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supply chain

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. 

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The latest Supply chain News & Analysis

Technology providers partner to improve breakbulk rail tracking

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
The desire to improve rail and intermodal visibility for bulk and breakbulk customers has led transportation management software provider IntelliTrans to partner with hardware vendor Nexxiot.
Logistics Technology NewsRail NewsNorth-American railSupply chain

DAT, Convoy settle dueling lawsuits once seen as marker for load board industry

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
DAT and freight broker Convoy had challenged each other in federal court over business practices related to Convoy attempting to set up a rival load board.
TruckloadTrucking NewsTruck brokersLogistics Technology News

Truckstop acquires freight matching platform to target ‘high-quality’ carriers

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
Truckstop is building on its 2022 purchase of carrier monitoring provider RMIS with the acquisition of freight-matching technology provider FrieightFriend.
TruckloadTrucking NewsTruck brokersLogistics Technology News

Logistics technology market grappling with pandemic period overhiring

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
A return to normal freight demand is part of the reason for layoffs across the logistics technology sector, but just as important is investor focus on cost controls and a path to profitability.
Logistics Technology NewsMaritimeContainer Shipping NewsContainer linesForwardingSupply chain

Kontainers founder starts new shipper-focused rate management tech provider

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
Most of the landscape for container rate management vendors has focused on tools for forwarders, leaving a gap in software targeting shippers.
Logistics Technology NewsContainer Shipping News

Anxious US shippers prepare for possible UPS strike, tighter LTL market 

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor |
A Teamsters strike against UPS Aug. 1 and a shutdown of Yellow are not inevitable, but shippers are bracing for disruption and higher costs.
SurfaceTrucking NewsLTLSupply chain

DHL to invest $551 million to expand presence in Latin America

Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor |
DHL will spend hundreds of millions of dollars in the region over the next five years as the company targets customers looking to globalize their business and diversify sourcing.
Supply chainSurfaceTrucking NewsIndustrial Real Estate News

Wholesale weakness slowing US inventory destocking, freight demand

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor |
US businesses may have passed the inventory peak, but data shows stockpiles remain high, and a weak wholesale retail market is depressing imports and surface freight shipments.
SurfaceContainer Shipping NewsTrucking NewsRail NewsSupply chain

Visibility product launches show cargo market open to new options

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
Three new visibility products — from a hardware provider, a forwarder and a data provider — are evidence of a diverse cargo visibility market that is expanding options for shippers.
Logistics Technology NewsContainer Shipping NewsSurfaceAir CargoSupply chain

Raft's focus on AI yields fruit as investors re-up in logistics software provider

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
A variety of technology providers are aiming to arm forwarders with AI-backed tools that help with areas like customer service and rate quoting, while others are focused on technology enabling internal operational efficiency.
Logistics Technology NewsForwardingSupply chain

Prior NY-NJ empty container woes linked to FMC complaint against Hapag-Lloyd

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
 The carrier is the target of another shipper complaint regarding demurrage and detention fees, this time the indirect result of empty container congestion at the Port of New York and New Jersey.
Transport, Trade, and Regulation NewsContainer Shipping NewsNorth American ports

US House bills keep shipping reform effort alive even after freight rate plunge

Peter Tirschwell |
Although there remain multiple obstacles to further legislation being signed into law, bipartisan support that shipping reform attracted in 2021 and 2022 has led to a situation in which certain additional provisions stand at least a 50-50 chance of being enacted this year, writes Peter Tirschwell.
Container Shipping NewsContainer linesMarine terminalsNorth American portsTransport, Trade, and Regulation News

UPS, Teamsters break off contract talks

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor |
UPS and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters are battling on the brink of a potential strike, with both sides claiming the other has walked away from the negotiating table.
SurfaceTrucking NewsTrucking laborSupply chain

USDOT awards $40M to boost port emissions reduction, surface projects

Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor |
The US Department of Transportation is funding infrastructure projects that include carbon neutralization plans, updating miles of century-old rail and improving port access roads.
Port NewsNorth American portsPort infrastructureSupply chain

