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<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration tells trucking and shipping interests it "can't do it alone" in 2016, seeks a better partnership with those it regulates in the Obama administration's last year.</div>

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration tells trucking and shipping interests it "can't do it alone" in 2016, seeks a better partnership with those it regulates in the Obama administration's last year.

<div>As the Obama White House enters its last year, federal regulators are proffering an olive branch of sorts to truckers and shipping interests.“This will be the year of partners, because we can’t do this alone,” T.F. Scott Darling III, the acting administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, said at a Jan. 20 Senate confirmation hearing on his nomination to lead the agency, at least through next January.Darling was referring directly to FMCSA’s regulatory enforcement partners at the state level, both police and state and local government, but he also mentioned safety advocates, labor and the trucking industry. He...

As the Obama White House enters its last year, federal regulators are proffering an olive branch of sorts to truckers and shipping interests. “This will be the year of partners, because we can’t do this alone,” T.F. Scott Darling III, the acting administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, said at a Jan. 20 Senate confirmation hearing on his nomination to lead the agency, at least through next January. Darling was referring directly to FMCSA’s regulatory enforcement partners at the state level, both police and state and local government, but he also mentioned safety advocates, labor and the trucking industry. He made a similar promise of partnership to the American Trucking Associations last October at the group’s management conference in Philadelphia. There’s a lot at stake for the agency in those partnerships this year. The FMCSA is moving ahead with the capstone of its controversial Compliance, Safety and Accountability program, a new safety fitness determination system for motor carriers and bus companies, while preparing to implement rules on electronic logging, a unified registration system and more. The agency is also working to comply with the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation or FAST Act. The five-year, $305-billion highway bill included several restrictions and requirements for the FMCSA, including a comprehensive study of CSA and its methodology. The agency must work in concert with the Government Accountability Office, which criticized the program. “The next step in this is to have the National Academies of Science conduct a study of the CSA program, and we are in discussions with (the NAS) now,” Darling said at his confirmation hearing. “We will then get the study up and running. We have 18 months to provide that study to the OIG (the Department of Transportation’s Office of the Inspector General).” The law requires the FMCSA to conduct other studies as well, including a study of shipper detention of truck drivers, and orders the agency to conduct a regulatory impact analysis with every rulemaking. Another requirement: a petition process for the public to challenge regulations and urge their revision or repeal. These provisions were seen as victories for trucking interests. Trucking interests and shippers have another FMCSA-related concern: whether and when the year-old suspension of certain provisions of truck driver work rules might be lifted. In a speech to a logistics group last week, FMCSA Associate Administrator for Policy Larry Minor tried to assure trucking and shipping executives there will be no “snapback” to suspended rules. “In the event we ever get to the point where we’re going to reinstate those provisions, we will definitely give everybody a heads up and publish a notice in the Federal Register about how we’re going to go forward,” Minor said told the SMC3 JumpStart 2016 conference in Atlanta. “We definitely want to have a public engagement process on how we go forward from here.” Minor extended themes of engagement, partnership and cooperation to the proposed safety fitness determination rule, published as a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Jan. 21 Federal Register. The agency wants to use percentiles in five safety categories established as part of the CSA initiative, along with roadside inspection and investigation results, to rate carriers. A group representing smaller trucking operators plans to challenge the proposal, claiming it sidesteps restrictions on CSA imposed by the FAST Act. Darling and the agency say that’s not so. As part of the rulemaking process, truckers and the general public will get the chance to comment on the proposal through March 31 and have another month to respond to comments. The new Safety Fitness Determination system would rely on CSA data, but would use that data differently in some respects from the Safety Measurement System. The SMS used data from state roadside inspections and carrier investigations to create percentiles or “scores” in seven categories — the Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories or BASICs. Carrier percentiles were grouped according to “peer groups” and companies that exceeded threshold percentiles in their BASICs were subject to enforcement action, whether a warning letter or an audit by FMCSA investigators or, at the most extreme, an unsatisfactory safety rating and an out-of-service order, as happened to Land Air Express of New England. Safety ratings, however, are awarded or changed only after a compliance review by the FMCSA or its state partners, under a system that goes back to 1982, the heyday of the fax machine. The agency wants a more proactive system suitable to the Internet age. It proposes a system that reviews digital safety data and decides each month whether a carrier is “unfit” for service. “There will be only one safety fitness determination: unfit,” said Minor. Currently there are three, satisfactory, conditional and unsatisfactory or unfit. But post-audit safety ratings don’t change until a new compliance review. “We don’t want to have satisfactory ratings out there for years and years when we don’t really know what’s going on at a carrier,” Minor said. The FMCSA wants to use the CSA BASIC data in its safety fitness determination process, but would use a “fixed failure standard” much higher than the thresholds for intervention set by the SMS. That failure would be triggered when a carrier hit a percentile between 96 and 99, depending on the BASIC, and would require multiple inspections with violations. “No matter how you want to debate it, things are looking pretty bad compared to rest of the industry” when a carrier’s BASIC percentiles enter the high 90s, Minor said. He also assured the SMC3 audience that the agency would allow “due process” challenges to “unfit” ratings. U.S. law prohibits trucking companies rated “unfit” from operating in interstate commerce. Under the proposed system, carriers would be considered “fit” to operate until the FMCSA says they are not so, probably with big red letters next to their name on the SMS website. “It won’t be a matter of waking up in the morning and finding out, ‘Oh my God, I’m unfit,’” Minor said. “There are all kinds of interventions that will take place first. It’s not going to happen just by surprise.” Currently, the FMCSA gives a carrier 60 days to respond to a proposed unsatisfactory safety rating and provide adequate evidence it is making an effort to correct safety problems. Make no mistake, those companies that don’t provide that evidence will wind up shut down. Partnerships only work when both partners agree on common goals. Contact William B. Cassidy at bill.cassidy@ihs.com and follow him on Twitter: @wbcassidy_joc

US trucking regulators seek more 'partners,' fewer opponents in 2016

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The visibility software vendor earlier this year expanded into providing TMS, while also trimming headcount and cutting loose unprofitable customers. </div>

The visibility software vendor earlier this year expanded into providing TMS, while also trimming headcount and cutting loose unprofitable customers.

