<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Motor carriers are adopting natural gas as one of the fuels of choice for their fleets because it makes financial sense, truck manufacturers told the Alternative Clean Transportation Expo in Long Beac</div>

Motor carriers are adopting natural gas as one of the fuels of choice for their fleets because it makes financial sense, truck manufacturers told the Alternative Clean Transportation Expo in Long Beac

<div>Motor carriers are adopting natural gas as one of the fuels of choice for their fleets because it makes financial sense, truck manufacturers told the Alternative Clean Transportation Expo in Long Beach.&amp;ldquo;These are exciting times for natural gas,&amp;rdquo; said Andy Douglas, national sales manager at Kenworth Truck Co., &amp;ldquo;and Long Beach is where it all started,&amp;rdquo; he said.The clean-truck programs launched by the neighboring ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in 2008 encouraged the use of heavy-duty trucks powered by compressed natural gas and liquefied natural gas. Modern trucks powered by CNG and LNG produce a significant reduction in...

Motor carriers are adopting natural gas as one of the fuels of choice for their fleets because it makes financial sense, truck manufacturers told the Alternative Clean Transportation Expo in Long Beach. &ldquo;These are exciting times for natural gas,&rdquo; said Andy Douglas, national sales manager at Kenworth Truck Co., &ldquo;and Long Beach is where it all started,&rdquo; he said. The clean-truck programs launched by the neighboring ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in 2008 encouraged the use of heavy-duty trucks powered by compressed natural gas and liquefied natural gas. Modern trucks powered by CNG and LNG produce a significant reduction in pollution compared to older vehicles that run on diesel fuel. The clean-truck plans mandated the rapid replacement of old trucks with 2007 model year or newer trucks powered either by clean diesel or natural gas. The ports earlier this year reported that truck pollution in Los Angeles-Long Beach harbor has been slashed by about 90 percent from the 2005 baseline year. Although natural-gas powered trucks represent a small percentage of the total national truck fleet because the trucks are more costly and the nation lacks an extensive natural gas fueling infrastructure, a convergence of factors indicates the use of natural gas will accelerate. The main reason why natural gas is becoming popular is the declining price of gas compared to diesel. Development of shale deposits in the U.S. has produced a glut of natural gas , sending the price down to about half of the price of diesel. &ldquo;The fuel price differential keeps getting better,&rdquo; said Brian Daniels, product manager, powertrain, at Daimler Trucks North America. Furthermore, natural gas suppliers are expanding the fueling infrastructure along major highways. What started as a fueling infrastructure serving the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach is becoming a national network that will serve many busy truck corridors. Within two years, the natural gas infrastructure in many corridors will resemble what Southern California looks today, Douglas said. Heavy-duty trucks powered by natural gas retain most of the same truck parts found in diesel-powered vehicles. The big difference, Douglas said, is in the fuel tanks, which tend to be larger and heavier. Large retailers and third-party logistics providers are urging motor carriers to incorporate more natural gas trucks into their fleets. Retailers are then able to use the carbon emissions reductions in their corporate responsibility marketing efforts. Douglas said that in the future possibly 10 percent of annual heavy-duty truck sales will be natural gas-powered vehicles. Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at bmongelluzzo@joc.com . Follow him on Twitter @billmongelluzzo .

Truckload

Motor Carriers Turn to Natural Gas as Fuel

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">To achieve the promised 95% on-time performance, J.B. Hunt will require a strong collaboration with BNSF Railway and Grupo México Transportes (Ferromex) to navigate challenges in cross-border rail.</div>

To achieve the promised 95% on-time performance, J.B. Hunt will require a strong collaboration with BNSF Railway and Grupo México Transportes (Ferromex) to navigate challenges in cross-border rail.

