<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">East is meeting West in the middle of Moscow's Levoberezhnaya Street. A business school that has jus</div>

East is meeting West in the middle of Moscow's Levoberezhnaya Street. A business school that has jus

<div>East is meeting West in the middle of Moscow's Levoberezhnaya Street. A business school that has just opened its doors could transform Soviet managers' approach to conducting business with the West.The Higher Commercial Management School is providing Soviet managers with intensive training on how to get involved in joint ventures with foreign partners and is teaching them Western business techniques and strategies.Two Americans, Michael K. Jones and Allen Weinberger, are serving as the liaison between the Soviet Union and the microcomputer industry in the United States through a joint protocol.Mr. Jones, co-chairman of Habitat, The Management Planning Associates Ltd., and...

East is meeting West in the middle of Moscow's Levoberezhnaya Street. A business school that has just opened its doors could transform Soviet managers' approach to conducting business with the West. The Higher Commercial Management School is providing Soviet managers with intensive training on how to get involved in joint ventures with foreign partners and is teaching them Western business techniques and strategies.Two Americans, Michael K. Jones and Allen Weinberger, are serving as the liaison between the Soviet Union and the microcomputer industry in the United States through a joint protocol. Mr. Jones, co-chairman of Habitat, The Management Planning Associates Ltd., and Mr. Weinberger, a Washington, D.C., lawyer and chairman of the ASCII Group Inc., are working with the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations on a series of academic programs that will concentrate on teaching Western theories of management, marketing and strategic planning to upper-level Soviet managers. The first HCMS opened on Jan. 1 in Moscow and there are plans to create 20 more institutes across the Soviet Union. When Secretary of State James A. Baker III travels to the Soviet Union next month, he may visit the HCMS, according to Mr. Jones. Under the agreement with the Soviets, $1.5 million is earmarked for the establishment of abusiness club for companies and organizations interested in developing economic relations in the Soviet Union. The club will include a gymnasium, meeting rooms, dining rooms and hotel-style accommodations. Another $12.5 million will go to help enlarge and modernize Soviet facilities. An additional $200,000 has been allocated for an exchange program involving Western professors and managers, while $350,000 is to be spent on student-exchange programs. Mr. Jones is now recruiting professors from leading U.S. business schools, including Duke, Northwestern and the University of Michigan. Already, the HCMS has signed a protocol of intent with Wake Forest University for student and faculty exchanges and the organization of joint seminars, according to Valery Ryzhov, vice director of the HCMS. "The Soviet Union has never had a place to train their senior commercial leaders to do business with the world," Mr. Jones said. "The Higher Commercial School is developing into the place where they can learn these skills, and the waiting lists to get involved are already in the hundreds." During this first year, the HCMS plans to train more than 1,000 middle and senior managers. It is attracting senior-level managers who are interested not only in Western business strategies but also in improving their computer skills. When the HCMS opened, it had just one room and six computers, but expansion is moving along swiftly. In the near future, IBM is expected to donate 25 to 30 personal and laptop computers to the school, according to Mark Ouellette, an IBM official. The U.S. computer giant will likely contribute the hardware, while the software and training will be handled in part by Softsel Computer Products, based in Inglewood, Calif., and computer expertise will be provided by David Chang, a New York-based computer consultant. There are nine different HCMS programs: 1) Business organization and general management practices for foreign economic activity, 2) Marketing and sales for foreign economic operations, 3) International marketing, 4) Organization and management of joint ventures with Soviet investments abroad, 5) Management of financial and economic activity of joint ventures, 6) Organization and management of the work of joint ventures on Soviet territory, 7) Finance, banking, risk and tax management for joint ventures, 8) Professional management of foreign economic processes (case studies), and 9) Organization of foreign economic activity of small enterprises and firms. On April 28 in Washington, D.C. at the Soviet trade mission a meeting will take place between Dr. Jones, Mr. Weinberger, Bill Donley, a Louisville business consultant and representatives from several companies along with Oleg D. Kozhevnikov, trade representative of the U.S.S.R. in the United States, to work out other ways the U.S. private sector can get involved with the HCMS.

Maritime

SOVIET BUSINESS SCHOOL TEACHES WAYS OF WEST

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">A host of factors can raise transit times on the 11,000-plus kilometer rail network, undermining the trust of cargo owners that is a crucial selling point of the Asia-Europe connection.</div>

A host of factors can raise transit times on the 11,000-plus kilometer rail network, undermining the trust of cargo owners that is a crucial selling point of the Asia-Europe connection.