Feature image

<div class="phx-topic">Technology provider project44 has reached a milestone that has eluded nearly all the larger venture capital-backed software companies in the logistics industry: cash flow breakeven. In reporting this week that it reached that marker in the third quarter, visibility and transportation management software provider project44 has given the industry a small foothold of stability given its reach among top global shippers, where it counts 500 of the top global 2,000 as customers. Its more than 900 total customers include Amazon, IKEA, Ford, Abercrombie &amp; Fitch, The Home Depot, and Volkswagen. Getting to cash flow breakeven is a huge progression from a stage when the company was, in the words of CEO Jett McCandless, burning eight-figures of cash monthly The turnaround, McCandless said in a Thursday interview with the Journal of Commerce, is attributable to two key factors: has sliced its headcount by more than half and jettisoned a cadre of mostly mid-sized third-party logistics providers offering revenue but not profits. At its high, project 44 employed more than 1200 employees. More broadly, the announcement comes amid a huge shift in the logistics technology environment over the past few years. Whereas growth and sky-high funding rounds were the mantra at the height of the pandemic, investors’ message to companies shifted to one of “<a href="https://www.joc.com/article/a-decade-on-logistics-industry-still-awaits-proof-that-vc-is-a-welcomed-partner-5215307">a path to profitability</a>.” And now, the message is even clearer: get to cash flow positive. For the market, the threshold project44 crossed this week signals that there is a way to take a company in the small cohort of what McCandless called “mega-fundraisers” in logistics technology and turn it into a profitable business. Among that cohort would logically be other bellwether startups founded on the back of venture capital over the past dozen years, a list that includes Flexport, the now defunct Convoy, Forto, Freightos, and project44’s main competitor FourKites. <h3>Different paths, one goal </h3>The divergent business models of the companies don't make easy comparisons in terms of measuring profitability. Flexport, for example, had a profitable 2021 largely because of the unexpected spike in freight rates, not because it had geared its business to being profitable that year. Rather, the company was more focused on growth after having secured a $1 billion funding round in 2019. Freightos, meanwhile, has been <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/freightos-goes-public-on-nasdaq-in-first-measure-of-logistics-tech-value-5203019">publicly listed</a> since the start of 2023 but still has yet to turn a profit. The company’s third quarter financials showed losses before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of $2.6 million on revenue of $7.7 million. For context, those losses are the lowest since the company went public, and its revenue is 25% higher over the last year. While <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/no-escaping-the-truckload-markets-inherent-fragmentation-for-convoy-5241498">Convoy succumbed</a> to the issue of having expenses that could not be supported by falling truckload freight rates in a down market, Forto has similarly not been able to break out despite having raised more than $600 million, the last of which was a tranche of $250 million invested in December, at a $2.1 billion valuation. FourKites founder Matt Elenjickal, which earlier in 2025 <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/fourkites-exit-from-gartner-visibility-assessment-highlights-evolving-market-5958243">evolved its approach</a> from visibility provider to control tower vendor, told the Journal of Commerce it reached cash flow breakeven in December 2023 and is currently debt free. The company has raised a total of $243 million, compared to more than $700 million in venture funding for project44 (including a 13-month stretch between late 2020 and early 2022 when it raised roughly $500 million over three rounds). project44's seemingly new direction into <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/project44-wades-into-tms-market-to-fill-modal-geographic-gaps-6065764">providing a transportation management system</a> (TMS), a move that has driven 150 new customers accounting for $30 million in annual recurring revenue, the company said, is actually just project44 piecing together functionality it has previously sold “a la carte,” McCandless said, to shippers looking for transportation visibility to drive better execution and payment. It’s important to note that all the companies in the mega-raiser cohort are still private, aside from Freightos, and thus have no obligation to release financials publicly. As such, many tend to talk publicly about their performance only when there is something positive to disclose. Still, that should not fully detract from the news this week. McCandless said project44 has been managing its financials using Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) since it prepared itself to go public during the pandemic. That goal was waylaid by the industry coming off its COVID-induced sugar high when it came to investing in logistics technology. Contact Eric Johnson at eric.johnson@spglobal.com.</div>

Technology provider project44 has reached a milestone that has eluded nearly all the larger venture capital-backed software companies in the logistics industry: cash flow breakeven. In reporting this week that it reached that marker in the third quarter, visibility and transportation management software provider project44 has given the industry a small foothold of stability given its reach among top global shippers, where it counts 500 of the top global 2,000 as customers. Its more than 900 total customers include Amazon, IKEA, Ford, Abercrombie & Fitch, The Home Depot, and Volkswagen. Getting to cash flow breakeven is a huge progression from a stage when the company was, in the words of CEO Jett McCandless, burning eight-figures of cash monthly The turnaround, McCandless said in a Thursday interview with the Journal of Commerce, is attributable to two key factors: has sliced its headcount by more than half and jettisoned a cadre of mostly mid-sized third-party logistics providers offering revenue but not profits. At its high, project 44 employed more than 1200 employees. More broadly, the announcement comes amid a huge shift in the logistics technology environment over the past few years. Whereas growth and sky-high funding rounds were the mantra at the height of the pandemic, investors’ message to companies shifted to one of “ a path to profitability .” And now, the message is even clearer: get to cash flow positive. For the market, the threshold project44 crossed this week signals that there is a way to take a company in the small cohort of what McCandless called “mega-fundraisers” in logistics technology and turn it into a profitable business. Among that cohort would logically be other bellwether startups founded on the back of venture capital over the past dozen years, a list that includes Flexport, the now defunct Convoy, Forto, Freightos, and project44’s main competitor FourKites. Different paths, one goal The divergent business models of the companies don't make easy comparisons in terms of measuring profitability. Flexport, for example, had a profitable 2021 largely because of the unexpected spike in freight rates, not because it had geared its business to being profitable that year. Rather, the company was more focused on growth after having secured a $1 billion funding round in 2019. Freightos, meanwhile, has been publicly listed since the start of 2023 but still has yet to turn a profit. The company’s third quarter financials showed losses before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of $2.6 million on revenue of $7.7 million. For context, those losses are the lowest since the company went public, and its revenue is 25% higher over the last year. While Convoy succumbed to the issue of having expenses that could not be supported by falling truckload freight rates in a down market, Forto has similarly not been able to break out despite having raised more than $600 million, the last of which was a tranche of $250 million invested in December, at a $2.1 billion valuation. FourKites founder Matt Elenjickal, which earlier in 2025 evolved its approach from visibility provider to control tower vendor, told the Journal of Commerce it reached cash flow breakeven in December 2023 and is currently debt free. The company has raised a total of $243 million, compared to more than $700 million in venture funding for project44 (including a 13-month stretch between late 2020 and early 2022 when it raised roughly $500 million over three rounds). project44's seemingly new direction into providing a transportation management system (TMS), a move that has driven 150 new customers accounting for $30 million in annual recurring revenue, the company said, is actually just project44 piecing together functionality it has previously sold “a la carte,” McCandless said, to shippers looking for transportation visibility to drive better execution and payment. It’s important to note that all the companies in the mega-raiser cohort are still private, aside from Freightos, and thus have no obligation to release financials publicly. As such, many tend to talk publicly about their performance only when there is something positive to disclose. Still, that should not fully detract from the news this week. McCandless said project44 has been managing its financials using Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) since it prepared itself to go public during the pandemic. That goal was waylaid by the industry coming off its COVID-induced sugar high when it came to investing in logistics technology. Contact Eric Johnson at eric.johnson@spglobal.com.

‘Breakeven’ moment for project44 shows path for VC-backed software

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The injection of vessels appears to have peaked, but the capacity is overtaking market demand with little upward movement in rate levels on the westbound trade lane.</div>

The injection of vessels appears to have peaked, but the capacity is overtaking market demand with little upward movement in rate levels on the westbound trade lane.

