<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The investment will strengthen the Gemini hub’s position and increase capacity at the joint venture terminal by more than 30% to 4 million TEUs. </div>

The investment will strengthen the Gemini hub’s position and increase capacity at the joint venture terminal by more than 30% to 4 million TEUs.

Feature image

<div>APM Terminals and Eurogate said Friday they will invest €1 billion ($1.2 billion) in the modernization of the jointly-controlled North Sea Terminal Bremerhaven in Germany, a strategic hub of partners Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd in the Gemini Cooperation network. The investment will increase the capacity of the terminal, a 50/50 joint venture between APMT and Eurogate, from its current 3 million TEUs to 4 million TEUs. The upgrade will also transform Bremerhaven into an automated, zero-emission terminal, APMT owner Maersk said in a statement. “Bremerhaven has unique potential to grow as a strategic hub in the region and to support cargo...

APM Terminals and Eurogate said Friday they will invest €1 billion ($1.2 billion) in the modernization of the jointly-controlled North Sea Terminal Bremerhaven in Germany, a strategic hub of partners Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd in the Gemini Cooperation network. The investment will increase the capacity of the terminal, a 50/50 joint venture between APMT and Eurogate, from its current 3 million TEUs to 4 million TEUs. The upgrade will also transform Bremerhaven into an automated, zero-emission terminal, APMT owner Maersk said in a statement. “Bremerhaven has unique potential to grow as a strategic hub in the region and to support cargo flows into Germany as well as our ocean network,” Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc said. “Our investments are intended to realize the full potential of the terminal, making [North Sea Terminal Bremerhaven] one of the most competitive terminals in Europe’s North Range,” he added. “We aim to future-proof the terminal over the long term, while strengthening the reliability and resilience of supply chains for the German economy.” No timeline was given for the completion of the modernization project. With the electrification of equipment and use of renewable electricity, the terminal is intended to operate with zero greenhouse gas emissions, the first of its kind in Germany. The planned upgrades remain subject to approval from German regulators. Long-term strategic importance of Bremerhaven Michael Blach, chairman of the management board at Eurogate, said the huge investment illustrated the conviction of both partners that Bremerhaven would hold a long-term position in global maritime trade. “With Maersk’s announced investments in the port’s superstructure, and the state and federal government’s investments in the port infrastructure, Bremerhaven will be well-positioned for the future and its importance in the North Range will be strengthened,” Blach said in the statement. “Now it is up to the federal government to press ahead with the deepening of the Outer Weser and implement it quickly,” he added. The planning process for the deepening of the Outer Weser River is currently underway within the local government. The project is viewed as essential and will increase the depth of the Outer Weser to 13.5 meters, allowing larger and fully laden ships to reach Bremerhaven without tidal restrictions. Bremerhaven is one of the Northern Europe hubs in Gemini’s hub-and-spoke network that calls at ports where Maersk and partner Hapag-Lloyd have operational control of terminals. Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

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Maersk, Eurogate plan $1.2 billion terminal upgrade at Bremerhaven

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">After a difficult first quarter of declining container volumes, the Northwest Seaport Alliance wants to incorporate the best features of both landlord and operating ports to better meet the needs of its exporter and importer customers.</div>

After a difficult first quarter of declining container volumes, the Northwest Seaport Alliance wants to incorporate the best features of both landlord and operating ports to better meet the needs of its exporter and importer customers.

