Latest news

The Russian invasion of the Ukrainian province of Crimea is shining a spotlight on the economic vulnerability of its smaller neighbor.

Container volumes in Los Angeles-Long Beach surged in March as factories in Asia returned to full production after the Chinese New Year lull in February, with double-digit growth in LA offsetting sagging traffic at its neighbor.

Several carriers have planned general rate increases in multiple trade lanes in April and May, although any gains achieved could be temporary as overcapacity and sluggish global demand continues.

EL PASO, Texas — The trucks here crossing the border from Juarez, Mexico, with “Project 21” decals are cleared by U.S. and Mexican customs agents faster than those trucks without the sticker, allowing drivers to get their goods from Mexican factories to U.S. customers faster.

The Puget Sound ports of Seattle and Tacoma face battles on multiple fronts.

U.S. spot market truckload rates dropped slightly in mid-April, but not by much, a sign truckload capacity remains tight as shippers roll into the second quarter, putting across-the-board pressure on rates.

U.S. agricultural shippers say requirements by Japan, the European Union, and China for advance submission of cargo documents are creating a trade barrier for U.S. exports of perishable goods.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said APM Terminals wants to sell the semi-automated container terminal it now leases to the Virginia Port Authority.

Container traffic in Rotterdam inched up just 0.3 percent in the first quarter, as Europe’s biggest container hub confronted continuing overcapacity in the Le Havre-to-Hamburg port range and changes in the container shipping sector.

The rise in labor costs in China and other countries has led to the inclusion of more countries in the global supply chain, but a Standard Chartered report argues that the pace of manufacturing’s migration to lower-cost countries will be slow, especially for higher-value goods.

A rise in European exports helped lift Kuehne + Nagel’s ocean freight traffic by a market-beating 6.9 percent in the first quarter.

Ten years after its launch, online shipping marketplace uShip is pursuing both commercial freight and consumer shipments, expanding an innovative LTL spot market and partnering with eBay.

Vehicle carriers are increasing their share of the roll-on, roll-off market while conventional ro-ro vessels are in decline, according to a new report by the Dutch consulting firm Dynamar.

The Virginia Port Authority’s board underwent its second shakeup in less than three years today when Gov. Terry McAuliffe replaced five of the board’s 11 appointed members, saying he wanted to reverse the port’s financial losses.

Interest in a container and breakbulk service between Cleveland and North Europe launching this month has been fueled by erratic service at U.S. East Coast ports and unreliable service via surface transportation, according to users of the service.

Kansas City Southern Railway appears confident the Mexican government won’t require it to open up its track to competitors as legislation had threatened last fall.

Shippers and carriers don’t always see eye-to-eye, but they do agree on one thing as the 2014-15 shipping season rolls out: The advent of the P3 Network and other expanding vessel-sharing alliances are turning ocean transportation on the major east-west ocean trades into a commodity.

U.S. rail traffic is returning to normal after one of the coldest winters in recent memory, Bradley Thrasher, vice president and general manager of industrial products at the Union Pacific Railroad, told the Los Angeles Transportation Club April 15.

The Drewry benchmark rate for shipping from Hong Kong to Los Angeles rose this week after three weeks in a row with no positive movement.

The Port of Jacksonville is poised to get the congressional go-ahead to deepen its harbor in order to handle larger container ships, after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed a needed report.

Hapag-Lloyd and CSAV signed a binding contract to complete a merger to create the world’s fourth-largest container line.

The “Daily Maersk” product was supposed to solidify Maersk’s position as the leading carrier on the Asia-North Europe trade, but less than three years after its launch, Maersk has lost market share in the lane and triggered a rate war, setting the stage for a carrier showdown, Alphaliner said in its latest newsletter.

The United States’ largest trucking companies kept tapping their brakes in 2013, slowing revenue growth for the second consecutive year as the economic recovery remained a modest one.

CSX Transportation said rail service will “gradually” improve and that it was reasonable to expect operations to return to normal by the end of June, following a harsh winter that snarled operations and created a backlog of freight.

Is Maersk Line, the world’s largest ocean carrier, showing that the age-old demons of container shipping — overcapacity, volatile spot rates and commoditized service — can finally be slain?

The clock on Rich Ceci’s desk reads 00:00, and the project manager of Global Terminal’s expansion said it signifies a milestone met.

TUCSON, Ariz. — Technology similar to Uber and other apps that allow big-city users to call a taxi or black sedan with their smartphones could soon hit the U.S. trucking industry, potentially displacing freight brokers that fail to adapt, a senior equity research analyst warned on April 12.

Smith Electric Vehicles, hailed by President Obama in 2010 for its help “setting a model” for a greener U.S. economy, stopped making or delivering trucks and vans late last year as it ran short on cash and failed to make a profit from its battery-powered vehicles.

The number of foreign trade containers handled by the Port of Kobe in western Japan fell for the second year in a row in 2013, according to figures released by the Kobe municipal government.

The competitive advantage of ports will be their ability to improve productivity and service levels as larger vessels call more often and increase container handling volume per port visit, according to Mika Mahlberg, vice president of Konecranes’ port cranes business unit.

Hongkong International Terminals (HIT) said port operators, contractors and workers — who have reached a settlement in wage negotiations that will give dockworkers a potential increase of 10.1 percent — were “all in the same boat” and would have to work together if the port was to remain competitive.

In the brutal war for cargo that is underway in today’s world of powerful shipping alliances, the last thing the Southern California ports want to do is subsidize competitors by helping them pay to deepen their ports, the president of the Long Beach Harbor Commission said yesterday.

JUAREZ, Mexico — Each Christmas ornament or mannequin that is shipped from here to major U.S. retailers is a sign of Mexico’s growing competitive edge with China.

Pacific Maritime Association President Jim McKenna said today the U.S. West Coast employers’ organization will begin contract negotiations with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union on May 12, an announcement that should silence calls from retailers urging an early start to negotiations.

The National Retail Federation urged the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and its West Coast employers to start contract negotiations immediately and to keep bargaining even if they don’t reach a deal before the current agreement expires June 30.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services appears back on track for intermodal growth, reflecting a broader pickup in intermodal following delays, disruptions and depressed volumes in the first quarter blamed on severe weather.

A group representing cruise operators, stevedores and the International Longshoremen’s Association bought full-page newspaper advertisements to criticize soccer star David Beckham’s proposal to build a 25,000-seat stadium at the Port of Miami.

Sharply higher shipments to China and India helped Etihad Airways boost its freight traffic in the first quarter by 26 percent to an all-time high.

The neighboring ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will step up their collaboration if necessary to increase market share in a new era of powerful carrier alliances, but a merger of the two ports does not appear likely.

Imagine a cargo ship with no crew and no bridge, operated remotely by a captain from a console on dry land.