Maritime

Ports are assessing damage after Hurricane Helene roared into Florida as a Category 4 storm.

Anne Reinke is leaving the Transportation Intermediaries Association to head the Intermodal Association of North America, and Chris Burroughs, already a VP at TIA, will fill her slot.

As Hurricane Helene inches closer to Florida and a possible strike looms over East and Gulf Coast ports, the Jacksonville Port Authority has provided a weather and labor update.

With a strike by East and Gulf Coast dockworkers just days away, port employers on Thursday asked the National Labor Relations Board to order the International Longshoremen’s Association to resume contract negotiations.

Most Florida ports were closed Thursday ahead of Hurricane Helene’s arrival in the Big Bend region, threatening what meteorologists called a deadly Category 2 storm expected to grow stronger before making landfall.

While a potential East and Gulf Coast port strike likely won’t hamper the holiday shopping season, industries such as automotive and food and beverage could be negatively affected, a transportation lawyer says.

Facing an Oct. 1 strike deadline by the International Longshoremen’s Association, ports and other waterside logistics providers along the East and Gulf coasts are advising customers to brace for a shutdown of the container business.

A Federal Maritime Commission member told Congress that shippers will retain their contract rights with container lines in the event of a dockworker strike next week.

The families of those who died in the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore have filed wrongful death claims in federal court against the owner and operator of the container ship Dali.

Container traffic at the second-busiest U.S. port complex will come to a halt Oct. 1 absent a new contract covering 45,000 union longshore workers from Texas to Maine.

Ports along the Gulf Coast are monitoring a storm in the Caribbean that AccuWeather meteorologists predict will strengthen into a hurricane and hit the area on Thursday.

Typhoons this year have ravaged areas in Asia, home to some of the busiest ports for global supply chains. Billions of dollars in damage has occurred across industries, especially agriculture.

A work stoppage by 45,000 union longshore workers set for Oct. 1 would bring waterside commerce to a halt at ports from Texas to Maine.

The impact of the possible ILA strike is already starting to become visible in the U.S. What is likely to happen if a strike does occur?

Container management software provider Gnosis Freight announced it has accepted a strategic capital investment from Vista Equity Partners.

The White House is getting pressure from Congress to relieve tension on the waterfront after Biden pledged not to get involved.

The Port of Los Angeles handled 960,597 twenty-foot equivalent units in August, a 16% increase over the previous year and the busiest month ever outside the pandemic. Eight months into […]

Here are five takeaways from FreightWaves’ State of Freight webinar for September.

Freight forwarder and logistics provider Seko Logistics announced it has entered an agreement to recapitalize.

Continued robust demand for container shipping services could help balance supply and demand, the world’s second-largest vessel operator said, easing strains despite disruptions across the global supply chain.

The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday filed a federal suit against the owner and operator of the Dali, the container ship that struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing it to collapse.

Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor on Lake Michigan increases rail capacity by 250 cars and adds hundreds of feet of new dock for expanded all-water cargoes.

A shippers’ coalition on Tuesday asked the White House to help restart stalled contract negotiations and said President Biden should be prepared to intervene to prevent a strike.

East and Gulf Coast port employers insist a new union contract is still within reach before an Oct. 1 strike deadline, and urged the International Longshoremen’s Association to return to the bargaining table.

Salvors began towing the Greek-flagged tanker Sounion, still burning from attacks by Houthi militia in late August. The vessel became a symbol of civilian shipping targets that have led container and other vessel operators to detour around the region.

Hurricane Francine, which made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 2 storm, did not cause widespread disruptions to local ports.

A potential longshoremen strike could severely hamper operations at ports in Savannah, Georgia, and Wilmington, North Carolina, that have nonunion as well as union workers, experts say.

German railway Deutsche Bahn is selling its Schenker logistics unit to DSV of Denmark in a deal that will create the world’s largest forwarder.

Schenker has been sold, but not to the U.S. private equity group vying for control of the German logistics provider. Transport provider DSV of Denmark has emerged as the winning […]

The Biden administration could face either the wrath of unions or public perceptions of a faltering economy, depending on whether it intervenes in East and Gulf Coast dockworkers’ labor dispute with port employers.

Ports along the Gulf Coast are assessing damage after Hurricane Francine smashed into Louisiana on Wednesday evening.

The International Longshoremen’s Association has adopted a resolute stance in negotiations with East Coast port employers from Maine to Houston. There’s speculation that sympathy work stoppages could spread to West Coast container gateways.

A life-threatening storm surge and extreme winds are expected to batter the Louisiana coast Wednesday as Hurricane Francine makes landfall.

