To paraphrase the late, great writer Charles Dickens, container shipping in 2018 is ‘A Tale of Two Markets’ – truck/surface transportation capacity and ocean carrier capacity. What does that mean for shippers? Here are the likely scenarios.

Logistics technology

Trucking

Container lines

2018 — So far, two distinct markets for shippers

US retailers’ global sourcing strategy will take time to develop: analysts 

US transport providers lose fewer jobs than expected in January

End of 2M Alliance will set dominoes in motion across ocean shipping: analyst

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As the size of China’s workforce declines and production challenges increase, US retailers are shifting to global sourcing strategies, with each sector looking for the business model that meets its particular requirements.

Courier, trucking, and warehousing firms lost workers last month, but the seasonal surge and purge was more muted than expected, reflecting broader labor market resilience.

The announced dissolution of the 2M Alliance raises the question of what additional large-scale dominoes might be toppling over in the next few years in the container shipping sector, writes analyst Lars Jensen.

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US retailers’ global sourcing strategy will take time to develop: analysts

US transport providers lose fewer jobs than expected in January

End of 2M Alliance will set dominoes in motion across ocean shipping: analyst