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

This webcast, the first in a two-part series, will analyze the makeup and dynamics of the Top 100 US Importers and the factors driving inbound trade. It also will look ahead to the rest of 2019 and the regulatory, economic, and transportation issues US importers face.

Moderator: 
Chris Brooks, Executive Editor, JOC Events

Speakers:
Dustin Braden, Shipper Engagement Manager, JOC
Eric Johnson, Senior Editor, Technology, JOC
Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor, West Coast, JOC
Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor, JOC

Growth in containerized cargo volumes through Canadian freight networks is shifting into a slower gear two year after surging in 2017. Even so, containerized cargo is set to keep expanding in the mid-single digits, thanks to new trade pacts and an expanding domestic economy. Year-over-year growth in imports through the top four Canadian ports slowed to 3.1 percent in 2018 after jumping 13.3 percent in 2017. Containerized exports increased 3.5 percent last year after expanding 6.5 percent in 2017. At the same time, broader Canadian economic growth is slowing, and consumer demand may weaken, putting renewed pressure on the need to better enable exports.

This webcast, a primer for the 3rd Annual JOC Canada Trade Conference in Toronto, will analyze the state of the Canadian container shipping, transportation, and logistics market, with an emphasis on the following issues, challenges, and trends:

• The import-export outlook
• The impact of new trade agreements
• Port efficiency and disruption
• The ELD effect on trucking
• The regulatory landscape

Moderator:
Dustin Braden, Shipper Engagement Manager, JOC

Speakers:
Dean Davison, Technical Director, Maritime, WSP
Patrick Lo, CEO, Canaan Group

One of the most intense trucking capacity crises in recent memory throttled inland distribution channels in 2018, thanks to high import volumes and enforcement of the electronic logging device mandate. Capacity began to creep back late in the year as transportation networks found a new balance, but demand for drayage, truckload and LTL capacity remained strong, and truck utilization rates were high, keeping pressure on pricing.

As the industry rounds the first-quarter bend of 2019, this webcast will analyze the current landscape, the outlook for the rest of the year, and focus on these key questions:

• Will shippers find capacity relief?
• Will slower economic growth mean more capacity or will increasing complexity and other obstacles keep capacity tight?
• What can shippers do to ensure capacity they need in drayage and over-the-road trucking?

Moderator:
William Cassidy, Senior Editor, Trucking and Domestic Transportation, JOC

Speakers:
Kevin M. Zweier, Vice President, Transportation Practice, Chainalytics

Containerized shippers face numerous uncertainty as they enter 2019, but one thing is sure: They are looking at a more unforgiving ocean market that could undo the pricing gains they have experienced in the decade since the global financial crisis without the promise of greater value being created for their supply chains. The shift comes on top of continuing challenges on the North America land side in terms of tight trucking and inter-modal capacity that is expected to continue well into 2019. A key question: Can technology rescue shippers facing a more unfavorable market environment? 

On the ocean side, carriers may have substantially less capacity on order — approximately 11 percent of the current fleet — than at any time since well before the financial crisis, but they also face sharply higher fuel costs to comply with the Jan. 1, 2020 implementation date of IMO-imposed limits on sulfur emissions — perhaps measuring in the billions of dollars collectively. How will they confront this with their BCO partners, and what approach should BCOs take, knowing that financially challenged carriers historically have demonstrated little success in passing along higher costs to their customers? On the other hand, certain factors could work decisively against BCOs. In general, when carriers face dire circumstances, they mobilize by withdrawing capacity. One needs only to think back a few months as this played out during the summer-fall peak season. Throw in the ongoing US-China trade war — barring a deal, a late-2018 truce on imposition of the latest round of tariffs on $200 billion worth of goods will be winding down at the time of this webcast — and nerves that were frayed during much of 2018 likely will fray further. 

The shifting dynamic is playing out alongside a number of other developments that could impact the market in fundamental ways: The air cargo market is equally stressed; land side, trucking capacity grew historically tight in 2018 as the new electronic logging regulation took full effect; and the global economy, after nearly seven years of rapid growth, faces headwinds that could dramatically alter the freight supply chain’s course. Technology, meanwhile, is stirring at the margins, with blockchain and artificial intelligence beginning to show early signs of promise but remaining far from having a transformational impact. Will 2019 be the year technology really begins to take hold in ways that improve visibility and efficiency? All of these subjects — and more — will be front and center at TPM 2019 in Long Beach, California, on March 3-6. 

This webcast, led by the senior JOC editorial team, will provide the key takeaways, lessons, and analysis from TPM 2019 that will help lay the groundwork for the rest of 2019.

Moderator:
Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor, JOC

Speakers:
Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor, West Coast, JOC