<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Spurred by America's booming taste for bubbly beverages, seltzer in the siphon bottle is back.</div>

Spurred by America's booming taste for bubbly beverages, seltzer in the siphon bottle is back.

<div>Spurred by America's booming taste for bubbly beverages, seltzer in the siphon bottle is back.A fizzy fixture 50 years ago, a push on the tongue-shaped handle atop a beefy glass cylinder could shoot a powerful stream of soda water 150 feet.If the giant McKesson Corp.'s Alhambra Water Co. perceives a winner after consumer tests in California and Nevada, seltzer in siphon bottles - spelled syphon" - will be going on the shelves throughout the country. McKesson is counting on the nation's affinity for bubbled bever ages, and nostalgia, to produce a winner.We live in a carbonated culture, Lou Gomberg, veteran...

Spurred by America's booming taste for bubbly beverages, seltzer in the siphon bottle is back. A fizzy fixture 50 years ago, a push on the tongue-shaped handle atop a beefy glass cylinder could shoot a powerful stream of soda water 150 feet.If the giant McKesson Corp.'s Alhambra Water Co. perceives a winner after consumer tests in California and Nevada, seltzer in siphon bottles - spelled syphon" - will be going on the shelves throughout the country. McKesson is counting on the nation's affinity for bubbled bever ages, and nostalgia, to produce a winner. We live in a carbonated culture, Lou Gomberg, veteran tracker of the drinks business, once put it. America's 45 gallons per capita consumption of carbonated beverages seems to confirm the observation. In Brooklyn, N.Y., years ago, no self-respecting resident would fail to stock ice box or refrigerator with a seltzer bottle. Tough little kids in candy stores would call for the commercial version: two cents plain." And if the urchins were really shrewd they could get the man to pump a teaspoon of chocolate syrup into the glass for the same coppers. In the movies of decades ago, siphon seltzer was almost as popular as custard pie as a prop that could be depended on to draw a fizzy laugh. San Francisco-based McKesson, eyeing the current $700 million U.S. WHolesale sparkling water market, by mid-July will test market the 2.2-liter renaissance" seltzer bottle filled with plain and lemon, lime and orange seltzer in the San Francisco Bay, San Jose, Sacramento and Reno areas. The inventor of the plastic bottle that sells for $1.99 and reusable plastic-molded 69-cent spritzer" valve on top is 37-year-old Rich Hagan of San Carlos, Calif. He says he dabbles in tropical fish, orchids, electricity, plant physiology, pottery, insurance and auto mufflers. Don't forget, he said in an interview, I'm working on a swimmer's lap- counter, and a whole bunch of other stuff." Mr. Hagan modestly calls himself one of the world's foremost authorities on seltzer." He became a seltzer enthusiast in 1970 when he discovered an old seltzer bottle in his garage. Siphon seltzer became ancient history in the early 1940s because of a lack of brass, rubber and the traditional bottles, many of which came from Czechoslovakia. Mr. Hagen made his presentation to a venture capital company wearing blue jeans and a Mickey Mouse T-shirt. The bottle itself is disposable, but the valve head on top, called a spritzer, is removable and designed to be moved from one full bottle to another. The bottle cannot be operated without the spritzer. Today, Americans drink a a broad array of carbonated liquids. From a marketing standpoint, the most spectacular example of the carbonated craze is the wine cooler. A new, unknown product only five years ago, the fruit juice-soda-wine combo today posts sales of over 14 billion bottles.

Maritime

SIPHON SELTZER: NOSTALGIA IN A BOTTLE

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The announcement comes less than a month after FedEx said it would spin off FedEx Freight, which would be the largest stand-alone LTL provider in North America by revenue. </div>

The announcement comes less than a month after FedEx said it would spin off FedEx Freight, which would be the largest stand-alone LTL provider in North America by revenue.

