<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The release of a new study on the Mexican freight railway industry provides ammunition to the sector’s defense of its concession agreements, and hints at a potential compromise between the railroads and legislators aiming to open up industry to other carriers.
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The release of a new study on the Mexican freight railway industry provides ammunition to the sector’s defense of its concession agreements, and hints at a potential compromise between the railroads and legislators aiming to open up industry to other carriers.

<div>The release of a new study on the Mexican freight railway industry provides ammunition to the sector’s defense of its concession agreements, and hints at a potential compromise between the railroads and legislators aiming to open up industry to other carriers.The results of the peer review — conducted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and in close collaboration with Mexico’s Ministry of Transport — were presented to a Mexican Senate committee last month. The Senate is currently debating rail reform legislation after the Mexican House of Deputies on Feb. 4 passed a bill that would require Kansas City...

The release of a new study on the Mexican freight railway industry provides ammunition to the sector’s defense of its concession agreements, and hints at a potential compromise between the railroads and legislators aiming to open up industry to other carriers. The results of the peer review — conducted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and in close collaboration with Mexico’s Ministry of Transport — were presented to a Mexican Senate committee last month. The Senate is currently debating rail reform legislation after the Mexican House of Deputies on Feb. 4 passed a bill that would require Kansas City Southern de Mexico and Grupo Mexico’s Ferromex and Ferrosur railroads to share their lines with other parties or potentially lose them. Rail reform proponents argue the legislation will jump-start lagging investment to the rail industry and lower rates The OECD’s International Transport Forum report concluded the opposite when it came to investment. Concession holders have invested heavily in their networks, and allowing third-party operators to use their rails would hamper operations and future infrastructure spending, according to the report by OECD’s International Transport Forum. The report also noted that rail tariffs and trucking rates have increased to a similar degree in the last three years, and mirror those seen in Canada and the U.S. The freight tariffs of the three railroad are also among the lowest in Latin America, according to the report. “Tariffs nevertheless remain much lower in real terms than before the reforms, especially when subsidies to rail prior to (the 1995) reform are taken into account,” according to the report. “Tariff freedom inevitably involves fluctuations and we see no evidence of misuse of railway market power.” Since the Mexican government reformed the rail industry by granting 30-year concessions to KCSM and Grupo Mexico, rail traffic has doubled, while GDP has expanded 56 percent, the report found. When excluding the mining sector, Mexico’s two rail concession holders operate the most productive networks in Latin America, the report’s authors said. “The performance of the industry has shown continuous improvement since 1995. The quality of management, technical quality of railway infrastructure and rolling- stock, capital and labor productivity, traffic levels and market shares have all improved markedly, a transformation in industry prospects that hardly seemed possible prior to the reforms,” according to the report. Between 2007 and 2012, the two concession holders invested 27 trillion pesos, or roughly $2 billion, in their infrastructure. The robust investment needed to bring the railway previously operated by the government up to snuff has enabled Mexico’s manufacturing boom. Led by the auto industry, other manufacturers have added and expanded factories to take advantage of the country’s accessibility to the U.S and Canadian market, as transportation and Chinese labor costs have risen. The House bill would also force the railroads to publish more of their rates, including those agreed on through privately negotiated contracts. Kansas City Southern spokesman Doniele Carlson previously said the requirement would “prevent privately negotiated agreements between railroads and shippers that meet specific shipper’s needs” and reduce manufacturing competiveness. The OECD report appears to recommend a middle road in which more rail data is collected — as the U.S. Surface Transportation Board does — so that regulators are more informed. “By contrast, freight tariff regulation carries significant risk of deterring investment,” the report said. “All decisions on rights of access or exclusivity will benefit greatly from the understanding of how competition operates in the market that only this kind of data provides.” The report doesn’t address the sensitive issue of reciprocal or competitive switching. The House bill would require Mexican railroads to publicize the rates they charge for switching cargo from their lines to competitors. The Canadian government requires the country's two major freight railroads to give shippers access to each other, while the U.S. Class I railroads have fiercely fought against having to switch cargo to competing lines. Creating an independent safety commission was the only short-term policy recommendation made by the report’s authors. More detailed safety-related statistics are needed for regulators to gain a better understanding of the Mexican rail network’s performance, the report stated. Contact Mark Szakonyi at mszakonyi@joc.com and follow him at twitter.com/szakonyi_joc .

International rail

Mexican Rails Gain Ammunition in Concession Agreement Defense

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">At first blush, the fees targeting US entities would affect Matson, Maersk Line and APL, part of the CMA CGM group.</div>

At first blush, the fees targeting US entities would affect Matson, Maersk Line and APL, part of the CMA CGM group.

