<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">In the electronic logging device era, shippers will have to do more than offer drivers a cup of java and a key to the bathroom if they want access to truck capacity at reasonable rates.</div>

In the electronic logging device era, shippers will have to do more than offer drivers a cup of java and a key to the bathroom if they want access to truck capacity at reasonable rates.

<div><div><img></div>US truck drivers are facing more demands (see above) from a myriad of sources, hence shippers that make their transport job (and day) easier are undoubtedly viewed more favorably. Photo credit: Rate Per Mile Masters via Facebook.US truckload carriers <a>warned shippers that 2018 would be a difficult year</a> to find available trucks, a prediction that has come to fruition as supply, in the form of tractor-trailers and drivers, has become scarce and is not nearly enough to quickly haul all the freight on the market.Load-to-truck ratios, or the amount of loads for every one available truck, and spot market rates...

US truck drivers are facing more demands (see above) from a myriad of sources, hence shippers that make their transport job (and day) easier are undoubtedly viewed more favorably. Photo credit: Rate Per Mile Masters via Facebook. US truckload carriers warned shippers that 2018 would be a difficult year to find available trucks, a prediction that has come to fruition as supply, in the form of tractor-trailers and drivers, has become scarce and is not nearly enough to quickly haul all the freight on the market. Load-to-truck ratios, or the amount of loads for every one available truck, and spot market rates are higher than they were in 2017, according to load board operator DAT. “I’ve been in the trucking industry since 1980 and I’ve never seen the balance being this out of whack ,” said Dave Rusch, CEO of truckload carrier CRST International, speaking to JOC.com in March. Shippers are competing against one another to book an available truck at a reasonable rate. If the load is a just-in-time delivery or on-time, in-full (OTIF) and subject to fines, being on top of a carrier’s preferred customer list is paramount. In 2018 the phrase “shipper of choice” is becoming a popular term, just like “preferred shipper” was in 2014. The two terms essentially mean the same thing, but the former recognizes carriers, and drivers, have a choice today. “To win in this environment, you have to be a shipper of choice,” said Dave Venberg, senior director of transportation and logistics for Ardent Mills , one of the largest US flour suppliers. But how does one become a “shipper of choice” in what is now a trucker’s market? Detention is bad, so keep drivers moving: As of last Dec. 18, truckers must track their hours of service (HOS) through an electronic logging device (ELD), so no more fudging the books to run an extra hour or two. Law enforcement can force drivers to shut down for 10 hours for not possessing an ELD . Every minute counts now for a trucker looking to succeed in business. “The best way to think about it is terms of minutes. Every minute costs a dollar or several dollars,” said Brian Reed, executive vice president of supply chain and global strategy for FreightWaves and a former vice president of transportation with Niagara Bottling. “All those minutes add up and somehow the carriers need to make up those lost minutes and lost dollars. So every minute you can remove from the process, every minute of savings is ultimately going to come back to you.” Shippers that regularly detain drivers will find it difficult to get a carrier to quickly haul their freight, or to haul it at all. With ELDs the carrier can easily determine how much time the driver was idle at its dock. Drivers can operate up to 660 minutes behind the wheel, or 11 hours, but trucking companies estimate the average drive time is actually only six to seven hours per day. This is due to highway traffic, roadside inspections, weighing loads, loading and unloading time, searching for parking, refueling, and maintenance work, among other tasks. To keep the driver moving, Reed says shippers should consider capital expenditures on their dock operations. “Detention may only happen on a fraction of the loads, but once you become known as that type of company, that money gets backed into every rate you receive,” Reed said during a webinar hosted by Arrive Logistics. “So add more forklifts, more forklift operators, add ASRS [automated storage and retrieval systems], add more doors, anything to load and unload trucks faster.” Although the improvements will cost money, even hundreds of thousands of dollars, they can ultimately net millions of dollars in freight cost savings per year, according to Reed. Provide drop and hook, then return the equipment: “Keep the driver moving. Respect them as a person, respect their time,” said Tracy Rosser, senior vice president of transportation and supply chain for Wal-Mart . One way to accomplish this is a drop-and-hook operation, which are often quicker than live loads. Since the trucking industry depends on productivity, drop-and-hook operations will move a shipper to the head of the pack. But there are also a couple downsides to the drop-and-hook model. First, it requires extra space on the shipper’s property and since more distribution centers (DCs) are being built in urban areas, it is not easy to find the land. Second, truckload carriers take exception to shippers holding onto their trailers indefinitely just like the container industry. “Detaining our equipment too long is as bad as detaining our drivers,” one fleet executive told JOC.com. Shippers should also offer the driver the ability to weigh the load at the facility rather than wait until a weigh station inspection. Nestlé Purina PetCare, which “loads heavy,” has truck scales at many of its docks. “We don’t want you getting three states away” and finding a load is overweight at a state weigh station, Jeffrey L. Meyer, group manager of transportation for the shipper, said. Nestlé Purina PetCare also lets drivers take breaks at its DCs, where it can. Offer basic amenities to drivers: It seems obvious but shippers should provide a bathroom, refreshments, and a break room. Remember these drivers are waiting, sometimes for more than an hour or two. “As soon as I checked in [at one shipper] they let me know there's a break room with bathrooms and vending machines. They also were willing to come out to my truck and let me know when they're done loading me. I think that's always nice,” said Mark Hedges, a driver on the Rate Per Mile Masters Facebook group. No access to bathrooms is a major complaint of truckers. “You can keep your freight if as a shipper or receiver you won't offer a professional driver the basic human dignity of access to restrooms while loading or unloading,” truck driver Bob Stanton said via LinkedIn. “I am well aware that some drivers are not their best selves when they arrive on the dock, but too often we encounter warehouse staff that seem take sadistic pleasure in dehumanizing us more,” said owner-operator Desiree Wood. “‘No Truck Drivers Allowed to use Toilets’ is a sign we see or [something we] are told when we arrive.” “For a lot of companies managing the bathrooms is more important than managing the docks. That’s a problem folks,” said Mike Regan, chief relationship officer at TranzAct Technologies , on a webinar hosted by the National Shippers Strategic Transportation Council and TranzAct. “Greet them with a simple ‘good morning’. If the load is not ready, direct the driver to the restroom and break area,” said Jerry Hatchett, a small fleet owner in business since 1982. “I told a large shipper if they wanted to make a good impression on the drivers, then build showers and break rooms and hold an appreciation day for drivers once a month.” “These are all common decencies. Treat the drivers like you would want to be treated,” Ben Cubitt, a senior vice president at Transplace, told JOC.com. “Then there are the ‘nice to haves’. Boy, if you had a couch, television, showers, even wireless internet, that would be great. But no one is going to push hard for that, so those are unrealistic to expect.” “[Your facilities] can factor into the rates you receive in your contract. It also goes to whether or not someone will want to pick up your spot freight,” Reed said. Shippers are used to rating or benchmarking carriers. Now they are being rated by drivers. Stanton recommends drivers use mobile app Dock411, which lets truckers check ahead for information on their next stop’s hours of operation, loading times, yard hazards, backing situations, pallet restrictions, and more. It seems obvious but shippers should provide truck drivers with a bathroom, refreshments, and a break room. “Drivers recognize they have leverage in this market,” Cubitt said. “Drivers will say I won’t go here or there. I won’t take evening deliveries, I won’t do weekends. That’s causing challenges to the carriers as they try to meet their commitment.” Have a plan for dock delays: Sometimes there are backups at the dock. No one is perfect, even a shipper of choice. But a shipper of choice has an action plan in place for these scenarios. Do not make a driver idle on a line extending into the street. “If they take a while to load, allow the driver to drop the trailer so they can go get some food or shopping done,” suggested Jen Helbig, a driver on Rate Per Mile Masters. Drivers minimally want a place to park and exit the truck, rather than sit behind the wheel for an undetermined amount of time. When these delays do happen, communicate with the carrier and the on-site driver. Remember to offer frequent updates and an estimate on how long the delay will be. “Provide multiple ways of communication whether it’s text, phone, e-mail, or CB radio system. Make sure it’s efficient and you can get a hold of the driver when you’re ready,” Reed said. “If your carrier is on the way, let the dispatcher know the load isn’t ready. Maybe the driver can take a break before getting to your facility.” It might be embarrassing, but Reed said communication is key to finding a solution to the problem with the carrier. Ease of access: Sometimes, backups can be caused by poor design. Drivers arrive at a gate only to find “no directions for a big truck, no accurate phone number to reach someone for directions,” Woods said. “Facilities that are not properly designed for big truck turning radius and docking, poor signage, no truck parking on property or [within a] close vicinity when we have no more hours. That's a big one.” “Ease of access is huge,” said Bethany Cramer, a spokesperson for Zipline Logistics. That entails “everything from how easy the facility is to find, [does it come up on GPS?], are the roads well paved, is it easy to turn into without worrying about oncoming traffic, poles, parked cars, etc.” She also cited safe traffic patterns, streamlined gate check-in procedures, and dedicated yard jockeys for moving trailers in and out of a facility. Carriers like forecasts and lead time: Data are a shipper's best friend. They enable forecasting, and carriers appreciate advance notice and predictable freight. If shippers can provide a five or seven-day lead time to carriers, then they can position their trucks and dispatch a driver with minimal costs. If shippers tender freight at the last minute, however, they may incur a surcharge and find higher rates in their next contract. “If you’re giving a rolling 30-day forecast or a weekly forecast, the carrier can plan ahead and reposition trucks,” Reed said. “Not only is it good to give the forecast, it’s also good to give them an idea of how accurate it is. If I forecast 100 loads but you are only 50 percent accurate on your forecast, the carrier will plan differently than if you’re 95 percent accurate.” Shippers use a metric called absolute percent error to track accuracy and it is a number that Reed believes shippers should share with core carriers, especially those under a non-disclosure agreement. Offer more hours, be flexible: Be available on off-peak hours and weekends to ship. “I know of suppliers that close at 3 p.m. and never ship on the weekends. Think about the capacity you can open up there by operating more hours. Be available 24/7 to ship,” Rosser said. Traffic is worst when people are heading to work and returning home, so if the driver can travel during the mid-day, evening, or weekends, then shippers are helping to maximize their 660 minutes. If a driver shows up early to an appointment, do not make the person wait until the assigned window opens, according to fleet executives. And if shippers shut their gates on the weekends and do not have staff on property, that is when thieves are mostly likely to pay a visit. Trucks left on lots over the weekend for unloading Monday are vulnerable to cargo theft. Overnight parking is a nice touch: Since drivers cannot manipulate their log books