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<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Truckload operator Gordon Trucking is tightening pre-hire screening of driver applicants, requiring hair samples for drug testing well as urine samples.
 
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Truckload operator Gordon Trucking is tightening pre-hire screening of driver applicants, requiring hair samples for drug testing well as urine samples.

<div>Truckload operator Gordon Trucking is tightening pre-hire screening of driver applicants, requiring hair samples for drug testing well as urine samples.Since the trucking company and its lab partner began testing hair samples in July, 10 out of 170 potential driver candidates have tested positive for drug use.&amp;ldquo;We also routinely have candidates dismiss themselves from orientation classes once they confirm a hair test will be conducted,&amp;rdquo; said Scott Manthey, vice president of safety and compliance at the company, which has about 1,950 trucks.Pacific, Wash.-based <a>Gordon Trucking</a> is one of many carriers tightening screening requirements for driver in the wake of several...

Truckload operator Gordon Trucking is tightening pre-hire screening of driver applicants, requiring hair samples for drug testing well as urine samples. Since the trucking company and its lab partner began testing hair samples in July, 10 out of 170 potential driver candidates have tested positive for drug use. &ldquo;We also routinely have candidates dismiss themselves from orientation classes once they confirm a hair test will be conducted,&rdquo; said Scott Manthey, vice president of safety and compliance at the company, which has about 1,950 trucks. Pacific, Wash.-based Gordon Trucking is one of many carriers tightening screening requirements for driver in the wake of several federal safety initiatives. These truckers aren&rsquo;t just splitting hairs by expanding their drug testing programs. They&rsquo;re responding to a federal clampdown on safety and shipper concerns. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration&rsquo;s CSA initiative more closely links carrier safety ratings with driver behavior in a close to real-time environment. Shippers concerned about potential accident liability increasingly are questioning whether to use carriers whose safety ratings fall below CSA thresholds. Those pressures have carriers such as Gordon Trucking raising the bar for new drivers they hire and tightening standards, including drug testing. Gordon Trucking partnered with Omega Laboratories, Mogodore, Ohio, which specializes in hair testing, to test samples collected from driver applicants. Hair testing is more expensive than urine testing but can detect drug abuse over a longer period. Almost twice as many samples test positive than in urine tests. Each half inch of head hair provides a 30-day history of drug use, while urine tests provide a two- to three-day history in most cases, Omega Laboratories said. Contact William B. Cassidy at wcassidy@joc.com . Follow him on Twitter at @wbcassidy_joc

Gordon Trucking Drug Tests Drivers' Hair

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">A 30% increase in the total value of transportation and logistics acquisitions over the last six months signals a stronger market for M&amp;A emerging in 2025, PwC says in a market report.</div>

A 30% increase in the total value of transportation and logistics acquisitions over the last six months signals a stronger market for M&A emerging in 2025, PwC says in a market report.

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<div class="phx-topic">Lower capital costs and shifting supply chain demands are setting the stage for a rebound in US logistics and transportation mergers and acquisitions (M&amp;A), auditing and advisory firm PwC said Friday. The total combined value of logistics and transportation M&amp;A rose 30% in the six months ending Nov. 15 from the previous six months, climbing to $51.5 billion, PwC said in a new market report. That brought the total value of US logistics M&amp;A in the first 11 months of 2024 to $91 billion. In the six months that ended May 15, the total M&amp;A value was $39.5 billion. The increase in deal value is likely a sign of improving investor confidence, with more companies anticipating higher profits amid supply and demand adjustments, said PwC. “The [US] transportation and logistics sector is witnessing an uptick in dealmaking spurred by favorable economic conditions and investor confidence,” the report said. “The trucking and railroad sectors will warrant close attention,” said PwC. The firm expects more consolidation among small trucking firms after <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/prolonged-us-freight-recession-to-drag-into-2025-transportation-executives-5818486">nearly three years of low rates</a>. Railroads, PwC said, may look for ways “to expand their ecosystem” through strategic alliances and acquisitions to better compete with trucking companies. With the US Federal Reserve’s cuts to the federal funds rate and the incoming Trump administration’s deregulatory agenda, “M&amp;A activity is set to rebound,” said PwC. “Strategic participants” rather than outside investors are driving deals, according to the report, as companies acquire direct competitors or expand into new services. Examples include third-party logistics provider RXO’s $1.025 billion <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/rxo-purchase-of-coyote-logistics-highlights-us-brokerage-market-pressures-5192296">purchase of Coyote Logistics</a> and Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings’ <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/interest-in-us-ltl-ma-activity-seen-rising-as-2025-approaches-5772881">less-than-truckload (LTL) acquisitions</a>. Global freight forwarder <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/value-of-schenker-takeover-will-manifest-in-expanding-services-dsv-ceo-5778478">DSV’s $15.9 billion acquisition</a> of Germany’s DB Schenker in September shows the same principle on an international scale. Among smaller logistics and transportation companies, acquisition activity has barely ebbed, with unrelenting pressure to expand in a tough market prompting deals. “If you’re not growing, you’re sinking,” Mike Moran, president of Moran Transportation, said in November after acquiring <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/smaller-us-ltl-carriers-increasingly-merging-in-sink-or-swim-market-5783875">competing midwestern LTL carrier</a> RMX Freight Systems. Heading into 2025, logistics and transportation companies have “a large amount of dry powder,” PwC said, referring to capital those companies can spend on acquisitions. They’ll be more likely to use that “powder” as freight rates and profits stabilize, PwC said. Contact William B. Cassidy at <a href="mailto:bill.cassidy@spglobal.com">bill.cassidy@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