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<div class="phx-topic">Lance Moll, who has led FedEx Freight -- the largest US trucking company -- as president and CEO for nearly four years will retire at the end of January, FedEx announced late Friday. Moll will take an advisory role with the company until July 31 to ensure a smooth transition, FedEx said in a statement that did not mention a successor. Moll’s departure comes as FedEx prepares to spin off its US less-than-truckload (LTL) division, a process the company said in December would take 18 months. That separation remains on track, FedEx said in the statement, and will be overseen by John Smith, chief operating officer of US and Canadian surface operations at FedEx. Smith is the former president and CEO of FedEx Ground and FedEx Freight. Moll joined American Freightways as a dock worker in 1992. By the time American Freightways became FedEx Freight in 2001, he was an LTL terminal manager. He became senior vice president of operations in 2018 and president and CEO in 2021. FedEx Freight had $9.4 billion in revenue in its fiscal year that ended May 31; for calendar year 2023, the revenue figure was $10.2 billion. Contact William B. Cassidy at <a href="mailto:bill.cassidy@spglobal.com">bill.cassidy@spglobal.com</a> </div>

Lance Moll, who has led FedEx Freight -- the largest US trucking company -- as president and CEO for nearly four years will retire at the end of January, FedEx announced late Friday. Moll will take an advisory role with the company until July 31 to ensure a smooth transition, FedEx said in a statement that did not mention a successor. Moll’s departure comes as FedEx prepares to spin off its US less-than-truckload (LTL) division, a process the company said in December would take 18 months. That separation remains on track, FedEx said in the statement, and will be overseen by John Smith, chief operating officer of US and Canadian surface operations at FedEx. Smith is the former president and CEO of FedEx Ground and FedEx Freight. Moll joined American Freightways as a dock worker in 1992. By the time American Freightways became FedEx Freight in 2001, he was an LTL terminal manager. He became senior vice president of operations in 2018 and president and CEO in 2021. FedEx Freight had $9.4 billion in revenue in its fiscal year that ended May 31; for calendar year 2023, the revenue figure was $10.2 billion. Contact William B. Cassidy at bill.cassidy@spglobal.com

Trucking News

Surface

FedEx Freight says CEO Moll to retire Jan. 31

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The largest intermodal provider in the US says it’s time for shippers to talk about higher rates for service, but understands the shift is not likely to occur until the second half of the year.</div>

The largest intermodal provider in the US says it’s time for shippers to talk about higher rates for service, but understands the shift is not likely to occur until the second half of the year.

<div class="phx-topic">J.B. Hunt Transport Services is warning shippers to prepare for higher rates for intermodal rail service in 2025, but acknowledges that market conditions may not favor carriers until the third quarter. The company on Thursday reported a 5% increase in fourth-quarter volume compared with the year-ago period as it moved 560,132 loads between October and December — the highest Q4 volume in the company’s history. Still, revenue fell 2%, reflecting lower contract prices compared with the fourth quarter of 2023. Nonetheless, J.B. Hunt CEO Shelley Simpson said the US’s largest intermodal provider “will be coming out of the freight recession from a position of strength.” Simpson, during an earnings call Thursday, emphasized what she says is the value J.B. Hunt brings to customers, citing the company’s capacity and service levels. “We believe the value we create for our customers... is unique in the market, and our returns should mirror that value,” she said. “[Both] we and our customers understand this.” J.B. Hunt’s fourth-quarter performance was bolstered by handling over 200,000 loads in October, a company record for any month. On a year-over-year basis, volume grew 4% in October, 7% in November and 3% in December; for the fourth quarter overall, West Coast shipments increased 4% and eastern US shipments were up 6%. Darren Field, president of J.B. Hunt’s intermodal division, expressed optimism about the company’s pricing strategy going forward. The company last week <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/intermodal-providers-navigate-tough-pricing-environment-at-start-of-year-5922679">sent a letter to customers</a> calling for transparent pricing discussions that reflect the company’s value and costs. “I’m very confident that the service product we’ve offered over the last two years has really earned us the right to have really strong confidence in what we’re providing value for and we’re going to share that with the customers and work on our price,” Field said. “How we think about this pricing cycle, it’s a conversation with one customer at a time.” <h3>Securing rate increases a challenge </h3>While some rate increases have been secured in Northern and Southern California, gains have been smaller than expected. Elsewhere, contract rates have remained flat or fallen, according to industry sources. Brad Delco, J.B. Hunt’s vice president of finance and investor relations, noted that first-quarter intermodal pricing is already set. The company is now focused on the second wave of shipper bids, typically implemented between late March and May. “There’s really not tremendous opportunities to move the intermodal price [in Q1],” Delco said. “...The work we’re doing right now will be reflected in how we look at Q3 and certainly the exit out of ’25 in ’26.”. For intermodal rates to increase, leverage in truckload pricing must first shift toward carriers, according to data from the Journal of Commerce Intermodal Savings Index. So far, that shift has not occurred. Freight demand weakened in November and December year over year, according to DAT Freight and Analytics and the Cass Freight Index. While some shippers have agreed to small truckload rate increases to maintain partnerships, others have held firm on flat or reduced rates for 2025, with a willingness to revisit the issue mid-year if market conditions change. Contact Ari Ashe at <a href="mailto:ari.ashe@spglobal.com">ari.ashe@spglobal.com</a></div>

J.B. Hunt Transport Services is warning shippers to prepare for higher rates for intermodal rail service in 2025, but acknowledges that market conditions may not favor carriers until the third quarter. The company on Thursday reported a 5% increase in fourth-quarter volume compared with the year-ago period as it moved 560,132 loads between October and December — the highest Q4 volume in the company’s history. Still, revenue fell 2%, reflecting lower contract prices compared with the fourth quarter of 2023. Nonetheless, J.B. Hunt CEO Shelley Simpson said the US’s largest intermodal provider “will be coming out of the freight recession from a position of strength.” Simpson, during an earnings call Thursday, emphasized what she says is the value J.B. Hunt brings to customers, citing the company’s capacity and service levels. “We believe the value we create for our customers... is unique in the market, and our returns should mirror that value,” she said. “[Both] we and our customers understand this.” J.B. Hunt’s fourth-quarter performance was bolstered by handling over 200,000 loads in October, a company record for any month. On a year-over-year basis, volume grew 4% in October, 7% in November and 3% in December; for the fourth quarter overall, West Coast shipments increased 4% and eastern US shipments were up 6%. Darren Field, president of J.B. Hunt’s intermodal division, expressed optimism about the company’s pricing strategy going forward. The company last week sent a letter to customers calling for transparent pricing discussions that reflect the company’s value and costs. “I’m very confident that the service product we’ve offered over the last two years has really earned us the right to have really strong confidence in what we’re providing value for and we’re going to share that with the customers and work on our price,” Field said. “How we think about this pricing cycle, it’s a conversation with one customer at a time.” Securing rate increases a challenge While some rate increases have been secured in Northern and Southern California, gains have been smaller than expected. Elsewhere, contract rates have remained flat or fallen, according to industry sources. Brad Delco, J.B. Hunt’s vice president of finance and investor relations, noted that first-quarter intermodal pricing is already set. The company is now focused on the second wave of shipper bids, typically implemented between late March and May. “There’s really not tremendous opportunities to move the intermodal price [in Q1],” Delco said. “...The work we’re doing right now will be reflected in how we look at Q3 and certainly the exit out of ’25 in ’26.”. For intermodal rates to increase, leverage in truckload pricing must first shift toward carriers, according to data from the Journal of Commerce Intermodal Savings Index. So far, that shift has not occurred. Freight demand weakened in November and December year over year, according to DAT Freight and Analytics and the Cass Freight Index. While some shippers have agreed to small truckload rate increases to maintain partnerships, others have held firm on flat or reduced rates for 2025, with a willingness to revisit the issue mid-year if market conditions change. Contact Ari Ashe at ari.ashe@spglobal.com

North-American rail

Intermodal providers

J.B. Hunt preparing customers for boost in contract rail rates in 2025

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">With plenty of truck capacity still available, US shippers are trying to tamp down rising truck rates without driving off their current truckload carriers. </div>

With plenty of truck capacity still available, US shippers are trying to tamp down rising truck rates without driving off their current truckload carriers.

