Looking at what I forecast in my January 2017 column, I would say I did not do too bad in reading the tea leaves. My vision was for volumes to grow at a modest pace, and rates to increase slightly, mostly because of <a>Hanjin Shipping’s</a> departure from the industry. Better-than-expected global trade growth and a relatively aggressive pricing stance early in the year led to most carriers showing an enhanced bottom line and profitability, something that had not occurred in the previous six years. However, the market continues to dictate rates, <a>with carriers reluctant to manage capacity</a> through idling...

Besides the usual rate issues, what other variables in 2018 will affect shippers and carriers?

Maritime

How trade will fare in 2018

Increased truckload volatility inducing shippers, brokers to use pricing technology 

MSC avoids fine as FMC finds no OSRA-22 violation in charge complaint

Coming implementation of European ETS setting up for a predictable mess: analyst

US LTL capacity tightens further as Estes cyberattack outage continues 

Ocean carriers sell US chassis lessor to private equity group

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Excess capacity in the truckload market is a chance for shippers to examine whether they or their freight brokers have the right technology tools to effectively price in the contract and spot markets. 

The Federal Maritime Commission said its enforcement agency does not have a case against the ocean carrier over a congestion surcharge complaint from a shipper.  

If shippers found the post-IMO 2020 bunker fuel formulas confusing and misaligned across ocean carriers, just wait until they see the surcharges linked to Europe’s new emissions trading system, says analyst Lars Jensen.

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The Journal of Commerce is the most trusted source for maritime news and analysis about ocean container shipping, logistics, supply chains, global shipping ports, shipping technology solutions and end-to-end connectivity. Coverage tracks the movement of containerized cargo — from origin to destination — handled by marine terminals in the US and abroad, depots, container ports, container lines, drayage, consignees and shippers, forwarders, non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCs) and off-dock warehousing providers, as well as pricing, capacity, volume and reliability on the trans-Pacific, Asia-Europe, North America-Caribbean, Central and South America and intra-Asia trades.

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Increased truckload volatility inducing shippers, brokers to use pricing technology

MSC avoids fine as FMC finds no OSRA-22 violation in charge complaint

Coming implementation of European ETS setting up for a predictable mess: analyst