<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Against a backdrop of falling profits, plunging traffic and rising rail layoffs, Norfolk Southern Railway&amp;rsquo;s chairman, president and CEO tried to reassure shareholders at the company&amp;rsquo;s annu</div>

Against a backdrop of falling profits, plunging traffic and rising rail layoffs, Norfolk Southern Railway&rsquo;s chairman, president and CEO tried to reassure shareholders at the company&rsquo;s annu

<div>Against a backdrop of falling profits, plunging traffic and rising rail layoffs, Norfolk Southern Railway&amp;rsquo;s chairman, president and CEO tried to reassure shareholders at the company&amp;rsquo;s annual meeting while injecting plenty of caution on the economic outlook.NS ran up a record profit of $1.7 billion last year, but &amp;ldquo;obviously, circumstances have changed dramatically since 2008,&amp;rdquo; said CEO Charles W. Moorman at the May 14 meeting in Williamsburg, Va. He said traffic has continued to worsen, but NS is making cuts in current capacity and in capital spending, and retains its selling advantages over trucking.&amp;ldquo;Longer term, it will get better,&amp;rdquo; he...

Against a backdrop of falling profits, plunging traffic and rising rail layoffs, Norfolk Southern Railway&rsquo;s chairman, president and CEO tried to reassure shareholders at the company&rsquo;s annual meeting while injecting plenty of caution on the economic outlook. NS ran up a record profit of $1.7 billion last year, but &ldquo;obviously, circumstances have changed dramatically since 2008,&rdquo; said CEO Charles W. Moorman at the May 14 meeting in Williamsburg, Va. He said traffic has continued to worsen, but NS is making cuts in current capacity and in capital spending, and retains its selling advantages over trucking. &ldquo;Longer term, it will get better,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The fundamentals of our business are very strong.&rdquo; Moorman said it was possible activity would bottom out in this second quarter and that the federal stimulus spending could trigger &ldquo;a little bounce&rdquo; in the second half, but he cautioned that &ldquo;nobody knows when we&rsquo;ll start to see this economy recover.&rdquo; Moorman said traffic levels fell abruptly starting in November, when they dropped 8 percent before tumbling at twice that pace in December. This year&rsquo;s first quarter traffic was 20 percent behind the same 2008 period, and &ldquo;our April volumes were actually somewhat worse, with traffic down more than 25 percent, driven by a further softening in our coal business,&rdquo; he said. That decline is more than twice the level NS suffered in the industry&rsquo;s last big recession in 1981-82. He did not mention rail activity as May got under way, but industry reports show even sharper declines in the week ending May 9. But Moorman said &ldquo;the factors that drove our growth over the past five years &ndash; higher fuel efficiency in a world with rising energy costs along with ever-increasing highway congestion &ndash; are still there, along with our superior performance in terms of emissions and sustainability.&rdquo; And one business area has actually improved some: domestic intermodal traffic rose 2 percent in the first three months. Moorman said this was &ldquo;evidence that we still are seeing people wanting to convert to intermodal from the highway, which is very promising for the long term.&rdquo; He also used the speech to warn investors about efforts in Congress to tighten federal regulations on railroads, including a bill to strip railroads of a limited antitrust liability. Another measure, which he did not detail, is a competition bill that has been taking shape in congressional talks with rail shippers who say the carriers have too much power over pricing and service. &ldquo;If current legislative efforts are successful, it would be a disastrous impediment to capital investments in the rail industry,&rdquo; Moorman said. &ldquo;We are in talks with congressional staff to find a compromise to preserve balanced regulation.&rdquo; Contact John D. Boyd at jboyd@joc.com .

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North-American rail

Norfolk Southern Chief Reassures Shareholders

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is revising the excess empty container fee in place since 2023 as off-dock depots become the focal point of trucker ire.</div>

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is revising the excess empty container fee in place since 2023 as off-dock depots become the focal point of trucker ire.