Feature image

<div class="phx-topic">VIENNA — The ability to deliver on promised schedules remains one of the main challenges facing rail transport providers on the so-called middle corridor connecting China and Europe, according to executives at an intercontinental rail conference here last week. But on-time performance was the point of an iceberg of underlying reliability challenges, attendees at the European Silk Road Summit in Vienna were told. ”As long as everything goes well, the customer is happy, but if something goes wrong, the customer will start to doubt rail more than they would do for sea freight,” said Alona Toprak, managing director at DB Cargo Eurasia. Containerized freight on the middle corridor uses multiple cargo handovers – from rail to ferry to road and back to rail – with delays at key modal change points. Cross-border customs issues can add to delays, with volatile rates and equipment imbalances all placing service level promises under pressure. Still, meeting those promises is a selling point for the intercontinental rail network that cannot be compromised, logistics executives warned delegates. Thomas Kargl, director of Eurasian logistics provider Smartlog, told the summit that rail services from China to Europe had always suffered from a lack of reliability and it took much consulting time with shippers to change that impression. “If I say we are running between 12 and 15 days, we must hold that time,” Kargl said. “To attract customers, they must recognize that rail is available and is reliable. We are talking about containers valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars, so an increase of the transit time by a few days will tie up a lot of capital.” Toprak agreed and said customers of high-value products moving by rail had high expectations and were “very demanding.” DB Cargo Eurasia introduced an express rail service from China to Europe at the end of 2023 and expanded the offering this year. Toprak said it was now possible to offer shippers a nine-day transit time from China to the Malaszewicze rail hub in Poland via the northern corridor that was attractive to e-commerce, but it also raised the reliability bar even higher. ”The lead time of nine days is a real option for e-commerce, but if we promise nine days, we must stick to it because if not the customer will be penalized, lose money and then the service will not be trusted,” she said. <h3>Peak time delays </h3>There are several hurdles that must be overcome by service providers offering fast rail transit times, especially on the middle corridor with the intermodal requirements and the repeated border crossings, Kargl noted. China’s railways have a different gauge to those used in Europe that requires cargo to be transhipped at the China-Kazakhstan border and again at European entry points. At peak times, that can lead to delays. The service providers must also manage other factors, including the documentation for shipments and ensuring it is communicated electronically to all customs authorities along the route. In addition, sufficient equipment and access to rolling stock need to be guaranteed, while the provision of advance bookings and cargo closing times need to be ensured. “If you manage this all in a smooth way, the nine days transit will be reachable 80% of the time,” Kargl said. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, containerized trade on the northern route from China to North Europe largely dried up. Most of the cargo was moved to ocean, but forwarders and rail freight operators began testing the middle corridor that runs from China through Central Asia, across the Caspian and Black seas, and on into Turkey or Eastern Europe. While some cargo has returned to the northern route through Russia, concerns over sanctions breaches and moral opposition to contributing revenue to Russian Railways is limiting volume. However, Kelvin Tang, the head of global cross-border business and multimodal leader at CEVA Logistics, said shipping containerized cargo on the middle corridor was not just a political solution, it was a product offering. “If customers can accept 60 days transit, they will choose ocean, but if they want 30 days or less, they need to choose rail,” Tang told the summit. “If rail service becomes more stable with reliable lead times and competitive prices, it will become more attractive.” Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

VIENNA — The ability to deliver on promised schedules remains one of the main challenges facing rail transport providers on the so-called middle corridor connecting China and Europe, according to executives at an intercontinental rail conference here last week. But on-time performance was the point of an iceberg of underlying reliability challenges, attendees at the European Silk Road Summit in Vienna were told. ”As long as everything goes well, the customer is happy, but if something goes wrong, the customer will start to doubt rail more than they would do for sea freight,” said Alona Toprak, managing director at DB Cargo Eurasia. Containerized freight on the middle corridor uses multiple cargo handovers – from rail to ferry to road and back to rail – with delays at key modal change points. Cross-border customs issues can add to delays, with volatile rates and equipment imbalances all placing service level promises under pressure. Still, meeting those promises is a selling point for the intercontinental rail network that cannot be compromised, logistics executives warned delegates. Thomas Kargl, director of Eurasian logistics provider Smartlog, told the summit that rail services from China to Europe had always suffered from a lack of reliability and it took much consulting time with shippers to change that impression. “If I say we are running between 12 and 15 days, we must hold that time,” Kargl said. “To attract customers, they must recognize that rail is available and is reliable. We are talking about containers valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars, so an increase of the transit time by a few days will tie up a lot of capital.” Toprak agreed and said customers of high-value products moving by rail had high expectations and were “very demanding.” DB Cargo Eurasia introduced an express rail service from China to Europe at the end of 2023 and expanded the offering this year. Toprak said it was now possible to offer shippers a nine-day transit time from China to the Malaszewicze rail hub in Poland via the northern corridor that was attractive to e-commerce, but it also raised the reliability bar even higher. ”The lead time of nine days is a real option for e-commerce, but if we promise nine days, we must stick to it because if not the customer will be penalized, lose money and then the service will not be trusted,” she said. Peak time delays There are several hurdles that must be overcome by service providers offering fast rail transit times, especially on the middle corridor with the intermodal requirements and the repeated border crossings, Kargl noted. China’s railways have a different gauge to those used in Europe that requires cargo to be transhipped at the China-Kazakhstan border and again at European entry points. At peak times, that can lead to delays. The service providers must also manage other factors, including the documentation for shipments and ensuring it is communicated electronically to all customs authorities along the route. In addition, sufficient equipment and access to rolling stock need to be guaranteed, while the provision of advance bookings and cargo closing times need to be ensured. “If you manage this all in a smooth way, the nine days transit will be reachable 80% of the time,” Kargl said. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, containerized trade on the northern route from China to North Europe largely dried up. Most of the cargo was moved to ocean, but forwarders and rail freight operators began testing the middle corridor that runs from China through Central Asia, across the Caspian and Black seas, and on into Turkey or Eastern Europe. While some cargo has returned to the northern route through Russia, concerns over sanctions breaches and moral opposition to contributing revenue to Russian Railways is limiting volume. However, Kelvin Tang, the head of global cross-border business and multimodal leader at CEVA Logistics, said shipping containerized cargo on the middle corridor was not just a political solution, it was a product offering. “If customers can accept 60 days transit, they will choose ocean, but if they want 30 days or less, they need to choose rail,” Tang told the summit. “If rail service becomes more stable with reliable lead times and competitive prices, it will become more attractive.” Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

