<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The assessment of storage fees inside a terminal creates competitive pressures among marine terminal operators, their container line customers, and the importers that contract with container lines.</div>

The assessment of storage fees inside a terminal creates competitive pressures among marine terminal operators, their container line customers, and the importers that contract with container lines.

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<div>The manner in which ocean carriers and marine terminals assess fees to importers for containers that dwell at port yards beyond contractual free time is a window into a muddled situation that the US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has two months to sort out. The complexities are coming to bear on a rulemaking process the FMC must complete by mid-June due to a provision within the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 that was signed into law last June by President Joe Biden and stipulates the agency must address the billing of detention and demurrage fees within one year. Demurrage...

The manner in which ocean carriers and marine terminals assess fees to importers for containers that dwell at port yards beyond contractual free time is a window into a muddled situation that the US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has two months to sort out. The complexities are coming to bear on a rulemaking process the FMC must complete by mid-June due to a provision within the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 that was signed into law last June by President Joe Biden and stipulates the agency must address the billing of detention and demurrage fees within one year. Demurrage is a fee assessed by terminal operators on loaded import containers that stay in port beyond allowable free time specified by a carrier-shipper contract or port free time tariff. In advance of the FMC concluding its rulemaking process, a handful of container lines have announced in recent weeks they have stopped charging importers, or consignees, demurrage fees on days when terminals are closed. But that only clouds the invoicing picture because, from the perspective of marine terminal operators (MTOs), storage fees will accumulate whether or not a terminal’s gates are open to truckers. Contract complexity An example of the complexity the rulemaking must address: The Port of Long Beach’s tariff gives consignees seven days of free time, a clock that generally starts at 3 am the day after a container is discharged from a vessel. That seven-day period includes days when a terminal is closed for weekends and holidays. Meanwhile, a container line that calls at a terminal in Long Beach can separately agree to a contract with a consignee that gives the cargo owner’s container additional free time in the terminal beyond what’s specified in the port tariff. That, in turn, creates a set of competitive pressures on various parties attached to the shipment in a so-called merchant haulage move, where the consignee is responsible for arranging the pickup and return of the container. The container line is the customer of the MTO, while the consignee is both the customer of the container line and the drayage provider it has nominated to pick up and return the container. The MTO is the party that collects fees, generally from its container line customer, when a container exceeds free time according to the port’s tariff. But the MTO has no contractual relationship with either the consignee or the drayage carrier, and it won’t allow a container to be discharged from a terminal until demurrage has been paid. In Southern California, terminals do not bill the shippers directly for demurrage due, but rather post what’s due on their website, said Ian Weiland, COO of drayage provider Junction Collaborative Transports. “The terminal doesn’t care who pays, but someone needs to pay it to retrieve the container,” Weiland said. That exact sentiment was echoed by Michael Kroul, managing director at drayage broker KTI. “Most of the time, the [dray] carrier pays and gets the amount paid back by the [beneficial cargo owner],” Kroul said. Terminals still ‘get paid’ The way terminals ensure they get paid for extra days of container storage is important, because the FMC said it is weighing whether to specify that the consignee on the bill of lading is the party to which demurrage should be billed. The complexity is that the consignee on the bill of lading has a contract with the container line, not the MTO, and if the container line is voiding demurrage charges on behalf of its customers for days a terminal isn’t open, someone still needs to pay. “We do not eat those extra days in storage fees,” said one Southern California terminal executive who did not want to be identified. “I’m not sure what the carrier is doing directly with the BCO, but we get paid per our tariff.” That is but one permutation of a process that is slightly different at each US port, including ones run as landlord ports — where private MTOs lease and run individual terminals — and operating ports, where the port authority also acts as the operator. Free time varies among ports, and there is no uniformity on free time clauses in contracts between container lines and importers. Fees as a way to incentivize cargo movement To underscore the potentially fraught nature of demurrage billing, the National Association of Waterfront Employers (NAWE) shared with the Journal of Commerce a list of data points that impact importer delays in retrieving cargo where MTOs lack insight. The list includes: the importer’s inland warehouse capacity and hours of operation; availability of chassis; availability of drayage capacity; the amount of free time agreed between the container line and importer; whether the ocean carrier’s performance caused or contributed to the importer’s delay in retrieving cargo; the underlying cause of any customs holds; and the existence of any disputes between the ocean carrier and importer. The NAWE’s implication is that, without insight to those data points, charging terminal storage fees is the best way to incentivize cargo retrieval. “Not only do we not even have a contractual relationship with the shipper, our agreements are with the carrier,” NAWE President Robert Murray told the Journal of Commerce in an interview. “But then on top of that, having to provide [invoice] data points that either don't exist or that we don't have, that's extremely burdensome. You've got some carriers that are already taking action , you have others that are not. That's uncertainty and it really isn't good for the marketplace.” Teri Errico Griffis contributed to this report. Contact Eric Johnson at eric.johnson@spglobal.com and follow him on Twitter: @LogTechEric .