anymore to find parking, they must make a choice when butting up against their HOS limit: a) drop the load and leave; b) stay with the load and park overnight; or c) call their boss. Often communication between the carrier and the shipper can solve these problems. “If they’re tied up at a shipper or receiver, [drivers will] contact their driver manager, who will have customer service contact the shipper. We don’t ever want the driver in the middle of a discussion with the customer. It doesn’t always turn out well,” said Brent Nussbaum, CEO of Nussbaum Transportation. Providing overnight parking is a solution to curry favor with carriers. Contrast this with a notice (in bold and underline) at one shipper’s dock: "Drivers are NOT permitted to stay on property even if you are out of log hours." This shipper is unlikely to be a shipper of choice. “Nothing gets me more upset than when they have a ton of space and say ‘beat it’. I don't expect anyone to pave a new lot, but this shows how they feel about the people helping them to keep their business supplied,” said owner-operator William Snyder on Facebook. Finding available parking regularly ranks as a top 10 concern of truck drivers in an annual survey from the American Research Transportation Institute. A 2016 research report from the group found that drivers on ELDs were twice as likely to spend more than 30 minutes looking for a parking spot than those using paper logs. “If I’m in Atlanta and I get to your facility at 6 a.m., it could take me two hours to travel 20 miles to a truckstop. Safe, overnight parking for large shipping facilities is a real bonus. That is a ‘nice to have’ and a real differentiator,” said Cubitt. Carriers do not like unwelcome surprises at the dock: Drivers have a lot of tasks to complete each day, so do not add to their responsibilities by refusing service until they pay a fine or fee. Work out lumper payments in advance so that a driver does not have to make an unplanned trip to get cash, money order, or secure check. “One thing we hear from carriers is ‘don’t expect my driver to be the lumper,’” Regan said. The same adage applies to OTIF fines or other outstanding fees. Take the issue up with the supplier or carrier sales representative through an invoice, not with the driver bumping the dock. “The worst thing is to be a driver, show up at a facility and have a fine of say $500 that you have to pay,” Reed said. “I think they can be useful, but make sure you use them at a higher level in the organization. Charge the customer directly, don’t charge the driver visiting your facility. That’s a real easy way not to be a shipper of choice.” Either consciously or unconsciously, truck drivers are being denied even the most basic dignities. Often, the act is unconscious, but the effect is the same. And as a shipper, if you want to stay on the preferred side, manners and courtesy go a long way. Pay the carrier quickly and in full: Trucking companies use shippers' money to pay their immediate needs. Whereas shippers might pay other suppliers in 90 or 120 days, carriers use the dollars to pay their drivers and fuel their trucks. Those costs are due now, not in three or six months. Blame Europe, where this is a common practice, according to logistics executives. In recent years, multinational companies such as Anheuser-Busch InBev and Procter & Gamble have pushed these payment terms on the trucking community. “If trucks picked up and delivered freight as speedily as some shippers want to pay their bills, inventory levels would grow monumentally. Warehouses would be everywhere waiting for trucks to pick up freight and stores would have to be much larger to carry more inventory,” Nussbaum said. “We are not a commodity, rather we are an extension of their brand.” Stubbornly sticking to a 90- or 120-day window can quickly eliminate one as a shipper of choice, even if that shipper offers a supply chain financing agreement to pay the carrier within 30 days for a fee. “We warned shippers during the economic downturn that if you move to 60, 90, or 120 days, when the market tightens you are going to lose capacity. It was part of our advice to shippers,” Cubitt said. Form long-lasting relationships, avoid penny pinching: Of course shippers want to secure a favorable rate from their core carriers. But there is a difference between negotiating a fair deal on a contract and replacing incumbents to save a penny here or there. “We want to build long-term partnerships with our carriers. We want to make sure we’re considered a strategic partner with our carriers. We also want to make sure the carriers we do business with are strategic partners to us and not transactional,” Venberg said. “We’re comfortable in transactional relationships, but I don’t think that’s how you win in this environment.” During the procurement process, shippers of choice should work out a good market rate and then balance cost against the quality of the service and the value of incumbency, according to Cubitt. “What we advise shippers, in any market, [is] there are other ways to save money than rates. So compressing rates is not the only way to get cost savings,” he said. “There may be lanes where your carrier has done a good job even though it may be a little bit more expensive. Keep them in there because good service works for everybody.” Trucking companies remember which shippers were fair or unfair during the bid process and may act on these impressions when they are in a position to carefully choose their freight. Be a shipper of choice through thick and thin: Whether it is a CEO or a driver, people have long memories. It is one thing to talk about being a shipper of choice when the market favors the carrier, but what about when trucks are readily available? It may be natural to pay more attention when there is motivation to do so, like in 2014. But did shippers devote as much in 2015, 2016, and 2017? “Those who treat us fairly with respect to rates, payment terms, and consistently interact with our drivers in a professional manner — whether capacity is tight or not — are the ones who we are going to work the hardest for in covering their shipments,” said Scott Shephard, CEO of Brown Integrated Logistics . “Those that don’t will move to the back of the queue when everyone is screaming for trucks.” Contact Ari Ashe at ari.ashe@ihsmarkit.com and follow him on Twitter: @ariashe_joc.Contact William B. Cassidy at bill.cassidy@ihsmarkit.com and follow him on Twitter: @wbcassidy_joc.

