Supply Chain

The main advocacy group for US ports said the step change in port funding over the coming years will mitigate future congestion and allow for better cargo flow.

The addition of a new location in Singapore is meant to help supply chain technology accelerator ZEBOX reach a “strategic gateway to the Asian market,” it said.

The long-term impact of container shipping’s moment in the sun — and in the crosshairs of regulators — will come down to which of two starkly divergent versions of reality carries sway in Washington in the coming months.

The assessment of storage fees inside a terminal creates competitive pressures among marine terminal operators, their container line customers, and the importers that contract with container lines.

Looming federal rulemaking over detention and demurrage billing policy continues to compel container lines to refrain from assessing free time fees on weekends and holidays, with Hapag-Lloyd the latest to make such a change.

Ocean carriers are already rushing to fall in line with pending FMC rulemaking, with a string of liners announcing in recent weeks they will cease charging detention and demurrage on containers that cannot be picked up or dropped off when a terminal is closed for business.

The warehouse market near the Port of New York and New Jersey is seeing some tenants leave and new space becoming available, but that’s not a sign of a significant drop in demand, observers say.

To reduce costs, FedEx’s system-wide network overhaul will create a stronger North American “ground-air” trucking network, including FedEx Freight, and increase its use of US intermodal rail, the company says.

While it may be easy to understand the desire to fix container shipping’s perceived problems with government intervention, no amount of reform would have prevented the shortage of capacity or record freight rates during the pandemic disruption, writes analyst Lars Jensen.

NSAC says it supports reasonable detention and demurrage practices, but wants to correct “abuse” of the system by regulating that rail operators directly invoice ocean carriers for storage, not importers.

The pressure on regulators to put a price on carbon emissions is growing as carriers ramp up investments in zero-carbon ships, which make their brands appealing to environmentally conscious shippers but expose them to lower-cost competition.

Data from eBLs issued via GSBN’s infrastructure will also be used to electronically release SABIC cargo at Hutchison and PSA terminals in Asia.

The fast-moving developments around changes to detention and demurrage billing are happening amid an ongoing rulemaking process by the FMC around the assessment of such charges to consignees and their drayage representatives.

The legislation aims for faster development of uniform data-sharing standards, while the co-sponsors say they were also motivated to protect US shipping interests from what they view as China’s malign influence over the supply chain.

The testimony comes as two House members prepare legislation designed to update OSRA-22 and another congressman restarts an effort to remove the antitrust immunity of ocean carriers.

Forwarders that experimented with new software during the days of robust freight demand now face a dilemma over what technology produces actual returns on investment as volumes and margin shrink.

HMM’s decision to immediately cease charging demurrage fees at closed terminals comes as the US Federal Maritime Commission is finalizing rulemaking around free time billing practices.

The legislation also aims to provide a boost for US exporters by prioritizing getting their products into foreign markets and better defending them against container rate increases and detention and demurrage fees.

German unions demanding inflation-busting wage increases walked off the job Monday, bringing the country’s transport system to a halt.

US Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Daniel Maffei went before Congress Thursday to field questions about the agency’s budget, slow-going rulemaking, and whether new amendments are needed for shipping reform.

Ahead of a June deadline to issue new rulemaking on detention and demurrage billing, the Federal Maritime Commission is seeking clarity from carriers and terminals about billing shippers when container pickups and drop-offs are not possible.

Maersk in April will stop collecting detention and demurrage fees on days terminals are closed and shippers can’t pick up or drop off containers, a move yet to be followed by competing ocean carriers.

Breakbulk shippers and logistics providers have several proposals for changes to ISPM 15 mitigation and enforcement measures pending approval from the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Breakbulk industry executives warn new rules aimed at reducing vessel emissions could incentivize vessel operators to implement measures that increase emissions in other areas of the supply chain.

The independent equipment providers say upending the current business model would create additional chassis shortages and invoicing problems that would inconvenience cargo owners.

Widely used forwarding software provider WiseTech Global will pursue further US landside logistics technology targets in 2023, its CEO says.

The bill would heighten transparency into regulatory penalties levied against ocean carriers and marine terminal operators and draw a sharp line on the involvement of China-based entities in US shipping.

An advisory group created by the FMC two years ago is pushing the agency to act on several key issues, but some members have expressed frustration over the response from regulators.

Shippers that often use spreadsheets and small transportation teams to bid and execute freight shipments are the target of a new software tool from technology provider Shipwell.

In approving the $31 billion merger, the Surface Transportation Board rejected arguments from the FMC and competing railroads that the deal would harm US ports and shippers.

Freight rate booking marketplace Freightos said its unprofitable business is seeing improving margins and that scale will help it past the breakeven point.

Wan Hai is now looking at a larger civil penalty than it faced nearly a year ago following an investigation into detention charges the carrier assessed in the spring of 2021.

Most of the transportation job losses reported for February were due to seasonal cuts rather than economic contraction, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

A variety of data sources suggest it is premature to conclude that supply chain bottlenecks have reverted to their pre-COVID levels, as issues continue to be more pervasive than before the pandemic, writes analyst Jason Miller.

The Federal Maritime Commission is preparing to ask for another big increase in its budget as it looks to increase market surveillance and enforce OSRA-22.

Stripped of antitrust protection that is under scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as the legal certainty of being able to operate within alliances and perhaps even vessel-sharing agreements, ocean carriers could be all but forced to operate independently, writes Peter Tirschwell.

The Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association says the FMC’s chief administrative judge erred in issuing a summary judgement against the group because key facts are still in dispute.

Drayage software vendor PortPro is attempting to narrow the gap between the tools that port truckers and their shipper customers use with a new container milestone tracking product it has launched.

Shippers are keeping pressure on carriers to decarbonize their operations with the launch of another US-led initiative to speed up container shipping’s transition to fossil-free fuels.

Shippers are showing “healthy adoption” of a wide variety of digital transformation projects, according to new research from S&P Global Market Intelligence.