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Transport, Trade and Regulation News

Demurrage invoicing complications cloud FMC’s free time rulemaking process

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The trade group of ocean carriers is exempt from US antitrust scrutiny under an agreement it filed with the FMC five years ago, but the agency is now questioning that arrangement. </div>

The trade group of ocean carriers is exempt from US antitrust scrutiny under an agreement it filed with the FMC five years ago, but the agency is now questioning that arrangement.

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<div class="phx-topic">The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) is reviewing why the World Shipping Council should fall under US shipping law, a probe that could end the antitrust exemption for the WSC’s ocean carrier members to discuss cooperative matters. The FMC announced Thursday it was investigating the “working arrangement” between WSC’s members and whether that agreement violates US shipping law. Under US shipping law, ocean carriers or other regulated entities must file agreements to cooperate on commercial matters, exempting them from antitrust claims. WSC filed its cooperation agreement with the FMC in 2020, two decades after it was formed. The FMC ordered the WSC to show why the agency has “jurisdiction over the agreement and should not cancel the agreement as outside the agency’s jurisdiction.” The WSC agreement does not cover rates, operations, capacity or other strictly commercial matters. However, the group said it filed the agreement so members could discuss other issues such as safety, environmental and legal matters that could fall under FMC jurisdiction. But the FMC questioned that view in its Thursday order. The agency said the WSC may not be a regulated entity under the Shipping Act because it does not provide ocean transportation services. While its members are ocean carriers, within the confines of the agreement filed with the FMC, the members are not acting under their capacity as regulated carriers, the agency said. “An entity engaged only in the discussion and lobbying activities under the agreement would not qualify as an ‘ocean common carrier’ under the Shipping Act because it is performing none of the functions that define a common carrier,” the FMC said. The agency conceded that the WSC’s work on cargo screening may fall under the type of operational activities that are covered in FMC-filed agreements. But the agency said courts have previously ruled the WSC’s type of agreement “was meant as a narrow catch-all closely related to other explicitly operations-focused agreement categories” in US shipping law. While FMC agreements allow carriers and others to avoid antitrust scrutiny, “a trade association not involved in providing ocean transportation service does not appear to be engaged in the type of conduct Congress intended to immunize from scrutiny by antitrust enforcers and private plaintiffs,” the FMC’s order said. <h3>Two months to reply</h3>The FMC has given the WSC two months to reply to the order, with the agency’s final decision expected next March. WSC said in a statement to the Journal of Commerce that its 2020 agreement was filed “in accordance with its legal obligation (under US shipping law) and with the encouragement of the FMC.” “As a global trade association, the World Shipping Council takes its regulatory compliance responsibilities very seriously,” WSC said. Contact Michael Angell at <a href="mailto:michael.angell@spglobal.com">michael.angell@spglobal.com</a> </div>

