<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Exports of U.S. steel fell off nearly 5 percent to 935,335 tons from October to November, according to the American Institute for International Steel.</div>

Exports of U.S. steel fell off nearly 5 percent to 935,335 tons from October to November, according to the American Institute for International Steel.

<div>Exports of U.S. steel fell off nearly 5 percent to 935,335 tons from October to November, according to the American Institute for International Steel. Comparing November 2009 to November 2008, however, total exports of this typically breakbulk cargo were up 1.5 percent. Exports to Canada, the largest trading partner of the United States, were off 11 percent from October to November, to 479,182 tons, while exports to Mexico were off 8.5 percent, to 188,479 tons.The overall decline reflects continuing weakness in NAFTA markets, said AIIS President David Phelps. Year to date, total exports were off 34.5 percent through November, declining...

Exports of U.S. steel fell off nearly 5 percent to 935,335 tons from October to November, according to the American Institute for International Steel. Comparing November 2009 to November 2008, however, total exports of this typically breakbulk cargo were up 1.5 percent. Exports to Canada, the largest trading partner of the United States, were off 11 percent from October to November, to 479,182 tons, while exports to Mexico were off 8.5 percent, to 188,479 tons. The overall decline reflects continuing weakness in NAFTA markets, said AIIS President David Phelps. Year to date, total exports were off 34.5 percent through November, declining from 12.8 million tons to 8.4 million tons. Contact Janet Nodar at jcnodar@bellsouth.net .

Maritime

Forwarding

Steel Exports Fall 5 Percent in November

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">With demand expectations faltering, carriers have either jettisoned or substantially lowered the increases they were planning to implement beginning May 1, forwarder sources tell the Journal of Commerce.</div>

With demand expectations faltering, carriers have either jettisoned or substantially lowered the increases they were planning to implement beginning May 1, forwarder sources tell the Journal of Commerce.

Feature image

<div class="phx-topic">The India-US East Coast market continues to remain bumpy for container carriers to drive any sort of material rate gains, industry sources say. Major carriers on the trade lane last month announced a series of rate hike plans, ranging from $1,000 to $2,500 per container, through May seemingly to take advantage of a potential upturn in shipper bookings linked to a 90-day tariff reprieve in place for Indian exports to the US. But with those demand expectations faltering, carriers have now either jettisoned or substantially lowered the increases they were planning to implement beginning May 1, forwarder sources told the Journal of Commerce. “As of now, volumes are low and spot space on most May sailings, despite a few upcoming blankings, is open,” said a sales executive at a Mumbai-based forwarding house who did not want to be identified. “There’s a sense of nervousness among carriers about their pricing ability.” A second round of general rate increases (GRIs) or peak season surcharges (PSSs) around the middle of May has also been put on the back burner in most cases, forwarder sources confirmed. “We have fully waived the May 11 GRI ($1,500 per container) to the US East/Gulf coasts and North America West Coast,” Hapag-Lloyd (India) said in an email sent to customers that was seen by the Journal of Commerce. Additionally, Maersk is understood to have canceled a $1,250-per-container PSS it was to begin charging from May 5 on loads from West India to the US and Canada. Sources put spot quotes from Maersk at $2,129 per TEU and $2,419 per FEU for early-May sailings, arguably the lowest level among the lead India-USEC operators. “Maersk has become unusually aggressive in spot pricing to fill its enhanced West India-North America capacity, forcing others to readjust rates,” a second forwarder said. Platts, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global, pegged India-US East Coast spot rates at $2,733 per FEU as of April 30. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="56199e2b-5df4-468f-a149-b18ae7c32e51"></dynamic-object></div>Maersk is also said to be using a new contract strategy of offering rates on a quarterly basis, generally with penalty clauses, as it aims to rebuild India-US market share lost to competitors over the last few years. Other major carriers have been somewhat tentative about pushing contract deals with customers due to the volatile market environment, sources say. “It’s likely that carrier rate plans will get pushed back again, until June 1, as a more moderate increase than what they have attempted now,” an NVO source said. On the capacity front, CMA CGM has two West India void calls this month on its Indamex service, schedule data indicates. The carrier is also reportedly considering discontinuing an existing Indamex stop at Sri Lanka’s Colombo Port due to volume pressures. Contact Bency Mathew at <a href="mailto:bencyvmathew@gmail.com">bencyvmathew@gmail.com.</a></div>

The India-US East Coast market continues to remain bumpy for container carriers to drive any sort of material rate gains, industry sources say. Major carriers on the trade lane last month announced a series of rate hike plans, ranging from $1,000 to $2,500 per container, through May seemingly to take advantage of a potential upturn in shipper bookings linked to a 90-day tariff reprieve in place for Indian exports to the US. But with those demand expectations faltering, carriers have now either jettisoned or substantially lowered the increases they were planning to implement beginning May 1, forwarder sources told the Journal of Commerce. “As of now, volumes are low and spot space on most May sailings, despite a few upcoming blankings, is open,” said a sales executive at a Mumbai-based forwarding house who did not want to be identified. “There’s a sense of nervousness among carriers about their pricing ability.” A second round of general rate increases (GRIs) or peak season surcharges (PSSs) around the middle of May has also been put on the back burner in most cases, forwarder sources confirmed. “We have fully waived the May 11 GRI ($1,500 per container) to the US East/Gulf coasts and North America West Coast,” Hapag-Lloyd (India) said in an email sent to customers that was seen by the Journal of Commerce. Additionally, Maersk is understood to have canceled a $1,250-per-container PSS it was to begin charging from May 5 on loads from West India to the US and Canada. Sources put spot quotes from Maersk at $2,129 per TEU and $2,419 per FEU for early-May sailings, arguably the lowest level among the lead India-USEC operators. “Maersk has become unusually aggressive in spot pricing to fill its enhanced West India-North America capacity, forcing others to readjust rates,” a second forwarder said. Platts, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global, pegged India-US East Coast spot rates at $2,733 per FEU as of April 30. Maersk is also said to be using a new contract strategy of offering rates on a quarterly basis, generally with penalty clauses, as it aims to rebuild India-US market share lost to competitors over the last few years. Other major carriers have been somewhat tentative about pushing contract deals with customers due to the volatile market environment, sources say. “It’s likely that carrier rate plans will get pushed back again, until June 1, as a more moderate increase than what they have attempted now,” an NVO source said. On the capacity front, CMA CGM has two West India void calls this month on its Indamex service, schedule data indicates. The carrier is also reportedly considering discontinuing an existing Indamex stop at Sri Lanka’s Colombo Port due to volume pressures. Contact Bency Mathew at bencyvmathew@gmail.com.

