Multimedia

 

 

US containerized imports are showing signs of stabilizing, if not yet showing a significant rally, as supply chain trends return to some semblance of new normal following the dramatic two-year, pandemic-driven surge in imports and consumer demand. Total US imports hit nearly 2.1 million TEUs in May, according to data from PIERS, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global. Although that was the highest total monthly import volume this year, it was still down more than 20% from the same month in 2022, continuing a streak of year-over-year double-digit declines that started last November. As the trans-Pacific prepares to enter its busiest quarter of the year, the question now is whether this period is a correction that will lead to increased stability, or whether further receding will occur. For now, the peak season is shaping up to be dull — a recent CNBC survey revealed that retailers expect a weak holiday season, marked by heavy discounting, an indication that holiday-related imports could be week through the summer-fall peak season. What does this mean for shippers, carriers, and forwarders and the prospect for accessorial charges? Will carriers be forced to lay up capacity, leading to more blank sailings in the fall? And, with a tentative West Coast labor agreement reached between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Pacific Maritime Association, will importers re-evaluate their routing decisions, leading to West Coast ports recapturing some of the market share they’ve shed during the uncertainty around negotiations? 

This webcast will address these questions and more as the peak shipping season gets under way. 

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

Julia Bedanova, Chief Operating Officer, Million Dollar Baby 

Paul Bingham, Director-Transportation Economics Consulting, S&P Global Market Intelligence

Jan Tiedeman, Vice President-Liner Strategy, Alphaliner

 

*Check back soon for more information!

Interested in sponsoring this webcast? For more information, please visit https://subscribe.joc.com/mediasolutions/

Partnered by: 

The past year has been a roller coaster ride for US importers and exporters, regardless of the commodity they move or sector in which they do business. On the import side, the consumer spending dam that had been holding up record-smashing trans-Pacific volumes and rates for more than two years finally gave out, sending pricing plummeting to pre-pandemic levels. On the export side, the operational challenges that resulted from those record import volumes — from capacity and equipment shortages to skipped calls at key export gateways — also have eased, allowing for a more typical outbound flow of goods. But with the US economy expected to rebound, possibly as soon as the second half of 2023, the question now becomes: Have shippers and transportation providers learned from the pandemic-induced spike in freight demand or will they be caught out when the tide turns again? 

This webcast, the second in a two-part series, will examine the impact that economic-, geopolitical-, and supply chain-related events have had on exporters, and how that has played out in terms of containerized shipping volumes, as reflected by the Journal of Commerce rankings of Top 100 Exporters for 2022.

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

Michael Angell, Associate Editor, Northeast and Gulf Coast Ports, Journal of Commerce by S&P Global
Ari Ashe, Senior Editor, Intermodal Rail and Southeast Ports, Journal of Commerce by S&P Global
Teri Griffis, Associate Editor, Journal of Commerce by S&P Global
April Zobel, Profit Center Manager, The Andersons Cos.

 

*Check back soon for more information!

Interested in sponsoring this webcast? For more information, please visit https://subscribe.joc.com/mediasolutions/

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

Ari Ashe, Senior Editor, Intermodal Rail and Southeast Ports, Journal of Commerce by S&P Global
William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor, Trucking and Domestic Transportation, Journal of Commerce by S&P Global

Lori Fellmer, Vice President-Logistics and Carrier Management, Basstech International

 

*Check back soon for more information!

Interested in sponsoring this webcast? For more information, please visit https://subscribe.joc.com/mediasolutions/

 

 

North American ports are approaching the summer-fall peak shipping season free from the congestion and supply chain bottlenecks they faced last year. Vessel schedule integrity, while still far from ideal, has improved dramatically from the approximately 20 percent on-time performance registered early last year. The ports themselves are fluid, with virtually no container backlogs. Gate times for trucks are likewise what terminal operators and truckers consider to be acceptable. Retailers are scrambling to reduce the inventory overhang from last year that continues to take up valuable space at their warehouses with the plan being to be ready to receive this year’s fall and holiday merchandise. Railroads have addressed the congestion problems at their ramps in Chicago, Dallas, Memphis, Toronto and Montreal. The severe congestion those ramps experienced last summer and fall had a knock-on effect at the ports, resulting in congested marine terminals and excessive rail container dwell times. While the double-digit drop in cargo volumes the past six months are undoubtedly a major reason why the ports are fluid entering peak season 2023, the question now is, what must the marine terminals, carriers, railroads, truckers and retailers do in the coming few months to prepare for the next cargo surge? This webcast will analyze the state of port fluidity from the berth through to the container yard, while looking ahead to how prepared North American ports and terminals are for the next cargo wave.

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

Turloch Mooney, Director-Port Analytics, S&P Global

Mark Sisson, Senior Port Planner, AECOM

*Check back soon for more information!

Interested in sponsoring this webcast? For more information, please visit https://subscribe.joc.com/mediasolutions/