Houston’s new port chief plots terminal fluidity as key to container growth
Michael Angell, Senior Editor | Sep 4, 2024, 1:52 PM EDTThe Port of Houston is testing a new truck appointment system and using AI to manage container cranes as it optimizes capacity at its two existing marine terminals even as it looks down the road at building a third terminal, the port’s new chief says.
Standard Forwarding deal would speed consolidation among small LTL carriers
William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor | Sep 4, 2024, 12:20 PM EDTAfter trying twice to buy properties from bankrupt Yellow, Jack Cooper Investments may have finally found a route into the less-than-truckload (LTL) sector.
New ship deployments don’t always improve service: analyst
Jeremey Masters, Managing Director, Shipping Masters | Sep 4, 2024, 10:06 AM EDTNew deployments of ships may be needed, particularly with Red Sea diversions extending sailings, but throwing more ships into service isn’t always a surefire solution for more reliable service.
Severe rainstorms swamp India’s container supply chains
Bency Matthew, Special Correspondent | Sep 4, 2024, 9:18 AM EDTExtreme monsoon floods have wreaked havoc on container flows and related transport networks across ports in the Indian subcontinent region, including Bangladesh that had already been in a state of flux due to recent political tensions.
Tech vendor aims to help forwarders preserve margins in growing LCL market
Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Sep 3, 2024, 3:01 PM EDTA technology vendor founded by two veterans of the less-than-containerload (LCL) industry is arming forwarders with the ability to preserve profit margin on LCL shipments moved by the large neutral non-vessel-operating common carriers (NVOs) that collectively control a large share of the LCL market.
Demand bump could drive moderate rate boost on intra-Asia trades
Keith Wallis, Special Correspondent | Sep 3, 2024, 2:35 PM EDTA pre-holiday cargo rush that could start in early September is expected to drive a rebound in intra-Asia ocean rates that had softened a bit in August due to the influx of new capacity and reduced port congestion even as overall demand remained strong.
Falling demand, rates signal early end to Asia-Europe ocean peak season
Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe | Sep 3, 2024, 11:21 AM EDTThe early peak season on the Asia-Europe ocean trade that began in April appears to be drawing to a close as European import demand slows and spot rates fall sharply off peak levels reached in July.
Maersk’s LNG order hedges bet on green fuel technology: CEO
DP World adds Hong Kong forwarder to growing 3PL networkDP World’s move into controlling end-to-end logistics will be further strengthened with the integration of Hong Kong-based supply chain solutions provider Cargo Services Far East into its fast-growing forwarder division.
Cathay’s A350 groundings to upset Hong Kong’s overheated air cargo market
Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe | Sep 3, 2024, 10:37 AM EDTThe temporary grounding of Cathay Pacific’s Airbus A350 fleet of 48 aircraft after an engine fault was found on Monday will disrupt the already overheated Hong Kong air freight export market, industry executives say.
Maersk’s LNG order hedges bet on green fuel technology: CEO
Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe | Aug 8, 2024, 11:13 AM EDTMaersk’s order for vessels capable of being powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) is a risk-management strategy by the carrier to avoid being locked into one fuel technology, according to CEO Vincent Clerc.
Short-term US industrial real estate market clouded by uncertainty: JLL
Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor | Aug 7, 2024, 1:20 PM EDTRetailers, manufacturers and logistics providers are seeking more clarity on the direction of the US economy and consumer spending before deciding on their short-term needs for warehouse space, according to industrial real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL).
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Lag in higher contract rates to drive second-half profitability: Maersk CFO
Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe | Aug 7, 2024, 12:09 PM EDTThe delayed financial benefits of ocean contracts agreed at high rates during the second quarter were apparent in Maersk’s Q2 interim results Wednesday when year-over-year profitability declined sharply despite rising volumes and rates.