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) is reviewing why the World Shipping Council should fall under US shipping law, a probe that could end the antitrust exemption for the WSC’s ocean carrier members to discuss cooperative matters. The FMC announced Thursday it was investigating the “working arrangement” between WSC’s members and whether that agreement violates US shipping law. Under US shipping law, ocean carriers or other regulated entities must file agreements to cooperate on commercial matters, exempting them from antitrust claims. WSC filed its cooperation agreement with the FMC in 2020, two decades after it was formed. The FMC ordered the WSC to show why the agency has “jurisdiction over the agreement and should not cancel the agreement as outside the agency’s jurisdiction.” The WSC agreement does not cover rates, operations, capacity or other strictly commercial matters. However, the group said it filed the agreement so members could discuss other issues such as safety, environmental and legal matters that could fall under FMC jurisdiction. But the FMC questioned that view in its Thursday order. The agency said the WSC may not be a regulated entity under the Shipping Act because it does not provide ocean transportation services. While its members are ocean carriers, within the confines of the agreement filed with the FMC, the members are not acting under their capacity as regulated carriers, the agency said. “An entity engaged only in the discussion and lobbying activities under the agreement would not qualify as an ‘ocean common carrier’ under the Shipping Act because it is performing none of the functions that define a common carrier,” the FMC said. The agency conceded that the WSC’s work on cargo screening may fall under the type of operational activities that are covered in FMC-filed agreements. But the agency said courts have previously ruled the WSC’s type of agreement “was meant as a narrow catch-all closely related to other explicitly operations-focused agreement categories” in US shipping law. While FMC agreements allow carriers and others to avoid antitrust scrutiny, “a trade association not involved in providing ocean transportation service does not appear to be engaged in the type of conduct Congress intended to immunize from scrutiny by antitrust enforcers and private plaintiffs,” the FMC’s order said. Two months to reply The FMC has given the WSC two months to reply to the order, with the agency’s final decision expected next March. WSC said in a statement to the Journal of Commerce that its 2020 agreement was filed “in accordance with its legal obligation (under US shipping law) and with the encouragement of the FMC.” “As a global trade association, the World Shipping Council takes its regulatory compliance responsibilities very seriously,” WSC said. Contact Michael Angell at michael.angell@spglobal.com

FMC probes legal standing of World Shipping Council agreement

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">New bottlenecks in Louisiana and Mississippi are now affecting freight flows between Mexico and the Southeast US.</div>

New bottlenecks in Louisiana and Mississippi are now affecting freight flows between Mexico and the Southeast US.

