<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Pandemic-driven acceleration in the usage of its digital shipping document product is a sign that blockchain does work in niche applications in global logistics, according to CargoX.</div>

Pandemic-driven acceleration in the usage of its digital shipping document product is a sign that blockchain does work in niche applications in global logistics, according to CargoX.

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<div>CargoX, a provider of electronic bill of lading (eBL) solutions, said Tuesday it has seen a surge in interest from companies wanting to digitize shipping documents during the pandemic, part of a broader trend in growth of eBL usage, albeit off a low base. The growth in interest got a further kickstart last month, when CargoX and competing eBL provider edoxOnline demonstrated <a>interoperability between their products</a>. Slovenia-based CargoX said it has now processed more than 3 million shipping documents since its founding in 2017. It went from 336 companies using its product at the end of 2020 to more than...

CargoX, a provider of electronic bill of lading (eBL) solutions, said Tuesday it has seen a surge in interest from companies wanting to digitize shipping documents during the pandemic, part of a broader trend in growth of eBL usage, albeit off a low base. The growth in interest got a further kickstart last month, when CargoX and competing eBL provider edoxOnline demonstrated interoperability between their products . Slovenia-based CargoX said it has now processed more than 3 million shipping documents since its founding in 2017. It went from 336 companies using its product at the end of 2020 to more than 100,000 at the end of 2022, with the pandemic a catalyst for some entities to transition to eBLs. CargoX’s blockchain-based product is part of a group of eBL vendors participating in an initiative led by the Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) designed to test the interoperability between the providers . The test is considered key as different container lines, shippers, and forwarders gravitate toward different vendors to produce eBLs. In addition to CargoX and edoxOnline, WaveBL, the Global Shipping Business Network (GSBN), Bolero , and essDocs offer eBL products. “Distributed global computing solutions have emerged as an alternative to centralized systems,” CargoX CEO Stefan Kukman said in a statement Tuesday. “Logically, eBL platforms provide interoperability to avoid centralization and market manipulation. We support standards-driven interoperability, and we firmly believe this is good for all economic operators and governmental entities participating in global trade." One provider to recently drop out of the mix is TradeLens, the Maersk- and IBM-backed visibility and electronic document technology provider that is being wound down in the first quarter of 2023. But usage of the other tools is growing, albeit on a small scale. The DCSA estimated that pre-pandemic, fewer than 1 percent of bills of lading were in an electronic format, despite the inherent benefits of such a change, hence its focus on driving interoperability among vendors. Those vendors tout the efficiency of transferring title of the goods electronically, but also the adjacent impact of having the data from bills of lading readily available in an electronic format. The case for blockchain Like CargoX, GSBN’s product is blockchain-based, which allows key data to be stored and secured in a way that clearly highlights if information has been changed. The secure nature of blockchain, both companies told the Journal of Commerce in recent interviews, is key to enabling eBLs to be instruments of ownership that are acceptable to banks in different regions. “We were always more focused on the blockchain document transaction, to prove ownership of title or proof of authenticity,” Vjeran Ortynski, chief business development officer at CargoX, said. Ortynski said the actual value of blockchain has been misunderstood, and that attempts to build “private blockchains,” such as TradeLens, obscure the intended use of the technology. “The end-user doesn’t care what technology is behind a solution,” he said. “Private blockchains have one owner. But with public blockchains, every document is uploaded and encrypted and the only thing that’s visible is the hash of the document, not the document itself. You have the chain of exchanges visible to everyone. The concept works.” The GSBN, for instance, has been working with banks in Asia to tether data from eBLs to trade finance decisions . “The digitization of the industry is irreversible,” GSBN CEO Bertrand Chen said in an interview. “It’s not going back to paper. And I’m convinced that blockchain is the right technology to share data across the industry. But everything does not have to be in blockchain, because it’s more expensive and not more efficient.” Contact Eric Johnson at eric.johnson@spglobal.com and follow him on Twitter: @LogTechEric .

Supply chain

Container Shipping News

Transport, Trade and Regulation News

Logistics Technology News

Electronic bill of lading ‘green shoots’ emerge in wake of pandemic

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The largest US freight broker expects the first quarter of 2025 to be weak for trucking as the freight recession remains in place, but it is converting more customers to use its services for ocean freight. </div>

The largest US freight broker expects the first quarter of 2025 to be weak for trucking as the freight recession remains in place, but it is converting more customers to use its services for ocean freight.

