<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Union Pacific said it expects to repair a container lift at its Houston intermodal yard by mid-week as the region deals with a growing supply of containers and limited truck capacity. </div>

Union Pacific said it expects to repair a container lift at its Houston intermodal yard by mid-week as the region deals with a growing supply of containers and limited truck capacity.

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<div>Union Pacific (UP) said a container lift at a Houston intermodal yard should be working by Wednesday, which should help relieve a backlog of freight that has built up after a nearly two-week outage. The problems at the intermodal yard are adding to congestion issues after the Gulf Coast’s largest port shut down for two and a half days last week.UP said in a customer notice Monday that the lift at its Englewood, Texas, intermodal yard should be operating by mid-week. Englewood’s main Terex lift had been out of service since July 23. UP brought in a rental crane in...

Union Pacific (UP) said a container lift at a Houston intermodal yard should be working by Wednesday, which should help relieve a backlog of freight that has built up after a nearly two-week outage. The problems at the intermodal yard are adding to congestion issues after the Gulf Coast’s largest port shut down for two and a half days last week. UP said in a customer notice Monday that the lift at its Englewood, Texas, intermodal yard should be operating by mid-week. Englewood’s main Terex lift had been out of service since July 23. UP brought in a rental crane in the interim, but that one also had intermittent outages, according to the railroad. UP also brought in a construction crane while awaiting parts and repairs on the Terex. Since the outage, UP limited container in- and out-gates to specific stacks each day, which resulted in a backlog building in the yard and delays for drayage truckers. According to UP’s notice, container inventories reached 1,230 as of last Wednesday, up from 925 when the lift went out of service. “Drays should expect long wait times; crane operation is slow, thus the reason we are limiting and prioritizing to critical identified units,” UP said. The railroad is in the process of consolidating operations at its two Houston intermodal yards, Englewood and the neighboring Settegast, into one operation. Settegast had been handling both domestic and international containers during renovations at Englewood. UP had to reopen Englewood to stacking operations due to a surge of containers hitting the port. “Union Pacific continues to find creative solutions to assist in relieving congestion in the overall supply chain, particularly with respect to moving freight through our rail network,” UP said in a statement to JOC.com. “This has included utilizing inactive terminals, like Englewood, to support international stacking of inbound containers.” “We are aggressively working with providers to reactivate lift equipment for this purpose and to support our ocean carrier customers,” UP added. No cause of the outage was given. Houston drayage supply tightening When Englewood reopened, UP initially said it would only mount containers on trucker-owned chassis, rather than pool chassis. But Nate Graglia, who serves on the intermodal committee of the Texas Trucking Association, said the limited supply of trucker-owned chassis in the Houston region meant more delays for shippers. After persuading UP to rescind the rule, Graglia said his group is speaking with the railroad on how to mitigate storage charges that have accrued for containers sitting at Englewood during the lift outage and alleviate the backlog at the yard. “We are actively engaged with the Union Pacific to work through these issues and communicate what’s happening there to the Houston trucking community,” Graglia told JOC.com. The backlog at Englewood comes as the Port of Houston is also trying to work down a backlog of containers that built up after truck operations ceased from Tuesday through Thursday afternoon last week following a computer outage at Houston’s two container terminals. The Texas Department of Public Safety issued an hours-of-service waiver to motor carriers through Friday that frees drivers to work extra shifts at the port. “Operations at the port are causing a backup of drivers and trucks attempting to move products into and out of the Port of Houston,” the department said in its waiver notice. Graglia said that over the last three weeks, turn times at Houston have worsened significantly with delays of three to four hours increasingly common for truckers. He said congestion fees of $175 to $350 per dray move are now being charged as a result of the congestion. “There’s just massive amounts of vessels coming in,” Graglia said. “There’s a lot of motor carriers in the Gulf that are implementing congestion fees.” Contact Michael Angell at michael.angell@ihsmarkit.com and follow him on Twitter at @michael_angell .

North-American rail

UP targets mid-week for Houston intermodal lift repair

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">But the port still bested Rotterdam, normally Europe’s busiest box port, though neither gateway said it experienced much disruption in the quarter from the war in the Middle East.</div>

But the port still bested Rotterdam, normally Europe’s busiest box port, though neither gateway said it experienced much disruption in the quarter from the war in the Middle East.