<div class="phx-topic">Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) is making progress in restoring normal rail service in the southern US following a troubled systems integration, but the epicenter of disruptions has shifted from Texas to critical points in Louisiana and Mississippi, where intermodal and carload traffic converge. Congestion initially began in Laredo and Wylie, Texas, outside Dallas after a <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/cpkc-grapples-with-complaints-over-us-canada-terminal-operations-6009914">May 3 systems upgrade</a> went poorly as CPKC was transitioning legacy Kansas City Southern (KCS) systems to Canadian Pacific networks. Service in Wylie has largely returned to normal, but new bottlenecks in Shreveport, Louisiana, and Jackson, Mississippi, are now affecting freight flows between Mexico and the Southeast US. “CPKC is continuing to devote the resources and attention necessary to return service levels to the normal range expeditiously,” CPKC wrote in a <a href="https://www.stb.gov/cpkc-merger-oversight/">June 25 letter</a> to the US Surface Transportation Board (STB). “CPKC continues to project that it will achieve a return of service performance to the normal range for the vast majority of customers by the second half of July.” CPKC dwell times in the hot spots have risen sharply since May, according to data from the Association of American Railroads (AAR). In Shreveport, the railroad’s average dwell time has increased nearly 70% year over year in the last seven weeks. In Jackson, it is up 77%. In Laredo, another intermodal crew change location, CPKC dwells have skyrocketed 127% during the same period, according to the AAR data. CPKC told the STB that company executives remain stationed at key locations, including Shreveport and Jackson, to address the ongoing issues. Inconsistent container flow Shreveport is the largest switching yard on the former Kansas City Southern network, while Jackson is the second-largest. Switching yards primarily handle non-containerized freight, but Jackson and Shreveport also serve as crew change locations for intermodal trains traveling between Mexico/Texas and the Southeast. Multiple CPKC customers have said the flow of containers between Mexico/Texas and the Southeast has been inconsistent in recent weeks. “On northbound Mexico to the Southeast, we experienced long delays at the ramp after customs cleared but before boxes were loaded and moved on a train, although it has improved in the last week,” one customer said. “Customer service is struggling [and] getting information on distressed freight is difficult.” A second customer said their shipments have gotten stuck in various Gulf Coast locations in recent weeks. CPKC told the STB the on-time performance to deliver railcars to non-containerized customers improved in all parts of the network week over week through June 20, but the on-time performance of manifest trains, which carry a mix of cargo and go into yards such as Jackson and Shreveport, fell week over week, to 55.8%. Delays in Jackson and Shreveport also affect interchange partners such as CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway (NS). Train crews are scheduled around expected handoff times, but when CPKC trains arrive late, crews on connecting railroads can exhaust their federally mandated hours before reaching the next crew change point, further compounding delays. NS interchanges freight with CPKC in Shreveport and Meridian, Mississippi, while CSX exchanges containers in Myrtlewood, Alabama. CPKC said it plans to focus on this stretch of the network in the coming week. “[Staff] will maintain their in-person presence at locations across the legacy KCS network to support operating personnel and customers … with a focus in the coming week on the Southeast Division (areas east and southeast of Shreveport),” the railroad said in its letter to the STB. Contact Ari Ashe at <a href="mailto:ari.ashe@spglobal.com">ari.ashe@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) is making progress in restoring normal rail service in the southern US following a troubled systems integration, but the epicenter of disruptions has shifted from Texas to critical points in Louisiana and Mississippi, where intermodal and carload traffic converge. Congestion initially began in Laredo and Wylie, Texas, outside Dallas after a May 3 systems upgrade went poorly as CPKC was transitioning legacy Kansas City Southern (KCS) systems to Canadian Pacific networks. Service in Wylie has largely returned to normal, but new bottlenecks in Shreveport, Louisiana, and Jackson, Mississippi, are now affecting freight flows between Mexico and the Southeast US. “CPKC is continuing to devote the resources and attention necessary to return service levels to the normal range expeditiously,” CPKC wrote in a June 25 letter to the US Surface Transportation Board (STB). “CPKC continues to project that it will achieve a return of service performance to the normal range for the vast majority of customers by the second half of July.” CPKC dwell times in the hot spots have risen sharply since May, according to data from the Association of American Railroads (AAR). In Shreveport, the railroad’s average dwell time has increased nearly 70% year over year in the last seven weeks. In Jackson, it is up 77%. In Laredo, another intermodal crew change location, CPKC dwells have skyrocketed 127% during the same period, according to the AAR data. CPKC told the STB that company executives remain stationed at key locations, including Shreveport and Jackson, to address the ongoing issues. Inconsistent container flow Shreveport is the largest switching yard on the former Kansas City Southern network, while Jackson is the second-largest. Switching yards primarily handle non-containerized freight, but Jackson and Shreveport also serve as crew change locations for intermodal trains traveling between Mexico/Texas and the Southeast. Multiple CPKC customers have said the flow of containers between Mexico/Texas and the Southeast has been inconsistent in recent weeks. “On northbound Mexico to the Southeast, we experienced long delays at the ramp after customs cleared but before boxes were loaded and moved on a train, although it has improved in the last week,” one customer said. “Customer service is struggling [and] getting information on distressed freight is difficult.” A second customer said their shipments have gotten stuck in various Gulf Coast locations in recent weeks. CPKC told the STB the on-time performance to deliver railcars to non-containerized customers improved in all parts of the network week over week through June 20, but the on-time performance of manifest trains, which carry a mix of cargo and go into yards such as Jackson and Shreveport, fell week over week, to 55.8%. Delays in Jackson and Shreveport also affect interchange partners such as CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway (NS). Train crews are scheduled around expected handoff times, but when CPKC trains arrive late, crews on connecting railroads can exhaust their federally mandated hours before reaching the next crew change point, further compounding delays. NS interchanges freight with CPKC in Shreveport and Meridian, Mississippi, while CSX exchanges containers in Myrtlewood, Alabama. CPKC said it plans to focus on this stretch of the network in the coming week. “[Staff] will maintain their in-person presence at locations across the legacy KCS network to support operating personnel and customers … with a focus in the coming week on the Southeast Division (areas east and southeast of Shreveport),” the railroad said in its letter to the STB. Contact Ari Ashe at ari.ashe@spglobal.com .

North-American rail

CPKC disruptions in Gulf states now impacting carload, intermodal traffic

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Diversifying suppliers out of China has been a long-term trend among tech companies, but a recent acceleration of that shift is driven by fresh trade tensions rather than a desire to divest entirely, says Everstream Analytics.</div>

Diversifying suppliers out of China has been a long-term trend among tech companies, but a recent acceleration of that shift is driven by fresh trade tensions rather than a desire to divest entirely, says Everstream Analytics.