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<div class="phx-topic">C.H. Robinson sees the US freight recession lingering into 2025 as it expects truckload volumes to drop at the start of the year. But the largest US freight broker is looking to offset that weakness by cross-selling customers on its global forwarding business.Chief Executive David Bozeman said on the company’s fourth-quarter conference call late Wednesday that results outperformed expectations despite “what continues to be a historically prolonged freight recession with market growth in 2024 that did not materialize as had been projected.” Total revenue at the Minneapolis-based company reached $17.7 billion in 2024, just shy of the $18 billion consensus from S&amp;P Capital IQ estimates. However, full-year earnings of $4.51 per share managed to beat consensus estimates of $4.38. Michael Castagnetto, president of C.H. Robinson’s North American Surface Transportation (NAST) unit, noted that <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/shippers-balance-near-term-market-long-term-forecasts-in-trucking-bids-5925145">the Cass Freight Shipment Index</a> for the fourth quarter of 2024 was down 3.2% year on year and “the lowest read the industry has in the last 15 years.” NAST’s volumes for the fourth quarter were down 1% year on year. The segment’s full-year revenue dropped 6% to $11.7 billion, but better margins and increasing use of digital brokerage on each truckload boosted operating income 15% to $531 million. “From a volume standpoint, the market continues to be in a prolonged freight recession,” Castagnetto said. He added that industry volumes in the first quarter of 2025 could drop 2.5% sequentially based on historical trends in the Cass index. Transportation services provider Landstar Systems shared a similar outlook on its Wednesday conference call. It expects Q1 truckload volumes to be between 2% and 7% lower than the year-earlier quarter.<h3>Forwarding a standout</h3>Revenue in C.H. Robinson’s Global Forwarding business grew 27% in 2024 to $3.8 billion due to <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/early-lunar-new-year-tariffs-strike-risk-underpin-q4-strength-in-ocean-freight-5788905">strong ocean freight rates</a>, even though shipments only grew 3.5%. Operating income in the forwarding business rose 148% to $212 million. In addition to higher margins on each shipment, C.H. Robinson said automation and other productivity improvements enabled each forwarding employee to handle 30% more shipments per day last year than in 2022. The company noted in a December investor presentation that 20% of its Global Forwarding business is now coming from NAST customers. Castagnetto said the company is in the “early innings” of converting trucking customers to also use its forwarding services. “We have a lot of runway in front of us in those areas to grow, but also to move up the value stack as you think about that next stage of cross-selling, whether it’s NAST to global forwarding [or] global forwarding to NAST,” he said. Contact Michael Angell at <a href="mailto:michael.angell@spglobal.com">michael.angell@spglobal.com</a> </div>

C.H. Robinson sees the US freight recession lingering into 2025 as it expects truckload volumes to drop at the start of the year. But the largest US freight broker is looking to offset that weakness by cross-selling customers on its global forwarding business. Chief Executive David Bozeman said on the company’s fourth-quarter conference call late Wednesday that results outperformed expectations despite “what continues to be a historically prolonged freight recession with market growth in 2024 that did not materialize as had been projected.” Total revenue at the Minneapolis-based company reached $17.7 billion in 2024, just shy of the $18 billion consensus from S&P Capital IQ estimates. However, full-year earnings of $4.51 per share managed to beat consensus estimates of $4.38. Michael Castagnetto, president of C.H. Robinson’s North American Surface Transportation (NAST) unit, noted that the Cass Freight Shipment Index for the fourth quarter of 2024 was down 3.2% year on year and “the lowest read the industry has in the last 15 years.” NAST’s volumes for the fourth quarter were down 1% year on year. The segment’s full-year revenue dropped 6% to $11.7 billion, but better margins and increasing use of digital brokerage on each truckload boosted operating income 15% to $531 million. “From a volume standpoint, the market continues to be in a prolonged freight recession,” Castagnetto said. He added that industry volumes in the first quarter of 2025 could drop 2.5% sequentially based on historical trends in the Cass index. Transportation services provider Landstar Systems shared a similar outlook on its Wednesday conference call. It expects Q1 truckload volumes to be between 2% and 7% lower than the year-earlier quarter. Forwarding a standout Revenue in C.H. Robinson’s Global Forwarding business grew 27% in 2024 to $3.8 billion due to strong ocean freight rates , even though shipments only grew 3.5%. Operating income in the forwarding business rose 148% to $212 million. In addition to higher margins on each shipment, C.H. Robinson said automation and other productivity improvements enabled each forwarding employee to handle 30% more shipments per day last year than in 2022. The company noted in a December investor presentation that 20% of its Global Forwarding business is now coming from NAST customers. Castagnetto said the company is in the “early innings” of converting trucking customers to also use its forwarding services. “We have a lot of runway in front of us in those areas to grow, but also to move up the value stack as you think about that next stage of cross-selling, whether it’s NAST to global forwarding [or] global forwarding to NAST,” he said. Contact Michael Angell at michael.angell@spglobal.com

Forwarding

Truck brokers

Truckload

C.H. Robinson’s forwarding business offsets weak US truck market

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">New freight classifications that will take effect this summer could raise costs for less-than-truckload shippers that don’t begin working with carriers now, speakers at the SMC3 conference said.</div>

New freight classifications that will take effect this summer could raise costs for less-than-truckload shippers that don’t begin working with carriers now, speakers at the SMC3 conference said.