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<div class="phx-topic">The Port of New York and New Jersey is expanding the fee it charges ocean carriers for long-dwelling empty containers to include off-dock depots outside of the port, a move that comes as port truckers face increasingly long and frequent delays when returning empties. But trucking interests question whether the now three-year old fee will ever effectively address the port’s bouts of empties congestion, which impacts shippers downstream through delayed container returns and detention costs. In an April 1 email, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey notified ocean carriers and other stakeholders about the revised marine tariff that will go into effect May 1. One of biggest changes to the tariff is in the “container imbalance fee,” which <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/ny-nj-readies-revised-fee-plan-for-long-dwelling-empties-5194202">the port first instituted in 2023</a> to incentivize ocean carriers to remove <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/carriers-need-to-sweep-up-ny-nj-empties-fmcs-maffei-5204204">the pandemic-era backlog of empty containers</a> at NY-NJ. Along with new language that says ocean carriers must “proactively and regularly manage” their empty container inventories, the revised tariff also references empties lingering at “nearby depots” along with marine terminals on PANYNJ property. The PANYNJ said the container imbalance fee always considered empty containers at off-port depots, even if not explicitly stated in the original tariff. Port Director Bethann Rooney said in a statement the revised tariff reinforces the imbalance fee program, which also has a new formula for calculating the excess empties that face the $100-per-container fee. “The container imbalance fee is a key tool, helping reduce congestion caused by excess empty containers,” Rooney said. “This...update strengthens the programs with clearer terms and greater accountability, ensuring our port remains one of the most reliable and fluid gateways in the country.” <h3>Hundreds of trucks turned away </h3>The trouble for truckers, though, is reliability and fluidity just outside of the port. APM Terminals contracted with one off-dock facility, Port Newark Depot, in February 2025 to handle the empties from Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd as they started services under the Gemini Cooperation alliance. APM said in a statement the off-dock empty yard “helps preserve on-terminal space for full cargo moves and reduces gate congestion...while giving truckers the flexibility to pick up empties for export and return them off-terminal when appointments are constrained.” However, Port Newark Depot also faces bouts of congestion and delays that have been frustrating truckers. “The on-street backups waiting to enter the depot have remained significant,” the Association of Bi-State Motor Carriers said in its April newsletter, “Desperate truckers often line up several hours before the depot opens, contributing to the backups and causing traffic delays.” While sporadic, Bi-State President Lisa Yakomin said motor carriers have reported that drivers face four- and five-hour wait times to get into Port Newark Depot, putting truckers at risk of running out of service hours. Yakomin said Port Newark Depot is trying to manage the truck queues with a few relief measures, including signs showing the waiting times, adding another container handling machine, and providing return instructions to drivers the day prior. But the sheer volume of empties can still overwhelm the 12-acre facility. Yakomin said a three-mile-long line of roughly 500 trucks was turned away from returning empties on April 10 because Port Newark Depot was full by late afternoon. “APM chronically runs out of appointments for returning empties, so PND is taking the overflow,” Yakomin said. “But if the marine terminal can’t handle it, how can a single depot? Expecting one depot to absorb the empties is unrealistic.” To address the overflow, APM said in a notice last week to truckers that an additional PND lot will be open for receiving Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd empties. The additional four-acre site can handle between 1,600 and 2,000 empty containers. Port truckers have also been directed to a recently opened 35-acre site, World Wide Depot, for returning empty containers belonging to Zim Integrated Shipping Services. That site is on the same plot of land as PND, But Yakomin said more off-dock space for empties will just mean more off-dock congestion. The issue is being exacerbated by instances of truckers receiving conflicting empty return information from an ocean carrier and a marine terminal, she said, adding to motor carrier costs by sending truckers on dry runs. “The more room you give the ocean carriers to dump their empties and let them languish, they will use it,” Yakomin said. <h3>Next step could be FMC </h3>The PANYNJ said in its statement that “while (the current imbalance fee) has been largely effective, some congestion has taken place if and when ocean carriers allow containers to accumulate to a critical point.” To avoid that, the PANYNJ said the new tariff shortens the evaluation period for determining excess empties from one year to six months. However, Yakomin said it is not clear if that represents any improvement, given the previous tariff referenced a quarterly period for assessing excess empties. Despite the previous tariff being in effect since 2023, the port still has bouts of empty congestion, Yakomin said. “The ocean carriers need to be held accountable for not removing their empties in a timely manner,” she said. As for updating the imbalance fee program, “that’s a little too late.” Yakomin said the next recourse is through the US Federal Maritime Commission, which might have leverage into the issue due to <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/stakeholders-sorting-out-per-diem-bills-under-new-fmc-rules-5192186">the billing questions raised by empty returns</a>. She said it is not clear whether ocean carriers are charging shippers detention on an empty container that had a return location but was full. Inconsistent empty return instructions would also appear to violate FMC rules on providing accurate billing information. Moreover, motor carriers still face being shut out of marine terminals for unpaid detention bills, Yakomin added, a further violation of FMC billing rules. “We would like the FMC to take a look at incorrect billing, but also more clearly define accessibility for an empty return location,” she said. Contact Michael Angell at <a href="mailto:michael.angell@spglobal.com">michael.angell@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

