Supply chain

The Journal of Commerce’s supply chain news and analysis impacting the management of end-to-end supply chains reports on supply chain strategies, cargo visibility, inventory trends, sourcing, customs certification and contract logistics. Supply chain news coverage also delves into refrigerated shipping advancements and management of inventory status, regulatory updates and government funding projects. 

The latest Supply chain News & Analysis

Industry largely non-compliant with OSRA-22 demurrage invoice mandate

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
A mandated “container available” data element related to demurrage fees is largely not being complied with yet as the shipping industry grapples with the immediate implications of OSRA-22.
Transport, Trade, and Regulation NewsLogistics Technology NewsContainer lines

3PLs using revenue to measure efficiency return on technology

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
Comparing the productivity of diversified third-party logistics providers is an imperfect science, but measuring a 3PL’s revenue per employee is one key metric.
Supply chain

Shipper seeks $600,000 from CMA CGM in latest FMC complaint

Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor |
The complaint to the Federal Maritime Commission is the latest made by a shipper against a major carrier following OSRA-22 being signed into law in June.
Transport, Trade, and Regulation News

Existing solutions could be elixir to ‘emergency’ data-sharing: vendors

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
Technology intended to help shippers and forwarders manage arrival notice information might be the solution that federal regulators are seeking to bridge data gaps from carriers and terminals.
Logistics Technology NewsMaritimeContainer linesNorth American ports

US shippers fine-tune search for warehousing space

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor |
With US warehouses full or filling up, shippers are rethinking broader distribution strategies and basic practices such as how they stack and track goods to find the space they need.
Industrial Real Estate NewsTrucking News

US extends truck driver hours exemption ahead of expected COVID surge

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor |
The HOS exemption has been extended five times since it was put in place in 2020 by a presidential emergency order, and it has been modified as the pandemic evolved.
Transport, Trade, and Regulation NewsTrucking News

FMC complaint alleges Maersk failed to provide contracted vessel capacity

Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor |
Rolled cargo complaints have come up several times this year before the FMC after heavy pandemic-induced demand in late 2020 into 2021 overwhelmed available vessel capacity.
Transport, Trade, and Regulation News

Hapag-Lloyd-NYSHEX partnership ushers in new phase for contract technology

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
NYSHEX is expanding the reach of its mutually enforceable contract technology to ocean freight agreements outside of its platform as it widens its focus beyond the trans-Pacific trade lane.
Logistics Technology NewsContainer linesMaritime

Software provider launches product to help exporters locate elusive containers

Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor |
Political pressure has increased recently to help US agricultural exporters, who have lost billions due to an inability to access sufficient numbers of export containers.
Logistics Technology News

Disruption forces shippers to weigh supplier nearshoring: study

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
Shippers in sectors such as aerospace, pharmaceuticals, and IT saw an average hit of $182 million from supply chain disruptions on an annualized basis, which technology provider Interos said will compel many companies to explore nearshoring options.
Supply chainLogistics Technology News

Lack of system harmony constrains 3PL revenue growth

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
Incumbent third-party logistics providers that manage an array of services are being challenged by digitally native upstarts who can provide single, unified platforms to shippers.
Logistics Technology News

Yang Ming settles FMC complaint with importer

Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor |
Yang Ming has been hit twice this year with complaints from importers alleging the carrier failed to honor capacity commitments.
Transport, Trade, and Regulation News

US warehousing demand shifting inland: JLL

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor |
Inventory buildup and changing inland distribution routes are setting a fire under construction of new logistics and distribution facilities in markets across the US, despite economic concerns.
Industrial Real Estate NewsTrucking News

CargoWise sets up direct feeds with carriers ONE, Zim

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
CargoWise said its growing list of direct container line connections means 95 percent of ocean freight managed by its forwarder customers can be booked through direct carrier feeds.
Logistics Technology News

Product integrations, slowing economy behind FourKites layoffs: CEO

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
Investors into logistics technology providers are focusing more on long-term profitability than growth at all costs, leading FourKites to join a growing list of companies to lay off employees to cut costs.
Logistics Technology News

FMC seeking shipper input on OSRA-mandated ‘emergency’ review

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
While the FMC seeks input over whether to declare an emergency need for information sharing by container lines, the agency’s advisory committee has suggested setting up a parallel carrier group to improve dialogue.
Transport, Trade, and Regulation NewsLogistics Technology News

Slync.io looks to turn the page on Kirchner era with new leadership

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
Slync.io’s widely reported payroll woes and the departure of its CEO last week have had a minor impact on the broader logistics industry due to the technology provider’s relatively small customer base.
Logistics Technology News

Performance Team expands end-to-end reefer service with Charleston warehouse

Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor |
Performance Team has been evaluating the US South Atlantic cold chain market for further opportunities over the last three years, company officials say.
Supply chain

Convoy–DAT battle a sign of impending load board disruption

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
Convoy’s counterpunching approach to being sued by load board provider DAT Freight & Analytics is as much about winning the battle of public opinion as it is about winning in court, a transportation attorney told JOC.com.
Logistics Technology NewsTruck brokersTrucking News

