While every sector has seen its fair share of upgrades, challenging and shifting priorities, the ocean environment has proven especially rife for change.
As new container ships flood the market amid weak demand, Drewry expects low freight rates to persist through 2024.
Not to be outdone by CPKC, CN said it is partnering with Union Pacific and Grupo México to provide a new, cross-continent intermodal service that will seek more truck-to-rail conversions.
Legislation giving FMC more power over alliances is aimed at preventing anticompetitive container carrier agreements.
There is growing sentiment that higher trans-Pacific spot rates will not hold and prospects for shipping lines remain weak.
Mainstream tankers have moved into the Russian crude export trade. The price cap might push them back out again.
Biden’s labor secretary pick says she’s ready to step in if West Coast dockworkers and their employers cannot resolve their remaining issues.
Executive Director Mario Cordero says the Port of Long Beach is “ready for a rebound in retail.”
SC Ports’ Inland Port Dillon handled record rail moves in March, although volumes for the port authority overall were down year over year.
“We are starting to see ocean carriers systematically take geopolitical risk into consideration,” says Xeneta’s Erik Devetak.
Jefferies’ Omar Nokta believes container shipping investors are starting to look toward “the end of the destock and beginning of the restock.”
Shipco Transport pairs strong company values with deep expertise and broad coverage to deliver concrete results to its forwarder customers.
Small-package shippers should consider stepping outside the norm to modernize their logistics strategy by evaluating alternative carriers.
More Western tankers are jumping into the Russian trade — legally, under the price cap — to pocket big freight premiums.
Many industries are enjoying high profits from historic inflation. The furniture industry isn’t one of them. Thank the supply chain crisis.
Triton International entered an agreement to be acquired for $13.3 billion by Brookfield Infrastructure Partners.
“Simply put, there’s no bigger priority right now than this contract agreement,” says Gene Seroka of the Port of Los Angeles.
Although import volumes show signs of a nascent recovery, the inventory overhang remains daunting.
First-quarter numbers from container lines Cosco, OOCL and Evergreen show lingering upside from the tail end of the boom.
After labor unrest closed Los Angeles and Long Beach on Friday, ports on the East and Gulf coasts look even more attractive.
Worsening China-U.S. relations underscore how pivotal geopolitics has become to global shipping and trade.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has been lambasted for his performance. Supply chain insiders don’t entirely agree with the criticism.
American shipping magnate believed in efficiency and economies of scale in operating the world’s largest ships.
The Port of Virginia has plans to expand capacity at its inland port and at the Richmond Marine Terminal, while CSX has reached a sick leave agreement with another union group.
Despite a collapse in freight rates, container shipping is not behaving like an industry facing an imminent crisis.
Crude production cuts are inherently bad for tanker shipping, but analysts are downplaying the fallout.
The trend in container shipping is summed up by the adage, “The higher you climb, the further you have to fall.”
A plan to convert the Howard Terminal at the Port of Oakland to a baseball stadium has moved forward, but the project’s fate is far from certain.
AskWaves checks in on AAPA’s port industry panel for its take on ocean shipping’s short-term prospects.
Surging costs after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could be a taste of things to come as shipping transitions to more expensive “green” fuels.
The lineup of shipping stocks is in flux. There are multiple new listings as well as notable departures.
Members of Congress discussed container carriers’ antitrust exemption, along with how to implement the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, on Tuesday.
A fifth of U.S. containerized imports come from Europe. Shipping on this route remains much more expensive than it used to be.
Container shipping just experienced a record boom. Some believe crude and product tankers are poised to follow suit.
Ports in Houston and New Orleans reported strong cargo container flows during February, boosted by exports of plastics and chemicals.
Shipowners say they won’t order expensive new dual-fuel tankers without charters. They’re not getting charters, so they’re not ordering.
Fees to register a business or file complaints at the Federal Maritime Commission will be significantly higher in 2023 to account for higher agency costs.
Although February volumes at SC Ports were down 13% year over year, they still represented the second-highest total for the month in port history.
Flexport projects trans-Pacific contract rates will decline around 70% from 2022 levels but still be around 30% above current spot rates.
Federal regulators have codified provisions of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act that may extract more compensation from ocean carriers for rule violations.
U.S. importers have forsaken their traditional gateway in Southern California. Many may be gone for good.
Tanker capacity for diesel is already tight amid war fallout. With very few ships on order, future transport capacity could fall short.
Quarterly net losses could be around the corner for container lines, but EBITDA will stay high even if carriers dip into the red.
The Georgia Ports Authority reported its second-busiest February ever.
Freight reservation aggregator Freightos issued its first earnings report as a public company. Reducing losses continues to be a challenge in a difficult economy.
Shipping line Zim could face net losses in the quarters ahead, yet it has a hefty cash cushion to soften the blow.
With virtually no new ships on order and demand strengthening, the tanker business seems poised for a bull run.
A CERAWeek panel on the shipping industry complying with IMO 2050 focused on hydrogen but in an undetermined form.
U.S. businesses overshot in 2022, importing way more than they needed. The hangover is in full swing, depressing 2023 imports.
Shipping line NYK says operating Nippon Cargo Airlines is too expensive and plans to sell it to another Japanese carrier.
Supply chain issues are in the rearview mirror for Fed inflation policy, but for importers, there’s still room for improvement.
Container lines are unable to prop up rates because they haven’t culled enough capacity to compensate for weak demand.
This week in Borderlands: Houston export terminal lets Temco capitalize on grain demand; $10M FAST lanes completed at World Trade Bridge; Spearpoint Logistics to open distribution hub in Texas; and Port Houston’s terminal container yards receive upgrade.