<div class="phx-topic">The biggest revision of the less-than-truckload (LTL) freight classification system in the US in decades is under way, and shippers are increasingly concerned about the potential impact on their LTL pricing. “Customers are asking if this is a veiled attempt to raise rates,” Clete Cordero, vice president of pricing and traffic at Southeastern Freight Lines, said at the SMC3 Jump Start 25 conference in Atlanta this week. Cordero says no to that question, but shippers are right to be worried. “I think what’s really going to happen is a resetting of rates,” he said during a breakout session on the proposed changes to the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC). “For at least the first year, there’s going to be a resetting.” Rates may go up or down depending on various factors for each individual shipper as classes change, Cordero said, and there’s no way now to fix a percentage to the changes. Shippers are pretty sure in most cases rates will rise — if they do nothing. “We have to really work with our distribution centers on dimensions [of palletized freight],” Mike Williams, director of global logistics at Copeland, a manufacturer of products that improve energy efficiency, said at the conference. “We’re not as prepared as we’d like to be, but we’ll get there,” Williams said. The National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA) which oversees the NMFC, on Thursday released a docket that contains more than 90 proposed changes to the classification system, calling it nothing less than a “reimagination of classification.” “A normal docket contains about 15 proposals,” Keith Peterson, director of operations at NMFTA, said at the SMC3 conference. The new docket, known as 2025-1, is <a href="https://nmfta.org/wp-content/media/2025/01/V8_2025-1-Under-Review_01.08.2025.xlsx">available to download</a> and will be discussed by NMFTA staff in webinars and public meetings. “We’re making a conscious effort to get out there and talk with shippers,” Peterson said. “The question I hear most often is, ‘Do I need to buy a dimensioner?’” The answer is “maybe.” Shippers will need to more accurately measure the dimensions and weight of every pallet, which for some will mean big changes to the procedures they use to build pallets and move freight. NMFTA will start reviewing feedback on the changes Feb. 25 and hold a public meeting on March 3 to discuss any changes made following feedback. The final changes will become effective July 19, according to NMFTA. When they do, they will affect practically everyone shipping LTL freight in the US. <h3>Simplify, simplify </h3>Almost everyone in trucking believes the NMFC is long overdue for an overhaul — if they believe it should be retained at all. The motor freight classification dates to 1936, and its roots go back to the days when railroads hauled less-than-carload freight. Trucking companies took most of that freight from railroads in the 1920s, and the classification system followed the freight. The NMFC is a distinctly American standard — outside the US, LTL freight is typically moved under dimension-weight pricing systems. The classification system doesn’t set rates, but it helps determine pricing. Classes are referenced in carrier tariffs and shipper contracts. The NMFC sorts products into 18 different classes and sub-classes ranging from 50 to 500. Lower freight classes tend to be tied to lower rates. The determining factors are density, handling, stowability and liability characteristics. After 89 years of expansion and revision, “it’s too complicated,” Joe Ohr, COO at NMFTA, said at the conference. “The NMFC needs to be simpler and easier to understand whether you’re a shipper, logistics provider or carrier.” The proposed changes will standardize the density scale for LTL freight. They will also create unique identifiers for freight with special handling, stowability or liability needs, and condense and modernize commodity listings. “You’re going to see us start bringing down the number of terms we use and making it simpler [to use the NMFC],” Peterson told SMC3. Two new density classes will be added — 50 and 55. “We will move items with no handling, stowability or liability issues to full density,” he said. More generic items will be combined in one listing, simplifying searches. One result should be less reclassification and repricing of freight as it moves from shippers through LTL networks. With most LTL carriers using dimensioning equipment to check the size and weight of shipments and their classification, shippers are finding that freight charges are being revised frequently, most often adding to their costs. <h3>Get started </h3>Speakers at the SMC3 conference said shippers need to start acting now to prepare for the classification changes. “We’ve opened our doors to our carriers and said come to our docks, look at our freight,” said Nick Waters, director of logistics at Masco, a home products manufacturer. LTL carriers often don’t know enough about the freight they’re handling, he said. “We’re sharing information on freight moving through our lanes with our carriers,” Waters said. “This isn’t brand new, but the carrier pricing models have become more complex, and they know what they’re handling.” Waters said Masco hasn’t seen big increases in LTL pricing, “but with the NMFC changes coming, it’s a thing we’ll have to keep an eye on.” Those changes won’t stop once the current proposals are either modified or approved. “This is an ongoing process,” Peterson said. “There’s going to be more to do here.” Contact William B. Cassidy at <a href="mailto:bill.cassidy@spglobal.com">bill.cassidy@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