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<div class="phx-topic">(Updated to add comment from Matson). China on Friday outlined new port fees targeting ships operated or owned by US companies. The plan mirrors the one the White House is set to implement Tuesday that targets Chinese tonnage. In a statement urging the US government to change course, China’s Ministry of Transport said starting Oct. 14 — the same day the US port fees go into effect — it would begin charging US-operated ships or those where US shareholders control more than a 25% stake. China’s retaliatory fees, which start in the first year at 400 renminbi ($56) per net ton, would hit the likes of US-owned Matson harder than US fees would hit Cosco Shipping. The measures, which mirror those imposed on Chinese-owned or -built ships calling at US ports, were announced by the Transport Ministry in a two-page statement. The fees also apply to US-flagged ships and US-built vessels. The ministry said the fees are being introduced in direct retaliation to the US Trade Representative’s (USTR) moves to impose port fees on Chinese-owned, -controlled or -built ships, adding the US fees “seriously violate the relevant principles of international trade and the Sino-US maritime agreement and causes serious damage to maritime trade between China and the United States.” “We urge the United States to immediately correct its wrong practices and stop its unreasonable suppression of China’s maritime industry,” a ministry spokesperson said. Under China’s plan, the targeted US ships will be charged $56 per net ton from next week, increasing to $90 per net ton from April 17, 2026; $123 from April 17, 2027; and $157 from April 17, 2028. “If a ship calls at multiple Chinese ports on the same voyage, the special port fee for the ship shall be paid only at the first port of call, and the subsequent port of call shall not be charged,” the Transport Ministry said. “The same ship shall be charged no more than five voyages within a year.” By comparison, the USTR fee schedule will charge the targeted Chinese vessels $50 per net ton and the higher of $18 per net ton or $120 per container discharged. <h3>Maersk, Matson and APL under the gun </h3>At first blush, the fees targeting US entities would affect Matson, Maersk Line and APL, part of the CMA CGM group. “Furthermore, this could also apply to vessels owned by Seaspan,” Lars Jensen, a maritime analyst and Journal of Commerce contributor, said in a LinkedIn post Friday. “Seaspan’s ultimate owner is Poseidon, where it seems that just over 25% of the ownership is US-based. “This could be quite an impact as it means that the more than 100 vessels owned by Seaspan, and chartered by a variety of major container lines, would now be subject to fees in China in addition to the fees in the US for their Chinese-built vessels,” Jensen added. Matson told customers in an advisory Friday it had no plans to change its service schedule and would not pass on the cost of China’s new port fees to customers via a surcharge. “We remain fully committed to providing...service offerings from China and the trans-Pacific market to the US,” the carrier said. The China port fees would apparently not apply to Israel’s Zim Integrated Shipping Services because, while there is a substantial US shareholding, the almost 19% would not cross the required threshold. The Transport Ministry said the fees will be collected by the maritime administration agency responsible for the port that is the ship’s first call. Contact Keith Wallis at <a href="mailto:keithwallis@hotmail.com">keithwallis@hotmail.com.</a></div>

(Updated to add comment from Matson). China on Friday outlined new port fees targeting ships operated or owned by US companies. The plan mirrors the one the White House is set to implement Tuesday that targets Chinese tonnage. In a statement urging the US government to change course, China’s Ministry of Transport said starting Oct. 14 — the same day the US port fees go into effect — it would begin charging US-operated ships or those where US shareholders control more than a 25% stake. China’s retaliatory fees, which start in the first year at 400 renminbi ($56) per net ton, would hit the likes of US-owned Matson harder than US fees would hit Cosco Shipping. The measures, which mirror those imposed on Chinese-owned or -built ships calling at US ports, were announced by the Transport Ministry in a two-page statement. The fees also apply to US-flagged ships and US-built vessels. The ministry said the fees are being introduced in direct retaliation to the US Trade Representative’s (USTR) moves to impose port fees on Chinese-owned, -controlled or -built ships, adding the US fees “seriously violate the relevant principles of international trade and the Sino-US maritime agreement and causes serious damage to maritime trade between China and the United States.” “We urge the United States to immediately correct its wrong practices and stop its unreasonable suppression of China’s maritime industry,” a ministry spokesperson said. Under China’s plan, the targeted US ships will be charged $56 per net ton from next week, increasing to $90 per net ton from April 17, 2026; $123 from April 17, 2027; and $157 from April 17, 2028. “If a ship calls at multiple Chinese ports on the same voyage, the special port fee for the ship shall be paid only at the first port of call, and the subsequent port of call shall not be charged,” the Transport Ministry said. “The same ship shall be charged no more than five voyages within a year.” By comparison, the USTR fee schedule will charge the targeted Chinese vessels $50 per net ton and the higher of $18 per net ton or $120 per container discharged. Maersk, Matson and APL under the gun At first blush, the fees targeting US entities would affect Matson, Maersk Line and APL, part of the CMA CGM group. “Furthermore, this could also apply to vessels owned by Seaspan,” Lars Jensen, a maritime analyst and Journal of Commerce contributor, said in a LinkedIn post Friday. “Seaspan’s ultimate owner is Poseidon, where it seems that just over 25% of the ownership is US-based. “This could be quite an impact as it means that the more than 100 vessels owned by Seaspan, and chartered by a variety of major container lines, would now be subject to fees in China in addition to the fees in the US for their Chinese-built vessels,” Jensen added. Matson told customers in an advisory Friday it had no plans to change its service schedule and would not pass on the cost of China’s new port fees to customers via a surcharge. “We remain fully committed to providing...service offerings from China and the trans-Pacific market to the US,” the carrier said. The China port fees would apparently not apply to Israel’s Zim Integrated Shipping Services because, while there is a substantial US shareholding, the almost 19% would not cross the required threshold. The Transport Ministry said the fees will be collected by the maritime administration agency responsible for the port that is the ship’s first call. Contact Keith Wallis at keithwallis@hotmail.com.