Feature image

<div class="phx-topic">J.B. Hunt Transport Services, BNSF Railway and Mexican rail operator GTX are launching a cross-border intermodal service pledging at least 95% on-time performance, underscoring rising demand for truck-like dependable intermodal service from Mexico to the US. The Quantum de Mexico service was launched Friday, starting with the formal process of reaching out to current and potential shippers, gauging interest and their delivery standards. It’s a process that could take a few months to complete, the company said. The 95% on-time guarantee will be measured differently based on criteria established with each shipper, but in general J.B. Hunt will deliver cargo within a delivery window, much like a window a homeowner might see waiting for a plumber or HVAC technician. “Each standard operating procedure for Quantum de Mexico will be tailored to the customer,” said Spencer Frazier, executive vice president of sales and marketing at J.B. Hunt. “We will design the service based on customer needs at point of delivery.” The Quantum de Mexico service — based on the US Quantum service launched by J.B. Hunt and BNSF in 2023 — will connect Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Monterrey to Chicago, Dallas, and parts of the US West Coast and East Coast which have yet to be named. Quantum de Mexico will fuel rising competition for cross-border freight, both in intermodal and trucking markets. On the rails, Quantum will compete with Union Pacific Railroad’s Falcon Premium and Canadian Pacific Kansas City’s (CPKC) Mexico Midwest Express. J.B. Hunt’s direct competitors are Hub Group and Schneider National. Hub Group has partnered with UP’s Falcon Premium and launched a <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/hub-group-boosts-cross-border-business-in-jv-with-mexican-dray-carrier-5745355">joint venture</a> with Mexican drayage provider Easo. Schneider is the primary customer of CPKC’s cross-border services. The intermodal providers all compete with long-established truckload options. Trucking handles most of the cross-border freight with intermodal rail accounting for about 10% to 15% of dry freight business, according to the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The total number of trucks entering the US from Mexico increased 3.5% in 2024, rising to 7.6 million. Just eight border crossings handled 92.8% of those trucks. Those border crossings are a narrow funnel that is getting tighter as cross-border volumes rise. <h3>Where it gets complicated </h3>Shippers are looking for new solutions and ways to avoid delays and speed cross-border shipments, and time-sensitive intermodal, once a contradiction in terms, is now a real option, the J.B. Hunt, BNSF and GTX told the Journal of Commerce. “In Mexico, potential issues with over-the-road capacity and lack of infrastructure investment are driving our customer to say, ‘Hey, we need something different,” Frazier said in an interview. “It’s not just consistent capacity; it’s the high level of service.” The need for speed in replenishment and to avoid penalties for missing delivery deadlines continues to drive changes in supply chains, creating opportunities for services like Quantum, which will be up to one day faster than regular intermodal service. In the US, Quantum service is more expensive than regular intermodal but not as expensive as expedited trains. The nature of the US-Mexico border makes delivering 95% reliability significantly tougher than hitting such a target on US domestic moves. For example, Mexican regulations allow an electronic submission of customs documents, known as pedimentos, but also require a physical copy to be delivered. That requires a runner to hand over documents for a stamp before a container can be loaded or rejected. Additionally, customs offices are open 24 hours in Monterrey, but others in less populated cities close outside of standard business hours. Quantum de Mexico will set up processes with each customer to clear customs hurdles before freight is loaded, Frazier said. “We will have specific operational spots at GTX terminals (in Mexico) for Quantum shipments at a schedule dictated by the customer,” he said. “We will have someone from GTX in Fort Worth, Texas, for 24/7 oversight of Quantum shipments.” J.B. Hunt’s partnership with BNSF includes a co-located office in Fort Worth, Texas, where employees of both companies monitor Quantum loads 24 hours a day. Contact Ari Ashe at <a href="mailto:ari.ashe@spglobal.com">ari.ashe@spglobal.com</a>. Senior Editor William B. Cassidy contributed to this report. </div>