<div class="phx-topic">Escalating trade tensions and ongoing tariff uncertainties are adding to rising labor costs, prompting technology giants to accelerate the diversification of suppliers away from China, according to a new report from supply chain insight provider Everstream Analytics. While the diversification of manufacturing has been a long-term trend, the recent increase in that shift is being driven more by the need to reduce short-term risk in the face of recent trade disruption rather than a desire to completely divest from China, noted Jena Santoro, global head of research and analytics at Everstream. “Our analysis shows Thailand and Vietnam have nearly doubled their tech suppliers since 2019, while companies like HP are committing to move 90% of their manufacturing out of China by next year,” Santoro told the Journal of Commerce Thursday. The report, “Shifting away from China,” analyzed supplier data from 2019 to 2024 from tech majors that included Samsung, Apple, Dell, Nokia and NXP, and found the companies were moving core product lines to alternative manufacturing centers. India, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Taiwan have emerged as the most prominent alternative suppliers to China for the technology industry, the report found. The products most affected by the diversification strategies were smartphones, smart watches, computers and laptops. “But the reality is that China spent more than 30 years building its manufacturing ecosystem, and it may take just as long for alternatives to match that scale,” Santoro said. “So, while companies are absolutely diversifying, and they need to, this is about reducing risk, not replacing China entirely. At least not anytime soon.” <h3>End of 90-day pause on tariffs </h3>The Everstream report highlighted the upcoming end to the 90-day pause on US tariffs on China on Aug. 14 and the trade restrictions that could be imposed following its expiry. “Trade between China and the US remains unstable, with the current negotiations only resulting in a 90-day pause on the escalated tariff scheme, which includes a 125% import tariff on Chinese goods,” the report stated. “This level of tariff would make many technology products prohibitively expensive if manufactured entirely in China, creating strong financial incentives for diversification,” it added. “Global technology manufacturers will likely continue to seek alternative suppliers in countries perceived as less risky for business continuity.” On top of the trade tensions are long-term trends in China’s workforce that have led to an increasingly less cost-efficient labor market, a factor that has long encouraged companies to consider investing in cheaper production systems in other parts of the world as a way to increase margins. That trend shows no signs of reversal, as China no longer has the developing economy wages it once had. “Given these ... realities, technology supply chains with procurement operations integrated in China have become less stable and reliably more expensive than potential alternatives,” the Everstream report found. Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com.</a></div>

Escalating trade tensions and ongoing tariff uncertainties are adding to rising labor costs, prompting technology giants to accelerate the diversification of suppliers away from China, according to a new report from supply chain insight provider Everstream Analytics. While the diversification of manufacturing has been a long-term trend, the recent increase in that shift is being driven more by the need to reduce short-term risk in the face of recent trade disruption rather than a desire to completely divest from China, noted Jena Santoro, global head of research and analytics at Everstream. “Our analysis shows Thailand and Vietnam have nearly doubled their tech suppliers since 2019, while companies like HP are committing to move 90% of their manufacturing out of China by next year,” Santoro told the Journal of Commerce Thursday. The report, “Shifting away from China,” analyzed supplier data from 2019 to 2024 from tech majors that included Samsung, Apple, Dell, Nokia and NXP, and found the companies were moving core product lines to alternative manufacturing centers. India, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Taiwan have emerged as the most prominent alternative suppliers to China for the technology industry, the report found. The products most affected by the diversification strategies were smartphones, smart watches, computers and laptops. “But the reality is that China spent more than 30 years building its manufacturing ecosystem, and it may take just as long for alternatives to match that scale,” Santoro said. “So, while companies are absolutely diversifying, and they need to, this is about reducing risk, not replacing China entirely. At least not anytime soon.” End of 90-day pause on tariffs The Everstream report highlighted the upcoming end to the 90-day pause on US tariffs on China on Aug. 14 and the trade restrictions that could be imposed following its expiry. “Trade between China and the US remains unstable, with the current negotiations only resulting in a 90-day pause on the escalated tariff scheme, which includes a 125% import tariff on Chinese goods,” the report stated. “This level of tariff would make many technology products prohibitively expensive if manufactured entirely in China, creating strong financial incentives for diversification,” it added. “Global technology manufacturers will likely continue to seek alternative suppliers in countries perceived as less risky for business continuity.” On top of the trade tensions are long-term trends in China’s workforce that have led to an increasingly less cost-efficient labor market, a factor that has long encouraged companies to consider investing in cheaper production systems in other parts of the world as a way to increase margins. That trend shows no signs of reversal, as China no longer has the developing economy wages it once had. “Given these ... realities, technology supply chains with procurement operations integrated in China have become less stable and reliably more expensive than potential alternatives,” the Everstream report found. Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com.