Shipping industry braced for extended strike at BC ports

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
The pressure is on the Trudeau government to use its political capital to force a deal between employers and longshore workers at the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert after the latter began a strike Saturday.
Longshore laborMaritimeContainer Shipping NewsContainer linesTrans-PacificNorth American portsTransport, Trade, and Regulation News

Logistics integration partnerships defy freight demand downturn

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
Growing partnerships between software vendors and integrators with expertise in their solutions and their customers systems highlight the importance of the technological plumbing that underpins logistics networks.
Logistics Technology NewsForwardingSupply chain

Generative AI likely to be impactful in logistics, just not in a public-facing way

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
ChatGPT made so-called generative AI more accessible to the general public, including logistics professionals, and some software vendors believe it will change how humans interact with core transportation systems.
Logistics Technology NewsForwardingSupply chain

South Korean entities to develop Chicago, New Jersey transloading facilities

Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor |
The locations were chosen based on their proximity to key rail, airport and port facilities, the partners said.
Industrial Real Estate NewsContainer Shipping NewsTrans-PacificAir CargoSupply chain

End of freight ‘recession’ drawing nearer, but no strong rebound seen: SMC3

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor |
US inventory levels are still high, depressing demand for trucking services and keeping a rebound in check, analysts said at the SMC3 Connections conference.
Supply chainTruckloadLTLTransport, Trade, and Regulation News

US DOT opens $5.6 billion in funding for projects to strengthen supply chains

Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor |
The funds will come from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, with three separate grant opportunities soliciting applications under a single program called the Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant program.
Port infrastructurePort NewsNorth American portsTransport, Trade, and Regulation News

Zim forwarding arm Ship4wd targets small shippers with new finance tools

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
Zim said the financial products are particularly needed amid a slowdown in freight demand as small and mid-sized businesses continue to battle significant financial friction.
Logistics Technology NewsForwardingSupply chain

Nuvocargo rides Mexico-US freight surge to land fresh investment

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
Nuvocargo will use the new funding to expand its service footprint to all major over-the-road border crossings between the US and Mexico.
ForwardingTruck brokersLogistics Technology News

Chain.io invites out-of-network providers to build connectivity to its integration customers

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
Chain.io CEO Brian Glick’s initial vision for the company centered around the idea of making logistics system connectivity open to all vendors to allow shippers and logistics companies to better utilize their software.
Logistics Technology NewsForwardingSupply chain

Congressman adds ban of China shipping data platform to Defense budget

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
Scrutiny of China’s access to US maritime data is rising, with a US congressman targeting China’s state-sponsored shipping platform in a Defense Department budget amendment.
Transport, Trade, and Regulation NewsContainer Shipping NewsPort NewsNorth American ports

Emerging from pandemic fog, global reefer market reverts to type

Richard Bright, Journal of Commerce analyst |
If the reefer mode can tough out the rest of 2023, next year should be better for operators largely because there will be more cargo, and therefore demand will be stronger, writes analyst Richard Bright.
Cool Cargoes NewsBreakbulk NewsBreakbulk carriersSupply chain

UPS Teamsters authorize strike as contract talks enter final weeks

JOC Team |
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters and UPS say they’ve made progress on non-economic issues, but there’s still heavy lifting ahead for the largest labor pact in the US private sector.
SurfaceTrucking NewsTrucking laborSupply chain

Hungry domestic market driving US Southeast cold storage development

Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor |
Refrigerated warehousing construction is “exploding” in the US Southeast, as one port executive put it, thanks to a growing population and increased demand for imported produce and other food products.
Cool Cargoes NewsContainer Shipping NewsNorth American ports

Ocean carriers guarding their digital gates as visibility requests increase

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
A proliferation of visibility vendors amid increased demand for container status events is putting pressure on the websites of carriers to support multiple requests for the same data.
Logistics Technology NewsContainer Shipping NewsContainer lines

