Coronavirus

Stefan Trifan, president of APL Cargo, immigrated to the U.S. and built a successful carrier from the ground up, despite prejudice and discrimination.

Container-ship transits of the Panama Canal are up as liners favor the East Coast. LNG transits are down as U.S. gas heads to Europe.

Retail stock pickers seem increasingly nervous about shipping. Shares of dry bulk, tanker, container and mixed-fleet owners all fell.

The Shanghai lockdown isn’t following the same supply chain script as the big Chinese disruptions of 2020 and 2021.

The debate heats up on whether this is the beginning of the end of container shipping’s bull run.

California ports make progress on bottlenecks, but Chinese lockdowns could spur “hockey stick” import rise.

COVID lockdowns haven’t closed Chinese ports yet. If they do, U.S. importers face “shockwave” of higher rates and delays.

How could the consensus — that container spot rates will remain extremely high — be wrong?

There has never been a year like this for container shipping. Here are the biggest stories of 2021.

Omicron sweeps across the nation — 73% of United States COVID-19 cases. Omicron has raced ahead of other variants and is now the dominant version of the coronavirus in the U.S., federal health […]

It is clear that shippers need to pinpoint proactive solutions to their peak season woes if they hope to safeguard their bottom lines and maintain positive relationships with their customers in the upcoming months.

Extreme measures to contain delta variant create unprecedented backlog of dry bulk ships off China.

U.S. inventory-to-sales ratio still historically low as key import source — China — faces growing delta variant risk.

More problems loom for importers of Asian containerized goods and tanker slump could last even longer.

A year and a half after COVID emerged in Wuhan, China’s exporters, liners, shipyards and container factories are all booming.

In an environment as hands-on as trucking, bridging the gap between the digital and physical worlds can prove challenging.

Vaccine distribution is an inherently complex process. The process is further complicated by this specific vaccine’s short shelf life.

Americans of color are receiving the vaccine at far lower rates than white Americans. Doctors and ethicists say prioritizing essential workers and more proactive outreach would create a more equitable supply chain.

We’ve long touted retail inventory restocking as a primary growth driver for the freight bull run, but apparel brands aren’t aligning with this thesis. Rather than reverting back to habitual overordering and year-end discounting, retailers are sticking with the conservative ordering tactics that helped them win the holiday season.

Demand for its products skyrocketed, but port congestion and freight capacity constraints have prevented their delivery, and now Peloton is spending $100 million to try and fix its supply chain.

China’s latest maritime measure to control the spread of the coronavirus will add to the clog of containers at ports.

The Georgia Ports Authority is adding capacity in anticipation of another busy year.

In Africa, one seafarer is dead and 15 have been kidnapped. Worldwide, more seafarers are being barred from travel as COVID fears rise.

Nearly 700 dockworkers in California have COVID. Hundreds more are out due to quarantines. Pleas for fast-track vaccinations intensify.

“The way we responded to the challenges, kept commerce moving and preserved jobs is a story that we will all remember for a long time to come,” says Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka during his State of the Port address.

A look into the quantity of freight transported between North American borders last year.

2020 US rail traffic has declined due to the coronavirus outbreak. 

The Port of New York and New Jersey is committed to fluid operations during cargo surges.

A look back at 2020’s shipping roller coaster: how container sector emerged as ‘surprise rock star’ and tankers peaked early, then plunged.

The U.S. District Court in Nebraska sides with Union Pacific’s request to prevent Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees division from striking over the railroad’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division is considering action against Union Pacific over quarantine pay and “common sense” COVID-19 safeguards.

Seeking out capacity the old way—countless phone calls, spreadsheets, undocumented tribal knowledge, physical maps and word of mouth while scouring multiple carrier portals and load boards with stale or unverified data⎯ is chronically inefficient.

FreightWaves partnered with Redwood Logistics to assess the current state of the manufacturing industry and assess where it is headed in the new year.

FreightWaves chats with CEVA Logistics on what it takes for retail customers to transition successfully to e-commerce. What’s the answer? Flexibility.

Vaccine distribution won’t delay deliveries of your Honey Baked Ham and toilet paper, says CNBC’s Lori Ann LaRocco.

The closure of the U.S. land borders with Canada and Mexico for nonessential travel will extend through Jan. 21, though commercial trucks remain exempt.

Empty containers returning to Asia jumped 55% to 283,563 units.

Train lengths, improving network velocity and coronavirus uncertainties are among the big themes expressed by Class I railroad executives at a recent investor conference.

FedEx Canada and Innomar Strategies secure a Canadian government contract to distribute millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses.

The trans-Pacific surge will persist through Q1 and January could see all-time-high container volumes, predicts Flexport’s Nerijus Poskus.

There will be no letup in booming container imports in 2020. The only question now is how long it lasts into 2021.

The pandemic is leaving its mark on the real Christmas tree market with an apparent uptick in sales, a compressed selling season and direct-to-consumer deliveries that are replacing some retail […]

Panama Canal congestion is not impeding transits of container ships but it is pumping up spot rates for LNG and LPG carriers.

Pilots at UPS and company officials disagree about the level of precautions being taken to keep them safe while providing essential cargo service around the world. The pilots’ union says infections are on the rise and more testing is needed.

The total market capitalization of U.S.-listed ocean shipping stocks has plunged 34% in 2020, but there are reasons for hope in 2021.

The railroads say they are ensuring their networks keep running as coronavirus cases surge in the Midwest. Meanwhile, union members want the railroads to be more consistent in their responses to the pandemic.

A shortage of smaller turkeys grips the nation as families gather in smaller groups for Thanksgiving celebrations due to the pandemic.

