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Ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert are clearing out the backlog of containers that built up during the two weeks of dockworker strikes in July, with no significant vessel, rail or trucking delays to report, according to stakeholders.

Despite the stability offered by contracted volume, the Israel-based carrier decided against locking in long-term rates at unsustainably low levels.

The clash between shippers and container lines highlights a major challenge for the FMC in finalizing rulemaking on when a carrier can refuse to serve shippers, most notably the risk that it could create a rule that’s so commercially restrictive that it’s unconstitutional.

More than 60 buyers are said to be scrutinizing the terminals and assets of defunct LTL carrier Yellow as freight volumes rise at its former US trucking competitors.

Rolf Habben Jansen has hinted that capacity cuts on the trans-Atlantic could be made “fairly soon” as supply outstrips weak demand for US imports.

A study of global logistics professionals around hurdles to technology investment found that respondents were uninterested in linking financial rewards with software adoption.

Omni’s international and US forwarding customers are expected to send more freight to Forward Air’s expedited less-than-truckload network in the US. 

A sharp increase in new vessel deliveries over the coming weeks is forecast to put more pressure on ocean carriers to blank sailings — or face falling rates.

The National Shipper Advisory Committee saw some good in the FMC commissioner’s ideas, but said without a clear path for implementation, businesses will continue to be hurt by detention and demurrage charges.

Demand for container shipping in major destination markets remains subdued, so some of the world’s largest port operators are channeling their attention — and money — on growing business in emerging nations.

Average rates from West India to Europe and the Mediterranean have cooled between 10 to 15% from what carriers were quoting at the end of July, deepening the slide seen over the past year.

Spot rates in the eastbound trans-Pacific continue to move higher, although a planned general rate increase this week could be the last one for a while, as carriers are scheduled to add a significant amount of new capacity into the global fleet beginning later this year.

Top 30 freight broker BNSF Logistics said it will use Trucker Tools software to improve visibility and freight matching for its surface transportation customers.

Stalled since May, the Ocean Shipping Reform Technical Act of 2023 may never be taken up by the House of Representatives as regulators are still struggling to implement last year’s original legislation.

No carrier was untouched by a 22.4% drop in containerized US imports through May, with 36 of the 40 largest lines registering year-over-year volume declines, according to the Journal of Commerce’s Top 40 Container Carriers by US Imports and Exports.

The Panama Canal’s limits on vessel drafts and transits have yet to make big impact on container shipping, but at least one forwarder is warning shippers not to be complacent.

The current freight downturn could continue until mid-2024, thanks to lower manufacturing output, high levels of employment and excess capacity, experts told the Journal of Commerce Thursday.

The rapid normalization of container shipping markets claimed its first victims as tumbling rate levels dragged Yang Ming and compatriot carrier Wan Hai into the red in the second quarter.

Sources say USMX has made the ILA an offer on par with the increases the ILWU secured in its latest contract. However, the ILA also wants stronger protections for work jurisdiction and automation.

The merger of third-party logistics provider Omni and expedited less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier Forward Air will create a more multimodal LTL network focused on high-value freight.

Shippers and forwarders recently surveyed by Freightos believe artificial intelligence will reduce headcounts in the logistics industry, even if they have yet to figure out how best to use the still-emerging technology.

Targeting industrial and retail shippers that need expensive expedited services to meet stringent on-time metrics, freight broker Convoy is offering a product that guarantees shipments will be delivered within a predetermined 30-minute window.

The first-half results of Hapag-Lloyd and HMM mirror those reported by their peers, with earnings severely challenged by the rapidly normalizing market.

A district attorney for the parish that would be home to the proposed new Louisiana International Terminal alleges the Port of New Orleans has no legal basis to operate there.

Yellow lost money in its last six months as shippers moved freight elsewhere and non-operating expenses, including debt payments and interest, consumed shrinking operating profits.

Negotiators for shipping lines and office workers in Los Angeles-Long Beach report that progress is being made in the ILWU Local 63 Office Clerical Unit (OCU) contract negotiations, but the two sides have work to do on the issues of wages, pension benefits and technology.

The Hamburg-based carrier is testing a prototype container with a steel floor that is easier to repair and clean than traditional wooden floors, decreasing the chance of cargo contamination, particularly invasive pests.

Spot rates have fallen significantly over the past year, but there is still some way to go before prices are back to 2019 levels.

Consolidated Chassis Management is asking cargo owners to encourage their trucking partners to sign up for the South Atlantic Chassis Pool (SACP) 3.0 before it launches in October.

Despite unfavorable comparisons with last year, volume between Asia and the Mediterranean has surpassed that recorded in pre-pandemic 2019.

The US economy is improving, but the gains in recent months haven’t translated into additional freight, nor an additional surge in trucking employment.

The German forwarder aims to make significant cuts in emissions for customers on the ocean leg of their container transport.

The latest lawsuit from International Longshoremen’s Association ups the damages the union is seeking from ocean carriers that used the Port of Charleston’s Hugh K. Leatherman terminal.

CIE Manufacturing, a major manufacturer of new chassis, has suspended all imports of chassis into the US in response to an investigation by US customs officials.

Although the multipurpose vessel market is expected to further soften on weak charter activity in the third quarter, firmer demand is expected by the end of the year, keeping certain sectors of the market — mainly, project carriers — optimistic, analysts said.

AlisCargo will join MSC’s air freight division in early 2024 as the ocean carrier steadily builds out its global air network.

The latest China–India service follows the announcement of another new string from CULines and capacity increases from other carriers, including Pacific International Lines, Evergreen Marine and Regional Container Lines.

Regardless of where demand for intermodal and truckload freight transport moves over the coming months, the industry holds the key to its destiny in its own hands, writes analyst Larry Gross. 

The third-largest US less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier said Sunday it plans to use debtor-in-possession financing to support the sale of assets, while CEO Darren Hawkins blamed the Teamsters union for its collapse.

The disruption laid bare the limits the Trudeau government will exercise to push both sides to a deal that was ratified Friday by longshore union membership at the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert.