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<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">YRC Worldwide is asking the Teamsters union for a new round of &amp;ldquo;cost savings,&amp;rdquo; but the price could be high for the largest U.S. trucking operator.</div>

YRC Worldwide is asking the Teamsters union for a new round of &ldquo;cost savings,&rdquo; but the price could be high for the largest U.S. trucking operator.

<div>YRC Worldwide is asking the Teamsters union for a new round of &amp;ldquo;cost savings,&amp;rdquo; but the price could be high for the largest U.S. trucking operator. The union insists on a &amp;ldquo;comprehensive restructuring&amp;rdquo; of the company to ensure its long-term survival. It&amp;rsquo;s a matter of real short-term interest for YRC Worldwide, the Teamsters and the rest of the less-than-truckload trucking industry, as $5.3 billion YRC faces a Jan. 1 deadline to resume monthly pension contributions of $25 million to $30 million.That could burn through the company&amp;rsquo;s available cash and revive the prospect of a bankruptcy at YRC Worldwide, perhaps as...

YRC Worldwide is asking the Teamsters union for a new round of &ldquo;cost savings,&rdquo; but the price could be high for the largest U.S. trucking operator. The union insists on a &ldquo;comprehensive restructuring&rdquo; of the company to ensure its long-term survival. It&rsquo;s a matter of real short-term interest for YRC Worldwide, the Teamsters and the rest of the less-than-truckload trucking industry, as $5.3 billion YRC faces a Jan. 1 deadline to resume monthly pension contributions of $25 million to $30 million. That could burn through the company&rsquo;s available cash and revive the prospect of a bankruptcy at YRC Worldwide, perhaps as early as next June, unless the Teamsters offer YRC some pension relief, transportation analyst Edward M. Wolfe said Sept. 3. &ldquo;YRC Worldwide would run out of cash by June 2011 if 100 percent of its pension contributions resume&rdquo; in January, the Wolfe Trahan founder and analyst told investors. Even partial contributions could be too heavy a burden for a company recovering from more than $2.2 billion in net losses over the past three years. &ldquo;If only 50 percent of its pension contributions resume, we estimate that YRC would run out of cash in the second half of 2011,&rdquo; Wolfe said. He believes an extension of the 18-month suspension of contributions is the surest course to 2012 for YRC. &ldquo;If 100 percent of its pension contributions are deferred again, YRC Worldwide seems like it can easily survive through next year,&rdquo; Wolfe said in an investor report. For YRC, its employees and its customers, the notice recalls the down-to-the-wire race to head off a potential filing for bankruptcy protection at the end of 2009, a race the company won with the help of its lenders and the union concessions. In 2011, YRC Worldwide will face another $240 million in deferred pension contributions and interest payments unless it gets relief from its lenders. But pension relief, from the Teamsters or Congress, is its first priority. The first is considered more likely, as Democrats and Republicans in Congress are highly unlikely to agree on a pension reform bill this year. YRC and the Teamsters set up two committees in May to address the company&rsquo;s pension issues and ways to make YRC more competitive. In a Sept. 10 letter to its YRC members, the Teamsters said YRC management presented a plan for &ldquo;cost savings&rdquo; the union is reviewing to make sure it addresses business needs. &ldquo;We are only willing to submit those cost savings for ratification if certain specific conditions are met that help protect your interests, and if the efforts support a comprehensive restructuring that will give the company the best opportunity to not only survive, but thrive, over the long term,&rdquo; said Tyson Johnson, an international vice president and director of the union&rsquo;s freight division. &ldquo;Our goal is to facilitate that restructuring and protect as many Teamsters jobs as possible.&rdquo; Johnson said. The union didn&rsquo;t release any details on the &ldquo;cost savings&rdquo; or its &ldquo;specific conditions,&rdquo; but its letter underscores concern over potential rank-and-file frustration. Teamsters at rival ABF Freight System this year rejected a 15 percent wage cut and a gain-sharing proposal aimed at reversing the company&rsquo;s losses and leveling the playing field with YRC Worldwide, despite a $99 million loss in 2009 and a $39.4 million loss in the first half of 2010. Any pension plan will have to be put to a vote and win the approval of YRC&rsquo;s Teamsters employees, who have already gone more than a year without pension contributions. YRC Worldwide Teamsters agreed to an 18-month suspension of contributions, along with a total wage cut of 15 percent, in August 2009. The company has stanched some of the financial losses and the loss of customers this year, and reported positive adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in the second quarter as well as operating profits at its YRC National and YRC Regional segments. But the company also lost more than $284 million in the first half of 2010 and carried a $1.15 billion debt at the end of June. The majority of YRC Worldwide&rsquo;s Teamsters voted for the wage and benefits cuts last year, but several bargaining units resisted the plan put forward by YRC and the international union to save the company, complicating plans to impose &ldquo;equality of sacrifice&rdquo; across the company&rsquo;s national and regional subsidiaries. The Teamsters and YRC management will have to make the implications of their choice clear to union employees before putting any concessions to a vote. The Teamsters also want to ensure the importance of the union and its members remains clear to YRC&rsquo;s management. &ldquo;We go to sleep every night and wake up every morning worrying about the enormous toll this situation has already imposed on you and your family,&rdquo; Johnson told YRC Teamsters in his letter. &ldquo;If it wasn&rsquo;t for your sacrifices, this company would have gone out of business.&rdquo; Contact William B. Cassidy at wcassidy@joc.com .