The biggest revision of the less-than-truckload (LTL) freight classification system in the US in decades is under way, and shippers are increasingly concerned about the potential impact on their LTL pricing. “Customers are asking if this is a veiled attempt to raise rates,” Clete Cordero, vice president of pricing and traffic at Southeastern Freight Lines, said at the SMC3 Jump Start 25 conference in Atlanta this week. Cordero says no to that question, but shippers are right to be worried. “I think what’s really going to happen is a resetting of rates,” he said during a breakout session on the proposed changes to the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC). “For at least the first year, there’s going to be a resetting.” Rates may go up or down depending on various factors for each individual shipper as classes change, Cordero said, and there’s no way now to fix a percentage to the changes. Shippers are pretty sure in most cases rates will rise — if they do nothing. “We have to really work with our distribution centers on dimensions [of palletized freight],” Mike Williams, director of global logistics at Copeland, a manufacturer of products that improve energy efficiency, said at the conference. “We’re not as prepared as we’d like to be, but we’ll get there,” Williams said. The National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA) which oversees the NMFC, on Thursday released a docket that contains more than 90 proposed changes to the classification system, calling it nothing less than a “reimagination of classification.” “A normal docket contains about 15 proposals,” Keith Peterson, director of operations at NMFTA, said at the SMC3 conference. The new docket, known as 2025-1, is available to download and will be discussed by NMFTA staff in webinars and public meetings. “We’re making a conscious effort to get out there and talk with shippers,” Peterson said. “The question I hear most often is, ‘Do I need to buy a dimensioner?’” The answer is “maybe.” Shippers will need to more accurately measure the dimensions and weight of every pallet, which for some will mean big changes to the procedures they use to build pallets and move freight. NMFTA will start reviewing feedback on the changes Feb. 25 and hold a public meeting on March 3 to discuss any changes made following feedback. The final changes will become effective July 19, according to NMFTA. When they do, they will affect practically everyone shipping LTL freight in the US. Simplify, simplify Almost everyone in trucking believes the NMFC is long overdue for an overhaul — if they believe it should be retained at all. The motor freight classification dates to 1936, and its roots go back to the days when railroads hauled less-than-carload freight. Trucking companies took most of that freight from railroads in the 1920s, and the classification system followed the freight. The NMFC is a distinctly American standard — outside the US, LTL freight is typically moved under dimension-weight pricing systems. The classification system doesn’t set rates, but it helps determine pricing. Classes are referenced in carrier tariffs and shipper contracts. The NMFC sorts products into 18 different classes and sub-classes ranging from 50 to 500. Lower freight classes tend to be tied to lower rates. The determining factors are density, handling, stowability and liability characteristics. After 89 years of expansion and revision, “it’s too complicated,” Joe Ohr, COO at NMFTA, said at the conference. “The NMFC needs to be simpler and easier to understand whether you’re a shipper, logistics provider or carrier.” The proposed changes will standardize the density scale for LTL freight. They will also create unique identifiers for freight with special handling, stowability or liability needs, and condense and modernize commodity listings. “You’re going to see us start bringing down the number of terms we use and making it simpler [to use the NMFC],” Peterson told SMC3. Two new density classes will be added — 50 and 55. “We will move items with no handling, stowability or liability issues to full density,” he said. More generic items will be combined in one listing, simplifying searches. One result should be less reclassification and repricing of freight as it moves from shippers through LTL networks. With most LTL carriers using dimensioning equipment to check the size and weight of shipments and their classification, shippers are finding that freight charges are being revised frequently, most often adding to their costs. Get started Speakers at the SMC3 conference said shippers need to start acting now to prepare for the classification changes. “We’ve opened our doors to our carriers and said come to our docks, look at our freight,” said Nick Waters, director of logistics at Masco, a home products manufacturer. LTL carriers often don’t know enough about the freight they’re handling, he said. “We’re sharing information on freight moving through our lanes with our carriers,” Waters said. “This isn’t brand new, but the carrier pricing models have become more complex, and they know what they’re handling.” Waters said Masco hasn’t seen big increases in LTL pricing, “but with the NMFC changes coming, it’s a thing we’ll have to keep an eye on.” Those changes won’t stop once the current proposals are either modified or approved. “This is an ongoing process,” Peterson said. “There’s going to be more to do here.” Contact William B. Cassidy at bill.cassidy@spglobal.com .

Trucking News

Surface

US shippers urged to prepare now for upcoming LTL class changes, rate ‘resetting’

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The breakbulk sector can lean on the progress of key US ports in facilitating the safe bunkering of next generation alternative shipping fuels</div>

The breakbulk sector can lean on the progress of key US ports in facilitating the safe bunkering of next generation alternative shipping fuels