<div class="phx-topic">US shippers, concerned by the prospect of higher trucking costs later this year, are looking to keep rate hikes low in the current round of annual contract talks while trying to maintain their roster of incumbent trucking providers. That means striking a delicate balance. Shippers say they aren’t interested in taking rate increases at a time when their own demand is soft. But they also don’t want to lose truck capacity they may need in the second half of 2025. Risk management is rising to the fore, with uncertainty about the impact on demand of potential Trump administration tariffs and whether carriers will tighten capacity. Discussions with several shippers point to trucking contract rate increases in the low single-digit percentage range in this bidding cycle, both for truckload and less-than-truckload (LTL) providers, with fewer shippers keeping rates flat or gaining additional savings. “We have seen some stabilization in terms of truckload rates, but it’s not because demand is stronger, it’s because capacity has left the marketplace,” said Mike Regan, chief relationship officer at TranzAct Technologies, which helps shippers negotiate contracts. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="cd8d5a74-098f-439c-b972-aae97c9da91a"></dynamic-object></div>The Journal of Commerce average shipper-paid truckload spot rate, including surcharges, <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/us-truckload-spot-rates-rising-but-shippers-keeping-lid-on-contract-rates-5919921">rose 8 cents to $2.28 per mile</a> on a weighted basis in December from November. But contract rates tracked by DAT Freight &amp; Analytics have been flat. Freight demand slipped at the end of 2024, with US freight volumes dropping 6.5% in December year over year and 7.3% from November, according to the Cass Freight Shipments Index. For the full year, the index declined 4.1% following a 5.5% drop in 2023. Truckload capacity contracted as well at the end of 2024, but enough excess capacity remains to keep pricing power in shippers’ hands. “When truckload carriers are willing to accept 120-day payment terms, that tells you something,” said Regan. <h3>Keeping bridges in place </h3>But pushing for rate cuts after two years of falling truckload rates risks alienating suppliers that shippers will need when freight demand picks up. “There’s no need to burn bridges in this market,” one retailer who asked not to be identified told the Journal of Commerce. To keep incumbents in their networks, some shippers said they are not pressing their carriers hard for additional savings even when they may be available. “You could press for an additional 1% or 2% reduction, but would that carrier stay with you when the market turns?” said a manufacturer who asked not to be identified. For one trucking executive, the answer is “no.” “A 2% increase doesn’t get you where you need to be,” Kent Williams, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Averitt, told the Journal of Commerce. “Carriers are going to be after more than that.” Williams said Averitt has lost a few customers during this bidding cycle. “We’ve agreed to part ways,” he acknowledged. “We can’t continue to handle business at a loss or break-even. Shippers know carriers can’t sustain the rate levels they’ve had the last few years.” <h3>Expecting higher volumes </h3>Averitt, which has LTL and truckload operations, released a survey this week of more than 1,000 shippers that found more logistics managers are willing to accept some level of rate increase, with 70% of those surveyed expecting higher volumes. The 2025 State of the North American Supply Chain survey found 57.4% of shippers anticipate rate increases, compared with 51.9% in 2024. Only 26.2% said they expect no change in freight rates, while 16.4% believed rates would fall again in 2025. “Shippers are expecting rate increases, but different shippers will have different opinions on the size of those increases,” Williams said. “Obviously, supply chain managers are doing all they can to limit the size of the increases.” Shippers have yet to feel the pinch of tightening capacity, and that’s put carriers in a more difficult bargaining position, he said. “This isn’t like 2021 when shippers were willing to take double-digit increases to lock down capacity,” said Williams. Carriers are increasingly acknowledging the recovery from the freight downturn will take more time than initially expected, with higher rates more likely in the second half of 2025. “We will be living with the vast majority of our current (intermodal) pricing through the first half of 2025,” Darren P. Field, executive vice president and president of intermodal at J.B. Hunt Transport Services, said during a fourth quarter earnings call Thursday. “While we see capacity exit the industry every day, overall, there is still some excess capacity available in the (truckload) market,” Spencer Frazier, J. B. Hunt’s executive vice president of sales and marketing, said during the call. “Some customers are securing capacity a little earlier than normal, which has historically been a good indication that supply and demand dynamics are shifting,” Frazier said. With the trajectory of the freight market uncertain, some shippers are willing to spend a little more now in hopes they can avoid higher costs later. Spot truckload rates are expected to rise anywhere from 10% to 20% or higher by the end of the year. “Rates are going up. How fast and to what degree is the unknown,” Chris Pickett, chief commercial officer at digital shared truckload provider Flock Freight, said during a Jan. 7 LinkedIn podcast organized by logistics consultant Samantha Jones. “The shippers that leaned into innovation and strategic carrier programs during the downturn will be in a much better position in this shifting market,” Pickett said. Contact William B. Cassidy at <a href="mailto:bill.cassidy@spglobal.com">bill.cassidy@spglobal.com</a></div>

