<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">At the JOC Port Performance North America Conference in Newark, New Jersey, on Tuesday, a key technical director offered insights regarding how to increase port productivity as ships get bigger, including what stakeholders should expect from automation.</div>

At the JOC Port Performance North America Conference in Newark, New Jersey, on Tuesday, a key technical director offered insights regarding how to increase port productivity as ships get bigger, including what stakeholders should expect from automation.

3589846_FI.jpg

<div>North American container terminals have made little progress in catching up with their European and Asian counterparts when it comes to productivity, as efficiency globally fails to meet rising mega-ship pressure.Terminal productivity in North American terminals compared with ports in Asia and northern Europe has stayed relatively the same over the past six years, Dean Davison, technical director, maritime, for the engineering firm WSP, told approximately 200 attendees at the <a>JOC Port Performance North America Conference in Newark, New Jersey.</a><h2>Terminal productivity not keeping pace with the mega-ships</h2>In his Tuesday keynote address, Davison said the gap in productivity and the bigger...

North American container terminals have made little progress in catching up with their European and Asian counterparts when it comes to productivity, as efficiency globally fails to meet rising mega-ship pressure. Terminal productivity in North American terminals compared with ports in Asia and northern Europe has stayed relatively the same over the past six years, Dean Davison, technical director, maritime, for the engineering firm WSP, told approximately 200 attendees at the JOC Port Performance North America Conference in Newark, New Jersey. Terminal productivity not keeping pace with the mega-ships In his Tuesday keynote address, Davison said the gap in productivity and the bigger global issue afflicting terminals in all regions is dealing with large volumes of cargo from bigger container vessels . “Productivity gains are not keeping pace with increased vessel and consignment sizes,” he said. “The relative position has actually gone backwards. The question is, with more bigger ships coming next year, are we going to go further backwards? All container ports and terminals have to keep improving, and they’re under pressure to do so.” Global container moves per hour, the top-line measure of port call productivity, decreased 4 percent , effectively meaning ships spent an extra 70,000 hours in port in the first half of 2018 compared with the first half of 2017, according to an analysis of JOC Port Productivity data. After an extended period of high growth, average call sizes, or the number of containers exchanged per call, did not increase in the first half of 2018, compared with the same period in 2017. Davison said with another influx of bigger vessels coming online in 2019, it’s quite likely terminals will continue to struggle, but he said North America is not suffering significantly worse than other regions. He noted that 15 ports tracked in North America have seen a 10 percent increase in port productivity, measured in ship-to-shore crane moves per hour, over the last six years. He called that improvement negligible, and said those terminals may even be performing worse now, relative to the average and maximum size of vessels they are tasked with handling. But, he said even ports with better absolute productivity, like Rotterdam , are similarly not keeping pace with the demands being placed upon them. “Ports themselves tend to be running in parallel [in terms of productivity]. The gap that existed a few years ago is still in effect.” Automation — part of the solution, but not a panacea Ports in the Middle East, such as Jebel Ali in Dubai, are making marginal productivity gains over North American terminals, he noted. The keynote was framed within the broader idea that terminal automation might be a solution to ports coping with the increased volumes in shorter windows that are a consequence of larger vessel sizes. “Automation is not a panacea,” Davison said. “There’s no point having an efficient automated terminal if the gate or the truck becomes the logistics bottleneck.” Automation in terminals provides consistency of operations within the facility and gives terminal operators the ability to know and predict flow, Davison said. It also improves safety, since there are fewer people in yards and at berths, and provides the ability to lower emissions. But automation projects require a high financial outlay — $500 million to $1 billion for full automation, he said. “High capital and lower operating costs is the tradeoff.” He also disputed the perception that North American ports are, on aggregate, less automated than those in Europe and Asia. In terms of confirmed automation projects by 2020, only 5 percent of global terminals will be fully automated. Only a handful of US terminals are fully or semi-automated. “Is the US and Canada that far behind?” Davison said. “I don’t think so.” Contact Eric Johnson at eric.johnson@ihsmarkit.com and follow him on Twitter: @LogTechEric.

Logistics Technology News

Port News

Global port productivity static while mega-ship pressure rises

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">GenLogs is offering data on shipper drayage volumes, available carriers and asset location at the Port of Miami as part of a broadening of its highway sensor-based platform. </div>

GenLogs is offering data on shipper drayage volumes, available carriers and asset location at the Port of Miami as part of a broadening of its highway sensor-based platform.