Trucking News

YRC Asks Teamsters for more Concessions

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Despite 2025 being shaped by geopolitics and trade upheaval, France’s largest container port of Le Havre was able to capitalize on significant investments to modernize its terminal infrastructure.</div>

Despite 2025 being shaped by geopolitics and trade upheaval, France’s largest container port of Le Havre was able to capitalize on significant investments to modernize its terminal infrastructure.

Feature image

<div class="phx-topic">France’s Haropa Port, operator of the Northern Europe hub Le Havre, on Friday reported record container volumes for 2025, supported by huge investments into terminals partly owned by three of the world’s largest ocean carriers. Haropa Port comprises the ports of Le Havre, Rouen and Paris. Despite a year shaped by geopolitics and trade upheaval, container traffic at Haropa increased 4% in 2025, setting a record with more than 3.2 million TEUs handled during the year. Transhipment was up 2.4%, with hinterland traffic up 4% at 2.3 million TEUs. “The performance of the port will be strengthened in 2026 and 2027 and the coming years by the huge investment, led by the by the main terminal operators,” Kris Danaradjou, deputy CEO in charge of development at Haropa Port, told the Journal of Commerce. Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC), CMA CGM and Hapag-Lloyd were among the investors that committed €1.2 billion ($1.4 billion) to modernize Haropa’s infrastructure. Danaradjou said Haropa’s operations were shaped by “an extremely unpredictable” international environment, marked by the introduction of US tariffs, the reshuffling of carrier alliances and strategies, and the normalization of vessel routing via the Cape of Good Hope instead of the Suez Canal. <h3>Return to Red Sea could ‘challenge’ port </h3>Asked how Le Havre was preparing for a potential return of shipping to Suez and Red Sea transits and the congestion that shift was expected to bring, Danaradjou acknowledged it would be a challenge. “What will be the trickiest period is the transition when you have some vessels going through the Suez and others going around the Cape of Good Hope, and when you receive this kind of traffic in the same period, it could be a challenge,” he said. But Danaradjou said Le Havre had significant land available to terminals if they needed to clear their yards, and road, rail and barge options to move import containers to their inland destinations. “We are also a deep-water port so there is little waiting time, and we can move ships from the mooring area to the quay within an hour,” he said. Haropa Port has made multimodality a priority to improve decarbonization, the French port operator said in a statement. On the River Seine corridor that stretches from Le Havre to Paris, modal share of barge traffic grew from 19.7% in 2024 to 20.3% last year, in line with objectives set in Haropa’s 2020–2025 strategic plan. River container traffic measured at the Paris terminals grew 1% after several record years, but rail container transport from Le Havre to the hinterland reached a record 145,000 TEUs last year, up18%. Despite US tariffs on the European Union, trade between France and the US East Coast remained stable in 2025 with around 180,000 TEUs moved on the trans-Atlantic. The US is Haropa’s largest export market with around 30% of the cargo comprising wine and spirits, and the rest made up of commodities including chemicals, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and dairy products. Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>.    </div>

France’s Haropa Port, operator of the Northern Europe hub Le Havre, on Friday reported record container volumes for 2025, supported by huge investments into terminals partly owned by three of the world’s largest ocean carriers. Haropa Port comprises the ports of Le Havre, Rouen and Paris. Despite a year shaped by geopolitics and trade upheaval, container traffic at Haropa increased 4% in 2025, setting a record with more than 3.2 million TEUs handled during the year. Transhipment was up 2.4%, with hinterland traffic up 4% at 2.3 million TEUs. “The performance of the port will be strengthened in 2026 and 2027 and the coming years by the huge investment, led by the by the main terminal operators,” Kris Danaradjou, deputy CEO in charge of development at Haropa Port, told the Journal of Commerce. Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC), CMA CGM and Hapag-Lloyd were among the investors that committed €1.2 billion ($1.4 billion) to modernize Haropa’s infrastructure. Danaradjou said Haropa’s operations were shaped by “an extremely unpredictable” international environment, marked by the introduction of US tariffs, the reshuffling of carrier alliances and strategies, and the normalization of vessel routing via the Cape of Good Hope instead of the Suez Canal. Return to Red Sea could ‘challenge’ port Asked how Le Havre was preparing for a potential return of shipping to Suez and Red Sea transits and the congestion that shift was expected to bring, Danaradjou acknowledged it would be a challenge. “What will be the trickiest period is the transition when you have some vessels going through the Suez and others going around the Cape of Good Hope, and when you receive this kind of traffic in the same period, it could be a challenge,” he said. But Danaradjou said Le Havre had significant land available to terminals if they needed to clear their yards, and road, rail and barge options to move import containers to their inland destinations. “We are also a deep-water port so there is little waiting time, and we can move ships from the mooring area to the quay within an hour,” he said. Haropa Port has made multimodality a priority to improve decarbonization, the French port operator said in a statement. On the River Seine corridor that stretches from Le Havre to Paris, modal share of barge traffic grew from 19.7% in 2024 to 20.3% last year, in line with objectives set in Haropa’s 2020–2025 strategic plan. River container traffic measured at the Paris terminals grew 1% after several record years, but rail container transport from Le Havre to the hinterland reached a record 145,000 TEUs last year, up18%. Despite US tariffs on the European Union, trade between France and the US East Coast remained stable in 2025 with around 180,000 TEUs moved on the trans-Atlantic. The US is Haropa’s largest export market with around 30% of the cargo comprising wine and spirits, and the rest made up of commodities including chemicals, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and dairy products. Contact Greg Knowler at  greg.knowler@spglobal.com .   

French port operator posts record volumes as carrier investments pay off 

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The multimodal option is aimed at shippers wanting predictability in cross-border shipments and the ability to control costs.</div>

The multimodal option is aimed at shippers wanting predictability in cross-border shipments and the ability to control costs.

<div class="phx-topic">DHL Global Forwarding has launched a Truckair service between China and Turkey, with onward connections to points in Europe. The company this week said its Truckair multimodal service integrates air and road freight to move large-volume shipments, picking up cargo in China and transporting it by truck to Tashkent in Uzbekistan, then onward by air to Istanbul. From there, various modes are used to other European destinations. The service was launched two months ago, DHL said in a statement, with total transit time from China to Turkey at nine to 11 days. While that is longer than the typical four to seven days for all air freight, DHL cited the “cost-efficient” nature of its service. “Demand for agile and cost-efficient logistics solutions continues to rise, backed by sustained growth in China-Europe and broader Asia-Europe trade,” said Aditi Rasquinha, CEO of DHL Global Forwarding Greater China. The European Union was China’s second-largest trading partner in 2025, the company said, with bilateral trade up 5.4% year over year at $716 billion. DHL’s latest market update points to tight capacity and rate increases into Chinese New Year, with a demand peak expected in early February. The Truckair service is designed to help shippers avoid short-term volatility while maintaining predictable lead times. “Truckair was developed to meet this growing demand for greater flexibility and predictability in cross-border shipments, enabling businesses to control costs...,” Rasquinha said. Although costs vary from shipment to shipment, DHL maintains customers such as European retailers have reported savings of six-digit figures over the two months of using the multimodal service instead of all air freight. Still, shippers without time-to-market pressures continue to use the overland China-Europe rail network. In 2025, China-Europe freight trains made about 34,000 trips and carried 3.17 million TEUs, up 9.8% and 7.6% year over year, respectively, according to the China State Railway Group, which manages the network. Freight volume on the New Western Land-Sea Corridor, an initiative that began in 2017 to encourage development in China’s western regions, shot up 47.5% to 1.42 million TEUs in 2025, China State Railway Group said in a statement. Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>.   </div>