Container Shipping News

Port News

Container lines

North American ports

International ports

India-US liners pull early-May rate hikes as capacity stays ahead of demand

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The Big Three oil field service companies, key drivers of breakbulk steel industrial project cargo, are bearish in their forecasts for the year as global economic uncertainty eats into profits and project pipelines.</div>

The Big Three oil field service companies, key drivers of breakbulk steel industrial project cargo, are bearish in their forecasts for the year as global economic uncertainty eats into profits and project pipelines.

<div class="phx-topic">With performance slipping in their latest quarterly results, the world’s three largest oil field services companies are bracing for a hit from the one-two punch of falling oil prices and US tariffs on the steel imports they rely on for rigs and pipelines.First-quarter results slid for Baker Hughes, Halliburton, and SLB, formerly Schlumberger Ltd., and the three Houston-based companies raised concerns about tariff-driven supply chain disruptions this year. The Big Three companies provide services and equipment for the oil and gas industry and are key drivers of breakbulk steel industrial project cargo.SLB CEO Oliver Le Peuch said yearly exploration and production spending is trending downward for the company following a “subdued start” to the fiscal year. In the company’s late April earnings call, Le Peuch said global upstream spend for 2025 will come in lower than last year, with a higher decline than previously anticipated. “The industry is navigating global economic uncertainty from the supply-demand imbalance and recent tariff announcements,” he said. “In this environment, commodity prices are challenged, and until they stabilize, customers are likely to take a more cautious approach to near-term activity and discretionary spending.”SLB’s first-quarter revenues fell 3% to $8.5 billion from a year ago, as gains in North America were significantly offset by a sharper-than-expected reduction in drilling activity in Mexico, a slow start to the year in Saudi Arabia and a steep decline in Russia.SLB expects to see new oil supplies as OPEC plans to increase crude production beginning in May. “This comes at a time when the macroeconomic picture remains uncertain due to global trade concerns, which have the potential to result in lower liquid demand than originally expected for the year,” Le Peuch said.<h3>Equipment, tech imports in crosshairs</h3>Baker Hughes is expecting a “significant challenge” from tariffs, with shipments from China for US industrial tech projects, critical equipment from Italy, and steel and aluminum facing the greatest exposure, according to the company’s Q1 earnings call. Baker Hughes is projecting it will take a $100 million to $200 million earnings hit from tariffs this year — assuming rates applied during the Trump administration’s 90-day tariff pause continue for the remainder of 2025.“We continue to monitor the evolving landscape closely and are taking proactive steps to mitigate the potential impact of changes in trade policy, particularly tariff rates,” Lorenzo Simonelli, Baker Hughes’s chairman and CEO, said on the earnings call.First-quarter revenues remained flat at $6.4 billion but fell short of expectations by $100 million. Overall orders fell 1% to $6.5 billion for the first three months of 2025 and were down 14% from the previous quarter. One growth area for the company has been industrial and energy technology, with $3.2 billion in first-quarter orders, up 9% from a year ago.“Generally, we see growing opportunities in North America for gas infrastructure driven by LNG (liquefied natural gas) capacity expansion along the Gulf Coast and AI-led demand for gas-powered data centers,” Simonelli said.<h3>Halliburton pulls supply chain levers</h3>Halliburton CFO Eric Carre said the company plans to rely on its “well-diversified” supply chain to mitigate the impacts of tariffs, which the company expects will eat into second-quarter earnings by 2 to 3 cents per share.“We need a bit more clarity and stability in the structure of tariffs so that we can really understand what levers we can pull, and then what the overall outcome is going to be,” Carre said during the company’s first-quarter earnings call.In North America, Halliburton’s largest geographic segment by revenue, revenues dropped 12% to $2.2 billion, while international revenues fell $2% to $3.2 billion. CEO Jeff Miller said that although the company will get a boost from upcoming offshore work overseas, international revenues are on track to remain flat to slightly down for the 2025 fiscal year.“While our overall international outlook has not materially changed, it is reasonable to assume that there is more risk embedded in our outlook today than three months ago,” Miller said.Reach Autumn Cafiero Giusti at <a href="mailto:autumn@autumngiusti.com">autumn@autumngiusti.com</a>.</div>

With performance slipping in their latest quarterly results, the world’s three largest oil field services companies are bracing for a hit from the one-two punch of falling oil prices and US tariffs on the steel imports they rely on for rigs and pipelines. First-quarter results slid for Baker Hughes, Halliburton, and SLB, formerly Schlumberger Ltd., and the three Houston-based companies raised concerns about tariff-driven supply chain disruptions this year. The Big Three companies provide services and equipment for the oil and gas industry and are key drivers of breakbulk steel industrial project cargo. SLB CEO Oliver Le Peuch said yearly exploration and production spending is trending downward for the company following a “subdued start” to the fiscal year. In the company’s late April earnings call, Le Peuch said global upstream spend for 2025 will come in lower than last year, with a higher decline than previously anticipated. “The industry is navigating global economic uncertainty from the supply-demand imbalance and recent tariff announcements,” he said. “In this environment, commodity prices are challenged, and until they stabilize, customers are likely to take a more cautious approach to near-term activity and discretionary spending.” SLB’s first-quarter revenues fell 3% to $8.5 billion from a year ago, as gains in North America were significantly offset by a sharper-than-expected reduction in drilling activity in Mexico, a slow start to the year in Saudi Arabia and a steep decline in Russia. SLB expects to see new oil supplies as OPEC plans to increase crude production beginning in May. “This comes at a time when the macroeconomic picture remains uncertain due to global trade concerns, which have the potential to result in lower liquid demand than originally expected for the year,” Le Peuch said. Equipment, tech imports in crosshairs Baker Hughes is expecting a “significant challenge” from tariffs, with shipments from China for US industrial tech projects, critical equipment from Italy, and steel and aluminum facing the greatest exposure, according to the company’s Q1 earnings call. Baker Hughes is projecting it will take a $100 million to $200 million earnings hit from tariffs this year — assuming rates applied during the Trump administration’s 90-day tariff pause continue for the remainder of 2025. “We continue to monitor the evolving landscape closely and are taking proactive steps to mitigate the potential impact of changes in trade policy, particularly tariff rates,” Lorenzo Simonelli, Baker Hughes’s chairman and CEO, said on the earnings call. First-quarter revenues remained flat at $6.4 billion but fell short of expectations by $100 million. Overall orders fell 1% to $6.5 billion for the first three months of 2025 and were down 14% from the previous quarter. One growth area for the company has been industrial and energy technology, with $3.2 billion in first-quarter orders, up 9% from a year ago. “Generally, we see growing opportunities in North America for gas infrastructure driven by LNG (liquefied natural gas) capacity expansion along the Gulf Coast and AI-led demand for gas-powered data centers,” Simonelli said. Halliburton pulls supply chain levers Halliburton CFO Eric Carre said the company plans to rely on its “well-diversified” supply chain to mitigate the impacts of tariffs, which the company expects will eat into second-quarter earnings by 2 to 3 cents per share. “We need a bit more clarity and stability in the structure of tariffs so that we can really understand what levers we can pull, and then what the overall outcome is going to be,” Carre said during the company’s first-quarter earnings call. In North America, Halliburton’s largest geographic segment by revenue, revenues dropped 12% to $2.2 billion, while international revenues fell $2% to $3.2 billion. CEO Jeff Miller said that although the company will get a boost from upcoming offshore work overseas, international revenues are on track to remain flat to slightly down for the 2025 fiscal year. “While our overall international outlook has not materially changed, it is reasonable to assume that there is more risk embedded in our outlook today than three months ago,” Miller said. Reach Autumn Cafiero Giusti at autumn@autumngiusti.com .