Rail News

Forwarding

International rail

Surface

Schedule reliability remains key challenge for China-Europe rail

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Rising regional trade along the old Silk Road between China and Europe is driving up containerized rail volume on the middle corridor and the logistics infrastructure is struggling to keep up. </div>

Rising regional trade along the old Silk Road between China and Europe is driving up containerized rail volume on the middle corridor and the logistics infrastructure is struggling to keep up.

<div class="phx-topic">VIENNA — Geopolitics shaped the middle corridor rail network between China and Europe, but the route has evolved in the past two years from an alternative to the heavily sanctioned northern route through Russia into a critical lifeline for the booming economies of Central Asia. Huge investments are being made across the region as the logistics infrastructure struggles to catch up with demand, attendees at the European Silk Road Summit were told this week. “We see a future for the middle corridor, and we are putting our money where our mouths are and investing billions in projects in Central Asia,” said Luis Blancas, senior transport and logistics specialist at the World Bank. “The middle corridor is an entirely discretionary connection for China, but for Central Asia it is a lifeline connection to the world. It's a lifeline for Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia. They want to trade more with Central Asia and the middle corridor is very important for that.” That the middle corridor was a viable trade route, as well as an improving option for China-Europe shippers, was a theme expressed time and again by speakers at the summit. Emil Mammadov, advisor to the chairman of Azerbaijan Railways, said the future of the middle corridor was “fully related” to the economies of Central Asia where demand was developing fast and rail capacity had to match that growth. “The middle corridor is not just an alternative, it is a working corridor,” he told the summit. “This year to date, we have had more than 260 block trains from China going through Azerbaijan and by the end of December that will have increased to 300 trains, more than 10 times higher than in 2023. “We are in discussions with China and with our counterparts in Central Asia to reach a minimum of 1,000 block trains next year,” he added. <h3>China attention moves to middle corridor </h3>Also under way is the development of the southern part of the middle corridor that will improve rail connections through Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, with significant investment being made by China in construction of the routes. “China's participation in the middle corridor is making a huge difference,” Blancas told the summit. “China was primarily focused on the northern corridor for a long time, but over the last couple of years, with what's going on in Ukraine, the China ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ is really targeting the middle corridor.” But the increase in rail volume flowing across Central Asian countries is placing growing pressure on key transit points. For instance, the Georgian port of Poti on the Black Sea where rail freight is transferred to ships is 99% utilized, according to Blancas. “We are one of the bottlenecks,” acknowledged Mario Escobar, business development manager for APM Terminals Poti. “It's important that we accept that and work towards fixing it. Today, we have a port that can handle 600,000 TEUs per year, and in 2023 we handled 592,000 TEUs. It is a small port for the cargo that needs to transit this region, and the rail infrastructure is not sufficient to move all that cargo.” APM Terminals is planning to expand the capacity of its Poti terminals to 1.2 million TEUs, but Escobar said the improvement in infrastructure must be accompanied by investment from rail companies into locomotives, wagons and platforms to handle the rising volume. <h3>Reopening Red Sea will see cargo shift to ocean </h3>Martin Koubek, head of the Silk Road for intermodal operator Metrans, said the middle corridor would not be the choice for cargo from China to Europe once most container traffic returned to routing through the Red Sea. “It takes 21 days via the Suez from Shenzhen to Piraeus, so when the Red Sea is again used, why would you send rail cargo on the middle corridor that is longer and more expensive?” he told the Journal of Commerce on the sidelines of the summit. While the shift of cargo from rail to ocean would have a significant impact on the rail business, it would be barely noticed by container shipping with less than 1% of containerized trade between Asia and Europe transported by rail. But Koubek agreed that the middle corridor would be crucial for the Central Asian economies. “They are all growing, and the route will serve their increasing trade with China,” he said. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/rapid-rail-transit-via-sanctions-hit-russia-has-limited-appeal-for-european-shippers-5220672">containerized trade on the northern route from China to North Europe largely dried up</a>. Most of the cargo was moved to ocean but forwarders and rail freight operators began testing the middle corridor that runs from China, through Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, Black Sea and on into Turkey or eastern Europe. There remain significant hurdles to overcome, such as cross border customs issues, multiple cargo handovers from rail to ferry to road and back to rail, high rates and unreliable transit times. Those issues are being addressed by service providers, and the average transit time from Xian to Duisburg in southern Germany is now around 30 days. When the northern route is again fully utilized, most of the China to Europe containerized rail cargo using the middle corridor or ocean will quickly return to the Russian transit route, said Alona Toprak, director at DB Cargo Eurasia. “That means it is really important all the countries in Central Asia work together to address the issues still facing the middle route and increase volume travelling both ways, otherwise the rates will be high, and it won’t make sense,” she said. Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