Supply chain

Tech giants shift production out of China as trade tariffs raise supply risk: analysis

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The carrier said vessels on the five-day transit to Philadelphia will carry food, apparel, industrial products and consumer goods. </div>

The carrier said vessels on the five-day transit to Philadelphia will carry food, apparel, industrial products and consumer goods.

<div class="phx-topic">US-based ocean carrier Crowley will expand its intra-Americas network in July with a new direct service linking ports in Guatemala and Honduras to Philadelphia. The five-day transit will be Crowley’s first route between Central America and the US Northeast Coast. The first northbound voyage for the service, using the 1,400-TEU Copan, will leave Central America for Philadelphia on July 3. A statement from Crowley this week announcing the service did not provide details on its frequency but said the vessels will carry food, apparel, industrial products and consumer goods. Reinier van Delden, vice president of commercial operations for Crowley Logistics, said in the statement the service, using new LNG-powered vessels, will “deliver the fastest transit times in the market.” “This means less inventory idle time, lower supply chain costs, and longer shelf life for critical products like fresh produce,” he said. The service, which van Delden said already has “significant booking commitments,” will serve Central America’s Northern Zone, which includes El Salvador and Nicaragua in addition to Guatemala and Honduras. The vessels used by Crowley for the service can carry various container sizes for dry cargo and have capacity for 300 refrigerated boxes. According to data from PIERS, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global, import volumes from Central America’s Northern Zone into the East Coast of North America have been relatively steady in recent years; May 2025 volumes of 50,121 TEUs were down just 3.3% from May 2019. PIERS data shows imports from the Northern Zone accounted for 3.2% of imports to the East Coast of North America in May. In March, which is the peak season for Central American plantain exports, that share climbed to 3.6%. Northbound perishables cargo includes plantains, pineapples and melons, according to PIERS. The new service from Crowley comes after the company launched in May a three-day ocean service from Tuxpan, Mexico, to Gulfport, Mississippi. Crowley also started a <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/crowley-cn-strike-mexico-intermodal-deal-through-port-of-mobile-5220379">multimodal Mexico-US service in 2023</a>. Also this week, Green Tide Logistics <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/mexico-us-ocean-market-expands-amid-growing-nearshoring-interest-6031786">announced a combined truck-ocean service</a> linking the Gulf Coast of Mexico with Philadelphia. Contact Laura Robb at <a href="mailto:laura.robb@spglobal.com">laura.robb@spglobal.com</a>.  </div>

US-based ocean carrier Crowley will expand its intra-Americas network in July with a new direct service linking ports in Guatemala and Honduras to Philadelphia. The five-day transit will be Crowley’s first route between Central America and the US Northeast Coast. The first northbound voyage for the service, using the 1,400-TEU Copan, will leave Central America for Philadelphia on July 3. A statement from Crowley this week announcing the service did not provide details on its frequency but said the vessels will carry food, apparel, industrial products and consumer goods. Reinier van Delden, vice president of commercial operations for Crowley Logistics, said in the statement the service, using new LNG-powered vessels, will “deliver the fastest transit times in the market.” “This means less inventory idle time, lower supply chain costs, and longer shelf life for critical products like fresh produce,” he said. The service, which van Delden said already has “significant booking commitments,” will serve Central America’s Northern Zone, which includes El Salvador and Nicaragua in addition to Guatemala and Honduras. The vessels used by Crowley for the service can carry various container sizes for dry cargo and have capacity for 300 refrigerated boxes. According to data from PIERS, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global, import volumes from Central America’s Northern Zone into the East Coast of North America have been relatively steady in recent years; May 2025 volumes of 50,121 TEUs were down just 3.3% from May 2019. PIERS data shows imports from the Northern Zone accounted for 3.2% of imports to the East Coast of North America in May. In March, which is the peak season for Central American plantain exports, that share climbed to 3.6%. Northbound perishables cargo includes plantains, pineapples and melons, according to PIERS. The new service from Crowley comes after the company launched in May a three-day ocean service from Tuxpan, Mexico, to Gulfport, Mississippi. Crowley also started a multimodal Mexico-US service in 2023 . Also this week, Green Tide Logistics announced a combined truck-ocean service linking the Gulf Coast of Mexico with Philadelphia. Contact Laura Robb at laura.robb@spglobal.com . 