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, BNSF Railway and Mexican rail operator GTX are launching a cross-border intermodal service pledging at least 95% on-time performance, underscoring rising demand for truck-like dependable intermodal service from Mexico to the US. The Quantum de Mexico service was launched Friday, starting with the formal process of reaching out to current and potential shippers, gauging interest and their delivery standards. It’s a process that could take a few months to complete, the company said. The 95% on-time guarantee will be measured differently based on criteria established with each shipper, but in general J.B. Hunt will deliver cargo within a delivery window, much like a window a homeowner might see waiting for a plumber or HVAC technician. “Each standard operating procedure for Quantum de Mexico will be tailored to the customer,” said Spencer Frazier, executive vice president of sales and marketing at J.B. Hunt. “We will design the service based on customer needs at point of delivery.” The Quantum de Mexico service — based on the US Quantum service launched by J.B. Hunt and BNSF in 2023 — will connect Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Monterrey to Chicago, Dallas, and parts of the US West Coast and East Coast which have yet to be named. Quantum de Mexico will fuel rising competition for cross-border freight, both in intermodal and trucking markets. On the rails, Quantum will compete with Union Pacific Railroad’s Falcon Premium and Canadian Pacific Kansas City’s (CPKC) Mexico Midwest Express. J.B. Hunt’s direct competitors are Hub Group and Schneider National. Hub Group has partnered with UP’s Falcon Premium and launched a joint venture with Mexican drayage provider Easo. Schneider is the primary customer of CPKC’s cross-border services. The intermodal providers all compete with long-established truckload options. Trucking handles most of the cross-border freight with intermodal rail accounting for about 10% to 15% of dry freight business, according to the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The total number of trucks entering the US from Mexico increased 3.5% in 2024, rising to 7.6 million. Just eight border crossings handled 92.8% of those trucks. Those border crossings are a narrow funnel that is getting tighter as cross-border volumes rise. Where it gets complicated Shippers are looking for new solutions and ways to avoid delays and speed cross-border shipments, and time-sensitive intermodal, once a contradiction in terms, is now a real option, the J.B. Hunt, BNSF and GTX told the Journal of Commerce. “In Mexico, potential issues with over-the-road capacity and lack of infrastructure investment are driving our customer to say, ‘Hey, we need something different,” Frazier said in an interview. “It’s not just consistent capacity; it’s the high level of service.” The need for speed in replenishment and to avoid penalties for missing delivery deadlines continues to drive changes in supply chains, creating opportunities for services like Quantum, which will be up to one day faster than regular intermodal service. In the US, Quantum service is more expensive than regular intermodal but not as expensive as expedited trains. The nature of the US-Mexico border makes delivering 95% reliability significantly tougher than hitting such a target on US domestic moves. For example, Mexican regulations allow an electronic submission of customs documents, known as pedimentos, but also require a physical copy to be delivered. That requires a runner to hand over documents for a stamp before a container can be loaded or rejected. Additionally, customs offices are open 24 hours in Monterrey, but others in less populated cities close outside of standard business hours. Quantum de Mexico will set up processes with each customer to clear customs hurdles before freight is loaded, Frazier said. “We will have specific operational spots at GTX terminals (in Mexico) for Quantum shipments at a schedule dictated by the customer,” he said. “We will have someone from GTX in Fort Worth, Texas, for 24/7 oversight of Quantum shipments.” J.B. Hunt’s partnership with BNSF includes a co-located office in Fort Worth, Texas, where employees of both companies monitor Quantum loads 24 hours a day. Contact Ari Ashe at ari.ashe@spglobal.com . Senior Editor William B. Cassidy contributed to this report.

Trucking News

Rail News

North-American rail

Intermodal providers

Surface

J.B. Hunt launching Quantum de Mexico for time-sensitive cross-border freight

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Within a span of roughly 24 hours, one court decision blocked the US tariffs and a separate ruling restored the tariffs through June 9, if not longer. </div>

Within a span of roughly 24 hours, one court decision blocked the US tariffs and a separate ruling restored the tariffs through June 9, if not longer.

