Webcasts

As 2014 gets under way, the big question is whether trucking supply and demand will remain balanced this year, or whether a long-predicted truck and driver shortage will disrupt supply chains and raise costs as the economy gains steam. Since the end of the Great Recession in June 2009, transportation analysts, journalists and trucking executives have repeatedly predicted the crunch to top all capacity crunches, when freight demand would fast outstrip depleted truckload fleets. Four years later, those predictions are still predictions. Truck rates did rise in 2010 and 2011 after plummeting during the recession, but truckload and less-than-truckload revenue and pricing increased slowly in 2012 and 2013, hampered by an economy not firing on all cylinders. By comparison, the North American intermodal market will likely be downright predictable. That’s less-than-thrilling news for investors but a dose of much-needed certainty for shippers. Much like 2013, domestic intermodal pricing growth is expected to be weak, despite healthy volume gains and tightening truck capacity, while international intermodal will likely swing wildly along with ocean cargo and the peaks and valleys that come with global trade trends.

This Webcast will analyze the outlook for the North American trucking and intermodal rail markets in 2014, including forecasts for supply and demand and commodity-specific market drivers.

Moderator: Mark Szakonyi, Senior Editor, The Journal of Commerce

Speakers:

Tony Hatch, Transportation Analyst, ABH Consulting

Jett McCandless, Founder and President, CarrierDirect

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Interested in sponsoring this webcast! For more information, please contact Tony Stein on tstein@joc.com

For years security along the Suez Canal was largely a non-issue. But since the military overthrow of the Morsi government in Egypt in June, the situation has changed. A jihadist uprising has led to attacks on military outposts and on commercial shipping as seen most dramatically in the Aug. 31 rocket-propelled grenade attack on the container ship Cosco Asia as it passed through the canal, captured in a widely viewed video. Given that some 15 to 20 percent of global container trade passes through the Suez Canal, according to Drewry, with 3,300 container ship transits in 2012, concern about possible disruption is growing among container lines and their customers whose supply chains require uninterrupted operation of the 120-mile-long waterway.

In this webcast, experts in security and political risk will assess the current situation and the potential for further violence and possible disruption in 2014. 

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Interested in sponsoring this event? For more information, please contact Tony Stein on tstein@joc.com

Global supply chain interests have endured monumental change over the past four years. The worst recession in decades required third-party logistics providers and other supply chain interests to dramatically change their business models as retailers slashed inventories, adopted revolutionary environmental initiatives and slashed costs. The environmental pressure has been equally strong — if not stronger — among federal, state and local governments, part of a new regulatory environment that is challenging companies up and down the global supply chain. Internationally, supply chains are as long as ever, but the debate over near-sourcing is accelerating as fuel prices surge. Amid all the changes, technology providers are rushing out new products to help companies navigate the regulatory and trade minefield.

This webcast, timed in the aftermath of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals’ Annual Global Conference, will analyze the state of global supply chains, how 3PLs are responding to ever-growing customer needs and new technology services that aim to boost supply chain efficiency.

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Interested in sponsoring this event? For more information, please contact Tony Stein at tstein@joc.com

Export classification is a complex, layered process, but the obligation of proper declaration falls to the U.S. exporter, and the definition of ‘export’ is wide, so mastering it is vital. In this webcast, we will examine the challenges of classification in the U.S., the intricacies of the U.S. Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) system, key tips and best practices for dealing with technical data, and the role of automation.

Speakers Suzanne Bullitt, a Certified U.S. Export Compliance Officer and Trade Compliance Director at Invensys, and Kristine Bols, Director of Trade Content at Amber Road, will discuss: 

-- Developing internal classification processes and training

-- The importance of record keeping and automation

-- Dealing with country-specific regulations and interpretations

-- Tricky situations, such as the oral exchange of information, which is a “deemed export”

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When exclusive JOC Port Productivity data was released in July, it came with a message that rings loud and clear: Marine terminal operators must do a better job of delivering the vessel productivity required by ocean carriers and the cargo interests with goods aboard their ships. The data, part of a five-year effort that secured cooperation from 17 of the world’s largest ocean carriers, represents the first time comparisons of port productivity performance can be drawn on a global scale. Using confidential data based on more than 100,000 vessel calls at 600 marine terminals and 400 global ports, the JOC has developed 2012 productivity rankings in three regions: the Americas, Asia, and Europe-Middle East-Africa.

This hour long Webcast will analyze the results of the 2012 data, the factors that separate the strongest performers and explain why ports in some regions are at a distinct advantage in getting a ship loaded, unloaded and back to sea in a way that allows carriers to keep to tight sailing schedules.

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Interested in sponsoring this event? For more information, please contact Tony Stein on tstein@joc.com

Shippers and carriers across all modes again are anxiously watching the economy. Revenue and cargo volumes were largely up for most transportation segments early in the year, but profitability varies wildly depending on mode. Tight capacity has bolstered trucking operators. Pricing power has swept freight railroads to billions of dollars in profits. But international air and ocean carriers are struggling under the weight of excess capacity and moderate trade growth. But some key indicators point to a strong underlying U.S. economy that’s being weighed down by weakness overseas.

Consumer sentiment is strong; U.S. manufacturing is on a steady growth path; and housing markets are rallying. With a slew of new ships scheduled for delivery this year, the outlook is perhaps most worrisome on the container shipping side, where rates have declined steadily since the beginning of the year on the major east-west trades. Trucking companies have different concerns: new hours-of-service and security regulations that could hurt driver availability, causing artificial capacity constraints, but thereby putting carriers in strong position to raise rates.

This Webcast will analyze the upcoming peak shipping season, including the outlook for the holiday buying season that is so critical to shippers and carriers.

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Interested in sponsoring this event? For more information, please contact Tony Stein on tstein@joc.com

The Top 100 Importers and Exporters report is one of the most extensive products The Journal of Commerce produces each year. Based on months of exclusive research, it analyzes the largest global companies shipping containerized goods to and from the United States — essential information for shippers, carriers and third-party logistics providers.

This webcast, featuring Research Editor Marsha Salisbury, will analyze the makeup and dynamics of the Top 100 in both directions and the factors driving inbound and outbound trade.

**Webcast attendees will receive a complimentary copy of the Top 100 Importers and Exporters Report.

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Interested in sponsoring this event? For more information, please contact Tony Stein on tstein@joc.com