With the holiday season approaching, the Transportation Intermediaries Association has called for an urgent resolution to the labor dispute between International Longshoremen’s Association workers and their employers at the East and Gulf Coast ports.

Solidarity between the ILA and ILWU was on display the last time the ILA narrowly avoided a strike (and the ILWU did not).

U.S. retailers and manufacturers are taking steps to mitigate a potentially multibillion-dollar hit if the International Longshoremen’s Association goes on strike at the beginning of October.

As a possible strike by the International Longshoremen’s Association looms over U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports, here are five port strikes from around the globe that made history.

Even a short work stoppage by the ILA would greatly disrupt freight networks. SONAR charts show evidence of shippers looking to avoid getting caught in a potential ILA strike which has impacts on maritime, rail intermodal and truckload data.

No talks are scheduled between employers and the International Longshoremen’s Association, which represents unionized workers at ports on the U.S. East and Gulf coasts. Bargaining has stalled over technology and pay issues.

The ILA maintains that it will not accept any extension of their current contract nor any potential mediation by the federal government.

China State Shipbuilding Corp. said it has received approval in principle for a liquefied natural gas dual-fuel vessel of 27,500 twenty-foot equivalent units, the largest boxships afloat.

The National Hurricane Center says Tropical Storm Francine in the Gulf of Mexico could develop into a hurricane threatening coastal Louisiana and northern coastal Texas on Wednesday.

The Montreal Port Authority is spending more than $42 million to restore and upgrade the Pie-IX rail bridge, a project that will also help a port-based sugar refiner boost capacity.

The Port of Los Angeles edged out Laredo, Texas, as the No. 1 U.S. trade gateway in July, while Mexico was the top U.S. trade partner for the month.

International Longshoremen’s Association representatives unanimously backed President Harold J. Daggett’s call for a coastwide strike at ports from Maine to Texas on Oct. 1.

In the latest move to strengthen the largest U.S. container gateway, a key Port of Los Angeles terminal will receive $52 million to upgrade its on-dock rail capacity.

Regional and cultural factors can create a range of different terminology in maritime and freight. A standard vocabulary across the industry could streamline optimization, but how can it be done?

A new plan calls for public-private investment in the Port of Portland’s money-losing Terminal 6, the state’s only international container facility.

In a lawsuit dating back to 2018, CSX accused rival Norfolk Southern of jacking up rates for dockside access to the East Coast container gateway.

A New York-based venture capital firm and European transport specialist are vying to acquire Schenker, the logistics unit of German national railway Deutsche Bahn, which could shake up the market for logistics services in the U.S.

Despite peak season stress, supply chain bottlenecks failed to materialize during the recovery from the brief lockout of union employees by CN and CPKC.

Higher freight costs linked to the Baltimore bridge collapse are causing customers to flee to competitors, an energy company owner tells FreightWaves.

Minnesota’s federally mandated State Freight Plan identifies key areas for investment in the statewide transportation system to ensure goods movement that is safe, efficient and sustainable.

A nationwide strike by port workers in India threatened further stresses to a global supply chain struggling with congestion and delays.

The Port of New York-New Jersey was the latest gateway to benefit from the early peak shipping season as importers stocked up on holiday inventory to circumvent a host of supply chain issues.

Ports in Houston and New Orleans recorded slight drops in container movements in July, while shipments of crude oil bolstered freight flows at the Port of Corpus Christi, Texas.

The Panama Canal Authority said the severe drought that affected operations over the past 12 months has shown officials they need to be more customer-oriented.

The Port of Los Angeles has named Erica M. Calhoun deputy executive director overseeing the city of Los Angeles Harbor Department’s Administrative Bureau.

As eastbound import traffic continues to grow, Union Pacific announced surcharges for its premium EMP and UMAX services out of the Southern California gateway.

CN and CPKC early Thursday locked out 9,300 union employees, bringing trains to a halt in a move that could disrupt supply chains throughout North America.

CN said it received no response from Teamsters after making a final contract offer in a bid to avoid service disruption.

While contract talks between Canadian National, Canadian Pacific Kansas City and union employees continue, a rail shutdown would reverberate through the supply chain connecting Canada and the U.S.

Amid lockout and strike notices, contract bargaining continues as Ottawa makes a push for both sides to come together on a new rail labor contract.

Canada’s busiest import gateway is managing port fluidity as railroads issue lockout notices, and Teamsters are warning of a planned strike as the latest contract talks fail.

A feasibility study of nuclear-powered container ships to lower emissions teams Maersk, the world’s second-largest container line, with vessel classification society Lloyd’s Register and nuclear power specialist Core Power.