Lower capital costs and shifting supply chain demands are setting the stage for a rebound in US logistics and transportation mergers and acquisitions (M&A), auditing and advisory firm PwC said Friday. The total combined value of logistics and transportation M&A rose 30% in the six months ending Nov. 15 from the previous six months, climbing to $51.5 billion, PwC said in a new market report. That brought the total value of US logistics M&A in the first 11 months of 2024 to $91 billion. In the six months that ended May 15, the total M&A value was $39.5 billion. The increase in deal value is likely a sign of improving investor confidence, with more companies anticipating higher profits amid supply and demand adjustments, said PwC. “The [US] transportation and logistics sector is witnessing an uptick in dealmaking spurred by favorable economic conditions and investor confidence,” the report said. “The trucking and railroad sectors will warrant close attention,” said PwC. The firm expects more consolidation among small trucking firms after nearly three years of low rates . Railroads, PwC said, may look for ways “to expand their ecosystem” through strategic alliances and acquisitions to better compete with trucking companies. With the US Federal Reserve’s cuts to the federal funds rate and the incoming Trump administration’s deregulatory agenda, “M&A activity is set to rebound,” said PwC. “Strategic participants” rather than outside investors are driving deals, according to the report, as companies acquire direct competitors or expand into new services. Examples include third-party logistics provider RXO’s $1.025 billion purchase of Coyote Logistics and Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings’ less-than-truckload (LTL) acquisitions . Global freight forwarder DSV’s $15.9 billion acquisition of Germany’s DB Schenker in September shows the same principle on an international scale. Among smaller logistics and transportation companies, acquisition activity has barely ebbed, with unrelenting pressure to expand in a tough market prompting deals. “If you’re not growing, you’re sinking,” Mike Moran, president of Moran Transportation, said in November after acquiring competing midwestern LTL carrier RMX Freight Systems. Heading into 2025, logistics and transportation companies have “a large amount of dry powder,” PwC said, referring to capital those companies can spend on acquisitions. They’ll be more likely to use that “powder” as freight rates and profits stabilize, PwC said. Contact William B. Cassidy at bill.cassidy@spglobal.com .

Transportation M&A activity seen ready to rebound as value of deals rises

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The union’s hardline stance against the further encroachment of automation at US ports received a big boost with the incoming administration saying maritime employers should look to labor to increase capacity and efficiency. </div>

The union’s hardline stance against the further encroachment of automation at US ports received a big boost with the incoming administration saying maritime employers should look to labor to increase capacity and efficiency.

<div class="phx-topic">President-elect Donald Trump has waded into contract negotiations between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and maritime employers, saying he supports the union’s stance against further port automation. However, ocean carriers and ports urged the incoming administration to also consider the broader implications of his stance for US businesses and consumers dependent on ports. Trump late Thursday posted a statement on Truth Social saying that investment in automation at US ports is not worth the “distress, hurt, and harm it causes for American workers, in this case, our longshoremen.” He added that terminal operators and ocean carriers looking at such investments should instead “spend it on the great men and women on our docks” instead of “machinery, which is expensive and will constantly have to be replaced.” Trump’s statement came after a two-hour meeting he had this week with ILA President Harold Daggett and Executive Vice President Dennis Daggett, <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/ila-looking-for-local-ports-to-bring-in-more-union-foremen-5244993">the second such meeting</a> Trump has had with union leadership. Harold Daggett met with then-candidate Trump in November 2023.Trump’s statement echoed many of the points the ILA has raised during its negotiations with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) for a new six-year contract covering East and Gulf coast ports. Trump noted that ocean carriers “have made a fortune in the US,” with the ILA recently releasing an estimate that the USMX’s top container lines made $385 billion in net profit between 2020 and 2023. “For the great privilege of accessing our markets, these foreign companies should hire our incredible American workers,” Trump’s statement said. <h3>ILA ‘grateful’ for Trump support</h3>Harold Daggett said in his own statement that he was “grateful to President Donald Trump for his courageous support for American ILA longshore workers.” He added that Trump’s position on automation should help remove the current sticking point that has stalled talks for a new master contract.“I hope this strong support from President Trump will encourage USMX to remove any language of automated or semi-automated equipment in their proposals moving forward, and we can get a new master contract without any disruptions,” Daggett said.After agreeing to <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/despite-tentative-wage-deal-usmx-and-ila-have-bumpy-road-ahead-on-other-key-issues-5743997">a contract extension that expires Jan. 15</a>, the ILA halted further negotiations with the USMX due to what the union said was the employers’ insistence on retaining current contract language permitting semi-automation at ports, as long both sides agree. Now, however, the ILA wants to remove that provision entirely. The union has cited <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/ila-targets-rail-mounted-gantry-cranes-amid-impasse-in-port-labor-talks-5874742">rail-mounted gantry cranes</a>, which allow a remote operator to move containers, as an example of semi-automation that reduces demand for longshore workers. The USMX responded in a statement late Thursday that technology investments are needed to “improve worker safety, boost port efficiency, increase port capacity, and strengthen our supply chains.” It added that efficient ports are important to the broader economy and are not just a concern of ocean carriers and longshore workers. “It’s clear President-elect Trump, USMX, and the ILA all share the goal of protecting and adding good-paying American jobs at our ports,” the USMX said in a statement, “But this contract goes beyond our ports — it is about supporting American consumers and giving American businesses access to the global marketplace — from farmers, to manufacturers, to small businesses, and innovative start-ups looking for new markets to sell their products.” Contact Michael Angell at <a href="mailto:michael.angell@spglobal.com">michael.angell@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