<div class="phx-topic">The Northwest Seaport Alliance of Seattle and Tacoma (NWSA) wants to take a more active role in managing cargo handling, a move that would allow it to perform some functions as an operator at some of its marine terminals while maintaining its traditional landlord role at other terminals. Alliance CEO John Wolfe said such a hybrid model, a mixture of operating and landlord-leased terminals, would allow the port to be more responsive and bring a uniformity among its two container terminals in Seattle and three in Tacoma. Seeing its import market share bleed to Southern California and over the northern border to Canada, the alliance is looking for new ways to set itself apart on the competitive West Coast of North America. “There is an opportunity for us where we can draw closer to the operation so we can get a more consistent, reliable import and export operation, and that’s what our customers expect of us,” Wolfe told the Journal of Commerce. By standardizing as much of NWSA’s container terminal operations as possible — such as trucker appointment systems, ERDs (earliest return dates) of containers to the terminals, and expediting the movement of containers upon discharge from the vessel to on-dock intermodal trains — the port will improve its time-to-market advantage over the other West Coast ports. “We can separate ourselves from the typical landlord port,” Wolfe said. West Coast ports, as well as New York-New Jersey, are landlord ports that build the terminals and lease them to private sector terminal operators. Ports along the Southeast US coast and in Houston are operating ports, meaning they manage the facilities and hire the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) labor. The NWSA is struggling with declining import volumes that have <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/western-canadian-ports-push-ipi-advantage-to-grow-q1-imports-from-asia-6221449">dropped much more than volumes at other West Coast ports</a> through the first four months of 2026. Imports in Seattle-Tacoma fell 20.6% year over year through April versus declines of 0.8% in Los Angeles, 5.3% in Long Beach and 5.2% in Oakland, according to PIERS, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global. By contrast, Western Canadian ports experienced import gains in the first quarter — 9% in Vancouver and 7.8% in Prince Rupert, according to Sea-Intelligence Maritime Analysis. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="0a8f5d0b-629a-4cd9-8ea2-72c7dd137b63"></dynamic-object></div>All the ports on North America’s West Coast must remove friction in their supply chains and speed their delivery of containers to inland destinations due to the changing nature of imports from Asia, said Dan Smith, principal at the consulting firm Tioga Group. Exports from China and North Asia are shifting steadily to Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, which improves the competitive position of those ports, Smith said. “Part of what’s going on is a loss of West Coast market share to the Southeast and Gulf ports,” he said. “There’s nothing the West Coast can do about those geopolitical factors.” <h3>Intermodal rail speed to Chicago is crucial </h3>The principal US destination for intermodal cargo moving through North American West Coast ports is Chicago. Jeff Bellerud, NWSA’s chief operating officer, said the Pacific Northwest already has a vessel transit time advantage from Asia over Los Angeles-Long Beach due to the shorter ocean distance. NWSA’s efforts now are directed at reducing container dwell times on the terminals and the time it takes to work the ships and load and send out eastbound intermodal trains from the on-dock rail yards. The NWSA is collaborating with carriers to stow high-priority rail-destined containers on vessels in Asia so they are the first to be discharged from the ships when they dock in Seattle-Tacoma. Port staff is also working with the individual terminal operators to prioritize the movement of intermodal containers. Wolfe said Husky Terminal in Tacoma provides a good example of the port’s evolving role as a hybrid landlord-operating port. Husky hires the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) labor that works the vessel, yard and gate. The port authority has an arrangement with the IILWU to dispatch the dockworkers to the on-dock rail operation to ensure there is sufficient labor there. “It’s a strong partnership that results in that speed-to-market that’s so important,” Wolfe said. “As we look to the future, we’re going to continue to go to our terminal operators and work with them in partnership to provide best-in-class service.” Mark Sisson, vice president and senior port planning analyst at the infrastructure engineering and consulting firm AECOM, said that from an operational perspective, it makes sense for the terminal to handle the vessel, yard and gate operations and for the port to work the rail operation if that’s what’s necessary to get intermodal trains to depart quicker. “But they will need buy-in from all five terminals (in Seattle and Tacoma),” Sisson said. “I assume the private terminal operators like to be doing what they’re doing. To give away activity they’ve historically controlled, to give this away to somebody else, it seems like a difficult sell.” Getting buy-in from all NWSA terminals on gate hours is another issue the port is struggling with. SSA Marine, which operates the two container terminals in Seattle, in April began to close one of the facilities on Mondays and the other on Fridays, an arrangement that is continuing into June. Port managers told SSA that is not the message NWSA wants to send to importers, exporters and truckers when it comes to customer service. The port wants <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/nwsa-knocks-ssa-for-gate-closures-at-its-seattle-terminals-6204335">all of its container terminals to offer consistent day shifts</a> five days each week. SSA declined to comment this week. Smith said SSA dropped one day shift at each of its terminals because cargo volumes are down, and it will be difficult for the port to convince SSA to re-instate the gates unless there is a clear indication new trans-Pacific vessel strings will develop and volumes will increase. “It will be tough to convince SSA to stay open if they can’t recover their costs,” Tioga Group’s Smith said. <h3>Single port-wide trucker appointment system a goal </h3>The NWSA is also working with its terminal operators to participate in a single port-wide approach to trucker appointments. The terminals all participate in eModal’s CargoSprint product, but each of the terminals uses a slightly different functionality, Bellerud said. That means truckers and their customers have to search five different screens to find what they are looking for, he said. Smith, however, said trucker appointment systems are an issue for all West Coast ports because the trucking community has one view of what appointments are meant to accomplish and the terminal operators come at the issue from an entirely different perspective. The terminals see appointment systems as a way to manage truck traffic by leveling it off throughout the day. Truckers want a more flexible appointment system that recognizes the fact that traffic conditions and delays within the supply chain frequently make it difficult for drivers to keep to their appointed time. They want the flexibility to immediately re-book their arrival on the same day when those delays occur, Smith said. “Yes, it would be nice to standardize them or have them on one portal, but a higher priority is actually getting more flexibility into the appointment systems,” he said. Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at <a href="mailto:bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com">bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com</a>.  </div>

