<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">There was little to celebrate at Europe’s main air cargo gateways in the first half of the year amid weak freight handling volumes that show no signs of improving.
 
 
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There was little to celebrate at Europe’s main air cargo gateways in the first half of the year amid weak freight handling volumes that show no signs of improving.

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<div>The freight performance of Europe’s airports in the first six months of 2019 has been dismal, with just three of the top 10 cargo gateways recording year-over-year growth.Data from the Airports Council International (ACI) Europe shows that of the top 10 airports, growth in the first half was recorded only by Madrid, Barcelona, and London. Frankfurt, the busiest air cargo airport in Europe, recorded a decline of 2.5 percent compared with the first six months of last year.Overall, air freight handled by Europe’s airports was down 3.5 percent year over year.Olivier Jankovec, director general of ACI Europe, said after weak...

The freight performance of Europe’s airports in the first six months of 2019 has been dismal, with just three of the top 10 cargo gateways recording year-over-year growth. Data from the Airports Council International (ACI) Europe shows that of the top 10 airports, growth in the first half was recorded only by Madrid, Barcelona, and London. Frankfurt, the busiest air cargo airport in Europe, recorded a decline of 2.5 percent compared with the first six months of last year. Overall, air freight handled by Europe’s airports was down 3.5 percent year over year. Olivier Jankovec, director general of ACI Europe, said after weak June results were revealed, it did not bode well for the months ahead. “The slump in freight traffic is where it really bites at the moment,” he said. “And it is not getting any better, with June registering a drop of 7.1 percent, the worst monthly performance in more than seven years.” July cargo figures for Air France-KLM show the slumping freight markets are not improving. Transported tonnage for the Franco-Dutch carrier was down almost 6 percent year over year during the month. Autos hit the brakes Europe’s largest forwarders were also hit by the worsening air freight markets in the January through June period. Denmark’s DSV said the air freight market declined 5 percent in the first half; it put much of the blame for the poor performance at the feet of the downtrading auto sector. Europe’s car industry reported an 8 percent drop in sales in June, the ninth monthly decline in the last 10 months. Daimler A.G. issued a profit warning in July, citing weak global markets, and BMW reported its first loss in a decade in May. “The fact that the air freight market is down 5 percent year to date is worrying,” said Jens Bjørn Andersen, CEO of DSV. “We are struggling to figure out what is driving this negative volume in air freight apart from automotive. You speak to one customer and he tells you one thing, but speak to another and he tells you almost the opposite. I think that some of the emergency shipments that we saw a year ago have gone and their supply chains are being managed more efficiently now.” International Air Transport Association (IATA) data shows European airlines posted a 3.6 percent decrease in freight demand in June. Softening the blow were comparatively strong cargo volumes transported within Europe that minimized the impact of weaker German exports. Globally, the picture for the first half remained dismal with IATA reporting that tonnage carried in June marked the eighth consecutive month of year-over-year decline in freight volume. Demand, measured in freight ton kilometers (FTKs), decreased 4.8 percent in June compared with the same period in 2018. “Global trade continues to suffer as trade tensions — particularly between the US and China — deepen. As a result, air cargo markets continue to contract,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA director general and CEO. Trade tensions Those cargo tensions hit Asian carriers especially hard, as most have long-haul cargo operations that fly trans-Pacific routes. The lackluster business sentiment fed into lower demand for air shipments. As a result, the region's airlines in June recorded a 7.2 percent year-over-year fall in air cargo demand, according to the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA). Andrew Herdman, director general of the AAPA, said Asian airlines saw a 6.2 percent decline in air cargo demand in the first half, reflecting the prevailing weakness in international trade flows with widening trade disputes and higher tariffs disrupting global supply chains. Looking ahead, Herdman was not optimistic. “With moderating global business optimism levels and the absence of significant progress in trade negotiations, air cargo demand is expected to remain weak,” he said. Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific is an AAPA member with a strong focus on the trans-Pacific freight market, so the carrier was hit hard by the gloomy trade environment. The airline’s cargo revenue fell 11.4 percent compared with the first six months of 2018. Attempts to improve the profitability of Cathay Pacific’s cargo division are being frustrated by expanding airline capacity as additional belly space from new long-haul passenger aircraft comes online. In the first six months of the year, yield declined almost 3 percent. But John Slosar, chairman of Cathay Pacific, is expecting more from his carrier in the second half. “Our airlines [Cathay and Dragonair] normally achieve better results in the second half of the year than in the first half and, despite headwinds and other uncertainty, we expect this to be the case in 2019,” he said. Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@ihsmarkit.com and follow him on Twitter: @greg_knowler .

Air Cargo

European airport gateways feel cargo slump

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">While intermodal providers increased pricing in Southern California, truckload carriers also raised rates as demand grew with surging port volumes, negating any modal shifts based on budgetary concerns, the latest Journal of Commerce Intermodal Savings Index showed.</div>

While intermodal providers increased pricing in Southern California, truckload carriers also raised rates as demand grew with surging port volumes, negating any modal shifts based on budgetary concerns, the latest Journal of Commerce Intermodal Savings Index showed.