DHL Global Forwarding has launched a Truckair service between China and Turkey, with onward connections to points in Europe. The company this week said its Truckair multimodal service integrates air and road freight to move large-volume shipments, picking up cargo in China and transporting it by truck to Tashkent in Uzbekistan, then onward by air to Istanbul. From there, various modes are used to other European destinations. The service was launched two months ago, DHL said in a statement, with total transit time from China to Turkey at nine to 11 days. While that is longer than the typical four to seven days for all air freight, DHL cited the “cost-efficient” nature of its service. “Demand for agile and cost-efficient logistics solutions continues to rise, backed by sustained growth in China-Europe and broader Asia-Europe trade,” said Aditi Rasquinha, CEO of DHL Global Forwarding Greater China. The European Union was China’s second-largest trading partner in 2025, the company said, with bilateral trade up 5.4% year over year at $716 billion. DHL’s latest market update points to tight capacity and rate increases into Chinese New Year, with a demand peak expected in early February. The Truckair service is designed to help shippers avoid short-term volatility while maintaining predictable lead times. “Truckair was developed to meet this growing demand for greater flexibility and predictability in cross-border shipments, enabling businesses to control costs...,” Rasquinha said. Although costs vary from shipment to shipment, DHL maintains customers such as European retailers have reported savings of six-digit figures over the two months of using the multimodal service instead of all air freight. Still, shippers without time-to-market pressures continue to use the overland China-Europe rail network. In 2025, China-Europe freight trains made about 34,000 trips and carried 3.17 million TEUs, up 9.8% and 7.6% year over year, respectively, according to the China State Railway Group, which manages the network. Freight volume on the New Western Land-Sea Corridor, an initiative that began in 2017 to encourage development in China’s western regions, shot up 47.5% to 1.42 million TEUs in 2025, China State Railway Group said in a statement. Contact Greg Knowler at  greg.knowler@spglobal.com .   

Air Cargo Forwarder News

Air Cargo

DHL launches road-air service on busy China-Europe trade lane 

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">As the diversions away from the Suez Canal have shown over the past two years, global shipping is often at the mercy of global hotspots, writes Ted Prince.</div>

As the diversions away from the Suez Canal have shown over the past two years, global shipping is often at the mercy of global hotspots, writes Ted Prince.

<div class="phx-topic">Political science has been front of mind for many of us in the international maritime transportation industry as trade deals become enmeshed in tariffs and other policy matters. While the trans-Pacific remains the primary route for Asia-to-US West Coast cargo, the question of routing alternatives is at an all-time high. <div class="wrapper-narrow float-right-element"><img src="/images/phoenix/6157386_0.1.jpg"></img></div>Starting in 2023, military activity by Houthi militants in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden targeted commercial vessels and created a direct challenge to Suez Canal transits. This route from Asia to the US East Coast had seen significant growth with the deployment of mega-vessels within alliances utilizing slow steaming. Twenty years ago, conventional wisdom established Singapore as the fulcrum for east-west deployment. It was hard to imagine that Suez services would start in China; however, that is what happened. The Houthi threat resulted in most carriers rerouting from the Suez Canal to the Cape of Good Hope around southern Africa. This added up to two weeks in transit and resulted in almost all spare capacity being absorbed. While there has been some discussion of Suez transits resuming, the political instability in Iran has caused some hesitation because of the knock-on risks to crew and cargo. The Suez route now has a theoretical challenge from the Northern Sea Route — which is estimated to be 20% to 40% shorter than the Suez. It could reduce transit time by weeks but still has significant seasonality concerns. Even summer and autumn transits require icebreaker escorts, although navigability is increasing with Arctic warming. Donald Trump’s focus on Greenland has certainly raised the stakes here. Likewise, with the Panama Canal. In his Jan. 20, 2025, inaugural address, Trump stated his intention to “take back” the Panama Canal, especially from alleged Chinese port control. That political pressure no doubt helped push CK Hutchison to arrange the sale of its extensive marine terminal portfolio to a consortium led by US investors (BlackRock/Global Infrastructure Partners, along with Mediterranean Shipping Co./Terminal Investment Limited) less than two months later for approximately $22.8 billion. Since then, political contention between the US, Panama and China has complicated the deal, so its status remains unresolved at present. <h3>Costly alternatives </h3>Among these “canal conundrums,” there is no shortage of ideas seeking to provide alternative routings: 1) The Kra (or Thai) Canal, a waterway across Thailand’s Kra Isthmus, connecting the Gulf of Thailand (Pacific Ocean) to the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean), has been under consideration, literally for centuries. It would be bypassing the Strait of Malacca to shorten shipping routes between East Asia and the Suez Canal. 2) A canal transiting Nicaragua (Nicaragua Canal or Grand Oceanic Canal) has been considered for almost as long (as early as 1825). Both have been considered within the scope of China’s Belt and Road initiative; however, astronomical costs along with political and environmental hurdles make these likely to remain on the drawing board for some time. Finally, intermodal options have been proposed across southern Mexico (The Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec); Honduras (National Interoceanic Railway); and Nicaragua (Canal Interoceanico de Nicaragua). These also present multi-billion price tags and seek to replicate what already exists with the Panama Canal Railroad — which is owned by APM Terminals. There is no question that we live in increasingly turbulent political times. However, for the time being, it seems that we will continue to live in a world where the three main vessel routing alternatives will remain in place. Ted Prince is founder and CEO of Tri-Cities Intermodal LLC. Contact him at <a href="mailto:ted@tricitiesintermodal.com">ted@tricitiesintermodal.com</a>.</div>

