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The expected merger of China Shipping and Cosco speaks not just to the increased pressure on container lines — even state-owned ones — to become profitable, but also the political and economic changes rippling through China.

An empty shelf in a big box store may be a retail logistics manager’s worst nightmare, but it’s not the only one. Retailers are rethinking inventory management and often carrying more inventory as they expand online sales and develop new delivery strategies.

Despite flatlining train speeds and persisting service issues, U.S. intermodal volumes have increased to their highest level in more than two months.

The newly-formed alliance of the ports of Seattle and Tacoma increased their container throughput nearly 8 percent in July and grabbed a bit of market share from their Canadian competitors.

After decades of moving operations overseas, executives at U.S. manufacturing and distribution firms say they’re coming home, or at least closer to home via Mexico.

Greece has set deadlines for the privatization of its two major ports, Piraeus and Thessaloniki, after waffling on the issue in the first half of year and putting the country’s privatization efforts in doubt.

A Chinese defense manufacturing company plans to build a deep-sea port in the Arkhangelsk region of Russia, giving shippers of containerized rail from Asia another ocean shipping option for northern Europe delivery.

Plummeting U.S. exports of recycled paper contributed to a 5.2 percent decline in overall U.S. exports during the first half of 2015, as lower-value commodities were hit by weak demand, a strong dollar and the lingering impact of West Coast port delays.

More Chinese ports have followed in the footsteps of the port of Tianjin to restrict the movement of hazardous chemical cargoes at their facilities, disrupting global supply chains and the manufacturers that depend on the inputs.

It’s been five years since Shanghai toppled Singapore for the No. 1 spot in the JOC Top 50 container port rankings, and Shanghai firmly led with a 1.4 million-TEU spread in the 2014 results.

Rickmers Group’s operating profit rose 35 percent in the first half, as its shipping unit returned to the black and a strong dollar boosted revenues.

Duisburg boosted container traffic by 10 percent in the first half of the year, shrugging off German rail freight strikes and China’s economic slowdown, to consolidate its position as the world’s biggest inland port.

Singapore-based container carrier APL has introduced a new, dedicated intra-Asia service in another sign of the seemingly insatiable demand for services on the trade.

Oakland port terminals plan to subsidize Saturday operation of truck gates by imposing a weekday gate fee modeled on one pioneered by the decade-old PierPass program in Southern California.

Brazilian customs officials demanding pay increases have gone on strike after threatening to do so for the past two weeks in a labor action that may last some time and cripple trade in the country.

Cargo Chief's Abtin Hamidi says shippers can find truck capacity at the right price, if they know where to look. Web-based and mobile technology can hand them the keys.

By announcing a new inland port, the Ports of Auckland fired another shot in its war with the Port of Tauranga to be New Zealand’s primary container gateway. Shippers stands to gain lower costs and better connectivity no matter the victor.

The South Carolina Ports Authority doubled its operating profit during its just-ended fiscal year, and opened its current fiscal year in July with an 11.6 percent increase in loaded container volume.

Several compressed natural gas fueling stations for trucks and other vehicles across the U.S. opened over the past few weeks, a sign that lower diesel prices may have slowed but not stopped the conversion of truck fleets to the alternative fuel.

Ocean carrier on-time reliability fell across the three main East-West trades in July for the first time in six months, according to Drewry’s most recent Carrier Performance Insight report.

Tianjin port has suspended the import and export of all hazardous cargo following two deadly explosions linked to dangerous cargo, forcing U.S. shippers to reroute their shipments through other Chinese ports.

U.K. port operator PD Ports on Wednesday said it has bought three rubber-tire gantry cranes to handle container traffic growth at Teesport, the second-largest container gateway in the northern U.K.

Ho Chi Minh City is seeking $13.8 million from the state government to clear a silt buildup threatening its container trade on the Soai Rap River, a key waterway for vessels transporting goods to ports between Vietnam’s largest city and neighbouring localities.

Two new products from INTTRA, the e-commerce cargo-booking portal, show how the logistics industry is diving into so-called “big data” and working to transform raw information into supply chain intelligence.

Zim Integrated Shipping Service swung to a net profit of $23 million in the second quarter from a $50 million loss a year ago as a multi-billion dollar restructuring continued to improve the Israeli ocean’s carrier’s bottom line.

The past year was not good for importers and exporters that ship through the U.S. West Coast as they endured horrendous port congestion due to labor slowdowns and employer retaliation. But it was a great year for registered members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union who enjoyed their largest increase in average annual earnings in a decade.

Global Ports, one of Russia’s top container terminal operators, has shaken up its leadership in an effort to reverse its fortune after plummeting container volume.

Regional Container Lines last week became the latest ocean carrier serving India to levy surcharges on Jawaharlal Nehru Port-bound cargo to cover costs that incurred from congestion and delays following the week-long shutdown of APM Terminals facility in the country’s largest container port complex.

Svitzer unveiled a new growth strategy targeting the Middle East, Africa and Asia as the Maersk group’s towage unit moves to lessen its dependence on the mature and over-supplied European and Australian markets.

The fleet of idle container ships over 500 twenty-foot-equivalent units rose to 149 on August 10 from 127 at the end of July and is set to increase in the coming weeks amid a weak peak shipping season and the rising number of blanked sailings on the Asia-Europe route, according to Alphaliner.

Trucking executives generally back a federal governmental push to reduce emissions from heavy-duty trucks, but California regulators want even stricter rules to reduce health risks and global warming from truck pollution.

The same logistics strategy that propelled U.S. online retailer Zulily to greatness has led to its defeat, according to industry analysts, culminating this week in the company’s sale to a retail giant with a markedly different idea of how supply chains are run.

The spot truckload market softened in July, typically a weaker month for freight shipping. A drop in volumes and pricing also signal gains by contract carriers as shippers lock down capacity.

U.S. truckload rates continued to rise in July and domestic intermodal pricing dropped, as shippers continued to find it more and more difficult to justify converting business from highway to rail, according to Cass Information Systems and Avondale Partners.

Several Asia-Europe container lines have announced Sept. 1 general rate increases of up to $1,000 per 20-foot-equivalent unit despite a persistently weak market that has undercut monthly GRIs all year.

U.S. West Coast diversions helped fuel an 8 percent container volume increase at Port Metro Vancouver and allowed Canada’s largest container gateway to retain its Pacific Northwest market share.

U.S. truck tonnage increased at its strongest rate year-over-year since January, rising 3.7 percent in July and 2.8 percent from June. High inventories levels could set limits on future tonnage growth, unless those inventories are drawn down this fall.

The 2M Alliance of Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Co. will add a trans-Pacific call at Prince Rupert, giving the fast-growing British Columbia port its first direct Asian call from non-CKYHE carriers.

Logistics provider Janel Corporation this week announced it will be acquiring Rhode Island-based logistics provider Liberty International, the latest in a flurry acquisitions that have swept through the industry this year.