The Port of New York and New Jersey is expanding the fee it charges ocean carriers for long-dwelling empty containers to include off-dock depots outside of the port, a move that comes as port truckers face increasingly long and frequent delays when returning empties. But trucking interests question whether the now three-year old fee will ever effectively address the port’s bouts of empties congestion, which impacts shippers downstream through delayed container returns and detention costs. In an April 1 email, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey notified ocean carriers and other stakeholders about the revised marine tariff that will go into effect May 1. One of biggest changes to the tariff is in the “container imbalance fee,” which the port first instituted in 2023 to incentivize ocean carriers to remove the pandemic-era backlog of empty containers at NY-NJ. Along with new language that says ocean carriers must “proactively and regularly manage” their empty container inventories, the revised tariff also references empties lingering at “nearby depots” along with marine terminals on PANYNJ property. The PANYNJ said the container imbalance fee always considered empty containers at off-port depots, even if not explicitly stated in the original tariff. Port Director Bethann Rooney said in a statement the revised tariff reinforces the imbalance fee program, which also has a new formula for calculating the excess empties that face the $100-per-container fee. “The container imbalance fee is a key tool, helping reduce congestion caused by excess empty containers,” Rooney said. “This...update strengthens the programs with clearer terms and greater accountability, ensuring our port remains one of the most reliable and fluid gateways in the country.” Hundreds of trucks turned away The trouble for truckers, though, is reliability and fluidity just outside of the port. APM Terminals contracted with one off-dock facility, Port Newark Depot, in February 2025 to handle the empties from Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd as they started services under the Gemini Cooperation alliance. APM said in a statement the off-dock empty yard “helps preserve on-terminal space for full cargo moves and reduces gate congestion...while giving truckers the flexibility to pick up empties for export and return them off-terminal when appointments are constrained.” However, Port Newark Depot also faces bouts of congestion and delays that have been frustrating truckers. “The on-street backups waiting to enter the depot have remained significant,” the Association of Bi-State Motor Carriers said in its April newsletter, “Desperate truckers often line up several hours before the depot opens, contributing to the backups and causing traffic delays.” While sporadic, Bi-State President Lisa Yakomin said motor carriers have reported that drivers face four- and five-hour wait times to get into Port Newark Depot, putting truckers at risk of running out of service hours. Yakomin said Port Newark Depot is trying to manage the truck queues with a few relief measures, including signs showing the waiting times, adding another container handling machine, and providing return instructions to drivers the day prior. But the sheer volume of empties can still overwhelm the 12-acre facility. Yakomin said a three-mile-long line of roughly 500 trucks was turned away from returning empties on April 10 because Port Newark Depot was full by late afternoon. “APM chronically runs out of appointments for returning empties, so PND is taking the overflow,” Yakomin said. “But if the marine terminal can’t handle it, how can a single depot? Expecting one depot to absorb the empties is unrealistic.” To address the overflow, APM said in a notice last week to truckers that an additional PND lot will be open for receiving Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd empties. The additional four-acre site can handle between 1,600 and 2,000 empty containers. Port truckers have also been directed to a recently opened 35-acre site, World Wide Depot, for returning empty containers belonging to Zim Integrated Shipping Services. That site is on the same plot of land as PND, But Yakomin said more off-dock space for empties will just mean more off-dock congestion. The issue is being exacerbated by instances of truckers receiving conflicting empty return information from an ocean carrier and a marine terminal, she said, adding to motor carrier costs by sending truckers on dry runs. “The more room you give the ocean carriers to dump their empties and let them languish, they will use it,” Yakomin said. Next step could be FMC The PANYNJ said in its statement that “while (the current imbalance fee) has been largely effective, some congestion has taken place if and when ocean carriers allow containers to accumulate to a critical point.” To avoid that, the PANYNJ said the new tariff shortens the evaluation period for determining excess empties from one year to six months. However, Yakomin said it is not clear if that represents any improvement, given the previous tariff referenced a quarterly period for assessing excess empties. Despite the previous tariff being in effect since 2023, the port still has bouts of empty congestion, Yakomin said. “The ocean carriers need to be held accountable for not removing their empties in a timely manner,” she said. As for updating the imbalance fee program, “that’s a little too late.” Yakomin said the next recourse is through the US Federal Maritime Commission, which might have leverage into the issue due to the billing questions raised by empty returns . She said it is not clear whether ocean carriers are charging shippers detention on an empty container that had a return location but was full. Inconsistent empty return instructions would also appear to violate FMC rules on providing accurate billing information. Moreover, motor carriers still face being shut out of marine terminals for unpaid detention bills, Yakomin added, a further violation of FMC billing rules. “We would like the FMC to take a look at incorrect billing, but also more clearly define accessibility for an empty return location,” she said. Contact Michael Angell at michael.angell@spglobal.com .

