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For the fourth straight week, JOC.com readers were voracious for LA-LB congestion coverage, but as port woes continue, delays on the West Coast are beginning to trickle down the supply chain. Nine of JOC's top 10 stories for the week concerned port congestion, with the exception one story on the Nicaragua canal.

Multiple container lines have planned general rate increases in numerous trade lanes in November, December and January, although any gains achieved could be temporary as overcapacity and sluggish global demand continue.

The European Union has agreed a regulation compelling all ships sailing in its waters to monitor their carbon emissions, and it immediately drew criticism from shipowner bodies for complicating, and possibly jeopardizing, ongoing efforts to reach a global accord.

The port of Piraeus has approved a long delayed-agreement with Cosco Pacific under which the Hong Kong-based company will invest a further 230 million euros ($285 million) in container facilities at Greece’s largest port.

There is optimism that the congestion choking the port of Manila since February may finally be addressed after Philippine government officials and the shipping industry came together in the capital to tackle the crippling problems.

The World Trade Organization’s trade measures approved this week in a historic agreement could cut the cost of trade by up to 15 percent, boost the global flow of goods, accelerate economic growth and add up to 20 million new jobs, most of them in developing nations.

United Arab Shipping Co. today named the industry’s first-ever LNG-ready ultra-large container vessel at Ulsan in Korea, with Sajir becoming the first of 17 vessels ordered by the carrier.

Shipping lines on the trans-Pacific saw all gains made by the Nov. 15 general rates increases fall away as the spot rate plunged $253 per 40-foot container in the past week, according to the latest reading of the Shanghai Containerised Freight Index (SCFI) released today.

There will be no speedy solution to the congestion that is creating bottlenecks at ports around the world as terminals battle to cope with growing trade and surges in container volume.

Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) became the latest carrier to postpone a port congestion surcharge for cargo entering North America via West Coast gateways, reversing a decision to impose the levy announced just days ago.

Seven container ships, two more than the previous day but fewer than earlier in the week, were at anchor on Thursday morning awaiting berths at the congested ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, according to the Marine Exchange of Southern California.

The port of Rotterdam will triple the discount on tariffs for deep-sea containers that are transshipped to other ports in Europe over the next three years in a move likely to trigger a response from its main rival Hamburg.

The international air freight demand of Asia-Pacific airlines, measured in freight ton kilometres (FTK), grew by a firm 6.4 percent in October, on the back of buoyant demand for electronic goods from manufacturing hubs in North Asia.

A train pulling 82 wagons loaded with containers is somewhere between the Chinese manufacturing hub of Yiwu and the Spanish city of Madrid, 6,200 miles down the track.

A yard expansion project by International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) in Manila has been completed and will help the port address the growing volumes and congestion that has choked the port since February.

The revenue container shipping lines are achieving per TEU has been falling steadily over the past three years as freight rates continue to weaken under the burden of excess capacity.

The Port of Seattle Commission on Tuesday approved its 2015 budget that calls for $373.8 million in capital expenditures for the seaport and for Sea-Tac International Airport.

The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America on Wednesday charged that ocean carriers may be violating the U.S. Shipping Act with their congestion surcharges at West Coast ports.

For the second time in two weeks, three carriers are reversing their decision to implement port congestion surcharges, though the reason wasn’t immediately clear.

A weekly index of intermodal spot pricing showed post-peak season weakness and was weighed down by rate erosion on freight moving out of Chicago, where intermodal prices have been consistently strong this year. However pricing support out of the West Coast pointed to the effects of congestion at the Los Angeles-Long Beach ports.

An Israel Corp. shareholder vote on the spinoff of Zim Integrated Shipping Services and several other businesses into a new company, Kenon Holdings Ltd., has been scheduled for a Dec. 31 vote.

Matson Navigation Co. will raise its rates for its Guam Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands and Micronesia services by $225 for both westbound and eastbound containers, effective Jan. 25, 2015.

Spot market dry van truck rates in the U.S. rose in the week that ended Nov. 22 and are more than 9 percent higher than in the same week a year ago, DAT Solutions said.

U.S. shippers, especially retailers, are increasingly nervous and frustrated by supply chain delays and higher transport costs linked to West Coast port congestion, and worried about how that congestion will affect the movement of goods to inland distribution points.

BNSF Railway is no longer accepting empty containers headed to Seattle and Tacoma marine terminals at railyards in Chicago; St. Paul, Minnesota, Denver and Omaha.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Pacific Maritime Association are meeting independently today to consider various issues that have been raised in contract negotiations, although they remain ready to reconvene face-to-face talks in advance of the Thanksgiving holiday if necessary.

U.S.-Mexico cross-border trucking and rail volume is poised to increase after Mexican factory export production in October hit a five-year high.

The International Maritime Organization last week agreed to an amended rule requiring container weights to be verified before boxes are loaded, cementing the rule’s implementation in July 2016.

Indian shippers already facing a wave of surcharges tied to landside congestion at major ports received another blow earlier this week when the federal government issued a decree allowing Indian Railways to charge a “port congestion surcharge” for cargo moving to inland distribution points.

CMA CGM on Wednesday announced the acquisition of German short-sea shipping line OPDR in the latest move by the French carrier to boost its share of the fast growing intra-European container shipping market.

A combination of manufacturing migrating from China to its Southeast Asian neighbours and improving road infrastructure is set to grow cross-border trade, despite the import and export of containers taking up to three weeks in some countries.

Keeping track of the constantly changing rates and amendments in the container booking system is complex and an exercise in frustration for forwarders, beneficial cargo owners (BCOs) and NVOCCs, but crucial to establishing a bottom line cost, believes CargoSphere president Neil Barni.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office says the military should revise practices that cost taxpayers $823 million in fees over 10 years for late return of shipping containers, mostly for the war in Afghanistan.

Reinstated port congestion surcharges for container imports into the U.S. West Coast will go into effect beginning on Wednesday.

With reports of more 18,000-TEU ships soon to be ordered as carriers continue to pursue lower operating costs, the focus is again turning to what the next largest class of ships would look like.

Congestion at West Coast ports could get slightly worse over the Thanksgiving weekend as longshoremen and employers take time off to celebrate the holiday.

One potential consequence of the congestion at West Coast ports - a shortage of containers in Asia due to difficulties repositioning them back from the U.S. - is being watched closely but does not seem yet to be creating widespread problems.