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Freight rates in the eastbound Pacific trades lanes continued to decline this past week even though the trend in container volumes has been decidedly positive. With overcapacity a problem during this peak season, carriers are either unable to raise their rates, or choose not to do so because they fear they will lose business to competitors.

The Port of Barcelona has announced a deal with Hutchison Port Holdings to extend the current 30-year concession HPH holds for operating Barcelona Europe South Terminal by 15 years in exchange for the operator investing $6.5 billion in automation to boost productivity, according to local newspapers.

As if a huge surplus in capacity weren’t enough, container shipping in the troubled Asia-Europe and Asia-Mediterranean trades is moving into the slow third quarter with little chance of a rally in prices to ease the pain of weak freight rates.

India’s director general of shipping Deepak Shetty said that while the country is working to streamline its bureaucracy to facilitate maritime trade, the total removal of cabotage protections was out of the question.

A study of ways to improve waterborne freight transport across New York harbor has narrowed preferred options to either an improved railcar barge “float” system or an underwater freight tunnel between New Jersey and Brooklyn.

A university professor thinks he may have found a solution for saving a project to dredge the channel into the port of Santos to 17 meters, or 56 feet, and also the town’s prestigious beaches from erosion as a result of that dredging.

The Port of Oakland reported record operating revenue for the fiscal year that ended June 30, even though the volume of loaded containers passing through the port declined 6.5 percent due to work slowdowns and terminal congestion experienced during the year-long coastwide longshore contract negotiations.

The long-stalled Phase 2-4 of the Busan New Port is getting back in motion with the submission of applications to begin reclamation works, South Korea's Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) announced Thursday.

Danaos Corporation has launched a joint venture called Gemini Shipholdings to acquire secondhand container ships in a bid to capitalize on depressed prices.

CEVA Logistics, the world’s sixth largest third-party logistics provider, has won a $50 million contract to handle Continental’s U.K. operations for the next five years.

Maersk Line announced it is postponing by a month the implementation of the general rate increase it planned to apply Oct. 1 on the Mediterranean-India trade lane.

The Asia-Europe spot rate fell 31 percent over last week to its lowest level since mid-June, but the year-over-year comparisons are even more stunning and reflect a container trade being buried by excess capacity and flagging demand.

A new all-cargo airline will enter greater China’s fast-growing express market next year after a mainland carrier, a Nasdaq-listed aircraft leasing company and an online retailer set up a joint venture to create United Star Express Airlines.

A new rule protecting U.S. truck drivers from dispatchers and others who encourage them to violate federal regulations to meet unrealistic delivery deadlines may be on the books as soon as next month, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. But an FMCSA official and at least two shipping executives say it’s a resolution to what may never have been a significant problem in the industry to begin with.

West Coast ports rode a wave of Asian imports in August to take back market share they had lost to East Coast ports during the year-long labor issues associated with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union contract negotiations.

The spot rate for shipping a container from New York to Rotterdam fell slightly for the week ending Sept. 25, but continued to hold relatively steady after a nearly 31 percent drop in late August, according to the World Container Index.

Eric P. Ebeling will become president and CEO of American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier, whose principal business is providing U.S.-flag ro-ro service for the military and other customers.

Cracks in a sill of one of the new Panama Canal locks is “likely” to risk a delay in the scheduled April 2016 opening of the new locks, a Panama Canal Authority executive told Reuters.

The Georgia Ports Authority plans $142 million in capital spending on cranes, empty-container storage, a new terminal gate, and other infrastructure and equipment during its 2016 fiscal year.

The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority has issued a request for qualifications for proposed private-sector developers of a long-contemplated marine terminal on the site of the former Philadelphia Navy Yard.

James T. McDermott Jr., executive director of the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority since 1994, said he will retire effective next April 15.

Crowley Maritime has signed a letter of intent to acquire SeaFreight Agencies, a Florida-based operator in the Caribbean and and South American trades in the latest example of consolidation in the region's container sector.

Shippers using Port Botany and reeling from the impacts of labor strife in August took another blow as the facility was shut down Wednesday due to wild weather.

The government of China has begun to punish port service providers who overcharge for services, giving teeth to a previously announced measure prohibiting excessive port fees in a bid to boost slumping trade volumes.

As a concession to the owners of the established port terminals and to encourage them to invest more in their container terminals, Brazil’s Special Ports Ministry has been negotiating to extend the concession periods before the contracts require.

Matson learned years ago in its mainland to Hawaii service the importance of on-time performance, and it’s a lesson that has served the carrier well in operating its weekly express service from China to Long Beach.

Philippine business and government officials appear to be at odds over whether Manila will experience a return of port congestion when container volumes increase ahead of the Christmas season.

The cascading of ever-larger ships from east-west liner routes to the north-south trades is the biggest problem confronting container shipping, according to an industry analyst.

Hapag-Lloyd announced it is upgrading its West Africa Express, or WSX, service by adding a direct westbound call at Durban, South Africa starting Oct. 17 with the arrival of the Busan Trader at the South African port.

Foreign shipping lines have expressed concern about a proposed Vietnam government decree that will require shipping companies to publicize their freight tariffs to protect exporters and importers.

Deteriorating market conditions on the Asia to Europe and South America trade lanes have seen NVOCCs focusing their efforts on the better performing Asia-U.S. trade, leading to intense competition on the long-haul routes.

The Port of Long Beach announcement last week that the $93 million Green Port Gateway rail project had been completed was yet another step forward in a multi-year effort by the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to invest well over $1 billion to expand rail infrastructure at the largest U.S. port complex.

The general rate increases and capacity cuts that have defined the Asia-Europe trade for most of 2015 seem to be making their way to the trans-Pacific as carriers try to cope with overcapacity.

Florida’s Port Tampa Bay joins the ranks of other U.S. Southeast ports that will soon be able to handle direct imports of select cold-treated produce from South America, bringing new business to the Sunshine State and cutting logistics costs for produce shippers.

Truck driver pay is rising higher, shippers are becoming more "driver friendly," but demographics make finding solutions to the shortage of qualified drivers difficult.

John E. Walsh, who launched an ambitious expansion program but this month apologized for referring to local opponents of a rail line project as “Luddites," is being forced out as CEO of Port Canaveral. His last day will be Jan. 21.

The U.S. arm of the global package express carrier is buying 45 electric cargo vans as part of a broader initiative to run more "clean" vehicles. Overall, corporate sustainability targets are powering interest in electrics.

Geodis, the 10th largest global third-party logistics provider, has appointed a new head for its industrial project operations in Southeast Asia and created a similar position in Europe.

TNT Express has launched a road service connecting Georgia to Moscow in a bid to cut up to 48 hours of transit time for shippers using the company’s European road transit service to reach the Russian capital.

Rolf Habben Jansen, speaking to the JOC Container Trade Europe Conference in Hamburg, cites scrapping and the Panama Canal expansion among the reasons for long-term optimism for operators.