Energy projects

Project cargo

Breakbulk News

US tariffs dampen 2025 outlook from oil field service majors

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">National drayage providers experiencing a sharp decline in orders as US tariffs come into effect now warn that a second-half rebound could be just as disruptive. </div>

National drayage providers experiencing a sharp decline in orders as US tariffs come into effect now warn that a second-half rebound could be just as disruptive.

<div class="phx-topic">Drayage providers who handled the early 2025 surge of US-bound cargo booked ahead of US tariffs are now bracing for a significant drop in business that will begin in May and potentially last into the third quarter. They’re also girding for a disruptive import rebound once trade disputes abate. “What happens in the third quarter is going to be the big story,” said Paul Brashier, vice president of global supply chain for ITS Logistics, a Reno, Nevada-based third-party logistics provider offering over-the-road truckload and drayage services. Once US trade disputes with China and other trading partners are resolved, “there will be a wave of freight that will stress the system,” Brashier said. “We’re pretty much looking at a similar event as we saw with COVID in 2020. There will be pent-up demand.” Indeed, container shipping lines are already warning that a rebound in Asian imports following the expected plunge linked to the US-China trade dispute may <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/container-lines-warn-of-congestion-threat-when-asia-imports-rebound-5993793">overwhelm major US ports</a>. The biggest danger, they say, could be a lack of capacity outside port gates to handle a rapid acceleration in freight. That concern starts at drayage. “We’re warning customers to be very strategic with their dray partners,” said Ken Kellaway, CEO of RoadOne IntermodaLogistics, a nationwide drayage provider with headquarters near Boston. “If we lose drivers over the next 30 to 45 days, it will take weeks to get them back,” Kellaway said. “Shippers will be in trouble if we can’t preserve the capacity we have in the system today.” He said a freight “whiplash” could hit US ports as early as mid-June. <h3>Potential for a ‘reset’ </h3>US drayage capacity appears to be <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/shrinking-us-drayage-capacity-to-continue-outstripping-demand-5971095">slowly shrinking from a 2022 high</a>, with some of those losses attributed to the migration of owner-operators to the security of larger carriers. Still, excess drayage capacity persists, putting pressure on already-low rates. However, the Trump administration’s efforts to reshape global trade could reset the drayage market, especially if trade negotiations drag on without a resolution or a lowering of tariff rates that would encourage beneficial cargo owners (BCOs) to boost US imports. “The market’s been soft anyway, so a lot of small drayage companies are struggling with cash flow, taking any freight to keep going,” said Joel Henry, CEO of IMC Logistics, a nationwide drayage provider with headquarters near Memphis. “Now without the volume, they’ll not even have that cash flow,” Henry said. That could push small carriers that have stayed in business despite low rates the past two years out of the market, tightening capacity immediately when a rebound hits US ports. “I think there’s going to be a shakeout in capacity in the next month,” said Brian Kempisty, co-founder of drayage broker Port X Logistics, based in Buffalo, New York. “It could be three months, but when freight comes back, it will come back with a vengeance.” <h3>Drayage on the edge </h3>With the trajectory of trade disputes with China and other countries uncertain, many shippers in April canceled or postponed purchase orders from China. That big pause will lead to a real plunge in drayage demand at US ports and inland rail ramps. The US imposed combined tariffs of 145% on China on April 2, and China in turn imposed a 125% tariff on many US goods, including agricultural products. Another tranche of reciprocal tariffs on trading partners around the globe was paused for 90 days until July 9. And importers are also dealing with a 10% tariff on goods from almost all US trading partners, as well as 25% tariffs on steel, aluminum and automotive products and 25% tariffs on <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/tariff-uncertainty-pushing-up-transportation-costs-at-us-mexico-border-5984698">other goods from Mexico and Canada</a> that took effect in March. Bookings for containers headed from China to the US <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/trans-pacific-capacity-cuts-accelerating-amid-sharp-reduction-in-chinese-cargo-5992769">dropped nearly 54%</a> during the week of April 21–28 versus the comparable week in March, according to maritime visibility provider Vizion and data and analytics company Dun &amp; Bradstreet. “One of our large customers who imports through Savannah shared with us that they canceled all their purchase orders from China for the next 30 days,” said Kent Williams, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Cookeville, Tennessee-based Averitt. The regional trucking and drayage provider, which drays about 45,000 containers a year in the Southeast, saw its drayage business jump 10% to 12% year over year in the first quarter as customers rushed goods to the US ahead of the tariffs. In the past month, as the tariffs on China took effect, Averitt’s drayage volumes have dropped 5% year over year. “There’s a real fear it could get worse,” Williams said. “All the canceled bookings and blanked sailings are about to hit the supply chain in a big way.” The effects of the trade war on drayage are just becoming apparent, said Port X’s Kempisty. “Freight that sailed April 1,” just before the US tariffs on China took effect, “is arriving in the US now,” he said. But that will be the last frontloaded freight from China. “In drayage, we’re at the front end of this,” said Kempisty. The initial impact will be on the West Coast, but it won’t be long before inland markets begin to see volumes drop. “Inland drayage markets in Chicago and Kansas City are going to see a fairly substantial decline in the next couple of weeks,” he said. IMC Logistics, <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/kn-acquires-majority-stake-in-big-us-drayage-provider-5817584">purchased by global forwarder</a> Kuehne + Nagel last November, saw its drayage volume drop 14.2% in the last seven days as of Tuesday, and 8.1% in the last 30 days. “We’re seeing double-digit decreases in the orders we’re tracing,” Henry said. Added RoadOne’s Kellaway: “We haven’t seen the business fall off yet, but we know it’s coming.” Over the next few weeks, RoadOne anticipates its drayage volumes will drop 30% on the West Coast, 20% in the Midwest and 15% on the East Coast. “We could see a three- to four-week lull in volumes, so we’re moving equipment around,” he said. <h3>How long a decline? </h3>Other drayage providers offered similar forecasts of shipment decline, but no one has a clear idea of how long it will last. Guesses — it’s hard to call them estimates — have ranged from three weeks to three months or longer, in worst-case scenarios. The monthly Global Port Tracker produced by the National Retail Foundation (NRF) and Hackett Associates in April predicted US retail imports will be down 20% year over year in the second half of 2025, with a 20.2% decline in May and a 26.6% drop in June. “Even if there’s a [US-China] agreement today, there will still be this period where there will be less work coming inbound to the ports, with less drays, less transload, less truckload and less-than-truckload [LTL],” said Williams. “All this is already in motion.” The longer the “lull” or “pause” in Asian imports lasts, the bigger the long-term impact on drayage. And the bigger the rebound may be when trade disputes are settled. “If we get agreements before July, we could have an aggressive second half of the year,” Keith Prather, managing partner at Armada Capital Intelligence, said during an SMC3 webinar Tuesday on tariffs, the economy and the LTL sector. A big enough freight snap could boost not only drayage but other transportation modes out of what’s now a four-year freight downturn. “I look forward to dealing with the congestion,” said Henry. “That’s a much better challenge than this decline, because our driver base will be stable.” Contact William B. Cassidy at <a href="Mailto:bill.cassidy@spglobal.com">bill.cassidy@spglobal.com</a>.Associate editor Laura Robb contributed to this story. </div>