Political science has been front of mind for many of us in the international maritime transportation industry as trade deals become enmeshed in tariffs and other policy matters. While the trans-Pacific remains the primary route for Asia-to-US West Coast cargo, the question of routing alternatives is at an all-time high. Starting in 2023, military activity by Houthi militants in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden targeted commercial vessels and created a direct challenge to Suez Canal transits. This route from Asia to the US East Coast had seen significant growth with the deployment of mega-vessels within alliances utilizing slow steaming. Twenty years ago, conventional wisdom established Singapore as the fulcrum for east-west deployment. It was hard to imagine that Suez services would start in China; however, that is what happened. The Houthi threat resulted in most carriers rerouting from the Suez Canal to the Cape of Good Hope around southern Africa. This added up to two weeks in transit and resulted in almost all spare capacity being absorbed. While there has been some discussion of Suez transits resuming, the political instability in Iran has caused some hesitation because of the knock-on risks to crew and cargo. The Suez route now has a theoretical challenge from the Northern Sea Route — which is estimated to be 20% to 40% shorter than the Suez. It could reduce transit time by weeks but still has significant seasonality concerns. Even summer and autumn transits require icebreaker escorts, although navigability is increasing with Arctic warming. Donald Trump’s focus on Greenland has certainly raised the stakes here. Likewise, with the Panama Canal. In his Jan. 20, 2025, inaugural address, Trump stated his intention to “take back” the Panama Canal, especially from alleged Chinese port control. That political pressure no doubt helped push CK Hutchison to arrange the sale of its extensive marine terminal portfolio to a consortium led by US investors (BlackRock/Global Infrastructure Partners, along with Mediterranean Shipping Co./Terminal Investment Limited) less than two months later for approximately $22.8 billion. Since then, political contention between the US, Panama and China has complicated the deal, so its status remains unresolved at present. Costly alternatives Among these “canal conundrums,” there is no shortage of ideas seeking to provide alternative routings: 1) The Kra (or Thai) Canal, a waterway across Thailand’s Kra Isthmus, connecting the Gulf of Thailand (Pacific Ocean) to the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean), has been under consideration, literally for centuries. It would be bypassing the Strait of Malacca to shorten shipping routes between East Asia and the Suez Canal. 2) A canal transiting Nicaragua (Nicaragua Canal or Grand Oceanic Canal) has been considered for almost as long (as early as 1825). Both have been considered within the scope of China’s Belt and Road initiative; however, astronomical costs along with political and environmental hurdles make these likely to remain on the drawing board for some time. Finally, intermodal options have been proposed across southern Mexico (The Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec); Honduras (National Interoceanic Railway); and Nicaragua (Canal Interoceanico de Nicaragua). These also present multi-billion price tags and seek to replicate what already exists with the Panama Canal Railroad — which is owned by APM Terminals. There is no question that we live in increasingly turbulent political times. However, for the time being, it seems that we will continue to live in a world where the three main vessel routing alternatives will remain in place. Ted Prince is founder and CEO of Tri-Cities Intermodal LLC. Contact him at ted@tricitiesintermodal.com .

Container lines

Geopolitical risks prompt thoughts of supply chain routing alternatives

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Expansion of two container terminals and construction of a new 200-acre facility to be called Pier 500 will help the port retain its position as the largest US gateway, Executive Director Gene Seroka said in his State of the Port address Thursday.</div>

Expansion of two container terminals and construction of a new 200-acre facility to be called Pier 500 will help the port retain its position as the largest US gateway, Executive Director Gene Seroka said in his State of the Port address Thursday.