Feature image

<div class="phx-topic">Transportation technology provider GenLogs is branching out from providing information on truckload capacity and carriers to doing the same in the US drayage market. GenLogs, whose primary business is helping freight brokers identify carriers they can work with on lanes where shipper-customers have volume, is looking to extend similar capability to drayage lanes from every major container port in the US through a product called “Port Intelligence.” GenLogs has established sensors at the Port of Miami and will add a second major port next month, CEO Ryan Joyce told the Journal of Commerce Friday. “We don’t need sensors right at gates to get the drayage data that unlocks all these capabilities for customers,” Joyce said. “We hope that this will help us springboard to signing all 300 ports in the United States as customers, as Port Intelligence gives them visibility into where cargo flows inland from each port, and which [beneficial cargo owners] may be better serviced by their port rather than a neighboring port.” GenLogs’ platform uses a nationwide network of its own roadside sensors that passively collect data on every passing truck and equipment pairing. Joyce said the nearly 1,000 sensors in the network collect about 10 million images of trucks each day on more than 285,000 unique for-hire truck carriers, including drayage carriers. The static sensors, on the sides of interstates, filter out private vehicles and only collect data on vehicles, not drivers. The company’s product combines data from its sensor network with other third-party datasets to track truck locations, equipment pairings and patterns. <h3>Initial users include larger customers </h3>The Port Intelligence features allow users to identify destinations where drayage volume is headed from US container gateways, a list of shippers and receivers tied to those moves, and a list of carriers operating on those lanes. GenLogs’ “Asset Locator” tools allow users to set alerts for specific containers and chassis based on an identifier. Joyce said GenLogs expects about one-third of its existing 60 customers to use Port Intelligence, mostly larger customers who also move drayage such as J.B. Hunt, CH Robinson, Ryder, Echo Global Logistics, NFI and Evans Transportation. He also said forwarders and drayage-specific third-party logistics providers have shown interest in the product since it launched Thursday. The company <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/truckload-visibility-vendor-gets-funding-to-expand-sensor-network-5936129">signaled its intent</a> to service drayage and intermodal nodes in February when it landed a $14.6 million funding round that would be directed, in part, to establish sensors at major US ports and in intermodal facilities. GenLogs’ foray into drayage is part of a broadening landscape of data in that historically overlooked segment of the container shipping industry. Along with a proliferation of tools designed to help drayage carriers operate more efficiently, a list that includes companies such as transportation management system provider PortPro, shippers and brokers can also get benchmark drayage rates on lanes nationwide using DrayRates, which launched in the first half of 2025. Contact Eric Johnson at <a href="mailto:eric.johnson@spglobal.com">eric.johnson@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Transportation technology provider GenLogs is branching out from providing information on truckload capacity and carriers to doing the same in the US drayage market. GenLogs, whose primary business is helping freight brokers identify carriers they can work with on lanes where shipper-customers have volume, is looking to extend similar capability to drayage lanes from every major container port in the US through a product called “Port Intelligence.” GenLogs has established sensors at the Port of Miami and will add a second major port next month, CEO Ryan Joyce told the Journal of Commerce Friday. “We don’t need sensors right at gates to get the drayage data that unlocks all these capabilities for customers,” Joyce said. “We hope that this will help us springboard to signing all 300 ports in the United States as customers, as Port Intelligence gives them visibility into where cargo flows inland from each port, and which [beneficial cargo owners] may be better serviced by their port rather than a neighboring port.” GenLogs’ platform uses a nationwide network of its own roadside sensors that passively collect data on every passing truck and equipment pairing. Joyce said the nearly 1,000 sensors in the network collect about 10 million images of trucks each day on more than 285,000 unique for-hire truck carriers, including drayage carriers. The static sensors, on the sides of interstates, filter out private vehicles and only collect data on vehicles, not drivers. The company’s product combines data from its sensor network with other third-party datasets to track truck locations, equipment pairings and patterns. Initial users include larger customers The Port Intelligence features allow users to identify destinations where drayage volume is headed from US container gateways, a list of shippers and receivers tied to those moves, and a list of carriers operating on those lanes. GenLogs’ “Asset Locator” tools allow users to set alerts for specific containers and chassis based on an identifier. Joyce said GenLogs expects about one-third of its existing 60 customers to use Port Intelligence, mostly larger customers who also move drayage such as J.B. Hunt, CH Robinson, Ryder, Echo Global Logistics, NFI and Evans Transportation. He also said forwarders and drayage-specific third-party logistics providers have shown interest in the product since it launched Thursday. The company signaled its intent to service drayage and intermodal nodes in February when it landed a $14.6 million funding round that would be directed, in part, to establish sensors at major US ports and in intermodal facilities. GenLogs’ foray into drayage is part of a broadening landscape of data in that historically overlooked segment of the container shipping industry. Along with a proliferation of tools designed to help drayage carriers operate more efficiently, a list that includes companies such as transportation management system provider PortPro, shippers and brokers can also get benchmark drayage rates on lanes nationwide using DrayRates, which launched in the first half of 2025. Contact Eric Johnson at eric.johnson@spglobal.com .

Surface

Drayage

Trucking intelligence provider expands visibility product into drayage market

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The 90-day pause in tariffs was long enough for US importers to advance most of their cargo shipments by ocean, according to analysts.</div>

The 90-day pause in tariffs was long enough for US importers to advance most of their cargo shipments by ocean, according to analysts.