Drayage providers who handled the early 2025 surge of US-bound cargo booked ahead of US tariffs are now bracing for a significant drop in business that will begin in May and potentially last into the third quarter. They’re also girding for a disruptive import rebound once trade disputes abate. “What happens in the third quarter is going to be the big story,” said Paul Brashier, vice president of global supply chain for ITS Logistics, a Reno, Nevada-based third-party logistics provider offering over-the-road truckload and drayage services. Once US trade disputes with China and other trading partners are resolved, “there will be a wave of freight that will stress the system,” Brashier said. “We’re pretty much looking at a similar event as we saw with COVID in 2020. There will be pent-up demand.” Indeed, container shipping lines are already warning that a rebound in Asian imports following the expected plunge linked to the US-China trade dispute may overwhelm major US ports . The biggest danger, they say, could be a lack of capacity outside port gates to handle a rapid acceleration in freight. That concern starts at drayage. “We’re warning customers to be very strategic with their dray partners,” said Ken Kellaway, CEO of RoadOne IntermodaLogistics, a nationwide drayage provider with headquarters near Boston. “If we lose drivers over the next 30 to 45 days, it will take weeks to get them back,” Kellaway said. “Shippers will be in trouble if we can’t preserve the capacity we have in the system today.” He said a freight “whiplash” could hit US ports as early as mid-June. Potential for a ‘reset’ US drayage capacity appears to be slowly shrinking from a 2022 high , with some of those losses attributed to the migration of owner-operators to the security of larger carriers. Still, excess drayage capacity persists, putting pressure on already-low rates. However, the Trump administration’s efforts to reshape global trade could reset the drayage market, especially if trade negotiations drag on without a resolution or a lowering of tariff rates that would encourage beneficial cargo owners (BCOs) to boost US imports. “The market’s been soft anyway, so a lot of small drayage companies are struggling with cash flow, taking any freight to keep going,” said Joel Henry, CEO of IMC Logistics, a nationwide drayage provider with headquarters near Memphis. “Now without the volume, they’ll not even have that cash flow,” Henry said. That could push small carriers that have stayed in business despite low rates the past two years out of the market, tightening capacity immediately when a rebound hits US ports. “I think there’s going to be a shakeout in capacity in the next month,” said Brian Kempisty, co-founder of drayage broker Port X Logistics, based in Buffalo, New York. “It could be three months, but when freight comes back, it will come back with a vengeance.” Drayage on the edge With the trajectory of trade disputes with China and other countries uncertain, many shippers in April canceled or postponed purchase orders from China. That big pause will lead to a real plunge in drayage demand at US ports and inland rail ramps. The US imposed combined tariffs of 145% on China on April 2, and China in turn imposed a 125% tariff on many US goods, including agricultural products. Another tranche of reciprocal tariffs on trading partners around the globe was paused for 90 days until July 9. And importers are also dealing with a 10% tariff on goods from almost all US trading partners, as well as 25% tariffs on steel, aluminum and automotive products and 25% tariffs on other goods from Mexico and Canada that took effect in March. Bookings for containers headed from China to the US dropped nearly 54% during the week of April 21–28 versus the comparable week in March, according to maritime visibility provider Vizion and data and analytics company Dun & Bradstreet. “One of our large customers who imports through Savannah shared with us that they canceled all their purchase orders from China for the next 30 days,” said Kent Williams, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Cookeville, Tennessee-based Averitt. The regional trucking and drayage provider, which drays about 45,000 containers a year in the Southeast, saw its drayage business jump 10% to 12% year over year in the first quarter as customers rushed goods to the US ahead of the tariffs. In the past month, as the tariffs on China took effect, Averitt’s drayage volumes have dropped 5% year over year. “There’s a real fear it could get worse,” Williams said. “All the canceled bookings and blanked sailings are about to hit the supply chain in a big way.” The effects of the trade war on drayage are just becoming apparent, said Port X’s Kempisty. “Freight that sailed April 1,” just before the US tariffs on China took effect, “is arriving in the US now,” he said. But that will be the last frontloaded freight from China. “In drayage, we’re at the front end of this,” said Kempisty. The initial impact will be on the West Coast, but it won’t be long before inland markets begin to see volumes drop. “Inland drayage markets in Chicago and Kansas City are going to see a fairly substantial decline in the next couple of weeks,” he said. IMC Logistics, purchased by global forwarder Kuehne + Nagel last November, saw its drayage volume drop 14.2% in the last seven days as of Tuesday, and 8.1% in the last 30 days. “We’re seeing double-digit decreases in the orders we’re tracing,” Henry said. Added RoadOne’s Kellaway: “We haven’t seen the business fall off yet, but we know it’s coming.” Over the next few weeks, RoadOne anticipates its drayage volumes will drop 30% on the West Coast, 20% in the Midwest and 15% on the East Coast. “We could see a three- to four-week lull in volumes, so we’re moving equipment around,” he said. How long a decline? Other drayage providers offered similar forecasts of shipment decline, but no one has a clear idea of how long it will last. Guesses — it’s hard to call them estimates — have ranged from three weeks to three months or longer, in worst-case scenarios. The monthly Global Port Tracker produced by the National Retail Foundation (NRF) and Hackett Associates in April predicted US retail imports will be down 20% year over year in the second half of 2025, with a 20.2% decline in May and a 26.6% drop in June. “Even if there’s a [US-China] agreement today, there will still be this period where there will be less work coming inbound to the ports, with less drays, less transload, less truckload and less-than-truckload [LTL],” said Williams. “All this is already in motion.” The longer the “lull” or “pause” in Asian imports lasts, the bigger the long-term impact on drayage. And the bigger the rebound may be when trade disputes are settled. “If we get agreements before July, we could have an aggressive second half of the year,” Keith Prather, managing partner at Armada Capital Intelligence, said during an SMC3 webinar Tuesday on tariffs, the economy and the LTL sector. A big enough freight snap could boost not only drayage but other transportation modes out of what’s now a four-year freight downturn. “I look forward to dealing with the congestion,” said Henry. “That’s a much better challenge than this decline, because our driver base will be stable.” Contact William B. Cassidy at bill.cassidy@spglobal.com .Associate editor Laura Robb contributed to this story.