<div class="phx-topic">The Port of Los Angeles will expand two existing container terminals and develop an 89-acre chassis operations facility, it announced Thursday. That is in addition to building a new 200-acre container terminal, a project that was announced last year. In order to retain its position as the largest US container port and accommodate growth, Los Angeles must expand its infrastructure and enable port stakeholders to operate more efficiently using technology, Gene Seroka, the port’s executive director, said in his State of the Port address. “We must build bigger and we must build smarter: bigger capacity, smarter technology, increased sustainability,” Seroka said. The terminal expansion projects include development of a 40-acre site adjacent to Pier 300 and upgrading the LA Til container terminal in the port’s West Basin. The port also plans to develop 80 acres of under-utilized land on Terminal Island into a maritime support facility for chassis parking and maintenance as well as for container pickups and dropoffs, Seroka said. The port last October released a request for proposals to evaluate the interest in and feasibility of constructing a 200-acre facility to be called the Pier 500 Marine Container Terminal, which would include 3,000 linear feet of wharf space and two berths. Pier 500, to be developed on landfill, would be the first new container terminal built in Los Angeles in a generation, Seroka said. The project is projected to be completed in 10 years once construction begins. That is <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/port-of-los-angeles-looks-to-handle-future-growth-with-new-terminal-project-6091694">faster than most new terminals built on landfill</a> because over the past 20 years, rocks removed during other construction projects have been dumped on the 124-acre landfill site, raising it to about 15 feet below the water line. Seroka said the port is in final discussions with Fenix Maritime Services, which operates Pier 300, to develop 40 acres of vacant land adjacent to the 300-acre terminal. The plan would be to add another berth and develop the site for terminal-related operations. Los Angeles will soon be issuing an environmental impact report for the LA Til Container Terminal to upgrade the wharf and rail yard to accommodate larger container ships, Seroka said. The Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex is operating at about 60% capacity utilization, which is a far cry <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/more-data-sharing-crucial-to-avoiding-future-port-congestion-officials-6135162">from the 90%-plus utilization rate</a> during the post-pandemic cargo surge that resulted in vessel backlogs and marine terminal congestion. However, with a projected doubling of container volumes in the port complex by 2040, the expansion projects should ensure that Los Angeles is well-positioned to handle future growth as well as the next generation of container vessels, Seroka said in his address. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="d8f25580-ea17-41e6-be9c-497d1aa8fba5"></dynamic-object></div>Los Angeles last year handled 10.2 million TEUs of laden and empty containers, which was its third-busiest year, he said. The port handled 4.86 million TEUs of container imports from Asia last year, down 0.7% from 2024 but still the most among all US ports, according to PIERS, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global. Long Beach was second with 4.56 million TEUs. <h3>Building a new bridge still possible </h3>Meanwhile, re-decking of the Vincent Thomas Bridge at the entry to the Port of Los Angeles, which will begin in the coming months, will make the bridge safer for the 50,000 vehicles that cross it daily, Seroka said. “But here’s the bigger issue. <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/la-port-wants-california-to-raise-bridge-to-accommodate-big-ships-6087396">We also need to raise or replace it to unlock our full terminal capacity north of the bridge</a>. We pushed to do both together,” he said. “That timeline simply didn’t work, but this issue is not going away. We’re working with the governor’s office and California transportation officials to explore all options — which could include building a new crossing.” The port continues to expand and improve its technology-driven programs, including the Port Optimizer to project container volumes in a three-week window, and the Universal Truck Appointment System which has improved gate usage at marine terminals by 20%, Seroka said. “Building smarter also means investing in technology that powers everything we do,” he said. Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at <a href="mailto:bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com">bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

The Port of Los Angeles will expand two existing container terminals and develop an 89-acre chassis operations facility, it announced Thursday. That is in addition to building a new 200-acre container terminal, a project that was announced last year. In order to retain its position as the largest US container port and accommodate growth, Los Angeles must expand its infrastructure and enable port stakeholders to operate more efficiently using technology, Gene Seroka, the port’s executive director, said in his State of the Port address. “We must build bigger and we must build smarter: bigger capacity, smarter technology, increased sustainability,” Seroka said. The terminal expansion projects include development of a 40-acre site adjacent to Pier 300 and upgrading the LA Til container terminal in the port’s West Basin. The port also plans to develop 80 acres of under-utilized land on Terminal Island into a maritime support facility for chassis parking and maintenance as well as for container pickups and dropoffs, Seroka said. The port last October released a request for proposals to evaluate the interest in and feasibility of constructing a 200-acre facility to be called the Pier 500 Marine Container Terminal, which would include 3,000 linear feet of wharf space and two berths. Pier 500, to be developed on landfill, would be the first new container terminal built in Los Angeles in a generation, Seroka said. The project is projected to be completed in 10 years once construction begins. That is faster than most new terminals built on landfill because over the past 20 years, rocks removed during other construction projects have been dumped on the 124-acre landfill site, raising it to about 15 feet below the water line. Seroka said the port is in final discussions with Fenix Maritime Services, which operates Pier 300, to develop 40 acres of vacant land adjacent to the 300-acre terminal. The plan would be to add another berth and develop the site for terminal-related operations. Los Angeles will soon be issuing an environmental impact report for the LA Til Container Terminal to upgrade the wharf and rail yard to accommodate larger container ships, Seroka said. The Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex is operating at about 60% capacity utilization, which is a far cry from the 90%-plus utilization rate during the post-pandemic cargo surge that resulted in vessel backlogs and marine terminal congestion. However, with a projected doubling of container volumes in the port complex by 2040, the expansion projects should ensure that Los Angeles is well-positioned to handle future growth as well as the next generation of container vessels, Seroka said in his address. Los Angeles last year handled 10.2 million TEUs of laden and empty containers, which was its third-busiest year, he said. The port handled 4.86 million TEUs of container imports from Asia last year, down 0.7% from 2024 but still the most among all US ports, according to PIERS, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global. Long Beach was second with 4.56 million TEUs. Building a new bridge still possible Meanwhile, re-decking of the Vincent Thomas Bridge at the entry to the Port of Los Angeles, which will begin in the coming months, will make the bridge safer for the 50,000 vehicles that cross it daily, Seroka said. “But here’s the bigger issue. We also need to raise or replace it to unlock our full terminal capacity north of the bridge . We pushed to do both together,” he said. “That timeline simply didn’t work, but this issue is not going away. We’re working with the governor’s office and California transportation officials to explore all options — which could include building a new crossing.” The port continues to expand and improve its technology-driven programs, including the Port Optimizer to project container volumes in a three-week window, and the Universal Truck Appointment System which has improved gate usage at marine terminals by 20%, Seroka said. “Building smarter also means investing in technology that powers everything we do,” he said. Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com .