Port News

Transport, Trade and Regulation News

Container lines

Trans-Pacific

International ports

Container Shipping News

China returns fire with retaliatory port fees targeting US-affiliated ships

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Fewer trucks arriving with imports in Las Vegas, Chicago and other inland hubs means tighter capacity and higher transactional costs for outbound shipments. </div>

Fewer trucks arriving with imports in Las Vegas, Chicago and other inland hubs means tighter capacity and higher transactional costs for outbound shipments.

<div class="phx-topic">Outbound spot truckload capacity is tightening in several inland US markets, partly because of falling US imports, adding momentum to a seasonal increase in transactional truck rates as trucking's fall peak shipping period gets underway. Tighter capacity may be short-lived, but spot rates could run higher than expected in the fourth quarter, especially if consumer demand strengthens over the holidays. The average US dry-van truckload spot rate rose 3 cents in the week ended Oct. 4 to $1.70 per mile, according to DAT Freight &amp; Analytics. That rate was 5 cents higher year over year. In 13 Midwest states representing 46% of national load volume, spot rates were up 5 cents per mile on average. Carriers in those states earned an average of $1.92 per mile, which remained 22 cents above the national seven-day rolling average, DAT said. Rates shot even higher in specific markets and port-dependent lanes, including some routes connecting Chicago, Las Vegas and Stockton, Calif., to major US seaports, as fewer trucks dropped off imports and searched for return loads, according to DAT. Plenty of capacity was available in July to handle a 25.7% spike in US laden container imports from Asia as tariffs pushed importers to move peak season and holiday goods <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/us-retailers-upgrade-import-forecast-but-still-expect-q4-decline-6077875">earlier than usual</a>, according to PIERS, a Journal of Commerce sister product within S&amp;P Global. But fewer imports now mean fewer trucks looking for return loads to ports. While this may not be a major disruption, it is the first capacity dislocation of its type that shippers have seen since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. <h3>Capacity dislocated </h3>Excess truck capacity isn’t necessarily exiting the market; it’s being diverted. This situation is forcing shippers in certain inland markets to push more freight to spot load boards. Last week, the number of spot loads moved from Los Angeles to Las Vegas fell 11%, leading to a shortage of dry vans in Las Vegas, said DAT principal analyst Dean Croke. “We’re seeing an imbalance in all those markets that need to get freight back to Los Angeles,” Croke told the Journal of Commerce. “This is due to the falloff of imports in LA.” That imbalance led to a 45% surge in outbound load posts from Las Vegas as shippers scrambled to find capacity, Croke said. As of Thursday, the average broker rate from Las Vegas to Los Angeles jumped to $2.15 per mile, up from $1.96 per mile last month. The impact was even starker in the high-volume lane connecting Los Angeles and Stockton. The average DAT spot rate from Stockton to Los Angeles rose to $2.45 per mile in the first three days of this week, up from $1.74 per mile for the month of September. That increase marks a 33% leap from the average rate a year earlier, according to DAT’s data. As of Thursday, the average rate from Los Angeles to Stockton had climbed 7 cents from $2.99 per mile in September to $3.06 per mile in the last three days. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="244aa4d3-6440-4ac1-b876-a4f8341dad3c"></dynamic-object></div>In Chicago, overall spot loads jumped 20% last week, Croke said. Outbound rates from Chicago rose 8 cents on average to $2.20 per mile last week, excluding fuel surcharges, 50 cents higher than the national average, according to DAT. “Normally, markets tend to equalize, but I don’t know how long this will take before it balances out,” said Croke, adding that the freight fluctuations brought on by changing US tariffs “is unprecedented.” US imports should be below 2 million TEUs for at least <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/tariff-uncertainty-to-keep-lid-on-us-import-growth-until-spring-retailers-6094200">the next five months</a>, according to the latest Global Port Tracker