Maritime

As the US West Coast’s share of import TEU has fallen in recent years, analyst Larry Gross notes there is an important difference between declines due to sourcing location changes and declines due to loss of share by region.

Breakbulk industry executives warn new rules aimed at reducing vessel emissions could incentivize vessel operators to implement measures that increase emissions in other areas of the supply chain.

The independent equipment providers say upending the current business model would create additional chassis shortages and invoicing problems that would inconvenience cargo owners.

February marked the sixth consecutive month of year-over-year declines in Asian imports, but those declines are being compared with the record or near-record import volumes that were posted in late 2021 and early 2022.

Widely used forwarding software provider WiseTech Global will pursue further US landside logistics technology targets in 2023, its CEO says.

Delays began to build after an equipment upgrade project to enhance productivity and capacity at APM Terminals Mumbai put one of its berths out of commission for six months.

The bill would heighten transparency into regulatory penalties levied against ocean carriers and marine terminal operators and draw a sharp line on the involvement of China-based entities in US shipping.

An advisory group created by the FMC two years ago is pushing the agency to act on several key issues, but some members have expressed frustration over the response from regulators.

The European consumer goods and retail sectors are steadily working their way through excess inventory piled up at warehouses, with growing expectations of a second-half return of demand.

The 2M Alliance has closed one of its six Asia-North Europe services as MSC prepares for a wave of megaship capacity to be delivered in the next two months.

Wan Hai’s two pandemic-era US East Coast services will be merged in a move designed to provide more regular capacity.

In approving the $31 billion merger, the Surface Transportation Board rejected arguments from the FMC and competing railroads that the deal would harm US ports and shippers.

The rare occurrence – in which multiple longshore labor negotiations across North America are taking place either simultaneously or nearly so — is enough to make shippers nervous, or at least wary, writes Journal of Commerce Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.

Some importers who were ready to finalize their contract negotiations with carriers have pulled back because spot rates in the eastbound trans-Pacific continue to the decline.

Freight rate booking marketplace Freightos said its unprofitable business is seeing improving margins and that scale will help it past the breakeven point.

Wan Hai is now looking at a larger civil penalty than it faced nearly a year ago following an investigation into detention charges the carrier assessed in the spring of 2021.

MSC and other leading carriers serving Indian trades have been reorganizing their service networks and vessel deployments in a bid to match excess capacity with weakening demand conditions.

A variety of data sources suggest it is premature to conclude that supply chain bottlenecks have reverted to their pre-COVID levels, as issues continue to be more pervasive than before the pandemic, writes analyst Jason Miller.

The Federal Maritime Commission is preparing to ask for another big increase in its budget as it looks to increase market surveillance and enforce OSRA-22.

Restocking by US retailers will spur demand on the trans-Pacific and arrest the steep drop in freight rates in the second half of the year, according to Israel-based carrier Zim.