Container Shipping News

Port of Los Angeles forging ahead with aggressive construction program 

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Tighter capacity amid the federal government’s crackdown on non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses and English language proficiency among drivers will likely boost rates, the company says.</div>

Tighter capacity amid the federal government’s crackdown on non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses and English language proficiency among drivers will likely boost rates, the company says.

<div class="phx-topic">Truckload shippers should expect their annual contract rates to rise by low-to mid-single-digit percentages due to the likelihood of tighter capacity this year, according to Knight-Swift Transportation. Negotiations are ongoing or about to begin with many truckload customers. The company said the momentum that propelled rates upward in December had trickled into the first couple of weeks of January, while more shippers are shifting their business from non-asset brokers to asset-based carriers. Shippers are making the move because of uneasiness about the federal government’s crackdown on non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) and English language proficiency among drivers, Knight Swift said. Shippers who have spoken to the Journal of Commerce have generally said truckload rates are rising 1.5% to 3% in their 2026 bids, although some have been able to lock in unchanged rates by switching away from incumbent carriers. “What we’d be pushing for would be low-to mid-single-digit improvements in contract rates and maybe closer to mid than low,” Knight Swift CEO Adam Miller said during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call Wednesday. “Maybe that may not align with what our customers want to see in a pre-bid. Some of this stuff is going to go into a bid to see where the market is from a balance standpoint.” Despite what Knight Swift said was a disappointing peak season, it believes capacity is fragile, as the December spot market surge in truckload showed, and more capacity will come out this year. If a disruption occurred, or manufacturing and industrial demand pick up, then capacity might become tight quickly. Knight-Swift, similar to <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/truckload-at-a-tipping-point-intermodal-still-lagging-jb-hunt-6153949">J.B. Hunt Transport Services last week</a>, was careful not to call the end of the freight recession. “We’ve seen head fakes before, but I think we’re feeling better about where this market is headed,” Miller said. “And we do feel better about what the [US Department of Transportation] is doing to clean up capacity in our industry.” The US Department of Transportation and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, a sub-agency, have cracked down on non-domiciled CDLs issued to non-citizens who have certain types of visas, including asylum seekers. Miller also pointed out that temporary protective status is ending for countries such as Ethiopia, Haiti, and Somalia, which would disqualify those drivers from continuing to operate a truck here. “Also, there were 3,000 [driving] schools recently removed because of noncompliance and another 4,000 schools that have placed on notice for noncompliance,” Miller said. “Two of our schools at Swift were audited, and we passed with flying colors, as we’d expect. So, it is real. It is happening.” <h3>Consolidating LTL business </h3>Knight Swift said it saw some “softness” in less-than-truckload (LTL) demand toward the end of the fourth quarter. The company’s emphasis in 2026 is uniting all its LTL businesses under one brand, AAA Cooper Transportation. When Knight Swift started its LTL division in July 2021, it kept the AAA Cooper and Midwest Motor Express brands separate. It continued to keep the brands separate when acquiring the LTL division of Dependable Highway Express in 2024. Nevertheless, it has reversed course because the company believes it has caused confusion among existing and potential LTL shippers. “We had integrated systems from a back-end perspective between the three businesses that we have combined, [but] it was creating confusion in our sales efforts,” Miller said. “We’ve already seen [a united brand] really help us in our sales efforts to present a single face to our customers and get them comfortable with our ability to deliver across our network in a way that meets their needs.” The company’s intermodal volumes decreased 6% year over year in the fourth quarter, but revenue per load rose 2.8%. Nevertheless, the company highlighted that the division’s operating ratio was 100.1%, still losing money, but only barely, after years of significant operating losses in the business. Swift Intermodal and Hub Group are the two companies who would most benefit if federal regulators approved a deal for Union Pacific Railroad to acquire Norfolk Southern Railway. They are the only two asset-owning intermodal providers in the US who are already exclusive partners to both railroads, making any transition in 2027 relatively seamless. Contact Ari Ashe at <a href="mailto:ari.ashe@spglobal.com">ari.ashe@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