Maritime

Port News

Trucking News

Surface

Container lines

North American ports

Marine terminals

Container Shipping News

NY-NJ updating port tariff to combat rising backlog of empty boxes

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">From tariffs to weather to labor shortages, the breakbulk industry has been forced to navigate a series of hurdles of late.</div>

From tariffs to weather to labor shortages, the breakbulk industry has been forced to navigate a series of hurdles of late.

<div class="phx-topic">New Orleans — With breakbulk demands and trade lanes shifting rapidly amid geopolitical events and trade volatility, coping with those challenges will call for communication, partnerships and planning among forwarders, carriers, shippers, and ports, attendees were told Wednesday at the Journal of Commerce’s Breakbulk and Project Cargo Conference 2026. “The biggest challenge that we’ve had in the last three months is making sure I have enough tonnage to take the volume increases that we are seeing out of Asia coming into the North America market,” said Brian Odell, lead ocean/barge/port mode specialist for power generation technology manufacturer GE Power, referencing cargo volumes shifting as a result of the conflict in the Middle East. Alain Akavi, managing director for COLI Group, said alongside a significant increase in traffic from Southeast Asia to the US and Europe, a lack of cargo in Europe has presented the biggest problem for the German global logistics provider, particularly when scheduling cargoes in advance. “You want to bring the vessel back in good time,” Akavi said. “But in some regions, you have a lack of cargoes, and then you need to parcel. And every time you parcel, you add more ports to the schedule.” Alex Strogen, chief commercial officer for the Port of Vancouver USA in Washington State, said that on a larger scale, US policy changes have resulted in unforeseen new challenges for the port. “We’re seeing our business impacted by policy in ways that I could not have even imagined in the past,” he said. Strogen cited wind energy cargo that previously had been moving through the port and is now routing through Canada instead. “That’s as a result of some of the shifting federal policies as it relates to wind energy here in the United States,” he said. Strogen also pointed to the effects of tariffs on aluminum imports the port traditionally handled. “Most of our aluminum came from the UAE. That’s a problem,” he said. As a result, Vancouver has focused on diversification as a long-range strategy, moving cargo in more lines of business than competing ports. “When you’ve got a broad base of different products and commodities that you’re handling, we have the luxury to try and shift and pivot,” Strogen said. <h3>‘Big influence’ from weather </h3>More so than geopolitical circumstances, weather is posing a growing challenge for moving cargo and is making it more difficult to ensure fixed-date shipping schedules, said Pieter Flohil, director with Dutch multipurpose/heavy-lift operator Spliethoff. “We’ve had an extreme number of delays this year,” he said. “Even if some people would like to deny it, weather is having a big influence on what we do.” Flohil also cited the industry’s labor shortages as a significant challenge, with fewer young professionals willing to learn the skills and work the hours necessary for a career in the trade. “That’s where we try to work closely with our partners in the port to ensure that they have invested in labor,” he said. “That’s vital for our existence in the future.” A willingness by carriers to listen to and communicate with logistics providers when there are challenges and delays goes a long way to making cargo transport easier, Akavi said. “When we have issues, it’s not on purpose. It happens,” he said. “And understanding is the easiest part.” Contact Autumn Cafiero Giusti at <a href="mailto:autumn@autumngiusti.com">autumn@autumngiusti.com</a>. </div>

