<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">June 18, 1996U.S. spot oil product price indications, sellers range, in cents per gallon, f.</div>

June 18, 1996U.S. spot oil product price indications, sellers range, in cents per gallon, f.

<div>June 18, 1996U.S. spot oil product price indications, sellers range, in cents per gallon, f.o.b., ex. barge. Prices for Crude Oil and No. 6 Fuel Oil given in dollars per barrel. These prices are midday quotes compared with the previous day's close of business. Compiled by Knight-Ridder Financial. NY HARBOR PREVIOUSNo. 2 Heating Oil 53.20-53.25 53.20-53.25Low-Sul. Diesel 54.90-55.05 54.90-55.05Jet Fuel 55.75-56.00 55.75-56.00Low-Sul. Kerosene 56.35-56.50 56.35-56.50Unl. Gas (87 oct.) 59.80-59.90 59.80-59.90Unl.Gas (RFG) 60.90-61.15 60.90-61.15Prem. Unl. 93(9.0 RVP) 64.60-64.95 64.60-64.95Prem. Unl.(RFG) 65.65-65.95 65.65-65.95No. 6 Oil (0.3/LP) barge(Dollars per barrel) 19.00-19.25 19.00-19.25U.S. GULF COASTNo. 2 Heating Oil 50.70-51.95 51.00-51.15Low-Sul.Diesel 51.50-51.75 51.95-52.05Jet Fuel 52.60-52.85...

June 18, 1996 U.S. spot oil product price indications, sellers range, in cents per gallon, f.o.b., ex. barge. Prices for Crude Oil and No. 6 Fuel Oil given in dollars per barrel. These prices are midday quotes compared with the previous day's close of business. Compiled by Knight-Ridder Financial. NY HARBOR PREVIOUS No. 2 Heating Oil 53.20-53.25 53.20-53.25 Low-Sul. Diesel 54.90-55.05 54.90-55.05 Jet Fuel 55.75-56.00 55.75-56.00 Low-Sul. Kerosene 56.35-56.50 56.35-56.50 Unl. Gas (87 oct.) 59.80-59.90 59.80-59.90 Unl.Gas (RFG) 60.90-61.15 60.90-61.15 Prem. Unl. 93 (9.0 RVP) 64.60-64.95 64.60-64.95 Prem. Unl. (RFG) 65.65-65.95 65.65-65.95 No. 6 Oil (0.3/LP) barge (Dollars per barrel) 19.00-19.25 19.00-19.25 U.S. GULF COAST No. 2 Heating Oil 50.70-51.95 51.00-51.15 Low-Sul.Diesel 51.50-51.75 51.95-52.05 Jet Fuel 52.60-52.85 52.95-53.10 Low-Sul. Kerosene 52.60-52.85 53.20-53.35 Unl Gas (87) 57.20-57.45 57.50-57.75 Unl Gas(RFG) 58.20-58.45 59.00-59.25 Prem. Unl. (93) 62.95-63.05 63.25-63.50 Domestic crude oil, dollars per barrel: (JULY DELIVERY) W. Texas Intermediate 21.64-21.67 21.92-21.94 Light Louisiana Sweet 21.11-21.13 21.37-21.39

SPOT PRODUCT PRICES

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The top 15 liners in the Journal of Commerce rankings collectively carried 18.8 million TEUs to the US from Asia last year, up 17.3% from 2023. </div>

The top 15 liners in the Journal of Commerce rankings collectively carried 18.8 million TEUs to the US from Asia last year, up 17.3% from 2023.