<div class="phx-topic">Offered weekly ocean capacity on the trans-Atlantic westbound trade lane reached a 28-month high this week but is set to reduce sharply over the next three months, according to rate benchmarking platform Xeneta. The injection of capacity is overtaking market demand on North Europe to the US East Coast where volumes have been slowing since June, although the supply-demand imbalance is not yet being seen in the spot market. Driving the volatility in capacity are non-alliance carriers and the Gemini Cooperation between Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, Peter Sand, chief analyst at Xeneta, told the Journal of Commerce Friday. “Looking into the upcoming three months, offered capacity is peaking at 60,000 TEUs this week and heading for a 60-day steady decline to 45,000 TEUs per week,” Sand said. “After that, a bounce back is currently in the proforma schedules that will lead to another surge peaking around Feb 10.” Compared to October, the offered capacity is up 55.5% and is mainly from non-alliance capacity that is up 157.1% compared to last month and Gemini Alliance that is offering 42.3% more capacity compared to October, Sand noted. <h3>MSC move raises vessel sizes </h3>Data from Sea-Intelligence Maritime Analysis shows that over the last 13 weeks, the average vessel size deployed on the trans-Atlantic has risen from 5,500 TEUs to nearly 6,200 TEUs, while the median vessel size has increased from 5,100 TEUs to roughly 5,300 TEUs. “The primary driver is MSC’s Dragon service, which operates vessels with an average size of roughly 13,000 TEUs and a median of roughly 14,500 TEUs,” said Sea-Intelligence CEO Alan Murphy in his Sunday Spotlight newsletter. For context, the largest vessel deployed on any other service on the Mediterranean-North America East Coast trade lane in the second half of 2025 was around 9,600 TEUs. “This single service has introduced a new, much larger class of vessel to the trade, which in turn pulls the overall average vessel size significantly higher than the median,” Murphy noted. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="7dd20c33-2db1-4900-9556-ce85e1d5b298"></dynamic-object></div>In November, carriers on North Europe-US East Coast will deploy a total of 379,017 TEUs and blank 26,425 TEUs, according to Xeneta’s eeSea data. The planned capacity will increase significantly in December to 421,154 TEUs with 32,000 TEUs blanked. Mediterranean-US East Coast carriers will deploy 213,268 TEUs in November and blank around 10,000 TEUs and in December will deploy 225,392 TEUs of capacity and blank a12,837 TEUs, eeSea data shows. A slowdown in import volumes from Europe has yet to be felt in the market. Short-term rates from North Europe to US East Coast ports are at $831 per FEU, according to Xeneta. The rate has been generally steady through November but is down 57% since January. From January through October, trans-Atlantic westbound volume of 1.88 million TEUs was a 14% year over year increase, according to PIERS, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global. But most of that demand growth was recorded in the March through June period, with October showing a 1% year-over-year growth in volume at 170,110 TEUs. Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Offered weekly ocean capacity on the trans-Atlantic westbound trade lane reached a 28-month high this week but is set to reduce sharply over the next three months, according to rate benchmarking platform Xeneta. The injection of capacity is overtaking market demand on North Europe to the US East Coast where volumes have been slowing since June, although the supply-demand imbalance is not yet being seen in the spot market. Driving the volatility in capacity are non-alliance carriers and the Gemini Cooperation between Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, Peter Sand, chief analyst at Xeneta, told the Journal of Commerce Friday. “Looking into the upcoming three months, offered capacity is peaking at 60,000 TEUs this week and heading for a 60-day steady decline to 45,000 TEUs per week,” Sand said. “After that, a bounce back is currently in the proforma schedules that will lead to another surge peaking around Feb 10.” Compared to October, the offered capacity is up 55.5% and is mainly from non-alliance capacity that is up 157.1% compared to last month and Gemini Alliance that is offering 42.3% more capacity compared to October, Sand noted. MSC move raises vessel sizes Data from Sea-Intelligence Maritime Analysis shows that over the last 13 weeks, the average vessel size deployed on the trans-Atlantic has risen from 5,500 TEUs to nearly 6,200 TEUs, while the median vessel size has increased from 5,100 TEUs to roughly 5,300 TEUs. “The primary driver is MSC’s Dragon service, which operates vessels with an average size of roughly 13,000 TEUs and a median of roughly 14,500 TEUs,” said Sea-Intelligence CEO Alan Murphy in his Sunday Spotlight newsletter. For context, the largest vessel deployed on any other service on the Mediterranean-North America East Coast trade lane in the second half of 2025 was around 9,600 TEUs. “This single service has introduced a new, much larger class of vessel to the trade, which in turn pulls the overall average vessel size significantly higher than the median,” Murphy noted. In November, carriers on North Europe-US East Coast will deploy a total of 379,017 TEUs and blank 26,425 TEUs, according to Xeneta’s eeSea data. The planned capacity will increase significantly in December to 421,154 TEUs with 32,000 TEUs blanked. Mediterranean-US East Coast carriers will deploy 213,268 TEUs in November and blank around 10,000 TEUs and in December will deploy 225,392 TEUs of capacity and blank a12,837 TEUs, eeSea data shows. A slowdown in import volumes from Europe has yet to be felt in the market. Short-term rates from North Europe to US East Coast ports are at $831 per FEU, according to Xeneta. The rate has been generally steady through November but is down 57% since January. From January through October, trans-Atlantic westbound volume of 1.88 million TEUs was a 14% year over year increase, according to PIERS, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global. But most of that demand growth was recorded in the March through June period, with October showing a 1% year-over-year growth in volume at 170,110 TEUs. Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

Trans-Atlantic ocean capacity hits 28-month high: Xeneta

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper"> Breakbulk and project cargo shippers tapping FTZ and bonded warehouse storage to “tariff engineer.” </div>

Breakbulk and project cargo shippers tapping FTZ and bonded warehouse storage to “tariff engineer.”