<div class="phx-topic">With newbuilds in the works for dual-fuel multipurpose and heavy-lift vessels, a handful of US ports are taking steps to advance the green shipping corridors and bunkering infrastructure necessary to support the sector’s transition to alternative fuels. Although the much larger container ship segment dominates the development of so-called green corridors — a global network of trade routes for vessels that will eventually be powered by carbon-free fuels as they become available — the creation of these routes will lay the groundwork for other cargo vessels to follow suit, including those from the multipurpose and heavy-lift sector. Heather Tomley, managing director of planning and environmental affairs for the Port of Long Beach — part of multiple trans-Pacific green corridors — told the Journal of Commerce that as alternative fuels become available at the port, they will be accessible to any shipping lines that want to use them. “While we may be working with container lines right now, it’s not limited to only supporting those vessel types going forward,” Tomley said. Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles in 2023 established two green corridors — one with the Port Authority of Singapore and the other with the Shanghai Municipal Transportation Commission. “A big focus of those efforts is on how to support the transition to cleaner marine fuels,” Tomley said, adding that the port is looking to adapt the best practices Singapore and Shanghai have established for alternative fuel bunkering and safety protocols. <h3>Support for shipping’s energy transition </h3>Ports that have established green corridors are positioned to play a key role in the alternative fuel transition. According to a December 2024 report commissioned by Long Beach on green marine fuels, these ports act as “coordinators and implementers of decarbonization strategies, facilitating infrastructure development to support the supply and use of clean marine fuels.” With limited availability and high costs among the immediate barriers to supplying alternative fuels, Long Beach is exploring steps it can take in the short term to support early adopters in its green shipping corridor initiative as dual-fuel vessels become available. “Over the next two years, the port should focus on facilitating fuel supply for these early adopters by conducting feasibility assessments to evaluate the potential of various alternative fuels and the current state of infrastructure,” the report read. Long Beach has supplied liquefied natural gas (LNG) fueling since 2022 and is working to expand its bunkering operations to support other fuel alternative types, with possibilities including green methanol, green ammonia and green hydrogen.Tomley said preparing the port for LNG fueling provided Long Beach with a framework for developing guidelines, training and safety protocols. “We’re recognizing we’ll need to make sure that we go through that same process for these other fuels,” she said. Tomley said some shipping lines the port works with are already moving forward with newbuild vessels that can operate on green methanol.“And starting this year, we expect that ships that are capable of being fueled with green methanol will start calling at the port,” she said.Tomley said the vessels will likely fuel with green methanol in Shanghai, as China is moving forward with the production and availability of green methanol. “The development and availability of the fuel here in the US is a little bit behind that,” she said. “So, we’re going to be focusing on helping to support that availability so ships that are capable of using green methanol can refuel here and continue their voyage on these cleaner fuels.” <h3>Pacific ports pursue ro/ro</h3>In the Pacific Northwest, roll-on/roll-off vessels have become a focus of efforts to develop a green shipping corridor between the Seattle-Tacoma gateway and South Korea. In 2023, the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) of Seattle and Tacoma conducted a study with the US government to identify locations for a potential corridor. “It also identified types of cargo that might be best positioned to explore the green corridor. In that process, we identified ro-ro,” Jason Jordan, senior director for environment and planning for the Northwest Seaport Alliance, told the Journal of Commerce.Wallenius Wilhelmsen, a key ro-ro operator for the gateway, is developing dual-fuel vessels that could use the corridor. “We’re working hard to have two green-fuel ships that have a service between South Korea and our gateway by 2027,” Jordan said.To provide additional support infrastructure, Jordan said the alliance is considering installing shore power capabilities at Tacoma’s East Blair One Terminal, where Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s ro/ro vessels call. Shore power allows vessels to turn off their engines and plug into the grid while docked.The new dual-fuel vessels would operate on methanol, an alternative fuel type the port has been exploring. Last September, the Maersk Alette container ship became the first dual-fuel vessel capable of sailing on green methanol to enter the Seattle-Tacoma gateway. The vessel bunkered in South Korea before sailing to Los Angeles, and then to Tacoma. Despite the Alette being a container vessel, Jordan said the ship’s arrival at the NWSA could set the stage for other methanol-powered vessels to come to the port. That includes vessels in the MPV and heavy-lift sector, which will likely be best served by green methanol or bio marine gasoil, according to a report from Norway-based classification society DNV. “We’re working closely with providers and manufacturers of green methanol,” Jordan said. “It’s not clear to us just yet if that will be manufactured closer to our gateway, or if that’ll be shipped out to our gateway and then distributed to offtakers, but we’re certainly trying to facilitate those conversations.”<h3>Houston explores hydrogen potential</h3>On the Gulf Coast, Port Houston is part of two green corridors, including one with the Port of Antwerp-Bruges in Belgium focused on the hydrogen trade. Rich Byrnes, chief infrastructure officer for Port Houston, told the Journal of Commerce that transporting hydrogen could open the door to future alternative fueling opportunities. Exporting energy in the form of hydrogen requires moving the commodity as a liquid, such as ammonia, which could offer fueling potential for the vessels that transport it.“If you’re going to carry ammonia, then you can burn it as a fuel for your engine,” Byrnes said. “I don’t see a lot of bulk carriers turning to ammonia engines without carrying the ammonia itself.” Byrnes said the practice of using transported ammonia to fuel vessels could help inform MPV operators in determining which green fuels to choose for newbuilds. “When I see companies like Spliethoff saying they’re going to include ammonia in their future order book, they see that as a technology” for leveraging an efficient, cost-effective fuel, he said. Although transporting energy in the form of ammonia offers alternative fuel advantages, it would require additional safety protocols, Byrnes said. “The safety issues around ammonia as a volatile, toxic material are a big concern,” he said. “But the export facilities are developing in the Houston area.” Along with exploring ammonia, Port Houston is making advances to position itself to support other alternative fuel types, including LNG and methanol.In April 2023, the Gulf Coast’s first barge-to-ship methanol bunkering took place at Port Houston, where tanker barge provider Kirby Corporation fueled two clean-petroleum tanker ships.Byrnes said although it’s not the port’s core business to be a fuel bunkering supplier, the port acts as a liaison to facilitate conversations between fuel bunkering companies, fuel producers and vessel operators. But for companies to invest, the demand from built vessels needs to come first, he said.“For over 10 years we’ve talked to different bunkering entrepreneurs who want to get into the business,” said Byrnes. “And they’ve all had great business plans, but it required a critical volume of ships that are going to need [the fuel] before they invest in these special barges.” Contact Autumn Cafiero Giusti at <a href="mailto:autumn@autumngiusti.com">autumn@autumngiusti.com</a>.</div>