The Northwest Seaport Alliance of Seattle and Tacoma (NWSA) wants to take a more active role in managing cargo handling, a move that would allow it to perform some functions as an operator at some of its marine terminals while maintaining its traditional landlord role at other terminals. Alliance CEO John Wolfe said such a hybrid model, a mixture of operating and landlord-leased terminals, would allow the port to be more responsive and bring a uniformity among its two container terminals in Seattle and three in Tacoma. Seeing its import market share bleed to Southern California and over the northern border to Canada, the alliance is looking for new ways to set itself apart on the competitive West Coast of North America. “There is an opportunity for us where we can draw closer to the operation so we can get a more consistent, reliable import and export operation, and that’s what our customers expect of us,” Wolfe told the Journal of Commerce. By standardizing as much of NWSA’s container terminal operations as possible — such as trucker appointment systems, ERDs (earliest return dates) of containers to the terminals, and expediting the movement of containers upon discharge from the vessel to on-dock intermodal trains — the port will improve its time-to-market advantage over the other West Coast ports. “We can separate ourselves from the typical landlord port,” Wolfe said. West Coast ports, as well as New York-New Jersey, are landlord ports that build the terminals and lease them to private sector terminal operators. Ports along the Southeast US coast and in Houston are operating ports, meaning they manage the facilities and hire the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) labor. The NWSA is struggling with declining import volumes that have dropped much more than volumes at other West Coast ports through the first four months of 2026. Imports in Seattle-Tacoma fell 20.6% year over year through April versus declines of 0.8% in Los Angeles, 5.3% in Long Beach and 5.2% in Oakland, according to PIERS, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global. By contrast, Western Canadian ports experienced import gains in the first quarter — 9% in Vancouver and 7.8% in Prince Rupert, according to Sea-Intelligence Maritime Analysis. All the ports on North America’s West Coast must remove friction in their supply chains and speed their delivery of containers to inland destinations due to the changing nature of imports from Asia, said Dan Smith, principal at the consulting firm Tioga Group. Exports from China and North Asia are shifting steadily to Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, which improves the competitive position of those ports, Smith said. “Part of what’s going on is a loss of West Coast market share to the Southeast and Gulf ports,” he said. “There’s nothing the West Coast can do about those geopolitical factors.” Intermodal rail speed to Chicago is crucial The principal US destination for intermodal cargo moving through North American West Coast ports is Chicago. Jeff Bellerud, NWSA’s chief operating officer, said the Pacific Northwest already has a vessel transit time advantage from Asia over Los Angeles-Long Beach due to the shorter ocean distance. NWSA’s efforts now are directed at reducing container dwell times on the terminals and the time it takes to work the ships and load and send out eastbound intermodal trains from the on-dock rail yards. The NWSA is collaborating with carriers to stow high-priority rail-destined containers on vessels in Asia so they are the first to be discharged from the ships when they dock in Seattle-Tacoma. Port staff is also working with the individual terminal operators to prioritize the movement of intermodal containers. Wolfe said Husky Terminal in Tacoma provides a good example of the port’s evolving role as a hybrid landlord-operating port. Husky hires the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) labor that works the vessel, yard and gate. The port authority has an arrangement with the IILWU to dispatch the dockworkers to the on-dock rail operation to ensure there is sufficient labor there. “It’s a strong partnership that results in that speed-to-market that’s so important,” Wolfe said. “As we look to the future, we’re going to continue to go to our terminal operators and work with them in partnership to provide best-in-class service.” Mark Sisson, vice president and senior port planning analyst at the infrastructure engineering and consulting firm AECOM, said that from an operational perspective, it makes sense for the terminal to handle the vessel, yard and gate operations and for the port to work the rail operation if that’s what’s necessary to get intermodal trains to depart quicker. “But they will need buy-in from all five terminals (in Seattle and Tacoma),” Sisson said. “I assume the private terminal operators like to be doing what they’re doing. To give away activity they’ve historically controlled, to give this away to somebody else, it seems like a difficult sell.” Getting buy-in from all NWSA terminals on gate hours is another issue the port is struggling with. SSA Marine, which operates the two container terminals in Seattle, in April began to close one of the facilities on Mondays and the other on Fridays, an arrangement that is continuing into June. Port managers told SSA that is not the message NWSA wants to send to importers, exporters and truckers when it comes to customer service. The port wants all of its container terminals to offer consistent day shifts five days each week. SSA declined to comment this week. Smith said SSA dropped one day shift at each of its terminals because cargo volumes are down, and it will be difficult for the port to convince SSA to re-instate the gates unless there is a clear indication new trans-Pacific vessel strings will develop and volumes will increase. “It will be tough to convince SSA to stay open if they can’t recover their costs,” Tioga Group’s Smith said. Single port-wide trucker appointment system a goal The NWSA is also working with its terminal operators to participate in a single port-wide approach to trucker appointments. The terminals all participate in eModal’s CargoSprint product, but each of the terminals uses a slightly different functionality, Bellerud said. That means truckers and their customers have to search five different screens to find what they are looking for, he said. Smith, however, said trucker appointment systems are an issue for all West Coast ports because the trucking community has one view of what appointments are meant to accomplish and the terminal operators come at the issue from an entirely different perspective. The terminals see appointment systems as a way to manage truck traffic by leveling it off throughout the day. Truckers want a more flexible appointment system that recognizes the fact that traffic conditions and delays within the supply chain frequently make it difficult for drivers to keep to their appointed time. They want the flexibility to immediately re-book their arrival on the same day when those delays occur, Smith said. “Yes, it would be nice to standardize them or have them on one portal, but a higher priority is actually getting more flexibility into the appointment systems,” he said. Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at  bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com . 

Rail News

Surface

North American ports

Intermodal providers

Seattle-Tacoma evolving toward hybrid landlord-operating port model

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The coming legislation is part of a larger effort by Prime Minister Mark Carney to double non-US exports within the decade and boost supply chain resilience by investing in ports and curbing freight disruptions.</div>

The coming legislation is part of a larger effort by Prime Minister Mark Carney to double non-US exports within the decade and boost supply chain resilience by investing in ports and curbing freight disruptions.