New Orleans — With breakbulk demands and trade lanes shifting rapidly amid geopolitical events and trade volatility, coping with those challenges will call for communication, partnerships and planning among forwarders, carriers, shippers, and ports, attendees were told Wednesday at the Journal of Commerce’s Breakbulk and Project Cargo Conference 2026. “The biggest challenge that we’ve had in the last three months is making sure I have enough tonnage to take the volume increases that we are seeing out of Asia coming into the North America market,” said Brian Odell, lead ocean/barge/port mode specialist for power generation technology manufacturer GE Power, referencing cargo volumes shifting as a result of the conflict in the Middle East. Alain Akavi, managing director for COLI Group, said alongside a significant increase in traffic from Southeast Asia to the US and Europe, a lack of cargo in Europe has presented the biggest problem for the German global logistics provider, particularly when scheduling cargoes in advance. “You want to bring the vessel back in good time,” Akavi said. “But in some regions, you have a lack of cargoes, and then you need to parcel. And every time you parcel, you add more ports to the schedule.” Alex Strogen, chief commercial officer for the Port of Vancouver USA in Washington State, said that on a larger scale, US policy changes have resulted in unforeseen new challenges for the port. “We’re seeing our business impacted by policy in ways that I could not have even imagined in the past,” he said. Strogen cited wind energy cargo that previously had been moving through the port and is now routing through Canada instead. “That’s as a result of some of the shifting federal policies as it relates to wind energy here in the United States,” he said. Strogen also pointed to the effects of tariffs on aluminum imports the port traditionally handled. “Most of our aluminum came from the UAE. That’s a problem,” he said. As a result, Vancouver has focused on diversification as a long-range strategy, moving cargo in more lines of business than competing ports. “When you’ve got a broad base of different products and commodities that you’re handling, we have the luxury to try and shift and pivot,” Strogen said. ‘Big influence’ from weather More so than geopolitical circumstances, weather is posing a growing challenge for moving cargo and is making it more difficult to ensure fixed-date shipping schedules, said Pieter Flohil, director with Dutch multipurpose/heavy-lift operator Spliethoff. “We’ve had an extreme number of delays this year,” he said. “Even if some people would like to deny it, weather is having a big influence on what we do.” Flohil also cited the industry’s labor shortages as a significant challenge, with fewer young professionals willing to learn the skills and work the hours necessary for a career in the trade. “That’s where we try to work closely with our partners in the port to ensure that they have invested in labor,” he said. “That’s vital for our existence in the future.” A willingness by carriers to listen to and communicate with logistics providers when there are challenges and delays goes a long way to making cargo transport easier, Akavi said. “When we have issues, it’s not on purpose. It happens,” he said. “And understanding is the easiest part.” Contact Autumn Cafiero Giusti at autumn@autumngiusti.com .

Breakbulk carriers

Breakbulk ports

Breakbulk News

Breakbulk26: Trade lane shifts, policy changes among evolving challenges for breakbulk cargo

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">A prolonged war would ultimately result in a shift from supply constraint to demand destruction for oil and natural gas coming from the Middle East, according to S&amp;P Global Energy expert Amy Groeschel.</div>

A prolonged war would ultimately result in a shift from supply constraint to demand destruction for oil and natural gas coming from the Middle East, according to S&P Global Energy expert Amy Groeschel.

<div class="phx-topic">New Orleans — How long it takes to resolve the war in the Middle East will ultimately decide how deep the compounding effects of the disruption to oil and natural gas production, refining, and the delivery of refined products will cut into global economies, Amy Groeschel, head of energy spending at S&amp;P Global Energy, said Wednesday. Groeschel was speaking at the Journal of Commerce’s Breakbulk and Project Cargo Conference 2026. A prolonged conflict would ultimately result in a switch from supply constraint to demand destruction for oil and natural gas coming from the Middle East, she said. “The longer the fields are not flowing, the longer and more expensive it will be to restart production,” Groeschel said, noting, too, the capital costs of repairing refining infrastructure at facilities damaged in the war. “The longer the conflict goes, and the more that affects access to fuel transiting [the Strait of Hormuz], the more it likely incentivizes oil and gas exploration elsewhere and incentivizes shifts toward other energy sources,” she added. Groeschel, a specialist in upstream energy analysis, described a “widespread destruction of refining in the Middle East” that would likely benefit engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies as well as the logistics providers that serve them when it comes time for costly repairs. But she said the scale of the outages and what OPEC countries produce, with some 16 million barrels of crude and refined products trapped inside the Strait of Hormuz each day, is “not replaceable in a short amount of time.” <h3>Venezuela not an option to replace Gulf oil supplies </h3>Groeschel noted that upstream spending on renewable energy was already on pace to outstrip oil and gas spending before the Middle East conflict broke out, with S&amp;P Global Energy forecasting peak demand for oil and gas by 2032. That trend might accelerate in the wake of the supply constraint, with countries and energy producers now looking at alternatives earlier than they might have. “It was an eventuality that clean tech spending was going to overtake oil and gas,” she said. “The infrastructure needed to build offshore wind would be larger. But the fastest growing sector is more modular solar, much of that coming from China.” Asked whether Venezuela could offset the oil supplies constrained by the Middle East conflict, Groeschel downplayed those expectations. “Venezuela produces heavy crude that has to be upgraded to even be transported by ship,” she said. “Rebuilding of those [upgrade] facilities will take time and massive investment, and a real commitment of government to produce stable conditions that let producers invest.” She added that even in the most optimistic forecast, Venezuela would be able to produce 3 million barrels of crude per day by 2030. Other potential oil-producing locations that could contribute to offset the lost supply from the Persian Gulf include Western Canada, the US, Argentina and Africa. S&amp;P Global is the parent company of the Journal of Commerce. Contact Eric Johnson at <a href="mailto:eric.johnson@spglobal.com">eric.johnson@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