Container volumes getting back to trend after pandemic surge: analyst

Larry Gross, president and founder, Gross Transportation Consulting; and JOC analyst |
The container shipping market is well down the path toward normalcy, and if current conditions continue for another few months, the surge-related volume overhang will be worked off, writes analyst Larry Gross.
Supply chainContainer Shipping NewsMarine terminalsNorth American ports

US House bill aims to cap further growth in ship emissions

Michael Angell, Associate Editor |
Legislation now in Congress would put commercial shipping under the oversight of the US Clean Air Act and set increasing targets for cutting carbon dioxide emissions.
Transport, Trade, and Regulation NewsContainer Shipping News

CSX looks to dismiss Hapag-Lloyd complaint amid FMC oversight question

Teri Errico Griffis |
While the FMC has jurisdiction over ocean carriers, it cannot regulate railroads simply because of their association with container lines, CSX said in a motion to disentangle itself from a demurrage complaint.
Transport, Trade, and Regulation NewsContainer Shipping NewsContainer linesSurfaceRail NewsNorth-American rail

Hamburg Sud hit with $10 million FMC judgment in shipper retaliation case

Teri Errico Griffis |
The carrier was found to have willfully engaged in retaliation against a Florida-based retailer who had sought relief for $40,000 in detention fees.
Transport, Trade, and Regulation NewsMaritimeContainer Shipping NewsContainer lines

Stage set for IMO to provide strong direction on decarbonization path

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
The International Maritime Organization has an opportunity next month to set more aggressive goals to slash carbon emissions, which could send a powerful signal to stakeholders needing direction, writes Journal of Commerce Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.
Container linesContainer Shipping NewsPort NewsMarine terminalsTransport, Trade, and Regulation News

US importers still destocking, and delaying restocking in uncertain economy

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor |
US consumers are still spending, but at a slower rate, and that’s pushing major restocking of goods further toward the back half of 2023, analysts and retailers say.
Supply chainContainer Shipping NewsNorth American portsTrucking NewsIndustrial Real Estate News

C.H. Robinson taps Ford executive Bozeman as new CEO

Teri Errico Griffis |
The appointment of a new CEO for the US’s largest logistics provider comes six months after the dismissal of ex-CEO Bob Biesterfeld, who was let go amid slowing freight demand, rate declines and investor unrest.
SurfaceTrucking NewsTruckloadSupply chain

New FMC complaint challenges ‘unlawful’ stevedoring fees in Baltimore

Teri Errico Griffis |
Two stevedoring companies are looking to the Federal Maritime Commission to stop what they say is an unlawful access fee at the Port of Baltimore after one of them was invoiced $1.2 million.
Transport, Trade, and Regulation NewsRo/ro cargoPort NewsNorth American ports

ATA urges Congress to reject Su as Labor chief

Teri Errico Griffis |
The American Trucking Associations said Julie Su’s track record of supporting California’s A.B. 5 law and a lack of support for the trucking industry has failed to reassure them she would be a successful Secretary of Labor.
Transport, Trade, and Regulation NewsSurfaceTrucking News

FMC ‘improperly’ applied incentive principle in detention decision: Evergreen

Teri Errico Griffis |
Container carrier Evergreen argues the FMC ignored “critical facts” when applying the incentive rule in a December case and, in doing so, inadvertently set a precedent that detention cannot be charged on a holiday weekend.
Transport, Trade, and Regulation NewsContainer Shipping NewsContainer linesSurfaceTrucking News

Carrier decarbonization business case flawed: Seaspan

Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe |
The lack of security around the supply of alternative fuels in a highly fragmented market will undermine ocean carrier efforts to decarbonize the industry, according to the world’s largest container ship owner.
MaritimeContainer Shipping NewsContainer linesTransport, Trade, and Regulation News

Shippers bemoan lack of progress in ocean visibility despite heavy investment

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
End-to-end supply chain visibility remains an elusive goal for providers in a market where shippers are expecting better data quality than they have seen.
Logistics Technology NewsContainer Shipping NewsContainer linesPort NewsNorth American portsSupply chain