Commentary

Who would have thought that the container — one of the world’s greatest universal standards and one that’s creating untold benefits for trade and prosperity — would be followed by decades of inadequate progress regarding the standardization of processes that move that container?

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) is the body that oversees the activities of ocean freight forwarders and non-vessel-operating common carriers. In order to ensure that forwarders and carriers will comply with the law, the FMC requires such professionals to obtain a surety bond.

Will the new terms the Trump administration is currently negotiating create the auto jobs renaissance for which it has been pining? That’s a tough question to answer because of a number of factors.

The dairy dispute has become a not-so-unexpected red herring in talks between Ottawa and Washington.

The glaring omission of anything to do with trade in services, one of the fastest-growing sectors of the US economy, is perhaps most striking.

It should come as no surprise that industries need to adopt new technologies in order to be competitive, and railways are no exception. However, an outdated federal regulatory atmosphere is preventing our railways from keeping pace.

Revenue from 53-foot trailer-on-flat-car (TOFC) moves in North America is up. Is that a telling statistic? Is 53-foot TOFC revenue an accurate leading indicator of overall domestic intermodal demand?

Just call this latest idea a “ray of light” regarding a solution to the decades-long problem of chassis in the United States.

It’s always a good idea to document business relationships properly, and the bill of lading is the means of doing this in transportation.

The container shipping industry has a number of counter-productive and, ultimately, self-defeating habits. Several stakeholders are involved in the above, but ocean carriers surely can take the lead and correct many of them.

Necessity is leading to creative and effective solutions in US surface transportation.

When shippers say they want visibility, what is important is not the location of a container at any given point in time. What is important is knowing when there is a deviation — when a ship will arrive late, and by how much. So why aren’t ocean carriers investing in the sensor technology that can achieve it?

The capacity challenges described here are not unique to railroad networks and terminals; they are persistent through the US supply chain. Further, while some solutions lie far in the future, there are several initiatives that could improve rail/intermodal service overnight.

A motor carrier questions his responsibility to pay again after initial filing — and payment — for damages.

This is the price the industry pays for its inability to reach a level of stability where container lines can make enough money from rates to cover their operating costs, much less turn a profit

Can a private blockchain fuse the democratic promise of blockchain with its — private — creator’s tendency to exercise control and ownership over the data? And does that model protect sensitive data, while promoting accountability, visibility, and savings?

US surface transportation (truck, rail) congestion is likely to increase in the quarters ahead, and that suggests increased risk for manufacturing’s supply chain segment. And that behooves manufacturers/shippers to proactively shorten and protect their supply chains.

Concerning the US truck driver/delivery driver sector, the negotiation advantage has clearly swung to the driver, from the company. And to recruit in a competitive market, you’ll need to deploy best practices.

The current direction of US immigration policy — decreasing legal immigration — is the exact opposite of what the nation should be doing: increasing legal immigration. Just look at the worker shortages in almost every US job segment and classification.

As technology and regulatory environments increasingly collide, it’s time for a recap of the evolution of Federal Maritime Commission regulations, recent positive steps towards improved NVOCC NRA and NSA efficiency, and a word on the seed for a, potentially, truly dynamic freight market.

The practice of using the paper bill of lading dates back to the period prior to deregulation, in the 1970s, when shippers used typewriters to generate business documents and then mailed them. But we're long past the "typewriter era" concerning many business processes.

There is a lot of potential volume out there for intermodal to tap, if it could only solve the interchange dilemma. Instead, the sector seems to be moving in the opposite direction.

A fair assessment of the Jones Act’s cost would yield an incontrovertible cost conclusion. Then again, there are other factors that are helping to maintain the Jones Act.

Eight months into the electronic logging era, the impact of the US electronic logging device mandate is becoming clearer, and it’s both greater and less than anticipated.

A carrier shuttling auto fluff to a dump site is not exempt from federal regulations, and the waste may be hazardous. Shippers are responsible for ensuring legalities are met.

Beyond the headlines, the tariffs are making structural changes to the US economy that will impact consumer and export demand for the coming years.

Some shipping industry stakeholders may not realize it, but the approaching sulfur cap on Jan. 1, 2020, is a potentially game-changing issue in the container sector specifically.

Following a philosophy of short-term pain for long-term gain, a series of US actions have been taken against China regarding what is seen as its unfair trade practices, particularly as relates to intellectual property rights. Here's what you need to know.

You’re not imagining it: trucking companies and truck drivers are turning down loads. However, there is a way to create driver-friendly freight and routes so that your shipment is not left at the loading dock.

Technology has tremendous potential to bring drivers back into trucks, but it will not replace truck drivers. And there are several reasons why this is so.

Stakeholders in the shipping industry cannot sit still; they have the technologies in their hands that can disrupt the digital platforms that are the biggest outside threat to their existence.

To paraphrase the late, great Brooklyn Dodger play-by-play man Red Barber, US trucking companies are in “the catbird seat.” Shippers — you don’t want your cargo left at your loading dock or warehouse, so here’s how to stay in good graces with truckers and become a “shipper of choice.”

Before we can address how to solve the problem, we need to understand why it has occurred.

Despite current events you may read about, this is an age that provides advantages to those who proactively cultivate relationships. And there’s perhaps no better case study to support that theory than a shipper’s/forwarder’s relationship with an ocean carrier.

To be sure, CSX’s new CEO has a huge task in intermodal restructuring as the peak season approaches, following through on the work of the late, great E. Hunter Harrison. But the new CEO has an approach that’s promising.

Led by the above-trend growth in the United States, the global economic expansion continues. That should make 2018 a promising year for container shipping, right? Not quite. Consider: ocean carriers' perennial efforts to increase market share, rising fuel costs, ditto for charter/feeder/inland costs, and the threat of a trade war.

A carrier always has recourse against the shipper in the event that it’s unable to collect from the consignee, with one exception: if the shipper executes Section 7 of the bill of lading, which directs the carrier not to make delivery without first collecting its freight charges.

Despite political isolation by many countries, Taiwan, its people and economy, have outperformed. How much more would it contribute to global trade and society if its people and nation were given equal rights on the international stage?

For yours truly, a container shipping industry veteran, this was a dream journey — a voyage on the APL Danube container ship.

Tit-for-tat tariffs will affect only a sliver of trade; but a climate of uncertainty, now that's another story.