Infrastructure

Capes Shipping hired a new general manager and Walker SCM picked a global business director.

Sunteck appoints CEO, while Transervice taps Greatwide Distribution CEO for EVP.

   While the asset-based freight transportation business continues to consolidate into the hands of fewer and larger firms, the non-asset-based counterpart—made up mostly of freight forwarders and non-vessel-operating common carriers—remains bountiful, although fragmented.    That’s not to say that these intermediaries haven’t experienced their own share of mergers and acquisitions in recent years. However, a […]

Furniture retailer IKEA has submitted its final plans to the City of Joliet, Ill. to proceed with building a distribution center there.

NationaLease names a vice president for dedicated services, and ISS appoints new head for marine outsourcing.

Waukegan Port District has named a new manager, while MIQ appoints L.A.-area business development manager.

CSX names two executives to vice president posts, while Suttons Group appoints a new Americas director.

MNX Global Logistics appoints three vice presidents, while Saudi Airlines Cargo picks new charter director.

Kalmar appoints new vice president of services and MIQ names business development manager in Los Angeles.

Bay & Bay has appointed a new vice president, while ACI named new facilitation and IT director.

CR Ocean Engineering says it has now sold five scrubbers to reduce sulfur emissions to shipping companies.

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 an array of federal, state and municipal taxes. There is debate about whether the federal corporate tax is too high and many question whether taxes […]

   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 Longshoremen and Warehouse Union and Pacific Maritime Association have been negotiating a new contract to replace the one that expired on July 1 with little […]

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 of assistance?    In January 2010, President Obama announced the National Export Initiative which proffered the goal to double the nation’s exports over the next […]

   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 the looming driver shortage across North America. Shippers are already experiencing difficulties securing reliable truck capacity as the economy climbs out of a hole. And […]

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 few. Supply chain management? Probably not even on their radar.    The reason generally is lack of knowledge at that age. Some young people may […]

   “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.    Any seasoned logistics manager knows of occurrences in which the human element has delayed or even stopped a shipment from moving. The reasons are myriad, […]

   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 CGM – earlier this year.     The three carriers, grappling with absorbing the next-generation mega-containerships to enter the world’s fleet, promised the P3 Network would […]

   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 should be thinking about how to make the ports more productive over the long term.    “A good contract, in my view, would be one […]

   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 start later this year.    The three largest container carriers will operate the mega vessel-sharing agreement in the transpacific, transatlantic and Asia-Europe trades.    They […]

   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 categories of eligible equipment for fruit and vegetable producers, and makes it easier for the country’s farmers and ranchers to finance the equipment they need […]

   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 of this year, which we would like to share with you on this page.     For starters, we have expanded our editorial and research staff, […]

   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 effect on old school container transportation providers — namely through strong demand for fresh fruits and vegetables.    Fifteen years ago, one had to wait […]

   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 Border Protection.    As simple as that answer may be, the White House and Congress for the past two years since the recess appointment of […]

   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 refrigerated warehousing services in the Pacific Northwest, the company said.    “We are simply staying ahead of the curve with our customer growth,” said Michael […]

   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 – Europe strings.

   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 carriers that are here today will be the ones there tomorrow for shippers and NVOs. Even during the depths of the recession several years ago, […]

   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.    The three carriers are Nos. 1, 2 and 3, respectively, in terms of size among the world’s liner carrier fleets. They don’t make decisions […]

   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 (IMO) to require verification of container weights received from some shipper groups.    In late September, the IMO Subcommittee on Dangerous Goods, Solid Cargoes and […]

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 Container Shipping Service (SAECS) shifts its U.K. port call from Tilbury, which is just a few miles upriver on the Thames. (The terminal did have […]

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 importers and exporters watching nervously from the sidelines.    Shippers are bracing themselves once again as the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), which represents […]

   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 Longshore and Warehouse Union and their employers represented by the Pacific Maritime Association should fail to negotiate a new labor contract before the existing one’s […]

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 returns in September to repeal the Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT) on imports and replace it with a new Maritime Goods Movement User Fee that would […]