<div class="phx-topic">A series of federal consultations in Canada this month have laid the groundwork for new supply chain-focused legislation seeking to reduce labor disruption at seaports and other transport modes. The <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/canadian-review-of-labor-laws-linked-to-hoped-for-longshore-peace-us-diversification-6211387">consultations by the federal government</a> on transportation labor, ports and digitalization lasted mere weeks, reflecting the speed of the current government and its intentions for legislation anticipated to be introduced as soon as mid-June, according to three sources familiar with the matter. <div class="wrapper-narrow float-right-element"><img src="/images/phoenix/6229023_0.1.jpg"></img></div> The legislation is part of a larger effort by Prime Minister Mark Carney to double non-US exports within the decade and boost supply chain resilience by investing in ports and curbing freight disruptions. “They’re moving at the speed of Carney,” said one of the sources, referring to the prime minister’s aggressive approach to reform and investment. The source added that the government’s first meaningful attempt to reform Canada’s labor code in three decades was “unprecedented.” Still, Canadian labor groups are warning against any attempt to have port workers designated as essential employees, thus crippling their ability to strike and employers’ ability to lock them out. “Unifor has and will engage in good faith in this flawed process, but we can hear the dog whistles of union-busting weaved throughout the government’s questions and reference documents,” Lana Payne, the union’s national president, said in a statement.   But one source tied to federal labor relations said the legislation is unlikely to strip the right to strike from organized workers and instead to create a special mediator to guide contract negotiations through bumps and impasses. The mediator role was one of the recommendations to come out of a federal study on Canadian West Coast ports. Such an individual would get involved in negotiations from the beginning and provide recommendations publicly when negotiations grind down, according to the labor relations source. How much power this mediator would have to force arbitration, however, isn’t yet clear. The federal study of West Coast ports labor was triggered by a 13-day work stoppage in 2023 at the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert, which was followed in late 2024 with a <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/bc-montreal-ports-set-to-reopen-under-orders-from-canadas-labor-chief-5792214">10-day strike and then lockout</a>. The disruptions were two of 16 that have impacted the transportation sector since 2019, according to Canada’s Ministry of Transportation. The current contract between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and British Columbia employers expires in March 2027, with formal negotiations expected to begin in November, according to the labor relations source. <h3>Increase borrowing limits of ports </h3>Through the supply chain legislation, port employer interests also want to enshrine into law that the ILWU can only negotiate with employers as a group rather than individually. The Canadian West Coast isn’t recognized in Canada’s labor code as a common geography similar to the East Coast with the ports of Halifax, Montral and Saint John. The union during past contentious negotiation cycles has threatened to complicate contract talks by negotiating with each of the West Coast’s more than one dozen employers rather than collectively with the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association. Out of the consultations focused on ports, backers hope the legislation that follows will allow ports to increase their borrowing abilities. It costs tens of thousands of dollars and takes at least a year for port authorities to increase their borrowing limits, said Daniel-Robert Gooch, president and CEO of the Association of Canadian Port Authorities. His group proposes rather than enforcing a strict borrowing limit, a debt-to-income ratio should be imbedded in the constitution, providing flexibility to faster-growing ports. Port authorities also want a freer hand to engage in activities outside their land and waterway such as being able to sell unused, prime downtown acreage, Gooch said. “If Vancouver is challenged [borrowing for] projects, then surely, just about every other port in the country that is much smaller than Vancouver probably faces the same challenge to a degree,” said Peter Xotta, CEO of the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority. <h3>Fussing over fees </h3>In addition to wanting labor reform, ocean carriers and marine terminal operators want the Canadian legislation to inject more transparency into its leases with tenants, particularly as it pertains to special fees. The Canada Transportation Agency on Feb. 13 dismissed a request by the Shipping Federation of Canada to intervene against Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/montreal-joins-vancouver-in-levying-empty-container-fee-6089012">empty container fee</a>. Gooch, representing port authorities, downplayed how much more transparency is needed in terms of port fees, arguing the current system to challenge these fees is sufficient. Xotta said that tenants need to be able to understand and challenge fees, but it can’t hamstring the port authority’s ability to make a return on investment. The federal consultations also addressed potentially repealing the Shipping Conference Exemption Act, a move that ocean carriers and terminal operators support if the limited antitrust exemption allowing operating alliances remains. That protection could be granted by the government via a policy statement, according to one source close to the shipping industry’s thinking. The consultations tied to digitalization have been focused on harmonizing systems and could potentially lead to legislation requiring the creation of a maritime single window, a digital platform for the clearing of ships, cargo and crews. Contact Mark Szakonyi at <a href="mailto:mark.szakonyi@spglobal.com">mark.szakonyi@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