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<div class="phx-topic">Despite rising rail rates in Southern California, intermodal shippers saved more than 20% versus truckload on one-off business across the US in the third quarter, the second consecutive quarter in which spot market savings far exceeded historical norms, according to the latest Journal of Commerce <a href="https://www.joc.com/resources/special-reports/intermodal-savings-index">Intermodal Savings Index</a> (ISI). While intermodal providers increased pricing in Southern California, truckload carriers also raised rates as demand grew with surging port volumes, negating any modal shifts based on budgetary concerns. The Spot ISI averaged 122.3 for the third quarter, down slightly from the quarterly record of 123.5 in the second quarter, but up from 116.4 in the third quarter of 2023. The Q3 2024 average is also significantly higher than the 10-year spot ISI average of 114.5. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="96752230-a8c7-44e8-820d-cfd6066153af"></dynamic-object></div>Spot truckload rates fell to $1.94 per mile by the end of September from $2.03 per mile in June, while intermodal rates rose to $1.61 per mile from $1.56 per mile over the same period. The spot intermodal number in September was the lowest per-mile rate since July 2020, just before the pandemic-related freight surge jolted markets. Despite truck rates going down and intermodal rates rising, the Spot ISI was minimally impacted because the shift was almost entirely in Los Angeles, which represents less than 25% of the overall index value. Outside of Los Angeles, intermodal and truckload spot rates continued to decline. The Contract ISI, meanwhile, averaged 126.1 in the third quarter, up from 125.6 in the second quarter but unchanged compared with one year ago. Domestic intermodal shippers have saved between 25% and 28% across the US since January 2023 compared to truckload. There are no signs that will change until at least early 2025, if not later. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="38e73d5f-2412-49ab-a4ca-c5da3d2428d2"></dynamic-object></div>Contract truckload rates fell a penny to $1.95 per mile quarter over quarter, while contract intermodal rates fell 2 cents. The result of tepid rates in spot and contractual markets, excluding Los Angeles, has resulted in lower intermodal revenue and operating income for Hub Group, J.B. Hunt Transport Services, and Schneider National – the top three US intermodal providers. The ISIs measure how much money a shipper should save on 120 modally competitive US lanes. There are two indexes, one for the spot market and one for the contract market. Index values are measured from a neutral base of 100. Values greater than 100 indicate domestic intermodal is cheaper, while values less than 100 indicate trucking is cheaper. The higher the value, the more money intermodal saves an average shipper. All index values correspond to percentages, which means a value of 126.1 signifies an average US shipper saved 26.1% on a domestic intermodal contract versus a truckload contract. And 122.3 signifies a 22.3% savings comparing the spot intermodal and truckload markets. The index assumes distribution centers are located less than 20 to 30 minutes away from the rail terminal at origin and destination. If the distribution center is an hour or more away, then it could significantly reduce the savings calculated in the index or make long-haul trucking cheaper. The 10-year average is 128.2 for the Contract ISI and 114.5 for the Spot ISI. <h3>Bid season uncertainty </h3>How the current ISI translates into the bid season now underway for contracts going live in early 2025 is uncertain. Shippers, based on conversations with the Journal of Commerce, say they would like to negotiate flat rates in truckload and intermodal, noting that spot market rates, including fuel, do not show any signs of swinging toward the carriers. If rates needed to be adjusted, then shippers say they’d consider adjustments mid-contract. Trucking rates, excluding fuel, are higher than a year ago, but diesel prices are down about 20% over that time, according to the US Energy Information Administration, resulting in the average all-in invoice being lower than a year ago for both trucking and intermodal. Truckload carriers would like to secure low- to mid-single digit rate increases; historically, intermodal ends up a couple of percentage points below trucking. Hub Group CEO Phil Yeager said on an Oct. 30 earnings call that intermodal providers universally want rate increases. Providers believe a rate increase is warranted since volume was up 4.8% year over year between January and September, according to the Intermodal Association of North America, without any major domestic intermodal service disruptions. Contact Ari Ashe at <a href="mailto:ari.ashe@spglobal.com">ari.ashe@spglobal.com</a>. The data behind the Contract ISI and Spot ISI is available to Journal of Commerce subscribers with a Gold-tier subscription. </div>