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<div class="phx-topic">Antwerp-Bruges, typically Europe’s second-busiest container port, nonetheless bested Rotterdam in the first quarter by recording volumes of 3.4 million TEUs, slightly higher than its competing gateway. The volume, though, was a 2.6% decline from Q1 2025, which Antwerp-Bruges on Thursday attributed to bad weather and a four-day labor strike. In tonnage terms, container throughput at the port fell 5.5% to 36.3 million mt. “Overall, an estimated 100,000 TEUs (approximately 1.1 million tons) of container throughput was lost,” as some vessels diverted to other ports due to the weather and labor issues, the port said in a statement. “From mid‑February onwards, and particularly in March, volumes recovered, once again highlighting the need for additional container handling capacity,” the port said, as ships could only be partially unloaded due to a lack of spare terminal space. Separately, Ocean Network Express noted that berth congestion at Antwerp-Bruges caused two- and three-day delays to some Asia–Europe sailings in March that were already up to two weeks late. The port said imports from and exports to the Persian Gulf fell 12% and 49%, respectively, in the first quarter, but attributed that to weather‑related disruptions rather than the war in the Middle East. <h3>Rotterdam Q1 volumes flat </h3>Rotterdam, meanwhile, reported largely flat container volume growth in the first quarter. The Rotterdam Port Authority said in a statement Wednesday that Q1 volumes were 0.3% higher at 3.37 million TEUs, up from 3.36 million TEUs a year earlier. In terms of tonnage, container volumes fell 3.2% to 31.2 million metric tons (mt) “due to the sharp 14% rise in exports of empty containers, particularly to Asia,” the port said. Inland container volumes “rose sharply by 11%...driven primarily by Asia and North America, due to larger call sizes and an expanded range of services,” the port said without giving actual figures. Overall volumes at Rotterdam were lower than expected due to an update to the terminal operating system at the Hutchison Ports ECT Euromax terminal. Work on the system upgrade began in early January, but teething problems have negatively affected terminal productivity and handing capacity for both deep-sea and feeder vessels, Hutchison Ports said in a statement in mid-March. Landside operations have also been impacted with disruption to gate and terminal processes, which led to long waiting times for road transport, Hutchison said at the time. “It is expected that throughput volumes will only recover once the container terminal expansions have been completed,” the port said in its results statement. The port authority said there was limited impact from the war in Iran in the first quarter due to longer sailings made around southern Africa, but noted that could change as the war drags on. The conflict only began during the final month of the first quarter. "The closure of the Strait of Hormuz highlights just how vulnerable global energy flows are; the effects of this were only marginally apparent in the first quarter and may become more pronounced in the second quarter," Boudewijn Siemons, Port of Rotterdam Authority CEO, said in the statement. Contact Keith Wallis at <a href="mailto:keithwallis@hotmail.com">keithwallis@hotmail.com</a>. </div>

Antwerp-Bruges, typically Europe’s second-busiest container port, nonetheless bested Rotterdam in the first quarter by recording volumes of 3.4 million TEUs, slightly higher than its competing gateway. The volume, though, was a 2.6% decline from Q1 2025, which Antwerp-Bruges on Thursday attributed to bad weather and a four-day labor strike. In tonnage terms, container throughput at the port fell 5.5% to 36.3 million mt. “Overall, an estimated 100,000 TEUs (approximately 1.1 million tons) of container throughput was lost,” as some vessels diverted to other ports due to the weather and labor issues, the port said in a statement. “From mid‑February onwards, and particularly in March, volumes recovered, once again highlighting the need for additional container handling capacity,” the port said, as ships could only be partially unloaded due to a lack of spare terminal space. Separately, Ocean Network Express noted that berth congestion at Antwerp-Bruges caused two- and three-day delays to some Asia–Europe sailings in March that were already up to two weeks late. The port said imports from and exports to the Persian Gulf fell 12% and 49%, respectively, in the first quarter, but attributed that to weather‑related disruptions rather than the war in the Middle East. Rotterdam Q1 volumes flat Rotterdam, meanwhile, reported largely flat container volume growth in the first quarter. The Rotterdam Port Authority said in a statement Wednesday that Q1 volumes were 0.3% higher at 3.37 million TEUs, up from 3.36 million TEUs a year earlier. In terms of tonnage, container volumes fell 3.2% to 31.2 million metric tons (mt) “due to the sharp 14% rise in exports of empty containers, particularly to Asia,” the port said. Inland container volumes “rose sharply by 11%...driven primarily by Asia and North America, due to larger call sizes and an expanded range of services,” the port said without giving actual figures. Overall volumes at Rotterdam were lower than expected due to an update to the terminal operating system at the Hutchison Ports ECT Euromax terminal. Work on the system upgrade began in early January, but teething problems have negatively affected terminal productivity and handing capacity for both deep-sea and feeder vessels, Hutchison Ports said in a statement in mid-March. Landside operations have also been impacted with disruption to gate and terminal processes, which led to long waiting times for road transport, Hutchison said at the time. “It is expected that throughput volumes will only recover once the container terminal expansions have been completed,” the port said in its results statement. The port authority said there was limited impact from the war in Iran in the first quarter due to longer sailings made around southern Africa, but noted that could change as the war drags on. The conflict only began during the final month of the first quarter. "The closure of the Strait of Hormuz highlights just how vulnerable global energy flows are; the effects of this were only marginally apparent in the first quarter and may become more pronounced in the second quarter," Boudewijn Siemons, Port of Rotterdam Authority CEO, said in the statement. Contact Keith Wallis at keithwallis@hotmail.com .