<div class="phx-topic">Frontloading from Asia to the US by ocean shippers appears to have sucked the demand out of the trans-Pacific air cargo business, with little sign of rising volume and rates before the pause on higher US tariffs expires in August. Data from air freight analyst Rotate shows capacity deployed on China and Hong Kong routes to the US is down slightly over the past four weeks at 36,000 metric tons. Frontloading of ocean freight and the sharp drop in e-commerce demand following a US clampdown on low-value Chinese imports have reduced the need for trans-Pacific air cargo. “While difficult to say exactly, we do see high levels of inventory combined with a relatively long lead up to the new tariff announcements which allowed shippers to plan ahead and choose a more cost-efficient method of transport,” said Jonathan Mellink, head of sales and marketing at Rotate. Online freight marketplace Freightos has drawn the same conclusions — with the low appetite for air freight evident in spot rates. The Freightos Air Index this week shows air cargo rates to the US from major trade partner origins were level with or slightly lower than just before an Aug. 1 extension to the 90-day tariff pause was announced in early July. A separate pause on higher tariffs on Chinese goods is due to expire Aug. 14. “For businesses shipping out of China, the 90-day tariff extension spurred a surge in ocean volumes and was likely long enough so that most frontloading ahead of August has been done by container,” said Judah Levine, head of research at online freight marketplace Freightos. “In the couple of weeks since President Donald Trump extended the reciprocal tariff deadline, we haven’t seen a surge in demand or upward pressure on inbound US air cargo rates from countries granted the extension,” Levine added. Freightos data shows rates from China to the US this week are $5.17 per kilogram, down 7% from early July and 3% lower year over year. While there may be a bump in volume and rates as the August deadline approaches, Levine said the lack of air freight demand reflected shippers’ expectations of de-escalations and deals, or possible further extensions to the tariff deadlines. <h3>Framework deals announced </h3>Mike Short, president of global forwarding at C.H. Robinson, said air freight remained an option for shippers looking to frontload before the new deadline, “but it all depends on their inventory needs and supplier readiness,” he told the Journal of Commerce. Many of the countries facing new tariff rates from Aug. 1 are manufacturing powerhouses in Asia, such as Thailand (36% tariffs), South Korea (25%) and Malaysia (25%). The levies will include air freight-friendly commodities such as pharmaceutical imports and semiconductors. Some framework deals have been made with the US. A deal reached recently with Vietnam will see tariffs set at 25% for US exports and 40% for any goods “transshipped” through the country en route to the US, while deals were reached with the Philippines and Indonesia this week setting tariffs at 19% — although no details have been revealed. While the tariffs on Asian countries might have some indirect benefit to the air cargo industry through frontloading, the loss of huge e-commerce volume still affects the trans-Pacific business directly. In 2024, e-commerce shipments accounted for close to 50% of China-to-US air freight volume, with the big Chinese platforms Temu and Shein filling dozens of freighters every day. But that spigot was turned off by President Donald Trump on May 2 with dramatic effect. The duty-free exemption for low-value imports from China valued at under $800 was eliminated, although that was followed on May 14 by a reduction of de minimis tariffs from 120% to 54%. Items sent via post from China to the US are now charged a flat fee of $100, regardless of value. China-US air cargo demand fell more than 30% in June year over year following a 28% drop in May. Data from Rotate for July shows China’s e-commerce exports to the US falling 44% year over year, even as e-commerce exports to all other countries recorded robust growth of nearly 50%. <h3>‘Precipitous fall’ in China-US e-commerce </h3>The effect of the US tariffs on China’s two main e-commerce platforms, Temu and Shein, has been significant. Market intelligence firm Sensor Tower estimates that from April to June, Temu’s US downloads fell 77% year over year and Shein’s were down 51%. Sensor Tower noted the “precipitous fall in app usage” could be tied to each company’s advertising spend in the US in June that for Temu was down 87% year over year and for Shein dropped 69%. Meanwhile, the ability to offset the e-commerce-driven drop in China-Europe air freight with growth in other markets was noted by Kuehne + Nagel CEO Stefan Paul on the forwarder’s <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/post-tariff-foreign-currency-headwinds-hit-kuehne-nagels-h1-q2-profit-6049005">first-half earnings call</a> with analysts Thursday. Paul said he was expecting a strong air cargo peak season later in the second half with “high single-digit growth” in volume in the fourth quarter driven by increasing demand for perishables, semiconductors and “hyperscalers” — IT equipment providing the cloud infrastructure that powers modern digital applications and services. Airlines are also increasing their focus on traditional cargo customers, with Cathay Pacific saying business has been booming. “We observed significant growth in tonnage from Southeast Asia and the Taiwan region to the Americas, driven by both general cargo and high-tech electronics,” Lavinia Lau, chief customer and commercial officer at the Hong Kong-based airline, said in a statement on the carrier’s June operations. Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Frontloading from Asia to the US by ocean shippers appears to have sucked the demand out of the trans-Pacific air cargo business, with little sign of rising volume and rates before the pause on higher US tariffs expires in August. Data from air freight analyst Rotate shows capacity deployed on China and Hong Kong routes to the US is down slightly over the past four weeks at 36,000 metric tons. Frontloading of ocean freight and the sharp drop in e-commerce demand following a US clampdown on low-value Chinese imports have reduced the need for trans-Pacific air cargo. “While difficult to say exactly, we do see high levels of inventory combined with a relatively long lead up to the new tariff announcements which allowed shippers to plan ahead and choose a more cost-efficient method of transport,” said Jonathan Mellink, head of sales and marketing at Rotate. Online freight marketplace Freightos has drawn the same conclusions — with the low appetite for air freight evident in spot rates. The Freightos Air Index this week shows air cargo rates to the US from major trade partner origins were level with or slightly lower than just before an Aug. 1 extension to the 90-day tariff pause was announced in early July. A separate pause on higher tariffs on Chinese goods is due to expire Aug. 14. “For businesses shipping out of China, the 90-day tariff extension spurred a surge in ocean volumes and was likely long enough so that most frontloading ahead of August has been done by container,” said Judah Levine, head of research at online freight marketplace Freightos. “In the couple of weeks since President Donald Trump extended the reciprocal tariff deadline, we haven’t seen a surge in demand or upward pressure on inbound US air cargo rates from countries granted the extension,” Levine added. Freightos data shows rates from China to the US this week are $5.17 per kilogram, down 7% from early July and 3% lower year over year. While there may be a bump in volume and rates as the August deadline approaches, Levine said the lack of air freight demand reflected shippers’ expectations of de-escalations and deals, or possible further extensions to the tariff deadlines. Framework deals announced Mike Short, president of global forwarding at C.H. Robinson, said air freight remained an option for shippers looking to frontload before the new deadline, “but it all depends on their inventory needs and supplier readiness,” he told the Journal of Commerce. Many of the countries facing new tariff rates from Aug. 1 are manufacturing powerhouses in Asia, such as Thailand (36% tariffs), South Korea (25%) and Malaysia (25%). The levies will include air freight-friendly commodities such as pharmaceutical imports and semiconductors. Some framework deals have been made with the US. A deal reached recently with Vietnam will see tariffs set at 25% for US exports and 40% for any goods “transshipped” through the country en route to the US, while deals were reached with the Philippines and Indonesia this week setting tariffs at 19% — although no details have been revealed. While the tariffs on Asian countries might have some indirect benefit to the air cargo industry through frontloading, the loss of huge e-commerce volume still affects the trans-Pacific business directly. In 2024, e-commerce shipments accounted for close to 50% of China-to-US air freight volume, with the big Chinese platforms Temu and Shein filling dozens of freighters every day. But that spigot was turned off by President Donald Trump on May 2 with dramatic effect. The duty-free exemption for low-value imports from China valued at under $800 was eliminated, although that was followed on May 14 by a reduction of de minimis tariffs from 120% to 54%. Items sent via post from China to the US are now charged a flat fee of $100, regardless of value. China-US air cargo demand fell more than 30% in June year over year following a 28% drop in May. Data from Rotate for July shows China’s e-commerce exports to the US falling 44% year over year, even as e-commerce exports to all other countries recorded robust growth of nearly 50%. ‘Precipitous fall’ in China-US e-commerce The effect of the US tariffs on China’s two main e-commerce platforms, Temu and Shein, has been significant. Market intelligence firm Sensor Tower estimates that from April to June, Temu’s US downloads fell 77% year over year and Shein’s were down 51%. Sensor Tower noted the “precipitous fall in app usage” could be tied to each company’s advertising spend in the US in June that for Temu was down 87% year over year and for Shein dropped 69%. Meanwhile, the ability to offset the e-commerce-driven drop in China-Europe air freight with growth in other markets was noted by Kuehne + Nagel CEO Stefan Paul on the forwarder’s first-half earnings call with analysts Thursday. Paul said he was expecting a strong air cargo peak season later in the second half with “high single-digit growth” in volume in the fourth quarter driven by increasing demand for perishables, semiconductors and “hyperscalers” — IT equipment providing the cloud infrastructure that powers modern digital applications and services. Airlines are also increasing their focus on traditional cargo customers, with Cathay Pacific saying business has been booming. “We observed significant growth in tonnage from Southeast Asia and the Taiwan region to the Americas, driven by both general cargo and high-tech electronics,” Lavinia Lau, chief customer and commercial officer at the Hong Kong-based airline, said in a statement on the carrier’s June operations. Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

