Infrastructure

T. Parker Host and Host Terminals appoint new operations VPs, while KOM International names president.

American Trucking Associations and Weber Logistics announce executive promotions.

C.R. England named two executives to HR positions and the Port of Houston reappointed Dean Corgey to the port commission.

Hansa Heavy Lift promotes from within, while Bibby Ship Management hires a new regional managing director.

   Is there such a thing as a good tax?     Many would quickly respond – “heck no.” Or, “aren’t we taxed enough already?”     American businesses are subject to […]

   To say that American shippers are angry as hell with West Coast dock labor, along with their terminal employers and the liner carriers, is an understatement.    The International […]

This is the fourth of expansion of Hanson’s Chicago consolidation center in seven years, and the third since completing a similar buildout in 2013.

   It could be said that fledgling U.S. exporters can use all the help they can get, but are they getting too many federal agencies coming at them with offers […]

   It is human nature, it seems, to ignore a potential problem—hoping it will go away—rather than dealing with it head on.    This is how most shippers are handling […]

PacAvi Group of San Diego will start a new program to convert Airbus A320 and Airbus A321 passenger planes to freighters.

The company will provide a new line of trailer and self-powered truck units that use a next-generation refrigerant.

All shippers must be mindful of how these new alliances might impact their service agreements as they start planning for the 2015 negotiating season.

   Ask most American high school seniors what they plan to study in college, and you will likely get answers such as accounting, engineering, education and pre-med, to name a […]

   “Labor relations remain strained to date,” the analyst said. “Such frequent, low-level disputes will negatively affect the effectiveness of conflict-resolution mechanisms relating to the canal.”

   No matter how many systems or automated solutions a company puts in place, there’s still that ever-present element of human input required to keep the supply chain humming.   […]

   The P3 Network was an interesting concept, although unsettling to many shippers when first announced by the three largest liner carriers – Maersk Line, Mediterranean Shipping Co. and CMA […]

   As representatives of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Pacific Maritime Association negotiate a new labor contract to replace the one that expires July 1, shippers say they […]

   The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission made the right call in late March not to block the P3 Network, which Maersk Line, Mediterranean Shipping Co. and CMA CGM plan to […]

   The U.S. Department of Agriculture has expanded its Farm Storage and Facility Loan program, which provides low-interest financing to small and mid-sized producers.    The program includes 23 new […]

   Nothing stays the same, and that also goes for American Shipper.    The 62-year-old publishing company, based in Jacksonville, Fla., has made a number of changes since the start […]

   Consumers are an influential bunch, and just as they have pushed express companies to deliver products when and where they want them, so too are they having the same […]

   Question: What agency has the most significant role in protecting U.S. commerce from infiltration by drug smugglers, terrorists, thieves and even pests and harmful products?    Answer: Customs and […]

   Henningsen Cold Storage has started construction on a 2.7 million-cubic-foot expansion to its Portland, Ore., facility.    Originally built in 2008, the facility supports many shippers requiring frozen and […]

   Evergreen has taken delivery of an additional 8,508-TEU containership built at CSBC Corp.’s shipyard in Kaohsiung. The ship, Ever Lucid, will join one of the Taiwanese carrier’s Far East […]

   Let’s face it, shippers and non-vessel-operating common carriers are wed to their liner carriers, for better or worse.    The economics of the container shipping industry are such the […]

   The P3 Network carriers – Maersk, Mediterranean Shipping Co. and CMA CGM – have started sharing details of their proposed vessel-sharing agreement with U.S., European and Chinese regulatory authorities. […]

   Shippers are a diverse group, and they can’t be expected to agree on everything.    Still, we are surprised by the reception a proposal by the International Maritime Organization […]

DP World says London Gateway’s proximity to population can reduce costs.    London Gateway, DP World’s new terminal, is scheduled to start regular operations Nov. 7 when the Southern Africa Europe […]

Shippers urge early talks for U.S. West Coast longshore labor contract.    Contract negotiations between employers and longshoremen on the U.S. East and Gulf coasts were protracted and fractious in 2012-2013, with […]

   The time is now for American shippers, especially those bringing significant volumes of goods in containers through West Coast ports from Asia, to consider contingency plans if the International […]

Washington state senators introduce bill for a new maritime goods user fee. By Chris Dupin    U.S. Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell said they will introduce legislation when the Senate […]

