<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">A Japanese department store group has purchased additional shares of Tiffany &amp; Co., increasing its s</div>

A Japanese department store group has purchased additional shares of Tiffany & Co., increasing its s

<div>A Japanese department store group has purchased additional shares of Tiffany &amp; Co., increasing its stake in the famed jewelry company from 3 percent to 13 percent, Tiffany said.Mitsukoshi Ltd., the principal distributor of Tiffany products in Japan, agreed to buy 1.5 million additional Tiffany shares, said William R. Chaney, Tiffany's chairman. Mitsukoshi operates 19 department stores in Japan and other stores elsewhere in Asia, Europe and the United States.In Japan, it sells Tiffany merchandise through boutiques in its stores and through hotels. It also distributes Tiffany products in Hong Kong and Hawaii.</div>...

A Japanese department store group has purchased additional shares of Tiffany & Co., increasing its stake in the famed jewelry company from 3 percent to 13 percent, Tiffany said. Mitsukoshi Ltd., the principal distributor of Tiffany products in Japan, agreed to buy 1.5 million additional Tiffany shares, said William R. Chaney, Tiffany's chairman. Mitsukoshi operates 19 department stores in Japan and other stores elsewhere in Asia, Europe and the United States.In Japan, it sells Tiffany merchandise through boutiques in its stores and through hotels. It also distributes Tiffany products in Hong Kong and Hawaii.

Maritime

MITSUKOSHI BOOSTS STAKE IN TIFFANY

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">project44 is the latest established software provider to release a suite of artificial intelligence agents amid a torrent of startups building tools for logistics providers and shippers. </div>

project44 is the latest established software provider to release a suite of artificial intelligence agents amid a torrent of startups building tools for logistics providers and shippers.

Feature image

<div class="phx-topic">The proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI)-focused tools flooding the global and domestic logistics markets is forcing shippers and intermediaries to better understand the benefits of so-called agentic AI. The last few months have seen a torrent of providers -- new and established -- releasing tools using AI agents, largely focused around data extraction or workflow efficiency. The newest trend is incumbent software vendors specifically using AI agents to enhance the user experience for existing data or application products they offer. On Wednesday, project44 became the latest to join the fray, announcing AI assistants that scrutinize visibility data quality, highlight global disruptions and allow users to more easily query their databases. “AI is only as good as the data it’s built on,” project44 CEO Jett McCandless said in a statement Wednesday. That was an allusion to the belief from most software experts that AI models trained on inaccurate data would only create new problems. The AI onslaught is potentially redrawing the lines of responsibility for data quality, from shippers and intermediaries to software vendors. project44's announcement comes a month after freight visibility rival FourKites launched a suite of AI agents enabled by its own data. The move also comes amid a flurry of recent funding rounds into startup agentic AI technology providers catering to freight brokers, forwarders and customs brokers. Those include FreightHero, which landed an undisclosed early-stage round on Monday to build AI agents for freight brokerage back-office tasks, and Freightmate Ai landing a $5 million round in late January for document automation for forwarders. In December, agentic AI providers Vooma and HappyRobot both landed funding rounds to expand their tools for freight brokers. Other newer entrants include Reform, which works with a range of forwarders and customs brokers to automate workflows, and Amari AI, which automates the generation of customs entries for brokers. Nascent technology for industry Meanwhile, the burden has gone back to the product, and not the user, for being more responsible for good outcomes, James Coombes, CEO of forwarding automation software provider Raft, said Monday at the Manifest Conference in Las Vegas. Vendors still have a mountain to climb to get the industry to participate in this revolution. A number of intermediaries who spoke to the Journal of Commerce at Manifest said that agentic AI is exciting, and potentially transformative, but still nascent. The number of vendors competing in similar spaces is also confusing for the market, even for shippers and 3PLs that are actively trialing such solutions. Additionally, logistics software vendors expect the cost of building agentic applications to continue to come down, potentially commoditizing the market quickly. Contact Eric Johnson at eric.johnson@spglobal.com. </div>

The proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI)-focused tools flooding the global and domestic logistics markets is forcing shippers and intermediaries to better understand the benefits of so-called agentic AI. The last few months have seen a torrent of providers -- new and established -- releasing tools using AI agents, largely focused around data extraction or workflow efficiency. The newest trend is incumbent software vendors specifically using AI agents to enhance the user experience for existing data or application products they offer. On Wednesday, project44 became the latest to join the fray, announcing AI assistants that scrutinize visibility data quality, highlight global disruptions and allow users to more easily query their databases. “AI is only as good as the data it’s built on,” project44 CEO Jett McCandless said in a statement Wednesday. That was an allusion to the belief from most software experts that AI models trained on inaccurate data would only create new problems. The AI onslaught is potentially redrawing the lines of responsibility for data quality, from shippers and intermediaries to software vendors. project44's announcement comes a month after freight visibility rival FourKites launched a suite of AI agents enabled by its own data. The move also comes amid a flurry of recent funding rounds into startup agentic AI technology providers catering to freight brokers, forwarders and customs brokers. Those include FreightHero, which landed an undisclosed early-stage round on Monday to build AI agents for freight brokerage back-office tasks, and Freightmate Ai landing a $5 million round in late January for document automation for forwarders. In December, agentic AI providers Vooma and HappyRobot both landed funding rounds to expand their tools for freight brokers. Other newer entrants include Reform, which works with a range of forwarders and customs brokers to automate workflows, and Amari AI, which automates the generation of customs entries for brokers. Nascent technology for industry Meanwhile, the burden has gone back to the product, and not the user, for being more responsible for good outcomes, James Coombes, CEO of forwarding automation software provider Raft, said Monday at the Manifest Conference in Las Vegas. Vendors still have a mountain to climb to get the industry to participate in this revolution. A number of intermediaries who spoke to the Journal of Commerce at Manifest said that agentic AI is exciting, and potentially transformative, but still nascent. The number of vendors competing in similar spaces is also confusing for the market, even for shippers and 3PLs that are actively trialing such solutions. Additionally, logistics software vendors expect the cost of building agentic applications to continue to come down, potentially commoditizing the market quickly. Contact Eric Johnson at eric.johnson@spglobal.com.

Container Shipping News

Transport, Trade and Regulation News

Forwarding

Truck brokers

Logistics Technology News

Incumbents, upstarts strive for lead in agentic AI arms race

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The latest Journal of Commerce Intermodal Service Scorecard shows how the performance of North American Class I railroads suffered due to congestion caused by high cargo volumes in Southern California and severe weather in the Southeast. </div>

The latest Journal of Commerce Intermodal Service Scorecard shows how the performance of North American Class I railroads suffered due to congestion caused by high cargo volumes in Southern California and severe weather in the Southeast.

<div class="phx-topic">Satisfaction with North American freight railroads took a hit in the second half of last year among domestic intermodal carriers and brokers as the rails struggled with heavy peak season import volumes, results of the latest Journal of Commerce <a href="https://www.joc.com/resources/special-reports/domestic-intermodal-service-scorecard">Intermodal Service Scorecard</a> showed. Results of the survey, which cover the last six months of 2024, show 77.5% of participating intermodal providers were satisfied with the performance of Class I railroads, down from 91.2% in the first half of the year. The survey polled 183 intermodal shippers and 72 asset-based, asset-light and non-asset intermodal marketing companies (IMCs). Respondents rated their intermodal partners on key performance indicators using a five-point scale, with five as the highest score. They also provided written reviews like on Amazon, Google, or Yelp. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="c377ce31-eb21-4997-8f93-46ed41062bb4"></dynamic-object></div>”The surge of international traffic exposed the vulnerable underbelly of US rail infrastructure,” one IMC respondent wrote. “[The railroads] all want volume but are ill-equipped to handle it unless it’s on their terms.” Still, the survey also highlighted how asset and non-asset IMCs shielded shippers from rail congestion in H2 caused by high cargo volumes in Southern California and severe weather in the Southeast. Some 91% of shippers said they were satisfied with their carriers and brokers, up slightly from 90.1% in the first half. "Every shipment I book with them, they pick it up quickly, give timely updates, and deliver when they say they will," one shipper wrote of its intermodal broker. "Service is competitive [and] reliable, with a minimum number of surprises, and they are proactive in making me look professional." <h3>Performance rankings </h3>As in previous ISS surveys, CSX Transportation at 24.3% was rated the top-performing intermodal railroad. However, BNSF Railway earned the highest overall score across key performance metrics among the six Class I rails. Nevertheless, all railroads experienced a decline in key performance indicators (KPIs) in the second half. BNSF and CSX saw their overall scores drop by 0.2 of a point, reflecting the frustration of September, October and November when delays were most pronounced. J.B. Hunt Transport Services and the survey’s "Other IMCs" group — comprised of asset-light and non-asset brokers — received the highest ratings from shippers. The “other” IMCs category was named the top provider by 41.4% of respondents, while J.B. Hunt was selected by 38.5%. Among the three largest US intermodal providers, 72% of respondents ranked J.B. Hunt as the best, while 16.2% chose Schneider and 11.8% selected Hub Group. Schneider outperformed Hub Group in customer service, on-time pickups and on-time deliveries in the second half. Hub Group received higher scores than Schneider for competitive pricing. Like the railroads, scores for intermodal providers declined in the second half of 2024, with J.B. Hunt and the “other” IMC group seeing a 0.3 point drop in their overall scores. <h3>Rail service struggles in east and west </h3>BNSF and Union Pacific Railroad faced challenges between September and November due to a stronger and more prolonged peak season than in 2023. In October, both railroads posted their slowest intermodal train speeds and highest number of idling railcars since May 2022. On the East Coast, CSX and Norfolk Southern saw service deteriorate in October after the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) staged a brief work stoppage and two hurricanes struck Florida within a 10-day span. CSX struggled to recover from storm damage along the Tampa–Winter Haven corridor where it operates two intermodal terminals. Other IMCs pointed out that while there were delays, rail service did not descend into the kind of gridlock seen during the pandemic. Instead, the disruptions were largely manageable due to coordination between intermodal carriers, brokers and Class I railroads. By late November, most bottlenecks had been resolved, allowing railroads to move cargo smoothly through the end of the year. "During the pandemic, we had to wait weeks for an appointment with CSX and UP," another IMC said in the ISS survey. "This past peak season, we had to wait only a few days at most — much better than three years ago. They handled pandemic-like volume without nearly the same level of disruption." Contact Ari Ashe at <a href="mailto:ari.ashe@spglobal.com">Ari.Ashe@spglobal.com</a> </div>

