<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Thousands of the GOP faithful returned home over the weekend were assured that, in at least one area</div>

Thousands of the GOP faithful returned home over the weekend were assured that, in at least one area

<div>Thousands of the GOP faithful returned home over the weekend were assured that, in at least one area, the Democrats face a daunting task pulling even with Republicans: the zaniness of their convention.Any time tens of thousands of people get together, chaos abounds. This week's GOP convention was no exception.The convention got off to a snappy start last Monday when a man dressed as a giant condom began hanging around the security gates. He garnered attention all week - including from flag-carrying children who mistook him for a cartoon character.CONDOM MAN MEETS POWELL FANJust behind the condom man was a...

Thousands of the GOP faithful returned home over the weekend were assured that, in at least one area, the Democrats face a daunting task pulling even with Republicans: the zaniness of their convention. Any time tens of thousands of people get together, chaos abounds. This week's GOP convention was no exception.The convention got off to a snappy start last Monday when a man dressed as a giant condom began hanging around the security gates. He garnered attention all week - including from flag-carrying children who mistook him for a cartoon character. CONDOM MAN MEETS POWELL FAN Just behind the condom man was a man covered in U.S. flag paraphernalia, wearing a hat and buttons supporting retired Gen. Colin Powell. He hadn't decided whether to vote for Mr. Powell as a write-in candidate, he said. He wouldn't talk to the media since they would only twist his words. ''Why don't you go interview HIM?'' the Powell-supporter said, pointing to the condom man. ''Because he's not a Republican.'' ''How do you know that?'' retorted the Powell fan. ''Have you looked under there?'' OK. Next interview please. Nearby was Abraham Lincoln, or at least his look-alike. A tall man in a tall hat with Honest Abe's beard, he carried a sign reading, ''Emancipate the Unborn.'' Quite the hit with conventioneers, Abe stayed busy with Republicans who wanted their picture taken with arguably the most famous Republican ever. Elsewhere on the streets of San Diego there were AIDS protests, abortion-rights gatherings and cars circulating streets near the convention with huge blown-up photos of aborted fetuses. No subtlety on that issue. Democrats will have to work hard to match the many miniskirt combinations involving flag colors. Or the many seersucker suits and hand-tied bow ties in San Diego last week. And like the party to the left, the party to the right has its internal cultural differences. Case in point was Tuesday night. Thousands of GOP faithful poured out of the San Diego Convention Center after New York Rep. Susan Molinari's keynote address as a lone man shouted, ''Taxis, Second and J!'' NO HAILING TAXIS HERE ''This is what irritates me about this place,'' said a woman obviously from the U.S. Northeast. ''You don't have cabs you can flag down.'' No. Nor does San Diego have nasty New York winters or humid summers. No wonder it's the ''city that never sleeps.'' Most summers, it's too hot to sleep. Bob Dole took advantage of the constant San Diego sunshine to partake in a favorite hobby - sunbathing. If elected, he could put an end to the jogging favored by President Bush and thunder-thighed President Clinton. As president, Mr. Dole could invite guests to tan, then nap. Once the sun set, napping was out and partying was in. San Diego's bars were packed, and in the Blue Tattoo, a Republican with a Bill Clinton mask proved popular with women - by billing himself as the Comeback Kid not the Comeback Adult. Democrats were present but not welcome during convention week. James Carville, the pundit and strategist, drew sharp stares and questions like, ''Why are you in San Diego?'' His response: ''I have a lot of friends here.'' President Clinton's Generation X adviser George Stephanopolous worked the spin beat. A woman sought his autograph, and an older Republican told him of a good local Greek restaurant. Not all Democrats got under the GOP skin. Some got on it. One witty T-shirt on a Republican torso read, ''Your Mother Dates Kennedys.'' Democrats were ready to respond. ''Dole For Pineapple, Not For President,'' said the shirt of a Democrat protester.

Maritime

TALES OF THE WILD AND WACKY IN SAN DIEGO

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Supply chain security technology provider Overhaul forecasts another big year for cargo theft in 2025, though not as big as a 49% year-over-year increase in 2024. </div>

Supply chain security technology provider Overhaul forecasts another big year for cargo theft in 2025, though not as big as a 49% year-over-year increase in 2024.