forecast from the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates. That situation gives truck capacity at inland hubs months to find a new level. Contact William B. Cassidy at <a href="mailto:bill.cassidy@spglobal.com">bill.cassidy@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Outbound spot truckload capacity is tightening in several inland US markets, partly because of falling US imports, adding momentum to a seasonal increase in transactional truck rates as trucking's fall peak shipping period gets underway. Tighter capacity may be short-lived, but spot rates could run higher than expected in the fourth quarter, especially if consumer demand strengthens over the holidays. The average US dry-van truckload spot rate rose 3 cents in the week ended Oct. 4 to $1.70 per mile, according to DAT Freight & Analytics. That rate was 5 cents higher year over year. In 13 Midwest states representing 46% of national load volume, spot rates were up 5 cents per mile on average. Carriers in those states earned an average of $1.92 per mile, which remained 22 cents above the national seven-day rolling average, DAT said. Rates shot even higher in specific markets and port-dependent lanes, including some routes connecting Chicago, Las Vegas and Stockton, Calif., to major US seaports, as fewer trucks dropped off imports and searched for return loads, according to DAT. Plenty of capacity was available in July to handle a 25.7% spike in US laden container imports from Asia as tariffs pushed importers to move peak season and holiday goods earlier than usual , according to PIERS, a Journal of Commerce sister product within S&P Global. But fewer imports now mean fewer trucks looking for return loads to ports. While this may not be a major disruption, it is the first capacity dislocation of its type that shippers have seen since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Capacity dislocated Excess truck capacity isn’t necessarily exiting the market; it’s being diverted. This situation is forcing shippers in certain inland markets to push more freight to spot load boards. Last week, the number of spot loads moved from Los Angeles to Las Vegas fell 11%, leading to a shortage of dry vans in Las Vegas, said DAT principal analyst Dean Croke. “We’re seeing an imbalance in all those markets that need to get freight back to Los Angeles,” Croke told the Journal of Commerce. “This is due to the falloff of imports in LA.” That imbalance led to a 45% surge in outbound load posts from Las Vegas as shippers scrambled to find capacity, Croke said. As of Thursday, the average broker rate from Las Vegas to Los Angeles jumped to $2.15 per mile, up from $1.96 per mile last month. The impact was even starker in the high-volume lane connecting Los Angeles and Stockton. The average DAT spot rate from Stockton to Los Angeles rose to $2.45 per mile in the first three days of this week, up from $1.74 per mile for the month of September. That increase marks a 33% leap from the average rate a year earlier, according to DAT’s data. As of Thursday, the average rate from Los Angeles to Stockton had climbed 7 cents from $2.99 per mile in September to $3.06 per mile in the last three days. In Chicago, overall spot loads jumped 20% last week, Croke said. Outbound rates from Chicago rose 8 cents on average to $2.20 per mile last week, excluding fuel surcharges, 50 cents higher than the national average, according to DAT. “Normally, markets tend to equalize, but I don’t know how long this will take before it balances out,” said Croke, adding that the freight fluctuations brought on by changing US tariffs “is unprecedented.” US imports should be below 2 million TEUs for at least the next five months , according to the latest Global Port Tracker forecast from the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates. That situation gives truck capacity at inland hubs months to find a new level. Contact William B. Cassidy at bill.cassidy@spglobal.com .

Trucking News

Truckload

Surface

Lower US imports tightening truck capacity at key inland hubs

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The LTL carrier has used technology to drive its financial turnaround, with the latest example being a system that has slashed the number of missed pickups for shippers. </div>

The LTL carrier has used technology to drive its financial turnaround, with the latest example being a system that has slashed the number of missed pickups for shippers.