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Antwerp-Bruges Q1 container volumes dip on poor weather, labor unrest

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is revising the excess empty container fee in place since 2023 as off-dock depots become the focal point of trucker ire.</div>

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is revising the excess empty container fee in place since 2023 as off-dock depots become the focal point of trucker ire.

<div class="phx-topic">The Port of New York and New Jersey is expanding the fee it charges ocean carriers for long-dwelling empty containers to include off-dock depots outside of the port, a move that comes as port truckers face increasingly long and frequent delays when returning empties. But trucking interests question whether the now three-year old fee will ever effectively address the port’s bouts of empties congestion, which impacts shippers downstream through delayed container returns and detention costs. In an April 1 email, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey notified ocean carriers and other stakeholders about the revised marine tariff that will go into effect May 1. One of biggest changes to the tariff is in the “container imbalance fee,” which <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/ny-nj-readies-revised-fee-plan-for-long-dwelling-empties-5194202">the port first instituted in 2023</a> to incentivize ocean carriers to remove <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/carriers-need-to-sweep-up-ny-nj-empties-fmcs-maffei-5204204">the pandemic-era backlog of empty containers</a> at NY-NJ. Along with new language that says ocean carriers must “proactively and regularly manage” their empty container inventories, the revised tariff also references empties lingering at “nearby depots” along with marine terminals on PANYNJ property. The PANYNJ said the container imbalance fee always considered empty containers at off-port depots, even if not explicitly stated in the original tariff. Port Director Bethann Rooney said in a statement the revised tariff reinforces the imbalance fee program, which also has a new formula for calculating the excess empties that face the $100-per-container fee. “The container imbalance fee is a key tool, helping reduce congestion caused by excess empty containers,” Rooney said. “This...update strengthens the programs with clearer terms and greater accountability, ensuring our port remains one of the most reliable and fluid gateways in the country.” <h3>Hundreds of trucks turned away </h3>The trouble for truckers, though, is reliability and fluidity just outside of the port. APM Terminals contracted with one off-dock facility, Port Newark Depot, in February 2025 to handle the empties from Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd as they started services under the Gemini Cooperation alliance. APM said in a statement the off-dock empty yard “helps preserve on-terminal space for full cargo moves and reduces gate congestion...while giving truckers the flexibility to pick up empties for export and return them off-terminal when appointments are constrained.” However, Port Newark Depot also faces bouts of congestion and delays that have been frustrating truckers. “The on-street backups waiting to enter the depot have remained significant,” the Association of Bi-State Motor Carriers said in its April newsletter, “Desperate truckers often line up several hours before the depot opens, contributing to the backups and causing traffic delays.” While sporadic, Bi-State President Lisa Yakomin said motor carriers have reported that drivers face four- and five-hour wait times to get into Port Newark Depot, putting truckers at risk of running out of service hours. Yakomin said Port Newark Depot is trying to manage the truck queues with a few relief measures, including signs showing the waiting times, adding another container handling machine, and providing return instructions to drivers the day prior. But the sheer volume of empties can still overwhelm the 12-acre facility. Yakomin said a three-mile-long line of roughly 500 trucks was turned away from returning empties on April 10 because Port Newark Depot was full by late afternoon. “APM chronically runs out of appointments for returning empties, so PND is taking the overflow,” Yakomin said. “But if the marine terminal can’t handle it, how can a single depot? Expecting one depot to absorb the empties is unrealistic.” To address the overflow, APM said in a notice last week to truckers that an additional PND lot will be open for receiving Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd empties. The additional four-acre site can handle between 1,600 and 2,000 empty containers. Port truckers have also been directed to a recently opened 35-acre site, World Wide Depot, for returning empty containers belonging to Zim Integrated Shipping Services. That site is on the same plot of land as PND, But Yakomin said more off-dock space for empties will just mean more off-dock congestion. The issue is being exacerbated by instances of truckers receiving conflicting empty return information from an ocean carrier and a marine terminal, she said, adding to motor carrier costs by sending truckers on dry runs. “The more room you give the ocean carriers to dump their empties and let them languish, they will use it,” Yakomin said. <h3>Next step could be FMC </h3>The PANYNJ said in its statement that “while (the current imbalance fee) has been largely effective, some congestion has taken place if and when ocean carriers allow containers to accumulate to a critical point.” To avoid that, the PANYNJ said the new tariff shortens the evaluation period for determining excess empties from one year to six months. However, Yakomin said it is not clear if that represents any improvement, given the previous tariff referenced a quarterly period for assessing excess empties. Despite the previous tariff being in effect since 2023, the port still has bouts of empty congestion, Yakomin said. “The ocean carriers need to be held accountable for not removing their empties in a timely manner,” she said. As for updating the imbalance fee program, “that’s a little too late.” Yakomin said the next recourse is through the US Federal Maritime Commission, which might have leverage into the issue due to <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/stakeholders-sorting-out-per-diem-bills-under-new-fmc-rules-5192186">the billing questions raised by empty returns</a>. She said it is not clear whether ocean carriers are charging shippers detention on an empty container that had a return location but was full. Inconsistent empty return instructions would also appear to violate FMC rules on providing accurate billing information. Moreover, motor carriers still face being shut out of marine terminals for unpaid detention bills, Yakomin added, a further violation of FMC billing rules. “We would like the FMC to take a look at incorrect billing, but also more clearly define accessibility for an empty return location,” she said. Contact Michael Angell at <a href="mailto:michael.angell@spglobal.com">michael.angell@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

