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US resin exports are expected to see a sharp drop in the second quarter as Gulf Coast producers restart after severe February weather disrupted operations.

San Francisco-based Baton, the developer of a software-based drop-zone model linking truckload with final-mile in Los Angeles, has landed a $10.5 million funding round to expand the concept into other North American cities.

With the Asia-Europe supply chain struggling to manage months of high volume, the blocking of the vital Suez Canal trade artery adds further volatility to the busy route.

FourKites has landed a $100 million funding round, led by industrial investors, to use visibility data to drive strategic supply chain insights by linking hardware and software-derived data.

Hapag-Lloyd hopes capital markets will underwrite its transition to a low-carbon future with plans to market its first “green bond,” with the new debt used in part to purchase ships that run on alternative fuels.

A new paper fiber plant to be built next to the Port of Tampa’s container terminal will generate additional export cargo volume to Asia.

With the global supply chain in knots, retailers are struggling to match inventory to customer demand, resulting in missed sales opportunities.

Rapid e-commerce delivery requirements, as well as capacity shortages and equipment imbalances, are spurring the growth of transloading near US seaports, speakers at TPM21 said.

After reaching a record low in 2020, a spate of orders for container ships scheduled for delivery from early 2023 has revived the excess capacity discussion.

A veteran of freight broker GlobalTranz has landed an $8 million funding round to enhance a multi-carrier marketplace and transportation management system for less-than-truckload shippers.

Voyager and GSA create “line of sight” visibility tool for managing ocean transport for project cargo shippers.

SAP’s transportation management integration with Sedna, which helps companies reduce their volume of emails, is a further sign of software partnerships blossoming in logistics and addressing a need to make inter- and intra-company communication more efficient.

Carriers have so much leverage this year that in addition to the service contract rate, some are quoting a second-tier rate, reportedly much higher than the contract rate, for commitments of cargo beyond the shipper’s minimum quantity commitment (MQC).

Zim Integrated Shipping Services said it believes global port congestion has reached its peak, it doesn’t expect US import pressures to let up.

Exporters and trucking companies are battling delays on Norfolk Southern and CSX Transportation in Memphis, causing loaded containers going to Charleston and Savannah to idle for days.

A chaotic container segment, rising bulk prices, and vigorous wind energy development on- and offshore are pushing volume toward the MPV/HL sector.

Maersk has significantly beefed up its container fleet in India by repositioning as many available empty containers as possible, noting it added approximately 100,000 TEU of empties in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Montreal dockworkers will remain on the job while looking to go back to the negotiating table after rejecting the latest contract offer from maritime employers.

If approved by regulators, the planned merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern railways would offer cargo owners a single network straddling the largest global trade bloc.

NY-NJ chassis providers pledge to add more equipment due to the import surge, which has tested the region’s reliance on trucker-controlled chassis.

The breakbulk sector is likely heading into a new economic supercycle focused on renewables and metals instead of oil and created by a policy-driven energy transition, rather than by demand-driven commodities growth.

The dispute at the Port of Charleston is a rare flare-up in what has been a mostly peaceful longshore labor environment on the East and Gulf coasts over many years.

Decarbonization goals at global shippers is pushing the industry toward more granular scrutiny of supply chain-related emissions, a task that’s being helped by emergent technology and a focus on shipper collaboration.

There is no solution currently on the horizon that will prevent the next meltdown at the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex, irrespective of what triggers it.

The consensus among shippers, forwarders, and carriers is that strong consumer demand in North America will continue through the second quarter and into the traditional peak season.

A ruling by the industrial relations tribunal in Canada reduces the chances of federal intervention if Montreal longshore workers vote Sunday against a proposed new contract and then strike.

Despite the IMO 2020’s sulfur cap, the COVID-19 collapse in oil prices last year made the case for sulfur scrubbers less urgent. But BIMCO said scrubbers now make sense.

SCI’s stake sale is part of a renewed effort by the Indian government to mop up additional financial resources to support infrastructure development and social schemes that became even more challenging with the COVID-19 pandemic.

After announcing its highly profitable operating results in January, Hapag-Lloyd’s annual financial report only reinforced what was an incredibly successful 2020 for the carrier.

Vessel call and berth optimization software provider Portchain has added to its roster of carrier and port clients with the addition of the terminal operator at two container terminals in St. Petersburg.

The Commerce Department will push ahead with an anti-dumping duty on Chinese-built marine chassis, which would raise prices on equipment at a time when there are dislocations and shortages in several US ports and rail hubs.

The addition of NileDutch to the Hapag-Lloyd network adds significant capacity in an expanding market.

With summer seasonal imports from China to the US starting to ramp up, the US Department of Transportation is being urged to help shippers struggling with bottlenecks and costs.

Even as containerized agriculture exports have grown every year since 2015 and global commodity prices rise, agriculture exporters won’t find it easier to secure equipment and ocean slot space until the import imbalance eases.

A partnership between TMS provider SupplyStack and visibility company project44 is emblematic of a growing need for European shippers to embed visibility into their shipment management workflow.

Shippers and customers are turning to tracking tools to understand where parcels are in networks and when they will be delivered as e-commerce parcel volumes grow.

Tight truck capacity is a prime reason for the growth of dedicated trucking, but not the only one. Shippers are using dedicated as a tool to influence customers and reshape supply chains.

As the market careened downhill in the first half of 2020, many of the largest truckload carriers began reducing their fleets, and many did not begin adding trucks when demand returned and capacity tightened.

Strongly growing volume on China-Europe rail is causing surprisingly few major delays as forwarders find new routes around potential choke points on the network.

Modal-switching technology tested by MIT and broker GlobalTranz is showing that shippers can save costs by grouping less-than-truckload linehaul freight to multi-stop truckloads.