President-elect Donald Trump has waded into contract negotiations between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and maritime employers, saying he supports the union’s stance against further port automation. However, ocean carriers and ports urged the incoming administration to also consider the broader implications of his stance for US businesses and consumers dependent on ports. Trump late Thursday posted a statement on Truth Social saying that investment in automation at US ports is not worth the “distress, hurt, and harm it causes for American workers, in this case, our longshoremen.” He added that terminal operators and ocean carriers looking at such investments should instead “spend it on the great men and women on our docks” instead of “machinery, which is expensive and will constantly have to be replaced.” Trump’s statement came after a two-hour meeting he had this week with ILA President Harold Daggett and Executive Vice President Dennis Daggett, the second such meeting Trump has had with union leadership. Harold Daggett met with then-candidate Trump in November 2023. Trump’s statement echoed many of the points the ILA has raised during its negotiations with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) for a new six-year contract covering East and Gulf coast ports. Trump noted that ocean carriers “have made a fortune in the US,” with the ILA recently releasing an estimate that the USMX’s top container lines made $385 billion in net profit between 2020 and 2023. “For the great privilege of accessing our markets, these foreign companies should hire our incredible American workers,” Trump’s statement said. ILA ‘grateful’ for Trump support Harold Daggett said in his own statement that he was “grateful to President Donald Trump for his courageous support for American ILA longshore workers.” He added that Trump’s position on automation should help remove the current sticking point that has stalled talks for a new master contract. “I hope this strong support from President Trump will encourage USMX to remove any language of automated or semi-automated equipment in their proposals moving forward, and we can get a new master contract without any disruptions,” Daggett said. After agreeing to a contract extension that expires Jan. 15 , the ILA halted further negotiations with the USMX due to what the union said was the employers’ insistence on retaining current contract language permitting semi-automation at ports, as long both sides agree. Now, however, the ILA wants to remove that provision entirely. The union has cited rail-mounted gantry cranes , which allow a remote operator to move containers, as an example of semi-automation that reduces demand for longshore workers. The USMX responded in a statement late Thursday that technology investments are needed to “improve worker safety, boost port efficiency, increase port capacity, and strengthen our supply chains.” It added that efficient ports are important to the broader economy and are not just a concern of ocean carriers and longshore workers. “It’s clear President-elect Trump, USMX, and the ILA all share the goal of protecting and adding good-paying American jobs at our ports,” the USMX said in a statement, “But this contract goes beyond our ports — it is about supporting American consumers and giving American businesses access to the global marketplace — from farmers, to manufacturers, to small businesses, and innovative start-ups looking for new markets to sell their products.” Contact Michael Angell at michael.angell@spglobal.com .

ILA plays new Trump card in automation standoff with USMX

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The wind energy sector provides a key source of project and breakbulk cargo, but US policy shifts could dampen future activity given that President-elect Donald Trump has been a vocal opponent of offshore wind.</div>

The wind energy sector provides a key source of project and breakbulk cargo, but US policy shifts could dampen future activity given that President-elect Donald Trump has been a vocal opponent of offshore wind.

<div class="phx-topic">With the US offshore wind industry at a crossroads ahead of a second Trump term, manufacturers and developers in the sector are having to choose whether to forge ahead or pull back on projects and technologies.The wind energy sector provides a key source of project and breakbulk cargo, and US policy shifts could dictate future cargo activity. President-elect Donald Trump has been a vocal opponent of offshore wind.In one recent sign of progress, floating offshore wind startup Aikido Technologies hailed the completion of a prototype of its fold-up, floating offshore wind platform in less than 40 working hours as a “new standard” for the industry, according to a Nov. 26 statement from the company. Based in San Francisco, Aikido was established in 2022 using seed money from an investment venture backed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos.Harvey, Louisiana-based Chet Morrison Contractors constructed the 100-killowatt (kW), quarter-scale Aikido One platform at Mississippi’s Port Pascagoula along the Gulf of Mexico, where Aikido is testing the structure.“One of the major advantages of this platform is that the most labor-intensive assemblies can be done on a relatively small footprint,” Morrison project manager Billy LeBoeuf told the Journal of Commerce.Touted as the largest floating wind platform in the US, the compact, semi-submersible structure was designed to help solve production challenges and port space limitations, according to the statement.The US Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that about two-thirds of the country’s offshore wind potential lies in ocean waters that are too deep for turbine platforms to be secured to the sea floor. But the buildout of the US floating offshore wind segment would require constructing new, specialized port facilities and vessels to accommodate the jumbo-size components that make up floating turbine platforms.“The main thing that makes this platform unique is the modular design,” LeBoeuf said, adding that the platform consists of 13 major components that can be completed offsite. “Once these components are delivered to the final assembly area, no additional welding is required.”Because of the platform’s compact configuration, traditional barges and smaller port areas can be used for assembling, transporting and loading the entire platform or its components, according to Aikido. <h3>New York wind farm plans on hold</h3>As some offshore wind developers are moving forward with their US plans, at least one company is pulling back following Trump’s election to a second term.Reports surfaced in late November that French energy giant TotalEnergies halted the development of a wind project off the coast of New York State.Speaking at an energy industry conference in London, TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné said on Nov. 26 that he decided to put the company’s Attentive Energy wind farm project on pause following Trump’s election, according to reports by Bloomberg and Reuters.TotalEnergies secured a federal lease for the project in February 2022 with plans to develop an 84,332-acre wind farm with the potential to generate 3,000 MW of energy for nearly 1 million homes by the end of the decade. The project is in the early stages of permitting with the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). Trump has pledged to halt offshore wind development “on day one” of taking office on Jan. 20. But offshore wind development liaison Toussaint Williams told the Journal of Commerce that even if action to slow the industry takes place at the federal level, the real power could remain with US governors whose states have projects under development or could otherwise advance the industry.On the East Coast, multiple projects are already under construction, with some 50% to 70% complete, Toussaint said. “Those projects are so far along that it’s really in the hands of the states now to set up workforce development initiatives, to double down on investments, and to create regional partnerships to help move those projects forward,” he said.Toussaint, who highlighted the role of US governors in his Plugged Into US Offshore Wind newsletter, categorized state leaders into three groups — supporters, pragmatists and skeptics of offshore wind. Among states with the potential to develop offshore wind, Toussaint said the lion’s share of governors fall into one of the first two categories.Given that assessment — and the fact that developers laid much of the groundwork for US offshore wind during the previous Trump administration — Toussaint said he is “cautiously optimistic, but leaning more toward the optimistic side” about the industry’s future domestically. “Trump will be in office for four years. Climate change isn’t going anywhere,” he said. “Let’s see what the results will be.”Contact Autumn Guisti at <a href="mailto:autumn@autumnguisti.com">autumn@autumnguisti.com</a>.</div>