<div class="phx-topic">With importers looking to foreign trade zones (FTZs) as a tariff mitigation strategy, US port facilities are taking steps to expand FTZ programs and warehousing capacity to accommodate additional breakbulk and project cargo activity. However, some facilities that are in the early stages of this process could encounter delays in obtaining federal approvals following the recent US government shutdown. A foreign trade zone is a designated area near a port of entry that is considered legally outside of the authority of US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). As a result, cargoes placed at these sites are not subject to duties until they leave the facility and can remain in storage indefinitely. Shippers are also turning to US Customs bonded warehouses — federally operated sites where importers can store goods for up to five years before having to pay duties, which are assessed after the goods enter US commerce. Breakbulk and project cargo accounts for a significant segment of goods stored at FTZ and bonded warehouses. Hans Luetkemeier, president and CEO of New Orleans-based global logistics and storage provider The Dupuy Group, told the Journal of Commerce that most of the recent FTZ inquiries his company has received have included breakbulk commodities such as lumber, copper, machinery and solar panels, as well as project cargo. “Our utilization is certainly higher this year than last year, driven by demand from FTZ and bonded,” he said of the company’s three million square feet of FTZ and bonded warehouse storage across the US. Janine Mansour, director of trade development for the Port of New Orleans, told the Journal of Commerce that FTZ warehouses in the region have been relatively full, and that the port has fielded a significant spike in inquiries for FTZs and government-bonded warehouses since tariffs were first announced last spring. “We’ve definitely seen an increase in demand. The reason why is the flexibility aspect and importers seeking to reduce their exposure to tariffs,” Mansour said, adding that the Port of New Orleans administers the region’s FTZ processing and has 24 active foreign trade zone locations. In October, the Port of New Orleans received federal approval to expand its designated foreign trade zone, FTZ No. 2. The zone already covers Orleans, Jefferson and St. Bernard parishes; the expanded FTZ now includes St. Tammany Parish, about 50 miles north of the city. “St. Tammany Parish is where we really see a lot of the warehousing and distribution development, as well as future development opportunities,” Mansour said. Foreign trade zone expansion efforts are also under way at the Ports of Indiana, which appointed its first foreign trade and economic development director, global logistics industry veteran Dexter Salenda, in August. Ports of Indiana created the position to grow the ports’ foreign trade zone program and offer new services for companies “dealing with challenges related to international trade and tariffs,” according to a Ports of Indiana news release. For The Dupuy Group, Luetkemeier said plans to expand the company’s footprint have been in the works since before tariffs hit. “We have several warehouse expansion projects in the works that were not initially contemplated for FTZ, but with the uncertainty of tariffs we will be applying for FTZ status at those locations,” he said. Applicants who are filing for FTZ certification could face some setbacks, though. On Nov. 14, the US CPB issued a memo indicating that its review processes will be delayed by 47 days following the US government shutdown, which began Oct. 1 and ended Nov. 12. “It was impossible for Enforcement and Compliance to operate during the shutdown. It was also impossible for Enforcement and Compliance to accelerate its proceedings by the number of days on which the agency was closed — we simply lack the resources,” the memo read. <h3>Hurdles for ‘tariff engineering’ </h3>FTZs give importers of breakbulk and project cargo advantages such as duty deferral, flexible storage options and streamlined customs clearances. “A manufacturing facility, for example, that needs to maintain critical spare parts manufactured overseas could use FTZ status to import that material without having to pay the duty until that critical spare part is needed,” Luetkemeier said. Since duties are not paid until imports formally enter into US commerce, imported cargo stored in federal trade zones can delay tariffs until they leave the zone. Imports placed in an FTZ and then exported without entering the US market may be able to avoid tariffs completely. For project cargo especially, one of the long-standing advantages of foreign trade zones is that shippers could use FTZ sites to assemble imported products, such as modular components for construction projects. Tariffs would then be levied only on the finished product, rather than the imported materials. Some shippers have used this approach strategically in a practice known as “tariff engineering,” in which importers modify materials so they can be reclassified at a lower tariff rate. Those savings are no longer available following a Trump executive order issued in April, stating that any assembly or processing that takes place within an FTZ will not change the original tariff rate assessed on the imported cargo upon entry. Luetkemeier said importers can still take advantage of another significant FTZ cost-savings strategy — entry fee consolidation. Instead of having to pay a merchandise processing fee for each incoming shipment, importers can instead group multiple shipments into a single, weekly customs entry and pay one fee each week. “There are companies that are probably saving millions a year doing that,” he said. Contact Autumn Cafiero Giusti at <a href="autumn@autumngiusti.com">autumn@autumngiusti.com</a>. </div>

With importers looking to foreign trade zones (FTZs) as a tariff mitigation strategy, US port facilities are taking steps to expand FTZ programs and warehousing capacity to accommodate additional breakbulk and project cargo activity. However, some facilities that are in the early stages of this process could encounter delays in obtaining federal approvals following the recent US government shutdown. A foreign trade zone is a designated area near a port of entry that is considered legally outside of the authority of US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). As a result, cargoes placed at these sites are not subject to duties until they leave the facility and can remain in storage indefinitely. Shippers are also turning to US Customs bonded warehouses — federally operated sites where importers can store goods for up to five years before having to pay duties, which are assessed after the goods enter US commerce. Breakbulk and project cargo accounts for a significant segment of goods stored at FTZ and bonded warehouses. Hans Luetkemeier, president and CEO of New Orleans-based global logistics and storage provider The Dupuy Group, told the Journal of Commerce that most of the recent FTZ inquiries his company has received have included breakbulk commodities such as lumber, copper, machinery and solar panels, as well as project cargo. “Our utilization is certainly higher this year than last year, driven by demand from FTZ and bonded,” he said of the company’s three million square feet of FTZ and bonded warehouse storage across the US. Janine Mansour, director of trade development for the Port of New Orleans, told the Journal of Commerce that FTZ warehouses in the region have been relatively full, and that the port has fielded a significant spike in inquiries for FTZs and government-bonded warehouses since tariffs were first announced last spring. “We’ve definitely seen an increase in demand. The reason why is the flexibility aspect and importers seeking to reduce their exposure to tariffs,” Mansour said, adding that the Port of New Orleans administers the region’s FTZ processing and has 24 active foreign trade zone locations. In October, the Port of New Orleans received federal approval to expand its designated foreign trade zone, FTZ No. 2. The zone already covers Orleans, Jefferson and St. Bernard parishes; the expanded FTZ now includes St. Tammany Parish, about 50 miles north of the city. “St. Tammany Parish is where we really see a lot of the warehousing and distribution development, as well as future development opportunities,” Mansour said. Foreign trade zone expansion efforts are also under way at the Ports of Indiana, which appointed its first foreign trade and economic development director, global logistics industry veteran Dexter Salenda, in August. Ports of Indiana created the position to grow the ports’ foreign trade zone program and offer new services for companies “dealing with challenges related to international trade and tariffs,” according to a Ports of Indiana news release. For The Dupuy Group, Luetkemeier said plans to expand the company’s footprint have been in the works since before tariffs hit. “We have several warehouse expansion projects in the works that were not initially contemplated for FTZ, but with the uncertainty of tariffs we will be applying for FTZ status at those locations,” he said. Applicants who are filing for FTZ certification could face some setbacks, though. On Nov. 14, the US CPB issued a memo indicating that its review processes will be delayed by 47 days following the US government shutdown, which began Oct. 1 and ended Nov. 12. “It was impossible for Enforcement and Compliance to operate during the shutdown. It was also impossible for Enforcement and Compliance to accelerate its proceedings by the number of days on which the agency was closed — we simply lack the resources,” the memo read. Hurdles for ‘tariff engineering’ FTZs give importers of breakbulk and project cargo advantages such as duty deferral, flexible storage options and streamlined customs clearances. “A manufacturing facility, for example, that needs to maintain critical spare parts manufactured overseas could use FTZ status to import that material without having to pay the duty until that critical spare part is needed,” Luetkemeier said. Since duties are not paid until imports formally enter into US commerce, imported cargo stored in federal trade zones can delay tariffs until they leave the zone. Imports placed in an FTZ and then exported without entering the US market may be able to avoid tariffs completely. For project cargo especially, one of the long-standing advantages of foreign trade zones is that shippers could use FTZ sites to assemble imported products, such as modular components for construction projects. Tariffs would then be levied only on the finished product, rather than the imported materials. Some shippers have used this approach strategically in a practice known as “tariff engineering,” in which importers modify materials so they can be reclassified at a lower tariff rate. Those savings are no longer available following a Trump executive order issued in April, stating that any assembly or processing that takes place within an FTZ will not change the original tariff rate assessed on the imported cargo upon entry. Luetkemeier said importers can still take advantage of another significant FTZ cost-savings strategy — entry fee consolidation. Instead of having to pay a merchandise processing fee for each incoming shipment, importers can instead group multiple shipments into a single, weekly customs entry and pay one fee each week. “There are companies that are probably saving millions a year doing that,” he said. Contact Autumn Cafiero Giusti at autumn@autumngiusti.com .