New Orleans — How long it takes to resolve the war in the Middle East will ultimately decide how deep the compounding effects of the disruption to oil and natural gas production, refining, and the delivery of refined products will cut into global economies, Amy Groeschel, head of energy spending at S&P Global Energy, said Wednesday. Groeschel was speaking at the Journal of Commerce’s Breakbulk and Project Cargo Conference 2026. A prolonged conflict would ultimately result in a switch from supply constraint to demand destruction for oil and natural gas coming from the Middle East, she said. “The longer the fields are not flowing, the longer and more expensive it will be to restart production,” Groeschel said, noting, too, the capital costs of repairing refining infrastructure at facilities damaged in the war. “The longer the conflict goes, and the more that affects access to fuel transiting [the Strait of Hormuz], the more it likely incentivizes oil and gas exploration elsewhere and incentivizes shifts toward other energy sources,” she added. Groeschel, a specialist in upstream energy analysis, described a “widespread destruction of refining in the Middle East” that would likely benefit engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies as well as the logistics providers that serve them when it comes time for costly repairs. But she said the scale of the outages and what OPEC countries produce, with some 16 million barrels of crude and refined products trapped inside the Strait of Hormuz each day, is “not replaceable in a short amount of time.” Venezuela not an option to replace Gulf oil supplies Groeschel noted that upstream spending on renewable energy was already on pace to outstrip oil and gas spending before the Middle East conflict broke out, with S&P Global Energy forecasting peak demand for oil and gas by 2032. That trend might accelerate in the wake of the supply constraint, with countries and energy producers now looking at alternatives earlier than they might have. “It was an eventuality that clean tech spending was going to overtake oil and gas,” she said. “The infrastructure needed to build offshore wind would be larger. But the fastest growing sector is more modular solar, much of that coming from China.” Asked whether Venezuela could offset the oil supplies constrained by the Middle East conflict, Groeschel downplayed those expectations. “Venezuela produces heavy crude that has to be upgraded to even be transported by ship,” she said. “Rebuilding of those [upgrade] facilities will take time and massive investment, and a real commitment of government to produce stable conditions that let producers invest.” She added that even in the most optimistic forecast, Venezuela would be able to produce 3 million barrels of crude per day by 2030. Other potential oil-producing locations that could contribute to offset the lost supply from the Persian Gulf include Western Canada, the US, Argentina and Africa. S&P Global is the parent company of the Journal of Commerce. Contact Eric Johnson at eric.johnson@spglobal.com .

Energy projects

Breakbulk26: Loss of Persian Gulf oil supplies difficult to replace quickly

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Tariff refunds might be available for many breakbulk companies, but they still need to prepare for the possibility of new levies, conference attendees were told.</div>

Tariff refunds might be available for many breakbulk companies, but they still need to prepare for the possibility of new levies, conference attendees were told.

<div class="phx-topic">New Orleans — Project cargo and breakbulk shippers need to shift their thinking on tariffs and trade compliance from “strategic weapons” to “strategic and tactical” tools, according to sector specialists speaking at the Journal of Commerce’s Breakbulk and Project Cargo Conference 2026. Mance Adams, logistics manager and duty drawback project manager at oilfield services company SLB, said many companies treat tariffs and trade compliance as a secondary consideration. “I’ve talked to supply chain procurement, and they’ve come to me a year after a contract is negotiated, saying, ‘can you help me calculate the tariff on this?’ So, they had never calculated a true landed cost or total cost of ownership,” Adams said Tuesday. “When I told them that they have been paying 28%, they almost laughed me out of the office,” he added. Instead, Adams urged companies in the sector to consider trade compliance and the handling of tariffs and other import and export costs as something strategic and tactical. Elizabeth Lowe, Venable LLP partner and co-chair of the International Trade and Logistics Group, warned that companies should be “bracing” for further US tariffs this year. “We don’t really know what exactly it’s going to look like when it comes out, but I do think folks should be bracing for there being pretty broad tariffs that go back into effect in July,” she said. Lowe said that those tariffs will likely be challenged because of a rushed process, but stakeholders should start looking at mitigation options now. “It will be pushed through. Whether it is done correctly or not is another question,” she said. After tariffs implemented by the Trump administration under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/us-supreme-court-rules-against-trump-in-critical-ieepa-tariff-case-6173568">ruled illegal by the US Supreme Court in February</a>, shippers are now bracing for so-called Section 122 tariffs of 10% through July and the possibility of new tariffs resulting from ongoing Section 301 investigations. <h3>Tariff refund window now open </h3>The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has launched Phase 1of the IEEPA refund process, allowing importers of record and licensed customs brokers to file for refunds of tariffs paid between April 2025 and the Supreme Court ruling. These include so-called “reciprocal” tariffs ranging from 10% to 41% on most goods from nearly all US trading partners, a 40% additional duty on most imports from Brazil, and secondary tariff orders designed to penalize countries trading with nations such as Russia, Iran or Venezuela. “It covers a lot,” said Lowe. “Make sure you are getting it all. Don’t limit your refund just to the reciprocal tariffs.” She also advised that if project cargo and breakbulk companies are successful in their refund claim, they might find customers knocking on their door for their slice of the refund. “Figuring out how to deal with that,” is something that logistics specialists in the sector need to keep in mind and be aware of, Lowe said. “Customs is not going to come and tell you you’ve got to reimburse your customer,” she said. “Ultimately, that’s a commercial discussion.” Contact Carly Fields at <a href="mailto:carly.fields@spglobal.com">carly.fields@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