With the US offshore wind industry at a crossroads ahead of a second Trump term, manufacturers and developers in the sector are having to choose whether to forge ahead or pull back on projects and technologies. The wind energy sector provides a key source of project and breakbulk cargo, and US policy shifts could dictate future cargo activity. President-elect Donald Trump has been a vocal opponent of offshore wind. In one recent sign of progress, floating offshore wind startup Aikido Technologies hailed the completion of a prototype of its fold-up, floating offshore wind platform in less than 40 working hours as a “new standard” for the industry, according to a Nov. 26 statement from the company. Based in San Francisco, Aikido was established in 2022 using seed money from an investment venture backed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos. Harvey, Louisiana-based Chet Morrison Contractors constructed the 100-killowatt (kW), quarter-scale Aikido One platform at Mississippi’s Port Pascagoula along the Gulf of Mexico, where Aikido is testing the structure. “One of the major advantages of this platform is that the most labor-intensive assemblies can be done on a relatively small footprint,” Morrison project manager Billy LeBoeuf told the Journal of Commerce. Touted as the largest floating wind platform in the US, the compact, semi-submersible structure was designed to help solve production challenges and port space limitations, according to the statement. The US Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that about two-thirds of the country’s offshore wind potential lies in ocean waters that are too deep for turbine platforms to be secured to the sea floor. But the buildout of the US floating offshore wind segment would require constructing new, specialized port facilities and vessels to accommodate the jumbo-size components that make up floating turbine platforms. “The main thing that makes this platform unique is the modular design,” LeBoeuf said, adding that the platform consists of 13 major components that can be completed offsite. “Once these components are delivered to the final assembly area, no additional welding is required.” Because of the platform’s compact configuration, traditional barges and smaller port areas can be used for assembling, transporting and loading the entire platform or its components, according to Aikido. New York wind farm plans on hold As some offshore wind developers are moving forward with their US plans, at least one company is pulling back following Trump’s election to a second term. Reports surfaced in late November that French energy giant TotalEnergies halted the development of a wind project off the coast of New York State. Speaking at an energy industry conference in London, TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné said on Nov. 26 that he decided to put the company’s Attentive Energy wind farm project on pause following Trump’s election, according to reports by Bloomberg and Reuters. TotalEnergies secured a federal lease for the project in February 2022 with plans to develop an 84,332-acre wind farm with the potential to generate 3,000 MW of energy for nearly 1 million homes by the end of the decade. The project is in the early stages of permitting with the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). Trump has pledged to halt offshore wind development “on day one” of taking office on Jan. 20. But offshore wind development liaison Toussaint Williams told the Journal of Commerce that even if action to slow the industry takes place at the federal level, the real power could remain with US governors whose states have projects under development or could otherwise advance the industry. On the East Coast, multiple projects are already under construction, with some 50% to 70% complete, Toussaint said. “Those projects are so far along that it’s really in the hands of the states now to set up workforce development initiatives, to double down on investments, and to create regional partnerships to help move those projects forward,” he said. Toussaint, who highlighted the role of US governors in his Plugged Into US Offshore Wind newsletter, categorized state leaders into three groups — supporters, pragmatists and skeptics of offshore wind. Among states with the potential to develop offshore wind, Toussaint said the lion’s share of governors fall into one of the first two categories. Given that assessment — and the fact that developers laid much of the groundwork for US offshore wind during the previous Trump administration — Toussaint said he is “cautiously optimistic, but leaning more toward the optimistic side” about the industry’s future domestically. “Trump will be in office for four years. Climate change isn’t going anywhere,” he said. “Let’s see what the results will be.” Contact Autumn Guisti at autumn@autumnguisti.com .