12 steps to become a US truck shipper of choice

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The journey time, about two to three days better than typical industry metrics, comes despite congestion in other parts of partner CPKC’s network.</div>

The journey time, about two to three days better than typical industry metrics, comes despite congestion in other parts of partner CPKC’s network.

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<div class="phx-topic">Schneider National said Friday its flagship Mexico Midwest Express (MMX) intermodal service with partner Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) is continuing to deliver strong results in 2025, offering faster transit times and higher on-time reliability than many cross-border alternatives despite congestion in other parts of CPKC’s network. The MMX service, launched two years ago, connects inland Mexican cities such as Monterrey and San Luis Potosí with Chicago via a single-line rail route. The service bypasses traditional interchange delays at the border, with two spans over the Laredo bridge and switching yards on each side of the border to handle crew changes. While Schneider did not disclose current shipment totals due to its quiet period ahead of the release of its second-quarter earnings, the company said MMX performance metrics through the first half of 2025 were strong, with average transit times of four days and a cargo theft rate of less than 0.02%. Schneider also said the on-time performance of MMX remains above 95%. The typical transit time from Monterrey to Chicago is about six or seven days. “Decreasing shipping time by even a few days matters to our customers because the faster products can get on the shelves, the faster those items can land in the hands of consumers,” Michael Baumgardt, Schneider’s senior vice president of intermodal, said in a statement. The Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) reported that railroads hauled a combined 86,000-plus domestic containers this year through May 31, a 21% increase compared with the same period a year earlier. Railroads hauled nearly 60,000 domestic containers to the Midwest during the same period, up 9% from a year earlier. Schneider is currently the only intermodal provider offering a true single-line cross-border solution from Mexico to the Midwest, eliminating any chance of delays caused by an interchange between two railroads. Schneider said service on the MMX has not deteriorated much since CPKC’s <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/cpkc-acknowledges-service-woes-to-us-regulators-vows-remediation-6030412">messy IT transition</a> in May that affected service in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The exception is that some shippers have experienced lengthy delays moving cargo from Laredo to Chicago because the container dwell inside the Laredo yard is up 122% since early May compared with a year ago. Schneider rivals <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/jb-hunt-launching-quantum-de-mexico-for-time-sensitive-cross-border-freight-6014579">J.B. Hunt Transport Services</a> and <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/hub-group-boosts-cross-border-business-in-jv-with-mexican-dray-carrier-5745355">Hub Group</a> have also ramped up investments in cross-border intermodal in recent months, introducing new services and partnerships aimed at capturing a growing share of freight moving between the US and Mexico. Union Pacific Railroad completed a pilot program this spring to speed up the handoff between Mexican and US crews by doing it inside UP’s Eagle Pass terminal rather than on the middle of the International Railway Bridge. Contact Ari Ashe at <a href="mailto:ari.ashe@spglobal.com">ari.ashe@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

Schneider National said Friday its flagship Mexico Midwest Express (MMX) intermodal service with partner Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) is continuing to deliver strong results in 2025, offering faster transit times and higher on-time reliability than many cross-border alternatives despite congestion in other parts of CPKC’s network. The MMX service, launched two years ago, connects inland Mexican cities such as Monterrey and San Luis Potosí with Chicago via a single-line rail route. The service bypasses traditional interchange delays at the border, with two spans over the Laredo bridge and switching yards on each side of the border to handle crew changes. While Schneider did not disclose current shipment totals due to its quiet period ahead of the release of its second-quarter earnings, the company said MMX performance metrics through the first half of 2025 were strong, with average transit times of four days and a cargo theft rate of less than 0.02%. Schneider also said the on-time performance of MMX remains above 95%. The typical transit time from Monterrey to Chicago is about six or seven days. “Decreasing shipping time by even a few days matters to our customers because the faster products can get on the shelves, the faster those items can land in the hands of consumers,” Michael Baumgardt, Schneider’s senior vice president of intermodal, said in a statement. The Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) reported that railroads hauled a combined 86,000-plus domestic containers this year through May 31, a 21% increase compared with the same period a year earlier. Railroads hauled nearly 60,000 domestic containers to the Midwest during the same period, up 9% from a year earlier. Schneider is currently the only intermodal provider offering a true single-line cross-border solution from Mexico to the Midwest, eliminating any chance of delays caused by an interchange between two railroads. Schneider said service on the MMX has not deteriorated much since CPKC’s messy IT transition in May that affected service in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The exception is that some shippers have experienced lengthy delays moving cargo from Laredo to Chicago because the container dwell inside the Laredo yard is up 122% since early May compared with a year ago. Schneider rivals J.B. Hunt Transport Services and Hub Group have also ramped up investments in cross-border intermodal in recent months, introducing new services and partnerships aimed at capturing a growing share of freight moving between the US and Mexico. Union Pacific Railroad completed a pilot program this spring to speed up the handoff between Mexican and US crews by doing it inside UP’s Eagle Pass terminal rather than on the middle of the International Railway Bridge. Contact Ari Ashe at ari.ashe@spglobal.com .

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Schneider says MMX service delivering four-day Mexico-Chicago transit time

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The project, due to begin Monday, will also improve truck access by upgrading the gate infrastructure and boost efficiency through the replacement of an outdated terminal operating system.</div>

The project, due to begin Monday, will also improve truck access by upgrading the gate infrastructure and boost efficiency through the replacement of an outdated terminal operating system.