VIENNA — Geopolitics shaped the middle corridor rail network between China and Europe, but the route has evolved in the past two years from an alternative to the heavily sanctioned northern route through Russia into a critical lifeline for the booming economies of Central Asia. Huge investments are being made across the region as the logistics infrastructure struggles to catch up with demand, attendees at the European Silk Road Summit were told this week. “We see a future for the middle corridor, and we are putting our money where our mouths are and investing billions in projects in Central Asia,” said Luis Blancas, senior transport and logistics specialist at the World Bank. “The middle corridor is an entirely discretionary connection for China, but for Central Asia it is a lifeline connection to the world. It's a lifeline for Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia. They want to trade more with Central Asia and the middle corridor is very important for that.” That the middle corridor was a viable trade route, as well as an improving option for China-Europe shippers, was a theme expressed time and again by speakers at the summit. Emil Mammadov, advisor to the chairman of Azerbaijan Railways, said the future of the middle corridor was “fully related” to the economies of Central Asia where demand was developing fast and rail capacity had to match that growth. “The middle corridor is not just an alternative, it is a working corridor,” he told the summit. “This year to date, we have had more than 260 block trains from China going through Azerbaijan and by the end of December that will have increased to 300 trains, more than 10 times higher than in 2023. “We are in discussions with China and with our counterparts in Central Asia to reach a minimum of 1,000 block trains next year,” he added. China attention moves to middle corridor Also under way is the development of the southern part of the middle corridor that will improve rail connections through Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, with significant investment being made by China in construction of the routes. “China's participation in the middle corridor is making a huge difference,” Blancas told the summit. “China was primarily focused on the northern corridor for a long time, but over the last couple of years, with what's going on in Ukraine, the China ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ is really targeting the middle corridor.” But the increase in rail volume flowing across Central Asian countries is placing growing pressure on key transit points. For instance, the Georgian port of Poti on the Black Sea where rail freight is transferred to ships is 99% utilized, according to Blancas. “We are one of the bottlenecks,” acknowledged Mario Escobar, business development manager for APM Terminals Poti. “It's important that we accept that and work towards fixing it. Today, we have a port that can handle 600,000 TEUs per year, and in 2023 we handled 592,000 TEUs. It is a small port for the cargo that needs to transit this region, and the rail infrastructure is not sufficient to move all that cargo.” APM Terminals is planning to expand the capacity of its Poti terminals to 1.2 million TEUs, but Escobar said the improvement in infrastructure must be accompanied by investment from rail companies into locomotives, wagons and platforms to handle the rising volume. Reopening Red Sea will see cargo shift to ocean Martin Koubek, head of the Silk Road for intermodal operator Metrans, said the middle corridor would not be the choice for cargo from China to Europe once most container traffic returned to routing through the Red Sea. “It takes 21 days via the Suez from Shenzhen to Piraeus, so when the Red Sea is again used, why would you send rail cargo on the middle corridor that is longer and more expensive?” he told the Journal of Commerce on the sidelines of the summit. While the shift of cargo from rail to ocean would have a significant impact on the rail business, it would be barely noticed by container shipping with less than 1% of containerized trade between Asia and Europe transported by rail. But Koubek agreed that the middle corridor would be crucial for the Central Asian economies. “They are all growing, and the route will serve their increasing trade with China,” he said. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, containerized trade on the northern route from China to North Europe largely dried up . Most of the cargo was moved to ocean but forwarders and rail freight operators began testing the middle corridor that runs from China, through Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, Black Sea and on into Turkey or eastern Europe. There remain significant hurdles to overcome, such as cross border customs issues, multiple cargo handovers from rail to ferry to road and back to rail, high rates and unreliable transit times. Those issues are being addressed by service providers, and the average transit time from Xian to Duisburg in southern Germany is now around 30 days. When the northern route is again fully utilized, most of the China to Europe containerized rail cargo using the middle corridor or ocean will quickly return to the Russian transit route, said Alona Toprak, director at DB Cargo Eurasia. “That means it is really important all the countries in Central Asia work together to address the issues still facing the middle route and increase volume travelling both ways, otherwise the rates will be high, and it won’t make sense,” she said. Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

Intermodal providers

Booming Central Asian economies lend lifeline to China-Europe rail

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Hapag-Lloyd has contracted with a Chinese energy producer for green methanol to power five 10,100-TEU chartered ships with methanol dual-fuel propulsion systems.</div>

Hapag-Lloyd has contracted with a Chinese energy producer for green methanol to power five 10,100-TEU chartered ships with methanol dual-fuel propulsion systems.