US offshore wind navigates uncertain future as new Trump term looms

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">A statement posted by the president-elect on social media Thursday made it clear he stood with the International Longshoremen’s Association and their opposition to automation at ports along the East and Gulf coasts.</div>

A statement posted by the president-elect on social media Thursday made it clear he stood with the International Longshoremen’s Association and their opposition to automation at ports along the East and Gulf coasts.

<div class="phx-topic">Did President-elect Donald Trump, in issuing a strong statement of support for East and Gulf coast dockworkers on Thursday, end any hope ocean carriers had of emerging from contract negotiations with anything other than a complete capitulation to the union’s demands? <div class="wrapper-narrow float-right-element"><img src="/images/phoenix/5905156_0.1.jpg"></img></div>Trump’s statement made it clear he stood with the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and their opposition to automation at ports along the East and Gulf coasts, saying “the amount of money saved is nowhere near the distress, hurt and harm for American workers, in this case our longshoremen.” That spells a virtual dead end for ocean carriers wanting to push their interests to the max in stalled contract negotiations, some insiders tell the Journal of Commerce, given the role the White House has played in pushing through deals to end strikes or extended labor slowdown actions. Those insiders predict that ocean carriers represented by the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) will now cave in to the demands of the ILA to eliminate existing rights port employers have to introduce automation. Trump’s post on Truth Social is “game over for carriers,” said one knowledgeable source. “No strike and they will give [the union] what they want and then fight another day.” The logic behind that point of view is the carriers who dominate USMX will not risk another head-to-head confrontation with a US president like the one they found themselves in during the three-day ILA strike in October, the first since the late 1970s. They walked away from that interaction having seen their group CEOs <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/behind-the-scenes-white-house-arm-twisting-got-ila-wage-deal-done-5747241">all but forced by the White House to agree to a staggering 62% wage increase</a> for ILA workers over the course of the next contract. Another confrontation this time with the incoming Trump administration could create unknown risks for the carriers’ lucrative business in the US. The alternative is to fight, which, although some see it as a remote possibility given carriers’ traditional desire to lay low, is one at least some carriers appear to be champing at the bit to give a try. That scenario is based on thinking that the carriers aren’t as powerless in the negotiations as it may appear, even though they are all but friendless politically in the US. Carriers in this point of view have a strong argument to make, if they could get their act together on the public relations front, that US ports are woefully costly and inefficient and require automation to enable US containerized trade to continue growing without constantly bumping up against capacity limitations at US ports. <h3>Carriers’ long and growing frustration </h3>Carriers have long-pent up frustrations with US ports, where cargo handling costs are the highest in the world, carriers say, yet they have no ability to directly pass those costs along to customers in the form terminal handling charges that they assess almost everywhere else in the world. The USMX began belatedly <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/ocean-carriers-take-harder-line-with-ila-as-january-strike-date-nears-5896887">making that point in early December</a>, a sign of its stepped-up PR strategy under pressure from their carrier board members. “Due to the lack of available new land in most ports, the only way for US East and Gulf coast ports to handle more volume is to densify terminals — enabling the movement of more cargo through their existing footprints,” <a href="https://www.usmx.com/assets/content/public-resources/12-3-24_Port_Modernization_and_Investment_in_Technology.pdf">USMX said</a>. “Port operations must evolve, and embracing modern technology is critical to this evolution.” Practically speaking, the two sides at least currently are careening toward another strike as of Jan. 15, the deadline set in October for a new contract. There has been no meaningful resumption of negotiations since June, but carriers are not motivated to get a deal done by the deadline and avoid another strike; if Jan. 15 arrives with no deal, the 62% increase is off the table, according to two carriers. Furthermore, in prior negotiating rounds with US dockworkers over several decades, carriers prioritized keeping the ports open and cargo flowing. But they no longer have such motivations given their recent experience that disruptions force up freight rates. That is why some carriers might be all too happy to allow a second strike to go forward, assuming the ILA chooses to strike as of Jan. 15, giving carriers leverage at the negotiating table because it would require their agreement to terms that would end the strike. One scenario is that the ILA strikes on Jan. 15 and the parties are forced into a deal on Jan. 20, the day of Trump’s inauguration. Contact Peter Tirschwell at <a href="mailto:peter.tirschwell@spglobal.com">peter.tirschwell@spglobal.com.</a></div>