<div class="phx-topic">The International Transportation Service (ITS) terminal in Long Beach will begin a $365 million upgrade on Monday that will increase its container capacity by about 50% and enable it to work two 18,000-TEU ships simultaneously. The work involves filling in a 19-acre slip at the terminal to make the property usable. Scheduled for completion in about three and a half years, the project will also improve truck access by upgrading the gate infrastructure and boost efficiency through the replacement of an outdated terminal operating system (TOS) with a new TOS, ITS CEO Kim Holtermand told the Journal of Commerce. “Our tech is quite old. It’s time to upgrade it,” Holtermand said. ITS is, in effect, two separate terminals separated by the slip, which hinders operational efficiency, Holtermand said. Filling in the slip will increase the terminal’s size to 277 acres and create a more efficient square-shaped facility. With a total of 3,500 linear feet of berth, ITS will be able to handle two super-post-Panamax container ships, or one 18,000-TEU vessel and two smaller ships simultaneously, he said. “It will be a large efficient facility with big [super post-Panamax] cranes and improved infrastructure,” Holtermand said. ITS’ annual throughput capacity will increase by about 50% to 1.5 million container moves, or 2.6 million TEUs, he said. <h3>Gate improvements expected to boost efficiency </h3>Included in the project will be a reconfiguration of the terminal’s gate complex and a new TOS that will streamline truck access and egress. Trucks calling at ITS in June had an average turn time of 71 minutes; the average turn time for the Long Beach-Los Angeles port complex in June was 62 minutes, according to the Harbor Trucking Association. ITS will also continue its efforts to electrify all its cargo-handling equipment by 2030 to meet the deadline set in the joint Los Angeles-Long Beach <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/la-lb-port-significantly-cuts-emissions-but-tougher-challenges-await-5742585">Clean Air Action Plan</a>, Holtermand said. The equipment will continue to be operated by dockworkers, he added. Noel Hacegaba, COO at the Port of Long Beach, said the ITS expansion project is the latest example of how the port and its stakeholders are not only growing, but growing green. Another project that will accomplish the port’s environmental goals is the <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/southern-california-ports-ready-to-defend-green-initiatives-from-trump-white-house-5927353">Pier B on-dock railyard</a> that will eliminate hundreds of truck trips each day by loading inland point intermodal (IPI) containers directly onto trains rather than trucking them to near-dock railyards, Hacegaba said. Construction of the Pier B facility continues to advance, he said, with completion expected in 2032. On-dock moves account for about 27% of Long Beach’s IPI volume; completion of the Pier B facility will raise that to about 35%, Hacegaba said. Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at <a href="mailto:bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com">bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

The International Transportation Service (ITS) terminal in Long Beach will begin a $365 million upgrade on Monday that will increase its container capacity by about 50% and enable it to work two 18,000-TEU ships simultaneously. The work involves filling in a 19-acre slip at the terminal to make the property usable. Scheduled for completion in about three and a half years, the project will also improve truck access by upgrading the gate infrastructure and boost efficiency through the replacement of an outdated terminal operating system (TOS) with a new TOS, ITS CEO Kim Holtermand told the Journal of Commerce. “Our tech is quite old. It’s time to upgrade it,” Holtermand said. ITS is, in effect, two separate terminals separated by the slip, which hinders operational efficiency, Holtermand said. Filling in the slip will increase the terminal’s size to 277 acres and create a more efficient square-shaped facility. With a total of 3,500 linear feet of berth, ITS will be able to handle two super-post-Panamax container ships, or one 18,000-TEU vessel and two smaller ships simultaneously, he said. “It will be a large efficient facility with big [super post-Panamax] cranes and improved infrastructure,” Holtermand said. ITS’ annual throughput capacity will increase by about 50% to 1.5 million container moves, or 2.6 million TEUs, he said. Gate improvements expected to boost efficiency Included in the project will be a reconfiguration of the terminal’s gate complex and a new TOS that will streamline truck access and egress. Trucks calling at ITS in June had an average turn time of 71 minutes; the average turn time for the Long Beach-Los Angeles port complex in June was 62 minutes, according to the Harbor Trucking Association. ITS will also continue its efforts to electrify all its cargo-handling equipment by 2030 to meet the deadline set in the joint Los Angeles-Long Beach Clean Air Action Plan , Holtermand said. The equipment will continue to be operated by dockworkers, he added. Noel Hacegaba, COO at the Port of Long Beach, said the ITS expansion project is the latest example of how the port and its stakeholders are not only growing, but growing green. Another project that will accomplish the port’s environmental goals is the Pier B on-dock railyard that will eliminate hundreds of truck trips each day by loading inland point intermodal (IPI) containers directly onto trains rather than trucking them to near-dock railyards, Hacegaba said. Construction of the Pier B facility continues to advance, he said, with completion expected in 2032. On-dock moves account for about 27% of Long Beach’s IPI volume; completion of the Pier B facility will raise that to about 35%, Hacegaba said. Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com .

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Long Beach ITS terminal upgrade to boost capacity by about 50%

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The decline came despite a 4.4% increase in total container volumes to 2 million TEUs, the carrier said in a quarterly update Friday.</div>

The decline came despite a 4.4% increase in total container volumes to 2 million TEUs, the carrier said in a quarterly update Friday.