<div class="phx-topic">US importers ended Thursday with little clarity on the permanence of sweeping tariffs after an appeals court allowed President Donald Trump’s tax to go forward for a least a week-and-a-half. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s decision Thursday to pause the International Trade Court’s <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/federal-court-ruling-blocking-tariffs-resets-shipping-outlook-6013402">rejection of the tariffs Wednesday</a>, citing a lack of constitutionality, comes in the early days of peak season and with inbound capacity from Asia generally booked through next month.The appeals court laid out a briefing schedule through June 9 but did not detail its reasoning for the pause.The Trump administration has said it is also looking at other ways to maintain tariffs, suggesting importers won’t have clarity on the permanence of tariffs in the foreseeable future. The rulings don’t apply to US tariffs of aluminum and steel, which put downward pressure on US breakbulk demand.Amid a flurry of mixed signals, smaller shippers may be gauging whether to rush or slow shipments, logistic consultant Kevin Parkerson told the Journal of Commerce. But, he said, the largest retailers are keeping their strategies consistent with how they’ve operated since tariffs were announced in April: maintain imports to keep goods on shelves, whatever the tariff rate. US importers had little time to change their booking plans given that the two rulings occurred within roughly 24 hours of each other. Before this week, container lines warned that container space from Asia to the US <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/ocean-carriers-bring-in-more-trans-pacific-container-services-amid-rate-surge-6012725">would be tight through June</a> as they worked to restore capacity removed following the plunge in bookings out of China. The peak season ahead of the winter holidays generally begins in June and runs through August, though it has moved to other windows in recent years due to various external dynamics. US retail imports are <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/us-retailers-project-first-year-over-year-import-cut-in-19-months-as-tariffs-bite-6001817">forecast to end this month with the first decline</a> in more than a year and a half, according to Global Port Tracker (GPT) published in early May by Hackett Associates on behalf of the National Retail Federation. US imports will end May down 13% May 2024, and will mark the first year-over-year decline in 19 months. </div>

US importers ended Thursday with little clarity on the permanence of sweeping tariffs after an appeals court allowed President Donald Trump’s tax to go forward for a least a week-and-a-half. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s decision Thursday to pause the International Trade Court’s rejection of the tariffs Wednesday , citing a lack of constitutionality, comes in the early days of peak season and with inbound capacity from Asia generally booked through next month. The appeals court laid out a briefing schedule through June 9 but did not detail its reasoning for the pause. The Trump administration has said it is also looking at other ways to maintain tariffs, suggesting importers won’t have clarity on the permanence of tariffs in the foreseeable future. The rulings don’t apply to US tariffs of aluminum and steel, which put downward pressure on US breakbulk demand. Amid a flurry of mixed signals, smaller shippers may be gauging whether to rush or slow shipments, logistic consultant Kevin Parkerson told the Journal of Commerce. But, he said, the largest retailers are keeping their strategies consistent with how they’ve operated since tariffs were announced in April: maintain imports to keep goods on shelves, whatever the tariff rate. US importers had little time to change their booking plans given that the two rulings occurred within roughly 24 hours of each other. Before this week, container lines warned that container space from Asia to the US would be tight through June as they worked to restore capacity removed following the plunge in bookings out of China. The peak season ahead of the winter holidays generally begins in June and runs through August, though it has moved to other windows in recent years due to various external dynamics. US retail imports are forecast to end this month with the first decline in more than a year and a half, according to Global Port Tracker (GPT) published in early May by Hackett Associates on behalf of the National Retail Federation. US imports will end May down 13% May 2024, and will mark the first year-over-year decline in 19 months.

Maritime

Port News

Trans-Atlantic

Forwarding

Trans-Pacific

North American ports

Container lines

Appeals court temporarily restores US tariffs

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The industry says consistency and communication are the key to minimizing disruption to port traffic during the project to repair the deck of the Vincent Thomas Bridge.</div>

The industry says consistency and communication are the key to minimizing disruption to port traffic during the project to repair the deck of the Vincent Thomas Bridge.