New Orleans — Project cargo and breakbulk shippers need to shift their thinking on tariffs and trade compliance from “strategic weapons” to “strategic and tactical” tools, according to sector specialists speaking at the Journal of Commerce’s Breakbulk and Project Cargo Conference 2026. Mance Adams, logistics manager and duty drawback project manager at oilfield services company SLB, said many companies treat tariffs and trade compliance as a secondary consideration. “I’ve talked to supply chain procurement, and they’ve come to me a year after a contract is negotiated, saying, ‘can you help me calculate the tariff on this?’ So, they had never calculated a true landed cost or total cost of ownership,” Adams said Tuesday. “When I told them that they have been paying 28%, they almost laughed me out of the office,” he added. Instead, Adams urged companies in the sector to consider trade compliance and the handling of tariffs and other import and export costs as something strategic and tactical. Elizabeth Lowe, Venable LLP partner and co-chair of the International Trade and Logistics Group, warned that companies should be “bracing” for further US tariffs this year. “We don’t really know what exactly it’s going to look like when it comes out, but I do think folks should be bracing for there being pretty broad tariffs that go back into effect in July,” she said. Lowe said that those tariffs will likely be challenged because of a rushed process, but stakeholders should start looking at mitigation options now. “It will be pushed through. Whether it is done correctly or not is another question,” she said. After tariffs implemented by the Trump administration under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were ruled illegal by the US Supreme Court in February , shippers are now bracing for so-called Section 122 tariffs of 10% through July and the possibility of new tariffs resulting from ongoing Section 301 investigations. Tariff refund window now open The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has launched Phase 1of the IEEPA refund process, allowing importers of record and licensed customs brokers to file for refunds of tariffs paid between April 2025 and the Supreme Court ruling. These include so-called “reciprocal” tariffs ranging from 10% to 41% on most goods from nearly all US trading partners, a 40% additional duty on most imports from Brazil, and secondary tariff orders designed to penalize countries trading with nations such as Russia, Iran or Venezuela. “It covers a lot,” said Lowe. “Make sure you are getting it all. Don’t limit your refund just to the reciprocal tariffs.” She also advised that if project cargo and breakbulk companies are successful in their refund claim, they might find customers knocking on their door for their slice of the refund. “Figuring out how to deal with that,” is something that logistics specialists in the sector need to keep in mind and be aware of, Lowe said. “Customs is not going to come and tell you you’ve got to reimburse your customer,” she said. “Ultimately, that’s a commercial discussion.” Contact Carly Fields at carly.fields@spglobal.com .

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Project cargo

Breakbulk26: Shippers urged to pivot from typical view of tariffs, trade compliance

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">An endless string of post-COVID-19 disruptions has caused breakbulk and project cargo carriers to become more agile while breaking down old barriers with shippers.</div>

An endless string of post-COVID-19 disruptions has caused breakbulk and project cargo carriers to become more agile while breaking down old barriers with shippers.