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<div class="phx-topic">Cargo crime in the US is not only rising, but it is shifting to new markets as criminals follow the freight, according to a report from supply chain security firm Overhaul. Overhaul expects US cargo theft to continue to grow at double-digit rates, though not as fast as in 2024. Thieves are striking deeper into supply chains, moving further inland. “In 2025, cargo theft events in the United States are expected to show a major increase from 2,217 to 2,705,” a 22% increase, Overhaul said in its annual report, released Friday. That compares to a 49% year-over-year increase in cargo theft by volume in 2024. Overhaul based its forecast on data from law enforcement and other sources. California remains the top state for cargo theft, accounting for 32% of total US theft events last year, but that was a 9-percentage point drop from 2023, Overhaul said. Pennsylvania’s share of total reported US cargo theft jumped from 1% in 2023 to 8% last year, Overhaul said. Texas, Tennessee and Georgia also saw more freight crime, with their share of total US cargo theft rising by 7, 3 and 1 percentage points to 19%, 14% and 6%, respectively. “Cargo theft is spreading to other states but remains a latent risk for logistics activities in metropolitan areas that are commonly affected by these thefts,” Overhaul said. The Overhaul data suggests thieves are getting better at tracking freight as it flows through supply chains and targeting shipments where they are most vulnerable. <h3>Fraud rising fast </h3>Measuring cargo crime activity is notoriously difficult, with many events underreported. However, other sources have noted increases comparable with Overhaul’s data. Verisk CargoNet, a business unit of Verisk, reported a 27% increase in cargo theft in the US and Canada in 2024, with thefts in California and Texas rising 33% and 39%, respectively. Reported thefts in Dallas County, Texas, spiked by 78% year over year in 2024. Data reveals “an evolving and increasingly sophisticated threat landscape,” CargoNet said. Fraudulent or “deceptive” pickups remain a part of that landscape but only accounted for about 8% of total cargo theft in 2024, according to Overhaul. Still, the number of deceptive pickups reported increased 57% last year, Overhaul said. Pilferage – theft of a partial load – increased 38% while full truckload thefts rose 4%. Train robbery is on the rise, too; Overhaul expects rail yard thefts to increase 26% in 2025. The security firm also noted an increase in targeted rail thefts. The BNSF Railway was targeted in several incidents last year, resulting in the theft of about $2 million in Nike sneakers, according to a Los Angeles Times <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-02-23/freight-train-heists-targeting-nike-merchandise-are-probed-as-related">report Sunday</a>. Contact William B. Cassidy at <a href="mailto:bill.cassidy@spglobal.com">bill.cassidy@spglobal.com</a></div>

Cargo crime in the US is not only rising, but it is shifting to new markets as criminals follow the freight, according to a report from supply chain security firm Overhaul. Overhaul expects US cargo theft to continue to grow at double-digit rates, though not as fast as in 2024. Thieves are striking deeper into supply chains, moving further inland. “In 2025, cargo theft events in the United States are expected to show a major increase from 2,217 to 2,705,” a 22% increase, Overhaul said in its annual report, released Friday. That compares to a 49% year-over-year increase in cargo theft by volume in 2024. Overhaul based its forecast on data from law enforcement and other sources. California remains the top state for cargo theft, accounting for 32% of total US theft events last year, but that was a 9-percentage point drop from 2023, Overhaul said. Pennsylvania’s share of total reported US cargo theft jumped from 1% in 2023 to 8% last year, Overhaul said. Texas, Tennessee and Georgia also saw more freight crime, with their share of total US cargo theft rising by 7, 3 and 1 percentage points to 19%, 14% and 6%, respectively. “Cargo theft is spreading to other states but remains a latent risk for logistics activities in metropolitan areas that are commonly affected by these thefts,” Overhaul said. The Overhaul data suggests thieves are getting better at tracking freight as it flows through supply chains and targeting shipments where they are most vulnerable. Fraud rising fast Measuring cargo crime activity is notoriously difficult, with many events underreported. However, other sources have noted increases comparable with Overhaul’s data. Verisk CargoNet, a business unit of Verisk, reported a 27% increase in cargo theft in the US and Canada in 2024, with thefts in California and Texas rising 33% and 39%, respectively. Reported thefts in Dallas County, Texas, spiked by 78% year over year in 2024. Data reveals “an evolving and increasingly sophisticated threat landscape,” CargoNet said. Fraudulent or “deceptive” pickups remain a part of that landscape but only accounted for about 8% of total cargo theft in 2024, according to Overhaul. Still, the number of deceptive pickups reported increased 57% last year, Overhaul said. Pilferage – theft of a partial load – increased 38% while full truckload thefts rose 4%. Train robbery is on the rise, too; Overhaul expects rail yard thefts to increase 26% in 2025. The security firm also noted an increase in targeted rail thefts. The BNSF Railway was targeted in several incidents last year, resulting in the theft of about $2 million in Nike sneakers, according to a Los Angeles Times report Sunday . Contact William B. Cassidy at bill.cassidy@spglobal.com