Despite rising rail rates in Southern California, intermodal shippers saved more than 20% versus truckload on one-off business across the US in the third quarter, the second consecutive quarter in which spot market savings far exceeded historical norms, according to the latest Journal of Commerce Intermodal Savings Index (ISI). While intermodal providers increased pricing in Southern California, truckload carriers also raised rates as demand grew with surging port volumes, negating any modal shifts based on budgetary concerns. The Spot ISI averaged 122.3 for the third quarter, down slightly from the quarterly record of 123.5 in the second quarter, but up from 116.4 in the third quarter of 2023. The Q3 2024 average is also significantly higher than the 10-year spot ISI average of 114.5. Spot truckload rates fell to $1.94 per mile by the end of September from $2.03 per mile in June, while intermodal rates rose to $1.61 per mile from $1.56 per mile over the same period. The spot intermodal number in September was the lowest per-mile rate since July 2020, just before the pandemic-related freight surge jolted markets. Despite truck rates going down and intermodal rates rising, the Spot ISI was minimally impacted because the shift was almost entirely in Los Angeles, which represents less than 25% of the overall index value. Outside of Los Angeles, intermodal and truckload spot rates continued to decline. The Contract ISI, meanwhile, averaged 126.1 in the third quarter, up from 125.6 in the second quarter but unchanged compared with one year ago. Domestic intermodal shippers have saved between 25% and 28% across the US since January 2023 compared to truckload. There are no signs that will change until at least early 2025, if not later. Contract truckload rates fell a penny to $1.95 per mile quarter over quarter, while contract intermodal rates fell 2 cents. The result of tepid rates in spot and contractual markets, excluding Los Angeles, has resulted in lower intermodal revenue and operating income for Hub Group, J.B. Hunt Transport Services, and Schneider National – the top three US intermodal providers. The ISIs measure how much money a shipper should save on 120 modally competitive US lanes. There are two indexes, one for the spot market and one for the contract market. Index values are measured from a neutral base of 100. Values greater than 100 indicate domestic intermodal is cheaper, while values less than 100 indicate trucking is cheaper. The higher the value, the more money intermodal saves an average shipper. All index values correspond to percentages, which means a value of 126.1 signifies an average US shipper saved 26.1% on a domestic intermodal contract versus a truckload contract. And 122.3 signifies a 22.3% savings comparing the spot intermodal and truckload markets. The index assumes distribution centers are located less than 20 to 30 minutes away from the rail terminal at origin and destination. If the distribution center is an hour or more away, then it could significantly reduce the savings calculated in the index or make long-haul trucking cheaper. The 10-year average is 128.2 for the Contract ISI and 114.5 for the Spot ISI. Bid season uncertainty How the current ISI translates into the bid season now underway for contracts going live in early 2025 is uncertain. Shippers, based on conversations with the Journal of Commerce, say they would like to negotiate flat rates in truckload and intermodal, noting that spot market rates, including fuel, do not show any signs of swinging toward the carriers. If rates needed to be adjusted, then shippers say they’d consider adjustments mid-contract. Trucking rates, excluding fuel, are higher than a year ago, but diesel prices are down about 20% over that time, according to the US Energy Information Administration, resulting in the average all-in invoice being lower than a year ago for both trucking and intermodal. Truckload carriers would like to secure low- to mid-single digit rate increases; historically, intermodal ends up a couple of percentage points below trucking. Hub Group CEO Phil Yeager said on an Oct. 30 earnings call that intermodal providers universally want rate increases. Providers believe a rate increase is warranted since volume was up 4.8% year over year between January and September, according to the Intermodal Association of North America, without any major domestic intermodal service disruptions. Contact Ari Ashe at ari.ashe@spglobal.com . The data behind the Contract ISI and Spot ISI is available to Journal of Commerce subscribers with a Gold-tier subscription.

North-American rail

Intermodal providers

US spot intermodal savings dipped in Q3, but remained above historical norms

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The carrier, which reported $1 billion in net profit for the third quarter, says the potential boost in volumes could come as US importers seek to beat the possible implementation of new tariffs on Chinese goods by the incoming Trump administration.</div>

The carrier, which reported $1 billion in net profit for the third quarter, says the potential boost in volumes could come as US importers seek to beat the possible implementation of new tariffs on Chinese goods by the incoming Trump administration.

