next to the North Charleston Terminal into a car carrier operation. </div>

SC Ports’ board of directors voted Friday to approve a design project to determine how to convert part of a 210-acre parcel next to the North Charleston Terminal into a car carrier operation.

<div class="phx-topic">The Port of Charleston wants to convert land previously set aside for containers at its northern marine terminal into a car carrier operation, a move the port says better aligns with the state’s major shippers and helps it more quickly monetize its physical assets. The board of directors for the South Carolina Ports Authority (SC Ports) voted Friday to approve a design project to determine how to convert part of a 210-acre parcel next to the North Charleston Terminal into a roll-on/roll-off (ro/ro) operation. <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/sc-ports-lands-deal-seeks-to-make-north-charleston-ready-for-bigger-ships-5244603">The site of the former WestRock paper mill was purchased in 2024</a> by SC Ports for $105 million. The parcel would have doubled the current footprint of the North Charleston Terminal, the smallest of SC Ports’ three container terminals and home mostly to its north-south and trans-Atlantic services. The total WestRock site was expected to bring North Charleston Terminal to 5 million TEUs in capacity. SC Ports said in a statement following the vote that it still expects to bring North Charleston Terminal to 3.4 million TEU, but that will require a bridge raising. In the interim, the move positions Charleston to better serve the state’s automotive manufacturers, which include BMW, Mercedes, and Volvo, SC Ports said. “We made a commitment to the market and board and all our stakeholders that we would focus our infrastructure and capital spending on immediate revenue-generating opportunities,” SC Ports Chief Executive Micah Mallace told the Journal of Commerce Friday. “We want to use the full extent of our real estate portfolio to generate new business.” The design contract will consider how much of the parcel will be devoted to ro/ro cargo, including upgraded tracks for autorack rail cars. SC Ports said it expects the design and demolition process to occur this summer. Initial construction on the site could start in January 2027, with a goal of 2028 completion. At his first state of the port address last October, Mallace said Charleston needs to get “<a href="https://www.joc.com/article/new-charleston-ceo-seeks-to-regain-container-growth-momentum-6104583">extra aggressive</a>” in the types of services it offers customers after it <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/charleston-looking-for-retailer-shippers-to-revive-ports-growth-6199290">lost market share in container freight</a> and as <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/charleston-slows-railyard-development-amid-insufficient-shipper-demand-6164158">it grapples with previous capital spending decisions</a> that have left the port looking for a faster return on its investments. While the expansion of the North Charleston Terminal for ultra-large container ships would require raising the Don Holt Bridge spanning the Cooper River, car carriers would be able to reach the terminal with the bridge’s current clearance. SC Ports’ fiscal 2025 financial report shows the port had 705 acres of undeveloped land at its various terminals and inland ports. <h3>Columbus terminal will be freed up </h3>The move to develop a ro/ro site would provide more room at SC Ports’ Columbus Street Terminal, which primarily handles the port’s ro/ro and breakbulk cargo, which accounted for $24.4 million in SC Ports’ operating revenue for fiscal 2025, a little under 6% of total revenue. Columbus Street handled 165,949 vehicles in fiscal 2025, down 21% from the year prior. Hurricane Debby hit Charleston in August 2024, causing flooding throughout its downtown, including the Columbus Street terminal, which sits at the convergence of the Cooper and Wando rivers in Charleston harbor. SC Ports said in its fiscal 2025 financial statement that BMW filed a claim for flood damage during the storm. Contact Michael Angell at <a href="mailto:michael.angell@spglobal.com">michael.angell@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