A series of federal consultations in Canada this month have laid the groundwork for new supply chain-focused legislation seeking to reduce labor disruption at seaports and other transport modes. The consultations by the federal government on transportation labor, ports and digitalization lasted mere weeks, reflecting the speed of the current government and its intentions for legislation anticipated to be introduced as soon as mid-June, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The legislation is part of a larger effort by Prime Minister Mark Carney to double non-US exports within the decade and boost supply chain resilience by investing in ports and curbing freight disruptions. “They’re moving at the speed of Carney,” said one of the sources, referring to the prime minister’s aggressive approach to reform and investment. The source added that the government’s first meaningful attempt to reform Canada’s labor code in three decades was “unprecedented.” Still, Canadian labor groups are warning against any attempt to have port workers designated as essential employees, thus crippling their ability to strike and employers’ ability to lock them out. “Unifor has and will engage in good faith in this flawed process, but we can hear the dog whistles of union-busting weaved throughout the government’s questions and reference documents,” Lana Payne, the union’s national president, said in a statement.   But one source tied to federal labor relations said the legislation is unlikely to strip the right to strike from organized workers and instead to create a special mediator to guide contract negotiations through bumps and impasses. The mediator role was one of the recommendations to come out of a federal study on Canadian West Coast ports. Such an individual would get involved in negotiations from the beginning and provide recommendations publicly when negotiations grind down, according to the labor relations source. How much power this mediator would have to force arbitration, however, isn’t yet clear. The federal study of West Coast ports labor was triggered by a 13-day work stoppage in 2023 at the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert, which was followed in late 2024 with a 10-day strike and then lockout . The disruptions were two of 16 that have impacted the transportation sector since 2019, according to Canada’s Ministry of Transportation. The current contract between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and British Columbia employers expires in March 2027, with formal negotiations expected to begin in November, according to the labor relations source. Increase borrowing limits of ports Through the supply chain legislation, port employer interests also want to enshrine into law that the ILWU can only negotiate with employers as a group rather than individually. The Canadian West Coast isn’t recognized in Canada’s labor code as a common geography similar to the East Coast with the ports of Halifax, Montral and Saint John. The union during past contentious negotiation cycles has threatened to complicate contract talks by negotiating with each of the West Coast’s more than one dozen employers rather than collectively with the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association. Out of the consultations focused on ports, backers hope the legislation that follows will allow ports to increase their borrowing abilities. It costs tens of thousands of dollars and takes at least a year for port authorities to increase their borrowing limits, said Daniel-Robert Gooch, president and CEO of the Association of Canadian Port Authorities. His group proposes rather than enforcing a strict borrowing limit, a debt-to-income ratio should be imbedded in the constitution, providing flexibility to faster-growing ports. Port authorities also want a freer hand to engage in activities outside their land and waterway such as being able to sell unused, prime downtown acreage, Gooch said. “If Vancouver is challenged [borrowing for] projects, then surely, just about every other port in the country that is much smaller than Vancouver probably faces the same challenge to a degree,” said Peter Xotta, CEO of the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority. Fussing over fees In addition to wanting labor reform, ocean carriers and marine terminal operators want the Canadian legislation to inject more transparency into its leases with tenants, particularly as it pertains to special fees. The Canada Transportation Agency on Feb. 13 dismissed a request by the Shipping Federation of Canada to intervene against Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s empty container fee . Gooch, representing port authorities, downplayed how much more transparency is needed in terms of port fees, arguing the current system to challenge these fees is sufficient. Xotta said that tenants need to be able to understand and challenge fees, but it can’t hamstring the port authority’s ability to make a return on investment. The federal consultations also addressed potentially repealing the Shipping Conference Exemption Act, a move that ocean carriers and terminal operators support if the limited antitrust exemption allowing operating alliances remains. That protection could be granted by the government via a policy statement, according to one source close to the shipping industry’s thinking. The consultations tied to digitalization have been focused on harmonizing systems and could potentially lead to legislation requiring the creation of a maritime single window, a digital platform for the clearing of ships, cargo and crews. Contact Mark Szakonyi at  mark.szakonyi@spglobal.com .

Transport, Trade and Regulation News

Longshore labor

Supply chain

Canada readies ambitious legislation to reform supply chain

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Huge rail bottlenecks are being reported across the busy network, with carriers, forwarders and rail freight operators battling to keep cargo flowing as demand begins to build in an early start to peak season. </div>

Huge rail bottlenecks are being reported across the busy network, with carriers, forwarders and rail freight operators battling to keep cargo flowing as demand begins to build in an early start to peak season.

