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Partner:

The first half of 2024 ended on a stronger note for US trucking demand, with tonnage and spot market rates rising slightly off the baseline set last year. But will they keep climbing? Shippers are getting mixed messages; with some transportation providers warning of tightening capacity and higher rates this fall. But there’s still plenty of truckload capacity in the market, leading others to suggest any increase in spot or contract pricing will be gradual in the second half — not a repeat of the “hockey-stick” recovery of 2020. Meanwhile, shippers are navigating an increasingly complex set of supply chain challenges that require them to develop more control over the truck capacity they use, often lane by lane. They’re seeking the agility needed to move freight between truckload contract and spot trailers and less-than-truckload and even private or dedicated fleet operations. That’s a hallmark of what could be called post-pandemic trucking, and it requires the right technology stack as well as the right trucking providers to keep freight rolling.

This webcast, led by Senior Trucking and Domestic Transportation Editor William Cassidy, will look at where we’re heading in the second half of 2024, and what the major challenges for shippers are likely to be, from pricing and capacity to visibility and technology.

Moderator:

William Cassidy, Senior Editor, Trucking and Domestic Transportation, Journal of Commerce by S&P Global

Speaker(s):

Andy Dyer, CEO, AFS Logistics

Keith Prather, Managing Director, Armada Corporate Intelligence

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Partner:

North American importers and exporters are entering a precarious period of container shipping volatility the likes of which haven’t been seen since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. A combination of events — container shortages in Asia and resulting congestion, increasing blank sailings among carriers, and strong demand that is leading to a spike in rates — is setting the stage for a volatile peak shipping season and perhaps beyond. This hourlong webcast, led by Journal of Commerce Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi, will analyze the state of the container shipping market coming out of the annual service contracting period and take an early look at the summer-fall peak shipping season. In the process, it will answer the following questions:

•    What do the supply-demand fundamentals point to in terms of rates?

•    What impact – and for how much longer – will the Red Sea crisis have during the busiest part of the shipping year?

•    How will worsening congestion in Asia and the western Mediterranean impact capacity?

•    Is the recent demand spike a sign of an early and perhaps extended peak season?

Moderator:      

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor, Journal of Commerce by S&P Global 

Speaker(s):

Rachael Acker, Senior Director-Global Logistics, Wolverine Worldwide

Jonathan Gold, Vice President, Supply Chain and Customs Policy, National Retail Federation

John McCauley, Consultant and, Cargill (Ret.)

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Partner:

With US retailers raising import forecasts and inbound cargo volumes, pricing power is beginning to return to ocean carriers.  Imports alone, however, aren’t enough to jumpstart US freight demand and pull surface transportation providers out of a two-year slump. Despite some green shoots in manufacturing, the US freight economy outlook for the second half of 2024 is still cloudy, with any improvement likely to be gradual. That means shippers will have another year of pricing power over North American trucking and intermodal rail. On the ocean, however, the tide has shifted after a decline in volumes and crashing prices that fell from unprecedented heights early in the pandemic. It’s unclear, however, whether first-half increases will have second half staying power.  This webcast, featuring several Journal of Commerce senior editorial members, will examine the impact that economic-, geopolitical-, and supply chain-related events have had on importers and exporters, and how that has played out in terms of containerized shipping volumes, as reflected by the Journal of Commerce rankings of Top 100 Importers and Exporters for 2023. It also will include discussion about the dynamics shaping several import and export segments, from consumer goods and electronics to ag products and resins.

Moderator:

Eric Johnson, Senior Editor-Technology, Journal of Commerce by S&P Global

Speaker(s):

Michael Angell, Senior Editor-Northeast and Gulf Coast Ports, Journal of Commerce by S&P Global

Ari Ashe, Senior Editor-Intermodal and South Atlantic Ports, Journal of Commerce by S&P Global

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor-West Coast, Journal of Commerce by S&P Global

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor, Journal of Commerce by S&P Global

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Partner:

The Canadian economy is surprising economists, spurring S&P Global to upgrade its GDP outlook for this year to 1.7% on the back of stronger-than-expected exports and imports at the start of 2024. Rising Asian imports reflect a normalizing container shipping market, although port fluidity hinges on railcar supply and labor peace amid Montreal longshore contact negotiations. At the same time, legislation that would prevent railroads and ports to replace workers during a strike or lockout is gathering apace, the opposite of what the industry is seeking after a two-week-long strike closed British Columbia ports last year. This webcast will offer a broad Canadian economic outlook and implications for trade, followed by the highlighting of major freight developments and supply chain challenges ahead.

Moderator:

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor, Journal of Commerce by S&P Global

Speaker(s):

Arlene Kish, Director-Canada Economics, S&P Global Market Intelligence 

Julia E. Kuzeljevich Director, Policy and Regulatory Affairs, CIFFA Corp.

Brian Martin, President and Principal Consultant, BrightChain Consulting

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The Red Sea attacks that forced ocean carriers to divert Asia-to-North Europe and Mediterranean services around the southern tip of Africa allowed container shipping to address its two main challenges heading into 2024: overcapacity and low-rate levels. Carriers will take delivery of nearly 2 million TEU of new capacity this year, a significant portion of which will be mega-ships that can only be deployed on the trades between Asia and Europe. While BIMCO estimates the Africa diversions are absorbing up to 9.5% of the excess capacity as carriers add ships to loops to maintain weekly schedules, economic growth in the Eurozone is forecast to be just 0.9% this year, only a slight improvement from 0.5% growth in 2023. Average spot rates from Asia to North Europe were less than $1,000 per TEU in late November 2023 but quickly rose when the Red Sea attacks began, peaking in mid-January at more than $5,000 per TEU before falling sharply. By early April, spot rates had lost more than a third of the gains made since December. Asia-Europe supply chains now have settled into the longer voyages with the Africa diversions expected to remain at least through the peak season. But the underlying challenges of overcapacity and downward rate pressure are reasserting themselves on the market. There is more than enough available capacity to cover the demand this year, even with the Red Sea crisis, and as soon as transits via the Suez Canal resume, rates will almost certainly collapse.

This webcast, led by Europe editor Greg Knowler will analyze these factors and more that will determine the course of the Asia-Europe trade this year.

Moderator:

Greg Knowler, Europe Editor, Journal of Commerce by S&P Global

Speaker(s):

Jochen Gutschmidt, Senior Advisor-Inland Supply Chain and Logistics, Lidl

Marc Meier, Managing Director Air & Sea Logistics EMEA, DACHSER

Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst, BIMCO

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