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Despite nine months that included historic congestion, rumblings of diversions and the lack of a West Coast port contract, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach nabbed a bigger piece of the West Coast volume pie through the first three quarters of 2014.

The wave of stronger economic activity that produced freight for truckload and less-than-truckload carriers alike in the third quarter lifted tonnage, shipments and revenue at YRC Worldwide, giving the $4.9 billion LTL company a chance to improve profitability.

Booming refrigerated shipments have given a boost to containerized operations at Brazil’s Port of Pecem, which is operated by APM Terminals.

Home Depot Canada is building a more than 1 million-square-feet distribution hub near a Canadian Pacific Railway intermodal terminal in Calgary, further cementing the largest city in Alberta province as a major staging ground for western Canada.

The idle container ship fleet likely will stick at its current four-year low as ocean carriers are reluctant to pull services during the slack winter season, according to Alphaliner.

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

IAG Cargo’s revenue declined nearly 8 percent in the third quarter as a reduction in British Airways freighter operations offset an improved performance at its Spanish partner Iberia.

Japan Airlines reported group net profit of 80.3 billion yen ($723 million), a drop of 2 percent year-over-year in the first half of fiscal 2014, despite a sharp rise in international cargo revenue.

NOL Group today reported a third-quarter net loss of $23 million but managed to reduce its core earnings before taxes by 31 percent through cost management and efficiency that have delivered $290 million in savings so far this year.

Freight rates on the Asia-North Europe trade lane came roaring back this week, almost doubling the previous week’s spot rate as carriers slashed capacity on the route and levied general rate increases.

Growing international trade and rising container volumes and revenue during the third quarter was reflected in the financial results of China’s top two carriers — China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL) and China Cosco.

Port congestion has gotten so bad in Los Angeles-Long Beach that harbor truckers are imposing congestion surcharges of $50 to as much as $100 an hour, and retailers and other beneficial cargo owners are paying the extra charges if the alternative is that they will not get their containers that day.

Shippers’ hunger to move more loads from the highway to the rails is growing as they see more signs of tightening truck capacity, and resulting higher rates, C.H. Robinson said yesterday.

Congestion at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach could result in the realization of a long-time goal at the Port of Oakland: becoming the first U.S. West Coast call for inbound cargo from Asia.

In an era when most companies seem intent on doing more with less, Old Dominion Freight Line is doing more with more. The fifth-largest U.S. less-than-truckload carrier hired 868 employees in the third quarter alone to keep pace with its rapidly expanding business.

The Federal Maritime Commission has allowed Consolidated Chassis Management, the ocean carrier-owned operator of regional chassis pools, to license its pool management software and provide management services to third-party pools.

ANA Holdings’ international cargo revenue surged more than 20 percent year-over-year in the first half of fiscal 2014, contributing to a big jump in the largest Japanese airline group’s net profit in the April-September period.

BNSF Railway told intermodal customers this week that it’s better prepared for the coming winter than it was last year, with more personnel ready and expanded storage capacity at Chicago area facilities.

Ten more CMA CGM ships are scheduled for modifications to their bows that will help the company save nearly 6 percent on fuel, the French carrier said.

Industrial vacancy rates in the U.S. have dipped to 7.1 percent, and could sink even lower in the fourth quarter, JLL Research says.

U.S. shippers’ increasing difficulties in finding long-haul trucks to move their loads is making intermodal rail, including the transport of refrigerated goods, more a “capacity play” than about saving money.

Lufthansa Cargo’s slim operating profit of 6 million euros ($7.6 million) in the third quarter, 20 percent higher than a year ago, maintained the carrier’s status as one of the few profitable scheduled air freight operators.

Universal Truckload executive vice president and soon-to-be CEO Jeff Rogers spent years running LTL trucking companies, but don't call him an 'LTL guy.'

Adding to other recent evidence that congestion at Los Angeles-Long Beach is worsening, Hapag-Lloyd Wednesday announced delays to multiple services and said the overall situation “has reached a critical point.”

Universal Truckload Services looks forward to hauling more of a product close to the company’s heart — heavy trucks — and is expanding in vertical markets beyond automotive, particularly energy and retail markets.

Hapag-Lloyd again raised its “on-carriage congestion surcharge” for import shipments handled at Jawaharlal Nehru Port (Nhava Sheva), indicating that India’s largest container handler is still battling clogged railyards and that equipment turn times for ocean carriers have yet to improve.

Russia, struggling after it enforced food embargoes on European Union countries, is ramping up its chicken imports from Brazil, registering a massive 291 percent year-over-year increase in imports of the white meat in September.

A group of Mexican produce and meat exporters are sold on the idea of starting weekly ocean service between the ports of Veracruz, Mexico, and Philadelphia, saying it would be faster, cheaper and provide better security and cargo integrity than current trucking routes.

Next Tuesday’s Senate elections could determine the future of federal regulations governing drivers’ hours of service and the publication of driver safety scores, Transplace CEO Tom Sanderson says.

One of trucking’s fastest-growing segments, dedicated contract carriage, is feeling the same driver shortages that are hammering other parts of the industry.

Hanjin Shipping recorded its first quarterly net profit since the end of 2010 in a turnaround driven largely by cost cuts and currency gains that saw the Korean carrier posting third quarter net earnings of $39 million.

The Hong Kong government is facing mounting pressure from container terminal operators and shippers as the port struggles to cope with congestion that remains at critical levels and is delaying ships and disrupting schedules.

LONG BEACH — A Los Angeles-Long Beach port truck driver who said she was misclassified as an independent contractor was awarded a check for $9,000 in unemployment benefits by the California Employment Development Department this week, giving Teamsters fuel in their campaign to organize local drayage drivers.

With the launch of its SeaLand inter-Americas service approaching on Jan. 1, Maersk has begun transitioning its affected customer base from Maersk to the newly created SeaLand unit.

Amazon’s opening of three distribution centers in western Poland this week closes the remaining gap in the e-commerce giant’s European network.

Chinese package delivery company S.F. Express was the fastest-growing global transportation company in 2013, increasing revenue 40.6 percent in a year when the 50 largest transport operators saw revenue go flat.

JOC Senior Trucking Editor William Cassidy describes the current congestion crisis at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and its impact on inland distribution in this video from the JOC Inland Distribution Conference.

U.S. retailers are pressuring PierPass to temporarily waive at least $9 million in fees to give shippers some relief from severe congestion at the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex.