<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The intermodal domestic container business took a giant step forward the past two weeksas several ma</div>

The intermodal domestic container business took a giant step forward the past two weeksas several ma

<div>The intermodal domestic container business took a giant step forward the past two weeksas several major manufacturers and a truckload carrier agreed on new standards for what they see as the next generation of intermodal containers.Following extensive tests of prototype containers, lifting devices and over-the-road chassis, officials from J.B. Hunt Transport Co., the hugeLowell, Ark., truckload carrier, say they are ready to hand out contracts to build the equipment and put it into service early next year."We had all the representatives of the railroads and all the container manufacturers in Lowell, and they have now set the new standard for...

The intermodal domestic container business took a giant step forward the past two weeksas several major manufacturers and a truckload carrier agreed on new standards for what they see as the next generation of intermodal containers. Following extensive tests of prototype containers, lifting devices and over-the-road chassis, officials from J.B. Hunt Transport Co., the huge Lowell, Ark., truckload carrier, say they are ready to hand out contracts to build the equipment and put it into service early next year."We had all the representatives of the railroads and all the container manufacturers in Lowell, and they have now set the new standard for the container of the future," said Paul Bergant, Hunt's vice president of marketing and general counsel. Hunt, which has led the industry in developing intermodal agreements with rail companies, has leaned on trailer manufacturers to come up with a maximum- sized container that would be equally capable of being double-stacked in rail well cars and taken on highways. In addition, in the past year, extensive work went into developing a structurally sound chassis and a new intermodal container-lifting device to transfer the boxes between rail cars and the chassis. The prototype container was put through tests designed to simulate a dozen years of life at the Union Pacific Railroad's Chicago rail yards in the last month, and lifted over 2,500 times filled to the maximum of 48,000 pounds, said Mr. Bergant. But while Hunt officials say they expect the new standards to lead the industry, another major carrier said it is still testing a system - and standards - it would use. Don Schneider, chairman of Schneider National of Green Bay, Wis., only agrees such standards are necessary. "I hope everyone is moving toward a standardized system," said Mr. Schneider, who heads the nation's largest truckload carrier. "We have to have a unified system." Mr. Schneider said his company is testing its own version of an intermodal container, lifting device and chassis. The company is also currently testing a variation of the Norfolk Southern Railway Co.'s RoadRailer trailer, manufactured by the Wabash National Corp., of Lafayette, Ind. "There's a lot of experimentation going on to get the ideal vehicle that is interchangeable with highway and rail," Mr. Schneider said. "We are totally neutral in this. We want the particular interchangeable vehicle that is going to be the most compatible with rail. And there may be some places where both systems will work." Industry observers say the dominant player's standards will likely lead the expected strong growth in domestic intermodal shipping in coming years. To date, Hunt and Schneider are the main players that have made strong inroads into domestic intermodal shipping, other than small package shippers like United Parcel Service. Several companies, including M.S. Carriers in Memphis, Tenn., have hammered out agreements with rail companies. Others are expected to follow as the technology is refined. The development of the Hunt system was not without problems, Mr. Bergant acknowledged, particularly with the structure of the chassis, which had to be beefed up. But he said he "could never understand all the industry speculation" about the early engineering shortcomings. "If they can put a man on the moon, they can sure as hell do that," he said. The next step, he said, would be the development of a rail car that can hold two 53-foot domestic containers. Currently, well cars are only large enough to hold a 48-footer on the bottom and a 53-footer on the top. Along with Hunt officials, intermodal manufacturers celebrated the news of the agreement on standards. "It's revolutionary," said Tom Rosby, president of the Monon Corp., of Monon, Ind., a trailer manufacturer that is slated to start building the Hunt intermodal containers for delivery next year. "Intermodal is not even in the dictionary, but now it's going to be," said Mr. Rosby. "It will revolutionize the business, make the industry more cost effective, with better freight service and (will) help the railroads to grow." He said he has fielded countless inquiries from large and middle-sized long-haul truckers, wanting to know if they should trade in their trailers for intermodal containers. Many, he reported, "are going to see what Hunt is going to do in the first part of next year." "It's not going to be a flip-flop overnight, its going to be more of an infusion over the years," he said.

Transport, Trade and Regulation News

MANUFACTURERS, CARRIER CONCUR ON STANDARDS FOR NEW CONTAINERS

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Importers in the US are rewiring their supply chains and drawing extra inventory from Canada, Mexico and domestically in a “wait and see” response to the trans-Pacific trade war, according to Vincent Clerc.</div>

Importers in the US are rewiring their supply chains and drawing extra inventory from Canada, Mexico and domestically in a “wait and see” response to the trans-Pacific trade war, according to Vincent Clerc.

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<div class="phx-topic">US retailers are in a race to find inventory from alternative sources to China, with Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc warning Thursday they may have until summer to fill stocks or risk seeing shortages “across the board.” Volume from China to the US has fallen 30% to 40% since the Trump administration’s imposition of 145% tariffs on most Chinese imports on April 9, Clerc told analysts on the carrier’s first-quarter earnings call. ”Everybody is rewiring their supply chains and looking at bringing in extra inventory based on the SKUs (stock keeping units) that they’re most concerned with,” Clerc said, as shippers waited to see whether there would be any easing of tariffs on China. "Right now, the race is about trying to get your hands on as much inventory as possible,” he added. “They're drawing on the inventories they have in Canada. They're drawing on inventories they have in Mexico, and on distributors and other vendors inside the US to see how long they can hoard those goods.” Clerc said in the industrials and automotive sectors, and in commodities such as rare earth and semiconductors, the import decline was “going to bite soon.” ”There are certain commodities where you can’t substitute imports freely, both in terms of SKUs but also in terms of quantities, because the capacity there was in China is not readily available elsewhere to support the US market,” he said. While empty shelves in big box retailers in the US were not “right around the corner,” Clerc said if inventory could not be found before the summer “it’s going to start to hurt quite a lot across the board.” Maersk is not as exposed as other carriers to the trans-Pacific disruption. The dramatic drop in US imports from China had little effect on its first-quarter result, with China-US trade comprising only 5% of the carrier’s total volume. Maersk reported a strong start to the year with revenue in the first quarter rising 7.8% year over year to $13.3 billion and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) up 70% at $2.7 billion. EBIT of $1.25 billion was six times higher than the year-ago period, as was net profit of $1.2 billion. The carrier’s volume in the first quarter grew just 0.1% year over year at 2.9 million FEUs, but it was a decline of 6.5% compared to the last quarter of 2024. Its average rates followed a similar trajectory, rising 2.5% year over year to $2,427 per FEU but down 8.7% quarter over quarter. <h3>Geopolitics drags down global volume forecast </h3>Maersk left its full-year EBIT forecast of zero to $3 billion unchanged. But the increasing macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty saw the carrier leave open the possibility of negative growth in global container volumes, revising its forecast to a range between -1% to 4%. Its previous forecast was for 4% market growth in volumes. Clerc explained the reasoning behind the revised volume growth, saying the supply side risks from new tonnage being delivered combined with a return to Red Sea transits has faded this year. Although significant amounts of capacity were still entering the market, there was little chance of carriers returning to the Red Sea this year despite <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/apparent-houthi-ceasefire-raises-container-shipping-overcapacity-risk-5999930">an apparent cease-fire with the Houthis announced earlier this week</a> by US President Donald Trump. On the demand side, Clerc pointed to the erratic nature of the US tariffs that were creating new levels of uncertainty. ”For me, 145% tariffs on China were not really in the base case that we had...and some of these other tariffs that have been set on pause for 90 days were also higher than what most people expected,” he said. The Trump administration a month ago announced a 90-day pause for countries open to negotiations, leaving a 10% across-the-board baseline tariff in place during the negotiating period. Some positive trade momentum has begun to emerge. The White House announced a trade deal between the US and the UK Thursday, although no details were provided, and representatives from the US and China are set to meet for trade talks in Switzerland this weekend. ”If this resolves itself quickly with a lot of trade deals within the 90 days, and maybe a de-escalation with China, you will see the demand side bounce back to somewhere around 4% for the year,” Clerc said. But if the tariffs became entrenched, it would lead to lower global demand and increase the risk of recession in the US, he added. ”Because ultimately, given the lack of alternatives to China, both in terms of scale and breadth, this will have to be passed on to consumers,” Clerc said. Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

US retailers are in a race to find inventory from alternative sources to China, with Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc warning Thursday they may have until summer to fill stocks or risk seeing shortages “across the board.” Volume from China to the US has fallen 30% to 40% since the Trump administration’s imposition of 145% tariffs on most Chinese imports on April 9, Clerc told analysts on the carrier’s first-quarter earnings call. ”Everybody is rewiring their supply chains and looking at bringing in extra inventory based on the SKUs (stock keeping units) that they’re most concerned with,” Clerc said, as shippers waited to see whether there would be any easing of tariffs on China. "Right now, the race is about trying to get your hands on as much inventory as possible,” he added. “They're drawing on the inventories they have in Canada. They're drawing on inventories they have in Mexico, and on distributors and other vendors inside the US to see how long they can hoard those goods.” Clerc said in the industrials and automotive sectors, and in commodities such as rare earth and semiconductors, the import decline was “going to bite soon.” ”There are certain commodities where you can’t substitute imports freely, both in terms of SKUs but also in terms of quantities, because the capacity there was in China is not readily available elsewhere to support the US market,” he said. While empty shelves in big box retailers in the US were not “right around the corner,” Clerc said if inventory could not be found before the summer “it’s going to start to hurt quite a lot across the board.” Maersk is not as exposed as other carriers to the trans-Pacific disruption. The dramatic drop in US imports from China had little effect on its first-quarter result, with China-US trade comprising only 5% of the carrier’s total volume. Maersk reported a strong start to the year with revenue in the first quarter rising 7.8% year over year to $13.3 billion and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) up 70% at $2.7 billion. EBIT of $1.25 billion was six times higher than the year-ago period, as was net profit of $1.2 billion. The carrier’s volume in the first quarter grew just 0.1% year over year at 2.9 million FEUs, but it was a decline of 6.5% compared to the last quarter of 2024. Its average rates followed a similar trajectory, rising 2.5% year over year to $2,427 per FEU but down 8.7% quarter over quarter. Geopolitics drags down global volume forecast Maersk left its full-year EBIT forecast of zero to $3 billion unchanged. But the increasing macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty saw the carrier leave open the possibility of negative growth in global container volumes, revising its forecast to a range between -1% to 4%. Its previous forecast was for 4% market growth in volumes. Clerc explained the reasoning behind the revised volume growth, saying the supply side risks from new tonnage being delivered combined with a return to Red Sea transits has faded this year. Although significant amounts of capacity were still entering the market, there was little chance of carriers returning to the Red Sea this year despite an apparent cease-fire with the Houthis announced earlier this week by US President Donald Trump. On the demand side, Clerc pointed to the erratic nature of the US tariffs that were creating new levels of uncertainty. ”For me, 145% tariffs on China were not really in the base case that we had...and some of these other tariffs that have been set on pause for 90 days were also higher than what most people expected,” he said. The Trump administration a month ago announced a 90-day pause for countries open to negotiations, leaving a 10% across-the-board baseline tariff in place during the negotiating period. Some positive trade momentum has begun to emerge. The White House announced a trade deal between the US and the UK Thursday, although no details were provided, and representatives from the US and China are set to meet for trade talks in Switzerland this weekend. ”If this resolves itself quickly with a lot of trade deals within the 90 days, and maybe a de-escalation with China, you will see the demand side bounce back to somewhere around 4% for the year,” Clerc said. But if the tariffs became entrenched, it would lead to lower global demand and increase the risk of recession in the US, he added. ”Because ultimately, given the lack of alternatives to China, both in terms of scale and breadth, this will have to be passed on to consumers,” Clerc said. Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

Maritime

Supply chain

Container lines

Trans-Pacific

Container Shipping News

US in race to replenish China stocks to avoid summer shortages: Maersk CEO

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Sources anticipate the additional rerouting costs in the region will force other ocean carriers to follow suit on similar surcharges.</div>

Sources anticipate the additional rerouting costs in the region will force other ocean carriers to follow suit on similar surcharges.

<div class="phx-topic">Shippers are beginning to feel the financial pinch of the sudden escalation in military tensions between India and Pakistan in the form of contingency surcharges levied by mainline ocean carriers. The first known levy comes from CMA CGM, which has slapped an “operational recovery surcharge” of $800 per container for Pakistan exports and $300 per box for imports. The extra charges are due to start May 15 on non-US trade lanes and from June 6 for US cargo. “This decision has been necessitated by the recent geopolitical developments in the region, which are significantly impacting our operations,” the French carrier told Pakistani customers. “To ensure that we continue to provide you with the high level of service you expect from us, we have had to adapt and adjust our services accordingly.” Sources anticipate additional rerouting costs in the region will force other carriers to follow suit on similar surcharges. Indian shippers should also expect some “add-on” charges, albeit milder than that of the Pakistan scale, local forwarders believe. The Indian government last week imposed a ban on Pakistan-origin cargo passing through its ports, raising the risk of schedule disruptions for services with twin market coverage in India and Pakistan. Major liners are frantically adjusting schedules and rotations for their Indian networks calling both markets to keep freight moving, with Hapag-Lloyd choosing Salalah Port in Oman and CMA CGM opting for Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa Port as alternative transshipment hubs to serve Pakistani trades with feeder support. Salalah is already a key intermediate point for Gemini Cooperation services, including Hapag-Lloyd’s India-Europe string (IOS). “We are actively working on evaluating long-term alternative solutions and rerouting measures to minimize the impact on [customer] supply chain,” Hapag-Lloyd said in a customer advisory. CMA CGM has also announced a new feeder loop, known as the PIKEX, with a rotation of Jebel Ali, Khalifa, Karachi, Port Qasim, Colombo, Karachi and Jebel Ali to handle Pakistan cargo relays. “We have undertaken a thorough review of our maritime services to ensure the continued reliability and safety of ... cargo shipments,” CMA CGM said. Contact Bency Mathew at <a href="mailto:bencyvmathew@gmail.com">bencyvmathew@gmail.com</a>. </div>

Shippers are beginning to feel the financial pinch of the sudden escalation in military tensions between India and Pakistan in the form of contingency surcharges levied by mainline ocean carriers. The first known levy comes from CMA CGM, which has slapped an “operational recovery surcharge” of $800 per container for Pakistan exports and $300 per box for imports. The extra charges are due to start May 15 on non-US trade lanes and from June 6 for US cargo. “This decision has been necessitated by the recent geopolitical developments in the region, which are significantly impacting our operations,” the French carrier told Pakistani customers. “To ensure that we continue to provide you with the high level of service you expect from us, we have had to adapt and adjust our services accordingly.” Sources anticipate additional rerouting costs in the region will force other carriers to follow suit on similar surcharges. Indian shippers should also expect some “add-on” charges, albeit milder than that of the Pakistan scale, local forwarders believe. The Indian government last week imposed a ban on Pakistan-origin cargo passing through its ports, raising the risk of schedule disruptions for services with twin market coverage in India and Pakistan. Major liners are frantically adjusting schedules and rotations for their Indian networks calling both markets to keep freight moving, with Hapag-Lloyd choosing Salalah Port in Oman and CMA CGM opting for Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa Port as alternative transshipment hubs to serve Pakistani trades with feeder support. Salalah is already a key intermediate point for Gemini Cooperation services, including Hapag-Lloyd’s India-Europe string (IOS). “We are actively working on evaluating long-term alternative solutions and rerouting measures to minimize the impact on [customer] supply chain,” Hapag-Lloyd said in a customer advisory. CMA CGM has also announced a new feeder loop, known as the PIKEX, with a rotation of Jebel Ali, Khalifa, Karachi, Port Qasim, Colombo, Karachi and Jebel Ali to handle Pakistan cargo relays. “We have undertaken a thorough review of our maritime services to ensure the continued reliability and safety of ... cargo shipments,” CMA CGM said. Contact Bency Mathew at bencyvmathew@gmail.com .

Port News

Asia-Europe

CMA CGM levies emergency surcharges on Pakistani trade amid India tensions

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The world’s largest shipping company said Wednesday the service suspensions and network changes were “in response to the recent changes in demand for cargo transport from Asia to the US.”</div>

The world’s largest shipping company said Wednesday the service suspensions and network changes were “in response to the recent changes in demand for cargo transport from Asia to the US.”

<div class="phx-topic">Mediterranean Shipping Co. has halted two services from China to the US and revamped other container services to the East and Gulf coasts as the Trump administration’s tariffs against Beijing continue to weaken freight demand. The world’s largest shipping company said in an advisory Wednesday the service suspensions and network changes were “in response to the recent changes in demand for cargo transport from Asia to the US.” Following the Trump administration’s imposition of 145% tariffs on most Chinese imports, ocean carriers reported seeing container volumes drop by one-third. Hapag-Lloyd and US-based Matson both said volumes out of China dropped 30% after April 9 when the new China tariffs went into effect. The affected MSC services are all part of <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/network-realignment-shines-light-on-hub-focused-product-vs-direct-calls-5783930">the carrier’s 2025 network following the dissolution of the 2M Alliance with Maersk</a>. In place of Maersk, <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/zim-msc-ink-cooperation-deal-on-services-linking-asia-europe-and-med-5223119">Zim Integrated Shipping Services has signed on to share vessel space and charter slots</a> on some of MSC’s Asia-US routes. The suspensions include the Empire service, which calls three of China’s largest ports and the East Coast ports of New York and New Jersey, Norfolk and Baltimore. The service provided 11,500 TEUs in weekly capacity, according to a report from Hong Kong-based logistics provider Honour Lane Shipping.MSC will also suspend the Pelican service from the Chinese ports of Xiamen and Yantian, along with Vietnam’s Vung Tau and South Korea’s Busan, and calling the Gulf Coast ports of Houston, Mobile and Tampa. Honour Lane said the Pelican service provides weekly capacity ranging between 6,500 and 8,500 TEUs. <h3>Boost SE Asia coverage</h3>The two service suspensions coincide with other interim changes by MSC taking effect this week on four other services that will increase port coverage of Southeast Asia and fill in coverage gaps. The America service from Asia to the US East Coast will stop calling China’s Yantian port, MSC said, while adding a westbound call at Vietnam’s Haiphong port and an eastbound call at the Port of Colombo in Sri Lanka. The service will also add East Coast calls at the ports of Savannah and Jacksonville, while dropping a call to Norfolk. The Amberjack service from China to the US Southeast will drop a call at China’s Nansha port but keep calling other major Chinese ports. Likewise, the Amberjack’s US rotation will now make its first two calls at the ports of New York-New Jersey and Baltimore and drop service to the Port of Wilmington, North Carolina. MSC’s Emerald service will add an outbound call at Taiwan’s Kaohsiung port. The service’s US leg will stop calling Jacksonville and Baltimore but add calls to Norfolk and Boston. The Lone Star service from Asia to the Gulf Coast will add a call at China’s Yantian port, along with adding calls to Singapore and Vung Tau. The service’s US rotation will drop a call at the Port of New Orleans. The MSC suspensions, among the first big ones to hit the East and Gulf coasts, follow similar steps for West Coast services that are also heavily exposed to Chinese freight. Alphaliner reported Tuesday that MSC also suspended its Orient service to Long Beach, while OOCL suspended its Pacific South China Express service to Long Beach.Contact Michael Angell at <a href="mailto:michael.angell@spglobal.com">michael.angell@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Mediterranean Shipping Co. has halted two services from China to the US and revamped other container services to the East and Gulf coasts as the Trump administration’s tariffs against Beijing continue to weaken freight demand. The world’s largest shipping company said in an advisory Wednesday the service suspensions and network changes were “in response to the recent changes in demand for cargo transport from Asia to the US.” Following the Trump administration’s imposition of 145% tariffs on most Chinese imports, ocean carriers reported seeing container volumes drop by one-third. Hapag-Lloyd and US-based Matson both said volumes out of China dropped 30% after April 9 when the new China tariffs went into effect. The affected MSC services are all part of the carrier’s 2025 network following the dissolution of the 2M Alliance with Maersk . In place of Maersk, Zim Integrated Shipping Services has signed on to share vessel space and charter slots on some of MSC’s Asia-US routes. The suspensions include the Empire service, which calls three of China’s largest ports and the East Coast ports of New York and New Jersey, Norfolk and Baltimore. The service provided 11,500 TEUs in weekly capacity, according to a report from Hong Kong-based logistics provider Honour Lane Shipping. MSC will also suspend the Pelican service from the Chinese ports of Xiamen and Yantian, along with Vietnam’s Vung Tau and South Korea’s Busan, and calling the Gulf Coast ports of Houston, Mobile and Tampa. Honour Lane said the Pelican service provides weekly capacity ranging between 6,500 and 8,500 TEUs. Boost SE Asia coverage The two service suspensions coincide with other interim changes by MSC taking effect this week on four other services that will increase port coverage of Southeast Asia and fill in coverage gaps. The America service from Asia to the US East Coast will stop calling China’s Yantian port, MSC said, while adding a westbound call at Vietnam’s Haiphong port and an eastbound call at the Port of Colombo in Sri Lanka. The service will also add East Coast calls at the ports of Savannah and Jacksonville, while dropping a call to Norfolk. The Amberjack service from China to the US Southeast will drop a call at China’s Nansha port but keep calling other major Chinese ports. Likewise, the Amberjack’s US rotation will now make its first two calls at the ports of New York-New Jersey and Baltimore and drop service to the Port of Wilmington, North Carolina. MSC’s Emerald service will add an outbound call at Taiwan’s Kaohsiung port. The service’s US leg will stop calling Jacksonville and Baltimore but add calls to Norfolk and Boston. The Lone Star service from Asia to the Gulf Coast will add a call at China’s Yantian port, along with adding calls to Singapore and Vung Tau. The service’s US rotation will drop a call at the Port of New Orleans. The MSC suspensions, among the first big ones to hit the East and Gulf coasts, follow similar steps for West Coast services that are also heavily exposed to Chinese freight. Alphaliner reported Tuesday that MSC also suspended its Orient service to Long Beach, while OOCL suspended its Pacific South China Express service to Long Beach. Contact Michael Angell at michael.angell@spglobal.com .

North American ports

MSC suspends two US services, rejigs others as tariffs hit Chinese imports

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Stephen Carmel’s nomination to lead the agency comes after the White House withdrew previous nominee Brent Sadler from consideration for the post.</div>

Stephen Carmel’s nomination to lead the agency comes after the White House withdrew previous nominee Brent Sadler from consideration for the post.