Trucking News

Drayage

Surface

US drayage providers bracing for container plunge say rebound could reset market

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The carrier and competitor Hapag-Lloyd announced strong financial results Wednesday, but both said the success of early 2025 won’t be replicated through the balance of the year given market headwinds linked to the global trade conflict. </div>

The carrier and competitor Hapag-Lloyd announced strong financial results Wednesday, but both said the success of early 2025 won’t be replicated through the balance of the year given market headwinds linked to the global trade conflict.

<div class="phx-topic">Ocean Network Express (ONE) on Wednesday slashed its fiscal year 2025 profit forecast by more than 75%, citing economic instability linked to the global tariff war ignited by the Trump administration. Singapore-based ONE said it now expects full-year profits of about $250 million, down from an earlier estimate of $1.1 billion. A fiscal first-half profit of about $350 million will be followed by a $100 million net loss in the last six months of its fiscal year, the carrier projects. ONE’s 2025 fiscal year began April 1 and ends March 31, 2026. The carrier said the huge downgrade in profit expectations was made after considering “potential headwinds such as weakened cargo volumes in specific trade lanes and reductions in freight rates across global markets” due to heightened geopolitical and economy uncertainty. Fiscal year 2025 revenues will likely be about $8.5 billion in the carrier’s first-half period and $8 billion between October and March, down from its earlier forecast of $9.5 billion in the first half and $8.5 billion in the second. <h3>Big jump in FY’24 profit </h3>ONE revealed its revised forecasts as part of its fiscal 2024 annual results, which showed a 336% increase in net profit to $4.2 billion, up from $972 million in the prior-year period. Revenue climbed 32% to $19.2 billion, while liftings rose 6% to 12.75 million TEUs. Cargo volumes from Asia to North America increased 13.4% in January and February year over year, likely due to robust demand on strong US consumer spending and frontloading by importers in anticipation of tariff hikes, ONE said. But volumes have fallen on major trade lanes since the Lunar New Year amid “a tendency to hold off on shipments due to uncertainty about the outlook,” the carrier said. While continued vessel diversions around the Cape of Good Hope led to tight vessel supply in January, weakened cargo demand since then has led to a vessel oversupply, it added. The latest economic data from China released Wednesday confirm the slowdown in trade. China’s Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) dropped to 49 in April from 50.5 in March as the US-led tariff and trade dispute impacted output. China’s new orders index also contracted in April, to 49.2 from 52.4 in March, reflecting a dearth of new contracts. <h3>Hagag-Lloyd warns of ‘considerable uncertainty’ </h3>Echoing ONE’s view of the container market, Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen said Wednesday the current market was characterized by uncertainty. “We therefore continue to expect lower results for 2025 as a whole,” he said in a statement announcing the carrier’s first-quarter results. Earnings forecasts for 2025 that were released in January remain unchanged, for now. Hapag-Lloyd still expects group earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to range between $2.5 billion and $4 billion, with group earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of between zero and $1.5 billion. “This forecast remains subject to considerable uncertainty due to the volatile development of freight rates and major geopolitical challenges,” the carrier said. “Both the ongoing tense situation in the Red Sea and the global trade conflict could have a significant impact on supply and demand in container shipping and thus also on Hapag-Lloyd’s earnings performance.” Despite the market challenges, Habben Jansen said Hapag-Lloyd “got off to a good start in the first quarter.” The carrier saw a 15% increase in group revenue to $5.3 billion in the quarter, from $4.6 billion a year ago. Its average freight rates rose to $1,450 per TEU against $1,359/TEU, while liftings climbed to 3.3 million TEUs from 3 million TEUs in the year-earlier period. Contact Keith Wallis at <a href="mailto:keithwallis@hotmail.com">keithwallis@hotmail.com</a>.</div>

Ocean Network Express (ONE) on Wednesday slashed its fiscal year 2025 profit forecast by more than 75%, citing economic instability linked to the global tariff war ignited by the Trump administration. Singapore-based ONE said it now expects full-year profits of about $250 million, down from an earlier estimate of $1.1 billion. A fiscal first-half profit of about $350 million will be followed by a $100 million net loss in the last six months of its fiscal year, the carrier projects. ONE’s 2025 fiscal year began April 1 and ends March 31, 2026. The carrier said the huge downgrade in profit expectations was made after considering “potential headwinds such as weakened cargo volumes in specific trade lanes and reductions in freight rates across global markets” due to heightened geopolitical and economy uncertainty. Fiscal year 2025 revenues will likely be about $8.5 billion in the carrier’s first-half period and $8 billion between October and March, down from its earlier forecast of $9.5 billion in the first half and $8.5 billion in the second. Big jump in FY’24 profit ONE revealed its revised forecasts as part of its fiscal 2024 annual results, which showed a 336% increase in net profit to $4.2 billion, up from $972 million in the prior-year period. Revenue climbed 32% to $19.2 billion, while liftings rose 6% to 12.75 million TEUs. Cargo volumes from Asia to North America increased 13.4% in January and February year over year, likely due to robust demand on strong US consumer spending and frontloading by importers in anticipation of tariff hikes, ONE said. But volumes have fallen on major trade lanes since the Lunar New Year amid “a tendency to hold off on shipments due to uncertainty about the outlook,” the carrier said. While continued vessel diversions around the Cape of Good Hope led to tight vessel supply in January, weakened cargo demand since then has led to a vessel oversupply, it added. The latest economic data from China released Wednesday confirm the slowdown in trade. China’s Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) dropped to 49 in April from 50.5 in March as the US-led tariff and trade dispute impacted output. China’s new orders index also contracted in April, to 49.2 from 52.4 in March, reflecting a dearth of new contracts. Hagag-Lloyd warns of ‘considerable uncertainty’ Echoing ONE’s view of the container market, Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen said Wednesday the current market was characterized by uncertainty. “We therefore continue to expect lower results for 2025 as a whole,” he said in a statement announcing the carrier’s first-quarter results. Earnings forecasts for 2025 that were released in January remain unchanged, for now. Hapag-Lloyd still expects group earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to range between $2.5 billion and $4 billion, with group earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of between zero and $1.5 billion. “This forecast remains subject to considerable uncertainty due to the volatile development of freight rates and major geopolitical challenges,” the carrier said. “Both the ongoing tense situation in the Red Sea and the global trade conflict could have a significant impact on supply and demand in container shipping and thus also on Hapag-Lloyd’s earnings performance.” Despite the market challenges, Habben Jansen said Hapag-Lloyd “got off to a good start in the first quarter.” The carrier saw a 15% increase in group revenue to $5.3 billion in the quarter, from $4.6 billion a year ago. Its average freight rates rose to $1,450 per TEU against $1,359/TEU, while liftings climbed to 3.3 million TEUs from 3 million TEUs in the year-earlier period. Contact Keith Wallis at keithwallis@hotmail.com .