Did President-elect Donald Trump, in issuing a strong statement of support for East and Gulf coast dockworkers on Thursday, end any hope ocean carriers had of emerging from contract negotiations with anything other than a complete capitulation to the union’s demands? Trump’s statement made it clear he stood with the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and their opposition to automation at ports along the East and Gulf coasts, saying “the amount of money saved is nowhere near the distress, hurt and harm for American workers, in this case our longshoremen.” That spells a virtual dead end for ocean carriers wanting to push their interests to the max in stalled contract negotiations, some insiders tell the Journal of Commerce, given the role the White House has played in pushing through deals to end strikes or extended labor slowdown actions. Those insiders predict that ocean carriers represented by the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) will now cave in to the demands of the ILA to eliminate existing rights port employers have to introduce automation. Trump’s post on Truth Social is “game over for carriers,” said one knowledgeable source. “No strike and they will give [the union] what they want and then fight another day.” The logic behind that point of view is the carriers who dominate USMX will not risk another head-to-head confrontation with a US president like the one they found themselves in during the three-day ILA strike in October, the first since the late 1970s. They walked away from that interaction having seen their group CEOs all but forced by the White House to agree to a staggering 62% wage increase for ILA workers over the course of the next contract. Another confrontation this time with the incoming Trump administration could create unknown risks for the carriers’ lucrative business in the US. The alternative is to fight, which, although some see it as a remote possibility given carriers’ traditional desire to lay low, is one at least some carriers appear to be champing at the bit to give a try. That scenario is based on thinking that the carriers aren’t as powerless in the negotiations as it may appear, even though they are all but friendless politically in the US. Carriers in this point of view have a strong argument to make, if they could get their act together on the public relations front, that US ports are woefully costly and inefficient and require automation to enable US containerized trade to continue growing without constantly bumping up against capacity limitations at US ports. Carriers’ long and growing frustration Carriers have long-pent up frustrations with US ports, where cargo handling costs are the highest in the world, carriers say, yet they have no ability to directly pass those costs along to customers in the form terminal handling charges that they assess almost everywhere else in the world. The USMX began belatedly making that point in early December , a sign of its stepped-up PR strategy under pressure from their carrier board members. “Due to the lack of available new land in most ports, the only way for US East and Gulf coast ports to handle more volume is to densify terminals — enabling the movement of more cargo through their existing footprints,” USMX said . “Port operations must evolve, and embracing modern technology is critical to this evolution.” Practically speaking, the two sides at least currently are careening toward another strike as of Jan. 15, the deadline set in October for a new contract. There has been no meaningful resumption of negotiations since June, but carriers are not motivated to get a deal done by the deadline and avoid another strike; if Jan. 15 arrives with no deal, the 62% increase is off the table, according to two carriers. Furthermore, in prior negotiating rounds with US dockworkers over several decades, carriers prioritized keeping the ports open and cargo flowing. But they no longer have such motivations given their recent experience that disruptions force up freight rates. That is why some carriers might be all too happy to allow a second strike to go forward, assuming the ILA chooses to strike as of Jan. 15, giving carriers leverage at the negotiating table because it would require their agreement to terms that would end the strike. One scenario is that the ILA strikes on Jan. 15 and the parties are forced into a deal on Jan. 20, the day of Trump’s inauguration. Contact Peter Tirschwell at peter.tirschwell@spglobal.com.

Trump’s backing of ILA puts pressure on carriers to cave to union’s demands

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">While cargo volume is expected to grow 5.8% next year, the airline association is warning that aircraft supply chain issues will raise costs, possibly limiting that growth.</div>

While cargo volume is expected to grow 5.8% next year, the airline association is warning that aircraft supply chain issues will raise costs, possibly limiting that growth.

<div class="phx-topic">The sustained demand that has kept air cargo in peak season mode all year is heading into a difficult 2025 with the capacity outlook clouded by aging aircraft, delivery delays of new planes and a backlog of orders, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Cargo volumes are expected to reach 72.5 million metric tons next year, a 5.8% increase from 2024, IATA noted in its annual industry review this week. But aircraft supply chain issues will raise costs and could limit market growth, warned IATA Director-General Willie Walsh. “Supply chain issues are frustrating every airline with a triple whammy on revenues, costs and environmental performance,” Walsh said. “Load factors are at record highs and there is no doubt that if we had more aircraft they could be profitably deployed, so our revenues are being compromised.” New aircraft are urgently needed to both cater to growing cargo and passenger markets and to replace aging fleets. IATA data shows the average age of the global fleet now stands at a record 14.8 years, up from the 13.6-year average over the past 24 years. Yet aircraft deliveries have fallen sharply from the peak of 1,813 aircraft in 2018. IATA is expecting 1,254 aircraft to have been delivered this year, a 30% shortfall on what was predicted going into 2024. Deliveries in 2025 are forecast to rise to 1,802 planes, well below expectations for 2,293 deliveries, and further downward revisions on deliveries for next year are widely expected. On top of the delivery delays, the backlog of unfulfilled orders for new aircraft has reached 17,000 planes, a record high, and IATA said at present delivery rates, that would take 14 years to fulfill — double the six-year average backlog for the 2013–19 period. “The aging fleet that airlines are using has higher maintenance costs, burns more fuel, and takes more capital to keep it flying,” Walsh said. “And, on top of this, leasing rates have risen more than interest rates as competition among airlines intensified the scramble to find every way possible to expand capacity. “This is a time when airlines need to be fixing their battered post-pandemic balance sheets, but progress is effectively capped by supply chain issues that manufacturers need to resolve,” he added. <h3>Capacity remains in short supply </h3>Sustained demand out of Asia, driven in part by the robust e-commerce volume on the trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe corridors, is keeping capacity tight and rates at highly elevated levels. The average Shanghai to North Europe spot rate of $5.07 per kilogram this week was the highest in almost two years, while the Shanghai-North America rate of $6.61/kg is the highest so far this year, according to the Baltic Air Index (BAI). Rate benchmarking platform Xeneta shows global air freight volume in November recorded its 13th consecutive month of double-digit growth as load factors hit their highest level since April 2022. In the 11 months through November, demand has increased by more than 12% while available capacity has grown just 4.8% To serve the high demand out of Asia, airlines are repositioning freighters from other trade lanes <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/trans-atlantic-air-cargo-rates-take-off-as-capacity-shifts-to-asia-5904256">such as the trans-Atlantic</a>, where rates are soaring as demand outstrips available capacity. Managing the air cargo capacity shortage on key trade lanes is also a challenge for forwarders that are keeping up with demand by chartering freighters. “We have proactively secured extra capacity on charters and partial charters, mainly for e-commerce shipments to Europe and the Middle East,” Loïc Gay, deputy COO at CEVA Logistics, told the Journal of Commerce Friday. “During peak season in October and November, we also arranged ad-hoc charters from China to the US and Europe to accommodate the increased demand,” he added. “We plan to do the same again in January before the Chinese New Year.” Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com.</a></div>