Bulk soybean and corn exports are way up, but containerized ag exports are waylaid by equipment shortfalls and Chinese inspections.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government will be ready to distribute vaccines “as quickly as possible,” but acknowledged that the manufacturing countries will prioritize their own citizens first.

The adviser overseeing Operation Warp Speed said distribution of the first COVID-19 vaccines could begin as soon as Dec. 11.

XPO Logistics and Southwest Airlines will be eliminating jobs in Texas.

“Obviously everything with COVID is a learning curve,” says Tom Hughes.

The U.S., Mexico and Canada have agreed to keep their land borders closed for nonessential travel until at least Dec. 21.

As COVID hospitalizations surge and business restrictions mount, could U.S. importers be overshooting the mark?

Maersk confirms that cargo demand looks strong through year-end, bucking the usual seasonal trend.

There will be more than 2,400 extra all-cargo aircraft in circulation by 2040 to support growth in global trade and e-commerce, Boeing says.

The Canadian government prequalified FedEx Canada, UPS Health Care, McKesson and Kuehne + Nagel to bid on a contract to distribute millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses.

Hapag-Lloyd sees strength until “at least Chinese New Year” and a challenge to “get containers where they need to be.”

Atlas Air says it faced hardships during the coronavirus pandemic, making it eligible for emergency airline aid from Congress despite a massive growth in business.

There are not enough containers in China to handle all the U.S.-bound cargo — and box factories are now sold out into Q2.

Pfizer is laying the logistics groundwork for what is considered the largest-ever vaccine distribution campaign.

Pfizer says it would distribute its COVID-19 vaccines directly to administration sites in Canada, echoing its approach in the United States.

The one-two punch of the Pfizer vaccine and Joe Biden’s victory will affect container and tanker shipping in multiple ways.

Delta took pains to remove seats from a large jet so it could carry more cargo — and eight weeks later permanently parked the airplane.

Delta is responding to customer willingness to pay good rates for airfreight by adding more cargo-only flights.

U.S.-listed carrier reveals the latest on trans-Pacific holiday rush, restocking, e-commerce spike and port congestion.

2020 wins include harbor-deepening funding and Blount Island berth enhancements.

This white paper features a 5-step process that will help advise the transportation industry on how to prepare, plan and execute a return to workplace action strategy amid the coronavirus with guidelines and best practices.

UPS pilots say the company isn’t holding up its end of the bargain to keep them safe while flying cargo during a pandemic. UPS denies the claims.

Everyone has been impacted by the current political, economic and health climate in the U.S. For the health science industry, these challenges are amplified.

More recovery signals: container lease pricing up over 50% versus second quarter, new container prices up 40% year-to-date.

The challenges of delivering a coronavirus vaccine to 8 billion people are immense, but over time more logistics companies will be able to participate as shipping tolerances ease.

Ground handling companies, with the help of Trump administration officials at the Treasury Department, took CARES Act aid designed to keep workers employed and still terminated many of them.

High cost of repositioning reefer equipment is hitting food exporters hard amid ongoing tariff fallout.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in the transportation sector is back on the rise.

New Kpler data reveals slow pace of floating-storage unwind and steady fall in crude-tanker utilization.

On a collision course: holiday timing, surging consumer demand, thin inventories, and capacity constraints for container liners and ports.

Some Top 20 cargo airports still can’t get above water in terms of freight volume because there aren’t enough passenger planes flying.

“Several months into this pandemic, we are now seeing positive signs by these cargo volume totals.”

Air Canada is losing its CEO, Calin Rovinescu. He will retire early next year with a reputation for bold leadership.

Cargo mix and larger locks kept Panama Canal volumes rising despite headwinds.

“Port partners are taking proactive steps to add more resources and service hours to support this untraditional peak cargo volume season.”

“Regardless of who wins the upcoming elections, our country is in desperate need of a cohesive export plan as well as an infrastructure program and a digitization strategy for ports across the country,” says Executive Director Gene Seroka.

United Airlines lost more than $2 billion in the third quarter, but the cargo division did its part to stabilize finances.

FEMA is trying to plan ahead for supply chain bottlenecks related to pandemic response and says it needs private sector help. New antitrust immunity on information-sharing should help.

A “blue sweep” win for Democrats could be good for container ships, bad for tankers.

The U.S. is experiencing an import surge.

“If you go back a couple of months, nobody would have expected that demand would be as strong today as it is right now,” says CEO Rolf Habben Jansen.

Asiana and Azul are taking cargo seriously in an unprecedented year for aviation. To capture greater cargo revenue, Asiana has replaced passenger seats with a novel freight pallet system. Azul is turning regional jets into cargo planes.

American Airlines cargo and passenger flights will shift to a new mega-airport in Beijing in March. Passenger demand will dictate how long cargo-only flights continue.

Shipping CEOs see an increasing risk of a global economic crisis in the decade ahead.

At airlines, cargo is typically the junior partner to passenger service. During COVID, the roles are reversed and United Airlines is using its cargo network to support more passenger service.

Another key bellwether — the cost of dry bulk freight — is pointing to an economic recovery.

National Airlines – not National the car rental company – is adding three 747s to its freighter fleet at a time when shippers are desperate to find airlift.

The air cargo industry is operating with an anchor tied around its waist: The absence of strong passenger service.

‘Get ready for the biggest restocking cycle on record,’ says Jefferies.

As NYSHEX expands and Maersk Spot nears U.S. approval, ocean transport contracts could become more binding.

A new supply chain is emerging. Here’s a dive into supply chain recovery and adaptation, pre- and post-COVID.

Good luck finding an available aircraft to haul your goods at a reasonable price for the next three months. Competition for airlift is fierce these days. Find out why.

Logistics companies are making lemonade from lemons during the coronavirus. New processes and workarounds keep freight moving, but often at extra cost.