The Port of New York and New Jersey is expanding the fee it charges ocean carriers for long-dwelling empty containers to include off-dock depots outside of the port, a move that comes as port truckers face increasingly long and frequent delays when returning empties. But trucking interests question whether the now three-year old fee will ever effectively address the port’s bouts of empties congestion, which impacts shippers downstream through delayed container returns and detention costs. In an April 1 email, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey notified ocean carriers and other stakeholders about the revised marine tariff that will go into effect May 1. One of biggest changes to the tariff is in the “container imbalance fee,” which the port first instituted in 2023 to incentivize ocean carriers to remove the pandemic-era backlog of empty containers at NY-NJ. Along with new language that says ocean carriers must “proactively and regularly manage” their empty container inventories, the revised tariff also references empties lingering at “nearby depots” along with marine terminals on PANYNJ property. The PANYNJ said the container imbalance fee always considered empty containers at off-port depots, even if not explicitly stated in the original tariff. Port Director Bethann Rooney said in a statement the revised tariff reinforces the imbalance fee program, which also has a new formula for calculating the excess empties that face the $100-per-container fee. “The container imbalance fee is a key tool, helping reduce congestion caused by excess empty containers,” Rooney said. “This...update strengthens the programs with clearer terms and greater accountability, ensuring our port remains one of the most reliable and fluid gateways in the country.” Hundreds of trucks turned away The trouble for truckers, though, is reliability and fluidity just outside of the port. APM Terminals contracted with one off-dock facility, Port Newark Depot, in February 2025 to handle the empties from Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd as they started services under the Gemini Cooperation alliance. APM said in a statement the off-dock empty yard “helps preserve on-terminal space for full cargo moves and reduces gate congestion...while giving truckers the flexibility to pick up empties for export and return them off-terminal when appointments are constrained.” However, Port Newark Depot also faces bouts of congestion and delays that have been frustrating truckers. “The on-street backups waiting to enter the depot have remained significant,” the Association of Bi-State Motor Carriers said in its April newsletter, “Desperate truckers often line up several hours before the depot opens, contributing to the backups and causing traffic delays.” While sporadic, Bi-State President Lisa Yakomin said motor carriers have reported that drivers face four- and five-hour wait times to get into Port Newark Depot, putting truckers at risk of running out of service hours. Yakomin said Port Newark Depot is trying to manage the truck queues with a few relief measures, including signs showing the waiting times, adding another container handling machine, and providing return instructions to drivers the day prior. But the sheer volume of empties can still overwhelm the 12-acre facility. Yakomin said a three-mile-long line of roughly 500 trucks was turned away from returning empties on April 10 because Port Newark Depot was full by late afternoon. “APM chronically runs out of appointments for returning empties, so PND is taking the overflow,” Yakomin said. “But if the marine terminal can’t handle it, how can a single depot? Expecting one depot to absorb the empties is unrealistic.” To address the overflow, APM said in a notice last week to truckers that an additional PND lot will be open for receiving Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd empties. The additional four-acre site can handle between 1,600 and 2,000 empty containers. Port truckers have also been directed to a recently opened 35-acre site, World Wide Depot, for returning empty containers belonging to Zim Integrated Shipping Services. That site is on the same plot of land as PND, But Yakomin said more off-dock space for empties will just mean more off-dock congestion. The issue is being exacerbated by instances of truckers receiving conflicting empty return information from an ocean carrier and a marine terminal, she said, adding to motor carrier costs by sending truckers on dry runs. “The more room you give the ocean carriers to dump their empties and let them languish, they will use it,” Yakomin said. Next step could be FMC The PANYNJ said in its statement that “while (the current imbalance fee) has been largely effective, some congestion has taken place if and when ocean carriers allow containers to accumulate to a critical point.” To avoid that, the PANYNJ said the new tariff shortens the evaluation period for determining excess empties from one year to six months. However, Yakomin said it is not clear if that represents any improvement, given the previous tariff referenced a quarterly period for assessing excess empties. Despite the previous tariff being in effect since 2023, the port still has bouts of empty congestion, Yakomin said. “The ocean carriers need to be held accountable for not removing their empties in a timely manner,” she said. As for updating the imbalance fee program, “that’s a little too late.” Yakomin said the next recourse is through the US Federal Maritime Commission, which might have leverage into the issue due to the billing questions raised by empty returns . She said it is not clear whether ocean carriers are charging shippers detention on an empty container that had a return location but was full. Inconsistent empty return instructions would also appear to violate FMC rules on providing accurate billing information. Moreover, motor carriers still face being shut out of marine terminals for unpaid detention bills, Yakomin added, a further violation of FMC billing rules. “We would like the FMC to take a look at incorrect billing, but also more clearly define accessibility for an empty return location,” she said. Contact Michael Angell at michael.angell@spglobal.com .