<div class="phx-topic">The state of California’s plan to minimize disruption of truck traffic serving the Port of Los Angeles during a 16-month-long bridge repair project is building confidence among harbor truckers and other stakeholders that they’ll be able to plan and manage accordingly. The California Department of Transportation is designating and re-paving detour routes and has agreed to establish an extensive real-time communications network to update motorists and truckers about traffic conditions in the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex throughout the construction project, Matt Schrap, CEO of the Harbor Trucking Association (HTA), told the Journal of Commerce Wednesday. “We need consistency. If communication is consistent, we can plan,” he said. The Vincent Thomas Bridge deck replacement project will begin this winter with one-directional night closures to be announced. This is just the prelude to full closure of the bridge for 16 months from November 2026 to March 2028, Rimma Tebeleva, senior transportation engineer and project manager at Caltrans District 7, told the Los Angeles-Long Beach Propeller Club on Wednesday. The bridge, located at the approach to Los Angeles harbor, handles 53,000 vehicles each day, about 3,400 of which are heavy-duty trucks, Tebeleva said. Caltrans in recent months has held meetings with port stakeholders including representatives of the HTA; the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, which represents terminal operators; the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which represent management and labor; and the Port of Los Angeles. “We are currently working with port pilots, engineers and consultants to fully understand the impacts from construction,” a port spokesman told the Journal of Commerce. The traffic management and communications program will respond in real time to issues as they arise, said Kenneth Young, chief in the Office of the District Traffic Manager at Caltrans District 7. “It will detect queries as they develop and advise on alternate routes,” Young told the meeting. He added that Caltrans intends to divert traffic as necessary to state highways in order to minimize use of local roadways. Schrap agreed that this strategy is necessary in order to prevent friction in communities near the port. “We don’t want trucks going through neighborhoods,” he said. The work in the coming year will involve temporary placement of a platform underneath the bridge to support it during the construction process, Tebeleva said. This will reduce the air draft underneath the bridge by about 2.5 feet during construction. Port engineers and pilots are studying the impact this will have on vessel traffic in the channel, the port spokesman said. The Vincent Thomas Bridge opened in 1963. In recent years, structural problems such as cement cracking have accelerated, Tebeleva said. Schrap said the working group will continue to alert Caltrans on measures port stakeholders feel are needed to maintain traffic flow in the harbor area, and he anticipates the agency will respond accordingly. “We feel our messaging has gotten through. We feel we’re in a good place,” he said. Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at <a href="mailto:bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com">bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

The state of California’s plan to minimize disruption of truck traffic serving the Port of Los Angeles during a 16-month-long bridge repair project is building confidence among harbor truckers and other stakeholders that they’ll be able to plan and manage accordingly. The California Department of Transportation is designating and re-paving detour routes and has agreed to establish an extensive real-time communications network to update motorists and truckers about traffic conditions in the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex throughout the construction project, Matt Schrap, CEO of the Harbor Trucking Association (HTA), told the Journal of Commerce Wednesday. “We need consistency. If communication is consistent, we can plan,” he said. The Vincent Thomas Bridge deck replacement project will begin this winter with one-directional night closures to be announced. This is just the prelude to full closure of the bridge for 16 months from November 2026 to March 2028, Rimma Tebeleva, senior transportation engineer and project manager at Caltrans District 7, told the Los Angeles-Long Beach Propeller Club on Wednesday. The bridge, located at the approach to Los Angeles harbor, handles 53,000 vehicles each day, about 3,400 of which are heavy-duty trucks, Tebeleva said. Caltrans in recent months has held meetings with port stakeholders including representatives of the HTA; the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, which represents terminal operators; the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which represent management and labor; and the Port of Los Angeles. “We are currently working with port pilots, engineers and consultants to fully understand the impacts from construction,” a port spokesman told the Journal of Commerce. The traffic management and communications program will respond in real time to issues as they arise, said Kenneth Young, chief in the Office of the District Traffic Manager at Caltrans District 7. “It will detect queries as they develop and advise on alternate routes,” Young told the meeting. He added that Caltrans intends to divert traffic as necessary to state highways in order to minimize use of local roadways. Schrap agreed that this strategy is necessary in order to prevent friction in communities near the port. “We don’t want trucks going through neighborhoods,” he said. The work in the coming year will involve temporary placement of a platform underneath the bridge to support it during the construction process, Tebeleva said. This will reduce the air draft underneath the bridge by about 2.5 feet during construction. Port engineers and pilots are studying the impact this will have on vessel traffic in the channel, the port spokesman said. The Vincent Thomas Bridge opened in 1963. In recent years, structural problems such as cement cracking have accelerated, Tebeleva said. Schrap said the working group will continue to alert Caltrans on measures port stakeholders feel are needed to maintain traffic flow in the harbor area, and he anticipates the agency will respond accordingly. “We feel our messaging has gotten through. We feel we’re in a good place,” he said. Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com .

Port infrastructure

Marine terminals

LA port stakeholders warming to plan to mitigate impact of bridge project

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Sources have linked some of the US-India blankings to carriers shifting capacity to capitalize on surging volumes on the eastbound trans-Pacific trade following a temporary 90-day tariff truce between the US and China.</div>

Sources have linked some of the US-India blankings to carriers shifting capacity to capitalize on surging volumes on the eastbound trans-Pacific trade following a temporary 90-day tariff truce between the US and China.