US ports seek to expand FTZs for breakbulk cargo

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Not enough terminal investment in Europe has left ports unable to handle the rising demand, and there is no quick fix, according to analysts and carriers.</div>

Not enough terminal investment in Europe has left ports unable to handle the rising demand, and there is no quick fix, according to analysts and carriers.

<div class="phx-topic">Europe’s ongoing port congestion is exposing the limited buffer capacity at both marine terminals and inland transport networks, raising the need not just for investment but also for more usage of smaller, less affected ports. While congestion has shown signs of easing in recent months, major European ports are challenged in their ability to work through the backlogs and the shifting shipping seasons, according to Chantal McRoberts, head of advisory at Drewry Supply Chain Advisors. McRoberts said the core underlying reason for the ongoing congestion was a lack of buffer capacity within the region’s port network that created regular “congestion cycles” that terminals battled to handle. “Ports in Europe have been around for a long time and landslide space is limited, so when there are multiple operational issues, the system quickly gets overwhelmed and congestion builds up,” McRoberts told a Journal of Commerce webcast on port congestion this week. It is a view shared by Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc, who told analysts during the carrier’s second-quarter earnings call that over the past 20 years, European terminal capacity has been added at a slower pace than the market has been growing. “There is a <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/underinvestment-exposes-european-ports-to-systematic-bottlenecks-6062033">general undercapacity in ports in Europe</a> where we're starting to feel more points of congestion that are impeding the networks,” Clerc said in August. “Congestion in European ports is something that is likely to be with us in some shape or form for a few years.” S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence’s Global Port Congestion Analysis of the second quarter shows that half of Northern Europe’s ports reported year-over-year declines in port moves per hour from April through June. Vessel delays have also been erratic, as Portcast’s port harbor congestion index shows.<div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="2210adc9-96bd-4b4b-8aaf-d837826318df"></dynamic-object></div>To address the mismatch in port capacity versus demand, Maersk’s APM Terminals division is expanding its capacity in key locations such as Rotterdam and Croatia, but Clerc acknowledged that it would take time before the additional capacity came online. CMA CGM is also expanding its port infrastructure in Northern Europe through its port division, CMA Terminals. The carrier earlier this month acquired a 20% stake in the Eurogate Container Terminal Hamburg, and is also investing in rail and river connectivity at the Lyon-Édouard Herriot Port in France. The Port of Antwerp-Bruges, Europe’s second-busiest container port, also highlighted the lack of space in its first-half results in July, noting that <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/strong-h1-volumes-space-crunch-keep-antwerp-terminals-under-pressure-6043917">marine terminals were under “heavy strain”</a> with landside space at critically low levels. <h3>Extending lead times the only effective measure </h3>While terminals and carriers can add capacity, there is very little shippers can do to avoid the congestion, according to McRoberts. “Disruption and congestion have been impossible to avoid the last five years, so shippers have become more used to dealing with it,” she said. “But shippers in our Drewry benchmarking club tell us the main tactic is simply to extend lead times. Other popular strategies are to use diverse provider portfolios based on different ports and use visibility tools and platforms to see the flow of cargo through ports.” Data from Drewry shows the regional average pre-berth waiting time was 1.7 days in week 45 beginning Nov. 3, with some ports around 10% longer. The current worst performer is Egypt’s Port Said at 3.7 days, but most European ports have shown improvement recently. Still, Europe’s three largest import gateways of Antwerp, Hamburg and Rotterdam are all currently assessed as having “heavily disrupted operations” by Kuehne + Nagel’s SeaExplorer visibility tool. The wave of congestion this year was triggered by the <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/spot-rates-falling-as-new-ocean-networks-roll-out-sea-intelligence-5935891">restructuring of carrier alliances</a> in February and the emergence of Gemini Cooperation, which McRoberts said was accompanied by service changes and vessel redeployment. “Later in the year, this was compounded by the fluctuating Rhine River water levels, canceled sailings and various <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/strike-action-piles-new-bottlenecks-on-europes-two-busiest-ports-6094023">labor disruptions across Europe</a>. All of this contributed to increasing port congestion across the region,” she said. Strikes in Rotterdam by container lashing companies and a go-slow by sea pilots in Antwerp created container bottlenecks in October, and labor disruptions are set to continue later this month in Belgium, Portugal and Italy. Belgium’s rail network will stop as workers walk out from Nov. 23 to Nov. 26; strike action by Portugal’s Port Authorities staff will impact all major Portuguese ports from Nov. 21 to Dec. 13, and a national strike will be held in Italy on Nov. 28 and 29. While strikes were major disruptors to European terminal handling operations, McRoberts highlighted structural issues that contributed to the ongoing congestion. “We have seen fewer port calls combined with an increase in average vessel sizes as alliances and services have consolidated in Europe,” she told the Journal of Commerce webcast. “We have also seen longer pre-berth waiting times, often paired with extended terminal stays and driven by larger vessels with higher load factors.” <h3>Seasonal patterns changing </h3>Shifting seasonal patterns are also not doing Europe’s container terminals any favors. “In 2025, peak seasons have been messed about all year,” McRoberts said. “The disruption caused by US tariff announcements [on European imports] created bubbles of volume and surges in demand, which in turn created congestion in peak seasons or periods where we wouldn't normally expect strong demand. If you overlay that with labor disputes and changing river levels, it's like a domino effect that causes pockets of congestion.” Looming over the Asia-Europe trade is the potential return of carriers to Red Sea and Suez Canal transits. The bunching of vessels as those taking the shorter route through the Suez catch up to vessels sailing around Africa is expected to create significant bottlenecks in Europe and Asia. But McRoberts said there would not be an overnight return to the Red Sea. “We will see a gradual phase-in period, so there will be an opportunity for shippers to think about how to plan their cargo needs with carriers and their inventory carrying costs and their networks,” she said. Analysts expect carriers to operate a dual-route strategy for some time once the Red Sea is deemed safe to transit, keeping both the around-Africa sailings and the Suez Canal route in their schedules. When it comes to finding solutions to Europe’s persistent port congestion, there are no short-term answers, according to McRoberts. She said increasing terminal capacity and expanding operations was one solution, but it was a long-term approach. “We know there is new capacity coming onstream in Rotterdam and some upgrades underway in Antwerp and Hamburg, but they will take time to implement and will not bring short-term relief,” she said. McRoberts said smaller-scale capacity gains were coming from investment in productivity improvements or in data sharing, but they were having a minimal impact and did not generate an incremental improvement in buffer capacity. “That doesn’t help when ports hit those periods of congestion, and that’s the fundamental problem with the European port network — it simply has insufficient buffer capacity,” McRoberts said. Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Europe’s ongoing port congestion is exposing the limited buffer capacity at both marine terminals and inland transport networks, raising the need not just for investment but also for more usage of smaller, less affected ports. While congestion has shown signs of easing in recent months, major European ports are challenged in their ability to work through the backlogs and the shifting shipping seasons, according to Chantal McRoberts, head of advisory at Drewry Supply Chain Advisors. McRoberts said the core underlying reason for the ongoing congestion was a lack of buffer capacity within the region’s port network that created regular “congestion cycles” that terminals battled to handle. “Ports in Europe have been around for a long time and landslide space is limited, so when there are multiple operational issues, the system quickly gets overwhelmed and congestion builds up,” McRoberts told a Journal of Commerce webcast on port congestion this week. It is a view shared by Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc, who told analysts during the carrier’s second-quarter earnings call that over the past 20 years, European terminal capacity has been added at a slower pace than the market has been growing. “There is a general undercapacity in ports in Europe where we're starting to feel more points of congestion that are impeding the networks,” Clerc said in August. “Congestion in European ports is something that is likely to be with us in some shape or form for a few years.” S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Global Port Congestion Analysis of the second quarter shows that half of Northern Europe’s ports reported year-over-year declines in port moves per hour from April through June. Vessel delays have also been erratic, as Portcast’s port harbor congestion index shows. To address the mismatch in port capacity versus demand, Maersk’s APM Terminals division is expanding its capacity in key locations such as Rotterdam and Croatia, but Clerc acknowledged that it would take time before the additional capacity came online. CMA CGM is also expanding its port infrastructure in Northern Europe through its port division, CMA Terminals. The carrier earlier this month acquired a 20% stake in the Eurogate Container Terminal Hamburg, and is also investing in rail and river connectivity at the Lyon-Édouard Herriot Port in France. The Port of Antwerp-Bruges, Europe’s second-busiest container port, also highlighted the lack of space in its first-half results in July, noting that marine terminals were under “heavy strain” with landside space at critically low levels. Extending lead times the only effective measure While terminals and carriers can add capacity, there is very little shippers can do to avoid the congestion, according to McRoberts. “Disruption and congestion have been impossible to avoid the last five years, so shippers have become more used to dealing with it,” she said. “But shippers in our Drewry benchmarking club tell us the main tactic is simply to extend lead times. Other popular strategies are to use diverse provider portfolios based on different ports and use visibility tools and platforms to see the flow of cargo through ports.” Data from Drewry shows the regional average pre-berth waiting time was 1.7 days in week 45 beginning Nov. 3, with some ports around 10% longer. The current worst performer is Egypt’s Port Said at 3.7 days, but most European ports have shown improvement recently. Still, Europe’s three largest import gateways of Antwerp, Hamburg and Rotterdam are all currently assessed as having “heavily disrupted operations” by Kuehne + Nagel’s SeaExplorer visibility tool. The wave of congestion this year was triggered by the restructuring of carrier alliances in February and the emergence of Gemini Cooperation, which McRoberts said was accompanied by service changes and vessel redeployment. “Later in the year, this was compounded by the fluctuating Rhine River water levels, canceled sailings and various labor disruptions across Europe . All of this contributed to increasing port congestion across the region,” she said. Strikes in Rotterdam by container lashing companies and a go-slow by sea pilots in Antwerp created container bottlenecks in October, and labor disruptions are set to continue later this month in Belgium, Portugal and Italy. Belgium’s rail network will stop as workers walk out from Nov. 23 to Nov. 26; strike action by Portugal’s Port Authorities staff will impact all major Portuguese ports from Nov. 21 to Dec. 13, and a national strike will be held in Italy on Nov. 28 and 29. While strikes were major disruptors to European terminal handling operations, McRoberts highlighted structural issues that contributed to the ongoing congestion. “We have seen fewer port calls combined with an increase in average vessel sizes as alliances and services have consolidated in Europe,” she told the Journal of Commerce webcast. “We have also seen longer pre-berth waiting times, often paired with extended terminal stays and driven by larger vessels with higher load factors.” Seasonal patterns changing Shifting seasonal patterns are also not doing Europe’s container terminals any favors. “In 2025, peak seasons have been messed about all year,” McRoberts said. “The disruption caused by US tariff announcements [on European imports] created bubbles of volume and surges in demand, which in turn created congestion in peak seasons or periods where we wouldn't normally expect strong demand. If you overlay that with labor disputes and changing river levels, it's like a domino effect that causes pockets of congestion.” Looming over the Asia-Europe trade is the potential return of carriers to Red Sea and Suez Canal transits. The bunching of vessels as those taking the shorter route through the Suez catch up to vessels sailing around Africa is expected to create significant bottlenecks in Europe and Asia. But McRoberts said there would not be an overnight return to the Red Sea. “We will see a gradual phase-in period, so there will be an opportunity for shippers to think about how to plan their cargo needs with carriers and their inventory carrying costs and their networks,” she said. Analysts expect carriers to operate a dual-route strategy for some time once the Red Sea is deemed safe to transit, keeping both the around-Africa sailings and the Suez Canal route in their schedules. When it comes to finding solutions to Europe’s persistent port congestion, there are no short-term answers, according to McRoberts. She said increasing terminal capacity and expanding operations was one solution, but it was a long-term approach. “We know there is new capacity coming onstream in Rotterdam and some upgrades underway in Antwerp and Hamburg, but they will take time to implement and will not bring short-term relief,” she said. McRoberts said smaller-scale capacity gains were coming from investment in productivity improvements or in data sharing, but they were having a minimal impact and did not generate an incremental improvement in buffer capacity. “That doesn’t help when ports hit those periods of congestion, and that’s the fundamental problem with the European port network — it simply has insufficient buffer capacity,” McRoberts said. Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