The sustained demand that has kept air cargo in peak season mode all year is heading into a difficult 2025 with the capacity outlook clouded by aging aircraft, delivery delays of new planes and a backlog of orders, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Cargo volumes are expected to reach 72.5 million metric tons next year, a 5.8% increase from 2024, IATA noted in its annual industry review this week. But aircraft supply chain issues will raise costs and could limit market growth, warned IATA Director-General Willie Walsh. “Supply chain issues are frustrating every airline with a triple whammy on revenues, costs and environmental performance,” Walsh said. “Load factors are at record highs and there is no doubt that if we had more aircraft they could be profitably deployed, so our revenues are being compromised.” New aircraft are urgently needed to both cater to growing cargo and passenger markets and to replace aging fleets. IATA data shows the average age of the global fleet now stands at a record 14.8 years, up from the 13.6-year average over the past 24 years. Yet aircraft deliveries have fallen sharply from the peak of 1,813 aircraft in 2018. IATA is expecting 1,254 aircraft to have been delivered this year, a 30% shortfall on what was predicted going into 2024. Deliveries in 2025 are forecast to rise to 1,802 planes, well below expectations for 2,293 deliveries, and further downward revisions on deliveries for next year are widely expected. On top of the delivery delays, the backlog of unfulfilled orders for new aircraft has reached 17,000 planes, a record high, and IATA said at present delivery rates, that would take 14 years to fulfill — double the six-year average backlog for the 2013–19 period. “The aging fleet that airlines are using has higher maintenance costs, burns more fuel, and takes more capital to keep it flying,” Walsh said. “And, on top of this, leasing rates have risen more than interest rates as competition among airlines intensified the scramble to find every way possible to expand capacity. “This is a time when airlines need to be fixing their battered post-pandemic balance sheets, but progress is effectively capped by supply chain issues that manufacturers need to resolve,” he added. Capacity remains in short supply Sustained demand out of Asia, driven in part by the robust e-commerce volume on the trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe corridors, is keeping capacity tight and rates at highly elevated levels. The average Shanghai to North Europe spot rate of $5.07 per kilogram this week was the highest in almost two years, while the Shanghai-North America rate of $6.61/kg is the highest so far this year, according to the Baltic Air Index (BAI). Rate benchmarking platform Xeneta shows global air freight volume in November recorded its 13th consecutive month of double-digit growth as load factors hit their highest level since April 2022. In the 11 months through November, demand has increased by more than 12% while available capacity has grown just 4.8% To serve the high demand out of Asia, airlines are repositioning freighters from other trade lanes such as the trans-Atlantic , where rates are soaring as demand outstrips available capacity. Managing the air cargo capacity shortage on key trade lanes is also a challenge for forwarders that are keeping up with demand by chartering freighters. “We have proactively secured extra capacity on charters and partial charters, mainly for e-commerce shipments to Europe and the Middle East,” Loïc Gay, deputy COO at CEVA Logistics, told the Journal of Commerce Friday. “During peak season in October and November, we also arranged ad-hoc charters from China to the US and Europe to accommodate the increased demand,” he added. “We plan to do the same again in January before the Chinese New Year.” Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com.