<div class="phx-topic">US less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier Roadrunner has developed a new set of pickup and delivery tools for customers to track their shipments and set up appointment times, part of a broader effort to use technology to decrease missed pickups. “The investment stems from a strategic decision in 2023 to reinvent last-mile efficiency through a hybrid approach, building proprietary tools in-house while integrating best-in-class external components,” Nathalie de Champlain, chief transformation officer at Roadrunner, told the Journal of Commerce. “The result is a seamless experience for Roadrunner’s nationwide owner-operator network and customers.” The company said in a statement this week it has driven down missed pickups from nearly 30% in the early 2020s to 0.5% today, service improvements that have coincided with a rebound in the company’s financial fortunes in an LTL market that has retained pricing power despite muted demand in 2025. De Champlain said the new platform dynamically routes drivers using real-time data, including traffic, availability, distance and location constraints, so that customers get a “ride share-like visibility experience” from pickup to delivery. She said Roadrunner eventually plans to extend automation across dynamic pricing, self-service application programming interfaces (APIs) and robotic process automation for customers. Tomasz Jamroz, Roadrunner’s president and chief operating officer, said in a statement that the company’s investments and subsequent tools will enable the carrier’s owner-operator driver partners to make more money in less time with lower fuel costs. “Our customers should now expect real-time heads-up notifications and precise timing of pending pick-ups further augmented by track-and-trace capabilities that consumers have come to expect from leading e-commerce and home-delivery marketplaces,” he said. <h3>LTL carriers turn to tech </h3>While Roadrunner has used technology to power its turnaround, it’s far from the only LTL carrier focused on technology. Mario Harik, CEO of competitor XPO, told the Journal of Commerce Inland Distribution Conference last week that investment in technology has been key in helping it overperform on service metrics such as on-time delivery and lowering the percentage of shipments that are damaged. Relevant to Roadrunner’s new pickup and delivery capabilities, Harik said XPO has automated its entire line-haul model around handling exceptions. “So if freight comes in early or freight comes in late in our network, we can actually route it in more effective ways,” he said. “In our [pickup and delivery] and our route optimization, we use AI to optimize the routes to get the most amount of density and the best service product for the customer.” More broadly, the industry has been embracing technology to improve customer responsiveness, whether through shipper-direct white-labeled transportation management platforms such as MyCarrier that is used by a majority of the top 15 carriers, or through pricing efficiency tools such as rateHERO. Contact Eric Johnson at <a href="mailto:eric.johnson@spglobal.com">eric.johnson@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

US less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier Roadrunner has developed a new set of pickup and delivery tools for customers to track their shipments and set up appointment times, part of a broader effort to use technology to decrease missed pickups. “The investment stems from a strategic decision in 2023 to reinvent last-mile efficiency through a hybrid approach, building proprietary tools in-house while integrating best-in-class external components,” Nathalie de Champlain, chief transformation officer at Roadrunner, told the Journal of Commerce. “The result is a seamless experience for Roadrunner’s nationwide owner-operator network and customers.” The company said in a statement this week it has driven down missed pickups from nearly 30% in the early 2020s to 0.5% today, service improvements that have coincided with a rebound in the company’s financial fortunes in an LTL market that has retained pricing power despite muted demand in 2025. De Champlain said the new platform dynamically routes drivers using real-time data, including traffic, availability, distance and location constraints, so that customers get a “ride share-like visibility experience” from pickup to delivery. She said Roadrunner eventually plans to extend automation across dynamic pricing, self-service application programming interfaces (APIs) and robotic process automation for customers. Tomasz Jamroz, Roadrunner’s president and chief operating officer, said in a statement that the company’s investments and subsequent tools will enable the carrier’s owner-operator driver partners to make more money in less time with lower fuel costs. “Our customers should now expect real-time heads-up notifications and precise timing of pending pick-ups further augmented by track-and-trace capabilities that consumers have come to expect from leading e-commerce and home-delivery marketplaces,” he said. LTL carriers turn to tech While Roadrunner has used technology to power its turnaround, it’s far from the only LTL carrier focused on technology. Mario Harik, CEO of competitor XPO, told the Journal of Commerce Inland Distribution Conference last week that investment in technology has been key in helping it overperform on service metrics such as on-time delivery and lowering the percentage of shipments that are damaged. Relevant to Roadrunner’s new pickup and delivery capabilities, Harik said XPO has automated its entire line-haul model around handling exceptions. “So if freight comes in early or freight comes in late in our network, we can actually route it in more effective ways,” he said. “In our [pickup and delivery] and our route optimization, we use AI to optimize the routes to get the most amount of density and the best service product for the customer.” More broadly, the industry has been embracing technology to improve customer responsiveness, whether through shipper-direct white-labeled transportation management platforms such as MyCarrier that is used by a majority of the top 15 carriers, or through pricing efficiency tools such as rateHERO. Contact Eric Johnson at eric.johnson@spglobal.com .