Europe ports lack buffer space to handle demand surges

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Months of frontloading explain the harsher-than-usual import slowdown in the final months of this year, but uncertain consumer sentiment and ever-changing US tariff policy are keeping retail inventories running lean. </div>

Months of frontloading explain the harsher-than-usual import slowdown in the final months of this year, but uncertain consumer sentiment and ever-changing US tariff policy are keeping retail inventories running lean.

<div class="phx-topic">The end of year in ocean shipping in the US is generally lackluster given that most retailers have already brought their goods into the country and still have a month or two early in the new year to restock. But this end to 2025 and start of 2026 is looking more than just lackluster; it’s a deepening slowdown with no end in sight. The weaker inbound volumes are being felt by transport providers from drayage operators to ocean carriers trying to keep a floor on subdued container spot rates. For at least a year, US importers have been frontloading imports out of fear of higher tariffs, and as American consumers become more cautious, they’re replenishing judiciously. US retailers <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/us-retailers-throttle-back-on-imports-amid-uncertain-consumer-sentiment-6111471">are forecasting double-digit percentage declines</a> in November and December, and monthly volumes are not expected to exceed 2 million TEUs through March, according to the latest Global Port Tracker (GPT), produced by Hackett Associates and the National Retail Federation (NRF). Months of frontloading explain the harsher-than-usual import slowdown in the final months of this year, but uncertain consumer sentiment and ever-changing US tariff policy are keeping retail inventories running lean. “These conditions make market forecasting highly uncertain,” said Ben Hackett, the consultancy’s founder. “Our trade outlook is for a small decline in imports this year compared with 2024 and a further, larger decline in the first quarter of 2026.” US container volumes in 2026 will be flat to down 2% year over year, according to Moody’s Ratings. Comparably, volumes are to end this year in the range of no growth to an up to 1% retraction compared with 2024, the ratings agency stated in a research note released Tuesday. Winter holiday sales are anticipated to grow 3.2% this year, a notably slower pace than the 4.8% expansion recorded last year, according to S&amp;P Global. That slowdown comes as consumer prices rise and job gains slow, with unemployment rising from 4.3% in August to 4.4% in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But the US economy keeps expanding, with manufacturing activity growing in October to a reading of 52.2 from 52.5 in the prior month as assessed by S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence’s US Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index.<div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="e303e2ee-5389-46af-85b9-111d4f8c34b5"></dynamic-object></div>“Critically, this downshift in [retail] growth is an untimely reminder of consumers’ precarious position; they have managed to continue spending despite the ebb and flow of prices in recent years, but each time their steps have been more measured,” said Michael Zdinak, who leads US consumer markets services at S&amp;P Global. The US consumer price index (CPI) in September expanded 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis, with annual inflation at 3%, reflecting “modest price pressures continuing to affect household budget,” according to the CPI report. The 43-day US federal government shutdown delayed the October release of the US CPI and contributed to the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index falling for the second straight month — and to its lowest reading since May — in November. Retailers have noted the change in consumers. Home Depot, for example, cited concerns over affordability and jobs, lowering its outlook for the rest of its fiscal 2025 year, which ends in January. “The economic uncertainty continues, largely now due to living costs,” Ted Decker, the chair, president and CEO of the home improvement retailer, said during a Nov. 18 third-quarter earnings call. “Affordability is a word that’s being used a lot. Layoffs, increased job concerns, etc. So that’s why we don’t see an uptick in that underlying storm-adjusted demand in the business.” It’s not surprising then that retailers are making sure they have just enough product on hand. US inventory-to-retail sales ratios for retailers have hovered between 1.28 and 1.32, according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, suggesting that despite the frontloading of imports in the first half of the year, stocks remain lean. Retailers appear to be extending that strategy into the new year; the GPT report forecasts imports will fall 12.2% year over year to 5.62 million TEUs in the first quarter of 2026. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="0302a4da-1012-4174-970d-3888b1ecc536"></dynamic-object></div><h3>‘A bit of a freefall’ </h3>Laden US imports this year peaked in July at 2.6 million TEUs, before sliding 4.6% year over year between August and October, according to PIERS, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global. But it’s volumes from Asia that have seen the worst of the drop-off, with inbound shipments, including those from India, falling 5.6% in August–October, according to PIERS. Facing a US tariff rate of approximately 47%, laden imports from China plunged 16.7% year over year in the same three-month period.<div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="b2c4ed98-5885-4436-931d-5f035f537df1"></dynamic-object></div>The weakening Asia trade as of mid-November had dragged so-called bullet rates — prices quoted for specific voyages — from Asia to the US West Coast to below $1,400 per FEU. Spot rates to the West Coast, as measured by various indexes, are down 30% to 60% year over year, depending on the index and trade lane. Ocean carriers’ biweekly attempts to impose general rate increases have failed, lifting pricing for a just few days before they continue their descent. In 10 of 12 weeks from the end of July through mid-October, trans-Pacific spot rates even fell below the average long-term service contract rate of approximately $1,600 per FEU, according to rate benchmarking firm Xeneta.<div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="cb72bd0b-98b7-487c-8228-ec175a90826b"></dynamic-object></div>“Prices, again, are just in a bit of a freefall,” Sanjay Tejwani, CEO of consulting firm 365 Logistics, told the Journal of Commerce. Ocean carriers “have done what they can,” using blank sailings and shifting vessels between trades to try to match demand, “but it’s too little, too late.” Yet, there hasn’t been a notable scramble among cargo owners to reopen service contracts, which typically expire at the end of April. Forwarders have also been increasingly blending spot and contract rates for cargo owners to find a better medium for the market to offer customers. “We’ve not seen any big movements on contracts being open now, since the contracts have been trending down during Q3, and it was not very timely for people to do when they know they have the negotiation coming soon and as long as things are moving their way,” Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call Nov. 6, adding that customers have generally been meeting their allocated contract volumes. Despite the lower spot rates and weaker outlook, container lines haven’t pulled out services and have blanked capacity at levels similar to past years. In fact, ocean carriers plan to add more capacity from Asia to the US in December, according to maritime intelligence provider eeSea.Contact Mark Szakonyi at <a href="mailto:mark.szakonyi@spglobal.com">mark.szakonyi@spglobal.com</a>. Associate Editor Laura Robb contributed to this report. </div>