With newbuilds in the works for dual-fuel multipurpose and heavy-lift vessels, a handful of US ports are taking steps to advance the green shipping corridors and bunkering infrastructure necessary to support the sector’s transition to alternative fuels. Although the much larger container ship segment dominates the development of so-called green corridors — a global network of trade routes for vessels that will eventually be powered by carbon-free fuels as they become available — the creation of these routes will lay the groundwork for other cargo vessels to follow suit, including those from the multipurpose and heavy-lift sector. Heather Tomley, managing director of planning and environmental affairs for the Port of Long Beach — part of multiple trans-Pacific green corridors — told the Journal of Commerce that as alternative fuels become available at the port, they will be accessible to any shipping lines that want to use them. “While we may be working with container lines right now, it’s not limited to only supporting those vessel types going forward,” Tomley said. Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles in 2023 established two green corridors — one with the Port Authority of Singapore and the other with the Shanghai Municipal Transportation Commission. “A big focus of those efforts is on how to support the transition to cleaner marine fuels,” Tomley said, adding that the port is looking to adapt the best practices Singapore and Shanghai have established for alternative fuel bunkering and safety protocols. Support for shipping’s energy transition Ports that have established green corridors are positioned to play a key role in the alternative fuel transition. According to a December 2024 report commissioned by Long Beach on green marine fuels, these ports act as “coordinators and implementers of decarbonization strategies, facilitating infrastructure development to support the supply and use of clean marine fuels.” With limited availability and high costs among the immediate barriers to supplying alternative fuels, Long Beach is exploring steps it can take in the short term to support early adopters in its green shipping corridor initiative as dual-fuel vessels become available. “Over the next two years, the port should focus on facilitating fuel supply for these early adopters by conducting feasibility assessments to evaluate the potential of various alternative fuels and the current state of infrastructure,” the report read. Long Beach has supplied liquefied natural gas (LNG) fueling since 2022 and is working to expand its bunkering operations to support other fuel alternative types, with possibilities including green methanol, green ammonia and green hydrogen. Tomley said preparing the port for LNG fueling provided Long Beach with a framework for developing guidelines, training and safety protocols. “We’re recognizing we’ll need to make sure that we go through that same process for these other fuels,” she said. Tomley said some shipping lines the port works with are already moving forward with newbuild vessels that can operate on green methanol. “And starting this year, we expect that ships that are capable of being fueled with green methanol will start calling at the port,” she said. Tomley said the vessels will likely fuel with green methanol in Shanghai, as China is moving forward with the production and availability of green methanol. “The development and availability of the fuel here in the US is a little bit behind that,” she said. “So, we’re going to be focusing on helping to support that availability so ships that are capable of using green methanol can refuel here and continue their voyage on these cleaner fuels.” Pacific ports pursue ro/ro In the Pacific Northwest, roll-on/roll-off vessels have become a focus of efforts to develop a green shipping corridor between the Seattle-Tacoma gateway and South Korea. In 2023, the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) of Seattle and Tacoma conducted a study with the US government to identify locations for a potential corridor. “It also identified types of cargo that might be best positioned to explore the green corridor. In that process, we identified ro-ro,” Jason Jordan, senior director for environment and planning for the Northwest Seaport Alliance, told the Journal of Commerce. Wallenius Wilhelmsen, a key ro-ro operator for the gateway, is developing dual-fuel vessels that could use the corridor. “We’re working hard to have two green-fuel ships that have a service between South Korea and our gateway by 2027,” Jordan said. To provide additional support infrastructure, Jordan said the alliance is considering installing shore power capabilities at Tacoma’s East Blair One Terminal, where Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s ro/ro vessels call. Shore power allows vessels to turn off their engines and plug into the grid while docked. The new dual-fuel vessels would operate on methanol, an alternative fuel type the port has been exploring. Last September, the Maersk Alette container ship became the first dual-fuel vessel capable of sailing on green methanol to enter the Seattle-Tacoma gateway. The vessel bunkered in South Korea before sailing to Los Angeles, and then to Tacoma. Despite the Alette being a container vessel, Jordan said the ship’s arrival at the NWSA could set the stage for other methanol-powered vessels to come to the port. That includes vessels in the MPV and heavy-lift sector, which will likely be best served by green methanol or bio marine gasoil, according to a report from Norway-based classification society DNV. “We’re working closely with providers and manufacturers of green methanol,” Jordan said. “It’s not clear to us just yet if that will be manufactured closer to our gateway, or if that’ll be shipped out to our gateway and then distributed to offtakers, but we’re certainly trying to facilitate those conversations.” Houston explores hydrogen potential On the Gulf Coast, Port Houston is part of two green corridors, including one with the Port of Antwerp-Bruges in Belgium focused on the hydrogen trade. Rich Byrnes, chief infrastructure officer for Port Houston, told the Journal of Commerce that transporting hydrogen could open the door to future alternative fueling opportunities. Exporting energy in the form of hydrogen requires moving the commodity as a liquid, such as ammonia, which could offer fueling potential for the vessels that transport it. “If you’re going to carry ammonia, then you can burn it as a fuel for your engine,” Byrnes said. “I don’t see a lot of bulk carriers turning to ammonia engines without carrying the ammonia itself.” Byrnes said the practice of using transported ammonia to fuel vessels could help inform MPV operators in determining which green fuels to choose for newbuilds. “When I see companies like Spliethoff saying they’re going to include ammonia in their future order book, they see that as a technology” for leveraging an efficient, cost-effective fuel, he said. Although transporting energy in the form of ammonia offers alternative fuel advantages, it would require additional safety protocols, Byrnes said. “The safety issues around ammonia as a volatile, toxic material are a big concern,” he said. “But the export facilities are developing in the Houston area.” Along with exploring ammonia, Port Houston is making advances to position itself to support other alternative fuel types, including LNG and methanol. In April 2023, the Gulf Coast’s first barge-to-ship methanol bunkering took place at Port Houston, where tanker barge provider Kirby Corporation fueled two clean-petroleum tanker ships. Byrnes said although it’s not the port’s core business to be a fuel bunkering supplier, the port acts as a liaison to facilitate conversations between fuel bunkering companies, fuel producers and vessel operators. But for companies to invest, the demand from built vessels needs to come first, he said. “For over 10 years we’ve talked to different bunkering entrepreneurs who want to get into the business,” said Byrnes. “And they’ve all had great business plans, but it required a critical volume of ships that are going to need [the fuel] before they invest in these special barges.” Contact Autumn Cafiero Giusti at autumn@autumngiusti.com .