Maritime

Container Shipping News

Air Cargo Carriers News

Trans-Pacific

Air Cargo

Ocean frontloading cuts air freight demand on trans-Pacific

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Double-digit demand is expected to continue through the third quarter on the Asia-Europe trades, piling more pressure on terminals that have been overstretched for months.</div>

Double-digit demand is expected to continue through the third quarter on the Asia-Europe trades, piling more pressure on terminals that have been overstretched for months.

<div class="phx-topic">Shippers in North Europe are being warned to expect further delays and disrupted services during August and September when a wave of inbound containers from Asia arrive at already-congested gateway ports. Strong import demand in Europe over the past few months has kept ships full and volume growing in double digits; that demand is expected to continue through the third quarter, piling more pressure on the overstretched terminals. “The peak will be August and September, and we also expect a peak in congestion until it gets better in the fourth quarter,” said Michael Amri, global sea freight business development manager at Hellmann Worldwide Logistics. Hutchison Port Holdings Trust, the Singapore-listed port operator that controls Hutchison’s Hong Kong and mainland China port interests, said China’s exports to Europe in the second half of the year are set to continue the double-digit growth seen in the first half. “Growth in China’s exports to the European Union is expected to follow the same trajectory as seen in the first half of 2025, with exports to the EU in Q2 growing by 13% year on year,” the port operator said. Should the double-digit growth in volume materialize, the combined volume arriving in North Europe in August and September will top 2 million TEUs. “In terms of seasonality, July is typically the month wherein the most cargo is loaded from Far East to Europe, which means arrival into European ports in August and September,” Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime and a Journal of Commerce analyst, wrote <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7353298019477336065/">in a LinkedIn post</a> this week. “The lack of progress in removing port congestion in Europe is worrying seen in the light of this coming peak load of cargo,” Jensen added. North Europe’s gateway terminals have been struggling to get on top of often severe congestion for much of the year, with ships arriving outside scheduled windows causing berthing delays and full container yards delaying the offloading of cargo. <h3>Terminals heading for ‘code red’ summer </h3>Stefan Verberckmoes, senior shipping analyst at Alphaliner, said he was not optimistic that congestion would improve over the summer months, which was shaping up to be a “hot summer with code red for European container terminals.” Verberckmoes said most of the ports in North Europe that had reserve capacity were now fully operational, with the main problem at terminals being the long dwell times caused by late vessel arrivals. “The fact that some carriers compete by granting longer free time [for containers] of course only makes the problem of the terminal operators worse,” he said. A spokesperson for Hapag-Lloyd said none of its hub terminals in Europe were congested at the moment but acknowledged there could be knock-on effects in the coming months. Still, Destine Ozuygur, chief analyst at ocean visibility provider eeSea, said she did not see an imminent congestion crisis across North Europe and emphasized that not all terminals were affected. “London Gateway has been the most extreme, followed by Antwerp, then Hamburg and then Rotterdam,” Ozuygur told the Journal of Commerce. “While vessels and services are being impacted, it hasn’t put turnover across Europe in a chokehold,” she added. “Even a port like Rotterdam that has seen stubborn congestion is reporting healthy throughput in Q2 and has seen steady reliability improvement since January.” Ozuygur outlined the factors contributing to the persistent congestion in North Europe for much of the year. Ongoing vessel diversions around southern Africa have necessitated the deployment of larger-capacity vessels, she noted, which leads to longer berth stays and higher yard utilization. The longer transit times have also left room for more volatility and unpredictable delays. Schedule reliability data from eeSea, in which ships are considered late if they arrive one calendar day or more after the scheduled time, shows Asia-North Europe on-time performance falling from 42% in May to 29% in July. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="fdd3215b-b33e-458b-ab68-3ad2be100c5e"></dynamic-object></div>On the land side, Ozuygur said some ports, such as Antwerp and Hamburg, are impacted by both high yard density and major barge delays. One of the major causes of the barge delays has been low water levels in European waterways that cause capacity restrictions. <h3>Cutting transshipment moves </h3>Ozuygur said carriers had the most flexibility in dealing with port congestion as they could use port swaps and port omissions or adjust their rotations to avoid bottlenecks. The Gemini Cooperation of Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd recently extended an Asia-Europe service to Denmark and Sweden, removing transshipment volume from Rotterdam and lowering overall container moves. Instead of unloading boxes in Rotterdam and transferring to a feeder ship to Aarhus in Denmark and Gothenburg in Sweden, a direct call at the ports turned three container moves into one. Mediterranean Shipping Co. is also sailing direct from Ecuador to St. Petersburg to avoid transshipment in the Benelux ports. Another option to ease congestion is carriers transferring containers from the overloaded deep-sea terminals into inland depots to reduce dwell times and free up space in yards that are full. But Ozuygur said ports and terminals were facing many factors that were simply out of their control. “The best they can do is maximize berth planning operations and whatever robust vessel forecasting solutions are available to them,” she said. Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Shippers in North Europe are being warned to expect further delays and disrupted services during August and September when a wave of inbound containers from Asia arrive at already-congested gateway ports. Strong import demand in Europe over the past few months has kept ships full and volume growing in double digits; that demand is expected to continue through the third quarter, piling more pressure on the overstretched terminals. “The peak will be August and September, and we also expect a peak in congestion until it gets better in the fourth quarter,” said Michael Amri, global sea freight business development manager at Hellmann Worldwide Logistics. Hutchison Port Holdings Trust, the Singapore-listed port operator that controls Hutchison’s Hong Kong and mainland China port interests, said China’s exports to Europe in the second half of the year are set to continue the double-digit growth seen in the first half. “Growth in China’s exports to the European Union is expected to follow the same trajectory as seen in the first half of 2025, with exports to the EU in Q2 growing by 13% year on year,” the port operator said. Should the double-digit growth in volume materialize, the combined volume arriving in North Europe in August and September will top 2 million TEUs. “In terms of seasonality, July is typically the month wherein the most cargo is loaded from Far East to Europe, which means arrival into European ports in August and September,” Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime and a Journal of Commerce analyst, wrote in a LinkedIn post this week. “The lack of progress in removing port congestion in Europe is worrying seen in the light of this coming peak load of cargo,” Jensen added. North Europe’s gateway terminals have been struggling to get on top of often severe congestion for much of the year, with ships arriving outside scheduled windows causing berthing delays and full container yards delaying the offloading of cargo. Terminals heading for ‘code red’ summer Stefan Verberckmoes, senior shipping analyst at Alphaliner, said he was not optimistic that congestion would improve over the summer months, which was shaping up to be a “hot summer with code red for European container terminals.” Verberckmoes said most of the ports in North Europe that had reserve capacity were now fully operational, with the main problem at terminals being the long dwell times caused by late vessel arrivals. “The fact that some carriers compete by granting longer free time [for containers] of course only makes the problem of the terminal operators worse,” he said. A spokesperson for Hapag-Lloyd said none of its hub terminals in Europe were congested at the moment but acknowledged there could be knock-on effects in the coming months. Still, Destine Ozuygur, chief analyst at ocean visibility provider eeSea, said she did not see an imminent congestion crisis across North Europe and emphasized that not all terminals were affected. “London Gateway has been the most extreme, followed by Antwerp, then Hamburg and then Rotterdam,” Ozuygur told the Journal of Commerce. “While vessels and services are being impacted, it hasn’t put turnover across Europe in a chokehold,” she added. “Even a port like Rotterdam that has seen stubborn congestion is reporting healthy throughput in Q2 and has seen steady reliability improvement since January.” Ozuygur outlined the factors contributing to the persistent congestion in North Europe for much of the year. Ongoing vessel diversions around southern Africa have necessitated the deployment of larger-capacity vessels, she noted, which leads to longer berth stays and higher yard utilization. The longer transit times have also left room for more volatility and unpredictable delays. Schedule reliability data from eeSea, in which ships are considered late if they arrive one calendar day or more after the scheduled time, shows Asia-North Europe on-time performance falling from 42% in May to 29% in July. On the land side, Ozuygur said some ports, such as Antwerp and Hamburg, are impacted by both high yard density and major barge delays. One of the major causes of the barge delays has been low water levels in European waterways that cause capacity restrictions. Cutting transshipment moves Ozuygur said carriers had the most flexibility in dealing with port congestion as they could use port swaps and port omissions or adjust their rotations to avoid bottlenecks. The Gemini Cooperation of Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd recently extended an Asia-Europe service to Denmark and Sweden, removing transshipment volume from Rotterdam and lowering overall container moves. Instead of unloading boxes in Rotterdam and transferring to a feeder ship to Aarhus in Denmark and Gothenburg in Sweden, a direct call at the ports turned three container moves into one. Mediterranean Shipping Co. is also sailing direct from Ecuador to St. Petersburg to avoid transshipment in the Benelux ports. Another option to ease congestion is carriers transferring containers from the overloaded deep-sea terminals into inland depots to reduce dwell times and free up space in yards that are full. But Ozuygur said ports and terminals were facing many factors that were simply out of their control. “The best they can do is maximize berth planning operations and whatever robust vessel forecasting solutions are available to them,” she said. Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

Container lines

Asia-Europe

International ports

Wave of Asian boxes to hit congested North Europe ports in August–September

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The carrier announced in March it would spend $20 billion over the next four years to significantly bolster its logistics presence in the US, including expanding its US-flag fleet and increasing capacity at key US ports.</div>

The carrier announced in March it would spend $20 billion over the next four years to significantly bolster its logistics presence in the US, including expanding its US-flag fleet and increasing capacity at key US ports.