US shippers, concerned by the prospect of higher trucking costs later this year, are looking to keep rate hikes low in the current round of annual contract talks while trying to maintain their roster of incumbent trucking providers. That means striking a delicate balance. Shippers say they aren’t interested in taking rate increases at a time when their own demand is soft. But they also don’t want to lose truck capacity they may need in the second half of 2025. Risk management is rising to the fore, with uncertainty about the impact on demand of potential Trump administration tariffs and whether carriers will tighten capacity. Discussions with several shippers point to trucking contract rate increases in the low single-digit percentage range in this bidding cycle, both for truckload and less-than-truckload (LTL) providers, with fewer shippers keeping rates flat or gaining additional savings. “We have seen some stabilization in terms of truckload rates, but it’s not because demand is stronger, it’s because capacity has left the marketplace,” said Mike Regan, chief relationship officer at TranzAct Technologies, which helps shippers negotiate contracts. The Journal of Commerce average shipper-paid truckload spot rate, including surcharges, rose 8 cents to $2.28 per mile on a weighted basis in December from November. But contract rates tracked by DAT Freight & Analytics have been flat. Freight demand slipped at the end of 2024, with US freight volumes dropping 6.5% in December year over year and 7.3% from November, according to the Cass Freight Shipments Index. For the full year, the index declined 4.1% following a 5.5% drop in 2023. Truckload capacity contracted as well at the end of 2024, but enough excess capacity remains to keep pricing power in shippers’ hands. “When truckload carriers are willing to accept 120-day payment terms, that tells you something,” said Regan. Keeping bridges in place But pushing for rate cuts after two years of falling truckload rates risks alienating suppliers that shippers will need when freight demand picks up. “There’s no need to burn bridges in this market,” one retailer who asked not to be identified told the Journal of Commerce. To keep incumbents in their networks, some shippers said they are not pressing their carriers hard for additional savings even when they may be available. “You could press for an additional 1% or 2% reduction, but would that carrier stay with you when the market turns?” said a manufacturer who asked not to be identified. For one trucking executive, the answer is “no.” “A 2% increase doesn’t get you where you need to be,” Kent Williams, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Averitt, told the Journal of Commerce. “Carriers are going to be after more than that.” Williams said Averitt has lost a few customers during this bidding cycle. “We’ve agreed to part ways,” he acknowledged. “We can’t continue to handle business at a loss or break-even. Shippers know carriers can’t sustain the rate levels they’ve had the last few years.” Expecting higher volumes Averitt, which has LTL and truckload operations, released a survey this week of more than 1,000 shippers that found more logistics managers are willing to accept some level of rate increase, with 70% of those surveyed expecting higher volumes. The 2025 State of the North American Supply Chain survey found 57.4% of shippers anticipate rate increases, compared with 51.9% in 2024. Only 26.2% said they expect no change in freight rates, while 16.4% believed rates would fall again in 2025. “Shippers are expecting rate increases, but different shippers will have different opinions on the size of those increases,” Williams said. “Obviously, supply chain managers are doing all they can to limit the size of the increases.” Shippers have yet to feel the pinch of tightening capacity, and that’s put carriers in a more difficult bargaining position, he said. “This isn’t like 2021 when shippers were willing to take double-digit increases to lock down capacity,” said Williams. Carriers are increasingly acknowledging the recovery from the freight downturn will take more time than initially expected, with higher rates more likely in the second half of 2025. “We will be living with the vast majority of our current (intermodal) pricing through the first half of 2025,” Darren P. Field, executive vice president and president of intermodal at J.B. Hunt Transport Services, said during a fourth quarter earnings call Thursday. “While we see capacity exit the industry every day, overall, there is still some excess capacity available in the (truckload) market,” Spencer Frazier, J. B. Hunt’s executive vice president of sales and marketing, said during the call. “Some customers are securing capacity a little earlier than normal, which has historically been a good indication that supply and demand dynamics are shifting,” Frazier said. With the trajectory of the freight market uncertain, some shippers are willing to spend a little more now in hopes they can avoid higher costs later. Spot truckload rates are expected to rise anywhere from 10% to 20% or higher by the end of the year. “Rates are going up. How fast and to what degree is the unknown,” Chris Pickett, chief commercial officer at digital shared truckload provider Flock Freight, said during a Jan. 7 LinkedIn podcast organized by logistics consultant Samantha Jones. “The shippers that leaned into innovation and strategic carrier programs during the downturn will be in a much better position in this shifting market,” Pickett said. Contact William B. Cassidy at bill.cassidy@spglobal.com

Truckload

Shippers balance near-term market, long-term forecasts in trucking bids

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">International automakers are putting much-needed investment into Indian manufacturing facilities to increase export capacity.</div>

International automakers are putting much-needed investment into Indian manufacturing facilities to increase export capacity.

<div class="phx-topic">Demand for roll-on/roll-off (ro/ro) vessels out of India is set to climb in 2025, building on the strong rebound in finished vehicle exports that started in 2024.A 14% rise in made-in-India vehicles shipped out in the first half of fiscal year 2024–25 marked a welcome rally from a 5.5% decline in full year 2023–24 exports, according to industry statistics released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). The Indian fiscal year runs from April to March.Port data seen by the Journal of Commerce confirms the upswing. Between April and November 2024, automobile loads by tonnage from government-run Ennore, Chennai, Mumbai and Kandla ports nearly doubled to 2.3 million tons from 1.3 million tons year over year. Ro/ro volumes at APM Terminals Port of Pipavav terminal rose to 116,000 units in the first three fiscal quarters, up from 62,000 units year over year, as it aggressively taps spillover demand.“Key markets like Latin America and Africa, which had slowed for various reasons, have bounced back,” SIAM President Shailesh Chandra said in a statement. “This has been the main reason for exports coming back.”According to S&amp;P Global Mobility Light Vehicle Production Forecasts, production capacity is expected to rise from 6.8 million units in 2023 to 10 million by 2031, solidifying India’s role in the global automotive landscape. S&amp;P Global is the parent company of the Journal of Commerce.“A significant driver of this growth is the anticipated increase in exports from major manufacturers like Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai, which may benefit from the growing demand for affordable vehicles in emerging markets,” said Gaurav Vangaal, associate director of the light vehicle production forecast for the Indian subcontinent at S&amp;P Global Mobility.Maruti Suzuki, a subsidiary of Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor Corporation and responsible for 40% of India’s auto exports, currently ships 300,000 units a year via Mundra and Pipavav ports. The company aims to ramp up its annual exports to 750,000 units by 2030–31, according to a statement from the manufacturer. To meet demand, Maruti Suzuki plans to increase the annual production capacity in India to 4 million units by an unspecified date.“India will be a production hub for electric vehicles,” Toshihiro Suzuki, representative director and president for Suzuki Motor Corp., said at a press conference at the January Bharat Mobility Show in India. “Scale in India is our strength. We will fully leverage this advantage to supply vehicles to Europe, Japan, the Middle East, Africa, Central and South America [and] Asian countries.”<h3>Urgent need to invest in ro/ro facilities</h3>Still, the ro/ro trade “continues to remain underrated in India,” according to a senior Indian executive at a major car carrier. “There’s a lot of ‘catch up’ to do to make OEMs more export oriented,” the source said, adding that India lacks dedicated ro/ro terminals, which could hold back progress.“With the container business increasingly prioritized by Indian ports, including multipurpose gateways, ro/ro vessels face significant berthing delays and other bottlenecks,” said an industry source who did not want to be identified. “Ro/ro cargo is a niche activity requiring specialized infrastructure support, which is limited at the moment.”The source called for further investment in port infrastructure and shipping capacity to accommodate rising volumes of Indian-made vehicles heading to markets worldwide.The exit of US auto giants General Motors in 2017 and Ford Motor Co. in 2021 over sales and labor troubles dealt a heavy blow to the Indian auto industry, wiping out an annual 250,000 units for ro/ro carriers. That hole has since been filled by other entrants, including South Korea’s Kia Motors, with industry exports now pegged at 650,000 cars and targeted to hit 1 million units over the next two to three years.NYK Line, “K” Line, MOL, Hoegh Autoliners, Hyundai Glovis and EUKOR Car Carriers dominate the Indian ro/ro market, primarily serving Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motor, Volkswagen, Nissan Motor and Honda Cars for their export flows. MOL and Glovis together represent approximately 50% of India’s vehicle carrier market.Contact Bency Mathew at <a href="mailto:bencymathew@gmail.com">bencymathew@gmail.com.</a></div>