Satisfaction with North American freight railroads took a hit in the second half of last year among domestic intermodal carriers and brokers as the rails struggled with heavy peak season import volumes, results of the latest Journal of Commerce Intermodal Service Scorecard showed. Results of the survey, which cover the last six months of 2024, show 77.5% of participating intermodal providers were satisfied with the performance of Class I railroads, down from 91.2% in the first half of the year. The survey polled 183 intermodal shippers and 72 asset-based, asset-light and non-asset intermodal marketing companies (IMCs). Respondents rated their intermodal partners on key performance indicators using a five-point scale, with five as the highest score. They also provided written reviews like on Amazon, Google, or Yelp. ”The surge of international traffic exposed the vulnerable underbelly of US rail infrastructure,” one IMC respondent wrote. “[The railroads] all want volume but are ill-equipped to handle it unless it’s on their terms.” Still, the survey also highlighted how asset and non-asset IMCs shielded shippers from rail congestion in H2 caused by high cargo volumes in Southern California and severe weather in the Southeast. Some 91% of shippers said they were satisfied with their carriers and brokers, up slightly from 90.1% in the first half. "Every shipment I book with them, they pick it up quickly, give timely updates, and deliver when they say they will," one shipper wrote of its intermodal broker. "Service is competitive [and] reliable, with a minimum number of surprises, and they are proactive in making me look professional." Performance rankings As in previous ISS surveys, CSX Transportation at 24.3% was rated the top-performing intermodal railroad. However, BNSF Railway earned the highest overall score across key performance metrics among the six Class I rails. Nevertheless, all railroads experienced a decline in key performance indicators (KPIs) in the second half. BNSF and CSX saw their overall scores drop by 0.2 of a point, reflecting the frustration of September, October and November when delays were most pronounced. J.B. Hunt Transport Services and the survey’s "Other IMCs" group — comprised of asset-light and non-asset brokers — received the highest ratings from shippers. The “other” IMCs category was named the top provider by 41.4% of respondents, while J.B. Hunt was selected by 38.5%. Among the three largest US intermodal providers, 72% of respondents ranked J.B. Hunt as the best, while 16.2% chose Schneider and 11.8% selected Hub Group. Schneider outperformed Hub Group in customer service, on-time pickups and on-time deliveries in the second half. Hub Group received higher scores than Schneider for competitive pricing. Like the railroads, scores for intermodal providers declined in the second half of 2024, with J.B. Hunt and the “other” IMC group seeing a 0.3 point drop in their overall scores. Rail service struggles in east and west BNSF and Union Pacific Railroad faced challenges between September and November due to a stronger and more prolonged peak season than in 2023. In October, both railroads posted their slowest intermodal train speeds and highest number of idling railcars since May 2022. On the East Coast, CSX and Norfolk Southern saw service deteriorate in October after the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) staged a brief work stoppage and two hurricanes struck Florida within a 10-day span. CSX struggled to recover from storm damage along the Tampa–Winter Haven corridor where it operates two intermodal terminals. Other IMCs pointed out that while there were delays, rail service did not descend into the kind of gridlock seen during the pandemic. Instead, the disruptions were largely manageable due to coordination between intermodal carriers, brokers and Class I railroads. By late November, most bottlenecks had been resolved, allowing railroads to move cargo smoothly through the end of the year. "During the pandemic, we had to wait weeks for an appointment with CSX and UP," another IMC said in the ISS survey. "This past peak season, we had to wait only a few days at most — much better than three years ago. They handled pandemic-like volume without nearly the same level of disruption." Contact Ari Ashe at Ari.Ashe@spglobal.com

North-American rail

Intermodal providers

Rail customers show frustration with H2 ‘24 performance in new Journal survey

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The congestion is making it difficult for truckers to return empty containers and puts shippers at risk for late fees on empty returns and import retrievals. </div>

The congestion is making it difficult for truckers to return empty containers and puts shippers at risk for late fees on empty returns and import retrievals.