<div class="phx-topic">Hapag-Lloyd could see a cargo rush ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays in January partly due to shippers seeking to beat the possible imposition of new and increased US tariffs on Chinese products by the incoming Trump administration, its CEO said Thursday. That comes as demand remains strong in the fourth quarter, although Q4 profitability is set to slide compared with the carrier’s highly profitable third quarter, it said. “That we’re going to see a little bit of a rush going into Chinese New Year, I would certainly not rule it out,” Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen said in an online briefing after the carrier released its third-quarter earnings. He said it was too soon to tell how big the potential boost in volumes could be. Habben Jansen said cargo demand returned quickly after the October holidays in China and was currently “robust.” “But how much of that is pre-loading, is difficult to judge,” he said. “We see, at the moment, demand is very healthy.” The CEO indicated that increased demand ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday would most likely have a positive impact on short-term freight rates. The Lunar New Year holiday starts on Jan. 29, just over a week after Donald Trump is inaugurated as the US president. Habben Jansen thought the introduction of more tariffs by the US could cause a further shift in trade flows, as happened during the first Trump administration in 2017–21 when manufacturers moved some production away from China. “I would not be surprised if there was going to be something similar this time,” he said. “I’m cautiously optimistic that in the end trade flows may change, but we’ll hopefully still see fairly decent global trade. If we want to grow wealth around the world, it’s important we have free trade.” Hapag-Lloyd is currently forecasting cargo demand growth of 3% next year. Habben Jansen said Hapag-Lloyd is not yet preparing for the possibility of renewed industrial action by dockworkers at ports on the US East and Gulf coasts when the current extended contract between the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) and the International Longshoremen’s Association expires on Jan. 15. “I would still hope an amicable agreement is ... reached between USMX and the ILA,” he said. The ILA <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/ila-breaks-off-contract-talks-accuses-usmx-of-semi-automation-push-5810392">on Wednesday broke off talks with the USMX</a> scheduled for this week after it said maritime employers continued to push for automation and semi-automation in its proposed master contract in a move the ILA claimed would eliminate longshore jobs. Habben Jansen, meanwhile, confirmed that Gemini Cooperation, its coming alliance with Maersk, would open for cargo bookings in two weeks as it prepares for a Feb. 1 launch. He said while Hapag-Lloyd has signed up “a bit more volume” for next year from Asia to Europe in the current ongoing contract negotiations with shippers, it was “way too early to draw any conclusions” whether Gemini was responsible. Gemini hopes to grow its market share partly on the basis of having improved schedule reliability by having fewer port pairings, Habben Jansen added. “I would expect because of higher schedule reliability and better predictability in the supply chain people might be willing to pay a bit more,” he said. “But of course, we first need to implement that and demonstrate that schedule reliability week in, week out.” <h3>Q3 net profit soars </h3>Habben Jansen’s comments came after Hapag-Lloyd said third-quarter net profit surged 256% to $1 billion, up from $293 million in the prior year period. The quarterly figure was also 32% higher than the total $792 million in net profit reported for the first half of the year. But indicating lower earnings in the fourth quarter despite robust demand, the carrier estimated earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of between $460 million and $861 million for the fourth quarter based on full-year forecasts. Jefferies Equity Research said the carrier’s third-quarter results were in line with expectations. ”Hapag-Lloyd is in solid shape financially and benefiting from a strong underlying freight market,” Jefferies said in a research note Thursday. Hapag-Lloyd said group revenue climbed to $5.8 billion in the third quarter, up 29% from $4.5 billion a year earlier. That was driven by a 23% increase in average revenue per TEU, to $1,612 per TEU, plus a 3.8% increase in liftings to 3.2 million TEUs, fueled by volume gains on the trans-Pacific, trans-Atlantic and Far East trades. Contact Keith Wallis at <a href="mailto:keithwallis@hotmail.com">keithwallis@hotmail.com</a>. </div>

Hapag-Lloyd could see a cargo rush ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays in January partly due to shippers seeking to beat the possible imposition of new and increased US tariffs on Chinese products by the incoming Trump administration, its CEO said Thursday. That comes as demand remains strong in the fourth quarter, although Q4 profitability is set to slide compared with the carrier’s highly profitable third quarter, it said. “That we’re going to see a little bit of a rush going into Chinese New Year, I would certainly not rule it out,” Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen said in an online briefing after the carrier released its third-quarter earnings. He said it was too soon to tell how big the potential boost in volumes could be. Habben Jansen said cargo demand returned quickly after the October holidays in China and was currently “robust.” “But how much of that is pre-loading, is difficult to judge,” he said. “We see, at the moment, demand is very healthy.” The CEO indicated that increased demand ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday would most likely have a positive impact on short-term freight rates. The Lunar New Year holiday starts on Jan. 29, just over a week after Donald Trump is inaugurated as the US president. Habben Jansen thought the introduction of more tariffs by the US could cause a further shift in trade flows, as happened during the first Trump administration in 2017–21 when manufacturers moved some production away from China. “I would not be surprised if there was going to be something similar this time,” he said. “I’m cautiously optimistic that in the end trade flows may change, but we’ll hopefully still see fairly decent global trade. If we want to grow wealth around the world, it’s important we have free trade.” Hapag-Lloyd is currently forecasting cargo demand growth of 3% next year. Habben Jansen said Hapag-Lloyd is not yet preparing for the possibility of renewed industrial action by dockworkers at ports on the US East and Gulf coasts when the current extended contract between the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) and the International Longshoremen’s Association expires on Jan. 15. “I would still hope an amicable agreement is ... reached between USMX and the ILA,” he said. The ILA on Wednesday broke off talks with the USMX scheduled for this week after it said maritime employers continued to push for automation and semi-automation in its proposed master contract in a move the ILA claimed would eliminate longshore jobs. Habben Jansen, meanwhile, confirmed that Gemini Cooperation, its coming alliance with Maersk, would open for cargo bookings in two weeks as it prepares for a Feb. 1 launch. He said while Hapag-Lloyd has signed up “a bit more volume” for next year from Asia to Europe in the current ongoing contract negotiations with shippers, it was “way too early to draw any conclusions” whether Gemini was responsible. Gemini hopes to grow its market share partly on the basis of having improved schedule reliability by having fewer port pairings, Habben Jansen added. “I would expect because of higher schedule reliability and better predictability in the supply chain people might be willing to pay a bit more,” he said. “But of course, we first need to implement that and demonstrate that schedule reliability week in, week out.” Q3 net profit soars Habben Jansen’s comments came after Hapag-Lloyd said third-quarter net profit surged 256% to $1 billion, up from $293 million in the prior year period. The quarterly figure was also 32% higher than the total $792 million in net profit reported for the first half of the year. But indicating lower earnings in the fourth quarter despite robust demand, the carrier estimated earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of between $460 million and $861 million for the fourth quarter based on full-year forecasts. Jefferies Equity Research said the carrier’s third-quarter results were in line with expectations. ”Hapag-Lloyd is in solid shape financially and benefiting from a strong underlying freight market,” Jefferies said in a research note Thursday. Hapag-Lloyd said group revenue climbed to $5.8 billion in the third quarter, up 29% from $4.5 billion a year earlier. That was driven by a 23% increase in average revenue per TEU, to $1,612 per TEU, plus a 3.8% increase in liftings to 3.2 million TEUs, fueled by volume gains on the trans-Pacific, trans-Atlantic and Far East trades. Contact Keith Wallis at keithwallis@hotmail.com .