<div class="phx-topic">Rail freight operations on Germany’s inland corridors are severely disrupted with delays from ongoing construction on key routes aggravated by a fire this week that closed a main line and a derailment in the Port of Hamburg. Huge rail bottlenecks are being reported across the busy network, with carriers, forwarders and rail freight operators battling to keep cargo flowing as demand begins to build in an early start to peak season. “Trains are accumulating in all directions — from north to south and from east to west — effectively leading to a blockage of the entire network,” rail operator Metrans said in a customer advisory. “As a result of this situation, we have been forced to temporarily park some train sets,” the subsidiary of Hamburg terminal operator HHLA added. “Rail traffic is experiencing significant delays, and in some sections it has come to a complete standstill.” Hapag-Lloyd spokesperson Nils Haupt described the situation as “critical,” with rail freight impacted by construction on the main Hamburg-Berlin and Hannover-Hamburg lines. Disruptions have been exacerbated by this week’s fire in Hannover and by a train that derailed at Hamburg’s Container Terminal Altenwerder. “On the detour routes, there are increasing status issues due to the overload,” Haupt told the Journal of Commerce. “As a result, train drivers exceed their allowed driving times, and trains simply cannot continue until the personnel has been replaced. The situation is extremely tense.” The many trains that are outside their schedules must be repositioned before they can return to a normal rhythm, but Haupt said the measure created further train cancellations and capacity shortages. “At present, the full operational impact and duration of the resulting restrictions cannot yet be reliably assessed,” Hapag-Lloyd said in an advisory. “However, further delays, congestion, terminal bottlenecks and disruptions to rail operations in and around the Port of Hamburg are to be expected.” <h3>Missed vessel connections </h3>Matthias Knicky, head of sea logistics in Germany for Kuehne + Nagel, said the forwarder was doing what it could to replan shipper transport and keep cargo moving. “Severe disruptions across the German rail network are currently creating scheduling unpredictability, resulting in missed vessel connections at ports and delays for our customers,” Knicky said. A Maersk spokesperson said ongoing work to modernize Germany’s rail infrastructure was constraining the available track capacity. Decades of underinvestment and overdevelopment of rail services have left Germany’s extensive rail system overloaded and prone to breakdowns. Some key transit corridors are running at 150% of their planned capacity, and broken rails, points failures and damaged overhead line equipment frequently stall trains. When a particular line is blocked, infrastructure managers typically reroute trains to open lines, but with several key northern routes affected in this week’s disruption, that option was difficult. “The situation is being seriously complicated by restrictions on the main diversion route between Hannover and Hamburg, which is currently serving as an alternative to the Berlin-Hamburg corridor,” according to the Metrans advisory. “The infrastructure manager is rerouting trains via diversion routes across northern Germany, with nighttime transit slots primarily allocated to freight trains,” it added. “However, it is becoming evident that these measures are insufficient.” Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Rail freight operations on Germany’s inland corridors are severely disrupted with delays from ongoing construction on key routes aggravated by a fire this week that closed a main line and a derailment in the Port of Hamburg. Huge rail bottlenecks are being reported across the busy network, with carriers, forwarders and rail freight operators battling to keep cargo flowing as demand begins to build in an early start to peak season. “Trains are accumulating in all directions — from north to south and from east to west — effectively leading to a blockage of the entire network,” rail operator Metrans said in a customer advisory. “As a result of this situation, we have been forced to temporarily park some train sets,” the subsidiary of Hamburg terminal operator HHLA added. “Rail traffic is experiencing significant delays, and in some sections it has come to a complete standstill.” Hapag-Lloyd spokesperson Nils Haupt described the situation as “critical,” with rail freight impacted by construction on the main Hamburg-Berlin and Hannover-Hamburg lines. Disruptions have been exacerbated by this week’s fire in Hannover and by a train that derailed at Hamburg’s Container Terminal Altenwerder. “On the detour routes, there are increasing status issues due to the overload,” Haupt told the Journal of Commerce. “As a result, train drivers exceed their allowed driving times, and trains simply cannot continue until the personnel has been replaced. The situation is extremely tense.” The many trains that are outside their schedules must be repositioned before they can return to a normal rhythm, but Haupt said the measure created further train cancellations and capacity shortages. “At present, the full operational impact and duration of the resulting restrictions cannot yet be reliably assessed,” Hapag-Lloyd said in an advisory. “However, further delays, congestion, terminal bottlenecks and disruptions to rail operations in and around the Port of Hamburg are to be expected.” Missed vessel connections Matthias Knicky, head of sea logistics in Germany for Kuehne + Nagel, said the forwarder was doing what it could to replan shipper transport and keep cargo moving. “Severe disruptions across the German rail network are currently creating scheduling unpredictability, resulting in missed vessel connections at ports and delays for our customers,” Knicky said. A Maersk spokesperson said ongoing work to modernize Germany’s rail infrastructure was constraining the available track capacity. Decades of underinvestment and overdevelopment of rail services have left Germany’s extensive rail system overloaded and prone to breakdowns. Some key transit corridors are running at 150% of their planned capacity, and broken rails, points failures and damaged overhead line equipment frequently stall trains. When a particular line is blocked, infrastructure managers typically reroute trains to open lines, but with several key northern routes affected in this week’s disruption, that option was difficult. “The situation is being seriously complicated by restrictions on the main diversion route between Hannover and Hamburg, which is currently serving as an alternative to the Berlin-Hamburg corridor,” according to the Metrans advisory. “The infrastructure manager is rerouting trains via diversion routes across northern Germany, with nighttime transit slots primarily allocated to freight trains,” it added. “However, it is becoming evident that these measures are insufficient.” Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

Container lines

Disrupted operations leave Germany’s northern rail network in chaos

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Shareholder rights law firm Hagens Berman said it is continuing an investigation into whether the intermodal provider “misled investors about having prepared its financial statements consistent with relevant accounting rules.”</div>

Shareholder rights law firm Hagens Berman said it is continuing an investigation into whether the intermodal provider “misled investors about having prepared its financial statements consistent with relevant accounting rules.”