Truckload shippers should expect their annual contract rates to rise by low-to mid-single-digit percentages due to the likelihood of tighter capacity this year, according to Knight-Swift Transportation. Negotiations are ongoing or about to begin with many truckload customers. The company said the momentum that propelled rates upward in December had trickled into the first couple of weeks of January, while more shippers are shifting their business from non-asset brokers to asset-based carriers. Shippers are making the move because of uneasiness about the federal government’s crackdown on non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) and English language proficiency among drivers, Knight Swift said. Shippers who have spoken to the Journal of Commerce have generally said truckload rates are rising 1.5% to 3% in their 2026 bids, although some have been able to lock in unchanged rates by switching away from incumbent carriers. “What we’d be pushing for would be low-to mid-single-digit improvements in contract rates and maybe closer to mid than low,” Knight Swift CEO Adam Miller said during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call Wednesday. “Maybe that may not align with what our customers want to see in a pre-bid. Some of this stuff is going to go into a bid to see where the market is from a balance standpoint.” Despite what Knight Swift said was a disappointing peak season, it believes capacity is fragile, as the December spot market surge in truckload showed, and more capacity will come out this year. If a disruption occurred, or manufacturing and industrial demand pick up, then capacity might become tight quickly. Knight-Swift, similar to J.B. Hunt Transport Services last week , was careful not to call the end of the freight recession. “We’ve seen head fakes before, but I think we’re feeling better about where this market is headed,” Miller said. “And we do feel better about what the [US Department of Transportation] is doing to clean up capacity in our industry.” The US Department of Transportation and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, a sub-agency, have cracked down on non-domiciled CDLs issued to non-citizens who have certain types of visas, including asylum seekers. Miller also pointed out that temporary protective status is ending for countries such as Ethiopia, Haiti, and Somalia, which would disqualify those drivers from continuing to operate a truck here. “Also, there were 3,000 [driving] schools recently removed because of noncompliance and another 4,000 schools that have placed on notice for noncompliance,” Miller said. “Two of our schools at Swift were audited, and we passed with flying colors, as we’d expect. So, it is real. It is happening.” Consolidating LTL business Knight Swift said it saw some “softness” in less-than-truckload (LTL) demand toward the end of the fourth quarter. The company’s emphasis in 2026 is uniting all its LTL businesses under one brand, AAA Cooper Transportation. When Knight Swift started its LTL division in July 2021, it kept the AAA Cooper and Midwest Motor Express brands separate. It continued to keep the brands separate when acquiring the LTL division of Dependable Highway Express in 2024. Nevertheless, it has reversed course because the company believes it has caused confusion among existing and potential LTL shippers. “We had integrated systems from a back-end perspective between the three businesses that we have combined, [but] it was creating confusion in our sales efforts,” Miller said. “We’ve already seen [a united brand] really help us in our sales efforts to present a single face to our customers and get them comfortable with our ability to deliver across our network in a way that meets their needs.” The company’s intermodal volumes decreased 6% year over year in the fourth quarter, but revenue per load rose 2.8%. Nevertheless, the company highlighted that the division’s operating ratio was 100.1%, still losing money, but only barely, after years of significant operating losses in the business. Swift Intermodal and Hub Group are the two companies who would most benefit if federal regulators approved a deal for Union Pacific Railroad to acquire Norfolk Southern Railway. They are the only two asset-owning intermodal providers in the US who are already exclusive partners to both railroads, making any transition in 2027 relatively seamless. Contact Ari Ashe at ari.ashe@spglobal.com .

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Shippers will see rates climb as truckload capacity tightens: Knight Swift

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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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