Feature image

<div class="phx-topic">Cosco Shipping and its OOCL subsidiary held their position as the leading carrier for containerized US imports from Asia in 2024, increasing tonnage by more than 20% on the year while expanding market share slightly, according to the Journal of Commerce’s rankings of the top 15 ocean carriers as measured by US imports from Asia. Cosco/OOCL carried 3.06 million TEUs in imports last year, up from 2.5 million TEUs in 2023. Their combined market share nudged higher — to 16.1% from 15.8%. CMA CGM maintained the second spot in the trans-Pacific rankings, hauling 2.65 million TEUs, up almost 15%, while posting a 13.9% market share, down slightly from 2023. The rest of the top five shifted slightly. Ocean Network Express (ONE) grabbed the third spot with 2.23 million TEUs and an 11.7% market share, moving up from number four. Mediterranean Shipping Co., which did not break into the top five in 2023, moved to the fourth spot in 2024. The carrier imported 2.17 million TEUs to the US from Asia, up more than 24% from the year prior. Its share of the eastbound trans-Pacific market climbed slightly to 11.4%. MSC knocked former 2M Alliance partner Maersk out of the top five, with Maersk sliding to the sixth spot with 1.84 million TEUs, up just 3.8% from 2023. Its 9.7% share of the market was down from 10.9%. Evergreen Marine moved down two spots to number five in 2024, carrying 2.05 million TEUs, up 2.1%, while its market share fell to 10.8% from 12.5%. Overall, the top five carriers in the eastbound trans-Pacific hauled 12.2 million TEUs in imports to the US in 2024, good for a 64% market share. Rounding out the top 10 were Zim Integrated Shipping Services, HMM, Yang Ming and Hapag-Lloyd. The top 15 carriers collectively hauled 18.8 million TEUs to the US from Asia, up 17.3% from 2023. The <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/asia-us-container-spot-rates-spiking-to-year-end-highs-5908460">elevated 2024 volumes</a> can be largely attributed to increased demand compared with 2023 amid frontloading linked to new US tariffs and the threat of labor unrest on the East and Gulf coasts. Contact Laura Robb at <a href="mailto:laura.robb@spglobal.com">laura.robb@spglobal.com</a>.  </div>

Cosco Shipping and its OOCL subsidiary held their position as the leading carrier for containerized US imports from Asia in 2024, increasing tonnage by more than 20% on the year while expanding market share slightly, according to the Journal of Commerce’s rankings of the top 15 ocean carriers as measured by US imports from Asia. Cosco/OOCL carried 3.06 million TEUs in imports last year, up from 2.5 million TEUs in 2023. Their combined market share nudged higher — to 16.1% from 15.8%. CMA CGM maintained the second spot in the trans-Pacific rankings, hauling 2.65 million TEUs, up almost 15%, while posting a 13.9% market share, down slightly from 2023. The rest of the top five shifted slightly. Ocean Network Express (ONE) grabbed the third spot with 2.23 million TEUs and an 11.7% market share, moving up from number four. Mediterranean Shipping Co., which did not break into the top five in 2023, moved to the fourth spot in 2024. The carrier imported 2.17 million TEUs to the US from Asia, up more than 24% from the year prior. Its share of the eastbound trans-Pacific market climbed slightly to 11.4%. MSC knocked former 2M Alliance partner Maersk out of the top five, with Maersk sliding to the sixth spot with 1.84 million TEUs, up just 3.8% from 2023. Its 9.7% share of the market was down from 10.9%. Evergreen Marine moved down two spots to number five in 2024, carrying 2.05 million TEUs, up 2.1%, while its market share fell to 10.8% from 12.5%. Overall, the top five carriers in the eastbound trans-Pacific hauled 12.2 million TEUs in imports to the US in 2024, good for a 64% market share. Rounding out the top 10 were Zim Integrated Shipping Services, HMM, Yang Ming and Hapag-Lloyd. The top 15 carriers collectively hauled 18.8 million TEUs to the US from Asia, up 17.3% from 2023. The elevated 2024 volumes can be largely attributed to increased demand compared with 2023 amid frontloading linked to new US tariffs and the threat of labor unrest on the East and Gulf coasts. Contact Laura Robb at laura.robb@spglobal.com . 