Maersk CEO says port strike along US East, Gulf coasts is ‘highly unlikely’
Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe | Aug 7, 2024, 11:11 AM EDTA strike by dockworkers at marine terminals along the US East and Gulf coasts is “highly unlikely,” Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc said Wednesday.
Bangladesh’s supply chains grind to a halt amid political upheaval
Bency Mathew, Special Correspondent | Aug 6, 2024, 10:15 AM EDTCarriers and cargo owners in Bangladesh are facing a period of supply chain flux as the Indian subcontinent nation remains gripped by mass civil protests and heightened political unrest, mirroring the turmoil that engulfed trade verticals in Sri Lanka two years ago.
ILA seeking huge wage hike from maritime employers: sources
Michael Angell, Senior Editor, and Peter Tirschwell | Aug 5, 2024, 4:12 PM EDTThe International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) is seeking an almost 80% wage increase over the life of its next six-year contract with maritime employers on the East and Gulf coasts, two ocean carrier sources familiar with the negotiations told the Journal of Commerce.
Shifting trans-Pac dynamics push rate spread to almost two-year high
Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor | Aug 5, 2024, 2:17 PM EDTThe differential between spot rates from Asia to the US West and East coasts is at its widest in almost two years amid signs of a significant loosening of capacity to the West Coast and importer worries over the coming expiration of the labor contract covering 45,000 dockworkers on the East and Gulf coasts.
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Trans-Atlantic ocean carriers make rare surcharge moves to bolster rates
Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe | Aug 5, 2024, 11:49 AM EDTOcean carriers on the trans-Atlantic have announced peak season surcharges (PSSs) for Sept. 1 in a bid to turn around declining westbound rate levels that have fallen steadily for months despite volume on the Europe-US trade lane ticking upward.
Matson’s expedited China business fuels Q2 earnings gains
Michael Angell, Senior Editor | Aug 2, 2024, 3:03 PM EDTUS-flag carrier Matson’s earnings for the second quarter blew past analysts’ consensus estimates, the latest example of the variable fortunes of ocean carriers benefiting as trans-Pacific freight rates surged in recent months.
Overbookings, service changes roil India-US East Coast loads: forwarders
Bency Mathew, Special Correspondent | Aug 2, 2024, 10:31 AM EDTIndian freight forwarders active on trades to North America are crying foul over carriers denying gate openings to containers planned for loading despite confirmed bookings.
Maersk hikes full-year profit forecast by $2 billion, ups volume outlook
Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe | Aug 1, 2024, 2:07 PM EDTMaersk added $2 billion to its full-year profitability forecast Thursday as the carrier continues to benefit from robust demand on the main export trade lanes from Asia and an ongoing Red Sea disruption that has held rates at elevated levels since March.
Panama Canal transits rise to almost normal levels as expansion work begins
Keith Wallis, Special Correspondent | Aug 1, 2024, 1:03 PM EDTThe Panama Canal is looking to increase the number of daily vessel transits to 36 as of September as it seeks to resume normal transit levels in the coming months following robust rainfall levels in June and July.
No sign of slowdown in ongoing air cargo ‘peak season’
Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe | Aug 1, 2024, 10:45 AM EDTAir cargo on the main trade lanes out of Asia continues to be in peak season mode as disrupted ocean shipping and an ongoing e-commerce surge hold spot rates at elevated levels.
Raise fossil fuel price to spur demand, investment in green alternatives: WSC
Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe | Aug 1, 2024, 9:44 AM EDTRegulations must be implemented to make fossil fuels used by the maritime industry more expensive in order to close the price gap with green alternatives if low-carbon fuels are to become economically viable for ocean carriers, according to the World Shipping Council (WSC).
Nervous US shippers have few options in the face of port strike threat
Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor | Aug 1, 2024, 8:00 AM EDTHave some sympathy for the shipper dependent on ports along the US East and Gulf coasts. They have few options — none of them great — if longshore labor, as threatened, strikes at the end of September if an agreement isn’t reached by then.