Demand for roll-on/roll-off (ro/ro) vessels out of India is set to climb in 2025, building on the strong rebound in finished vehicle exports that started in 2024. A 14% rise in made-in-India vehicles shipped out in the first half of fiscal year 2024–25 marked a welcome rally from a 5.5% decline in full year 2023–24 exports, according to industry statistics released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). The Indian fiscal year runs from April to March. Port data seen by the Journal of Commerce confirms the upswing. Between April and November 2024, automobile loads by tonnage from government-run Ennore, Chennai, Mumbai and Kandla ports nearly doubled to 2.3 million tons from 1.3 million tons year over year. Ro/ro volumes at APM Terminals Port of Pipavav terminal rose to 116,000 units in the first three fiscal quarters, up from 62,000 units year over year, as it aggressively taps spillover demand. “Key markets like Latin America and Africa, which had slowed for various reasons, have bounced back,” SIAM President Shailesh Chandra said in a statement. “This has been the main reason for exports coming back.” According to S&P Global Mobility Light Vehicle Production Forecasts, production capacity is expected to rise from 6.8 million units in 2023 to 10 million by 2031, solidifying India’s role in the global automotive landscape. S&P Global is the parent company of the Journal of Commerce. “A significant driver of this growth is the anticipated increase in exports from major manufacturers like Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai, which may benefit from the growing demand for affordable vehicles in emerging markets,” said Gaurav Vangaal, associate director of the light vehicle production forecast for the Indian subcontinent at S&P Global Mobility. Maruti Suzuki, a subsidiary of Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor Corporation and responsible for 40% of India’s auto exports, currently ships 300,000 units a year via Mundra and Pipavav ports. The company aims to ramp up its annual exports to 750,000 units by 2030–31, according to a statement from the manufacturer. To meet demand, Maruti Suzuki plans to increase the annual production capacity in India to 4 million units by an unspecified date. “India will be a production hub for electric vehicles,” Toshihiro Suzuki, representative director and president for Suzuki Motor Corp., said at a press conference at the January Bharat Mobility Show in India. “Scale in India is our strength. We will fully leverage this advantage to supply vehicles to Europe, Japan, the Middle East, Africa, Central and South America [and] Asian countries.” Urgent need to invest in ro/ro facilities Still, the ro/ro trade “continues to remain underrated in India,” according to a senior Indian executive at a major car carrier. “There’s a lot of ‘catch up’ to do to make OEMs more export oriented,” the source said, adding that India lacks dedicated ro/ro terminals, which could hold back progress. “With the container business increasingly prioritized by Indian ports, including multipurpose gateways, ro/ro vessels face significant berthing delays and other bottlenecks,” said an industry source who did not want to be identified. “Ro/ro cargo is a niche activity requiring specialized infrastructure support, which is limited at the moment.” The source called for further investment in port infrastructure and shipping capacity to accommodate rising volumes of Indian-made vehicles heading to markets worldwide. The exit of US auto giants General Motors in 2017 and Ford Motor Co. in 2021 over sales and labor troubles dealt a heavy blow to the Indian auto industry, wiping out an annual 250,000 units for ro/ro carriers. That hole has since been filled by other entrants, including South Korea’s Kia Motors, with industry exports now pegged at 650,000 cars and targeted to hit 1 million units over the next two to three years. NYK Line, “K” Line, MOL, Hoegh Autoliners, Hyundai Glovis and EUKOR Car Carriers dominate the Indian ro/ro market, primarily serving Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motor, Volkswagen, Nissan Motor and Honda Cars for their export flows. MOL and Glovis together represent approximately 50% of India’s vehicle carrier market. Contact Bency Mathew at bencymathew@gmail.com.

Ro/ro cargo

Breakbulk News

Rebounding Indian car exports nourish country’s ro/ro trade

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">A new report from the Biden administration alleges that Beijing has a poor compliance record with the WTO, practices duplicitous trade policies that give the country unfair advantages, and operates with an overall lack of transparency.</div>

A new report from the Biden administration alleges that Beijing has a poor compliance record with the WTO, practices duplicitous trade policies that give the country unfair advantages, and operates with an overall lack of transparency.