Asia-Europe

Trans-Pacific

ONE makes big cut in FY 2025 profit forecast due to economic uncertainty

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">After getting the year off to a solid start in the first quarter, Jens Lund said the real work begins now to bring the two global forwarders together under the DSV brand.</div>

After getting the year off to a solid start in the first quarter, Jens Lund said the real work begins now to bring the two global forwarders together under the DSV brand.

<div class="phx-topic">DSV completed its all-cash $16.25 billion takeover of DB Schenker Wednesday and began a multi-year journey to integrate its largest-ever acquisition in a process CEO Jens Lund described as “a mammoth test” for the combined forwarding group. “You’ve furnished the capital, and now we have to deliver on the business plan,” Lund told investors on DSV’s first-quarter earnings call after reporting a strong start to the year. DSV’s first-quarter revenue increased 8.2% year over year to $6.3 billion, while gross profit was up 6.2% at $1.7 billion. Its earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose 4.8% to $588 million and net profit for the first three months came in at $428 million, up 17.5% year over year. Ocean volume of 653,000 TEUs in the first quarter was up 3% year over year, but gross profit per TEU increased 14% to $503 million. Air freight volume remained flat through the first quarter at 334,000 tons, with gross profit per ton rising 5% to $1,400. Although DSV executives emphasized the solid start to the year, the DB Schenker acquisition from parent Deutsche Bahn dominated the earnings call. Financial analysts were particularly focused on the synergies that would result from the combined company and the high costs of the integration. CFO Michael Ebbe said DSV “has only just received the keys” to DB Schenker, and while the synergies are expected to reach $1.37 billion by 2028 when the integration is completed, more details would be provided later this year. The synergies relate to the savings from a consolidation of operations, logistics facilities, back-office functions, finance and IT infrastructure. “But I think it’s important to notice that this acquisition is different from what we have previously done and the synergies are split over a broader area,” Ebbe said. “Because there is a sizable business in road and in solutions that means that in terms of consolidation of warehouses and equipment, it is a bigger than what we have done before.” The solutions business will be renamed “contract logistics.” <h3>Huge scale of combined networks </h3>DB Schenker is DSV’s largest acquisition by a huge margin, having previously taken over <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/size-equals-value-in-fragmented-market-dsvs-andersen-5248808">Agility’s Global Integrated Logistics (GIL) in 2021 for $4.2 billion</a>, <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/newly-combined-dsv-panalpina-targets-trans-pacific-trade-5226703">Panalpina in 2019 for $4.6 billion</a> and <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/dsv-buys-uti-for-135-billion-5205537">UTi in 2015 for $1.35 billion</a>. The integration and restructuring process is expected to cost $1.67 billion with up to $380 million to be recorded under “special items” on this year’s financials. The high cost of the integration process is hardly surprising, with Lund outlining the enormous scale of the combined networks. DSV’s 73,500 employees will be joined by DB Schenker’s 85,800 staff; DB Schenker will add annual revenue of $22 billion to DSV’s $25.5 billion (based on 2024 results); annual air freight volume will rise from 1.4 million tons to 2.4 million tons; sea freight volume will increase from 2.7 million TEUs to 4.5 million TEUs; road freight revenue will grow from the current $6.14 billion to $8.6 billion and total warehousing space will expand from 9.2 million square meters to 17.7 million square meters. The combined entity also comes with a round of appointments with <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/last-regulatory-hurdles-cleared-for-dsv-takeover-of-db-schenker-5985387">executives being promoted from both DSV and DB Schenker</a>. <h3>Global uncertainty impacts full-year profit forecasts </h3>DSV’s EBIT prediction for 2025 has been significantly revised upward and is now expected to be between $3 billion and $3.2 billion, up almost 25% compared with the guidance issued at the start of the year and entirely related to the expected Schenker impact. The underlying DSV standalone guidance was left unchanged, following <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/kuehne-nagels-financial-crystal-ball-clouded-by-us-tariff-disruption-5990729">similar moves by rivals Kuehne + Nagel</a> and DHL, who also decided not to tamper with their full-year profitability expectations in such an uncertain geopolitical environment. But Ebbe played down the impact to DSV of the US-China trade dispute, despite having 25% of its overall trade exposed to the US market. “The US is a significant market for us, but total direct China-US trade for us is around 5% of our total, so we will stick to our [post-closing] guidance, and also on DSV’s standalone guidance,” he said. <h3>DHL wary of tariff effects </h3>Meanwhile, the DHL Group on Wednesday posted 2.8% year-over-year growth in first-quarter revenue of $23.6 billion, while EBIT was up 4.5% at $1.555 billion. DHL is still expecting a full-year operating result of at least $6.8 billion in 2025, but that came with a large caveat. “We explicitly do not account for potential effects from changes in tariffs and trade policies, which could have significant negative, but also positive, impacts on our business,” DHL Group CFO Melanie Kreis said in a statement on the first-quarter results. DHL Global Forwarding posted a 3.2% year-over-year increase in revenue in the first quarter to $5.2 billion, but EBIT plunged 23% to $298 million as economic weakness in Germany and the European road freight business dragged down earnings. Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