<div class="phx-topic">Marine terminals at the Port of New York and New Jersey are seeing bouts of severe congestion due to a variety of factors that include heavy import volumes, holiday scheduling and bad weather. The congestion is currently making it difficult for truckers to return empty containers and puts shippers at risk for late fees on empty returns and import retrievals. Hapag-Lloyd said in an operational update Monday that “ongoing terminal congestion in the New York/New Jersey area [is] impacting carriers, terminals, depots, truckers and customers industry-wide.” The ocean carrier said it is looking for additional storage sites for containers and waiving late fees on boxes in the hope that “fluidity will be restored in the coming weeks.” Hapag-Lloyd’s advisory follows a poll released last week by the New Jersey-based Association of Bi-State Motor Carriers that showed close to two-thirds of drayage truckers believe the empty return situation at the port is a “crisis that must be addressed immediately.” “Marine terminals are packed to the gills with empties,” Bi-State Motor Carriers President Lisa Yakomin told the Journal of Commerce. The majority of truckers polled by Bi-State said they are unable to get appointments to return empty containers or complete a “double move” to retrieve an import container due to restrictions on returning empties. Most truckers also reported that shippers are incurring extra chassis charges and late fees for storing empties and the congestion is hampering truckers from retrieving imports. The congestion hits as the NY-NJ port comes off a strong year of growth. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) reported 11% year-over-year growth in import volumes for 2024, its busiest year since 2021. The volume of imports at the port appears to have built up strongly last month, crowding out room for empties. The average weekly inventory of import containers at NY-NJ reached 31,933 in January, compared with about 25,000 in both December and November, according to PANYNJ data. The dwell time on import containers averaged 3.9 days during January, up from an average of 3.5 days during December and November. The standard terminal tariff at NY-NJ provides four days of free time on an import, suggesting shippers are running closer to incurring demurrage due to the delays. <h3>‘Crisis mode’ with empty containers </h3>Speaking in January at a State of the Port event, PANYNJ Port Director Beth Rooney said the heavy volume stemmed in part from shippers moving cargo ahead of what could have been <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/ila-usmx-reach-tentative-deal-that-avoids-another-port-strike-5919519">another potential port strike in mid-January</a>, along with frontloading due to concerns about new tariffs from the Trump administration. The port also faced a compressed holiday schedule with breaks for Christmas and New Year effectively resulting in consecutive three-day work weeks. The Lunar New Year deadline for shipping cargo ahead of widespread factory closures in Asia was also about two weeks earlier this year than it was in 2024. Meanwhile, winter weather in the Northeast US has hampered container operations, with some empty container yards having to close periodically due to high winds. Rooney said her agency is spearheading efforts to improve appointment availability at marine terminals and finish road improvements that should help truck fluidity at the port. But as an import-heavy destination with few export cargoes, imports can periodically crowd out empties and ocean carriers face a “constant, unending effort” to manage empty returns, she added. The main leverage PANYNJ has over ocean carriers to move empties is <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/ny-nj-port-to-impose-dwell-fee-targeting-empty-containers-5242706">the container imbalance fee it instituted in 2022</a> during a previous congestion episode. The $100-per-container fee is assessed when an ocean carrier’s inventory of long-dwelling empties exceeds a certain amount during each quarter. Rooney said in a separate statement to the Journal of Commerce the container imbalance fee “has been very effective in keeping port operations fluid.” She said that the recent congestion stemmed from vessel bunching and ocean carriers’ calling different terminals due to service changes. “We have seen a recent buildup of empty containers due to a combination of several unique factors,” Rooney said. “We expect it to be resolved in the near future.” It’s not clear yet whether the inventory of empties at the port will trigger the fee, which would be assessed in the following quarter. However, Yakomin said NY-NJ’s current congestion raises doubts about whether ocean carriers are taking the fee seriously. “We’re not seeing that it’s having any impact whatsoever,” she said. “We are right back to crisis mode with the lack of empty container return locations.” For their part, ocean carriers are looking to remove empties at the port before any fees kick in. Hapag-Lloyd is sending the first of several empty sweepers to the NY-NJ port next week, part of its plan to remove about 10,000 empty containers in the coming weeks, according to a source familiar with the situation. It is also said to be discussing the storage of empty containers at a Norfolk Southern railyard in Croxton, New Jersey. APM Terminals said in a statement to the Journal of Commerce that its Elizabeth, New Jersey, facility, frequently cited by truckers for difficulties in returning empties, is asking ocean carriers to step up empty evacuations to create more space. APM also said it is reviewing how it manages the Elizabeth container yard as it prepares to handle more volumes from the Gemini Cooperation alliance between Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd. “The current situation is a port-wide issue affecting all terminals, driven by a significant imbalance between the inflow of import containers and the evacuation of empty containers,” APM said. Contact Michael Angell at <a href="mailto:michael.angell@spglobal.com">michael.angell@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Marine terminals at the Port of New York and New Jersey are seeing bouts of severe congestion due to a variety of factors that include heavy import volumes, holiday scheduling and bad weather. The congestion is currently making it difficult for truckers to return empty containers and puts shippers at risk for late fees on empty returns and import retrievals. Hapag-Lloyd said in an operational update Monday that “ongoing terminal congestion in the New York/New Jersey area [is] impacting carriers, terminals, depots, truckers and customers industry-wide.” The ocean carrier said it is looking for additional storage sites for containers and waiving late fees on boxes in the hope that “fluidity will be restored in the coming weeks.” Hapag-Lloyd’s advisory follows a poll released last week by the New Jersey-based Association of Bi-State Motor Carriers that showed close to two-thirds of drayage truckers believe the empty return situation at the port is a “crisis that must be addressed immediately.” “Marine terminals are packed to the gills with empties,” Bi-State Motor Carriers President Lisa Yakomin told the Journal of Commerce. The majority of truckers polled by Bi-State said they are unable to get appointments to return empty containers or complete a “double move” to retrieve an import container due to restrictions on returning empties. Most truckers also reported that shippers are incurring extra chassis charges and late fees for storing empties and the congestion is hampering truckers from retrieving imports. The congestion hits as the NY-NJ port comes off a strong year of growth. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) reported 11% year-over-year growth in import volumes for 2024, its busiest year since 2021. The volume of imports at the port appears to have built up strongly last month, crowding out room for empties. The average weekly inventory of import containers at NY-NJ reached 31,933 in January, compared with about 25,000 in both December and November, according to PANYNJ data. The dwell time on import containers averaged 3.9 days during January, up from an average of 3.5 days during December and November. The standard terminal tariff at NY-NJ provides four days of free time on an import, suggesting shippers are running closer to incurring demurrage due to the delays. ‘Crisis mode’ with empty containers Speaking in January at a State of the Port event, PANYNJ Port Director Beth Rooney said the heavy volume stemmed in part from shippers moving cargo ahead of what could have been another potential port strike in mid-January , along with frontloading due to concerns about new tariffs from the Trump administration. The port also faced a compressed holiday schedule with breaks for Christmas and New Year effectively resulting in consecutive three-day work weeks. The Lunar New Year deadline for shipping cargo ahead of widespread factory closures in Asia was also about two weeks earlier this year than it was in 2024. Meanwhile, winter weather in the Northeast US has hampered container operations, with some empty container yards having to close periodically due to high winds. Rooney said her agency is spearheading efforts to improve appointment availability at marine terminals and finish road improvements that should help truck fluidity at the port. But as an import-heavy destination with few export cargoes, imports can periodically crowd out empties and ocean carriers face a “constant, unending effort” to manage empty returns, she added. The main leverage PANYNJ has over ocean carriers to move empties is the container imbalance fee it instituted in 2022 during a previous congestion episode. The $100-per-container fee is assessed when an ocean carrier’s inventory of long-dwelling empties exceeds a certain amount during each quarter. Rooney said in a separate statement to the Journal of Commerce the container imbalance fee “has been very effective in keeping port operations fluid.” She said that the recent congestion stemmed from vessel bunching and ocean carriers’ calling different terminals due to service changes. “We have seen a recent buildup of empty containers due to a combination of several unique factors,” Rooney said. “We expect it to be resolved in the near future.” It’s not clear yet whether the inventory of empties at the port will trigger the fee, which would be assessed in the following quarter. However, Yakomin said NY-NJ’s current congestion raises doubts about whether ocean carriers are taking the fee seriously. “We’re not seeing that it’s having any impact whatsoever,” she said. “We are right back to crisis mode with the lack of empty container return locations.” For their part, ocean carriers are looking to remove empties at the port before any fees kick in. Hapag-Lloyd is sending the first of several empty sweepers to the NY-NJ port next week, part of its plan to remove about 10,000 empty containers in the coming weeks, according to a source familiar with the situation. It is also said to be discussing the storage of empty containers at a Norfolk Southern railyard in Croxton, New Jersey. APM Terminals said in a statement to the Journal of Commerce that its Elizabeth, New Jersey, facility, frequently cited by truckers for difficulties in returning empties, is asking ocean carriers to step up empty evacuations to create more space. APM also said it is reviewing how it manages the Elizabeth container yard as it prepares to handle more volumes from the Gemini Cooperation alliance between Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd. “The current situation is a port-wide issue affecting all terminals, driven by a significant imbalance between the inflow of import containers and the evacuation of empty containers,” APM said. Contact Michael Angell at michael.angell@spglobal.com .

Container lines

Drayage

Marine terminals

North American ports

Stakeholders say choked NY-NJ marine terminals creating delays at port

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Full ships from China are arriving as labor action roils container handling at major hubs in Rotterdam and throughout France, with the disruption exacerbated by bad weather.</div>

Full ships from China are arriving as labor action roils container handling at major hubs in Rotterdam and throughout France, with the disruption exacerbated by bad weather.

<div class="phx-topic">The significant volumes of exports that left China in December are continuing to arrive at European ports, compounding existing congestion caused by a series of severe winter storms and labor action at key hubs. Data from Container Trades Statistics (CTS) shows China-to-North Europe volume in December increased 17.6% year over year to a one-month record of 835,000 TEUs. “CTS registers those volumes at the time of export, so these containers started arriving in Europe in the second half of January and into February given the current average transit time of around 45 days, contributing to increasing congestion,” Emily Stausbøll, senior shipping analyst at rate benchmarking platform Xeneta, told the Journal of Commerce. Barbara Eleota, senior vice president of ocean freight at DHL Global Forwarding Europe, said the high container volume would increase congestion at some European ports. ”Current delays in North Europe and UK ports, including five to seven days in Le Havre and up to a week in Belgium, are expected to worsen,” she told the Journal of Commerce. “Customers may experience delays of up to a week, necessitating extended buffer windows in their planning. Ongoing disruptions, such as voided sailings, weather issues and labor challenges further affect scheduling consistency,” she added. As arrival volume from China rises, strike action at Hutchison Port Delta II in Rotterdam over a new collective bargaining agreement is causing significant disruption, according to Maersk, with a temporary suspension of operations at the terminal adding to the existing congestion at Europe’s busiest port. “Due to the strike action and slowdown of operations, there will be a reduced number of moves per hour conducted at the terminal for an unknown duration ... prolonging the time vessels are operated on and significantly disrupting their normal schedules,” Maersk said in a customer advisory Tuesday. The carrier said it had contingency plans in place and may offer customers “alternative options” to the Rotterdam terminal. <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/ocean-carriers-warn-of-disruption-as-storms-bear-down-on-europe-5933112">Extreme weather from the Atlantic</a> moved across the English Channel to mainland Europe in late January with multiple high wind warnings issued in Hamburg, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Le Havre and Dunkirk in addition to Felixstowe and Southampton. Cargo handling was suspended during the storms and terminals have been scrambling to catch up on the backlogs of containers. <h3>Productivity ‘below par’ </h3>Kuehne + Nagel’s visibility platform SeaExplorer shows the seven-day average vessel waiting time at Rotterdam to be about two days, although carriers have reported wait times of up to seven days. Yard utilization at the port’s Europe Container Terminal is high, labor is under pressure and “productivity is below par,” SeaExplorer noted. The number of vessels at anchorage waiting to enter Rotterdam currently stands at 11, up from six in the first week of January but down from 14 ships mid-month, according to data from S&amp;P Global Commodity Insights. S&amp;P Global is the parent of Journal of Commerce. Intermodal operator Contargo is reporting that the average waiting times for the handling of its barges were 76 hours in Rotterdam and 70 hours in Antwerp, while carriers are reporting feeders experiencing delays of 72 hours. HMM is reporting wait times of up to three days at Bremerhaven, Algeciras and Genoa while Piraeus is seeing waiting times of 4.5 days for feeders. In France, port workers this month are holding four-hour stoppages on 10 separate days ending Feb. 24 at container ports across the country, severely disrupting handling operations. A 48-hour country-wide strike is planned for Feb. 26–28. French transport and logistics union TLF warned in a statement that the labor action this month was impacting the country’s competitiveness, with more than 40% of containers destined for France now transiting through competing European ports such as Antwerp, Rotterdam and Genoa. Marc Meier, global head of ocean freight at Toll Group, told the Journal of Commerce that port congestion in North Europe “will get worse before it gets better.” “However, despite the record numbers of container freight in December, it is not as high as the numbers we have seen during the peak season ... the ports should be able to cope,” Meier said, although adding that the port strikes in France would cause cargo bound for Le Havre and Marseilles to be shipped elsewhere. Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

