Supply chain

Despite record import volumes in August, marine terminals at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are experiencing minimal congestion, with elevated rail container dwell times the only problem area.

While there are still regulatory hurdles to clear, a spokesperson for DSV told the Journal of Commerce the combined company “will continue under the DSV brand” going forward.

Port users are concerned that if the technology and infrastructure needed to support a zero-emission environment is not built out, the industry’s only recourse will be to cap cargo volumes at Los Angeles and Long Beach.

The shippers were joined this time by a group of House Republicans, who in a separate letter warned of the “dire impacts” to the US economy from a possible port strike.

Carriers tell the Journal of Commerce they would prefer to avoid a strike and the lengthy operational upheaval a stoppage would cause along the East and Gulf coasts, but unlike in the past, they feel no urgency to get a deal done, writes Peter Tirschwell.

The Biden administration is targeting textile and apparel goods moving via a duty-free program by proposing tariffs while seeking more data on sub-$800 shipments.

DSV knocked the unions’ preferred bidder, private equity firm CVC Capital Partners, out of the race, but the forwarder’s bid now needs approval from the German parliament.

Seasonal demand for reefer containers on the north-south trade lane, combined with a surge in Brazilian beef exports, could lead to equipment scarcity by the year’s end, market watchers say.

The US maritime regulator sees no reason to block the new vessel-sharing alliance run by Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, but the agency’s head still has concerns about the deal.

Dwell times at marine terminals in the Northwest Seaport Alliance have doubled in recent weeks as intermodal container moves spiked amid peak season imports.

The ocean shipping line is the latest to plant a stake in a key manufacturing region along the US-Mexico border.

Investors have put $6.3 million into a startup aiming to provide a procurement and transportation management software alternative to enterprise-focused solutions.

Forwarders booking less-than-containerload business from shippers face documentation and pricing challenges that cut into their ability to carve out margin.

A new warehouse due to open early next year in Portland for frozen and ambient-temperature cargoes could cut transportation costs for shippers now using out-of-state storage and ports.

The BlueGrace Logistics Confidence Index shows an uptick in negative sentiment about revenue and orders in late 2024, despite gains in freight volume this summer.

The US maritime regulator said the ocean carrier did not simply have a contractual dispute with a shipper but instead clearly violated the US Shipping Act.

Maersk’s recent big order of dual-fuel ships — some of which will be powered by LNG — illustrates the quandary the carrier, and by extension container shipping, is currently in when it comes to achieving a zero-carbon future, writes Peter Tirschwell.

Private fleets owned by shippers are increasingly hauling freight once moved by for-hire carriers, and those truck counts are expected to keep expanding, according to an industry survey.

The wave of cargo thefts hitting the US and Canada grew rapidly in the first half of the year as criminals became more sophisticated, a study from risk management firm Overhaul shows.

A range of supply chain mapping and risk management tools have emerged in the past decade, many aimed at customs brokers and third-party logistics providers.

Canada’s western ports have little capacity to handle idled intermodal cargo should railroad workers strike, but eastern ports have more space to manage any delays.

Many European shippers are locked into the peak season that will extend the high volume of Asian imports through the third quarter despite the early movement of orders to mitigate disruption from the longer Red Sea routing.

A key inland transportation market is growing as companies from Class I railroads to specialized logistics firms chase freight and expand in Arizona’s “Silicon Desert.”

A flood of duty-free shipments from Asia has upped the ante on brokers having broad knowledge of the upstream supply chains used by their importer clients.

Most of Freightos’ traction in air and ocean freight procurement has centered around spot pricing, but the purchase of Shipsta will give it access to contract data from enterprise shippers.

A new $54.9 million fund has launched to support climate-focused logistics startups, a rare bright spot amid a larger pull-back in venture capital investment in the wider shipping industry.

After making significant investments in developing its methanol pathway over the past few years, and just a week after making a huge order for LNG-capable ships, the carrier is now looking into the feasibility of using nuclear energy in its vessels.

Not only are several geopolitical scenarios being confronted with much larger stakes, such as the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and the possibility of escalation in the Middle East, but economists say there is little in the more than six-month shipping disruption that is cause for serious economic concern.

Despite the nearly $140 billion invested in logistics startups globally from 2012 through 2023, most of the industry’s major inefficiencies remain and the underlying structure of the industry has hardly changed.

The retail giant will enable sellers using its US fulfillment services to access its negotiated ocean rates for full containers from Yantian, Shanghai and Ningbo.

Some non-asset logistics providers are adding LTL volume and revenue as truckload brokerage keeps declining. 

The future of shipping will consist of several different fuel technologies living side by side, with bunker fuels being part of the mix for “many years,” according to Vincent Clerc.

The intermodal logistics provider said it will change its business model as state and federal laws make it more difficult to classify drivers as independent contractors.

Many tools tend to focus on providing visibility centered around the “planned” supply chain, but perhaps what the industry needs is a shift in mindset that puts greater attention on exceptions, writes analyst Lars Jensen.

The container shipping lobby group believes higher costs levied on users of conventional bunkers is vital for the energy transition that requires multi-billion-dollar investments by fuel producers.

The $200 million funding round cuts against the broader trend of venture capital investors pulling back from early- and growth-stage supply chain and logistics startups.

Investment in technology to address the complex regulation is critical for cargo owners shipping to Europe, but it could have significant side effects to trade and consumer prices, experts warn.

A report from the consultancy pins lackluster funding into logistics startups on static freight demand and a steep decline in freight rates in 2023.

The Singapore-based ocean carrier is the fifth shipping line to use WaveBL’s electronic bill of lading product.

The acquisition of Mexican package company Estafeta gives UPS a full-fledged ground operation in Mexico that can link to its cross-border and global services.