<div class="phx-topic">OOCL’s second-quarter revenues dropped 6.5% year over year to $2.1 billion amid falling freight rates on trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe services, the carrier said in a quarterly update Friday. The revenue decline came despite a 4.4% increase in total container volumes to 2 million TEUs, the carrier said. OOCL, the liner offshoot of Hong Kong-listed Orient Overseas (International), a Cosco Shipping Holdings subsidiary, said second-quarter trans-Pacific revenues were also hit by a 4.3% fall in container volumes to 501,814 TEUs. Trans-Pacific revenues fell 18% to $753 million in the second quarter from $922 million a year earlier. OOCL said revenue from Asia-Europe services dropped 15% to $443 million in the April–June period despite a 3% increase in liftings to 361,722 TEUs. There were brighter results in OOCL’s two other main markets. Intra-Asia and Australasia remained OOCL’s biggest contributor to revenue and volumes after the carrier saw a 9% increase to $728 million in second-quarter revenue. Liftings climbed 8% to 951,940 TEUs. Revenue from trans-Atlantic services surged 25% to $194 million, while container volumes rose 21% to 147,824 TEUs. OOCL’s update only gave revenue and liftings figures; parent company OOIL will likely release full half-year results in mid-August. The carrier’s revenue result echoes that of Taiwan’s Big Three container lines, <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/taiwans-big-three-carriers-see-falling-q2-revenues-as-demand-slump-begins-6041608">which on Wednesday reported worsening second-quarter revenues</a> compared with the first quarter. Contact Keith Wallis at <a href="mailto:keithwallis@hotmail.com">keithwallis@hotmail.com</a>.</div>

OOCL’s second-quarter revenues dropped 6.5% year over year to $2.1 billion amid falling freight rates on trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe services, the carrier said in a quarterly update Friday. The revenue decline came despite a 4.4% increase in total container volumes to 2 million TEUs, the carrier said. OOCL, the liner offshoot of Hong Kong-listed Orient Overseas (International), a Cosco Shipping Holdings subsidiary, said second-quarter trans-Pacific revenues were also hit by a 4.3% fall in container volumes to 501,814 TEUs. Trans-Pacific revenues fell 18% to $753 million in the second quarter from $922 million a year earlier. OOCL said revenue from Asia-Europe services dropped 15% to $443 million in the April–June period despite a 3% increase in liftings to 361,722 TEUs. There were brighter results in OOCL’s two other main markets. Intra-Asia and Australasia remained OOCL’s biggest contributor to revenue and volumes after the carrier saw a 9% increase to $728 million in second-quarter revenue. Liftings climbed 8% to 951,940 TEUs. Revenue from trans-Atlantic services surged 25% to $194 million, while container volumes rose 21% to 147,824 TEUs. OOCL’s update only gave revenue and liftings figures; parent company OOIL will likely release full half-year results in mid-August. The carrier’s revenue result echoes that of Taiwan’s Big Three container lines, which on Wednesday reported worsening second-quarter revenues compared with the first quarter. Contact Keith Wallis at keithwallis@hotmail.com .

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OOCL’s Q2 revenue slides on lower trans-Pacific, Asia-Europe rates

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Adoption of digital bills of lading has been stronger in Asia, but US traction is necessary to help container lines meet a 2030 commitment to fully move to electronic documents.</div>

Adoption of digital bills of lading has been stronger in Asia, but US traction is necessary to help container lines meet a 2030 commitment to fully move to electronic documents.

<div class="phx-topic">US Bank has completed its first trade finance transaction using a digital ocean bill of lading (BoL), another small step toward the industry’s intent to transition to 100% digital BoLs by 2030. The transaction, disclosed by US Bank on Thursday, was facilitated by electronic bill of lading (eBL) software vendor WaveBL for a US-based exporter using Mediterranean Shipping Co., which issued the eBL. MSC is a WaveBL customer, one of two container lines using the software vendor; Zim Integrated Shipping Services is the other. Adoption of eBLs is growing, but off a low base, and is more commonly used in Asia, where the eBL software provider IQAX is getting traction among banks and export suppliers. The nine member carriers of the Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) committed in early 2023 to shift to 100% digital bills of lading by 2030. This week’s move by US Bank highlights the potential in American banks adopting a process to accommodate digital BoLs. Traditionally, bills of lading transfer titles between buyers and sellers at a point determined by the shipment’s Incoterm, and banks traditionally play a role in issuing letters of credit to suppliers. In theory, an eBL would negate the need for most letters of credit, as the digital data contained in the document can be used by the buyer, seller, shipping line and banks to understand the financial risk of the shipment. “Our clients are looking for smarter, more efficient ways to manage their import and export activities,” US Bank Senior Vice President Christine Bravo said in a statement. US Bank said a transaction such as this normally would require a courier to physically transport documents across continents, often taking several days. “By contrast, the digital process reduced that timeline to minutes, eliminating delays, [and] enhancing security and compliance,” the bank said. Contact Eric Johnson at <a href="mailto:eric.johnson@spglobal.com">eric.johnson@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

US Bank has completed its first trade finance transaction using a digital ocean bill of lading (BoL), another small step toward the industry’s intent to transition to 100% digital BoLs by 2030. The transaction, disclosed by US Bank on Thursday, was facilitated by electronic bill of lading (eBL) software vendor WaveBL for a US-based exporter using Mediterranean Shipping Co., which issued the eBL. MSC is a WaveBL customer, one of two container lines using the software vendor; Zim Integrated Shipping Services is the other. Adoption of eBLs is growing, but off a low base, and is more commonly used in Asia, where the eBL software provider IQAX is getting traction among banks and export suppliers. The nine member carriers of the Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) committed in early 2023 to shift to 100% digital bills of lading by 2030. This week’s move by US Bank highlights the potential in American banks adopting a process to accommodate digital BoLs. Traditionally, bills of lading transfer titles between buyers and sellers at a point determined by the shipment’s Incoterm, and banks traditionally play a role in issuing letters of credit to suppliers. In theory, an eBL would negate the need for most letters of credit, as the digital data contained in the document can be used by the buyer, seller, shipping line and banks to understand the financial risk of the shipment. “Our clients are looking for smarter, more efficient ways to manage their import and export activities,” US Bank Senior Vice President Christine Bravo said in a statement. US Bank said a transaction such as this normally would require a courier to physically transport documents across continents, often taking several days. “By contrast, the digital process reduced that timeline to minutes, eliminating delays, [and] enhancing security and compliance,” the bank said. Contact Eric Johnson at eric.johnson@spglobal.com .