Container Shipping News

Container lines

Maritime

Hapag-Lloyd sees possible pre-LNY cargo rush amid ‘very healthy’ demand

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The company sees its new Broker Access product as another channel for brokers to find capacity outside of contracts with truckload carriers and posting spot freight on a load board. </div>

The company sees its new Broker Access product as another channel for brokers to find capacity outside of contracts with truckload carriers and posting spot freight on a load board.

<div class="phx-topic">Uber Freight on Thursday opened its network of truckload carriers to fellow freight brokers under a new product called Broker Access. The product, which is operated independently of Uber’s own freight brokerage business, gives other brokers the ability to expand the pool of capacity available to move truckloads for those brokers’ shipper-customers. Broker Access, in some ways, mirrors the development of a similar product at the now-defunct freight broker Convoy, which in 2021 launched Convoy for Brokers to similarly give other brokers access to drivers within its network. Convoy’s technology was later acquired by forwarder Flexport, which earlier this year restarted Convoy for Brokers under a new name, the Convoy Platform. The commonality between the two products is leveraging a network of hundreds of thousands of truckload drivers who have downloaded the companies’ respective mobile apps. Those apps allow drivers to book loads, sequence multiple loads (something Uber Freight calls re-loads) and automate other workflow aspects in the shipment lifecycle. Uber Freight sees Broker Access as another channel for brokers to find capacity outside of contracts with truckload carriers and posting spot freight on a load board, Brooks McMahon, the company’s vice president of emerging products and business development, told the Journal of Commerce. Key to enabling this third path is that some carriers are embracing mobile apps as workflow enablement tools, not a technology nuisance. “We think it’ll continue to happen, where more and more carriers will want to work this way,” said McMahon, who spearheaded Convoy for Brokers before joining Uber Freight in late 2023. “But there will always be a place for relationships and there will always be a place for load boards. Keep doing what you’re doing and consider this another path to get access to this new carrier base.” As brokers look for vetted carriers outside their network, there is a cohort of drivers who are embracing apps such as Uber’s because they’re technologically savvy or English is a second language and they feel disadvantaged when business is conducted over the phone, McMahon said. “Programs like this sort of level the playing field for carriers,” he said. <h3>Data behind a firewall </h3>One key behind the Broker Access offering is that it utilizes the same back-end technology that Uber Freight uses for its own brokerage business, but data is kept behind a firewall, so the Uber Freight brokerage business isn’t advantaged. “We’ve got different tables for all of our data,” McMahon said, acknowledging that overcoming the perception that Broker Access isn’t independent is important. “We have access controls. We don’t share data with the [third-party logistics] teams. They don’t share with us. So, we truly have put up walls. We have to offer this the right way.” McMahon said Uber Freight has been trialing Broker Access with a group of brokers since May. The product can be accessed by brokers via application programming interface (API), electronic data interchange (EDI) or via a web-based interface. The API and EDI connections allow external brokers to enable automated workflows around tendering, booking, tracking and payment reconciliation, but the web interface is there for smaller brokers not yet ready for integrations but who still want access to drivers using the Uber Freight app. Contact Eric Johnson at <a href="mailto:eric.johnson@spglobal.com">eric.johnson@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