<div class="phx-topic">Chinese energy producer Goldwind will be supplying both members of the <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/hapag-lloyd-says-gemini-alliance-cargo-bookings-to-open-dec-3-5846853">Gemini Cooperation</a> with green methanol from 2026. Hapag-Lloyd will receive 250,000 tons per year in a deal signed this week while its partner <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/maersk-inks-new-methanol-sourcing-deal-with-chinese-supplier-5234419">Maersk will get 500,000 tons a year</a> according to an agreement made last year. The green methanol will consist of a blend of bio- and e-methanol and enable a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction of at least 70%, Hapag-Lloyd said in a statement Thursday. “With the agreement, we are securing a significant proportion of our requirements for green fuels,” said Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen. “This will bring us an important step closer to our goal of achieving net-zero fleet operations by 2045.” Hapag-Lloyd and Seaspan are converting five 10,100-TEU charter ships to a methanol dual-fuel propulsion system that will be ready in 2026. The carrier also made a recent order for 24 dual-fuel vessels capable of sailing on liquefied natural gas (LNG). By 2030, Hapag-Lloyd aims to reduce the absolute GHG emissions of the fleet by about one-third compared with 2022. Compared with conventional fuels, the ordered quantity of green methanol can save a total of up to 400,000 metric tons of CO2e emissions in fleet operations per year. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="1a054077-7728-4ffd-abb8-b7aff17c3235"></dynamic-object></div>Hapag-Lloyd’s decarbonization credentials were burnished by its recent <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/hapag-lloyd-wins-asia-europe-green-shipping-tender-to-launch-next-year-5240949">winning of a tender from the Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance</a> (ZEMBA) aimed at fast-tracking commercial deployment of green shipping services at scale to create a competitive market for those services. About 70% of the total 1.7 million TEUs of ship orders made so far this year were for ships capable of sailing on methanol, LNG or hydrogen, according to Sea-web, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global. The need to keep fuel options open and avoid being locked into one pathway was illustrated <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/maersks-lng-order-hedges-bet-on-green-fuel-technology-ceo-5703200">in a recent Maersk order for dual-fuel vessels totaling 800,000 TEUs</a> capable of sailing on methanol as well as LNG. Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Chinese energy producer Goldwind will be supplying both members of the Gemini Cooperation with green methanol from 2026. Hapag-Lloyd will receive 250,000 tons per year in a deal signed this week while its partner Maersk will get 500,000 tons a year according to an agreement made last year. The green methanol will consist of a blend of bio- and e-methanol and enable a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction of at least 70%, Hapag-Lloyd said in a statement Thursday. “With the agreement, we are securing a significant proportion of our requirements for green fuels,” said Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen. “This will bring us an important step closer to our goal of achieving net-zero fleet operations by 2045.” Hapag-Lloyd and Seaspan are converting five 10,100-TEU charter ships to a methanol dual-fuel propulsion system that will be ready in 2026. The carrier also made a recent order for 24 dual-fuel vessels capable of sailing on liquefied natural gas (LNG). By 2030, Hapag-Lloyd aims to reduce the absolute GHG emissions of the fleet by about one-third compared with 2022. Compared with conventional fuels, the ordered quantity of green methanol can save a total of up to 400,000 metric tons of CO2e emissions in fleet operations per year. Hapag-Lloyd’s decarbonization credentials were burnished by its recent winning of a tender from the Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA) aimed at fast-tracking commercial deployment of green shipping services at scale to create a competitive market for those services. About 70% of the total 1.7 million TEUs of ship orders made so far this year were for ships capable of sailing on methanol, LNG or hydrogen, according to Sea-web, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global. The need to keep fuel options open and avoid being locked into one pathway was illustrated in a recent Maersk order for dual-fuel vessels totaling 800,000 TEUs capable of sailing on methanol as well as LNG. Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

Container Shipping News

Container lines

Hapag-Lloyd joins Maersk in Chinese methanol supply deal

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The selection of Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer is seen as favorable to unions, with the new administration potentially facing the need to intervene if ILA contract talks aren’t settled before Trump takes office.</div>

The selection of Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer is seen as favorable to unions, with the new administration potentially facing the need to intervene if ILA contract talks aren’t settled before Trump takes office.