<div class="phx-topic">CMA CGM said Thursday it has reflagged its 9,300-TEU container ship Phoenix under the US flag, the first of four ships that will be so flagged this year as the carrier looks to triple the size of its US fleet to 30 over the next four years. The reflagging of the Phoenix — the largest container vessel to ever sail under the US flag, occurred in Charleston, CMA CGM said in a statement. The ship will be used on the carrier’s Indamex service that connects the US East Coast with India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The Marseille-based liner is the owner of the US-flag carrier American President Lines (APL). In March, following a White House meeting with President Donald Trump, Rodolph Saade, head of CMA CGM Group, <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/cma-cgm-to-invest-20-billion-in-us-shipping-ports-and-logistics-5957748">announced the company would spend $20 billion</a> over the next four years to significantly bolster its logistics presence in the US, including expanding its US-flag fleet and increasing capacity at key US ports. “By expanding our US-flagged fleet, we will create new jobs, support American exports, and help strengthen the nation’s maritime capabilities for years to come,” Adeline Franger Chouraqui, CEO of CMA CGM America, said in the statement. Each of the four vessels to be reflagged this year will have a capacity of 9,300 TEUs. The delivery of the four ships will allow CMA CGM to increase the number of American seafarers it employs by 50%, the carrier said. Contact Kevin Saville at <a href="mailto:kevin.saville2@spglobal.com">kevin.saville2@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

CMA CGM said Thursday it has reflagged its 9,300-TEU container ship Phoenix under the US flag, the first of four ships that will be so flagged this year as the carrier looks to triple the size of its US fleet to 30 over the next four years. The reflagging of the Phoenix — the largest container vessel to ever sail under the US flag, occurred in Charleston, CMA CGM said in a statement. The ship will be used on the carrier’s Indamex service that connects the US East Coast with India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The Marseille-based liner is the owner of the US-flag carrier American President Lines (APL). In March, following a White House meeting with President Donald Trump, Rodolph Saade, head of CMA CGM Group, announced the company would spend $20 billion over the next four years to significantly bolster its logistics presence in the US, including expanding its US-flag fleet and increasing capacity at key US ports. “By expanding our US-flagged fleet, we will create new jobs, support American exports, and help strengthen the nation’s maritime capabilities for years to come,” Adeline Franger Chouraqui, CEO of CMA CGM America, said in the statement. Each of the four vessels to be reflagged this year will have a capacity of 9,300 TEUs. The delivery of the four ships will allow CMA CGM to increase the number of American seafarers it employs by 50%, the carrier said. Contact Kevin Saville at kevin.saville2@spglobal.com .

CMA CGM reflags vessel in first move to boost size of US fleet

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Volumes from Oceania to the US East Coast have grown steadily during the past five years, with this June recording the most imports ever for a single month.</div>

Volumes from Oceania to the US East Coast have grown steadily during the past five years, with this June recording the most imports ever for a single month.

<div class="phx-topic">Mediterranean Shipping Co. will launch a new direct weekly service between the US East Coast and Oceania in February, boosting total monthly sailings on the small but expanding trade lane by approximately one-quarter. The standalone service, announced Wednesday, will be called the Eagle Service and serve several ports in Australia and New Zealand, with additional stops through the Panama Canal. It will include 11 vessels, but MSC declined to comment on how much capacity the service will bring to the trade. The full rotation includes Philadelphia, Savannah, Freeport, Rodman, Papeete, Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Tauranga, Rodman and Cristobal, before returning to Philadelphia. Volumes from Oceania to the US East Coast have grown steadily during the past five years. Between 2020 and 2024, data from PIERS shows the compound annual growth rate for USEC volumes from Oceania was 5.2%, rising to 108,198 TEUs in 2025 from 84,120 TEUs in 2020. PIERS is a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global. US imports to the East Coast from Oceania reached an all-time high for a single month in June, with 10,384 TEUs, up 6.3% year over year. April 2025 is the only other month when US imports from Oceania have exceeded 10,000 TEUs, PIERS data shows. Through the first half of 2025, Maersk has had the largest presence among carriers on the USEC-Oceania trade lane, with CMA CGM and MSC coming in second and third place, respectively. Maersk’s first-half imports from Oceania to the US East Coast alone exceeded the total TEUs carried on the trade by CMA CGM and MSC individually. Maritime intelligence provider eeSea shows four services consistently present on the trade lane since 2022, averaging about 13 to 14 sailings per month for the first seven months of 2025. Contact Laura Robb at <a href="mailto:Laura.Robb@spglobal.com">laura.robb@spglobal.com</a>.  </div>

Mediterranean Shipping Co. will launch a new direct weekly service between the US East Coast and Oceania in February, boosting total monthly sailings on the small but expanding trade lane by approximately one-quarter. The standalone service, announced Wednesday, will be called the Eagle Service and serve several ports in Australia and New Zealand, with additional stops through the Panama Canal. It will include 11 vessels, but MSC declined to comment on how much capacity the service will bring to the trade. The full rotation includes Philadelphia, Savannah, Freeport, Rodman, Papeete, Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Tauranga, Rodman and Cristobal, before returning to Philadelphia. Volumes from Oceania to the US East Coast have grown steadily during the past five years. Between 2020 and 2024, data from PIERS shows the compound annual growth rate for USEC volumes from Oceania was 5.2%, rising to 108,198 TEUs in 2025 from 84,120 TEUs in 2020. PIERS is a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global. US imports to the East Coast from Oceania reached an all-time high for a single month in June, with 10,384 TEUs, up 6.3% year over year. April 2025 is the only other month when US imports from Oceania have exceeded 10,000 TEUs, PIERS data shows. Through the first half of 2025, Maersk has had the largest presence among carriers on the USEC-Oceania trade lane, with CMA CGM and MSC coming in second and third place, respectively. Maersk’s first-half imports from Oceania to the US East Coast alone exceeded the total TEUs carried on the trade by CMA CGM and MSC individually. Maritime intelligence provider eeSea shows four services consistently present on the trade lane since 2022, averaging about 13 to 14 sailings per month for the first seven months of 2025. Contact Laura Robb at laura.robb@spglobal.com . 

MSC to launch new USEC-Oceania weekly service in February

Use code TPM25GW995 at checkout to save $500 on first year of a Gold subscription and 20% on a TPM26 registration!

Subscribe Now - FT/Anonymous to Gold - Wide Box

SAVE ON A GOLD SUBSCRIPTION AND TPM26

Use code GTW695 at checkout and save $800 on first year of an annual Gold subscription!