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Green corridor ports in the US set the stage for MPV fuel transition

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">It would be the 10th consecutive year the carrier has reported a profit as it capitalized on increasing demand supported by elevated rates.</div>

It would be the 10th consecutive year the carrier has reported a profit as it capitalized on increasing demand supported by elevated rates.

<div class="phx-topic">Hapag-Lloyd expects to book 2024 revenue of $20.7 billion and a pre-tax profit of $2.8 billion, with earnings lifted by rising volumes and stable rate levels through much of the year, according to preliminary results released by the carrier Thursday. The Hamburg-based liner will release its annual report on March 20. It will show a 6.7% year-over-year increase in revenue generated by volume that rose 5% to 12.5 million TEUs and average rate levels of $1,492 per TEU, just $9 below 2023. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased 4.1% to $5 billion, while the $2.8 billion earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) was up 3.7%, extending the profitable annual pre-tax run of Hapag-Lloyd to 10 years. The carrier said both EBITDA and EBIT were in the upper range of the adjusted earnings forecast it published in October. “The increases can primarily be attributed to higher transport volumes combined with a stable average freight rate ... despite the rerouting of ships via the Cape of Good Hope due to the security situation in the Red Sea and the associated longer voyage times,” it said. The annual results reporting season for ocean carriers is about to begin, with Hapag-Lloyd following Cosco Shipping Holdings, which provided its estimated results earlier this month. While Hapag-Lloyd’s preliminary results for 2024 were solid, <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/cosco-forecasts-95-jump-in-2024-net-profit-on-robust-volumes-freight-rates-5920588">Cosco Shipping is expecting its annual net profit to soar 95%</a> year over year to $7.5 billion, with Cosco subsidiary OOCL reporting a 30% increase in revenue in its 2024 operational result. Maersk last October significantly upgraded its guidance for 2024 after reporting a strong third-quarter result, raising its expected full-year EBIT by $2 billion to between $5.2 billion and $5.7 billion. The carrier will publish its 2024 annual report on Feb. 6. <h3>Profitable bull run ending, banks say </h3>Still, the bull run of carrier profitability is coming to an end, according to analysts. In a recent report titled Exceptional Profits Period Drawing to a Close, investment bank Jefferies noted that ocean rates were expected to weaken through 2025, with slowing demand and <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/carriers-eye-red-sea-transits-after-houthi-rebels-pledge-restraint-5925939">a return to Red Sea transits</a> the leading factors in the pricing decline. A report from HSBC called 2025 “a year of two halves” for container shipping, with a profitable first half followed by rates deteriorating through the latter six months of the year when the global bank also expects carriers to resume transits through the Suez Canal and Red Sea. Driving the analyst sentiment is excess capacity within container shipping that has been masked by the longer voyages around southern Africa, which have absorbed an estimated 10% to 12% of available global capacity. When carriers return to Red Sea transits, that will release the absorbed capacity back into an Asia-Europe trade lane already facing slowing demand as economic weakness in major importing countries shows little signs of recovery. Carriers have been <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/container-shipping-still-has-an-overcapacity-problem-but-its-far-from-insurmountable-5234357">downplaying the impact of overcapacity</a> once transits through the Suez resume, pointing to an increase in scrapping — which has been close to zero for the last few years — and the ability to slow-steam ships that have been at full speed since the Africa diversions began. Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Hapag-Lloyd expects to book 2024 revenue of $20.7 billion and a pre-tax profit of $2.8 billion, with earnings lifted by rising volumes and stable rate levels through much of the year, according to preliminary results released by the carrier Thursday. The Hamburg-based liner will release its annual report on March 20. It will show a 6.7% year-over-year increase in revenue generated by volume that rose 5% to 12.5 million TEUs and average rate levels of $1,492 per TEU, just $9 below 2023. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased 4.1% to $5 billion, while the $2.8 billion earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) was up 3.7%, extending the profitable annual pre-tax run of Hapag-Lloyd to 10 years. The carrier said both EBITDA and EBIT were in the upper range of the adjusted earnings forecast it published in October. “The increases can primarily be attributed to higher transport volumes combined with a stable average freight rate ... despite the rerouting of ships via the Cape of Good Hope due to the security situation in the Red Sea and the associated longer voyage times,” it said. The annual results reporting season for ocean carriers is about to begin, with Hapag-Lloyd following Cosco Shipping Holdings, which provided its estimated results earlier this month. While Hapag-Lloyd’s preliminary results for 2024 were solid, Cosco Shipping is expecting its annual net profit to soar 95% year over year to $7.5 billion, with Cosco subsidiary OOCL reporting a 30% increase in revenue in its 2024 operational result. Maersk last October significantly upgraded its guidance for 2024 after reporting a strong third-quarter result, raising its expected full-year EBIT by $2 billion to between $5.2 billion and $5.7 billion. The carrier will publish its 2024 annual report on Feb. 6. Profitable bull run ending, banks say Still, the bull run of carrier profitability is coming to an end, according to analysts. In a recent report titled Exceptional Profits Period Drawing to a Close, investment bank Jefferies noted that ocean rates were expected to weaken through 2025, with slowing demand and a return to Red Sea transits the leading factors in the pricing decline. A report from HSBC called 2025 “a year of two halves” for container shipping, with a profitable first half followed by rates deteriorating through the latter six months of the year when the global bank also expects carriers to resume transits through the Suez Canal and Red Sea. Driving the analyst sentiment is excess capacity within container shipping that has been masked by the longer voyages around southern Africa, which have absorbed an estimated 10% to 12% of available global capacity. When carriers return to Red Sea transits, that will release the absorbed capacity back into an Asia-Europe trade lane already facing slowing demand as economic weakness in major importing countries shows little signs of recovery. Carriers have been downplaying the impact of overcapacity once transits through the Suez resume, pointing to an increase in scrapping — which has been close to zero for the last few years — and the ability to slow-steam ships that have been at full speed since the Africa diversions began. Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