The significant volumes of exports that left China in December are continuing to arrive at European ports, compounding existing congestion caused by a series of severe winter storms and labor action at key hubs. Data from Container Trades Statistics (CTS) shows China-to-North Europe volume in December increased 17.6% year over year to a one-month record of 835,000 TEUs. “CTS registers those volumes at the time of export, so these containers started arriving in Europe in the second half of January and into February given the current average transit time of around 45 days, contributing to increasing congestion,” Emily Stausbøll, senior shipping analyst at rate benchmarking platform Xeneta, told the Journal of Commerce. Barbara Eleota, senior vice president of ocean freight at DHL Global Forwarding Europe, said the high container volume would increase congestion at some European ports. ”Current delays in North Europe and UK ports, including five to seven days in Le Havre and up to a week in Belgium, are expected to worsen,” she told the Journal of Commerce. “Customers may experience delays of up to a week, necessitating extended buffer windows in their planning. Ongoing disruptions, such as voided sailings, weather issues and labor challenges further affect scheduling consistency,” she added. As arrival volume from China rises, strike action at Hutchison Port Delta II in Rotterdam over a new collective bargaining agreement is causing significant disruption, according to Maersk, with a temporary suspension of operations at the terminal adding to the existing congestion at Europe’s busiest port. “Due to the strike action and slowdown of operations, there will be a reduced number of moves per hour conducted at the terminal for an unknown duration ... prolonging the time vessels are operated on and significantly disrupting their normal schedules,” Maersk said in a customer advisory Tuesday. The carrier said it had contingency plans in place and may offer customers “alternative options” to the Rotterdam terminal. Extreme weather from the Atlantic moved across the English Channel to mainland Europe in late January with multiple high wind warnings issued in Hamburg, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Le Havre and Dunkirk in addition to Felixstowe and Southampton. Cargo handling was suspended during the storms and terminals have been scrambling to catch up on the backlogs of containers. Productivity ‘below par’ Kuehne + Nagel’s visibility platform SeaExplorer shows the seven-day average vessel waiting time at Rotterdam to be about two days, although carriers have reported wait times of up to seven days. Yard utilization at the port’s Europe Container Terminal is high, labor is under pressure and “productivity is below par,” SeaExplorer noted. The number of vessels at anchorage waiting to enter Rotterdam currently stands at 11, up from six in the first week of January but down from 14 ships mid-month, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights. S&P Global is the parent of Journal of Commerce. Intermodal operator Contargo is reporting that the average waiting times for the handling of its barges were 76 hours in Rotterdam and 70 hours in Antwerp, while carriers are reporting feeders experiencing delays of 72 hours. HMM is reporting wait times of up to three days at Bremerhaven, Algeciras and Genoa while Piraeus is seeing waiting times of 4.5 days for feeders. In France, port workers this month are holding four-hour stoppages on 10 separate days ending Feb. 24 at container ports across the country, severely disrupting handling operations. A 48-hour country-wide strike is planned for Feb. 26–28. French transport and logistics union TLF warned in a statement that the labor action this month was impacting the country’s competitiveness, with more than 40% of containers destined for France now transiting through competing European ports such as Antwerp, Rotterdam and Genoa. Marc Meier, global head of ocean freight at Toll Group, told the Journal of Commerce that port congestion in North Europe “will get worse before it gets better.” “However, despite the record numbers of container freight in December, it is not as high as the numbers we have seen during the peak season ... the ports should be able to cope,” Meier said, although adding that the port strikes in France would cause cargo bound for Le Havre and Marseilles to be shipped elsewhere. Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

Asia-Europe

Strikes, storms and record volumes adding to North Europe port delays

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Despite its strong performance, the South Korean carrier said uncertainty over the timing of a return to Suez Canal transits and the impact of US tariffs on trans-Pacific trade flows was clouding its 2025 outlook.</div>

Despite its strong performance, the South Korean carrier said uncertainty over the timing of a return to Suez Canal transits and the impact of US tariffs on trans-Pacific trade flows was clouding its 2025 outlook.