<div class="phx-topic">Ocean freight rates from India to US East Coast trade are gaining momentum as carriers shift vessels to the trans-Pacific following a pause in the steepest US tariffs on Chinese goods. Carriers plan to blank five sailings across two India-US East Coast services — the CMA CGM-operated Indamex and Ocean Network Express’ (ONE’s) WIN service — in June, in addition to one sailing on the Indamex in late May, according to forwarders. The US and China on May 12 agreed to pause reciprocal tariffs for at least 90 days while they negotiate a more permanent trade agreement, prompting a rush of bookings out of China and a <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/trans-pacific-services-set-for-restart-as-carriers-scramble-to-restore-capacity-6009352">rapid redeployment of capacity</a> that had been idled or shifted to other trade lanes. A federal trade court on Wednesday <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/federal-court-ruling-blocking-tariffs-resets-shipping-outlook-6013402">struck down the US tariffs on Chinese goods</a>, along with a blanket 10% duty on imports from India. The administration of President Donald Trump will likely appeal. Although US imports from India have been rising for months — hitting a nearly two-year high in March and April, according to PIERS, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global — that hasn’t been enough to move the needle on spot rates. That is, until this week. Average India-US East Coast spot rates surged to $2,733 per FEU this week, up 30.2% from last week and 32.7% year over year, according to Platts, also part of S&amp;P Global. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="012ef4fa-2944-47b8-a1aa-f17c27744520"></dynamic-object></div>All major carriers on the West India-US East Coast trade lane have lined up multiple rounds of general rate increases (GRIs) and peak season surcharges (PSSs) — ranging from $1,500 to $2,500 per container — through June. Sources who spoke with the Journal of Commerce believe the tightening of capacity gives carriers an opportunity to push through rate hikes of at least $1,000 per container beginning June 1. Hapag-Lloyd, for example, will roll that amount into its spot pricing, while Maersk has pushed back a planned $1,500-per-box PSS from June 2 to June 16. Forwarders also said spot space on Maersk’s first two sailings in June is already sold out. “With anticipated lower capacity, our estimate is that average spot booking rates [ex-West India] will land somewhere between $2,500 and $3,000 per FEU in June,” an executive at a Mumbai-based forwarder who asked not to be identified told the Journal of Commerce. “For long-term contract clients, the average level should be between $2,500 to $2,700 per FEU.” Contact Bency Mathew at <a href="mailto:bencyvmathew@gmail.com">bencyvmathew@gmail.com</a>. </div>

Ocean freight rates from India to US East Coast trade are gaining momentum as carriers shift vessels to the trans-Pacific following a pause in the steepest US tariffs on Chinese goods. Carriers plan to blank five sailings across two India-US East Coast services — the CMA CGM-operated Indamex and Ocean Network Express’ (ONE’s) WIN service — in June, in addition to one sailing on the Indamex in late May, according to forwarders. The US and China on May 12 agreed to pause reciprocal tariffs for at least 90 days while they negotiate a more permanent trade agreement, prompting a rush of bookings out of China and a rapid redeployment of capacity that had been idled or shifted to other trade lanes. A federal trade court on Wednesday struck down the US tariffs on Chinese goods , along with a blanket 10% duty on imports from India. The administration of President Donald Trump will likely appeal. Although US imports from India have been rising for months — hitting a nearly two-year high in March and April, according to PIERS, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global — that hasn’t been enough to move the needle on spot rates. That is, until this week. Average India-US East Coast spot rates surged to $2,733 per FEU this week, up 30.2% from last week and 32.7% year over year, according to Platts, also part of S&P Global. All major carriers on the West India-US East Coast trade lane have lined up multiple rounds of general rate increases (GRIs) and peak season surcharges (PSSs) — ranging from $1,500 to $2,500 per container — through June. Sources who spoke with the Journal of Commerce believe the tightening of capacity gives carriers an opportunity to push through rate hikes of at least $1,000 per container beginning June 1. Hapag-Lloyd, for example, will roll that amount into its spot pricing, while Maersk has pushed back a planned $1,500-per-box PSS from June 2 to June 16. Forwarders also said spot space on Maersk’s first two sailings in June is already sold out. “With anticipated lower capacity, our estimate is that average spot booking rates [ex-West India] will land somewhere between $2,500 and $3,000 per FEU in June,” an executive at a Mumbai-based forwarder who asked not to be identified told the Journal of Commerce. “For long-term contract clients, the average level should be between $2,500 to $2,700 per FEU.” Contact Bency Mathew at bencyvmathew@gmail.com .