Logistics Technology News

Roadrunner targets ‘ride share-like' shipper experience with new pickup platform

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper"> It has taken several years for the IMO to get to this point, but the heavily compromised net-zero framework agreement has polarized the shipping industry. </div>

It has taken several years for the IMO to get to this point, but the heavily compromised net-zero framework agreement has polarized the shipping industry.

<div class="phx-topic">Member states of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will go into next week’s pivotal meeting on shipping decarbonization amid deepening divisions among nations and industry groups on the most effective way forward. The primary item on the agenda at the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting in London Oct. 14–17 is the adoption of amendments to Annex VI of the MARPOL Convention. The amendments include the proposed net-zero framework, agreed in principle by a majority of IMO members in April in line with the 2023 greenhouse gas (GHG) strategy. It has taken several years for the IMO to get to this point, but the heavily compromised net-zero framework agreement has polarized the shipping industry. This week, seven shipowner associations urged member states “to make history” by approving the net-zero framework that includes the world’s first industrywide carbon pricing measure. “To deliver on the agreed upon greenhouse gas [GHG] strategy, global regulation is a precondition,” the shipowners noted in a joint statement. The associations are the Japanese Shipowners’ Association, the Royal Belgian Shipowners’ Association, the Royal Association of Netherlands Shipowners, the Singapore Shipping Association, the UK Chamber of Shipping, the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association and Danish Shipping. “It is necessary for reducing emissions, for creating homogeneous and predictable framework conditions for the shipping industry and — perhaps most importantly — sending the strongest possible signal to investors and producers to scale up the production of the alternative fuels that the shipping industry will require to move towards zero emissions,” the statement said. Opposing the adoption of the framework in its current form are Greek shipowners representing mostly the tanker and gas carrier fleet, classification societies the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and DNV, and, notably, the White House. US officials last month <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/us-steps-up-attempts-to-derail-imos-net-zero-ambitions-6076148">stepped up attempts to derail support</a> for the net-zero measure, threatening to impose tariffs, port duties and even visa refusals on IMO member states that support the net-zero framework. <h3>Crucial step toward climate neutrality </h3>If the IMO net-zero framework is adopted, all large ships operating globally, including cruise ships, will be required to slash emissions by 17% by 2028, with steadily increasing emission reduction targets after that, or pay a fee. Shipping currently accounts for 3% of global carbon emissions. The framework is regarded as crucial in enabling the industry to reach climate neutrality around 2050 by introducing fuel standards and levies on ships that fail to meet strict targets. It will require a two-thirds majority from member states to win approval and those voting yes will need to represent at least 50% of the world’s registered tonnage. Despite the opposing forces, Natacha Stamatiou, senior analyst for global shipping at the Environmental Defense Fund, was optimistic that the IMO framework will be adopted, although she was expecting “a dramatic week.” “The IMO has a whole book of rules of procedures, and we anticipate that some member states might raise rules and procedure points in order to delay and disrupt proceedings,” Stamatiou told the Journal of Commerce. “But that is what happened in April, so it is nothing new, and we are confident the framework will be adopted, and we can start working on the ambitious timelines,” she added. “From our perspective, the numbers look like they are leaning towards a positive vote.” Delaine McCullough, shipping program director at environmental activist Ocean Conservancy, described the framework as a major win for global climates, health and the oceans. “It’s encouraging to see an industry rally around a real, binding commitment to drastically reduce dangerous emissions,” McCullough said in a statement this week. “More will need to be done to strengthen this agreement to ensure there are no loopholes for unsustainable fuels, incentivize the rapid uptake of clean alternative fuels and distribute revenues fairly,” she added. Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Member states of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will go into next week’s pivotal meeting on shipping decarbonization amid deepening divisions among nations and industry groups on the most effective way forward. The primary item on the agenda at the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting in London Oct. 14–17 is the adoption of amendments to Annex VI of the MARPOL Convention. The amendments include the proposed net-zero framework, agreed in principle by a majority of IMO members in April in line with the 2023 greenhouse gas (GHG) strategy. It has taken several years for the IMO to get to this point, but the heavily compromised net-zero framework agreement has polarized the shipping industry. This week, seven shipowner associations urged member states “to make history” by approving the net-zero framework that includes the world’s first industrywide carbon pricing measure. “To deliver on the agreed upon greenhouse gas [GHG] strategy, global regulation is a precondition,” the shipowners noted in a joint statement. The associations are the Japanese Shipowners’ Association, the Royal Belgian Shipowners’ Association, the Royal Association of Netherlands Shipowners, the Singapore Shipping Association, the UK Chamber of Shipping, the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association and Danish Shipping. “It is necessary for reducing emissions, for creating homogeneous and predictable framework conditions for the shipping industry and — perhaps most importantly — sending the strongest possible signal to investors and producers to scale up the production of the alternative fuels that the shipping industry will require to move towards zero emissions,” the statement said. Opposing the adoption of the framework in its current form are Greek shipowners representing mostly the tanker and gas carrier fleet, classification societies the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and DNV, and, notably, the White House. US officials last month stepped up attempts to derail support for the net-zero measure, threatening to impose tariffs, port duties and even visa refusals on IMO member states that support the net-zero framework. Crucial step toward climate neutrality If the IMO net-zero framework is adopted, all large ships operating globally, including cruise ships, will be required to slash emissions by 17% by 2028, with steadily increasing emission reduction targets after that, or pay a fee. Shipping currently accounts for 3% of global carbon emissions. The framework is regarded as crucial in enabling the industry to reach climate neutrality around 2050 by introducing fuel standards and levies on ships that fail to meet strict targets. It will require a two-thirds majority from member states to win approval and those voting yes will need to represent at least 50% of the world’s registered tonnage. Despite the opposing forces, Natacha Stamatiou, senior analyst for global shipping at the Environmental Defense Fund, was optimistic that the IMO framework will be adopted, although she was expecting “a dramatic week.” “The IMO has a whole book of rules of procedures, and we anticipate that some member states might raise rules and procedure points in order to delay and disrupt proceedings,” Stamatiou told the Journal of Commerce. “But that is what happened in April, so it is nothing new, and we are confident the framework will be adopted, and we can start working on the ambitious timelines,” she added. “From our perspective, the numbers look like they are leaning towards a positive vote.” Delaine McCullough, shipping program director at environmental activist Ocean Conservancy, described the framework as a major win for global climates, health and the oceans. “It’s encouraging to see an industry rally around a real, binding commitment to drastically reduce dangerous emissions,” McCullough said in a statement this week. “More will need to be done to strengthen this agreement to ensure there are no loopholes for unsustainable fuels, incentivize the rapid uptake of clean alternative fuels and distribute revenues fairly,” she added. Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