<div class="phx-topic">The incoming Trump administration’s pick for US labor secretary has drawn mixed reactions from the logistics industry, with the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and Teamsters viewing Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer as solidly behind unions while trucking groups see a foe of the owner-operator driver model used widely by motor carriers. Last week’s announcement from President-elect Donald Trump that he would nominate the Oregon congresswoman drew praise from the ILA, which said in a statement, “Rep. Chavez-DeRemer built a strong pro-worker record protecting their rights to organize.” “We look forward to working with Ms. Chavez-DeRemer and [the Trump] administration on legislation and policies that protect workers’ rights, safety and honors their commitment to building a strong economy...,” ILA President Harold Daggett said in the statement. The ILA, of course, may have to draw on the incoming administration’s support in the event it’s not able to successfully settle on a new contract with maritime employers by the Jan. 15 expiration of the contract extension that ended October’s three-day port strike along the US East and Gulf coasts. While the ILA did not outright endorse either candidate in the 2024 presidential election, Daggett, who met with Trump last year, said the incoming president “<a href="https://www.joc.com/article/ila-looking-for-local-ports-to-bring-in-more-union-foremen-5244993">is looking to take care of things for the unions</a>.” The ILA also praised <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/behind-the-scenes-white-house-arm-twisting-got-ila-wage-deal-done-5747241">the Biden administration and acting Labor Secretary Julie Su</a> for helping settle wage discussions with maritime employers back in October. Sean O’Brien, president of the 1.3-million-member International Brotherhood of Teamsters, congratulated Chavez-DeRemer shortly after her nomination, saying in a statement that Trump “pledged to listen to workers and find common ground to protect and respect labor in America.” <h3>First term in Congress </h3>Chavez-DeRemer, who is serving her first term in Congress, co-sponsored 12 House bills that touched on labor and employment policy. Among union-focused activities, she co-sponsored a bill that would enshrine the rights of state public sector employees to organize and bargain collectively and another bill to ensure similar rights for state public safety employees. She has also supported the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which has drawn some 218 co-sponsors in the House. The PRO Act expands federal protections for unions by preventing employers from requiring attendance at meetings designed to dissuade union organizing or making workers sign pledges against union organizing. It also prohibits retaliation against employees for union organizing. PRO also allows union members to participate in secondary strikes and prohibits claims against unions that conduct such strikes. More controversially, though, the PRO Act makes it more difficult for employers to classify a worker as an independent contractor rather than a full-time employee. The PRO Act will limit the independent contractor definition to those workers who are not under an employer’s direct control for how the service is performed, or when the service is not part of the employer’s regular course of work Those criteria mirror <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/proposed-federal-rule-threatens-independent-contractor-model-in-trucking-opponents-5242331">the so-called ABC test that is used in states including California</a> and <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/stg-shifting-from-drayage-carrier-to-broker-after-new-jersey-legal-challenge-5703212">New Jersey</a> to classify independent contractors and has been widely criticized for forcing motor carriers to drop owner-operator drivers in favor of employee drivers. The PRO Act also creates the new category of a “joint employer” that determines or controls how an employee of another firm performs their job. Critics have said that it could create a condition where a marine terminal can be classified as a joint employer of a port trucker due to the instructions and requirements for drivers entering their facility. The American Trucking Associations said in a statement following Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination that her “anti-trucking policies undermine our essential workforce, threaten the right of independent truckers to choose their own career path, and impede the efficiency of the supply chain.” Contact Michael Angell at <a href="mailto:michael.angell@spglobal.com ">michael.angell@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

The incoming Trump administration’s pick for US labor secretary has drawn mixed reactions from the logistics industry, with the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and Teamsters viewing Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer as solidly behind unions while trucking groups see a foe of the owner-operator driver model used widely by motor carriers. Last week’s announcement from President-elect Donald Trump that he would nominate the Oregon congresswoman drew praise from the ILA, which said in a statement, “Rep. Chavez-DeRemer built a strong pro-worker record protecting their rights to organize.” “We look forward to working with Ms. Chavez-DeRemer and [the Trump] administration on legislation and policies that protect workers’ rights, safety and honors their commitment to building a strong economy...,” ILA President Harold Daggett said in the statement. The ILA, of course, may have to draw on the incoming administration’s support in the event it’s not able to successfully settle on a new contract with maritime employers by the Jan. 15 expiration of the contract extension that ended October’s three-day port strike along the US East and Gulf coasts. While the ILA did not outright endorse either candidate in the 2024 presidential election, Daggett, who met with Trump last year, said the incoming president “ is looking to take care of things for the unions .” The ILA also praised the Biden administration and acting Labor Secretary Julie Su for helping settle wage discussions with maritime employers back in October. Sean O’Brien, president of the 1.3-million-member International Brotherhood of Teamsters, congratulated Chavez-DeRemer shortly after her nomination, saying in a statement that Trump “pledged to listen to workers and find common ground to protect and respect labor in America.” First term in Congress Chavez-DeRemer, who is serving her first term in Congress, co-sponsored 12 House bills that touched on labor and employment policy. Among union-focused activities, she co-sponsored a bill that would enshrine the rights of state public sector employees to organize and bargain collectively and another bill to ensure similar rights for state public safety employees. She has also supported the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which has drawn some 218 co-sponsors in the House. The PRO Act expands federal protections for unions by preventing employers from requiring attendance at meetings designed to dissuade union organizing or making workers sign pledges against union organizing. It also prohibits retaliation against employees for union organizing. PRO also allows union members to participate in secondary strikes and prohibits claims against unions that conduct such strikes. More controversially, though, the PRO Act makes it more difficult for employers to classify a worker as an independent contractor rather than a full-time employee. The PRO Act will limit the independent contractor definition to those workers who are not under an employer’s direct control for how the service is performed, or when the service is not part of the employer’s regular course of work Those criteria mirror the so-called ABC test that is used in states including California and New Jersey to classify independent contractors and has been widely criticized for forcing motor carriers to drop owner-operator drivers in favor of employee drivers. The PRO Act also creates the new category of a “joint employer” that determines or controls how an employee of another firm performs their job. Critics have said that it could create a condition where a marine terminal can be classified as a joint employer of a port trucker due to the instructions and requirements for drivers entering their facility. The American Trucking Associations said in a statement following Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination that her “anti-trucking policies undermine our essential workforce, threaten the right of independent truckers to choose their own career path, and impede the efficiency of the supply chain.” Contact Michael Angell at michael.angell@spglobal.com .

