Port News

The latest port news from the Journal of Commerce spans the globe from North Carolina and Florida to Shanghai and Singapore. Port news includes port automation, terminal construction projects, the future of decarbonization and net-zero shipping, dredging, port hinterland connectivity, labor, disruption, port congestion and cargo flow.

The latest Port News News & Analysis

THE Alliance culls US, Europe services amid weak Southeast Asia import demand

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
The latest service suspensions signal that US and European demand for some Asia-sourced consumer goods will remain tepid following the record spending splurge of the previous two years.
Container linesContainer Shipping NewsNorth American portsInternational ports

DSV signs onto $10 billion JV linked to Saudi-backed NEOM port project

Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe |
The announcement was made simultaneously with the forwarder releasing its nine-month financial results that reflected softening air and ocean markets, dragging down profitability from last year’s record performance.
ForwardingMaritimeInternational portsAir Cargo

Geopolitics, economic slump drag down Antwerp-Bruges nine-month volumes

Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe |
Antwerp-Bruges follows neighboring rival Rotterdam in reporting a decline in container throughput this year through September.
Port NewsInternational ports

Carrier wants SSA Marine to refund $9 million in Long Beach congestion fees

Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor |
The FMC complaint is atypical in that it’s an ocean carrier challenging fees rather than a cargo owner, forwarder or trucker pushing back against detention and demurrage charges.
Transport, Trade, and Regulation NewsContainer Shipping NewsNorth American ports

European port, landside congestion sapping tight ro/ro capacity

Keith Wallis, Special Correspondent |
Crowded terminals and a truck driver shortage in Europe and the Mediterranean are increasing landside delays and driving some shippers to consider calling secondary ports.
Breakbulk NewsRo/ro cargoMarine terminals

Aging roads, drivers weigh on US heavy-haul trucking amid booming demand

Autumn Cafiero Giusti, Special Correspondent |
As US project cargo demand — and cargoes themselves — grow, heavy-haul trucking carriers are struggling with permitting delays, infrastructure complications and a rapidly aging workforce.
Project cargoEnergy projectsBreakbulk ports

Trans-Pac ships tapping Lázaro Cárdenas amid Panama draft limits

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
Mexico’s second-largest port is being added as regular and irregular call to trans-Pacific services due to draft restrictions and increasing availability of intermodal rail.
North American portsContainer Shipping NewsContainer lines

Rotterdam container volume decline continues through Q3

Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe |
A weak regional economy in which increasing demand for services is cutting into consumer goods spending, high inflation and rising geopolitical tensions are dragging on containerized trade through Europe’s largest port.
Port NewsInternational ports

Hapag-Lloyd enters Brazil feeder market amid cabotage deregulation

Keith Wallis, Special Correspondent |
Forwarders in Brazil say Hapag-Lloyd’s entrance into the feeder market through a joint venture will inject competition amid an easing of the country’s cabotage rules.
Container linesInternational ports

Export rebound, manufacturing imports keeping Gulf Coast volumes afloat

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
Amid a down year overall, Gulf Coast port volumes are holding up thanks to petrochemical exports, as well as growing imports related to energy projects and specialized manufacturing in the region.
North American portsContainer Shipping News

Prince Rupert to build large export transload facility to balance cargo mix

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor |
Construction of the C$750 million, 400,000-TEU facility for Canadian and US agricultural and resin exports will be key to achieving more balanced two-way trade through the Western Canadian port.
MaritimePort NewsNorth American portsNorth-American rail

India-US rates pushed lower amid excess capacity, muted peak season

Bency Mathew, Special Correspondent |
After jettisoning previously planned October rate hikes, some India-USEC carriers have published new, modest rate increase plans for November.
Container Shipping NewsContainer linesNorth American portsInternational ports

Planned bridge raising opens door to upgrade of North Charleston Terminal

Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor |
SC Ports says the work will allow the terminal to attract growing volumes of cargo moving through the Suez Canal on large ships that are too big to call the facility now.
Port infrastructureContainer Shipping NewsNorth American ports

Fresh geopolitical stress puts supply chain resilience back in the spotlight: analyst