   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 be supply chain innovation.    The media-shy Bezos has always had an interest in the way things work and how to make them better. His […]

   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 as a house of cards.    Since July 1, this shift upward in prices for container transport, especially on the spot market, has been witnessed […]

   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 the “Powerful 3,” conjuring thoughts of cartels and monopolies in the minds of shippers.    Indeed the operations agreement would initially provide 255 ships in […]

   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 through the Panama Canal and barely able to enter fully laden in many U.S. East Coast ports due to its hull depth. Since renamed the […]

   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 falters and you pay a hefty price.    The risks of trading globally have always been huge — that’s why we have legal instruments like […]

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 larger containerships in the years ahead.    Later this year, Maersk is expected to put the first of 18,000-TEU “Triple E” ships into service in […]

   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 understood why anyone would want to make payment arrangements like these via a third party if it is not a bank. For example, we don’t […]

   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 to securely manage their transportation freight bills.    “The circumstances warrant a re-examination of the kinds of protections and safeguards shippers should expect when contracting […]

   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 from everyone from television stock-picker Jim Cramer to groups such as American’s for Tax Reform and the Heritage Foundation.    American Maritime Partnership (AMP), a […]

   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 less.    To deal with the budget cuts, U.S. Customs, the country’s primary border agency, has essentially implemented plans for how it would operate in […]

   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 the country’s economy it holds in a tight grip.    These unions — namely the International Longshoremen’s Association on the East and Gulf coasts and […]

   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 from space because of the nitrogen oxides (NOx) emitted by ships traveling along them.    “Just how much shipping contributes to overall NOx emissions remains […]

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 that were once looking at re-gasifying liquefied natural gas arriving on tankers are now revising their plans and converting those facilities into terminals that instead […]

   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 of last October were Asia-U.S. East Coast strings, according to information presented by Rodolfo Sabonge, executive vice president of planning and business development for the […]

   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 has his or her ways of ensuring the most efficient movement for their company’s freight across the globe through a blend of know-how, mostly rudimentary […]

   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 they should be careful not to lose sight of where they should focus their energies by the end of this decade.    China is expected […]

   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 of Executive Director Omar Benjamin, and James Kwon, maritime director, in November and December, respectively.    The port proclaimed its latest actions demonstrate “a new […]

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 increases — some steeper than others and varying by transport mode — are unwelcome news for many shippers who have already roughed it through several […]

   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 the U.S. market by government-subsidized Chinese producers.     As a result of the ITC’s affirmative determinations, the Commerce Department will issue antidumping and countervailing duty […]

   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 trolls,” or defend themselves from such trolls who have no intention of ever creating a product themselves, but aggressively seeking to shake down businesses for […]

   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 fell into the business.”    When these executives finished their educations 15 to 20, or even more, years ago, they weren’t thinking about pursuing a […]

   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 anticipated pace.    In 2010, the Maritime Administration said it would remove 28 ships from the fleet by Sept. 30, 2012. To date, 36 ships […]

   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 for American shippers.    Many of the country’s export controls were formulated more than 30 years ago when the United States and its allies were […]

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 their supply chains — even those created by labor disruptions.    This is certainly the case with the potential for a dockworkers’ strike on the […]

   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 ships, or “con-ros.”    The company’s current con-ros, built in 1984, are the world’s largest. They have a capacity to carry 1,850 TEUs, 1,000 cars […]

   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 aim was to create a book that will be useful not only for lawyers, but for men and women who work in the logistics departments […]

   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 making concerted efforts to increasingly court shippers with new customer service offerings.    In mid-July, Maersk Line unveiled its Web-based MyFinance suite aimed at making […]

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 seeking to build large new marine terminals and emulate the success of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, which has attracted growing quantities of container traffic by […]

   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 in a world that consumes 88 million barrels a day, but hauling it would have been a nice piece of work for the U.S. tug […]

   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 accommodate its frozen fish and processed foods storage business, servicing processors, exporters, and freight forwarders.    When complete, the new 60,000 sq. ft., federally inspected, […]