Maritime

Container lines

Trans-Pacific

Cosco/OOCL maintain top spot for carriers hauling US imports from Asia

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The European Commission wants member states to exert greater control over low-value imports, while its consumer watchdog has launched an investigation into e-commerce giant Shein.</div>

The European Commission wants member states to exert greater control over low-value imports, while its consumer watchdog has launched an investigation into e-commerce giant Shein.

<div class="phx-topic">The European Commission (EC) has joined the US in calling for the removal of the so-called de minimis exemption for low-value parcels that is a key driver of the massive increase in air cargo imports from China over the past two years. The EC wants joint action from member states to address concerns from the surge of unsafe, counterfeit, non-compliant or illicit products entering the European market, with its consumer protection authority launching an unspecified “coordinated action” against Chinese e-commerce giant Shein. “As e-commerce is booming, we must step up efforts to prevent non-compliant products from entering the EU market and to ensure fair competition for both European and third-country operators,” Maroš Šefčovič, the EC commissioner for trade and economic security, said in a proposal called “A Comprehensive EU Toolbox for Safe and Sustainable E-commerce” that was issued last week. “Our customs authorities are the first set of eyes at the border so we must equip them with the appropriate instruments to strengthen our enforcement capacities, in close cooperation with other authorities instrumental to checking goods entering the EU market,” he noted. Last year, 4.6 billion consignments with a value below the European Union’s de minimis threshold of €150 ($155) entered the EU market duty free, mostly from China and double the number recorded in 2023, EC data shows. In the US, China accounted for two-thirds of the 1.36 billion de minimis imports last year. De minimis regulations in the US allow one shipment of less than $800 in value to move between a single shipper and single consignee per day duty free. Removing low-value products from de minimis exemptions will mean all those millions of daily parcels will need to go through customs checks, a process that would immediately overwhelm the system in both the EU and the US. It is for that reason that soon after the Trump administration removed Chinese low-value products from de minimis rules, the exemption was restored. <h3>‘Profound’ impact on capacity </h3>While customs officials in the US and Europe search for ways to process the millions of daily packages, air freight analysts are trying to estimate the impact removing de minimis protection would have on the air cargo industry. Niall van de Wouw, chief air freight officer at rate benchmarking platform Xeneta, said the impact on air freight capacity between China and the US would be “profound,” but he believes e-commerce demand is strong enough to withstand the clampdown. “E-commerce volumes out of China grew more than 30% last year following similar growth in 2023, so it’s going to take a sledgehammer to crack that level of consumer demand and I’m not sure blocking de minimis alone is enough,” van de Wouw said in a market update this week. “Products may be slightly more expensive if de minimis is removed, but they will still be cheaper than buying through retailers in the US,” he added. “But delays in receiving the goods due to operational disruptions could have a bigger impact than price because it takes away the attractiveness for consumers.” Judah Levine, head of research at Freightos Group, noted in a market update Tuesday that 60% of the air freight volume from China to the US comprised e-commerce shipments flown in dozens of daily freighters. “Total capacity out of China increased 25% year over year in 2024, so closing de minimis to China is expected to drive a sharp drop in volumes and a spike in available capacity,” Levine said. That would push down rates not just on the trans-Pacific, but on other trade lanes as significant capacity is released back into the market. But Levine added that with de minimis for China reinstated for now, “rates may not collapse immediately.” What is changing is the supply chain approach used by the Chinese online marketplaces as regulatory scrutiny grows. “The pause may serve as a wind-down period for [business-to-consumer] small imports from China during which Chinese e-commerce platforms shift away from their heavy reliance on de minimis and air cargo,” Levine said. “These platforms have already been increasing their use of ocean freight to build up inventories in Mexico and the US and there are reports that for American shoppers, Temu is already promoting items from sellers with US-based inventory,” he added. Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