Uber Freight on Thursday opened its network of truckload carriers to fellow freight brokers under a new product called Broker Access. The product, which is operated independently of Uber’s own freight brokerage business, gives other brokers the ability to expand the pool of capacity available to move truckloads for those brokers’ shipper-customers. Broker Access, in some ways, mirrors the development of a similar product at the now-defunct freight broker Convoy, which in 2021 launched Convoy for Brokers to similarly give other brokers access to drivers within its network. Convoy’s technology was later acquired by forwarder Flexport, which earlier this year restarted Convoy for Brokers under a new name, the Convoy Platform. The commonality between the two products is leveraging a network of hundreds of thousands of truckload drivers who have downloaded the companies’ respective mobile apps. Those apps allow drivers to book loads, sequence multiple loads (something Uber Freight calls re-loads) and automate other workflow aspects in the shipment lifecycle. Uber Freight sees Broker Access as another channel for brokers to find capacity outside of contracts with truckload carriers and posting spot freight on a load board, Brooks McMahon, the company’s vice president of emerging products and business development, told the Journal of Commerce. Key to enabling this third path is that some carriers are embracing mobile apps as workflow enablement tools, not a technology nuisance. “We think it’ll continue to happen, where more and more carriers will want to work this way,” said McMahon, who spearheaded Convoy for Brokers before joining Uber Freight in late 2023. “But there will always be a place for relationships and there will always be a place for load boards. Keep doing what you’re doing and consider this another path to get access to this new carrier base.” As brokers look for vetted carriers outside their network, there is a cohort of drivers who are embracing apps such as Uber’s because they’re technologically savvy or English is a second language and they feel disadvantaged when business is conducted over the phone, McMahon said. “Programs like this sort of level the playing field for carriers,” he said. Data behind a firewall One key behind the Broker Access offering is that it utilizes the same back-end technology that Uber Freight uses for its own brokerage business, but data is kept behind a firewall, so the Uber Freight brokerage business isn’t advantaged. “We’ve got different tables for all of our data,” McMahon said, acknowledging that overcoming the perception that Broker Access isn’t independent is important. “We have access controls. We don’t share data with the [third-party logistics] teams. They don’t share with us. So, we truly have put up walls. We have to offer this the right way.” McMahon said Uber Freight has been trialing Broker Access with a group of brokers since May. The product can be accessed by brokers via application programming interface (API), electronic data interchange (EDI) or via a web-based interface. The API and EDI connections allow external brokers to enable automated workflows around tendering, booking, tracking and payment reconciliation, but the web interface is there for smaller brokers not yet ready for integrations but who still want access to drivers using the Uber Freight app. Contact Eric Johnson at eric.johnson@spglobal.com .

Logistics Technology News

Truckload

Truck brokers

Uber Freight opens up truckload capacity network to rival brokers

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The deal for privately-owned IMC Cos. gives NVO Kuehne+Nagel a significant advantage in selling door-to-door products to cargo owners.</div>

The deal for privately-owned IMC Cos. gives NVO Kuehne+Nagel a significant advantage in selling door-to-door products to cargo owners.

<div class="phx-topic">Kuehne+Nagel said Thursday it has acquired a majority stake in IMC Cos., one of the largest ocean drayage providers in the US with terminals in almost every major port city and rail hub. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The non-vessel-operating common carrier (NVO) will have a 51% stake in Tennessee-based IMC Cos., formerly known as Intermodal Cartage, giving K+N a significant advantage in selling door-to-door products to cargo owners. IMC handles about 2 million TEUs annually from US ports and rails and generated $800 million in revenue in 2023. “IMC’s range of capabilities significantly expands our service offering and allows us to develop even more attractive solutions for the value chains of our sea freight customers,” K+N CEO Stefan Paul said in a statement, adding the IMC brand will be retained. While ocean carriers own other US drayage providers, none are as large as IMC Cos., a family-owned company founded by current Chairman Mark George. Maersk acquired Performance Team in 2020 for $545 million. It has also owned Hudd Transportation-Damco Distribution for more than two decades. Mediterranean Shipping Co. acquired C&amp;K Holdings in 2022, including the C&amp;K Trucking drayage division. IMC is much larger than Hudd-Damco and C&amp;K Holdings. IMC owns 49 terminals in the US, covering nearly every major port city and rail hub, except in the Pacific Northwest and Florida, and owns five transloading facilities. For comparison, C&amp;K Holdings owns 20 terminals in the US, while Performance Team has eight locations. One of largest remaining privately-owned US drayage provider is RoadOne IntermodaLogistics, which is co-owned by the Kellaway family and two private equity firms. Other privately-owned providers with a large base of owner-operators include the Evans Network of Companies and STG Logistics.The K+N-IMC transaction is expected to close at the beginning of the first quarter of 2025. Contact Ari Ashe at <a href="mailto:ari.ashe@spglobal.com ">ari.ashe@spglobal.com</a></div>