Maritime

Deep divisions linger as IMO gathers for pivotal decarbonization talks

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The overhaul marks the latest in a series of network shakeups among North American railroads competing for international intermodal freight. </div>

The overhaul marks the latest in a series of network shakeups among North American railroads competing for international intermodal freight.

<div class="phx-topic">Editor’s Note: The story has been updated to clarify that Norfolk Southern service will only impact service from certain West Coast marine terminals to Cleveland and Detroit, while others will not be impacted later this month. Norfolk Southern Railway is reshaping its international intermodal network, consolidating some services between the US West Coast and Midwest markets while expanding train capacity from East Coast ports into the Midwest. The most significant changes affect Ohio and the Upper Midwest, where the railroad will consolidate all international Cincinnati-area traffic into a single large terminal in Sharonville, just north of the city. Under the new plan, international trains will interchange in Chicago and terminate in Cincinnati. The changes take effect Oct. 20. The decision was made to consolidate into a single terminal in Cincinnati to put ocean containers into stacks, following similar NS projects in Atlanta, Memphis and Chicago in the last two years. In the long-term, ground stacking will allow Norfolk Southern to be better equipped for import surges. Domestic intermodal traffic will remain at the Gest Street terminal, which is closer to downtown Cincinnati. Meanwhile, the railroad’s decision to cancel international trains will impact only West Coast marine terminals handling very little volume to Cleveland or Detroit. NS will maintain international service from other West Coast terminals with greater demand. The overhaul by NS marks the latest in a series of network shakeups among North American railroads competing for international intermodal freight. In April, BNSF Railway introduced a joint service with Norfolk Southern to move import containers from <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/bnsfs-new-seattle-to-ohio-service-avoids-chicago-dray-5203416">Seattle and Tacoma to the Ohio Valley</a> with a quick crew change in Chicago, eliminating the need to truck cargo across the city. BNSF added another inland service in July, linking Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland with <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/bnsf-to-use-southern-route-to-salt-lake-city-under-up-intermodal-deal-6045357">Salt Lake City</a>. In July, Union Pacific Railroad also opened a new terminal in <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/ups-kc-terminal-will-change-approach-on-ocean-cargo-6013727">Kansas City</a> and reconfigured its intermodal network to accelerate domestic and international trains from Southern California in a bid to better compete against BNSF. In September, Canadian National Railway and CSX Transportation unveiled a joint service to move containers from Western Canada <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/cn-csx-joint-service-to-connect-west-canada-and-nashville-6077903">directly to Nashville</a>, rather than depositing the cargo in Memphis and trucking it across Tennessee. <h3>Adjustment for NS shippers </h3>Cargo owners in Cleveland and Detroit will lose access to some West Coast marine terminals unless they are willing to truck containers to Chicago or Cincinnati, but alternative options are available. The easiest would be for cargo owners to re-route cargo into terminals such as Long Beach Container Terminal or APM’s Pier 400 in Los Angeles, which will continue to service Cleveland and Detroit via NS. Detroit shippers can also redirect international volumes to the East Coast ports of New York–New Jersey and Virginia, where CSX and Norfolk Southern already operate frequent service. They can also route freight through Vancouver, using Canadian National Railway, which maintains a large terminal in Detroit. Norfolk Southern, meanwhile, will replace West Coast options for those in Cleveland with new departures from the Port of New York and New Jersey. A new thrice weekly train from Port Liberty Bayonne will launch Oct. 21, the railroad announced, supplementing its existing daily train from APM’s Elizabeth Marine Terminal. Shippers in Kansas City will also see adjustments on Oct. 21. The current