Container Shipping News

Restrained capacity sparks India-US ocean rate momentum

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Union Pacific Railroad struggled during the pandemic with wheeled facilities where containers are pre-mounted onto chassis before a driver arrives, but in 2021 and 2022 there were periods with no chassis to be found.</div>

Union Pacific Railroad struggled during the pandemic with wheeled facilities where containers are pre-mounted onto chassis before a driver arrives, but in 2021 and 2022 there were periods with no chassis to be found.

<div class="phx-topic">Union Pacific Railroad (UP) is taking a different operational approach at its soon-to-open intermodal terminal in Kansas City, choosing to stack containers rather than keep on chassis to better respond to import surges. Union Pacific will place all international containers into stacks, rather than place them on chassis in parking spots, adopting lessons learned during the pandemic, when inland terminals became chokepoints in the global supply chain. The Kansas City terminal will operate more like a traditional marine terminal, with stacks and crane operators lifting boxes to and from trucks. “We integrated the hybrid model into our new Kansas City Intermodal Terminal to provide a high level of fluidity for drivers and our customers, and to maximize capacity at the facility,” said Robynn Tysver, spokesperson for UP, in a statement to the Journal of Commerce. “A grounded operation provides for the efficient delivery of marine containers to any pool or trucker-owned chassis.” Before the pandemic, UP and rival BNSF Railway both handled international and domestic containers in what is known as a “wheeled” operation. All containers were mounted onto chassis as they were unloaded off the train, then placed in designated parking spots to enable truck drivers to retrieve loads more quickly. During 2021 and 2022, however, the “wheeled” operation for international freight buckled after a widespread marine chassis shortage across the US. Terminal crews were unable to unload incoming trains because the chassis were in short supply. Containers sat idle with no place to go, contributing to gridlock that rippled back to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The new “hybrid” terminal in Kansas City reflects an important lesson from that ordeal. All ocean freight will now be placed into container stacks, while domestic containers will remain in parking spots. Union Pacific has been focused this year on capturing a larger share between <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/union-pacific-makes-push-to-grab-more-los-angeles-to-kansas-city-freight-5933096">Los Angeles and Kansas City</a>, a route where BNSF Railway has maintained an edge thanks to faster transit times and more consistent service. UP believes the new, larger terminal, along with upgrades to infrastructure and scheduling, will close that gap significantly. Instead of Los Angeles-Kansas City being a block within a larger train to places like Chicago, UP will run dedicated trains between the two cities, reflecting the growing importance of the Midwest city to US commerce.<h3>Applying the right lessons </h3>Union Pacific’s approach in Kansas City mirrors a change made in <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/up-shifting-to-stacked-container-operation-at-joliet-for-california-imports-5227108">February 2023</a> at its Global IV terminal in Joliet, outside of Chicago, where all ocean containers traveling to and from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are placed in stacks. The distinction between international and domestic intermodal is becoming increasingly important across the US. As Norfolk Southern Railway noted <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/norfolk-southern-revamping-international-network-in-2023-5218178">in late 2022</a>, domestic intermodal operations face far fewer chassis shortages because providers including J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Schneider National and others own their chassis fleets. By contrast, international cargo relies upon third-party lessors such as DCLI, Flexi-Van Leasing, and TRAC Intermodal to supply roadworthy equipment. UP has already gained experience operating grounded terminals. The Twin Cities Intermodal Terminal, opened in 2021, operates entirely with stacked containers due to its smaller volume. BNSF has also made strides to reflect new realities. Most international cargo traveling through BNSF Logistics Park Chicago and Memphis is grounded. BNSF retained the “wheeled” model in the Fort Worth terminal while also expanding the footprint to accommodate future surges. Both railroads are also responding to a fundamental shift in chassis provisioning in the US. Since the pandemic, cargo owners and truckers have purchased or leased their own chassis to reduce their dependence on shared pools. This flexibility is especially valuable in merchant haulage, where cargo owners retain control over equipment choices outside the port. “[A grounded operation] avoids the need for flips from pool