The outlook for supply chain congestion this fall led importers to move holiday goods earlier than usual through Long Beach, the second-busiest U.S. port.

Construction continues on a Chicago bridge project designed to reduce delays and improve flow by untangling freight and passenger rail lines.

An 1851 law invoked by the makers of the Titanic is allowing the ship that brought down Baltimore’s Key Bridge to avoid liability costs, a lawmaker contends.

Vessel delays and labor concerns had importers rushing to get holiday merchandise into the Port of Los Angeles before the traditional peak season in the fall.

Eastern Class 1 railroads Norfolk Southern and CSX will help reach Midwest cities with double-stack trains from the newly expanded Port of Virginia central rail yard.

Importers are advised to seek alternative routes and plan for extended delays as the peak shipping season gets underway, following an explosion involving hazardous materials at China’s Port of Ningbo.

The Blue Ridge Connector will improve intermodal services to the northeast Georgia logistics center.

Importers are moving goods ahead of a possible longshore strike, fueling an August surge.

Shipping spot rates tracked June’s record volumes from the Far East to the U.S. West and East coasts, soaring by 144% and 139%, respectively, between April 30 and July 1, according to Xeneta.

Digital freight forwarder Flexport has appointed Trine Nielsen as global head of ocean freight.

Expeditors International saw an increase in its airfreight business in the second quarter and a downturn on the ocean.

This week in Borderlands: Surging cross-border flows a boon for operators like DHL; Cargo rail theft up 99% across Mexico in May; Australian clothing retailer selects Cart.com as US fulfillment partner; and Venture Solutions opens logistics warehouse in Laredo, Texas.

The Zim Kingston ship fire in 2021 shows Canada isn’t adequately prepared for marine emergencies, according to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.

U.S. officials announced a delay on the start of new tariff increases on Chinese imports, including a 25% tariff on China-made ship-to-shore cranes.

A key port in New Jersey is adopting propane as a preferred fuel for the vehicles that move around its property.

Port Houston saw a surge in container exports in June, while crude oil exports rose at the Port of Corpus Christi.

The U.S.-flag subsidiary of shipping leviathan Maersk has agreed to a settlement with the U.S. government over the termination of a seaman who alerted authorities to potential unsafe conditions on a cargo vessel.without first notifying the company.

Federal regulators have finalized a rule making it harder for ocean carriers to refuse to provide vessel space for customers.

A massive technology outage Friday morning caused widespread disruptions across industries around the globe, but it’s mostly business as usual at America’s ports.

NullShip Shipping Solutions claims to sell U.S. Postal Service and UPS labels at a steep discount but sold clients counterfeit postal labels, costing one person thousands of dollars in lost goods.

This week in Borderlands: Ambitious billion-dollar Tehuantepec rail corridor aims to grab more international trade; GrubMarket acquires Houston-based foodservice distributor; Production of Mexican-built cargo trucks rise in June; and Metrobi launches delivery service in Dallas.

Amazon Prime Day 2024 will run July 16 through July 17, with discounts on millions of items across 35 categories for Amazon Prime subscribers.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration announced $8.75 million in grant awards to 15 shipyards across 12 states in an effort to increase productivity and expand local job opportunities.

The e-commerce landscape in the United States is continuously evolving, requiring retailers remain flexible and adaptable to maintain a competitive edge. Recent data from Statista projects that e-commerce revenue will […]

Extremely rough seas have made it impossible for commercial shipping to operate around the lower end of South Africa, adding to supply chain disruptions.

Port congestion in Southeast Asia is creating an imbalance of equipment, raising both local and global spot market pricing, according to a report by AlixPartners.

Ports in Houston and Galveston remain closed Tuesday in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl.

Ports along the Texas Gulf Coast remained closed as Hurricane Beryl moved through the area Monday.

Ports prepare for Hurricane Beryl’s impact as the storm moves through Mexico and toward South Texas.

Ongoing attacks on vessels in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthis continue to disrupt shipping lanes in the chemical industry’s supply chain.

Container carriers’ request to extend the compliance deadline for new federal billing requirements is being vigorously opposed by their customers.

Nearly $2 billion from the U.S. Department of Transportation will go toward transportation and supply chain projects nationwide.

The U.S. transportation secretary took on drugs and port labor at a hearing on Capitol Hill.

As the bar code turns 50, many large companies are working with GS1 US to create a more effective product code process, which may result in switching from bar codes to QR codes.

A federal lawsuit filed in 2022 over the capsized Golden Ray cargo ship, which sank off the coast of Georgia with nearly 4,200 vehicles on board, has been settled.