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<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The news from Gemini came as MSC released the latest update to its standalone east-west network that will also launch in February. </div>

The news from Gemini came as MSC released the latest update to its standalone east-west network that will also launch in February.

<div class="phx-topic">Gemini Cooperation, the new Maersk/Hapag-Lloyd alliance, will open cargo bookings beginning Dec. 3, two months before the official Feb. 1 launch of the network, Hapag-Lloyd confirmed Wednesday. February voyages will be available when the booking portal opens, the carrier said in a customer advisory. “As our 2025 network will be fully phased in only after the transition from our current THE Alliance network during 2025, not all Gemini Cooperation voyages might be reflected in our schedule yet,” Hapag-Lloyd said. The carrier’s online schedules only cover vessel arrivals at the destination port up to the end of January, just before Hapag-Lloyd’s membership in THE Alliance ends. Gemini will provide 56 mainline and shuttle services covering seven east-west trades on a hub-and-spoke network and utilizing about 340 vessels with a total capacity of 3.7 million TEUs. The Gemini carriers have continued to tweak the network after releasing the final schedule on Oct. 9, which reflected their decision to choose the Cape of Good Hope option for vessel routings to avoid the threat of militant attacks in the Red Sea. The latest change, announced on Nov. 18, was to shift calls from the UK’s Felixstowe port to London Gateway on three Asia-Europe services. <h3>MSC updates east-west network </h3>The news from Gemini came as Mediterranean Shipping Co. released on Wednesday the latest update to its standalone east-west network that will launch in February. The changes feature extra port calls to “optimize our Asia to Europe, US and Canada connectivity,” the carrier said in a customer advisory. The biggest difference is MSC’s Mustang service connecting Asia to the Northwest US and Canada will be added to its standalone east-west network. The new rotation will be Xiamen–Yantian–Ningbo–Shanghai–Busan–Seattle–Vancouver–Portland–Busan. Other changes include the addition of calls at Vung Tau and Haiphong in Vietnam on MSC’s Pearl and Chinook services; Nansha on its Asia-Europe Lion and Dragon services; Yantian (westbound) and Yokohama in place of Busan on its Swan-Sentosa service; and Busan (westbound) on its Asia-US Orient and Lonestar services. MSC has also added a call at Vizhinjam in India on its Asia-Europe Jade service, with Colombo also added to both its Britannia service connecting Asia and North Europe and its eastbound America service between the US East Coast and Asia. MSC’s Albatross service will now feature two calls in the UK, with London Gateway added after Felixstowe, which will remain the first call in Europe from Asia. MSC said its standalone east-west network together with its existing Asia export services will “provide unmatched continental trade connectivity with Asia through a vast array of loops, competitive transit times and a high frequency of direct port calls.” Contact Keith Wallis at <a href="mailto:keithwallis@hotmail.com">keithwallis@hotmail.com</a>. </div>