<div class="phx-topic">Longer voyages around southern Africa amid continued Red Sea diversions and an increase in China-US trade elevated rates delivered a solid 2024 annual result for HMM, the South Korean carrier reported Tuesday. But growing uncertainty over a return to Red Sea transits and the impact of US import tariffs on global trade flows was also clouding the outlook for 2025, the carrier warned in its earnings statement. “Despite strong financial performance, uncertainties persist due to US tariffs, supply chain shifts and overcapacity, which may pressure freight rates,” HMM said. For now, HMM is enjoying its 2024 result, which, even with a sequential softening of all financial metrics in the fourth quarter, saw the carrier still report a robust performance in the last three months of the year. That helped drive annual revenue 39% higher year over year to $8.05 billion, with operating profit of $2.42 billion five times that of 2023. Net profit for the year tripled to $2.6 billion. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="c84bfba2-e97b-45c9-b83e-d067127acec9"></dynamic-object></div>HMM’s operating margin of 30% — also referred to as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) — compares with those of its peers, with Maersk reporting a 24.6% margin, Hapag-Lloyd 24.2% and Ocean Network Express 31.2%. <h3>Growing China-Mexico demand </h3>HMM did not provide its annual volumes or average freight rates but noted that a factor contributing to the trans-Pacific increase in throughput and revenue was the FLX route that was launched in mid-2024 and captured growing demand between China and Mexico. The carrier also expanded its fleet during the year, adding 12 ships of 13,000 TEUs to its trans-Pacific services. Ocean carriers are highlighting in their annual outlooks the financial impact of a potential return to Red Sea transits because it will have such a significant hit on balance sheets as capacity absorbed by the longer voyages is released. “There is a huge number of container ships on order that will be delivered this year, and if the Red Sea reopens, expect to see a very depressed market,” Stephen Fewster, global head of shipping finance at ING bank, told the Journal of Commerce Tuesday. While the enormous financial benefit created by the longer voyages around Africa propelled Maersk to its third-most-profitable year in 2024, the carrier noted in its forecast for 2025 that profitability <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/maersks-profitability-in-2025-hinges-on-return-to-red-sea-clerc-5939261">would depend on when the diversions around Africa ended</a>. A mid-year return to the Red Sea would cause a break-even result, but diversions that continued all year could lead to an earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of $3 billion for the carrier. Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime and a Journal of Commerce analyst, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/larsjensenvespuccimaritime_problems-abound-in-rotterdam-maersk-advises-activity-7295058921742897154-jhvd?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=member_ios&amp;rcm=ACoAAAEaE6wBxuCBA3GF9B8BLvf-lPuv3EJkHFE">said in a LinkedIn post Tuesday</a> that the situation in Gaza was too tenuous for carriers to do anything but keep contingency plans for a return to the Red Sea on the shelf for now. “...With the current turmoil related to the [potential] US involvement, as well as threats by Hamas not to release the next batch of hostages as agreed, [which would] break the ceasefire agreement, I would expect carriers to hang on to their contingency plans and await an implementation [of those plans] until we see how the situation shapes up,” Jensen said. Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Longer voyages around southern Africa amid continued Red Sea diversions and an increase in China-US trade elevated rates delivered a solid 2024 annual result for HMM, the South Korean carrier reported Tuesday. But growing uncertainty over a return to Red Sea transits and the impact of US import tariffs on global trade flows was also clouding the outlook for 2025, the carrier warned in its earnings statement. “Despite strong financial performance, uncertainties persist due to US tariffs, supply chain shifts and overcapacity, which may pressure freight rates,” HMM said. For now, HMM is enjoying its 2024 result, which, even with a sequential softening of all financial metrics in the fourth quarter, saw the carrier still report a robust performance in the last three months of the year. That helped drive annual revenue 39% higher year over year to $8.05 billion, with operating profit of $2.42 billion five times that of 2023. Net profit for the year tripled to $2.6 billion. HMM’s operating margin of 30% — also referred to as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) — compares with those of its peers, with Maersk reporting a 24.6% margin, Hapag-Lloyd 24.2% and Ocean Network Express 31.2%. Growing China-Mexico demand HMM did not provide its annual volumes or average freight rates but noted that a factor contributing to the trans-Pacific increase in throughput and revenue was the FLX route that was launched in mid-2024 and captured growing demand between China and Mexico. The carrier also expanded its fleet during the year, adding 12 ships of 13,000 TEUs to its trans-Pacific services. Ocean carriers are highlighting in their annual outlooks the financial impact of a potential return to Red Sea transits because it will have such a significant hit on balance sheets as capacity absorbed by the longer voyages is released. “There is a huge number of container ships on order that will be delivered this year, and if the Red Sea reopens, expect to see a very depressed market,” Stephen Fewster, global head of shipping finance at ING bank, told the Journal of Commerce Tuesday. While the enormous financial benefit created by the longer voyages around Africa propelled Maersk to its third-most-profitable year in 2024, the carrier noted in its forecast for 2025 that profitability would depend on when the diversions around Africa ended . A mid-year return to the Red Sea would cause a break-even result, but diversions that continued all year could lead to an earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of $3 billion for the carrier. Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime and a Journal of Commerce analyst, said in a LinkedIn post Tuesday that the situation in Gaza was too tenuous for carriers to do anything but keep contingency plans for a return to the Red Sea on the shelf for now. “...With the current turmoil related to the [potential] US involvement, as well as threats by Hamas not to release the next batch of hostages as agreed, [which would] break the ceasefire agreement, I would expect carriers to hang on to their contingency plans and await an implementation [of those plans] until we see how the situation shapes up,” Jensen said. Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

Red Sea diversions, trans-Pacific volume drive HMM to solid annual result

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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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