   As Thomas Edison is to the light bulb, Henry Ford to automobile manufacturing, Fred Smith to express shipping, and Jeffrey Straubel to electric cars, Jeff Bezos’ lasting impact may […]

   Liner carriers spanning the east-west container trades may be desperately pressing for rate increases to make up for financial losses, but indications are that industry resolve is as strong […]

   At first glance, the proposed P3 Network of Maersk, Mediterranean Shipping Co., and CMA CGM — the three largest container carriers in the world — may better stand for […]

   Remember back to 1996 when Maersk introduced the 6,400-TEU Regina Maersk to the Europe-Asia trade?    Then the vessel was considered the giant of the sea, unable to fit […]

   Just when you think it couldn’t happen — not in this day in age when communications are instant and regulatory oversight abounds — somewhere along the supply chain someone […]

Ports, terminals prepare for challenges from bigger ships, expanding alliances. By Chris Dupin    Ports and terminals in the United States and worldwide will have to accommodate growing numbers of […]

   Thanks for bringing the important topic of the Trendset freight payment matter to the shipper community’s attention.    In my 30-plus years in the business, I have never quite […]

   The news in early April that freight payment and audit services provider Trendset was beset by internal embezzlement and fraud has struck a nerve among shippers on how best […]

   The requirement under the Jones Act that ships moving cargo between two U.S. points be built and registered in the United States and crewed by Americans has attracted attention […]

   Since the forced budget cuts took effect March 1, federal agencies in charge of overseeing trade into and out of the United States have had to make due with […]

   What this past year has taught the shipping industry is just how powerful unionized dock labor on both coasts has become in the United States and how much of […]

   Forget the Great Wall of China and mighty Amazon River, NASA has posted an image on its Global Climate Change Website that shows global shipping routes can be seen […]

Proximity to West Florida port is key attraction for LNG equipment maker. By Chris Dupin    The natural gas industry in the United States is booming and dozens of shipping terminals […]

   Despite Maersk Line’s decision to start rerouting its TP7 service through the Suez instead of the Panama Canal, 13 of the 32 liner services that used the waterway as […]

   For many companies, international transportation management has long been an isolated process — where products are shipped to, or received from, far-flung places overseas.    Each successful transportation manager […]

   American shippers may be preoccupied about how the expanded Panama Canal, increasing fuel costs and finding properly trained labor will impact their supply chains in the near future, but […]

   In an effort to put a travel expenses scandal behind it, the Port of Oakland has taken steps to be more transparent.    The scandal led to the departures […]

By Chris Gillis       All indications in the market are that freight transportation costs, both international and domestic, are on the rise for American shippers in 2013.    These […]

   The six commissioners of the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) on Nov. 7 voted unanimously that domestic producers of photovoltaic solar panels are harmed by similar imports dumped on […]

   It’s not unusual to find stories in the financial pages about companies and individuals buying up portfolios of patents — often related to software — just to become “patent […]

   If you ask senior managers in the third party logistics services profession in the United States how they got into the industry, the answer you’ll often get is “I […]

   American Shipper associate editor Chris Dupin recently reported that the U.S. Transportation Department is scrapping obsolete ships in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet in California at a faster than […]

   The United States is undergoing the biggest fundamental change to its export control regime in a generation, but risks stalling and losing out on the much needed reform benefits […]

By Chris Gillis       Maybe it’s a sign of the times, but today’s American shippers appear to be much better informed and prepared to work around potential breakdowns in […]

   Atlantic Container Line has long had a reputation for going its own way, one that looks to be enhanced with its order last month of five new combination container-roll-on/roll-off […]

   Claitor’s Publishing has recently issued a second edition of Daniel W. Raab’s Transportation Terms and Conditions.    A Miami-based attorney who specializes in transportation issues, Raab told us his […]

   Liner carriers are doing their utmost in these economically depressed times to prevent their operations from becoming just another humdrum commodity-based business.    To do this, some carriers are […]

Two Nova Scotia ports with deep water, intermodal links vie for large containerships.    By Chris Dupin       Two communities in Nova Scotia – about 70 miles apart — are […]

   The decision to draw down 30 million barrels of crude from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is still making news a year later.    That’s not much oil […]

   Nova Cold Storage has begun construction on a $9.5 million facility for refrigerated and frozen food logistics at the Atlantic Gateway – Halifax Logistics Park.    Nova is expanding to […]