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US retailers historically stock up for the spring season and top off inventories following winter holiday depletion and before the Chinese New Year, but forwarders and carriers admit there’s no guarantee this time around.

Hapag-Lloyd's apparent interest in HMM, which was never officially confirmed, appears to have been derailed by South Korean national concerns despite the Hamburg-based carrier’s financial strength dwarfing local bidders.

The ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert experienced a series of labor disruptions in July during longshore contract negotiations, while the Panama Canal implemented draft restrictions amid a severe drought.

The cranes are part of overall improvements to update and expand Blount Island operations and double its current capacity to 500,000 TEU by 2025.

Since new services from CPKC and CN were launched in May, intermodal volume out of Mexico has surged more than 30% year over year through the end of July.

But in its interim earnings announcement, Cosco Shipping Holdings also maintained a cautious outlook due to challenges it cited, including the global economy, inflationary pressures in Europe and America, and the delivery of new vessels.

ArcBest less-than-truckload (LTL) subsidiary ABF Freight is taking on additional volume and raising rates as a broad realignment of the US LTL sector gains speed.

Supply overcapacity coupled with mediocre freight demand has the top 25 trans-Pacific non-vessel-operating common carriers deciding whether to chase lower margin business or suffer volume losses.

Weak construction and manufacturing demand, inflation fears and continued economic uncertainty are weighing on global steel volumes, a key commodity for multipurpose vessels.

Schneider believes once demand picks up for rail transportation, the intermodal industry can return to pre-pandemic levels of productivity for containers.

The Harbor Trucking Association is teaming with Yusen Terminals in Los Angeles to increase the number of appointment slots each day by cutting the container receiving window from two hours to 90 minutes.

Two congress members, backed by terminal operators, are insisting maritime regulators follow the congressional intent that underpins OSRA-22 or risk “severe” disruptions to the US supply chain.

The insetting product enters an industry where there is currently a reluctance by cargo owners to pay premium prices for more eco-friendly shipping services.

The wind energy industry must resolve a number of supply chain issues or it has little chance of reaching the US’ 2030 goal for energy generation from onshore and offshore wind.

The carrier is looking to have an earlier ruling by the FMC reversed, arguing that the agency turned the incentive principle guiding cargo flow through US marine terminals “on its head.”

Inventory drawdowns and right-sizing will keep Asia-to-US container and air freight volumes soft well into 2024, writes analyst Jason Miller.

With a formal request for information, Federal Maritime Commissioner Carl Bentzel believes the agency is introducing a more “transparent and inclusive process” with stakeholders when it comes to policymaking.

MSC, which has implemented large-scale network realignments in recent months, halted Indian calls on the Sentosa service in April when it opened a standalone intra-Asia loop.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said the new leases attempt to “strike a balance” to reflect current market realities, but other MTO sources called the practice of sharing demurrage uncommon.

In addition to the typical annual planning, such as for budgets and freight rates, US importers need to start weighing contingency plans for two potentially disruptive occurrences next year — continued low-water levels along the Panama Canal and the expiration of the International Longshoremen’s Association contract, writes Lars Jensen.

Weak European demand for containerized trade through the first half is hurting port throughput at the region’s top three gateways, but signs are emerging of recovering volume on certain routes.

Norfolk Southern’s launch of an appointment system for import boxes in Memphis has not been smooth, but the railroad hopes to learn from the problems to make the October rollout in Atlanta better.

Additional upward pressure might soon be brought to bear on spot rates, with forwarders expecting carriers to ramp up blank sailings through the fourth quarter to mitigate a significant injection of new capacity.

Blank sailings during August held largely steady from July as the outlook for US import demand remains unclear, according to forwarders.

Two weeks after Forward Air acquired forwarder Omni Logistics, a private investment fund has taken over expedited third-party logistics provider Ascent Global Logistics.

Truckload spot rates have risen slightly off the lows seen so far this year, although some trucking analysts do not expect a significant rebound in rates until early 2024.

Estes Express Lines has long used third-party software to amp up its service to customers, with an expansion of its partnership with less-than-truckload software provider Optym the latest example.

Longer term, global vehicle sales are expected to exceed pre-pandemic levels from 2024 onward, while high and heavy volumes are also expected to remain strong.

Control of Yellow’s real estate may determine who gets to expand in the less-than-truckload (LTL) sector, and who must scramble to find property.

The CMA CGM subsidiary’s latest acquisition will significantly increase its presence in South Asia that is growing in importance as supply chain routes shift across the region.

The Cosco Shipping subsidiary noted that significant uncertainties over economic growth prospects and the huge injection of capacity into major trade lanes made forecasting difficult.

The fresh data also showed — starkly — how the West Coast’s share of imports from Asia eroded during the 13 months of contentious contract negotiations between the ILWU and waterfront employers.

Getting shippers to commit to premium-priced, low-emissions shipping services is a hard sell for ocean carriers and forwarders as cargo owners enjoy rates that are now mostly below pre-pandemic levels after two years of record highs.

Some logistics managers report longer transit times and delivery delays, as well as higher costs, as remaining LTL providers divide the freight once hauled by Yellow. 

The carrier did not disclose the value of the vessel order, but shipbroking sources estimate the price of each ship at $140 million to $150 million, based on their size and multi-fuel capability. 

A ‘stalking horse bid’ from Estes, a rival trucking company, would set a floor for any competing bids for the more than 160 properties owned by Yellow.

While shippers using J. B. Hunt give conflicting answers on what the rest of this year will look like, the intermodal provider is strengthening its relationship with BNSF to prepare for the next upswing in demand.

Carriers will have to withdraw large amounts of capacity to prevent a freefall in rate levels that are expected to be undermined by rising capacity and subdued demand, according to forwarders.

The proposed rulemaking shows how far the pendulum of power has swung in favor of shippers seeking to hold carriers accountable for practices that occurred during the pandemic, but which were rarely experienced prior to that period, writes Peter Tirschwell.

Portchain has pulled in 76 container terminals into its vessel arrival coordination platform with carriers in the past 18 months, with Port Houston the latest to join.