The European Commission (EC) has joined the US in calling for the removal of the so-called de minimis exemption for low-value parcels that is a key driver of the massive increase in air cargo imports from China over the past two years. The EC wants joint action from member states to address concerns from the surge of unsafe, counterfeit, non-compliant or illicit products entering the European market, with its consumer protection authority launching an unspecified “coordinated action” against Chinese e-commerce giant Shein. “As e-commerce is booming, we must step up efforts to prevent non-compliant products from entering the EU market and to ensure fair competition for both European and third-country operators,” Maroš Šefčovič, the EC commissioner for trade and economic security, said in a proposal called “A Comprehensive EU Toolbox for Safe and Sustainable E-commerce” that was issued last week. “Our customs authorities are the first set of eyes at the border so we must equip them with the appropriate instruments to strengthen our enforcement capacities, in close cooperation with other authorities instrumental to checking goods entering the EU market,” he noted. Last year, 4.6 billion consignments with a value below the European Union’s de minimis threshold of €150 ($155) entered the EU market duty free, mostly from China and double the number recorded in 2023, EC data shows. In the US, China accounted for two-thirds of the 1.36 billion de minimis imports last year. De minimis regulations in the US allow one shipment of less than $800 in value to move between a single shipper and single consignee per day duty free. Removing low-value products from de minimis exemptions will mean all those millions of daily parcels will need to go through customs checks, a process that would immediately overwhelm the system in both the EU and the US. It is for that reason that soon after the Trump administration removed Chinese low-value products from de minimis rules, the exemption was restored. ‘Profound’ impact on capacity While customs officials in the US and Europe search for ways to process the millions of daily packages, air freight analysts are trying to estimate the impact removing de minimis protection would have on the air cargo industry. Niall van de Wouw, chief air freight officer at rate benchmarking platform Xeneta, said the impact on air freight capacity between China and the US would be “profound,” but he believes e-commerce demand is strong enough to withstand the clampdown. “E-commerce volumes out of China grew more than 30% last year following similar growth in 2023, so it’s going to take a sledgehammer to crack that level of consumer demand and I’m not sure blocking de minimis alone is enough,” van de Wouw said in a market update this week. “Products may be slightly more expensive if de minimis is removed, but they will still be cheaper than buying through retailers in the US,” he added. “But delays in receiving the goods due to operational disruptions could have a bigger impact than price because it takes away the attractiveness for consumers.” Judah Levine, head of research at Freightos Group, noted in a market update Tuesday that 60% of the air freight volume from China to the US comprised e-commerce shipments flown in dozens of daily freighters. “Total capacity out of China increased 25% year over year in 2024, so closing de minimis to China is expected to drive a sharp drop in volumes and a spike in available capacity,” Levine said. That would push down rates not just on the trans-Pacific, but on other trade lanes as significant capacity is released back into the market. But Levine added that with de minimis for China reinstated for now, “rates may not collapse immediately.” What is changing is the supply chain approach used by the Chinese online marketplaces as regulatory scrutiny grows. “The pause may serve as a wind-down period for [business-to-consumer] small imports from China during which Chinese e-commerce platforms shift away from their heavy reliance on de minimis and air cargo,” Levine said. “These platforms have already been increasing their use of ocean freight to build up inventories in Mexico and the US and there are reports that for American shoppers, Temu is already promoting items from sellers with US-based inventory,” he added. Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

Air Cargo

Air Cargo Forwarder News

Air Cargo Carriers News

Europe joins US in call for end to e-commerce ‘de minimis’ exemption

<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.

<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. <h3>Nascent technology for industry </h3>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 <a href="mailto:eric.johnson@spglobal.com">eric.johnson@spglobal.com</a>. </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> (ISS) 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 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 the first half 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. Similar to 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 along East and West coasts</h3>BNSF and Union Pacific Railroad (UP) 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 (ISS) 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 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 the first half 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. Similar to 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 along East and West coasts BNSF and Union Pacific Railroad (UP) 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 .

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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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