Lars Jensen, CEO & Partner, Vespucci Maritime, and JOC Analyst |
Existing overcapacity in the container shipping market has provided the resilience required to handle a potential prolonged blockage of the Suez Canal, says analyst Lars Jensen, who wonders if stakeholders are willing to pay higher freight rates to maintain that safety net.
Container linesAsia-EuropeInternational ports

Labor peace drives West Coast rebound in market share of Asian imports

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor |
Discretionary cargo is returning to the West Coast as the confidence of retailers is boosted by ratification of the longshore labor contract in late August and the ability of the ports to immediately handle more cargo.
MaritimePort NewsLongshore laborNorth American ports

Norfolk continues to drive warehousing boom in Southeast US

Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor |
Demand for industrial warehousing is surging along the Southeast US, with Virginia attracting more than 11 million square feet in the last three years.
North American portsContainer Shipping NewsIndustrial Real Estate News

US wind industry navigates deep waters to meet ambitious offshore target

Autumn Cafiero Giusti, Special Correspondent |
Meeting the Biden administration’s target of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy installed by 2030 will require floating offshore wind, which means building new, specialized port facilities to facilitate development in much deeper waters.
Breakbulk NewsEnergy projectsMarine terminals

CMA CGM’s NY-NJ ‘home’ offers it Southeast Asia trade growth: Saade

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
CMA CGM chairman Rodolphe Saade said he is seeing more customer demand than ever for Southeast Asia services that will eventually call at the carrier’s two recently acquired terminals at the Port of New York and New Jersey.
Marine terminalsContainer Shipping NewsContainer linesNorth American ports

Savannah seeks new dredging project to attract larger ships, India cargo

Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor |
Deepening Savannah’s shipping channel, which would take about 10 years to complete, would put the port on par with other major Southeast ports such as Charleston and Norfolk.
North American portsContainer Shipping NewsPort infrastructure

Deloitte taps asset-tracking provider Nexxiot for cargo risk management product

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
Transportation sensor provider Nexxiot and Deloitte are aiming to connect cargo visibility data with the consulting firm’s “know your customer” process to fast-track container movement.
Logistics Technology NewsContainer Shipping NewsPort NewsMarine terminalsSupply chain

New cranes put NY-NJ port on track to handle more ultra-large ships by 2025

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
While more port dredging will also be necessary, New York-New Jersey marine terminals are installing more of the cranes needed to handle 18,000-TEU ships that may eventually call the port.
North American portsContainer Shipping NewsContainer linesMarine terminals

India-US Indamex 2 service drops Norfolk call as demand pressure persists

Bency Mathew, Special Correspondent |
Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM jointly opened the IN2 in September 2021 as a complementary loop to their sought-after Indamex service to capitalize on pandemic-linked demand swings.
Container Shipping NewsContainer linesNorth American ports

Montreal port gets federal funds for mega-terminal after operators balk at risk

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
The Montreal Port Authority said the funding will allow it to “implement a new delivery model” for the Contrecoeur terminal project after talks with initial bidders did not lead to a “satisfactory” result.
North American portsContainer Shipping News

US retailers downgrade import forecast through January amid sufficient inventories

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor |
With retailers shipping early this year and showing caution in placing orders with Asian factories for holiday merchandise, a major retail group has lowered its forecast for US imports in the coming months.
MaritimeContainer Shipping NewsPort NewsNorth American ports

Typhoon leaves vessel delays in its wake as ports in China, Taiwan reopen

Keith Wallis, Special Correspondent |
Both Hongkong International Terminals and Modern Terminals confirmed cargo handling operations at their facilities at Hong Kong’s Kwai Chung container port were halted for about 33 hours, gradually resuming late Monday afternoon.
Container Shipping NewsTrans-PacificAsia-EuropeInternational ports

Ex-Tiger Cool executives take second stab at Washington state reefer ramp

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
Tri-Cities Intermodal said it will revive plans to refurbish a cold storage warehouse and rail ramp served by Union Pacific’s intermodal service.
Intermodal providersNorth American portsNorth-American rail