FMC to lean on DCSA standards for data-sharing plans: Bentzel

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
An FMC data initiative that launched late last year involved industry stakeholder meetings with participants from container lines, shippers, forwarders, longshore unions, railroads, and technology solutions providers.
Logistics Technology News

FMC begins rulemaking tied to denial of export service

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
Maritime regulators are wrestling with how to refine rulemaking on when it is unreasonable for carriers to refuse export bookings, writes JOC Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.
Container linesTransport, Trade, and Regulation News

FMC seeks ocean carrier input on export, import tonnage reporting

Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor |
The call for export and import data comes as small- and medium-sized US agricultural exporters complain that their cargo has been largely ignored by carriers over the past three years.
Transport, Trade, and Regulation News

Freight demand to remain strong through 2022: analyst

Jason Miller, associate professor of logistics, Michigan State University |
Rather than falling off a cliff, it appears freight markets are normalizing after two years where nothing has been normal, writes logistics expert Jason Miller.
Supply chain

Expeditors’ Q2 income gains shrug off falling ocean, air volumes

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
Expeditors International said its revenue grew in the second quarter despite a drop in volumes as supply chain uncertainty kept freight rates at a premium.
Logistics Technology News

Duplicate ocean invoices plague exporter Scoular: audit

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
Scoular, one of the US’ top exporters, discovered significant duplicate invoices from its ocean transportation providers in recent months, an issue likely to become more pervasive as regulators scrutinize carrier and terminal billing.
Logistics Technology News

NITL backs proposal repealing antitrust immunity for carriers

Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor; Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
Despite the FMC finding there was no collusion among ocean shipping alliances causing elevated freight rates, NITL believes there are still concerns about the industry that new antitrust legislation could address.
Transport, Trade, and Regulation News

DAT, Convoy embroiled in anti-competition legal battle

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
Load board provider DAT and freight broker Convoy have sued one another over Convoy’s development of a product that DAT says is competitive with its own, violating a contract Convoy signed with DAT.
Logistics Technology NewsTruck brokers

FMC reorganizes enforcement duties in aftermath of OSRA-22

Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor |
The reorganization within the FMC comes as the agency steps up its enforcement and compliance activities in the wake of US shipping reform.
Transport, Trade, and Regulation News

Chain.io, Winmore partnership targets pricing speed for 3PLs

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
The latest integration is a sign of continued strategic partnerships between logistics software vendors as they seek to amplify the value their solutions offer.
Logistics Technology News

Shipper seeks FMC intervention after $3 million in D&D charges

Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor |
The complaint brought by a New York-based food importer is the latest in a string of detention and demurrage cases the FMC has investigated of late.
Transport, Trade, and Regulation News

Flexport, Nolan partner to track global, domestic freight

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor; and William Cassidy, Senior Editor |
End-to-end visibility of the freight flowing across oceans and moving across the US is the goal of the partnership between Flexport and Nolan Transportation Group, giving shippers more control over modal choices and costs.
Logistics Technology NewsTruck brokersTrucking News

DB Schenker pulls parent group back into black

Greg Knowler, Senior Europe Editor |
German state-owned railroad Deutsche Bahn fell deep into the red during the pandemic, but the huge profitability generated by forwarding subsidiary DB Schenker has turned around two years of losses.
Logistics Technology News

Tive targets cold chain, last mile with cheaper, smaller tracking device

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
The cost of physical devices to monitor freight shipments has always been a hurdle for providers, one that Tive is addressing through a new — and cheaper — shipping label-sized product that measures location and temperature.
Logistics Technology News

Complaints flowing in after FMC adjusts submission process

Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor |
Ten days after the US Federal Maritime Commission told shippers they no longer need to pay a filing fee or retain a lawyer to submit a complaint, shippers have already begun taking advantage of the updated process.
Transport, Trade, and Regulation News

Falling rates to test shippers’ long-term contract resolve: DSV

Greg Knowler, Senior Europe Editor |
Multi-year contracts signed by shippers at the height of the ocean freight bull run may be less attractive as the market begins to soften, according to forwarder DSV.
Logistics Technology News

Shippers seeking outsourced logistics aid despite rise of self-service software

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
Deciding whether to outsource key logistics functions is an existential question for shippers, one made harder by external dynamics being out of whack during the pandemic.
Logistics Technology News

Ocean rates past peak, but will remain elevated: K+N CEO

Greg Knowler, Senior Europe Editor |
Kuehne + Nagel shrugged off weakening air and ocean markets to post a record first-half result and expects its profitable run to continue through the next two quarters.
Logistics Technology News

Trade groups demand EU review carrier anti-trust exemption

Greg Knowler, Senior Europe Editor |
Pressure is mounting on European regulators to conduct a review of container shipping’s block exemption from competition law.
Transport, Trade, and Regulation News

ExFreight uses internal pricing capability to manage volatile market

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
ExFreight’s transactional focus on pricing each leg of a container and air shipment has allowed the forwarder to navigate chaotic international markets over the past two years.
Logistics Technology News

project44 says layoffs designed to launch restructuring

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
project44 executives say continued expected revenue growth and a healthy pipeline of new business cut against the notion that its move to let go of 63 employees is a sign of deteriorating fortunes.
Logistics Technology News