chassis to private chassis, while freeing up space and managing fluidity, allow[ing] us to handle more volume,” UP said in the statement. “Additionally, by leveraging the UPGo app, drivers can coordinate pickups, including those in stack, to increase efficiency and productivity for drivers and terminal operations.” Contact Ari Ashe at <a href="mailto:ari.ashe@spglobal.com">ari.ashe@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Union Pacific Railroad (UP) is taking a different operational approach at its soon-to-open intermodal terminal in Kansas City, choosing to stack containers rather than keep on chassis to better respond to import surges. Union Pacific will place all international containers into stacks, rather than place them on chassis in parking spots, adopting lessons learned during the pandemic, when inland terminals became chokepoints in the global supply chain. The Kansas City terminal will operate more like a traditional marine terminal, with stacks and crane operators lifting boxes to and from trucks. “We integrated the hybrid model into our new Kansas City Intermodal Terminal to provide a high level of fluidity for drivers and our customers, and to maximize capacity at the facility,” said Robynn Tysver, spokesperson for UP, in a statement to the Journal of Commerce. “A grounded operation provides for the efficient delivery of marine containers to any pool or trucker-owned chassis.” Before the pandemic, UP and rival BNSF Railway both handled international and domestic containers in what is known as a “wheeled” operation. All containers were mounted onto chassis as they were unloaded off the train, then placed in designated parking spots to enable truck drivers to retrieve loads more quickly. During 2021 and 2022, however, the “wheeled” operation for international freight buckled after a widespread marine chassis shortage across the US. Terminal crews were unable to unload incoming trains because the chassis were in short supply. Containers sat idle with no place to go, contributing to gridlock that rippled back to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The new “hybrid” terminal in Kansas City reflects an important lesson from that ordeal. All ocean freight will now be placed into container stacks, while domestic containers will remain in parking spots. Union Pacific has been focused this year on capturing a larger share between Los Angeles and Kansas City , a route where BNSF Railway has maintained an edge thanks to faster transit times and more consistent service. UP believes the new, larger terminal, along with upgrades to infrastructure and scheduling, will close that gap significantly. Instead of Los Angeles-Kansas City being a block within a larger train to places like Chicago, UP will run dedicated trains between the two cities, reflecting the growing importance of the Midwest city to US commerce. Applying the right lessons Union Pacific’s approach in Kansas City mirrors a change made in February 2023 at its Global IV terminal in Joliet, outside of Chicago, where all ocean containers traveling to and from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are placed in stacks. The distinction between international and domestic intermodal is becoming increasingly important across the US. As Norfolk Southern Railway noted in late 2022 , domestic intermodal operations face far fewer chassis shortages because providers including J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Schneider National and others own their chassis fleets. By contrast, international cargo relies upon third-party lessors such as DCLI, Flexi-Van Leasing, and TRAC Intermodal to supply roadworthy equipment. UP has already gained experience operating grounded terminals. The Twin Cities Intermodal Terminal, opened in 2021, operates entirely with stacked containers due to its smaller volume. BNSF has also made strides to reflect new realities. Most international cargo traveling through BNSF Logistics Park Chicago and Memphis is grounded. BNSF retained the “wheeled” model in the Fort Worth terminal while also expanding the footprint to accommodate future surges. Both railroads are also responding to a fundamental shift in chassis provisioning in the US. Since the pandemic, cargo owners and truckers have purchased or leased their own chassis to reduce their dependence on shared pools. This flexibility is especially valuable in merchant haulage, where cargo owners retain control over equipment choices outside the port. “[A grounded operation] avoids the need for flips from pool chassis to private chassis, while freeing up space and managing fluidity, allow[ing] us to handle more volume,” UP said in the statement. “Additionally, by leveraging the UPGo app, drivers can coordinate pickups, including those in stack, to increase efficiency and productivity for drivers and terminal operations.” Contact Ari Ashe at ari.ashe@spglobal.com .

UP’s KC terminal will change approach on ocean cargo

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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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