Rail dwells rising along West Coast amid shortage of available rail cars

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor and Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
Marine terminal operators in Los Angeles-Long Beach and the Pacific Northwest are dealing with an increase in rail container dwell times owing to an east-west imbalance in rail equipment that has worsened in recent weeks.
Marine terminalsContainer Shipping NewsContainer linesTrans-PacificNorth American ports

Savannah working through unexpected backlog of anchored vessels

Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor and Ari Ashe, Senior Editor |
While shippers say the situation — which could linger through mid-November — is less than ideal, many noted there have been no real impacts yet.
North American portsContainer Shipping NewsPort infrastructure

MSC cements North Europe presence with Bremerhaven terminal extension

Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe |
MSC’s move to extend its partnership with Eurogate in the north German gateway port follows a bid by the carrier for a half-stake in Hamburg’s largest terminal operator.
Port NewsContainer Shipping NewsMarine terminalsInternational ports

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

Lars Jensen, CEO & Partner, Vespucci Maritime, and JOC Analyst |
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.
Container Shipping NewsInternational portsTransport, Trade, and Regulation News

Ocean carriers sell US chassis lessor to private equity group

Ari Ashe, Senior Editor |
Consolidated Chassis Management is the sole provider of chassis to the newly launched South Atlantic Chassis Pool 3.0, which covers the ports of Jacksonville, Savannah and Wilmington, North Carolina.
Container linesNorth American ports

FMC dismisses ILA’s claims of price fixing at Southeast ports

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
While three companies jointly control some operations at marine terminals at Savannah and Charleston, they are not considered marine terminal operators, an FMC judge has ruled.  
North American portsTransport, Trade, and Regulation News

India-Middle East-Europe corridor plan to skirt Suez begs costly questions

Bency Mathew, Special Correspondent |
The multimodal transshipment connector is taking shape as the industry puts a heavier focus on end-to-end, point-to-point carrier offerings to enable more resilient and sustainable trade flow.
Container Shipping NewsContainer linesInternational ports

ILWU bankruptcy filing provides dramatic twist to long-running Portland dispute

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor |
The financial health of the powerful International Longshore and Warehouse Union is in jeopardy as the union seeks to avoid paying $19 million in damages to a Portland, Ore., terminal operator over disruptive job actions years ago.
MaritimePort NewsLongshore laborNorth American ports

California drayage operators seek help meeting zero-emission regulations

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor |
Drayage companies in the state say existing incentive programs will not be enough to enable them to meet regulations that mandate a zero-emission drayage fleet by 2035.
MaritimeContainer Shipping NewsPort NewsNorth American ports

SC Ports turns to US Supreme Court in bid for relief over Leatherman dispute

Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor |
While the South Carolina Ports Authority cited the “urgency and importance” of the Leatherman terminal issue to the state and regional economies, getting on the Court’s docket is a daunting task.
North American portsContainer Shipping NewsContainer linesTransport, Trade, and Regulation News

Montreal’s uncertain mega-project opens window for Halifax, Saint John

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
Halifax and Saint John are expanding their container terminals as Class I railroads see an opportunity to serve major inland destinations from the Eastern Canadian ports.
North American portsContainer Shipping NewsNorth-American rail

Aggressive trans-Pac blank sailings likely through Lunar New Year amid freight downturn: sources

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor |
For importers and forwarders, the blank sailings mean the resulting schedule disruptions and “rolling” of cargo they are already experiencing at Asian load ports will force them to book more of their cargo with carriers they can count on to maintain schedule integrity.
Container Shipping NewsContainer linesTrans-PacificNorth American portsInternational ports

First green shipping corridor will connect Shanghai with Southern California

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor |
Los Angeles, Long Beach and Shanghai will work with ocean carriers and an organization of cities committed to emissions reductions to develop the first-ever green shipping corridor along one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.
MaritimeContainer Shipping NewsPort NewsNorth American ports

Sourcing shift causes surge in South American logistics investment

Greg Knowler, Senior Europe Editor |
New forwarding and ocean services are being added to South American trade lanes as service providers move to capture rising trade growth in the region.
Container Shipping NewsContainer linesTrans-PacificInternational ports