Upgrade Subscription - Gold Trials

Become a Gold Subscriber and Save!

Use code TPMGW595 at checkout to save $900 on first year of a Gold subscription and 20% on a TPM26 registration!

Upgrade Subscription - S/SP to Gold - Wide Box

UPGRADE TO GOLD FOR JUST $595

Arm your team with the most trusted information portal for the international container shipping industry.

Group Subscriptions - Wide Box

Get into a group subscription today

Access Journal of Commerce content for 30 days

Free Trial - Wide Box

START A FREE TRIAL TODAY

Use code STS20 at checkout to save 20% on a Silver or Silver Plus annual subscription! 

Subscribe Now - FT/Anonymous to S/SP - Wide Box

SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE

The world of LTL is slow to embrace change. Business anachronisms permeate current supply chain processes. These vestiges of the way things used to work define the LTL freight transportation procurement process of many modern shippers.David Knuth, logistics specialist at IEWC, a global supplier of cable and wire based in Wisconsin, is happy to have modernized the RFP process, automating the entire LTL bidding procedure with Bid$ense, SMC³’s automated truckload and LTL freight transportation sourcing solution. But when prompted, he can still recall what once was.In his previous job, a large part of his duties were consumed by creating an intermodal bid package for carriers. In a spreadsheet, Knuth detailed the company’s volumes lane by lane, taking care to delete any errant keystrokes or misleading data. He would then email out the information to each carrier, taking time to respond to detailed technical questions about the spreadsheet data. Finally, he had to compile all the results, create an algorithm that would compare the carriers on each lane, and award the business.“It was a huge undertaking. It took about four months to do,” Knuth said of the old process. “It was almost a full-time job for that part of the year, every year.”In his new job at IEWC, he sat down with Bid$ense on day one and was amazed at the capabilities. Knuth had never before used a bid tool. SMC³’s latest versions of Bid$ense automate the process even further, taking truckload and LTL RFPs entirely online. The tool draws on RFP best-practices protocols to streamline the bidding communication process, enabling bidding carriers to respond accurately and promptly to shipper requests. The solution also does all the distribution work automatically, electronically submitting shipper bid data to carriers based on their actual service capabilities and performance records. Carriers are alerted with timely prompts for RFP deliverables, so shippers aren’t waiting by the phone for responses.Another benefit of automating the process is the data-cleansing assistance. When Knuth sent spreadsheets to carriers, data errors might cloud the bidding process; he might have to resend data or simply accept a price that did not truly reflect the costs of doing business. Data cleansing is incredibly beneficial, he said.The spreadsheet technique also made bidding analysis an onerous task. Since Bid$ense automates and streamlines the entire RFP process, intensive examination is now simple. SMC³ knows that each bid has more than one best outcome. With uniform responses from each carrier, shippers can quickly rank results and create an unlimited quantity of what-if scenarios to make the optimal procurement decision.Jesse Burnett of Central Garden &amp; Pet experiences many of the same benefits. Founded in 1980, Central Garden &amp; Pet has spent the last three decades growing from a small garden supply company to a provider of a range of products from dog chews and bird seed to soil supplements and natural insecticides. For much of its life, the company shipped these disparate goods via LTL and truckload carriers to retailers throughout the country, relying on each business unit to negotiate directly with their freight transportation providers. This arrangement worked fairly well for a small company, but as Central Garden &amp; Pet expanded, leadership decided to consolidate decision making.Burnett helped centralize the transportation decision making in 2015 with SMC³’s Bid$ense. Before Bid$ense, every business unit operated independently as far as negotiating with carriers.“There were a lot of different things just floating around,” he said. “We didn’t have master agreements in place; no national pricing at all. The pricing from carriers was just all over the place, depending on where you were.”The transformations he saw with Bid$ense were immediate. Burnett has been using the tool about every other year since its implementation at the company. Central Garden and Pet’s $19.6 million 2019 LTL bid saved the company just more than 9 percent when compared to its historical average. For Burnett, though, bid automation extends far beyond savings.“We knew that we weren’t getting the best pricing offer from our carriers just because nothing was centralized,” he continued. “We knew that if we combined everything from all these business units and paired it with one corporate offering, then it would drive some cost benefit with it.”When the company initially decided to centralize bid procurement, executives researched a number of different methodologies and technologies. In the end, though, Burnett found that Bid$ense was both widespread and well known, and that his carrier partners already knew how to use the application. Burnett also highlighted the data-cleansing process as a major benefit, saying the rigorous process ensures that carriers always return the best price.“It definitely has helped drive savings,” he said. “Any time you go out there and you drive that competitiveness with the carriers and they know they’re in a bid environment, it seems to sharpen their pencils.”Transportation procurement is an integral part of the modern supply chain. With Bid$ense, shippers can develop a strategic implementation plan that saves them time and money, but also helps them create strong relationships with their carrier partners. These carriers appreciate the solution’s data-cleansing process; when carriers receive a complete shipment history and future volume forecast, they don’t have to guess on pricing. Carriers that receive more data from shippers get a complete picture of that shipper’s freight, allowing them to accurately plan instead of simply preparing for the worst-case scenario. Clean data presented through an automated system can lead to both bigger shipment savings and a lasting partnership between carrier and customer.Whether customers are looking to streamline over-the-road transportation bidding by automating the RFP process or create an entirely new, centralized sourcing process, Bid$ense has the analytical horsepower to get the job done.SMC³ 2020 Customer Case Study