<div class="phx-topic">China’s manipulation of market policies and practices gives the country an unfair advantage in global trade, including control of 95% of the world’s shipping containers, according to a new White House report. “China’s so-called ‘socialist market economy’ has evolved and turned decidedly predatory in nature,” said the report, released by the Biden administration late Wednesday. Maritime trade is particularly impacted by China’s business practices, which have resulted in a boom for the country’s shipbuilding market, said the report. While Chinese shipbuilders contributed only 5% of global merchant tonnage produced in 1999, that figure leapt to over 50% in 2023, “increasing China’s ownership of the global commercial fleet to 19%, while securing control of 95% of shipping containers and 86% of the world’s supply of intermodal chassis, among other components and products,” the report said. China’s control over the global commercial shipping fleet has been a hot topic of late in Congress. The White House report comes after the introduction of <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/legislation-aims-to-mandate-rising-share-of-china-imports-on-expanded-us-flag-fleet-5909698">two bills that aim to expand the US-flag commercial shipping fleet</a> to bolster national security. The House’s SHIPS for America Act bill has <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/us-flag-vessel-owners-investors-tout-wave-of-support-for-expanding-fleet-5819921">gained bipartisan support</a> and aims to expand the US-flag international fleet by more than 200% in the next decade. “In China’s shipbuilding sector, non-market policies and practices have led to a significant build up in excess capacity, undercutting foreign competition and consolidating China’s dominant position globally,” the White House report said. The report also alleges that China has a poor compliance record with the World Trade Organization (WTO), practices duplicitous trade policies that give the country unfair advantages, and operates with an overall lack of transparency. Those practices include predatory pricing, investment restrictions, self-serving responses to excess capacity of product and forced labor, according to the White House. While the fundamental issues are problematic, the report points to China’s recalcitrance as an increasingly alarming threat to trade, as it “continues to take steps designed to increase, not decrease, the role of the Chinese state in the market.” The report recommends continuing to “refine and fortify” the US’ existing multifaceted strategy to address its concerns with China, including investing domestically, utilizing domestic trade tools, and bolstering relationships with allies. “With China’s strong embrace of predatory behavior, it is apparent that the US strategy needs to evolve,” said the White House. Contact Laura Robb at <a href="mailto:laura.robb@spglobal.com. ">laura.robb@spglobal.com</a>.  </div>

China’s manipulation of market policies and practices gives the country an unfair advantage in global trade, including control of 95% of the world’s shipping containers, according to a new White House report. “China’s so-called ‘socialist market economy’ has evolved and turned decidedly predatory in nature,” said the report, released by the Biden administration late Wednesday. Maritime trade is particularly impacted by China’s business practices, which have resulted in a boom for the country’s shipbuilding market, said the report. While Chinese shipbuilders contributed only 5% of global merchant tonnage produced in 1999, that figure leapt to over 50% in 2023, “increasing China’s ownership of the global commercial fleet to 19%, while securing control of 95% of shipping containers and 86% of the world’s supply of intermodal chassis, among other components and products,” the report said. China’s control over the global commercial shipping fleet has been a hot topic of late in Congress. The White House report comes after the introduction of two bills that aim to expand the US-flag commercial shipping fleet to bolster national security. The House’s SHIPS for America Act bill has gained bipartisan support and aims to expand the US-flag international fleet by more than 200% in the next decade. “In China’s shipbuilding sector, non-market policies and practices have led to a significant build up in excess capacity, undercutting foreign competition and consolidating China’s dominant position globally,” the White House report said. The report also alleges that China has a poor compliance record with the World Trade Organization (WTO), practices duplicitous trade policies that give the country unfair advantages, and operates with an overall lack of transparency. Those practices include predatory pricing, investment restrictions, self-serving responses to excess capacity of product and forced labor, according to the White House. While the fundamental issues are problematic, the report points to China’s recalcitrance as an increasingly alarming threat to trade, as it “continues to take steps designed to increase, not decrease, the role of the Chinese state in the market.” The report recommends continuing to “refine and fortify” the US’ existing multifaceted strategy to address its concerns with China, including investing domestically, utilizing domestic trade tools, and bolstering relationships with allies. “With China’s strong embrace of predatory behavior, it is apparent that the US strategy needs to evolve,” said the White House. Contact Laura Robb at laura.robb@spglobal.com . 

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

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Shippers save money, time with automated transportation bidding tools

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

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