Kuehne+Nagel said Thursday it has acquired a majority stake in IMC Cos., one of the largest ocean drayage providers in the US with terminals in almost every major port city and rail hub. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The non-vessel-operating common carrier (NVO) will have a 51% stake in Tennessee-based IMC Cos., formerly known as Intermodal Cartage, giving K+N a significant advantage in selling door-to-door products to cargo owners. IMC handles about 2 million TEUs annually from US ports and rails and generated $800 million in revenue in 2023. “IMC’s range of capabilities significantly expands our service offering and allows us to develop even more attractive solutions for the value chains of our sea freight customers,” K+N CEO Stefan Paul said in a statement, adding the IMC brand will be retained. While ocean carriers own other US drayage providers, none are as large as IMC Cos., a family-owned company founded by current Chairman Mark George. Maersk acquired Performance Team in 2020 for $545 million. It has also owned Hudd Transportation-Damco Distribution for more than two decades. Mediterranean Shipping Co. acquired C&K Holdings in 2022, including the C&K Trucking drayage division. IMC is much larger than Hudd-Damco and C&K Holdings. IMC owns 49 terminals in the US, covering nearly every major port city and rail hub, except in the Pacific Northwest and Florida, and owns five transloading facilities. For comparison, C&K Holdings owns 20 terminals in the US, while Performance Team has eight locations. One of largest remaining privately-owned US drayage provider is RoadOne IntermodaLogistics, which is co-owned by the Kellaway family and two private equity firms. Other privately-owned providers with a large base of owner-operators include the Evans Network of Companies and STG Logistics. The K+N-IMC transaction is expected to close at the beginning of the first quarter of 2025. Contact Ari Ashe at ari.ashe@spglobal.com

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<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">While the presidential campaign is no longer a factor, the new Trump administration will likely be similarly disinterested in a strike of any significant length and, it can be assumed, will get directly involved in talks.</div>

While the presidential campaign is no longer a factor, the new Trump administration will likely be similarly disinterested in a strike of any significant length and, it can be assumed, will get directly involved in talks.