Shipping lines like Hapag-Lloyd have suffered sharp rate falls from the peak, but they’re nowhere near financial distress.
Kuehne + Nagel had a highly profitable year in 2022 despite macroeconomic headwinds, but results fell considerably in the fourth quarter along with transport demand.
Charter rates are far below the peak but higher than pre-COVID as liners continue to sign new container-ship leases.
The Port of Virginia says it’s nearly done with its channel deepening project, which will enable the port to allow for two-way traffic of ultra-large container vessels.
Despite lower demand for transportation, repealing the ocean carriers’ antitrust immunity is still in play on Capitol Hill.
In-transit visibility options have skyrocketed over the past several years, making it easier than ever to track a shipment’s en route movements. The same cannot be said, however, for terminal visibility.
Larger crude tankers are moving more U.S. exports on shorter voyages to Europe as long-haul volumes to China stagnate.
After a year of sanctions and “self sanctions,” shipping cargoes caught in the crossfire continue to find their way to buyers.
Last year’s peak retail season stands apart from previous years in that there wasn’t much of a “peak” at all.
Cargo flow remained constant at ports in Houston and Corpus Christi, Texas, but slowed slightly in New Orleans.
New Alphaliner data highlights the enormity of new container shipping capacity that’s poised for delivery.
Almost eight months without a union contract, container terminals and their workers are making customers nervous and risk losing business permanently, Global Supply Chain Week panelists warn.
Two container shipping experts give their take on how the hangover after the pandemic boom could play out.
Port expert Walter Kemmsies discussed the distortions in trade and demand for goods and services created by the pandemic during FreightWaves’ Global Supply Chain Week.
Expeditors suffered a significant decline in fourth-quarter earnings as the air and ocean freight markets dropped sharply.
This week, FreightWaves will host Global Supply Chain Week, a three-day virtual experience featuring dozens of leaders in global trade.
The Baltic Dry Index has fallen 91% since October 2021 to one of its lowest levels ever, yet shipowners remain confident.
An upcoming supply chain legislation package will include curbs on Chinese influence over global shipping.
More than 43,500 people in Turkey and Syria have died as a result of the Feb. 6 earthquake, which the United Nations is calling a “once-in-a-generation disaster.”
Los Angeles continues to face a double whammy of sinking demand and fears over the port labor contract that expired in July.
The Georgia Ports Authority said a 16% drop in imports year over year “was fueled in part by reduced orders in retail and manufacturing.”
APM Terminals Mobile has begun a $60 million rail expansion project at the Port of Mobile, Alabama.
The recognition by the Maritime Association of the Port of New York and New Jersey “is reserved for those who have made a lasting difference in our industry and helped advance all aspects of the global transportation industry.”
HMM acknowledged that “freight rates in most key trade lanes have been under downward pressure since H1 2022.”
Ocean carrier Zim will increase the frequency and size of ships used for its e-commerce Baltimore Express service.
Executive Director Mario Cordero said he is optimistic the Port of Long Beach will recapture market share.
This week in Borderlands: The Port of Corpus Christi finishes 2022 with a new tonnage record; Emergent Cold Latin America acquires Mexico-based Qualianz; J&J Snack Foods is opening a major logistics hub in Dallas; and CBP seizes more than $5 million worth of meth hidden in a shipment of radishes.
Ocean carrier revenues fell sharply in the fourth quarter versus the third and continued sinking in January.
Sanctions have split the world’s tanker fleet in two. On one side, those that follow Western rules; on the other, those that don’t.
After a bounce in January, containerized imports could drop this month to the lowest level since May 2020.
Ocean carrier Maersk sees a rough second half of the year, when remaining support from contract rates “will disappear.”
The reversion in spot rates is pulling down contract rates, with a significantly delayed effect on ocean carrier earnings.
The tanker industry has a storied history of corporate showdowns. The latest, a three-way tussle involving Euronav, looks far from over.
The day after C.H. Robinson announced disappointing fourth-quarter earnings, the analyst community showed little optimism for the 3PL leader’s near-term future.
GoFreight, a startup freight shipping platform for small and midsized freight forwarders, recently raised $23 million in a Series A round.
Interim CEO Anderson says cost savings target is $150 million by the end of the year; Global Forwarding drags down Q4 earnings.
The 2M partnership between MSC and Maersk — which is breaking up — is the smallest of the three alliances. The Ocean Alliance is much larger.
ONE’s profit dropped by 50% quarter over quarter to $2.76 billion.
German ocean shipping company Hapag-Lloyd said its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization jumped by $7.6 billion year over year.
Container shipping rates from Europe to the U.S. are finally falling, but they’re still exceptionally high.
Russian crude restrictions are having the predicted effect on tanker trades, soaking up more vessel capacity as sailing distance lengthens.
Speculation is swirling on how the end of a global container shipping alliance will affect ocean carriers and cargo shippers.
“Terminal and infrastructure investments are a crucial element of our strategic agenda and India is one of our key growth markets,” Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen said.
1994: Those involved in response to the 600,000-gallon spill reflect on their efforts.
Shipping services around the globe will be reconfigured after the top two carriers end their vessel-sharing agreement.
“We are proud to be part of this first-in-history interoperability launch between eBOL platforms,” said CargoX founder and CEO Stefan Kukman.
Steel, crude oil and refrigerated shipments rose as ports in Texas, Louisiana and Alabama recorded increased freight volumes in 2022.