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Maritime

Strong volume, high rates to lift Hapag-Lloyd’s 2024 earnings

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The planned development in Eastern Canada marks the latest stage in a nearly two-year-old partnership between the company and the Class I railroad.</div>

The planned development in Eastern Canada marks the latest stage in a nearly two-year-old partnership between the company and the Class I railroad.

<div class="phx-topic">Americold Realty Trust plans to build a cold-storage warehouse near Port Saint John in New Brunswick, Canada, its first import-export hub under its ongoing partnership with Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) to expand intermodal reefer throughout North America. Americold said Tuesday it plans to spend between US$75 million and $80 million on a warehouse that can handle up to 22,000 pallets, approximating 300,000 square feet of space. The company said the warehouse will handle refrigerated cargoes between the DP World container terminal at Port St. John and CPKC. After the merger that created the first Class I railroad spanning the United States, Mexico and Canada, CPKC added <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/cpkc-adds-new-reefer-containers-to-mexico-us-service-5216882">1,000 temperature-controlled intermodal containers</a> and launched an <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/mexico-intermodal-market-heats-cpkc-deals_20230425.html">intermodal reefer service between central Mexico and Chicago</a>. Americold became part of that service in June 2023 with plans to build <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/cpkc-americold-team-up-on-temperature-controlled-intermodal-warehouses-5221164">a cold-storage warehouse in Kansas City</a> along the CPKC route. Ocean carrier Hapag-Lloyd also entered into an agreement with CPKC for reefer capacity between the <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/cpkc-inks-deal-with-hapag-lloyd-to-boost-mexico-intermodal-play-5216590">US and Mexico’s Lazaro Cardenas port</a>. Americold has also signaled interest in building <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/cpkc-americold-say-to-expand-cold-chain-partnership-into-mexico-5904275">cold-storage capacity in Mexico</a>. Americold also entered a partnership with DP World in November 2022. The Port Saint John warehouse will be Americold’s third in Canada, joining other facilities in Halifax and Calgary.Port Saint John primarily serves trans-Atlantic and North-South services. Those include Hapag-Lloyd’s standalone Caribbean Express, Mediterranean Canada, and Atlantic Loop 5 export service. Mediterranean Shipping Co.’s Canada Gulf service and CMA CGM’s Caribbean service also call the port. Contact Michael Angell at <a href="mailto:michael.angell@spglobal.com">michael.angell@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

Americold Realty Trust plans to build a cold-storage warehouse near Port Saint John in New Brunswick, Canada, its first import-export hub under its ongoing partnership with Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) to expand intermodal reefer throughout North America. Americold said Tuesday it plans to spend between US$75 million and $80 million on a warehouse that can handle up to 22,000 pallets, approximating 300,000 square feet of space. The company said the warehouse will handle refrigerated cargoes between the DP World container terminal at Port St. John and CPKC. After the merger that created the first Class I railroad spanning the United States, Mexico and Canada, CPKC added 1,000 temperature-controlled intermodal containers and launched an intermodal reefer service between central Mexico and Chicago . Americold became part of that service in June 2023 with plans to build a cold-storage warehouse in Kansas City along the CPKC route. Ocean carrier Hapag-Lloyd also entered into an agreement with CPKC for reefer capacity between the US and Mexico’s Lazaro Cardenas port . Americold has also signaled interest in building cold-storage capacity in Mexico . Americold also entered a partnership with DP World in November 2022. The Port Saint John warehouse will be Americold’s third in Canada, joining other facilities in Halifax and Calgary. Port Saint John primarily serves trans-Atlantic and North-South services. Those include Hapag-Lloyd’s standalone Caribbean Express, Mediterranean Canada, and Atlantic Loop 5 export service. Mediterranean Shipping Co.’s Canada Gulf service and CMA CGM’s Caribbean service also call the port. Contact Michael Angell at michael.angell@spglobal.com .

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

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Shippers save money, time with automated transportation bidding tools

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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