<div class="phx-topic">New Orleans — Early engagement, transparency and open communication between shippers and carriers have become necessities for managing fleets in a global trade environment in which chaos has become a constant, a panel of breakbulk and project cargo carriers told attendees at the Journal of Commerce’s Breakbulk and Project Cargo Conference 2026. “We have learned that uncertainty will remain,” said Carsten Wendt, an executive with roll-on/roll-off carrier Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean AS. Wendt said Tuesday that before COVID-19, the shipping landscape was somewhat predictable in terms of schedule. “Since COVID, we are facing constant fires everywhere in the world,” he said. “And as soon as you put one little fire out, there’s another one starting somewhere.” Between the pandemic and the ongoing war in the Middle East, Wendt cited a succession of global trade disruptions that have included the obstruction of the Suez Canal by a container ship, and then Houthi militants in Yemen targeting vessels in the Red Sea. The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore and the drought-inflicted low water levels along the Panama Canal added to the post-COVID-19 chaos. “Even if now one crisis [is] over, we have to be prepared that there’s another one around the corner,” Wendt said. <h3>‘Team effort’ with shippers </h3>The disruptions have underlined the importance of “open, frequent communication,” said Ulrich Ulrichs, CEO of German multipurpose vessel/heavy-lift (MPV-HL) operator BBC Chartering. Ulrichs said the industry has become accustomed to expecting the unexpected, and that carriers in particular have learned to react quickly in a crisis, as was the case when the war with Iran began. “I think we were much faster to react to the situation than maybe to other crises,” he said. Anders Hyrup, US vice president of sales and projects for JSI Alliance, which operates super-heavy carriers Jumbo and SAL-Intermarine and is based in Germany, said whereas before COVID there was more of an “us-versus-them” mentality between carriers and shippers, that dividing line has since blurred as carriers have worked to improve relationships with shippers. “It’s more of a team effort, and there’s a common understanding that there are issues for both parties,” he said. “Construction will be delayed, production will be delayed, ships will be delayed, and you need to prepare for that.” With the war in the Middle East upending the fuel supplies MPVs rely on, Michael Mørland, Atlantic region project cargo director for Norwegian MPV operator G2 Ocean, said bunker fuel price fluctuations and availability have necessitated advance planning for voyages and fuel. “We probably carry bigger stocks of bunkers than what we traditionally would, and that allows us [the] agility to go to the areas that are more affordable,” he said. Contact Autumn Cafiero Giusti at <a href="mailto:autumn@autumngiusti.com">autumn@autumngiusti.com</a>. </div>

New Orleans — Early engagement, transparency and open communication between shippers and carriers have become necessities for managing fleets in a global trade environment in which chaos has become a constant, a panel of breakbulk and project cargo carriers told attendees at the Journal of Commerce’s Breakbulk and Project Cargo Conference 2026. “We have learned that uncertainty will remain,” said Carsten Wendt, an executive with roll-on/roll-off carrier Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean AS. Wendt said Tuesday that before COVID-19, the shipping landscape was somewhat predictable in terms of schedule. “Since COVID, we are facing constant fires everywhere in the world,” he said. “And as soon as you put one little fire out, there’s another one starting somewhere.” Between the pandemic and the ongoing war in the Middle East, Wendt cited a succession of global trade disruptions that have included the obstruction of the Suez Canal by a container ship, and then Houthi militants in Yemen targeting vessels in the Red Sea. The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore and the drought-inflicted low water levels along the Panama Canal added to the post-COVID-19 chaos. “Even if now one crisis [is] over, we have to be prepared that there’s another one around the corner,” Wendt said. ‘Team effort’ with shippers The disruptions have underlined the importance of “open, frequent communication,” said Ulrich Ulrichs, CEO of German multipurpose vessel/heavy-lift (MPV-HL) operator BBC Chartering. Ulrichs said the industry has become accustomed to expecting the unexpected, and that carriers in particular have learned to react quickly in a crisis, as was the case when the war with Iran began. “I think we were much faster to react to the situation than maybe to other crises,” he said. Anders Hyrup, US vice president of sales and projects for JSI Alliance, which operates super-heavy carriers Jumbo and SAL-Intermarine and is based in Germany, said whereas before COVID there was more of an “us-versus-them” mentality between carriers and shippers, that dividing line has since blurred as carriers have worked to improve relationships with shippers. “It’s more of a team effort, and there’s a common understanding that there are issues for both parties,” he said. “Construction will be delayed, production will be delayed, ships will be delayed, and you need to prepare for that.” With the war in the Middle East upending the fuel supplies MPVs rely on, Michael Mørland, Atlantic region project cargo director for Norwegian MPV operator G2 Ocean, said bunker fuel price fluctuations and availability have necessitated advance planning for voyages and fuel. “We probably carry bigger stocks of bunkers than what we traditionally would, and that allows us [the] agility to go to the areas that are more affordable,” he said. Contact Autumn Cafiero Giusti at autumn@autumngiusti.com .

Breakbulk26: Repeated global crises force carriers to adopt strategies for uncertainty

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