Capacity shortage, aging fleet to clip air cargo wings in 2025: IATA

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The world of LTL is slow to embrace change. Business anachronisms permeate current supply chain processes. These vestiges of the way things used to work define the LTL freight transportation procurement process of many modern shippers.David Knuth, logistics specialist at IEWC, a global supplier of cable and wire based in Wisconsin, is happy to have modernized the RFP process, automating the entire LTL bidding procedure with Bid$ense, SMC³’s automated truckload and LTL freight transportation sourcing solution. But when prompted, he can still recall what once was.In his previous job, a large part of his duties were consumed by creating an intermodal bid package for carriers. In a spreadsheet, Knuth detailed the company’s volumes lane by lane, taking care to delete any errant keystrokes or misleading data. He would then email out the information to each carrier, taking time to respond to detailed technical questions about the spreadsheet data. Finally, he had to compile all the results, create an algorithm that would compare the carriers on each lane, and award the business.“It was a huge undertaking. It took about four months to do,” Knuth said of the old process. “It was almost a full-time job for that part of the year, every year.”In his new job at IEWC, he sat down with Bid$ense on day one and was amazed at the capabilities. Knuth had never before used a bid tool. SMC³’s latest versions of Bid$ense automate the process even further, taking truckload and LTL RFPs entirely online. The tool draws on RFP best-practices protocols to streamline the bidding communication process, enabling bidding carriers to respond accurately and promptly to shipper requests. The solution also does all the distribution work automatically, electronically submitting shipper bid data to carriers based on their actual service capabilities and performance records. Carriers are alerted with timely prompts for RFP deliverables, so shippers aren’t waiting by the phone for responses.Another benefit of automating the process is the data-cleansing assistance. When Knuth sent spreadsheets to carriers, data errors might cloud the bidding process; he might have to resend data or simply accept a price that did not truly reflect the costs of doing business. Data cleansing is incredibly beneficial, he said.The spreadsheet technique also made bidding analysis an onerous task. Since Bid$ense automates and streamlines the entire RFP process, intensive examination is now simple. SMC³ knows that each bid has more than one best outcome. With uniform responses from each carrier, shippers can quickly rank results and create an unlimited quantity of what-if scenarios to make the optimal procurement decision.Jesse Burnett of Central Garden &amp; Pet experiences many of the same benefits. Founded in 1980, Central Garden &amp; Pet has spent the last three decades growing from a small garden supply company to a provider of a range of products from dog chews and bird seed to soil supplements and natural insecticides. For much of its life, the company shipped these disparate goods via LTL and truckload carriers to retailers throughout the country, relying on each business unit to negotiate directly with their freight transportation providers. This arrangement worked fairly well for a small company, but as Central Garden &amp; Pet expanded, leadership decided to consolidate decision making.Burnett helped centralize the transportation decision making in 2015 with SMC³’s Bid$ense. Before Bid$ense, every business unit operated independently as far as negotiating with carriers.“There were a lot of different things just floating around,” he said. “We didn’t have master agreements in place; no national pricing at all. The pricing from carriers was just all over the place, depending on where you were.”The transformations he saw with Bid$ense were immediate. Burnett has been using the tool about every other year since its implementation at the company. Central Garden and Pet’s $19.6 million 2019 LTL bid saved the company just more than 9 percent when compared to its historical average. For Burnett, though, bid automation extends far beyond savings.“We knew that we weren’t getting the best pricing offer from our carriers just because nothing was centralized,” he continued. “We knew that if we combined everything from all these business units and paired it with one corporate offering, then it would drive some cost benefit with it.”When the company initially decided to centralize bid procurement, executives researched a number of different methodologies and technologies. In the end, though, Burnett found that Bid$ense was both widespread and well known, and that his carrier partners already knew how to use the application. Burnett also highlighted the data-cleansing process as a major benefit, saying the rigorous process ensures that carriers always return the best price.“It definitely has helped drive savings,” he said. “Any time you go out there and you drive that competitiveness with the carriers and they know they’re in a bid environment, it seems to sharpen their pencils.”Transportation procurement is an integral part of the modern supply chain. With Bid$ense, shippers can develop a strategic implementation plan that saves them time and money, but also helps them create strong relationships with their carrier partners. These carriers appreciate the solution’s data-cleansing process; when carriers receive a complete shipment history and future volume forecast, they don’t have to guess on pricing. Carriers that receive more data from shippers get a complete picture of that shipper’s freight, allowing them to accurately plan instead of simply preparing for the worst-case scenario. Clean data presented through an automated system can lead to both bigger shipment savings and a lasting partnership between carrier and customer.Whether customers are looking to streamline over-the-road transportation bidding by automating the RFP process or create an entirely new, centralized sourcing process, Bid$ense has the analytical horsepower to get the job done.SMC³ 2020 Customer Case Study

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Shippers save money, time with automated transportation bidding tools

If there’s one immutable truth in the world of logistics, it’s this: LTL is an inherently complex form of transportation. Tariffs, rates, DIM weights, transit times — it’s enough to confuse even seasoned logistics professionals. The solution to this knowledge gap has historically been on-the-job training or university supply chain education, but for a variety of reasons there is now a pressing need for third-party, remote LTL training that prepares logistics workers for transportation success. Global Scope Can Overlook Local Intricacies In the past, professionals looking to move into a supply chain career learned about the basics of supply chain from universities. However, many of these college supply chain programs are now global in scope, focusing on worldwide supply chain management instead of the intricacies of specialized domestic transportation. And even these programs, which used to be widespread, are becoming less common. LTL is not an industry of broad-brush strokes; supply chain professionals really need a pointillistic understanding of the logistics of LTL in order to excel in the industry. Accelerating Need for Dedicated LTL Education This lack of specified training put the onus on employers to prepare new hires with the LTL knowledge needed to do their jobs. Dedicated LTL study is a necessity, not a luxury. At the same time, changes in LTL and the broader supply chain world are accelerating. The reliance on e-commerce has ballooned since the start of the pandemic, and last-mile LTL shipments and related e-commerce strains on the supply chain won’t diminish once social distancing abates. That genie isn’t going back into the bottle. So supply chain employers need logistics workers that are fully versed in all aspects of the industry, ready to solve unique shipping and delivery problems based on their extensive supply chain knowledge But why care about LTL? It’s been reported that some shippers in today’s world are no longer concerned with what mode is used to ship their goods. A Multimodal Approach Ensures On-Time Delivery This mode agnosticism means supply chain stakeholders have to be well versed in all modes of transportation. As unforeseen weather events and other disruptions, such as protests, become more common, savvy logistics employees will need to be armed with familiarity of all modes, not just the most popular, to ensure that freight is delivered on time, without damage, and in the most financially expedient way possible. Offerings like SMC³’s LTL online education courses cover a wide range of topics from LTL basics and operations to more advanced concepts like pricing analytics and transportation law. The company also has plans to continually refresh content, adding new expert presenters and taking the feedback of students to make the courses even better as time goes on. Learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://logisticstrainingcenter.com/smc3-courses/" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link">SMC³’s LTL Online Education program</a>&nbsp;and view the 2021 hybrid schedule, featuring live industry experts,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.smc3.com/onlinelearning2021/" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link">here.</a>

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Filling the Supply Chain Education Gap with LTL Education Courses

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