The Port of Charleston wants to convert land previously set aside for containers at its northern marine terminal into a car carrier operation, a move the port says better aligns with the state’s major shippers and helps it more quickly monetize its physical assets. The board of directors for the South Carolina Ports Authority (SC Ports) voted Friday to approve a design project to determine how to convert part of a 210-acre parcel next to the North Charleston Terminal into a roll-on/roll-off (ro/ro) operation. The site of the former WestRock paper mill was purchased in 2024 by SC Ports for $105 million. The parcel would have doubled the current footprint of the North Charleston Terminal, the smallest of SC Ports’ three container terminals and home mostly to its north-south and trans-Atlantic services. The total WestRock site was expected to bring North Charleston Terminal to 5 million TEUs in capacity. SC Ports said in a statement following the vote that it still expects to bring North Charleston Terminal to 3.4 million TEU, but that will require a bridge raising. In the interim, the move positions Charleston to better serve the state’s automotive manufacturers, which include BMW, Mercedes, and Volvo, SC Ports said. “We made a commitment to the market and board and all our stakeholders that we would focus our infrastructure and capital spending on immediate revenue-generating opportunities,” SC Ports Chief Executive Micah Mallace told the Journal of Commerce Friday. “We want to use the full extent of our real estate portfolio to generate new business.” The design contract will consider how much of the parcel will be devoted to ro/ro cargo, including upgraded tracks for autorack rail cars. SC Ports said it expects the design and demolition process to occur this summer. Initial construction on the site could start in January 2027, with a goal of 2028 completion. At his first state of the port address last October, Mallace said Charleston needs to get “ extra aggressive ” in the types of services it offers customers after it lost market share in container freight and as it grapples with previous capital spending decisions that have left the port looking for a faster return on its investments. While the expansion of the North Charleston Terminal for ultra-large container ships would require raising the Don Holt Bridge spanning the Cooper River, car carriers would be able to reach the terminal with the bridge’s current clearance. SC Ports’ fiscal 2025 financial report shows the port had 705 acres of undeveloped land at its various terminals and inland ports. Columbus terminal will be freed up The move to develop a ro/ro site would provide more room at SC Ports’ Columbus Street Terminal, which primarily handles the port’s ro/ro and breakbulk cargo, which accounted for $24.4 million in SC Ports’ operating revenue for fiscal 2025, a little under 6% of total revenue. Columbus Street handled 165,949 vehicles in fiscal 2025, down 21% from the year prior. Hurricane Debby hit Charleston in August 2024, causing flooding throughout its downtown, including the Columbus Street terminal, which sits at the convergence of the Cooper and Wando rivers in Charleston harbor. SC Ports said in its fiscal 2025 financial statement that BMW filed a claim for flood damage during the storm. Contact Michael Angell at michael.angell@spglobal.com .

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<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The answer to emissions-cutting challenges facing the shipping industry cannot be overlapping regional measures or conflicting systems, Soren Toft told supply chain executives gathered at the IMO. </div>

The answer to emissions-cutting challenges facing the shipping industry cannot be overlapping regional measures or conflicting systems, Soren Toft told supply chain executives gathered at the IMO.