DSV completed its all-cash $16.25 billion takeover of DB Schenker Wednesday and began a multi-year journey to integrate its largest-ever acquisition in a process CEO Jens Lund described as “a mammoth test” for the combined forwarding group. “You’ve furnished the capital, and now we have to deliver on the business plan,” Lund told investors on DSV’s first-quarter earnings call after reporting a strong start to the year. DSV’s first-quarter revenue increased 8.2% year over year to $6.3 billion, while gross profit was up 6.2% at $1.7 billion. Its earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose 4.8% to $588 million and net profit for the first three months came in at $428 million, up 17.5% year over year. Ocean volume of 653,000 TEUs in the first quarter was up 3% year over year, but gross profit per TEU increased 14% to $503 million. Air freight volume remained flat through the first quarter at 334,000 tons, with gross profit per ton rising 5% to $1,400. Although DSV executives emphasized the solid start to the year, the DB Schenker acquisition from parent Deutsche Bahn dominated the earnings call. Financial analysts were particularly focused on the synergies that would result from the combined company and the high costs of the integration. CFO Michael Ebbe said DSV “has only just received the keys” to DB Schenker, and while the synergies are expected to reach $1.37 billion by 2028 when the integration is completed, more details would be provided later this year. The synergies relate to the savings from a consolidation of operations, logistics facilities, back-office functions, finance and IT infrastructure. “But I think it’s important to notice that this acquisition is different from what we have previously done and the synergies are split over a broader area,” Ebbe said. “Because there is a sizable business in road and in solutions that means that in terms of consolidation of warehouses and equipment, it is a bigger than what we have done before.” The solutions business will be renamed “contract logistics.” Huge scale of combined networks DB Schenker is DSV’s largest acquisition by a huge margin, having previously taken over Agility’s Global Integrated Logistics (GIL) in 2021 for $4.2 billion , Panalpina in 2019 for $4.6 billion and UTi in 2015 for $1.35 billion . The integration and restructuring process is expected to cost $1.67 billion with up to $380 million to be recorded under “special items” on this year’s financials. The high cost of the integration process is hardly surprising, with Lund outlining the enormous scale of the combined networks. DSV’s 73,500 employees will be joined by DB Schenker’s 85,800 staff; DB Schenker will add annual revenue of $22 billion to DSV’s $25.5 billion (based on 2024 results); annual air freight volume will rise from 1.4 million tons to 2.4 million tons; sea freight volume will increase from 2.7 million TEUs to 4.5 million TEUs; road freight revenue will grow from the current $6.14 billion to $8.6 billion and total warehousing space will expand from 9.2 million square meters to 17.7 million square meters. The combined entity also comes with a round of appointments with executives being promoted from both DSV and DB Schenker . Global uncertainty impacts full-year profit forecasts DSV’s EBIT prediction for 2025 has been significantly revised upward and is now expected to be between $3 billion and $3.2 billion, up almost 25% compared with the guidance issued at the start of the year and entirely related to the expected Schenker impact. The underlying DSV standalone guidance was left unchanged, following similar moves by rivals Kuehne + Nagel and DHL, who also decided not to tamper with their full-year profitability expectations in such an uncertain geopolitical environment. But Ebbe played down the impact to DSV of the US-China trade dispute, despite having 25% of its overall trade exposed to the US market. “The US is a significant market for us, but total direct China-US trade for us is around 5% of our total, so we will stick to our [post-closing] guidance, and also on DSV’s standalone guidance,” he said. DHL wary of tariff effects Meanwhile, the DHL Group on Wednesday posted 2.8% year-over-year growth in first-quarter revenue of $23.6 billion, while EBIT was up 4.5% at $1.555 billion. DHL is still expecting a full-year operating result of at least $6.8 billion in 2025, but that came with a large caveat. “We explicitly do not account for potential effects from changes in tariffs and trade policies, which could have significant negative, but also positive, impacts on our business,” DHL Group CFO Melanie Kreis said in a statement on the first-quarter results. DHL Global Forwarding posted a 3.2% year-over-year increase in revenue in the first quarter to $5.2 billion, but EBIT plunged 23% to $298 million as economic weakness in Germany and the European road freight business dragged down earnings. Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

Supply chain

DSV embarks on ‘mammoth test’ as DB Schenker integration begins: CEO

Use code GTW695 at checkout and save $800 on first year of an annual Gold subscription!

Upgrade Subscription - Gold Trials

Become a Gold Subscriber and Save!

Use code MDRW695 at checkout and save $800 on first year of a Gold subscription!

Upgrade Subscription - Wide Box

PRE-MEMORIAL DAY SALE

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

Group Subscriptions - Wide Box

Get into a group subscription today

Use code MDW25 at checkout and save 25% on any annual subscription!

Subscribe Now - Anonymous - Wide Box

Use code MDW25 at checkout to save 25% on the first year of any annual subscription! 

