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The longer transits around southern Africa, port congestion at key hubs in Asia and unseasonally strong demand have absorbed all the capacity carriers threw into the major east-west trade lanes early this year.

With vessel space from Asia to the US at a premium amid an early peak season, ocean carriers have been largely successful in implementing the surcharges in June, and some will keep pushing their luck in July.

Produce shipments by weight have dropped in 2024, and that’s helped maintain “adequate” truckload capacity in most parts of the US, the Department of Agriculture said.

This year’s truckload spot rates are hugging the baseline set in 2023 as the freight recession drags on; a major increase seems unlikely anytime soon.

Still, insurers said the difficulties have yet to materialize in a noticeable rise in claims for spoiled cold chain or perishable products.

Measures to mitigate the impact of a potential labor disruption at US East and Gulf coast ports could cause the trans-Atlantic market to follow the same path as the heavily disrupted trades out of Asia.

The ocean carrier joins rivals Maersk, CMA CGM and Hapag-Lloyd — all investors in NYSHEX — in using the contract management platform.

CargoSense said the funding will be used to expand its partner ecosystem of integrated management systems and data sources for its shipper customers.

Trade disruption and related congestion, high container rates and tight capacity are pushing shippers to rethink transport modes and make early moves toward revisiting the spillover market seen during the pandemic.

Summer strikes have begun in Europe with a series of walkouts causing significant disruption across the main German and French container ports.

Large Indian industrial importers, relying heavily on China for input products, have complained that despite shelling out exorbitantly high freight rates, vessel space at load ports continues to be problematic.

The International Longshoremen’s Association cited the “massive profits” ocean carriers have booked in recent years to highlight the wage proposal it plans to push in contract talks with employers.

With two new services starting up in the past month, the Northwest Seaport Alliance of Seattle and Tacoma anticipates a rebound in imports from Asia this peak season.

The port is the latest inland location in the western US looking to capitalize on strict regulations in California that are driving up costs for trucking companies.

Unseasonally strong European demand for Asian imports is placing the heavily disrupted westbound trade lane under intense pressure as volumes overwhelm available capacity.

The agency’s detention and demurrage rules are still unclear as to billing those charges to truckers, according to challenges put forth by ocean carriers.

Established long-haul carriers are also launching a raft of new services between Asia and the Americas to take advantage of the buoyant market.

The preliminary agreement avoids a strike that could have created traffic jams along the US-Canada border, disrupting trade and manufacturing. 

Domestic intermodal service has been significantly better so far this year compared with the pandemic-disrupted years of 2020 to 2022, but shippers remain reluctant to tender some freight to the railroads, a Journal of Commerce survey found.

The new products were launched as Ship Angel announced a $5 million funding round by venture investors.

Average spot rates on the westbound trade have tripled compared with this point last year, with growing demand likely to keep upward pressure on prices over the coming weeks.

Security forces preoccupied with Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and an increase in Indian Ocean shipping, thanks to ongoing route diversions, have created an opening for Somali pirates.

The Global Port Tracker has again increased its forecast for US imports through September, with the National Retail Federation pointing to retailers stocking up to meet the rising demand of consumers.

The International Longshoremen’s Association said it has called off talks for a new six-year labor agreement due to automation efforts at Maersk-operated marine terminals.

Shippers need to consider contingency plans for truck shipments crossing the US-Canadian border in case Canada’s Customs and Immigration Union calls a strike this week.

The volume of complaints filed to the US maritime regulator against shipping lines and forwarders has surged since OSRA-22 became law.

The continuing rate softness comes as some carriers prepare to implement peak season surcharges ranging from $500 to $750 per container on Indian loads to the East Coast, mostly from June 15.

Last month’s actual trucking employment gain was lower than expected as the US economy added more jobs in service industries such as hospitality and healthcare. 

Often oddly shaped or very heavy, project cargo does not necessarily consume all the deadweight space on a given vessel.

Saia’s 18.6% year-over-year gain in LTL shipments in May underscores the ongoing impact of Yellow’s bankruptcy, while larger ODFL reports smaller “Yellow-free” gains in volume.

Cargo owners battling to find space on ships filled by an unseasonal demand surge are taking all available air freight capacity out of Asia, the Middle East and India, with rate levels rising accordingly.

Yellow still has 130 terminals that could be sold, but they’re not quite ready for the auction block, bankruptcy court testimony revealed this week.

Managing federal funding requires transparency, early coordination between logistics and finance, and early planning with MARAD in mind.

The thorny issue of running more efficient ocean carrier networks on a global scale has been a long-term quandary for liners and the software vendors catering to them.

Amid soaring spot rates, importers are booking as much cargo as possible under the allotments in their freshly signed annual service contracts, many of which just went into effect on May 1.

The return of regular voyages to the Red Sea and Suez Canal will signal an end to the current disruption on the Asia-Europe trade lane, but there remains zero visibility about when that will happen.

Barbara Yeninas, who died May 31, is remembered as a passionate supporter of the container shipping industry, having cut her teeth reporting on the Port of Newark and then launching a well-known communications firm.

The current chaos playing out in the container market globally doesn’t have to last that long to have some big impacts on North American intermodal, writes Larry Gross.

As a destination port, Barcelona is being used for transshipment beyond its capacity, something that has increased dwell times and slowed the turnaround of vessels.

One of the first “digital-native” brokerages, Transfix is shifting its focus to selling software as a service to other brokers, including NFI.