<div class="phx-topic">Following President Joe Biden’s intervention in October <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/ila-usmx-agree-on-new-wage-offer-and-contract-extension-that-reopens-ports-5741882">to end the brief strike at East and Gulf coast ports</a>, US longshore labor negotiations can no longer be seen through a traditional lens. The precedent now firmly established is that politics will prevail over the traditional give-and-take at the negotiating table. <div class="wrapper-narrow float-right-element"><img src="/images/phoenix/5817573_0.1.jpg"></img></div>A traditional lens on the current scenario, <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/ila-breaks-off-contract-talks-accuses-usmx-of-semi-automation-push-5810392">following the suspension of talks again by the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) on Wednesday</a>, would show labor and management dug in with few evident pathways to bridge the gap and the real possibility of another strike as of Jan. 15. Management’s fundamental view is that given minimal physical additions to US port capacity, efficiency gains through automation — starting with contractual rights — are required to move growing volumes through existing facilities. Although no current union jobs would be placed at risk, the union sees automation as a threat to its nearly 150-year-old franchise and is intent on rolling back the limited right of terminal operators to automate under the existing contract. The union suspended further talks this week over that issue, with management, represented by the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), stating the union is intent on “restricting future use of technology that has existed in some of our ports for nearly two decades.” But the real question is: Does it matter? Is the economic rationale for greater port efficiency relevant in terms of how decisions will get made over the coming few months? Does it matter that US ports appear nowhere in the top 50 of the <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2024/06/01/regional-disruptions-drive-changes-in-global-container-port-performance-ranking">Container Port Performance Index</a>, a data set developed by the Journal of Commerce, and that costly bottlenecks are a frequent occurrence at US ports? Conversations the Journal of Commerce has had with multiple sources close to the negotiations say with a Republican, pro-business administration coming into power on Jan. 20 and anti-union figures including Elon Musk advising President-elect Donald Trump, management may have more leverage in the negotiations than they did in October. But sources admit the possibility cannot be ruled out that management’s position is, in fact, no stronger than it was. In other words, even as the White House changes hands, the outcome will be the same as it was in October — presidential intervention in favor of the union irrespective of the costs to the industry and the economy. The carriers being on the losing end was precisely what happened in October. The USMX and its ocean carrier members were <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</a> to agree to a 62% pay increase for dockworkers over six years in a preliminary settlement on the wage issue. The “deal” ended the strike after three days and took the issue off the table as a dangerous campaign factor for Democrats. <h3>Little apparent leverage for management </h3>This time, the campaign is no longer a factor, but the new administration will likely be similarly disinterested in a strike of any significant length and, it can be assumed, will get directly involved, following precedent set by a series of presidents going back to George W. Bush, who acted to end a 10-day lockout of West Coast dockworkers in 2002. What does the incoming President-elect Trump do? Reject the views of blue-collar workers — a core Trump constituency — and a union that did him a favor during the campaign by withholding an endorsement of his opponent, as it had given to Biden in 2020? Having met with Trump late last year, documented in a photo widely spread on social media, ILA President Harold Daggett said in a social media post that “President Trump promised to support the ILA in its opposition to automated terminals in the US,” a statement that can hardly be written off. If Trump is all too willing to raise the costs of trade via tariffs, the reasoning goes, why would he be concerned about inefficiency at ports? That is why some close to the negotiations believe USMX will ultimately agree to the union’s demands, including agreeing to its terms on automation. The result would be avoiding a strike, or at the very least a lengthy one, and averting another White House showdown management had no chance of winning in October and could have no chance of winning in January. “The employers in the end are likely to agree to language that effectively bans new automation for the life of the contract,” a knowledgeable source told the Journal of Commerce. “The employers will want to put this contract behind them and prioritize strategy for future negotiations in hopes of avoiding a repeat of what happened just before the presidential election.” Ocean carriers, for whom the US is an important market, have traditionally sought to maintain a low profile, knowing they are foreign entities and politically speaking have few friends in Washington, as was seen when the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA-22) was signed into law over their objections. That thinking appears to be part of the union’s calculus that, at the moment, it holds all the cards and if so, why not seize the day in seeking to not just prevent an expansion of automation, but to roll back employers’ existing automation rights? Under that scenario, USMX would live to fight another day and likely take the next few years to re-tool in a bid to fare better in future negotiations. Contact Peter Tirschwell at <a href="mailto:peter.tirschwell@spglobal.com">peter.tirschwell@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Following President Joe Biden’s intervention in October to end the brief strike at East and Gulf coast ports , US longshore labor negotiations can no longer be seen through a traditional lens. The precedent now firmly established is that politics will prevail over the traditional give-and-take at the negotiating table. A traditional lens on the current scenario, following the suspension of talks again by the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) on Wednesday , would show labor and management dug in with few evident pathways to bridge the gap and the real possibility of another strike as of Jan. 15. Management’s fundamental view is that given minimal physical additions to US port capacity, efficiency gains through automation — starting with contractual rights — are required to move growing volumes through existing facilities. Although no current union jobs would be placed at risk, the union sees automation as a threat to its nearly 150-year-old franchise and is intent on rolling back the limited right of terminal operators to automate under the existing contract. The union suspended further talks this week over that issue, with management, represented by the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), stating the union is intent on “restricting future use of technology that has existed in some of our ports for nearly two decades.” But the real question is: Does it matter? Is the economic rationale for greater port efficiency relevant in terms of how decisions will get made over the coming few months? Does it matter that US ports appear nowhere in the top 50 of the Container Port Performance Index , a data set developed by the Journal of Commerce, and that costly bottlenecks are a frequent occurrence at US ports? Conversations the Journal of Commerce has had with multiple sources close to the negotiations say with a Republican, pro-business administration coming into power on Jan. 20 and anti-union figures including Elon Musk advising President-elect Donald Trump, management may have more leverage in the negotiations than they did in October. But sources admit the possibility cannot be ruled out that management’s position is, in fact, no stronger than it was. In other words, even as the White House changes hands, the outcome will be the same as it was in October — presidential intervention in favor of the union irrespective of the costs to the industry and the economy. The carriers being on the losing end was precisely what happened in October. The USMX and its ocean carrier members were all but forced by the White House to agree to a 62% pay increase for dockworkers over six years in a preliminary settlement on the wage issue. The “deal” ended the strike after three days and took the issue off the table as a dangerous campaign factor for Democrats. Little apparent leverage for management This time, the campaign is no longer a factor, but the new administration will likely be similarly disinterested in a strike of any significant length and, it can be assumed, will get directly involved, following precedent set by a series of presidents going back to George W. Bush, who acted to end a 10-day lockout of West Coast dockworkers in 2002. What does the incoming President-elect Trump do? Reject the views of blue-collar workers — a core Trump constituency — and a union that did him a favor during the campaign by withholding an endorsement of his opponent, as it had given to Biden in 2020? Having met with Trump late last year, documented in a photo widely spread on social media, ILA President Harold Daggett said in a social media post that “President Trump promised to support the ILA in its opposition to automated terminals in the US,” a statement that can hardly be written off. If Trump is all too willing to raise the costs of trade via tariffs, the reasoning goes, why would he be concerned about inefficiency at ports? That is why some close to the negotiations believe USMX will ultimately agree to the union’s demands, including agreeing to its terms on automation. The result would be avoiding a strike, or at the very least a lengthy one, and averting another White House showdown management had no chance of winning in October and could have no chance of winning in January. “The employers in the end are likely to agree to language that effectively bans new automation for the life of the contract,” a knowledgeable source told the Journal of Commerce. “The employers will want to put this contract behind them and prioritize strategy for future negotiations in hopes of avoiding a repeat of what happened just before the presidential election.” Ocean carriers, for whom the US is an important market, have traditionally sought to maintain a low profile, knowing they are foreign entities and politically speaking have few friends in Washington, as was seen when the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA-22) was signed into law over their objections. That thinking appears to be part of the union’s calculus that, at the moment, it holds all the cards and if so, why not seize the day in seeking to not just prevent an expansion of automation, but to roll back employers’ existing automation rights? Under that scenario, USMX would live to fight another day and likely take the next few years to re-tool in a bid to fare better in future negotiations. Contact Peter Tirschwell at peter.tirschwell@spglobal.com .

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New precedent established for politics to drive longshore union negotiations

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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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