<div class="phx-topic">The chief operating officer and chief financial officer of intermodal provider Hub Group have left the company as it continues reconciling a $77 million accounting error that has drawn scrutiny from regulators and shareholder attorneys. Hub Group’s lead director Peter McNitt and audit committee chair Gary Yablon said the board views the integrity of the company’s financial statements as critical to its future. McNitt said the company’s audit committee conducted a full review of Hub Group’s finances. “We are taking corrective actions, including enhancing our financial reporting processes and making changes to the company’s leadership team,” he said in a statement Thursday. “We will continue to prioritize finalizing our financial statements and becoming current with the filing of our periodic reports with the SEC.” The changes to Hub’s leadership team resulted in the departures of COO Brian Meents and CFO Kevin Beth, the company said. Hub first disclosed accounting irregularities in February, when Beth told investors an error had resulted in an understatement of purchased transportation expenses and accounts payable during the first nine months of 2025. But the full scope of the issue became clearer May 12, when the company filed a Form 8-K with the US Securities and Exchange Commission disclosing that prior financial statements could no longer be relied upon. In that filing, Hub Group said its 2023 and 2024 annual financial statements “should no longer be relied upon” and that it “expects to conclude it did not maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting” during both years. The company said Meents and Beth will remain available in consulting roles following their departures. Hub Group also announced that Todd Heeter will immediately become interim CFO and treasurer for at least six months, with the term subject to extension while the company conducts a nationwide search for a permanent CFO. The COO position is being eliminated, with those responsibilities reassigned elsewhere within the company. Heeter founded the Heeter Group, which provides corporate financial leadership services, including CFO and chief accounting officer roles for public and private companies. Hub Group noted that Heeter has previously served in interim CFO and senior financial leadership positions. <h3>Law firm investigating </h3>Despite the accounting disclosures, shareholder scrutiny and executive shakeup, Hub Group said it remains financially sound and positioned for growth. “We remain focused on executing our strategy and serving our customers,” Hub CEO Phil Yeager said in the statement. “In the second quarter of 2026 to date, we executed a successful bid season and saw balanced demand trends and stronger pricing as well as increased opportunity for over-the-road conversion.” Yeager said the company also secured significant new business in logistics, while brokerage volumes reflected efforts to improve profitability and increase revenue per load. Hub plans to file its 2025 annual report, including restated results for the affected periods, on or before Sept. 14, the deadline to regain compliance with Nasdaq filing requirements. The company also plans to file first-quarter 2026 results by that date. Hub, meanwhile, could face litigation related to its financial disclosures. Shareholder rights law firm Hagens Berman, based in San Francisco, said it is continuing an investigation into whether the company “misled investors about having prepared its financial statements consistent with relevant accounting rules.” “Now that we know that Hub Group’s admitted improper accounting goes all the way back to fiscal 2023, we’re investigating whether the company may have ... understated expenses and monitoring what additional financial statement accounts may have been misstated,” said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the firm’s investigation. The law firm said Hub Group’s stock price has declined $14.71 per share, or 28%, since Feb. 5, when the company first disclosed the accounting issues, erasing approximately $890 million in market capitalization. The firm also called on potential whistleblowers with non-public information about Hub Group to come forward and consider participating in the SEC whistleblower program. Contact Dan Ronan at <a href="mailto:contactdanronan@gmail.com">contactdanronan@gmail.com</a>. </div>

The chief operating officer and chief financial officer of intermodal provider Hub Group have left the company as it continues reconciling a $77 million accounting error that has drawn scrutiny from regulators and shareholder attorneys. Hub Group’s lead director Peter McNitt and audit committee chair Gary Yablon said the board views the integrity of the company’s financial statements as critical to its future. McNitt said the company’s audit committee conducted a full review of Hub Group’s finances. “We are taking corrective actions, including enhancing our financial reporting processes and making changes to the company’s leadership team,” he said in a statement Thursday. “We will continue to prioritize finalizing our financial statements and becoming current with the filing of our periodic reports with the SEC.” The changes to Hub’s leadership team resulted in the departures of COO Brian Meents and CFO Kevin Beth, the company said. Hub first disclosed accounting irregularities in February, when Beth told investors an error had resulted in an understatement of purchased transportation expenses and accounts payable during the first nine months of 2025. But the full scope of the issue became clearer May 12, when the company filed a Form 8-K with the US Securities and Exchange Commission disclosing that prior financial statements could no longer be relied upon. In that filing, Hub Group said its 2023 and 2024 annual financial statements “should no longer be relied upon” and that it “expects to conclude it did not maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting” during both years. The company said Meents and Beth will remain available in consulting roles following their departures. Hub Group also announced that Todd Heeter will immediately become interim CFO and treasurer for at least six months, with the term subject to extension while the company conducts a nationwide search for a permanent CFO. The COO position is being eliminated, with those responsibilities reassigned elsewhere within the company. Heeter founded the Heeter Group, which provides corporate financial leadership services, including CFO and chief accounting officer roles for public and private companies. Hub Group noted that Heeter has previously served in interim CFO and senior financial leadership positions. Law firm investigating Despite the accounting disclosures, shareholder scrutiny and executive shakeup, Hub Group said it remains financially sound and positioned for growth. “We remain focused on executing our strategy and serving our customers,” Hub CEO Phil Yeager said in the statement. “In the second quarter of 2026 to date, we executed a successful bid season and saw balanced demand trends and stronger pricing as well as increased opportunity for over-the-road conversion.” Yeager said the company also secured significant new business in logistics, while brokerage volumes reflected efforts to improve profitability and increase revenue per load. Hub plans to file its 2025 annual report, including restated results for the affected periods, on or before Sept. 14, the deadline to regain compliance with Nasdaq filing requirements. The company also plans to file first-quarter 2026 results by that date. Hub, meanwhile, could face litigation related to its financial disclosures. Shareholder rights law firm Hagens Berman, based in San Francisco, said it is continuing an investigation into whether the company “misled investors about having prepared its financial statements consistent with relevant accounting rules.” “Now that we know that Hub Group’s admitted improper accounting goes all the way back to fiscal 2023, we’re investigating whether the company may have ... understated expenses and monitoring what additional financial statement accounts may have been misstated,” said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the firm’s investigation. The law firm said Hub Group’s stock price has declined $14.71 per share, or 28%, since Feb. 5, when the company first disclosed the accounting issues, erasing approximately $890 million in market capitalization. The firm also called on potential whistleblowers with non-public information about Hub Group to come forward and consider participating in the SEC whistleblower program. Contact Dan Ronan at contactdanronan@gmail.com .