The end of year in ocean shipping in the US is generally lackluster given that most retailers have already brought their goods into the country and still have a month or two early in the new year to restock. But this end to 2025 and start of 2026 is looking more than just lackluster; it’s a deepening slowdown with no end in sight. The weaker inbound volumes are being felt by transport providers from drayage operators to ocean carriers trying to keep a floor on subdued container spot rates. For at least a year, US importers have been frontloading imports out of fear of higher tariffs, and as American consumers become more cautious, they’re replenishing judiciously. US retailers are forecasting double-digit percentage declines in November and December, and monthly volumes are not expected to exceed 2 million TEUs through March, according to the latest Global Port Tracker (GPT), produced by Hackett Associates and the National Retail Federation (NRF). Months of frontloading explain the harsher-than-usual import slowdown in the final months of this year, but uncertain consumer sentiment and ever-changing US tariff policy are keeping retail inventories running lean. “These conditions make market forecasting highly uncertain,” said Ben Hackett, the consultancy’s founder. “Our trade outlook is for a small decline in imports this year compared with 2024 and a further, larger decline in the first quarter of 2026.” US container volumes in 2026 will be flat to down 2% year over year, according to Moody’s Ratings. Comparably, volumes are to end this year in the range of no growth to an up to 1% retraction compared with 2024, the ratings agency stated in a research note released Tuesday. Winter holiday sales are anticipated to grow 3.2% this year, a notably slower pace than the 4.8% expansion recorded last year, according to S&P Global. That slowdown comes as consumer prices rise and job gains slow, with unemployment rising from 4.3% in August to 4.4% in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But the US economy keeps expanding, with manufacturing activity growing in October to a reading of 52.2 from 52.5 in the prior month as assessed by S&P Global Market Intelligence’s US Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index. “Critically, this downshift in [retail] growth is an untimely reminder of consumers’ precarious position; they have managed to continue spending despite the ebb and flow of prices in recent years, but each time their steps have been more measured,” said Michael Zdinak, who leads US consumer markets services at S&P Global. The US consumer price index (CPI) in September expanded 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis, with annual inflation at 3%, reflecting “modest price pressures continuing to affect household budget,” according to the CPI report. The 43-day US federal government shutdown delayed the October release of the US CPI and contributed to the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index falling for the second straight month — and to its lowest reading since May — in November. Retailers have noted the change in consumers. Home Depot, for example, cited concerns over affordability and jobs, lowering its outlook for the rest of its fiscal 2025 year, which ends in January. “The economic uncertainty continues, largely now due to living costs,” Ted Decker, the chair, president and CEO of the home improvement retailer, said during a Nov. 18 third-quarter earnings call. “Affordability is a word that’s being used a lot. Layoffs, increased job concerns, etc. So that’s why we don’t see an uptick in that underlying storm-adjusted demand in the business.” It’s not surprising then that retailers are making sure they have just enough product on hand. US inventory-to-retail sales ratios for retailers have hovered between 1.28 and 1.32, according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, suggesting that despite the frontloading of imports in the first half of the year, stocks remain lean. Retailers appear to be extending that strategy into the new year; the GPT report forecasts imports will fall 12.2% year over year to 5.62 million TEUs in the first quarter of 2026. ‘A bit of a freefall’ Laden US imports this year peaked in July at 2.6 million TEUs, before sliding 4.6% year over year between August and October, according to PIERS, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global. But it’s volumes from Asia that have seen the worst of the drop-off, with inbound shipments, including those from India, falling 5.6% in August–October, according to PIERS. Facing a US tariff rate of approximately 47%, laden imports from China plunged 16.7% year over year in the same three-month period. The weakening Asia trade as of mid-November had dragged so-called bullet rates — prices quoted for specific voyages — from Asia to the US West Coast to below $1,400 per FEU. Spot rates to the West Coast, as measured by various indexes, are down 30% to 60% year over year, depending on the index and trade lane. Ocean carriers’ biweekly attempts to impose general rate increases have failed, lifting pricing for a just few days before they continue their descent. In 10 of 12 weeks from the end of July through mid-October, trans-Pacific spot rates even fell below the average long-term service contract rate of approximately $1,600 per FEU, according to rate benchmarking firm Xeneta. “Prices, again, are just in a bit of a freefall,” Sanjay Tejwani, CEO of consulting firm 365 Logistics, told the Journal of Commerce. Ocean carriers “have done what they can,” using blank sailings and shifting vessels between trades to try to match demand, “but it’s too little, too late.” Yet, there hasn’t been a notable scramble among cargo owners to reopen service contracts, which typically expire at the end of April. Forwarders have also been increasingly blending spot and contract rates for cargo owners to find a better medium for the market to offer customers. “We’ve not seen any big movements on contracts being open now, since the contracts have been trending down during Q3, and it was not very timely for people to do when they know they have the negotiation coming soon and as long as things are moving their way,” Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call Nov. 6, adding that customers have generally been meeting their allocated contract volumes. Despite the lower spot rates and weaker outlook, container lines haven’t pulled out services and have blanked capacity at levels similar to past years. In fact, ocean carriers plan to add more capacity from Asia to the US in December, according to maritime intelligence provider eeSea. Contact Mark Szakonyi at  mark.szakonyi@spglobal.com . Associate Editor Laura Robb contributed to this report.

Slump of US imports from Asia deepening

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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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Filling the Supply Chain Education Gap with LTL Education Courses

In 1995, we began operations with a clear vision: to grow alongside Mexico and connect the world through our terminals. Our priority has always been to deliver excellence in service, foster economic development, and strengthen our communities. We firmly believe that progress is not only measured in tons of cargo moved, but in the opportunities we create. _______________________________________________________________ This year marks a significant milestone: SSA Marine Mexico celebrates 30 years of presence in the country, having established itself from day one as the leading port operator nationwide. Over the past three decades, we have built a legacy of reliability, innovation, and commitment to Mexico’s growth. Our journey has been defined by continuous evolution and a steadfast dedication to our mission. SSA Marine México currently operates in six of the country’s most important ports: Cozumel, Lazaro Cardenas, Manzanillo, Progreso, Tuxpan, and Veracruz. Additionally, we have signed a concession to operate a new multipurpose terminal in Guaymas, Sonora, expanding our footprint to the north of the country. We serve a wide range of segments including containers, general cargo, automobiles, cruise ships, hydrocarbons, and asphalt. As part of this ongoing commitment, SSA Marine Mexico continues to strengthen its infrastructure and capabilities. International trade remains a key driver of global economic growth, and we are proud to support this momentum. Through our continuous improvement strategy, we invest in cutting-edge technology and equipment to deliver more efficient and competitive services, contributing to the success of Mexican businesses. •	Manzanillo, Colima- Specialized Container Terminal I: On October 13, we celebrated the arrival of two new STS (Ship To Shore) Super Post Panamax dockside cranes. This $21.2 million USD investment significantly boosts our operational capacity, streamlining cargo reception and delivery processes. In line with our modernization efforts, we will also retire four of our oldest cranes, paving the way for a more sustainable and technologically advanced fleet that meets the evolving demands of international trade. With these upgrades, SSA Marine México now operates a total of 16 cranes along our 1,350-meter dock, reaffirming our position as a national benchmark in port <span class="joc_admin__inline-image joc_admin__inline-image-aspect-ratio-4_3 joc_admin__inline-image-position-left joc_admin__inline-image-size-large" data-figure-size="large" data-figure-position="left" data-figure-aspect-ratio="4:3"><img src="/content-assets/1760982635607_Manzanillo.jpg" alt="Image provided by SSA Marine" class="joc_admin__inline-image-inherit"> •	As for the Multipurpose Terminal and Specialized Facility, also in Manzanillo, Colima, improvement and conditioning works are planned, along with the acquisition of four E-RTG (Electric Rubber-Tyred Gantry) cranes to enhance operational efficiency and sustainability. •	At our Automobile and General Cargo Terminal in the port of Veracruz, we continue to lead with specialized value-added services that support our clients’ growth. Recent investments include a new washing cabin and a general cargo warehouse, increasing indoor storage capacity by 67%. •	Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacan – Specialized Automobile Terminal: we are working on the development of an additional 4-hectare storage space within our bonded area and a 10-hectare Vehicle Distribution Center (VDC). These enhancements, along with ongoing personnel and system improvements, will reinforce our leadership in automotive handling across the Mexican Pacific coast.<span class="joc_admin__inline-image joc_admin__inline-image-aspect-ratio-4_3 joc_admin__inline-image-position-left joc_admin__inline-image-size-large" data-figure-size="large" data-figure-position="left" data-figure-aspect-ratio="4:3"><img src="/content-assets/1760982742240_Lazaro.jpg" alt="Image provided by SSA Marine" class="joc_admin__inline-image-inherit"> Through these strategic investments, SSA Marine Mexico reaffirms its commitment to the sustained growth of Mexico’s foreign trade. By expanding capacity, modernizing infrastructure, and diversifying services, we continue to strengthen the country’s competitiveness in global logistics. Today, we celebrate three decades of dedication, innovation, and leadership, with deep gratitude to our employees, clients, and partners for being part of this incredible journey. LINK: https://www.ssamarine.mx/<span class="joc_admin__inline-image joc_admin__inline-image-aspect-ratio-16_9 joc_admin__inline-image-position-left joc_admin__inline-image-size-small" data-figure-size="small" data-figure-position="left" data-figure-aspect-ratio="16:9"><img src="/content-assets/1760982787360_SSA%20Marine%20Mexico%20logo%20150pxW.png" alt="" class="joc_admin__inline-image-inherit">

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SSA Marine Mexico: 30 years growing together.

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