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Container lines

North American ports

Marine terminals

NY-NJ updating port tariff to combat rising backlog of empty boxes

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">From tariffs to weather to labor shortages, the breakbulk industry has been forced to navigate a series of hurdles of late.</div>

From tariffs to weather to labor shortages, the breakbulk industry has been forced to navigate a series of hurdles of late.

<div class="phx-topic">New Orleans — With breakbulk demands and trade lanes shifting rapidly amid geopolitical events and trade volatility, coping with those challenges will call for communication, partnerships and planning among forwarders, carriers, shippers, and ports, attendees were told Wednesday at the Journal of Commerce’s Breakbulk and Project Cargo Conference 2026. “The biggest challenge that we’ve had in the last three months is making sure I have enough tonnage to take the volume increases that we are seeing out of Asia coming into the North America market,” said Brian Odell, lead ocean/barge/port mode specialist for power generation technology manufacturer GE Power, referencing cargo volumes shifting as a result of the conflict in the Middle East. Alain Akavi, managing director for COLI Group, said alongside a significant increase in traffic from Southeast Asia to the US and Europe, a lack of cargo in Europe has presented the biggest problem for the German global logistics provider, particularly when scheduling cargoes in advance. “You want to bring the vessel back in good time,” Akavi said. “But in some regions, you have a lack of cargoes, and then you need to parcel. And every time you parcel, you add more ports to the schedule.” Alex Strogen, chief commercial officer for the Port of Vancouver USA in Washington State, said that on a larger scale, US policy changes have resulted in unforeseen new challenges for the port. “We’re seeing our business impacted by policy in ways that I could not have even imagined in the past,” he said. Strogen cited wind energy cargo that previously had been moving through the port and is now routing through Canada instead. “That’s as a result of some of the shifting federal policies as it relates to wind energy here in the United States,” he said. Strogen also pointed to the effects of tariffs on aluminum imports the port traditionally handled. “Most of our aluminum came from the UAE. That’s a problem,” he said. As a result, Vancouver has focused on diversification as a long-range strategy, moving cargo in more lines of business than competing ports. “When you’ve got a broad base of different products and commodities that you’re handling, we have the luxury to try and shift and pivot,” Strogen said. <h3>‘Big influence’ from weather </h3>More so than geopolitical circumstances, weather is posing a growing challenge for moving cargo and is making it more difficult to ensure fixed-date shipping schedules, said Pieter Flohil, director with Dutch multipurpose/heavy-lift operator Spliethoff. “We’ve had an extreme number of delays this year,” he said. “Even if some people would like to deny it, weather is having a big influence on what we do.” Flohil also cited the industry’s labor shortages as a significant challenge, with fewer young professionals willing to learn the skills and work the hours necessary for a career in the trade. “That’s where we try to work closely with our partners in the port to ensure that they have invested in labor,” he said. “That’s vital for our existence in the future.” A willingness by carriers to listen to and communicate with logistics providers when there are challenges and delays goes a long way to making cargo transport easier, Akavi said. “When we have issues, it’s not on purpose. It happens,” he said. “And understanding is the easiest part.” Contact Autumn Cafiero Giusti at <a href="mailto:autumn@autumngiusti.com">autumn@autumngiusti.com</a>. </div>