<div class="phx-topic">Decarbonizing shipping will require a global regulatory approach through the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and not a patchwork of overlapping regional measures, Mediterranean Shipping Co. CEO Soren Toft said Thursday. Addressing a gathering of supply chain executives at an IMO-hosted celebration in London of the World Shipping Council’s (WSC’s) 25th anniversary, Toft — who is also chairman of the WSC — said the central role of the IMO was global and that it “works best with global rules.” “We know there’s a challenge of decarbonization and growing pressure on supply chains,” he said. “These things need attention, and the answer to these challenges cannot be overlapping regional measures or conflicting systems.” Toft’s pointed remarks come as the IMO struggles to get its net-zero framework (NZF) adopted by member states. Regulatory uncertainty reached a head last October when the IMO decided to <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/imo-punts-on-pivotal-net-zero-shipping-regulation-6099141">postpone the adoption of its global NZF</a> for a year following robust US-led opposition to the proposed pricing and fuel intensity measures. US opposition remains unchanged, particularly with regard to the core pricing mechanism within the NZF. Washington’s anti-NZF position was reinforced <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/fmcs-dibella-brings-anti-net-zero-message-to-imo-london-meeting-6210952">two weeks ago</a> at the 84th meeting of the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 84) in London. The pricing measure is crucial and will involve a global greenhouse gas fuel standard coupled with a penalty or contribution system that will make cleaner shipping fuels economically viable while ensuring strict enforcement. Contributions paid by ships that exceed their emissions limits would be directed into the IMO Net-Zero Fund that will be redistributed as financial rewards to vessels using low-emission fuels, offsetting the cost gap. Getting the NZF adopted at MEPC 85 this November will provide the regulatory certainty ocean carriers and fuel producers need to invest the huge sums necessary to decarbonize the shipping industry. That responsibility lies with IMO member states, Toft said in his IMO address. “We, and ultimately our clients, need predictability and consistency,” he said. “We need the help of all of you to agree on practical global measures to achieve net-zero objectives, support large scale deployment of alternative fuels, and we also need you to enforce international maritime regulations in a harmonized way.” <h3>Uncertain regulatory environment </h3>Despite uncertainties caused by the IMO’s decision to delay the adoption of its NZF, the container shipping industry has continued to invest heavily in dual-fuel vessels and bunkering infrastructure. “We’ve taken a very meaningful step towards making the world greener in the future, [and] that is without knowing exactly what fuels and what frameworks we are navigating towards,” Toft told attendees at IMO headquarters. Of the 12.2 million TEUs of capacity currently on order, 6.4 million TEUs are for LNG dual-fuel ships and 1.7 million are dual-fuel methanol vessels, according to Sea-web, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="433a666c-6023-4455-9d17-30b982f4835b"></dynamic-object></div>In his address to the gathering, Arsenio Dominguez, the IMO’s secretary-general, acknowledged the difficult position faced by carriers in such an uncertain regulatory environment. “In representing this part of the sector, the World Shipping Council is also moving ahead with decarbonization, taking forward the orders of vessels that are tentatively fuel-ready,” he said. “I can’t give you the answer [on what fuels to choose] ... we decided to be agnostic in that respect,” Dominguez added. “But I’m sure that with the feedback we continue to receive from you, it will allow us to not only progress our regulatory process, but to improve the quality of our regulations. And trust me, if there’s one area of work that we will continue to work on, it’s the harmonized implementation of IMO rules.” Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Decarbonizing shipping will require a global regulatory approach through the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and not a patchwork of overlapping regional measures, Mediterranean Shipping Co. CEO Soren Toft said Thursday. Addressing a gathering of supply chain executives at an IMO-hosted celebration in London of the World Shipping Council’s (WSC’s) 25th anniversary, Toft — who is also chairman of the WSC — said the central role of the IMO was global and that it “works best with global rules.” “We know there’s a challenge of decarbonization and growing pressure on supply chains,” he said. “These things need attention, and the answer to these challenges cannot be overlapping regional measures or conflicting systems.” Toft’s pointed remarks come as the IMO struggles to get its net-zero framework (NZF) adopted by member states. Regulatory uncertainty reached a head last October when the IMO decided to postpone the adoption of its global NZF for a year following robust US-led opposition to the proposed pricing and fuel intensity measures. US opposition remains unchanged, particularly with regard to the core pricing mechanism within the NZF. Washington’s anti-NZF position was reinforced two weeks ago at the 84th meeting of the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 84) in London. The pricing measure is crucial and will involve a global greenhouse gas fuel standard coupled with a penalty or contribution system that will make cleaner shipping fuels economically viable while ensuring strict enforcement. Contributions paid by ships that exceed their emissions limits would be directed into the IMO Net-Zero Fund that will be redistributed as financial rewards to vessels using low-emission fuels, offsetting the cost gap. Getting the NZF adopted at MEPC 85 this November will provide the regulatory certainty ocean carriers and fuel producers need to invest the huge sums necessary to decarbonize the shipping industry. That responsibility lies with IMO member states, Toft said in his IMO address. “We, and ultimately our clients, need predictability and consistency,” he said. “We need the help of all of you to agree on practical global measures to achieve net-zero objectives, support large scale deployment of alternative fuels, and we also need you to enforce international maritime regulations in a harmonized way.” Uncertain regulatory environment Despite uncertainties caused by the IMO’s decision to delay the adoption of its NZF, the container shipping industry has continued to invest heavily in dual-fuel vessels and bunkering infrastructure. “We’ve taken a very meaningful step towards making the world greener in the future, [and] that is without knowing exactly what fuels and what frameworks we are navigating towards,” Toft told attendees at IMO headquarters. Of the 12.2 million TEUs of capacity currently on order, 6.4 million TEUs are for LNG dual-fuel ships and 1.7 million are dual-fuel methanol vessels, according to Sea-web, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global. In his address to the gathering, Arsenio Dominguez, the IMO’s secretary-general, acknowledged the difficult position faced by carriers in such an uncertain regulatory environment. “In representing this part of the sector, the World Shipping Council is also moving ahead with decarbonization, taking forward the orders of vessels that are tentatively fuel-ready,” he said. “I can’t give you the answer [on what fuels to choose] ... we decided to be agnostic in that respect,” Dominguez added. “But I’m sure that with the feedback we continue to receive from you, it will allow us to not only progress our regulatory process, but to improve the quality of our regulations. And trust me, if there’s one area of work that we will continue to work on, it’s the harmonized implementation of IMO rules.” Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

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