Supply Chain

The Federal Maritime Commission said its enforcement agency does not have a case against the ocean carrier over a congestion surcharge complaint from a shipper.

If shippers found the post-IMO 2020 bunker fuel formulas confusing and misaligned across ocean carriers, just wait until they see the surcharges linked to Europe’s new emissions trading system, says analyst Lars Jensen.

While three companies jointly control some operations at marine terminals at Savannah and Charleston, they are not considered marine terminal operators, an FMC judge has ruled.  

A systems outage that has left less-than-truckload carrier Estes grappling with email, website and data exchange issues is the latest such incident to befall the logistics and transportation industry.

Use of the little-known arm of the FMC comes as shippers are increasingly turning to US maritime regulators to perform a consumer protection function in the aftermath of pandemic-linked disruptions and broad shipping reform that became law 15 months ago.

While the South Carolina Ports Authority cited the “urgency and importance” of the Leatherman terminal issue to the state and regional economies, getting on the Court’s docket is a daunting task.

The addition of Atlanta-based MNX closely follows an acquisition in France as UPS builds out its expedited and temperature-controlled capabilities in the healthcare sector.

The concept of widespread use of a hedging tool continues to face an uphill battle within the container sector years after it was introduced, especially among carriers whose buy-in is considered essential to confer legitimacy on the fledging market.

A muted peak and post-peak season for imports and intermodal activity has shippers and service providers eyeing a freight rebound no earlier than late 2024.

The BlueGrace Logistics Confidence Index indicates retail shippers with “tremendous” inventories on hand are likely to move more small shipments as the holidays approach.

Savannah attracted the new service due to its growing third-party logistics network and proximity to East Coast and Midwest markets, allowing for quicker and fresher imports.

Shippers more than tripled their formal complaints in fiscal year 2022, emboldened by the maritime regulator’s sharpened focus on how ocean carriers interact with their customers.

The Class I railroad and DrayNow will launch an app in 2024 designed to digitize, organize and streamline processes that have previously been performed via email or over the phone.

Much criticism has been leveled at the digital forwarding model, but steep declines in topline revenue during a year of weak demand are a sign that digital forwarders have had trouble differentiating themselves from the pack.

Small onboard nuclear reactors could ultimately be the lowest-cost method of decarbonization as shipping competes with other thirsty industries for sustainable net-zero fuels, according to energy and investment analysts.

Owning and operating potential supply chain chokepoints is a competitive advantage, and we should expect to see major carriers — flush with cash post-pandemic — be very active in attempting to secure such assets, writes analyst Lars Jensen.

The deal comes on the heels of other acquisitions and new services launched this week at several logistics and transportation providers, all aimed at expanding their ability to deliver end-to-end global fulfillment services.

Richard White said in an interview with the Journal of Commerce the logistics industry is stuck in a pattern of tackling small problems instead of viewing international trade as a large, connected system.

Washington is urging NVOs and forwarders to “know their customer,” a steep challenge for co-loaders who bundle multiple shipments for multiple customers into a single container, writes Journal of Commerce Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.

It’s an open question whether shippers want end-to-end supply chain services from a single provider, but that hasn’t stopped names such as Amazon, Maersk and Flexport from building integrated solutions.

The bids would require carriers to quote a negotiated “green premium” that cargo owners would pay to transport the containers on ships powered by zero-carbon fuels.

As many have observed in disparaging the notion of a “digital” forwarder, of which Flexport was the prototype, forwarding at its core is a business of people solving real-world problems for which there is not — and probably never will be — a technology solution, writes Peter Tirschwell.

The new allegation against Yang Ming comes less than a week after the carrier settled a dispute with another US importer, also over allegations it failed to honor vessel capacity commitments.

Flexport founder and CEO Ryan Petersen refused to pin the blame for the company’s abrupt change in leadership on waning freight demand, saying the forwarder “has been through worse macro environments.”

Steady gains in US-Mexico cross-border truck freight have spurred the logistics provider to open a 400,000-square-foot cross-dock warehouse in Laredo, a US border entry point already bursting with freight.

Investors aren’t lining up to sink money into aging facilities, given that warehouses built in the last 20 to 40 years require nearly 50% more energy consumption and double the maintenance costs than newbuilds.

Freight brokers, load boards, technology providers and law enforcement are attempting to contain the growing threat of truckload cargo theft and the fraudulent schemes that underpin it.

While the importance of drayage came to the fore during the pandemic, the current freight hangover is cramping the sector’s ability to take advantage of technology options on the market.

A difference of opinion over Flexport’s strategic shift toward fulfillment aimed at small businesses has prompted CEO Dave Clark to depart the company only a year after he came aboard.

There is nothing fundamentally wrong with countries protecting their shipping interests, but there are always ripple effects on the commercial side that benefit some stakeholders and disadvantage others, writes analyst Lars Jensen.

Inventories are falling, but orders and shipments aren’t necessarily climbing as US retailers seek greater “inventory productivity” by closely tracking customer demand. 

The German-based forwarder remains the largest and most attractive takeover target in a cash-rich industry where the main players are all looking for opportunities to consolidate.

The regional air quality board is pushing back against what it says is “grossly inaccurate rhetoric” from transport interests who say a cap on Southern California cargo volumes may be on the horizon.

Development of trade finance tools for small and medium-sized shippers continues to grow, evidenced by OOCL Logistics launching a trade finance platform with fintech provider Stenn.

Digitalizing the most important document in global trade is a vital step toward a more efficient and secure paperless container shipping industry.

Lenders are being choosy about which domestic logistics deals they finance, giving an edge to acquirers with cash saved up from the pandemic.

The move is part of an ongoing effort by the FMC to bolster the oversight of regulated entities through “informed compliance,” an agency spokesperson said.

An LTL carrier such as Yellow is an extremely complicated business, and similar to the railroads, the enterprise software it used was developed internally — often over decades — because there was no “off-the-shelf” solution, writes analyst Ted Prince.  

Two congress members, backed by terminal operators, are insisting maritime regulators follow the congressional intent that underpins OSRA-22 or risk “severe” disruptions to the US supply chain.

The carrier is looking to have an earlier ruling by the FMC reversed, arguing that the agency turned the incentive principle guiding cargo flow through US marine terminals “on its head.”