The global shipping industry is constantly evolving, and the COVID-19 pandemic began a marked shift in how container shipping operates. Disruption caused by the pandemic has forced the industry to expand its capacity and reduce costs to remain profitable.
At the peak of the pandemic, containers essentially stopped moving. As manufacturers went into lockdown and closed factories, many of the containers used to ship those manufactured goods were left stranded at ports or storage depots, where they weren’t needed. Simultaneously, freight shippers were reducing the number of vessels in use due to the manufacturing slowdown. This limited global shipping capacity and disrupted the worldwide flow of containers and goods. As a result, some regions were left with an excess of stored containers, while other places were left with no containers at all.
As the pandemic slowed and the global economy began to rebound, labor shortages and congestion at ports have left many of these stored containers stuck where they aren’t needed. Now, instead of a shortage of shipping containers, the industry is dealing with too many. Many container storage depots are turning away new clients due to lack of space, and some shippers are even giving containers away to make room. Blank and cancelled sailings are increasing as well, as shippers decide to skip a port or cancel a trip altogether in order to manage changes in demand and capacity.
Check back here for the latest news and insights on the state of the container shipping industry. You can also visit our maritime news archive to learn more about cargo shipping, or our American Shipper archive for air cargo shipping industry news.
Ocean shipping and logistics services provider Matson saw improved third quarter profits as higher China and domestic freight rates offset mixed container volumes. Operating income was $227 million for the […]
Ocean Network Express posted soaring results in the second quarter on strong demand in the major trades, an early peak season in the U.S. and attacks on the Red Sea trade route.
The parent of container liner operator Maersk turned in quarterly revenue and profits higher than a year ago as attacks on Mideast shipping led to higher operating costs – and higher rates for shippers.
The ONE alliance of container vessel lines posted second-quarter revenue on an early peak shipping season thanks to attacks on a key Mideast route and looming East Coast longshore strike.
The parent of Maersk container line said strong demand for shipping services and higher ocean freight rates fueled growth across all businesses as it raised estimates for full-year results.
Newly announced federal spending on zero-emission equipment and infrastructure at container ports won the approval of the International Longshoremen’s Association.
Transport Canada is funneling millions of dollars to expand grain-handling facilities at the Port of Montreal.
CSX launched double-stack service to and from the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore on Monday thanks to clearance projects that have been completed north of the Howard Street Tunnel.
International container volume gains more than doubled domestic traffic in the third quarter, according to the Intermodal Association of North America.
The ONE vessel alliance plans to add a new East Asia string to the Port of Jacksonville’s modernized SSA Jacksonville Container Terminal.
Overall volume helped maritime terminals of the Georgia Ports Authority to their second-busiest September on record.
Canada’s second-busiest port is bracing for another protest by 1,200 longshore employees who have been refusing overtime work since Oct. 10.
Ports in Houston and Corpus Christi posted modest gains in freight movements during September, while the Port of New Orleans saw mixed results.
Despite a first-half lull in domestic network demand for logistics services, the world’s largest forwarder saw overall volume growth in the third quarter.
Zim Integrated Shipping Services is restructuring its Cross-Atlantic services connecting Mediterranean ports with North and South America.
Russia conveyed Iranian data to help Houthi rebels in Yemen attack commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
East Coast ocean carriers and terminal operators will resume bargaining with the International Longshoremen’s Association on a new contract in November.
German transportation provider Hapag-Lloyd reported preliminary nine-month profits and raised its full-year forecast as vessel diversions pushed up shipping rates.
Funding from FEMA will help protect operations and infrastructure at the second-busiest U.S. container hub.
The second-busiest U.S. container gateway moved record levels of cargo in September and in the third quarter on diversions ahead of an East Coast work stoppage and continued demand for holiday merchandise.
Strong third-quarter volumes have the world’s second-largest ocean container line upgrading its forecast for higher full-year returns.
An early peak shipping season, strong economy and resilient consumer spending boosted container volume to a record quarter at the Port of Los Angeles.
A record number of port calls by container ships presages higher forecast growth for the sector, according to a U.N. report.
Ocean Network Express and terminal operator DP World created a message on a dockside canvas during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Importers with the National Retail Federation fear a second Trump administration could hurt business with higher tariffs on consumer goods.
An early peak shipping season, strong economy and resilient consumer spending boosted container volume to a record quarter at the Port of Los Angeles.
Taylor Swift, who is currently on her Eras Tour, paid over $15 million to ship stage equipment from the United Kingdom to the United States.
Port-owned New Orleans Public Belt Railroad and logistics specialist Heniff Transportation Systems have opened a new state-backed transload facility aimed at dry and liquid bulk customers.
Portwide expansion and upgrades for ship, rail and truck have Charleston, South Carolina, officials eyeing annual capacity of 10 million TEUs for the fast-growing Southeastern maritime hub.
SeaPort Manatee near Tampa, Florida, is slated to get millions of dollars in emergency state funding to help recover from the effects of Hurricane Milton.
The Port of Long Beach has $2.2 billion earmarked for accelerating zero-emission initiatives over the next decade.
A partial work stoppage at the Port of Montreal follows a three-day strike earlier this month by union dockworkers at Canada’s second-busiest port.
Container handling resumed this weekend at dozens of ports on the East and Gulf coasts following a brief strike by dockworkers as the International Longshoremen’s Association and shipping lines prepare to resume bargaining.
East and Gulf Coast ports were lined with International Longshoremen’s Association members picketing against the United States Maritime Alliance before coming to an agreement. This is a firsthand look at the strike at Port Houston.
President Biden claims a major victory late in his term while the International Longshoremen’s Association negotiates a curious compromise after months of talking tough on the docks.
Port employers have come to a tentative agreement with unionized dockworkers on a 61% hourly wage increase, ending the three-day strike that shut down major East Coast container ports.
While tens of thousands of unionized longshore employees picket at ports along the East and Gulf coasts, the number of container ships waiting outside major maritime hubs continues to grow by the day.
While tens of thousands of unionized longshore employees picket at ports along the East and Gulf coasts, union leaders say they have received death threats during a work stoppage that has shut down vital container imports.
Shipping lines say they’re open to resuming contract negotiations with the International Longshoremen’s Association, which has shut down container imports at major East Coast ports.
Switzerland-based DSV added to its stable of logistics providers, buying Schenker from the debt-laden German national railway.
The International Longshoremen’s Association is accusing container shipping lines of ripping off customers, but rates are four times lower than the union claims.
Shippers and a wide range of port-related businesses will be affected by the International Longshoremen’s Association strike that began Tuesday at maritime hubs from Texas to Maine.
Reports of panic-buying at supermarkets began spreading across social media Tuesday as a union dockworker strike got underway at East and Gulf Coast ports.
The first port strike by the International Longshoremen’s Association since 1977 would bring a halt to an array of goods flowing through East and Gulf Coast maritime hubs.
Ports from Texas to Maine are bracing for a midnight strike by the International Longshoremen’s Association, the first since 1977, that will bring billions of dollars in seaborne trade to a halt.
Container flows in August surged in Houston and New Orleans, while global demand for crude oil continued to push exports through Corpus Christi, Texas.
Barring last-minute developments, the International Longshoremen’s Association said it plans to follow through on plans to strike at ports throughout the East and Gulf Coasts and bring container and ro-ro handling to a standstill.
From the White House on down, everyone has different strategies and different expectations when it comes to the port labor dispute.
A truck carrying lithium-ion batteries overturned and caught fire Thursday near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Container management software provider Gnosis Freight announced it has accepted a strategic capital investment from Vista Equity Partners.
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 […]
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.
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 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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