SMC3rates_shutterstock_5247046.jpg

Shippers save money, time with automated transportation bidding tools

If there’s one immutable truth in the world of logistics, it’s this: LTL is an inherently complex form of transportation. Tariffs, rates, DIM weights, transit times — it’s enough to confuse even seasoned logistics professionals. The solution to this knowledge gap has historically been on-the-job training or university supply chain education, but for a variety of reasons there is now a pressing need for third-party, remote LTL training that prepares logistics workers for transportation success. Global Scope Can Overlook Local Intricacies In the past, professionals looking to move into a supply chain career learned about the basics of supply chain from universities. However, many of these college supply chain programs are now global in scope, focusing on worldwide supply chain management instead of the intricacies of specialized domestic transportation. And even these programs, which used to be widespread, are becoming less common. LTL is not an industry of broad-brush strokes; supply chain professionals really need a pointillistic understanding of the logistics of LTL in order to excel in the industry. Accelerating Need for Dedicated LTL Education This lack of specified training put the onus on employers to prepare new hires with the LTL knowledge needed to do their jobs. Dedicated LTL study is a necessity, not a luxury. At the same time, changes in LTL and the broader supply chain world are accelerating. The reliance on e-commerce has ballooned since the start of the pandemic, and last-mile LTL shipments and related e-commerce strains on the supply chain won’t diminish once social distancing abates. That genie isn’t going back into the bottle. So supply chain employers need logistics workers that are fully versed in all aspects of the industry, ready to solve unique shipping and delivery problems based on their extensive supply chain knowledge But why care about LTL? It’s been reported that some shippers in today’s world are no longer concerned with what mode is used to ship their goods. A Multimodal Approach Ensures On-Time Delivery This mode agnosticism means supply chain stakeholders have to be well versed in all modes of transportation. As unforeseen weather events and other disruptions, such as protests, become more common, savvy logistics employees will need to be armed with familiarity of all modes, not just the most popular, to ensure that freight is delivered on time, without damage, and in the most financially expedient way possible. Offerings like SMC³’s LTL online education courses cover a wide range of topics from LTL basics and operations to more advanced concepts like pricing analytics and transportation law. The company also has plans to continually refresh content, adding new expert presenters and taking the feedback of students to make the courses even better as time goes on. Learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://logisticstrainingcenter.com/smc3-courses/" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link">SMC³’s LTL Online Education program</a>&nbsp;and view the 2021 hybrid schedule, featuring live industry experts,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.smc3.com/onlinelearning2021/" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link">here.</a>

SMC3rates_shutterstock_5247046 (1).jpg

Filling the Supply Chain Education Gap with LTL Education Courses

SAVE ON A GOLD SUBSCRIPTION: Use code TPM25GW995 to save $500 on an annual Gold subscription and 20% on a TPM26 registration!

Subscribe Now - FT/Anonymous to Gold - Offer Box

UPGRADE TO GOLD AND SAVE: Use code GTW695 at checkout and save $800 on first year of a Gold subscription!

Upgrade Subscription

SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE: Use code STSW20 to save 20% on first year of a Silver or Silver Plus annual subscription!


Subscribe Now - FT/Anonymous to S/SP - Offer Box

GET INTO A GROUP SUBSCRIPTION: Arm your team with unlimited Journal of Commerce content

Group Subscriptions - Offer Box

Group Subscriptions

UPGRADE TO GOLD AND SAVE: Use code TPMGW595 at checkout to save $900 on first year of a Gold subscription and 20% on TPM26! 

Upgrade Subscription - S/SP to Gold - Offer Box

START A FREE TRIAL: Access Journal of Commerce content for 30 days

Free Trial - Offer Box

Free Trial

Monthly publication providing an editorial deep dive into global supply chain news

Journal of Commerce Magazine - Rectangle Box

Journal of Commerce Magazine

An in-depth analysis of transport trends in the multipurpose and heavy-lift fleet segment

Breakbulk Report - Rectangle Box

Breakbulk Quarterly

Customers scoring their intermodal partners to identify the best service providers

Intermodal Service Scorecard - Rectangle Box

Intermodal Service Scorecard

A must-attend conference for shippers & logistics providers moving goods inland

Inland Conference - Rectangle Box

Attend Inland25

A premium access index of savings using domestic intermodal vs. OTR 

ISI Report - Rectangle Box

Intermodal Savings Index

An extensive dashboard of charts organized by trade lane, mode, and topic

Gateway - Rectangle Box

Gateway

A premium access outlook critical to shippers and transportation providers

QI Report - Rectangle Box

Quarterly Intelligence

The latest port news from the Journal of Commerce spans the globe from North Carolina and Florida to Shanghai and Singapore. Port news includes port automation, terminal construction projects, the future of decarbonization and net-zero shipping, dredging, port hinterland connectivity, labor, disruption, port congestion and cargo flow.

Port infrastructure

Breakbulk ports

North American ports

Marine terminals

Longshore labor

Stay informed on port news worldwide with Journal of Commerce. From decarbonization to labor updates, get insights on global developments.

Port News | Journal of Commerce

The Journal of Commerce is the industry’s source for maritime news and analysis about ocean container shipping, logistics, supply chains, global shipping ports, shipping technology solutions and end-to-end connectivity. Coverage tracks the movement of containerized cargo — from origin to destination — handled by marine terminals in the US and abroad, depots, container ports, container lines, drayage, consignees and shippers, forwarders, non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOs) and off-dock warehousing providers, as well as pricing, capacity, volume and reliability on the trans-Pacific, Asia–Europe, North America–Caribbean, Central and South American and intra-Asia trades.

Discover comprehensive trucking news and trends with Journal of Commerce - from trucking LTL to regulation and trucking supply and demand.

Breakbulk News shipping | Journal of Commerce

Breakbulk News

Container shipping news and analysis of ocean container shipping, logistics, supply chains, technology and end-to-end connectivity.

Container Shipping News | Journal of Commerce

News and analysis of ocean containerized cargo movement, logistics, supply chains, technology, and end-to-end connectivity. Maritime news and analysis of containerized ocean cargo movement, breakbulk and roll-on and roll-off shipping from origin to destination.

Latest News

More News & Analysis

Trucking intelligence provider expands visibility product into drayage market

Ocean frontloading cuts air freight demand on trans-Pacific

Wave of Asian boxes to hit congested North Europe ports in August–September