New Orleans — With breakbulk demands and trade lanes shifting rapidly amid geopolitical events and trade volatility, coping with those challenges will call for communication, partnerships and planning among forwarders, carriers, shippers, and ports, attendees were told Wednesday at the Journal of Commerce’s Breakbulk and Project Cargo Conference 2026. “The biggest challenge that we’ve had in the last three months is making sure I have enough tonnage to take the volume increases that we are seeing out of Asia coming into the North America market,” said Brian Odell, lead ocean/barge/port mode specialist for power generation technology manufacturer GE Power, referencing cargo volumes shifting as a result of the conflict in the Middle East. Alain Akavi, managing director for COLI Group, said alongside a significant increase in traffic from Southeast Asia to the US and Europe, a lack of cargo in Europe has presented the biggest problem for the German global logistics provider, particularly when scheduling cargoes in advance. “You want to bring the vessel back in good time,” Akavi said. “But in some regions, you have a lack of cargoes, and then you need to parcel. And every time you parcel, you add more ports to the schedule.” Alex Strogen, chief commercial officer for the Port of Vancouver USA in Washington State, said that on a larger scale, US policy changes have resulted in unforeseen new challenges for the port. “We’re seeing our business impacted by policy in ways that I could not have even imagined in the past,” he said. Strogen cited wind energy cargo that previously had been moving through the port and is now routing through Canada instead. “That’s as a result of some of the shifting federal policies as it relates to wind energy here in the United States,” he said. Strogen also pointed to the effects of tariffs on aluminum imports the port traditionally handled. “Most of our aluminum came from the UAE. That’s a problem,” he said. As a result, Vancouver has focused on diversification as a long-range strategy, moving cargo in more lines of business than competing ports. “When you’ve got a broad base of different products and commodities that you’re handling, we have the luxury to try and shift and pivot,” Strogen said. ‘Big influence’ from weather More so than geopolitical circumstances, weather is posing a growing challenge for moving cargo and is making it more difficult to ensure fixed-date shipping schedules, said Pieter Flohil, director with Dutch multipurpose/heavy-lift operator Spliethoff. “We’ve had an extreme number of delays this year,” he said. “Even if some people would like to deny it, weather is having a big influence on what we do.” Flohil also cited the industry’s labor shortages as a significant challenge, with fewer young professionals willing to learn the skills and work the hours necessary for a career in the trade. “That’s where we try to work closely with our partners in the port to ensure that they have invested in labor,” he said. “That’s vital for our existence in the future.” A willingness by carriers to listen to and communicate with logistics providers when there are challenges and delays goes a long way to making cargo transport easier, Akavi said. “When we have issues, it’s not on purpose. It happens,” he said. “And understanding is the easiest part.” Contact Autumn Cafiero Giusti at autumn@autumngiusti.com .

Breakbulk carriers

Breakbulk ports

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Breakbulk26: Trade lane shifts, policy changes among evolving challenges for breakbulk cargo

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">A prolonged war would ultimately result in a shift from supply constraint to demand destruction for oil and natural gas coming from the Middle East, according to S&amp;P Global Energy expert Amy Groeschel.</div>

A prolonged war would ultimately result in a shift from supply constraint to demand destruction for oil and natural gas coming from the Middle East, according to S&P Global Energy expert Amy Groeschel.

<div class="phx-topic">New Orleans — How long it takes to resolve the war in the Middle East will ultimately decide how deep the compounding effects of the disruption to oil and natural gas production, refining, and the delivery of refined products will cut into global economies, Amy Groeschel, head of energy spending at S&amp;P Global Energy, said Wednesday. Groeschel was speaking at the Journal of Commerce’s Breakbulk and Project Cargo Conference 2026. A prolonged conflict would ultimately result in a switch from supply constraint to demand destruction for oil and natural gas coming from the Middle East, she said. “The longer the fields are not flowing, the longer and more expensive it will be to restart production,” Groeschel said, noting, too, the capital costs of repairing refining infrastructure at facilities damaged in the war. “The longer the conflict goes, and the more that affects access to fuel transiting [the Strait of Hormuz], the more it likely incentivizes oil and gas exploration elsewhere and incentivizes shifts toward other energy sources,” she added. Groeschel, a specialist in upstream energy analysis, described a “widespread destruction of refining in the Middle East” that would likely benefit engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies as well as the logistics providers that serve them when it comes time for costly repairs. But she said the scale of the outages and what OPEC countries produce, with some 16 million barrels of crude and refined products trapped inside the Strait of Hormuz each day, is “not replaceable in a short amount of time.” <h3>Venezuela not an option to replace Gulf oil supplies </h3>Groeschel noted that upstream spending on renewable energy was already on pace to outstrip oil and gas spending before the Middle East conflict broke out, with S&amp;P Global Energy forecasting peak demand for oil and gas by 2032. That trend might accelerate in the wake of the supply constraint, with countries and energy producers now looking at alternatives earlier than they might have. “It was an eventuality that clean tech spending was going to overtake oil and gas,” she said. “The infrastructure needed to build offshore wind would be larger. But the fastest growing sector is more modular solar, much of that coming from China.” Asked whether Venezuela could offset the oil supplies constrained by the Middle East conflict, Groeschel downplayed those expectations. “Venezuela produces heavy crude that has to be upgraded to even be transported by ship,” she said. “Rebuilding of those [upgrade] facilities will take time and massive investment, and a real commitment of government to produce stable conditions that let producers invest.” She added that even in the most optimistic forecast, Venezuela would be able to produce 3 million barrels of crude per day by 2030. Other potential oil-producing locations that could contribute to offset the lost supply from the Persian Gulf include Western Canada, the US, Argentina and Africa. S&amp;P Global is the parent company of the Journal of Commerce. Contact Eric Johnson at <a href="mailto:eric.johnson@spglobal.com">eric.johnson@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