<div class="phx-topic">Former Maersk executive Stephen Carmel has been tapped by the Trump administration to serve as head of the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) after Brent Sadler’s nomination for the post was pulled. No reason was given for the switch, but Sadler, a retired US Navy Captain initially nominated in March to head MARAD, said on social media he supports Carmel. The White House announced on Tuesday that it would nominate Carmel as MARAD administrator. Carmel is currently president of US Marine Management, a Norfolk, Virginia-based maritime services provider to commercial and military fleets. Until September 2023, he served as senior vice president at Maersk Line Limited, the shipping line’s US-flag subsidiary. The MARAD administrator role has been vacant since January, when Ann Phillips resigned. MARAD, part of the US Department of Transportation, is responsible for US waterways, as well as supporting the US Maritime Service and US Merchant Marine. Carmel’s nomination comes amid a push by the Trump administration to revitalize US shipbuilding, with a planned set of fees targeting Chinese-built ships due to come into force in October. The revenue from those fees is meant to be channeled into a trust fund supporting US maritime activity. Contact Eric Johnson at <a href="mailto:eric.johnson@spglobal.com">eric.johnson@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Former Maersk executive Stephen Carmel has been tapped by the Trump administration to serve as head of the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) after Brent Sadler’s nomination for the post was pulled. No reason was given for the switch, but Sadler, a retired US Navy Captain initially nominated in March to head MARAD, said on social media he supports Carmel. The White House announced on Tuesday that it would nominate Carmel as MARAD administrator. Carmel is currently president of US Marine Management, a Norfolk, Virginia-based maritime services provider to commercial and military fleets. Until September 2023, he served as senior vice president at Maersk Line Limited, the shipping line’s US-flag subsidiary. The MARAD administrator role has been vacant since January, when Ann Phillips resigned. MARAD, part of the US Department of Transportation, is responsible for US waterways, as well as supporting the US Maritime Service and US Merchant Marine. Carmel’s nomination comes amid a push by the Trump administration to revitalize US shipbuilding, with a planned set of fees targeting Chinese-built ships due to come into force in October. The revenue from those fees is meant to be channeled into a trust fund supporting US maritime activity. Contact Eric Johnson at eric.johnson@spglobal.com .

Trump taps former Maersk executive to head MARAD

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">US imports rebounded to a record high in 2024 amid widespread frontloading, while exports expanded slightly for the second straight year.</div>

US imports rebounded to a record high in 2024 amid widespread frontloading, while exports expanded slightly for the second straight year.

The largest US shippers grew their volumes at a faster rate than the overall market last year, according to the 2025 Journal of Commerce Top 100 US Importers and Exporters rankings. Containerized imports to the US rebounded to a record high in 2024 amid widespread frontloading aimed at mitigating the risk of longshore labor disruption and, later in the year, looming tariffs. Against this backdrop, the Top 100 Importers saw their combined volumes surge an estimated 34.1% year over year. Total container imports spiked 15.3% to 25.66 million TEUs in 2024, more than offsetting a 13% decline in 2023 and narrowly surpassing the previous high of 25.57 million TEUs achieved in both 2021 and 2022, according to PIERS, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global. On the export side, outbound container volumes from the US expanded slightly for the second straight year in 2024 after snapping a three-year skid in 2023. Volumes among the Top 100 Exporters jumped an estimated 14.1% for the full year, while total US exports grew 0.9% in 2024 following a 0.3% uptick in 2023. The annual container volumes of major importers and exporters are not publicly available, so the Top 100 rankings are the best approximation using analysis of PIERS data, confirmation of volumes with cargo owners, and limited modeling. Modeling factors include historical volumes, industry vertical growth and company revenue growth. 2025 Journal of Commerce Top 100 US Importers Annual containerized US imports in 2024, in laden TEUs Rank Importer TEUs Sector 1 Walmart 960,000 Retail 2 Home Depot 516,000 Retail 3 Target 420,000 Retail 4 LG Group 309,160 Conglomerate 5 Lowe's 254,242 Retail 6 Amazon 250,000 Retail 7 Ashley Furniture 207,190 Furniture 8 Chiquita Brands International 189,058 Foodstuffs 9 Dollar Tree 180,283 Retail 10 Samsung SDS 150,357 Conglomerate 11 Fresh Del Monte Produce 133,299 Foodstuffs 12 Hyundai Motor Company, Mobis 115,707 Automotive goods 13 IKEA 110,557 Retail 14 Williams-Sonoma 110,000 Retail 15 Ross Stores 101,500 Retail 16 GE Appliances, a Haier Company 95,000 Retail/Household Goods 17 Tesla 89,000 Automotive goods 18 General Motors 87,568 Automotive goods 19 First Solar 85,651 Solar 20 Sumitomo Corporation 83,500 Conglomerate 21 Newell Brands 64,000 Electronics 22 Bob’s Discount Furniture 61,776 Household goods 23 Rooms to Go 61,000 Furniture 24 Heineken USA 57,802 Alcoholic beverages 25 Dollar General 55,124 Retail 26 Tractor Supply Company 53,600 Retail 27 Daimler Trucks 53,375 Automotive goods 28 Electrolux 51,824 Electronics and household goods 29 John Deere 50,000 Heavy machinery 30 Kohl's 50,000 Retail 31 Michelin North America 47,219 Automotive goods 32 Toyota Tsusho America 45,802 Automotive goods 33 Kubota Tractor Company 45,490 Heavy machinery 34 VF Corp. 43,800 Apparel and footwear 35 Costco Wholesale 39,360 Retail 36 Best Buy 39,000 Electronics 37 At Home 38,500 Retail 38 Yokohama Tire 38,352 Automotive goods 39 Q Cells 38,188 Solar 40 Trina Solar 38,000 Solar 41 Continental Tire 36,169 Automotive goods 42 Hankook Tire America 35,244 Automotive goods 43 Goodyear Rubber & Tire 35,089 Automotive goods 44 Red Bull 35,000 Foodstuffs 45 Dole Packaged Foods 33,000 Foodstuffs 46 Ford Motor Co. 32,727 Automotive goods 47 Element Electronics 31,603 Electronics 48 Toyo Tires 31,363 Automotive goods 49 BYD 31,000 Automotive goods 50 JA Solar 30,584 Solar 51 Sailun Tire Americas 30,030 Automotive goods 52 Adidas Group 29,237 Apparel and footwear 53 BSH Hausgeräte 29,000 Consumer products 54 Euromarket Designs 28,997 Retail 55 TMALL 28,837 Retail 56 Living Spaces Furniture 28,711 Furniture 57 Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits 27,433 Foodstuffs 58 Bissell Homecare 27,000 Household goods 59 Subaru of America 26,426 Automotive goods 60 Dollarama L.P. 25,591 Retail 61 Cardinal Health 24,993 Health care 62 Midea Group 24,621 Household goods 63 Conair LLC 23,992 Electronics 64 Mitsubishi Motors 23,614 Automotive goods 65 SharkNinja Operating LLC 23,483 Household goods 66 Kumho Tire 23,238 Automotive goods 67 Stanley Black & Decker 22,800 Manufacture  68 LKQ Homecare 22,762 Automotive goods 69 Keter North America Inc. 22,575 Storage 70 Goya Foods 22,443 Foodstuffs 71 Volkswagen Group 21,900 Automotive goods 72 Curtis International 20,998 Electronics 73 Raymour & Flanigan 20,276 Retail 74 Yamaha Motor Corporation 20,150 Automotive goods 75 Sol Foods 20,008 Foodstuffs 76 Dorel Industries 20,000 Conglomerate 77 BJ's Wholesale Club 19,928 Retail 78 Sentury Tire 18,973 Automotive goods 79 SanMar 18,940 Footwear and apparel 80 Fiji Water 18,441 Retail 81 American Furniture Warehouse 18,212 Furniture 82 ESWINDOWS 18,000 Glass manufacturer  83 Mattel 17,911 Toys and games 84 Dick's Sporting Goods 17,584 Retail sporting goods 85 JOANN 17,551 Haberdashery and mercery 86 Hewlett-Packard 17,263 Computer technology 87 QVC 17,087 Retail 88 Olam International 16,659 Cotton, spices and vegetables 89 New Balance Athletics 16,638 Footwear and apparel 90 The Vita Coco Company 16,553 Foodstuffs 91 Tireco 16,293 Automotive goods 92 ArdoVLM 16,124 Foodstuffs 93 LollicupStore 16,067 Retail 94 Walgreens 15,467 Retail 95 API Tires  14,729 Automotive goods 96 CMPC Maderas 14,652 Paper product 97 Hyosung Motors 14,401 Automotive goods 98 Procter & Gamble 14,377 Conglomerate 99 Danone Waters 14,256 Foodstuffs 100 EGA America Inc. 14,221 Metals and recyclables © 2025 S&P Global 2025 Journal of Commerce Top 100 US Exporters Annual containerized US exports in 2024, in laden TEUs Rank Exporter TEUs Sector 1 International Paper 230,000 Paper and packaging 2 Dow Chemical 199,000 Chemicals  3 Koch Industries 194,113 Conglomerate 4 DeLong 147,120 Animal Feed and Grain 5 ExxonMobil Chemical 140,000 Chemicals 6 America Chung Nam 111,788 Paper and plastics recyclables 7 Winfibre 100,000 Paper and recyclables 8 Scoular 97,623 Animal Feed and Grain 9 Archer Daniels Midland  97,000 Foodstuffs 10 Ravago 95,019 Chemicals 11 International Forest Products LLC 82,238 Packaging, paper products, pulp, forest products and recyclables 12 Newport CH International 81,857 Paper, metals and plastics recyclables 13 Shintech 80,375 Chemicals 14 WM Recycle America 80,226 Diversified recyclables 15 POET Nutrition 78,832 Animal Feed and Grain 16 Sims Metal Management 78,501 Metal and electronics recyclables 17 JBS USA 77,639 Refrigerated meats and poultry 18 Gavilon/Viterra USA 73,000 Animal Feed and Grain 19 CellMark Group 72,108 Diversified 20 The Anderson's Inc. 68,341 Agricultural goods 21 Cargill 67,694 Conglomerate 22 Louis Dreyfus Company 66,478 Cotton 23 Tricon Energy 64,262 Chemicals 24 Smurfit Westrock 55,280 Paper and packaging 25 BMW of North America 55,000 Automotive goods 26 CHS 54,822 Agriculture, energy and foodstuffs 27 Frey Commodities 54,129 Commodity trading 28 Olam International 48,000 Cotton, spices and vegetables 29 Eastman Chemical 47,145 Chemicals, fibers and plastics 30 Chevron Phillips Chemical 47,000 Chemicals 31 Tyson Foods 46,394 Refrigerated meats and poultry 32 Domtar 44,700 Paper and forest products 33 Walmart 43,649 Retail 34 Prairie Creek Grain 42,957 Plastics, rubber and chemicals 35 Cycle Link 42,170 Recycling  36 PriceSmart, Inc. 41,933 Membership warehouse club 37 Montachem International 41,229 Plastics 38 EM Solutions Inc. 41,000 Electronics manufacturing 39 Rayonier Advanced Materials 40,768 Chemicals and forest products 40 Almarai 40,000 Animal feed 41 SA Recycling 38,885 Recycling  42 Vinmar International LTD 37,000 Chemicals and plastics 43 Smithfield Foods 36,000 Foodstuffs 44 Canusa Hershman Recycling 33,818 Diversified recyclables 45 Celanese 33,500 Chemicals 46 AJC International 33,410 Foodstuffs 47 Staple Cotton 33,214 Cotton 48 International Feed 33,000 Agricultural goods 49 Fresh Del Monte Produce 32,000 Foodstuffs 50 KaMin 31,258 Minerals and clay 51 Alco Iron and Metal 30,914 Metals and recyclables 52 Daimler Trucks 30,000 Automotive goods 53 Valero 29,811 Petrochemical products 54 Al Dahra ACX Inc. 28,678 Animal Feed and Grain 55 Genesis Resource Enterprises 28,628 Paper and recyclables 56 Ekman Group 28,000 Paper and recyclables 57 U.S. Borax Inc. 27,272 Chemicals 58 Stone Arch Commodities 26,030 Animal Feed and Grain 59 Vipa Group 25,012 Paper and recyclables 60 NORAG 25,000 Agricultural goods 61 DuPont 24,664 Diversified 62 Ascend Performance Materials 23,740 Chemicals, fibers and plastics 63 Mitsui & Co. 23,253 Conglomerate 64 Perdue 23,157 Foodstuffs 65 GE Healthcare 23,044 Retail/Household Goods 66 Fornazor International 22,703 Animal feed 67 Haykingdom 21,000 Agricultural goods 68 Potential Industries 20,866 Paper and recyclables 69 Hawkeye Gold 20,770 Minerals 70 Costco Wholesale 20,482 Retail 71 Sappi North America 20,468 Paper and recyclables 72 CELANESE 20,088 Chemicals 73 Michelin North America 18,088 Automotive goods 74 Procter & Gamble 18,061 Consumer Goods 75 Khanna Paper 18,000 Paper prodcuts 76 Seaboard Foods 17,178 Foodstuffs 77 America Metal Export 16,378 Metals and recyclables 78 Active Minerals International 16,337 Minerals 79 Gildan Activewear 15,965 Apparel and footwear 80 Pilgrim's Pride 15,577 Foodstuffs 81 Central National Gottesman 14,393 Paper and forest products 82 Graphic Packaging International 14,042 Paper prodcuts 83 Toyota Tsusho America 13,887 Automotive goods 84 Bayer CropScience 13,761 Agricultural goods 85 National Beef 13,724 Foodstuffs 86 Allan Company 12,741 Paper and recyclables 87 Anheuser Busch InBev 12,585 Foodstuffs 88 Healthy Green Life 12,341 Consumer Goods 89 Wheaton Grain 11,865 Agricultural goods 90 Home Depot 11,614 Retail 91 Fibre Trade 11,474 Paper and recyclables 92 Caterpillar 11,308 Heavy machinery 93 Anderson Hay & Grain 10,900 Animal feed 94 Forest Marketing Enterprises 10,511 Forest products 95 Hayburg 10,394 Agricultural goods 96 Intervision Foods 10,307 Foodstuffs 97 Conveyco Technologies 10,207 Manufacture 98 Zen Trading 9,894 Animal Feed and Grain 99 Mountaire Farms 9,144 Animal Feed and Grain 100 Sysco 9,074 Foodstuffs © 2025 S&P Global © 2025 S&P Global.

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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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