Hub Group COO, CFO leave company after $77 million accounting error

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">A Canadian bitcoin miner that faced customs delays bringing specialty cooling towers into the US from China alleges Zim and the Port of Houston charged unfair per-diem fees.</div>

A Canadian bitcoin miner that faced customs delays bringing specialty cooling towers into the US from China alleges Zim and the Port of Houston charged unfair per-diem fees.

<div class="phx-topic">A Canadian firm that brought containers from China specially designed to cool bitcoin mining machines is suing Zim Integrated Shipping Services and the Port of Houston for excessive per-diem charges after US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) held the containers three months past their free time. Toronto-based Sunnyside Digital and its Delaware-registered entity Down Quark Systems filed the complaint last week with the Federal Maritime Commission(FMC). The complaint alleges Zim has already charged the company $5,880 in demurrage on its containers, while the Port of Houston Authority as terminal operator charge assessed $917,458 in extended dwell fees for the containers. Along with restitution of those charges, Sunnyside Digital is asking the FMC to investigate and restrain Zim from pursuing another $7 million in demurrage it is trying to collect from Sunnyside. Zim has also filed a federal lawsuit against Sunnyside seeking another $708,153 in terminal storage charges. <h3>‘Bespoke’ containers </h3>The containers themselves were not standard dry containers, the complaint said. Rather, they were “bespoke, highly specialized/modified containers” built to serve as cooling systems for bitcoin mining machines. Sunnyside argued in the complaint that because these were not standard dry containers, they “do not fall within” the scope of Zim’s published tariff. Sunnyside also argued Houston’s <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/houston-to-start-charging-long-dwell-fee-from-feb-1-5224463">excessive dwell fee</a> did not adhere to the FMC’s incentive principle for prompting the timely removal of cargo. Sunnyside said the 147 containers from Shanghai were loaded on the 11,923-TEU Zim Canada on March 17, 2025, and reached Houston about a month later on Good Friday. Due to the holiday, Sunnyside had four days of free time starting the following Monday. However, between April 21 and 23, CBP said it would inspect nine of the containers, while putting a hold on the rest until the inspection was completed. Sunnyside said between April 23 and May 6, CBP provided no information about “the basis for the hold or inspection of the containers.” On May 7, CBP issued a formal notice of detention for the containers to Sunnyside. About a month later, Sunnyside said CBP would only release the containers if Sunnyside agreed to a different valuation and tariff classification for the cargo. Sunnyside submitted a bond to CBP on July 31 to release the containers. Customs holds and the resulting demurrage fees from ocean carriers and marine terminals have been an issue for some shippers. In 2023, the FMC’s National Shipper Advisory had <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/shipper-group-wants-more-fmc-action-on-dwell-fees-erds-5220538">sought for the agency to determine</a> that shippers should only be billed a portion of per-diem fees resulting from government holds. But the agency has yet to craft a rule addressing the issue. Contact Michael Angell at <a href="mailto:michael.angell@spglobal.com">michael.angell@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

A Canadian firm that brought containers from China specially designed to cool bitcoin mining machines is suing Zim Integrated Shipping Services and the Port of Houston for excessive per-diem charges after US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) held the containers three months past their free time. Toronto-based Sunnyside Digital and its Delaware-registered entity Down Quark Systems filed the complaint last week with the Federal Maritime Commission(FMC). The complaint alleges Zim has already charged the company $5,880 in demurrage on its containers, while the Port of Houston Authority as terminal operator charge assessed $917,458 in extended dwell fees for the containers. Along with restitution of those charges, Sunnyside Digital is asking the FMC to investigate and restrain Zim from pursuing another $7 million in demurrage it is trying to collect from Sunnyside. Zim has also filed a federal lawsuit against Sunnyside seeking another $708,153 in terminal storage charges. ‘Bespoke’ containers The containers themselves were not standard dry containers, the complaint said. Rather, they were “bespoke, highly specialized/modified containers” built to serve as cooling systems for bitcoin mining machines. Sunnyside argued in the complaint that because these were not standard dry containers, they “do not fall within” the scope of Zim’s published tariff. Sunnyside also argued Houston’s excessive dwell fee did not adhere to the FMC’s incentive principle for prompting the timely removal of cargo. Sunnyside said the 147 containers from Shanghai were loaded on the 11,923-TEU Zim Canada on March 17, 2025, and reached Houston about a month later on Good Friday. Due to the holiday, Sunnyside had four days of free time starting the following Monday. However, between April 21 and 23, CBP said it would inspect nine of the containers, while putting a hold on the rest until the inspection was completed. Sunnyside said between April 23 and May 6, CBP provided no information about “the basis for the hold or inspection of the containers.” On May 7, CBP issued a formal notice of detention for the containers to Sunnyside. About a month later, Sunnyside said CBP would only release the containers if Sunnyside agreed to a different valuation and tariff classification for the cargo. Sunnyside submitted a bond to CBP on July 31 to release the containers. Customs holds and the resulting demurrage fees from ocean carriers and marine terminals have been an issue for some shippers. In 2023, the FMC’s National Shipper Advisory had sought for the agency to determine that shippers should only be billed a portion of per-diem fees resulting from government holds. But the agency has yet to craft a rule addressing the issue. Contact Michael Angell at michael.angell@spglobal.com .

Bitcoin miner hits Zim, Houston with FMC lawsuit on delayed boxes

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