New Orleans — How long it takes to resolve the war in the Middle East will ultimately decide how deep the compounding effects of the disruption to oil and natural gas production, refining, and the delivery of refined products will cut into global economies, Amy Groeschel, head of energy spending at S&P Global Energy, said Wednesday. Groeschel was speaking at the Journal of Commerce’s Breakbulk and Project Cargo Conference 2026. A prolonged conflict would ultimately result in a switch from supply constraint to demand destruction for oil and natural gas coming from the Middle East, she said. “The longer the fields are not flowing, the longer and more expensive it will be to restart production,” Groeschel said, noting, too, the capital costs of repairing refining infrastructure at facilities damaged in the war. “The longer the conflict goes, and the more that affects access to fuel transiting [the Strait of Hormuz], the more it likely incentivizes oil and gas exploration elsewhere and incentivizes shifts toward other energy sources,” she added. Groeschel, a specialist in upstream energy analysis, described a “widespread destruction of refining in the Middle East” that would likely benefit engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies as well as the logistics providers that serve them when it comes time for costly repairs. But she said the scale of the outages and what OPEC countries produce, with some 16 million barrels of crude and refined products trapped inside the Strait of Hormuz each day, is “not replaceable in a short amount of time.” Venezuela not an option to replace Gulf oil supplies Groeschel noted that upstream spending on renewable energy was already on pace to outstrip oil and gas spending before the Middle East conflict broke out, with S&P Global Energy forecasting peak demand for oil and gas by 2032. That trend might accelerate in the wake of the supply constraint, with countries and energy producers now looking at alternatives earlier than they might have. “It was an eventuality that clean tech spending was going to overtake oil and gas,” she said. “The infrastructure needed to build offshore wind would be larger. But the fastest growing sector is more modular solar, much of that coming from China.” Asked whether Venezuela could offset the oil supplies constrained by the Middle East conflict, Groeschel downplayed those expectations. “Venezuela produces heavy crude that has to be upgraded to even be transported by ship,” she said. “Rebuilding of those [upgrade] facilities will take time and massive investment, and a real commitment of government to produce stable conditions that let producers invest.” She added that even in the most optimistic forecast, Venezuela would be able to produce 3 million barrels of crude per day by 2030. Other potential oil-producing locations that could contribute to offset the lost supply from the Persian Gulf include Western Canada, the US, Argentina and Africa. S&P Global is the parent company of the Journal of Commerce. Contact Eric Johnson at eric.johnson@spglobal.com .

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Breakbulk26: Loss of Persian Gulf oil supplies difficult to replace quickly

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Tariff refunds might be available for many breakbulk companies, but they still need to prepare for the possibility of new levies, conference attendees were told.</div>

Tariff refunds might be available for many breakbulk companies, but they still need to prepare for the possibility of new levies, conference attendees were told.