Maritime

Crowley launches first service linking Central America to US Northeast Coast

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Swire, UWL’s original partner for the express service to Seattle, will phase out its vessels during July while new partner Emirate Shipping Line rotates into the loop.</div>

Swire, UWL’s original partner for the express service to Seattle, will phase out its vessels during July while new partner Emirate Shipping Line rotates into the loop.

<div class="phx-topic">Third-party logistics provider UWL is switching the ocean carrier it uses for its Vietnamese trans-Pacific container service to Seattle — and swapping in a new China call on the loop — with a view to eventually offering weekly sailings on the niche service. UWL Chief Executive Duncan Wright said in a letter to customers this week the company signed a contract with Emirates Shipping Line (ESL) to become the new vessel operator on its Sun Chief Express Service, replacing Swire Shipping, part of Asian conglomerate Swire Group. UWL originally partnered with Swire <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/new-vietnam-pnw-express-service-comes-amid-rise-in-se-asia-imports-5195234">to launch the Sun Chief Express in 2022</a>. The service connects Vietnam’s Hai Phong and Ho Chi Minh City ports with Seattle, offering about 2,700 TEUs in biweekly vessel capacity and an approximate 20-day sailing time. Wright said that while UWL was vetting other vessel operators for possibly offering a weekly service, Swire decided to “phase out” its involvement in the Sun Chief service. The last Swire ship will depart Ho Chi Minh port on July 14, while two westbound sailings during July on Swire vessels will be blanked as part of the phaseout. The first ESL vessel, the 2,782-TEU Bright, will depart Ho Chi Minh port on July 22. It will call Shekou in China before continuing to Seattle. The Sun Chief service will remain biweekly for the time being. Dubai-based ESL is the 23rd-largest ocean carrier globally, focusing chiefly on “niche and emerging trade lanes across Asia, the Middle East, and Africa,” UWL said. ESL operates a fleet of 11 ships, with capacities ranging between 2,700 TEUS and 6,700 TEUs. UWL added that ESL’s experience in the intra-Asia trade will allow the Sun Chief to eventually serve “additional key markets across Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent.” Contact Michael Angell at <a href="mailto:michael.angell@spglobal.com">michael.angell@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Third-party logistics provider UWL is switching the ocean carrier it uses for its Vietnamese trans-Pacific container service to Seattle — and swapping in a new China call on the loop — with a view to eventually offering weekly sailings on the niche service. UWL Chief Executive Duncan Wright said in a letter to customers this week the company signed a contract with Emirates Shipping Line (ESL) to become the new vessel operator on its Sun Chief Express Service, replacing Swire Shipping, part of Asian conglomerate Swire Group. UWL originally partnered with Swire to launch the Sun Chief Express in 2022 . The service connects Vietnam’s Hai Phong and Ho Chi Minh City ports with Seattle, offering about 2,700 TEUs in biweekly vessel capacity and an approximate 20-day sailing time. Wright said that while UWL was vetting other vessel operators for possibly offering a weekly service, Swire decided to “phase out” its involvement in the Sun Chief service. The last Swire ship will depart Ho Chi Minh port on July 14, while two westbound sailings during July on Swire vessels will be blanked as part of the phaseout. The first ESL vessel, the 2,782-TEU Bright, will depart Ho Chi Minh port on July 22. It will call Shekou in China before continuing to Seattle. The Sun Chief service will remain biweekly for the time being. Dubai-based ESL is the 23rd-largest ocean carrier globally, focusing chiefly on “niche and emerging trade lanes across Asia, the Middle East, and Africa,” UWL said. ESL operates a fleet of 11 ships, with capacities ranging between 2,700 TEUS and 6,700 TEUs. UWL added that ESL’s experience in the intra-Asia trade will allow the Sun Chief to eventually serve “additional key markets across Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent.” Contact Michael Angell at michael.angell@spglobal.com .

Trans-Pacific

UWL locks in new vessel partner for trans-Pacific Vietnam service

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

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Shippers save money, time with automated transportation bidding tools

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

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