Commentary

JOC Commentary

Proposal prohibiting billing truckers at odds with detention rule’s intent

Lori Fellmer, VP of logistics and carrier management, BassTech International | May 22, 2023

A proposed change to the billable party for detention fees would simply pass the burden from the trucker, which controls a container’s movements and is directly witness to the circumstances that can disqualify detention charges, to the cargo owner, who has no such control or visibility.
Container shippingTruckingTransport, trade and regulation
JOC Commentary

Small, mid-sized truck carriers can successfully navigate market downturn

Christopher Thornycroft, executive vice president, Redwood Logistics | Apr 21, 2023

Shifting capacity landscapes have caused several changes in the US freight industry — owner-operators have become company drivers or shut down, while small carriers with 10 or fewer trucks have begun exiting the market, says the executive vice president of 3PL Redwood Logistics.
JOC Commentary

Let the party paying for the chassis select the chassis provider: NACPC

David Manning, CEO, North American Chassis Pool Cooperative | Apr 12, 2023

The head of the NACPC says the group believes the open market — not a chassis provider’s contract with an ocean carrier — should determine the best chassis model to employ.
JOC Commentary

‘Modern’ forwarders must navigate uncertainty of ocean container rates

Robert Khachatryan, founder and CEO, Freight Right | Mar 27, 2023

A forwarder's ability to adapt and offer valuable expertise in this uncertain environment will be a crucial factor in ensuring the success of shippers and the shipping industry as a whole, writes the CEO of Freight Right.
JOC Commentary

Avoid ‘one-size-fits-all’ business model for chassis use in US: DCLI CEO

Bill Shea, CEO, DCLI | Mar 20, 2023

Any effort to dictate chassis pool models would reduce competition, innovation, and capital investment, making intermodal networks less resilient for the shippers and consumers who rely on them, writes the CEO of chassis provider DCLI.
Supply Chain
JOC Commentary

North American intermodal unlikely to rebound after 'disappointing' 2022

Lawrence Gross, president, Gross Transportation Consulting, and Journal of Commerce analyst | Feb 23, 2023

As we come to the end of a surge of historic proportions in terms of both scope and longevity, the only place for volumes to go, at least in the near term, is down.
Annual Review and Outlook
JOC Commentary

Pandemic disruption unlikely to prompt 'structural change' in supply chains

Theodore Prince, chief strategy officer, Tiger Cool Express | Feb 23, 2023

There can be no improvement in supply chain resilience if fundamental behaviors do not change, and there is little appetite for the increased expense and reduced margins of such an approach.
Annual Review and Outlook
JOC Commentary

Changing liability regime could make shippers targets

Ryan B. Schreiber, vice president of industry and growth, Metafora | Feb 23, 2023

The logistics industry should prepare itself for more lawsuits such as Miller v. C.H. Robinson, and for plaintiff’s attorneys to look for the deepest pockets possible — potentially including cargo owners — to satisfy judgements.
Annual Review and Outlook
JOC Commentary

Resilience the new 'holy grail' for supply chains

Jeff Tucker, CEO, Tucker Company Worldwide | Feb 21, 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression in Ukraine, and issues surrounding China’s claim to the Taiwan Strait have brought the need for resilient and durable supply chains into sharp focus.
JOC Commentary

California trade industry falling behind nationally as other US ports grow

John McLaurin, president, Pacific Merchant Shipping Association | Feb 15, 2023

California needs to embrace and advance a future that strives to achieve environmental and community goals, but also preserves the job and economic contributions provided by ports in the state, the head of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association says.
North American ports
JOC Commentary

Change under way to elevate ‘T&C’ functions to proper status in supply chain

Jerry Peck, vice president of product strategy, QAD Precision | Feb 3, 2023

After years of “trade and customs” functions being largely considered an afterthought in supply chain decisions, a shift is afoot that would correct that.
Supply Chain
JOC Commentary

Why the NMFC system has stood the test of time

Joel Ringer, vice president of classification, National Motor Freight Traffic Association | Jan 11, 2023

A classification system that considers the full requirements and costs of service providers, and is constantly being adapted to new realities, is the best system available, writes the vice president of classification for the National Motor Freight Traffic Association.
JOC Commentary

Time to wean the LTL industry off the NMFC model

Satish Jindel, president, SJ Consulting Group and Shipmatrix | Jan 9, 2023

While a few carriers such as ABF Freight and FedEx Freight have rolled out dimensional pricing, and others have expressed the desire to do so, they have largely overlooked the reasons for shippers’ reluctance to switch to dimensional rates.
SurfaceLTL
JOC Commentary

Supply chain failures of recent years have ‘Groundhog Day’ feel

Theodore Prince, chief strategy officer and co-founder, Tiger Cool Express | Dec 30, 2022

Nobody has been willing to admit that the only question about recent supply chain failures was when — not if — they were going to occur, writes Theodore Prince.
Supply Chain
JOC Commentary

OSRA-22 not designed to control freight rates: NITL

E. Nancy O’Liddy, executive director, National Industrial Transportation League | Nov 14, 2022

The objective of OSRA-22 was never to address freight rates, but rather to provide the FMC with additional tools to better identify, prevent, and hold ocean carriers accountable for unfair or deceptive practices and behaviors, writes the executive director of the National Industrial Transportation League.
Transport, trade and regulation
JOC Commentary

Pausing to look back at supply chain prognostications

Lawrence Gross, president, Gross Transportation Consulting | Nov 7, 2022

JOC Commentary

STB, FMC increasingly active in pursuing statutory mandates

Theodore Prince, chief strategy officer and co-founder, Tiger Cool Express | Nov 3, 2022

Paul Revere’s midnight ride to warn the colonial militia of the impending British military action was facilitated by the sexton of Boston’s North Church using a lantern signal —one if the enemy approached by land, two lights if it came by sea. These days, we would need three lanterns to indicate trouble coming from both land and sea.
Transport, trade and regulation
JOC Commentary

Unraveling the complexities of zero carbon with hydrogen

Georgios Plevrakis, vice president of global sustainability, American Bureau of Shipping | Nov 2, 2022

Maritime
JOC Commentary

Let’s level the playing field for small importers

Brian Glick, CEO, Chain.io | Oct 25, 2022

JOC Commentary

Course correction needed in wake of OSRA-22

Jessica Darby and Andrew Balthrop | Oct 20, 2022

Predictably, OSRA-22 overpromised and is at risk of under-delivering. Changes need to be made to mitigate the law’s unintended consequences.
Transport, trade and regulation
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