<div class="phx-topic">New Orleans — Project cargo and breakbulk shippers need to shift their thinking on tariffs and trade compliance from “strategic weapons” to “strategic and tactical” tools, according to sector specialists speaking at the Journal of Commerce’s Breakbulk and Project Cargo Conference 2026. Mance Adams, logistics manager and duty drawback project manager at oilfield services company SLB, said many companies treat tariffs and trade compliance as a secondary consideration. “I’ve talked to supply chain procurement, and they’ve come to me a year after a contract is negotiated, saying, ‘can you help me calculate the tariff on this?’ So, they had never calculated a true landed cost or total cost of ownership,” Adams said Tuesday. “When I told them that they have been paying 28%, they almost laughed me out of the office,” he added. Instead, Adams urged companies in the sector to consider trade compliance and the handling of tariffs and other import and export costs as something strategic and tactical. Elizabeth Lowe, Venable LLP partner and co-chair of the International Trade and Logistics Group, warned that companies should be “bracing” for further US tariffs this year. “We don’t really know what exactly it’s going to look like when it comes out, but I do think folks should be bracing for there being pretty broad tariffs that go back into effect in July,” she said. Lowe said that those tariffs will likely be challenged because of a rushed process, but stakeholders should start looking at mitigation options now. “It will be pushed through. Whether it is done correctly or not is another question,” she said. After tariffs implemented by the Trump administration under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/us-supreme-court-rules-against-trump-in-critical-ieepa-tariff-case-6173568">ruled illegal by the US Supreme Court in February</a>, shippers are now bracing for so-called Section 122 tariffs of 10% through July and the possibility of new tariffs resulting from ongoing Section 301 investigations. <h3>Tariff refund window now open </h3>The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has launched Phase 1of the IEEPA refund process, allowing importers of record and licensed customs brokers to file for refunds of tariffs paid between April 2025 and the Supreme Court ruling. These include so-called “reciprocal” tariffs ranging from 10% to 41% on most goods from nearly all US trading partners, a 40% additional duty on most imports from Brazil, and secondary tariff orders designed to penalize countries trading with nations such as Russia, Iran or Venezuela. “It covers a lot,” said Lowe. “Make sure you are getting it all. Don’t limit your refund just to the reciprocal tariffs.” She also advised that if project cargo and breakbulk companies are successful in their refund claim, they might find customers knocking on their door for their slice of the refund. “Figuring out how to deal with that,” is something that logistics specialists in the sector need to keep in mind and be aware of, Lowe said. “Customs is not going to come and tell you you’ve got to reimburse your customer,” she said. “Ultimately, that’s a commercial discussion.” Contact Carly Fields at <a href="mailto:carly.fields@spglobal.com">carly.fields@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

New Orleans — Project cargo and breakbulk shippers need to shift their thinking on tariffs and trade compliance from “strategic weapons” to “strategic and tactical” tools, according to sector specialists speaking at the Journal of Commerce’s Breakbulk and Project Cargo Conference 2026. Mance Adams, logistics manager and duty drawback project manager at oilfield services company SLB, said many companies treat tariffs and trade compliance as a secondary consideration. “I’ve talked to supply chain procurement, and they’ve come to me a year after a contract is negotiated, saying, ‘can you help me calculate the tariff on this?’ So, they had never calculated a true landed cost or total cost of ownership,” Adams said Tuesday. “When I told them that they have been paying 28%, they almost laughed me out of the office,” he added. Instead, Adams urged companies in the sector to consider trade compliance and the handling of tariffs and other import and export costs as something strategic and tactical. Elizabeth Lowe, Venable LLP partner and co-chair of the International Trade and Logistics Group, warned that companies should be “bracing” for further US tariffs this year. “We don’t really know what exactly it’s going to look like when it comes out, but I do think folks should be bracing for there being pretty broad tariffs that go back into effect in July,” she said. Lowe said that those tariffs will likely be challenged because of a rushed process, but stakeholders should start looking at mitigation options now. “It will be pushed through. Whether it is done correctly or not is another question,” she said. After tariffs implemented by the Trump administration under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were ruled illegal by the US Supreme Court in February , shippers are now bracing for so-called Section 122 tariffs of 10% through July and the possibility of new tariffs resulting from ongoing Section 301 investigations. Tariff refund window now open The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has launched Phase 1of the IEEPA refund process, allowing importers of record and licensed customs brokers to file for refunds of tariffs paid between April 2025 and the Supreme Court ruling. These include so-called “reciprocal” tariffs ranging from 10% to 41% on most goods from nearly all US trading partners, a 40% additional duty on most imports from Brazil, and secondary tariff orders designed to penalize countries trading with nations such as Russia, Iran or Venezuela. “It covers a lot,” said Lowe. “Make sure you are getting it all. Don’t limit your refund just to the reciprocal tariffs.” She also advised that if project cargo and breakbulk companies are successful in their refund claim, they might find customers knocking on their door for their slice of the refund. “Figuring out how to deal with that,” is something that logistics specialists in the sector need to keep in mind and be aware of, Lowe said. “Customs is not going to come and tell you you’ve got to reimburse your customer,” she said. “Ultimately, that’s a commercial discussion.” Contact Carly Fields at carly.fields@spglobal.com .

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