Subscribe Now - Free Trials - Wide Box

The world of LTL is slow to embrace change. Business anachronisms permeate current supply chain processes. These vestiges of the way things used to work define the LTL freight transportation procurement process of many modern shippers.David Knuth, logistics specialist at IEWC, a global supplier of cable and wire based in Wisconsin, is happy to have modernized the RFP process, automating the entire LTL bidding procedure with Bid$ense, SMC³’s automated truckload and LTL freight transportation sourcing solution. But when prompted, he can still recall what once was.In his previous job, a large part of his duties were consumed by creating an intermodal bid package for carriers. In a spreadsheet, Knuth detailed the company’s volumes lane by lane, taking care to delete any errant keystrokes or misleading data. He would then email out the information to each carrier, taking time to respond to detailed technical questions about the spreadsheet data. Finally, he had to compile all the results, create an algorithm that would compare the carriers on each lane, and award the business.“It was a huge undertaking. It took about four months to do,” Knuth said of the old process. “It was almost a full-time job for that part of the year, every year.”In his new job at IEWC, he sat down with Bid$ense on day one and was amazed at the capabilities. Knuth had never before used a bid tool. SMC³’s latest versions of Bid$ense automate the process even further, taking truckload and LTL RFPs entirely online. The tool draws on RFP best-practices protocols to streamline the bidding communication process, enabling bidding carriers to respond accurately and promptly to shipper requests. The solution also does all the distribution work automatically, electronically submitting shipper bid data to carriers based on their actual service capabilities and performance records. Carriers are alerted with timely prompts for RFP deliverables, so shippers aren’t waiting by the phone for responses.Another benefit of automating the process is the data-cleansing assistance. When Knuth sent spreadsheets to carriers, data errors might cloud the bidding process; he might have to resend data or simply accept a price that did not truly reflect the costs of doing business. Data cleansing is incredibly beneficial, he said.The spreadsheet technique also made bidding analysis an onerous task. Since Bid$ense automates and streamlines the entire RFP process, intensive examination is now simple. SMC³ knows that each bid has more than one best outcome. With uniform responses from each carrier, shippers can quickly rank results and create an unlimited quantity of what-if scenarios to make the optimal procurement decision.Jesse Burnett of Central Garden &amp; Pet experiences many of the same benefits. Founded in 1980, Central Garden &amp; Pet has spent the last three decades growing from a small garden supply company to a provider of a range of products from dog chews and bird seed to soil supplements and natural insecticides. For much of its life, the company shipped these disparate goods via LTL and truckload carriers to retailers throughout the country, relying on each business unit to negotiate directly with their freight transportation providers. This arrangement worked fairly well for a small company, but as Central Garden &amp; Pet expanded, leadership decided to consolidate decision making.Burnett helped centralize the transportation decision making in 2015 with SMC³’s Bid$ense. Before Bid$ense, every business unit operated independently as far as negotiating with carriers.“There were a lot of different things just floating around,” he said. “We didn’t have master agreements in place; no national pricing at all. The pricing from carriers was just all over the place, depending on where you were.”The transformations he saw with Bid$ense were immediate. Burnett has been using the tool about every other year since its implementation at the company. Central Garden and Pet’s $19.6 million 2019 LTL bid saved the company just more than 9 percent when compared to its historical average. For Burnett, though, bid automation extends far beyond savings.“We knew that we weren’t getting the best pricing offer from our carriers just because nothing was centralized,” he continued. “We knew that if we combined everything from all these business units and paired it with one corporate offering, then it would drive some cost benefit with it.”When the company initially decided to centralize bid procurement, executives researched a number of different methodologies and technologies. In the end, though, Burnett found that Bid$ense was both widespread and well known, and that his carrier partners already knew how to use the application. Burnett also highlighted the data-cleansing process as a major benefit, saying the rigorous process ensures that carriers always return the best price.“It definitely has helped drive savings,” he said. “Any time you go out there and you drive that competitiveness with the carriers and they know they’re in a bid environment, it seems to sharpen their pencils.”Transportation procurement is an integral part of the modern supply chain. With Bid$ense, shippers can develop a strategic implementation plan that saves them time and money, but also helps them create strong relationships with their carrier partners. These carriers appreciate the solution’s data-cleansing process; when carriers receive a complete shipment history and future volume forecast, they don’t have to guess on pricing. Carriers that receive more data from shippers get a complete picture of that shipper’s freight, allowing them to accurately plan instead of simply preparing for the worst-case scenario. Clean data presented through an automated system can lead to both bigger shipment savings and a lasting partnership between carrier and customer.Whether customers are looking to streamline over-the-road transportation bidding by automating the RFP process or create an entirely new, centralized sourcing process, Bid$ense has the analytical horsepower to get the job done.SMC³ 2020 Customer Case Study

SMC3rates_shutterstock_5247046.jpg

Shippers save money, time with automated transportation bidding tools

If there’s one immutable truth in the world of logistics, it’s this: LTL is an inherently complex form of transportation. Tariffs, rates, DIM weights, transit times — it’s enough to confuse even seasoned logistics professionals. The solution to this knowledge gap has historically been on-the-job training or university supply chain education, but for a variety of reasons there is now a pressing need for third-party, remote LTL training that prepares logistics workers for transportation success. Global Scope Can Overlook Local Intricacies In the past, professionals looking to move into a supply chain career learned about the basics of supply chain from universities. However, many of these college supply chain programs are now global in scope, focusing on worldwide supply chain management instead of the intricacies of specialized domestic transportation. And even these programs, which used to be widespread, are becoming less common. LTL is not an industry of broad-brush strokes; supply chain professionals really need a pointillistic understanding of the logistics of LTL in order to excel in the industry. Accelerating Need for Dedicated LTL Education This lack of specified training put the onus on employers to prepare new hires with the LTL knowledge needed to do their jobs. Dedicated LTL study is a necessity, not a luxury. At the same time, changes in LTL and the broader supply chain world are accelerating. The reliance on e-commerce has ballooned since the start of the pandemic, and last-mile LTL shipments and related e-commerce strains on the supply chain won’t diminish once social distancing abates. That genie isn’t going back into the bottle. So supply chain employers need logistics workers that are fully versed in all aspects of the industry, ready to solve unique shipping and delivery problems based on their extensive supply chain knowledge But why care about LTL? It’s been reported that some shippers in today’s world are no longer concerned with what mode is used to ship their goods. A Multimodal Approach Ensures On-Time Delivery This mode agnosticism means supply chain stakeholders have to be well versed in all modes of transportation. As unforeseen weather events and other disruptions, such as protests, become more common, savvy logistics employees will need to be armed with familiarity of all modes, not just the most popular, to ensure that freight is delivered on time, without damage, and in the most financially expedient way possible. Offerings like SMC³’s LTL online education courses cover a wide range of topics from LTL basics and operations to more advanced concepts like pricing analytics and transportation law. The company also has plans to continually refresh content, adding new expert presenters and taking the feedback of students to make the courses even better as time goes on. Learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://logisticstrainingcenter.com/smc3-courses/" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link">SMC³’s LTL Online Education program</a>&nbsp;and view the 2021 hybrid schedule, featuring live industry experts,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.smc3.com/onlinelearning2021/" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link">here.</a>

SMC3rates_shutterstock_5247046 (1).jpg

Filling the Supply Chain Education Gap with LTL Education Courses

UPGRADE TO GOLD AND SAVE: Use code GTW695 at checkout and save $800 on first year of a Gold subscription!

Upgrade Subscription

PRE-MEMORIAL DAY SALE: Use code MDW25 at checkout to save 25% on first year of any annual subscription!


Subscribe Now - Free Trials - Offer Box

Subscribe Today

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

Group Subscriptions - Offer Box

Group Subscriptions

PRE-MEMORIAL DAY SALE: Use code MDW25 at checkout and save 25% on any annual subscription!

Subscribe Now - Anonymous - Offer Box

PRE-MEMORIAL DAY SALE: Use code MDRW695 at checkout and save $800 on first year of a Gold subscription! 

Upgrade Subscription - Offer Box

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

Breakbulk Report - Rectangle Box

Breakbulk Quarterly

Customers scoring their intermodal partners to identify the best service providers

Intermodal Service Scorecard - Rectangle Box

Intermodal Service Scorecard

A must-attend conference for shippers & logistics providers moving goods inland

Inland Conference - Rectangle Box

Attend Inland25

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

ISI Report - Rectangle Box

Intermodal Savings Index

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

Gateway - Rectangle Box

Gateway

A premium access outlook critical to shippers and transportation providers

QI Report - Rectangle Box

Quarterly Intelligence

Breakbulk News shipping | Journal of Commerce

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

Container Shipping News | Journal of Commerce

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

Port News | Journal of Commerce

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

Latest News

More News & Analysis

India-US liners pull early-May rate hikes as capacity stays ahead of demand

US tariffs dampen 2025 outlook from oil field service majors

US drayage providers bracing for container plunge say rebound could reset market