Logistics Technology News

US Bank eBL trial for US exporter notches another step toward 2030 goal

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The Marseille-based liner has finalized operational plans to call off its remaining vessel-sharing agreements with the carriers after Gemini Cooperation-linked realignments.</div>

The Marseille-based liner has finalized operational plans to call off its remaining vessel-sharing agreements with the carriers after Gemini Cooperation-linked realignments.

<div class="phx-topic">CMA CGM is switching from vessel-sharing agreements (VSAs) to standalone operations across trades out of India in a new strategic approach as it expands its fleet. The Marseille-based liner has finalized operational plans to call off its two remaining VSAs with Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk after Gemini Cooperation-linked realignments. The upcoming disengagements include the Swahili Express (SWAX2) loop run with Hapag-Lloyd on the India-East Africa trade and the Midas network, involving two strings, operated with Maersk on the India-West Africa trade. CMA CGM has had three ships out of the five used on the joint SWAX2, with one vessel each from Hapag-Lloyd and Emirates Shipping Line (ESL). Midas has involved a fleet of 10 ships — six from Maersk and four from CMA CGM — on String 1 and three vessels from each on String 2. The French carrier has already sent its partners termination notices, due to take effect from next month for the SWAX2 operation and from late 2025/early 2026 for the Midas network. Sources at Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk in India were unavailable for comment. The Gemini launch in February saw CMA CGM delink from the decades-long consortium partnerships with Hapag-Lloyd on the India-US East Coast and North Europe trades. CMA CGM’s India VSA operations are now confined to Cosco Shipping/OOCL on the Epic service. Contact Bency Mathew at <a href="mailto:bencyvmathew@gmail.com">bencyvmathew@gmail.com</a>. </div>

CMA CGM is switching from vessel-sharing agreements (VSAs) to standalone operations across trades out of India in a new strategic approach as it expands its fleet. The Marseille-based liner has finalized operational plans to call off its two remaining VSAs with Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk after Gemini Cooperation-linked realignments. The upcoming disengagements include the Swahili Express (SWAX2) loop run with Hapag-Lloyd on the India-East Africa trade and the Midas network, involving two strings, operated with Maersk on the India-West Africa trade. CMA CGM has had three ships out of the five used on the joint SWAX2, with one vessel each from Hapag-Lloyd and Emirates Shipping Line (ESL). Midas has involved a fleet of 10 ships — six from Maersk and four from CMA CGM — on String 1 and three vessels from each on String 2. The French carrier has already sent its partners termination notices, due to take effect from next month for the SWAX2 operation and from late 2025/early 2026 for the Midas network. Sources at Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk in India were unavailable for comment. The Gemini launch in February saw CMA CGM delink from the decades-long consortium partnerships with Hapag-Lloyd on the India-US East Coast and North Europe trades. CMA CGM’s India VSA operations are now confined to Cosco Shipping/OOCL on the Epic service. Contact Bency Mathew at bencyvmathew@gmail.com .

CMA CGM ends existing Indian VSAs with Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk

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The world of LTL is slow to embrace change. Business anachronisms permeate current supply chain processes. These vestiges of the way things used to work define the LTL freight transportation procurement process of many modern shippers.David Knuth, logistics specialist at IEWC, a global supplier of cable and wire based in Wisconsin, is happy to have modernized the RFP process, automating the entire LTL bidding procedure with Bid$ense, SMC³’s automated truckload and LTL freight transportation sourcing solution. But when prompted, he can still recall what once was.In his previous job, a large part of his duties were consumed by creating an intermodal bid package for carriers. In a spreadsheet, Knuth detailed the company’s volumes lane by lane, taking care to delete any errant keystrokes or misleading data. He would then email out the information to each carrier, taking time to respond to detailed technical questions about the spreadsheet data. Finally, he had to compile all the results, create an algorithm that would compare the carriers on each lane, and award the business.“It was a huge undertaking. It took about four months to do,” Knuth said of the old process. “It was almost a full-time job for that part of the year, every year.”In his new job at IEWC, he sat down with Bid$ense on day one and was amazed at the capabilities. Knuth had never before used a bid tool. SMC³’s latest versions of Bid$ense automate the process even further, taking truckload and LTL RFPs entirely online. The tool draws on RFP best-practices protocols to streamline the bidding communication process, enabling bidding carriers to respond accurately and promptly to shipper requests. The solution also does all the distribution work automatically, electronically submitting shipper bid data to carriers based on their actual service capabilities and performance records. Carriers are alerted with timely prompts for RFP deliverables, so shippers aren’t waiting by the phone for responses.Another benefit of automating the process is the data-cleansing assistance. When Knuth sent spreadsheets to carriers, data errors might cloud the bidding process; he might have to resend data or simply accept a price that did not truly reflect the costs of doing business. Data cleansing is incredibly beneficial, he said.The spreadsheet technique also made bidding analysis an onerous task. Since Bid$ense automates and streamlines the entire RFP process, intensive examination is now simple. SMC³ knows that each bid has more than one best outcome. With uniform responses from each carrier, shippers can quickly rank results and create an unlimited quantity of what-if scenarios to make the optimal procurement decision.Jesse Burnett of Central Garden &amp; Pet experiences many of the same benefits. Founded in 1980, Central Garden &amp; Pet has spent the last three decades growing from a small garden supply company to a provider of a range of products from dog chews and bird seed to soil supplements and natural insecticides. For much of its life, the company shipped these disparate goods via LTL and truckload carriers to retailers throughout the country, relying on each business unit to negotiate directly with their freight transportation providers. This arrangement worked fairly well for a small company, but as Central Garden &amp; Pet expanded, leadership decided to consolidate decision making.Burnett helped centralize the transportation decision making in 2015 with SMC³’s Bid$ense. Before Bid$ense, every business unit operated independently as far as negotiating with carriers.“There were a lot of different things just floating around,” he said. “We didn’t have master agreements in place; no national pricing at all. The pricing from carriers was just all over the place, depending on where you were.”The transformations he saw with Bid$ense were immediate. Burnett has been using the tool about every other year since its implementation at the company. Central Garden and Pet’s $19.6 million 2019 LTL bid saved the company just more than 9 percent when compared to its historical average. For Burnett, though, bid automation extends far beyond savings.“We knew that we weren’t getting the best pricing offer from our carriers just because nothing was centralized,” he continued. “We knew that if we combined everything from all these business units and paired it with one corporate offering, then it would drive some cost benefit with it.”When the company initially decided to centralize bid procurement, executives researched a number of different methodologies and technologies. In the end, though, Burnett found that Bid$ense was both widespread and well known, and that his carrier partners already knew how to use the application. Burnett also highlighted the data-cleansing process as a major benefit, saying the rigorous process ensures that carriers always return the best price.“It definitely has helped drive savings,” he said. “Any time you go out there and you drive that competitiveness with the carriers and they know they’re in a bid environment, it seems to sharpen their pencils.”Transportation procurement is an integral part of the modern supply chain. With Bid$ense, shippers can develop a strategic implementation plan that saves them time and money, but also helps them create strong relationships with their carrier partners. These carriers appreciate the solution’s data-cleansing process; when carriers receive a complete shipment history and future volume forecast, they don’t have to guess on pricing. Carriers that receive more data from shippers get a complete picture of that shipper’s freight, allowing them to accurately plan instead of simply preparing for the worst-case scenario. Clean data presented through an automated system can lead to both bigger shipment savings and a lasting partnership between carrier and customer.Whether customers are looking to streamline over-the-road transportation bidding by automating the RFP process or create an entirely new, centralized sourcing process, Bid$ense has the analytical horsepower to get the job done.SMC³ 2020 Customer Case Study

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Shippers save money, time with automated transportation bidding tools

If there’s one immutable truth in the world of logistics, it’s this: LTL is an inherently complex form of transportation. Tariffs, rates, DIM weights, transit times — it’s enough to confuse even seasoned logistics professionals. The solution to this knowledge gap has historically been on-the-job training or university supply chain education, but for a variety of reasons there is now a pressing need for third-party, remote LTL training that prepares logistics workers for transportation success. Global Scope Can Overlook Local Intricacies In the past, professionals looking to move into a supply chain career learned about the basics of supply chain from universities. However, many of these college supply chain programs are now global in scope, focusing on worldwide supply chain management instead of the intricacies of specialized domestic transportation. And even these programs, which used to be widespread, are becoming less common. LTL is not an industry of broad-brush strokes; supply chain professionals really need a pointillistic understanding of the logistics of LTL in order to excel in the industry. Accelerating Need for Dedicated LTL Education This lack of specified training put the onus on employers to prepare new hires with the LTL knowledge needed to do their jobs. Dedicated LTL study is a necessity, not a luxury. At the same time, changes in LTL and the broader supply chain world are accelerating. The reliance on e-commerce has ballooned since the start of the pandemic, and last-mile LTL shipments and related e-commerce strains on the supply chain won’t diminish once social distancing abates. That genie isn’t going back into the bottle. So supply chain employers need logistics workers that are fully versed in all aspects of the industry, ready to solve unique shipping and delivery problems based on their extensive supply chain knowledge But why care about LTL? It’s been reported that some shippers in today’s world are no longer concerned with what mode is used to ship their goods. A Multimodal Approach Ensures On-Time Delivery This mode agnosticism means supply chain stakeholders have to be well versed in all modes of transportation. As unforeseen weather events and other disruptions, such as protests, become more common, savvy logistics employees will need to be armed with familiarity of all modes, not just the most popular, to ensure that freight is delivered on time, without damage, and in the most financially expedient way possible. Offerings like SMC³’s LTL online education courses cover a wide range of topics from LTL basics and operations to more advanced concepts like pricing analytics and transportation law. The company also has plans to continually refresh content, adding new expert presenters and taking the feedback of students to make the courses even better as time goes on. Learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://logisticstrainingcenter.com/smc3-courses/" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link">SMC³’s LTL Online Education program</a>&nbsp;and view the 2021 hybrid schedule, featuring live industry experts,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.smc3.com/onlinelearning2021/" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link">here.</a>

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Filling the Supply Chain Education Gap with LTL Education Courses

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