daily train from Elizabeth Marine Terminal will be replaced by a three-day per week schedule, but originate from Elizabeth, Port Liberty Bayonne, and Port Liberty New York on Staten Island, offering service from more terminals despite fewer weekly departures. Contact Ari Ashe at <a href="mailto:ari.ashe@spglobal.com">ari.ashe@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Editor’s Note: The story has been updated to clarify that Norfolk Southern service will only impact service from certain West Coast marine terminals to Cleveland and Detroit, while others will not be impacted later this month. Norfolk Southern Railway is reshaping its international intermodal network, consolidating some services between the US West Coast and Midwest markets while expanding train capacity from East Coast ports into the Midwest. The most significant changes affect Ohio and the Upper Midwest, where the railroad will consolidate all international Cincinnati-area traffic into a single large terminal in Sharonville, just north of the city. Under the new plan, international trains will interchange in Chicago and terminate in Cincinnati. The changes take effect Oct. 20. The decision was made to consolidate into a single terminal in Cincinnati to put ocean containers into stacks, following similar NS projects in Atlanta, Memphis and Chicago in the last two years. In the long-term, ground stacking will allow Norfolk Southern to be better equipped for import surges. Domestic intermodal traffic will remain at the Gest Street terminal, which is closer to downtown Cincinnati. Meanwhile, the railroad’s decision to cancel international trains will impact only West Coast marine terminals handling very little volume to Cleveland or Detroit. NS will maintain international service from other West Coast terminals with greater demand. The overhaul by NS marks the latest in a series of network shakeups among North American railroads competing for international intermodal freight. In April, BNSF Railway introduced a joint service with Norfolk Southern to move import containers from Seattle and Tacoma to the Ohio Valley with a quick crew change in Chicago, eliminating the need to truck cargo across the city. BNSF added another inland service in July, linking Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland with Salt Lake City . In July, Union Pacific Railroad also opened a new terminal in Kansas City and reconfigured its intermodal network to accelerate domestic and international trains from Southern California in a bid to better compete against BNSF. In September, Canadian National Railway and CSX Transportation unveiled a joint service to move containers from Western Canada directly to Nashville , rather than depositing the cargo in Memphis and trucking it across Tennessee. Adjustment for NS shippers Cargo owners in Cleveland and Detroit will lose access to some West Coast marine terminals unless they are willing to truck containers to Chicago or Cincinnati, but alternative options are available. The easiest would be for cargo owners to re-route cargo into terminals such as Long Beach Container Terminal or APM’s Pier 400 in Los Angeles, which will continue to service Cleveland and Detroit via NS. Detroit shippers can also redirect international volumes to the East Coast ports of New York–New Jersey and Virginia, where CSX and Norfolk Southern already operate frequent service. They can also route freight through Vancouver, using Canadian National Railway, which maintains a large terminal in Detroit. Norfolk Southern, meanwhile, will replace West Coast options for those in Cleveland with new departures from the Port of New York and New Jersey. A new thrice weekly train from Port Liberty Bayonne will launch Oct. 21, the railroad announced, supplementing its existing daily train from APM’s Elizabeth Marine Terminal. Shippers in Kansas City will also see adjustments on Oct. 21. The current daily train from Elizabeth Marine Terminal will be replaced by a three-day per week schedule, but originate from Elizabeth, Port Liberty Bayonne, and Port Liberty New York on Staten Island, offering service from more terminals despite fewer weekly departures. Contact Ari Ashe at ari.ashe@spglobal.com .

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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

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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>

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