Gemini Cooperation, the new Maersk/Hapag-Lloyd alliance, will open cargo bookings beginning Dec. 3, two months before the official Feb. 1 launch of the network, Hapag-Lloyd confirmed Wednesday. February voyages will be available when the booking portal opens, the carrier said in a customer advisory. “As our 2025 network will be fully phased in only after the transition from our current THE Alliance network during 2025, not all Gemini Cooperation voyages might be reflected in our schedule yet,” Hapag-Lloyd said. The carrier’s online schedules only cover vessel arrivals at the destination port up to the end of January, just before Hapag-Lloyd’s membership in THE Alliance ends. Gemini will provide 56 mainline and shuttle services covering seven east-west trades on a hub-and-spoke network and utilizing about 340 vessels with a total capacity of 3.7 million TEUs. The Gemini carriers have continued to tweak the network after releasing the final schedule on Oct. 9, which reflected their decision to choose the Cape of Good Hope option for vessel routings to avoid the threat of militant attacks in the Red Sea. The latest change, announced on Nov. 18, was to shift calls from the UK’s Felixstowe port to London Gateway on three Asia-Europe services. MSC updates east-west network The news from Gemini came as Mediterranean Shipping Co. released on Wednesday the latest update to its standalone east-west network that will launch in February. The changes feature extra port calls to “optimize our Asia to Europe, US and Canada connectivity,” the carrier said in a customer advisory. The biggest difference is MSC’s Mustang service connecting Asia to the Northwest US and Canada will be added to its standalone east-west network. The new rotation will be Xiamen–Yantian–Ningbo–Shanghai–Busan–Seattle–Vancouver–Portland–Busan. Other changes include the addition of calls at Vung Tau and Haiphong in Vietnam on MSC’s Pearl and Chinook services; Nansha on its Asia-Europe Lion and Dragon services; Yantian (westbound) and Yokohama in place of Busan on its Swan-Sentosa service; and Busan (westbound) on its Asia-US Orient and Lonestar services. MSC has also added a call at Vizhinjam in India on its Asia-Europe Jade service, with Colombo also added to both its Britannia service connecting Asia and North Europe and its eastbound America service between the US East Coast and Asia. MSC’s Albatross service will now feature two calls in the UK, with London Gateway added after Felixstowe, which will remain the first call in Europe from Asia. MSC said its standalone east-west network together with its existing Asia export services will “provide unmatched continental trade connectivity with Asia through a vast array of loops, competitive transit times and a high frequency of direct port calls.” Contact Keith Wallis at keithwallis@hotmail.com .

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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

SSA Marine Mexico has made significant strides in modernizing its infrastructure at the Port of Manzanillo, investing $15 million to enhance operational efficiency and sustainability at its facilities. This move is part of the company's broader strategy to remain at the forefront of the shipping and logistics industry. •	Strengthening Sustainability with Advanced Technology <figure class="joc_admin__inline-image-position-left joc_admin__inline-image-size-medium" data-figure-size="medium" data-figure-position="left"><img src="/content-assets/1730488295264_Cranes%20arrival%20to%20TEC%20I.png" alt="Cranes arrival to TEC I" class="joc_admin__inline-image-inherit"></figure> In July, SSA Marine Mexico added seven state-of-the-art E-RTG (Electric Rubber-Tired Gantry) cranes to its fleet, valued at $14 million. These advanced cranes were distributed across its two terminals: four cranes were assigned to the Multipurpose Terminal, and three to the Specialized Container Terminal I. What sets these cranes apart is their dual-operation capability, allowing them to function either on electric power or diesel fuel. This innovation plays a critical role in reducing the environmental impact of operations, contributing to a 7% increase in energy efficiency. This efficiency improvement is equivalent to eliminating nearly 4,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually, underscoring SSA Marine Mexico's commitment to sustainability. Through this acquisition, SSA Marine Mexico not only enhances its cargo-handling capabilities but also reinforces its leadership in integrating cutting-edge, eco-friendly technology in the maritime industry. The company continues to push the boundaries of efficiency and sustainability, ensuring long-term value for both its customers and the environment. •	Upgraded Facilities to Meet Growing Demand <figure class="joc_admin__inline-image-position-left joc_admin__inline-image-size-medium" data-figure-size="medium" data-figure-position="left"><img src="/content-assets/1730488350634_Multipurpose%20terminal.png" alt="Multipurpose Terminal" class="joc_admin__inline-image-inherit"></figure> In addition to the new cranes, SSA Marine Mexico has completed crucial modernization and repair work across its Multipurpose Terminal and Specialized Facility at the Port of Manzanillo. This $1 million investment targeted critical infrastructure enhancements, focusing on both structural integrity and operational functionality. Key improvements included leveling approximately 12,000 square meters in the dock area, along with the removal of outdated concrete curbs and asphalt layers. The upgraded space now features high-resistance pavers designed to optimize water drainage and prevent pooling, ensuring safer and more efficient operations. Moreover, the Specialized Facility saw significant upgrades, including the leveling of key warehouse areas to facilitate smoother cargo handling processes. These infrastructure improvements directly enhance the handling of TEUS (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit containers), further demonstrating SSA Marine Mexico's unwavering commitment to continuous modernization, operational safety, and efficiency. With these initiatives, SSA Marine Mexico is well-positioned to meet the growing demands of the global shipping industry while setting new standards in sustainable port operations. LINK:<a href="https://www.ssamarine.mx/ssa-ing/index" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link"> https://www.ssamarine.mx/ssa-ing/index</a>

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SSA Marine Mexico Modernizes Facilities with $15 Million Investment 

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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