Supply chain

Trucking News

Truckload

Surface

US cargo crime forecast to rise 22% as thefts spread inland

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The US Trade Representative said the proposed fees are designed to counter China’s influence over the global shipbuilding and maritime industry.</div>

The US Trade Representative said the proposed fees are designed to counter China’s influence over the global shipbuilding and maritime industry.

<div class="phx-topic">The Trump administration is looking to raise billions in tariffs on the back of the container shipping industry through a proposed port usage fee on Chinese-built and -operated ships calling on the US. Exporters, too, face the risk of higher costs if new mandates requiring the use of US fleets go into effect. The proposals, if implemented, threaten to raise costs for US shippers and upend the economics of the global containerized supply chain. The proposed port usage fee takes direct aim at China’s ocean carriers but would also penalize the global maritime industry that relies on China’s shipbuilders. The US Trade Representative (USTR) said Friday its year-long investigation of China’s shipbuilding and maritime logistics industry concluded China “has employed increasingly aggressive and specific targets in pursuing dominance.” The investigation — <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/chinas-predatory-maritime-policies-threaten-global-trade-white-house-5923952">initiated during the Biden Administration</a> after it received a petition from a group of US manufacturing unions — laid out how China’s state support brought the country’s share of the global shipbuilding industry from less than 5% in 1999 to over 50% in 2023. Chinese companies now control about one-fifth of the world’s shipping fleet, the USTR said. “China has largely achieved its dominance goals, severely disadvantaging US companies, workers, and the US economy generally,” the USTR said. The USTR, which will soon be led by Trump appointee Jamieson Greer, laid out a series of penalties and remedies as part of its investigation. Those are now open for public comment through March 24. Among the USTR’s proposals are a $1 million fee for each US port call of a Chinese-operated ship, or a $1,000-per-net-ton fee applied on the ship’s carrying capacity. For all other ocean carriers, the USTR proposes a sliding port entrance fee of up to $1.5 million per Chinese-built vessel based on the percent of the carrier’s fleet built in China. Likewise, an additional fee of $1 million per vessel could also be assessed based on the percent of the carrier’s newbuild order book at Chinese shipyards. The USTR said ocean carriers could receive a $1 million refund for each call by a US-built vessel at a port. US-based ocean carriers will also get cargo preference under the USTR’s proposal that an increasing share of exports move on US fleets. The USTR would require an increasing percentage of US exports, starting at 1%, moved on US-flagged vessels in the first two years of its proposed actions. Starting in the third year, the proposal also requires that an increasing percentage of exports move on US-built and US-flagged ships. Once public comments are received, the USTR will also hold a public hearing on its proposed actions, which could go into effect up to six months later. While affected parties can ask for waivers on the new fees and the proposed actions could be postponed through a trade deal, they would hit every container shipping company outside of the US. Contact Michael Angell at <a href="mailto:michael.angell@spglobal.com ">michael.angell@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

The Trump administration is looking to raise billions in tariffs on the back of the container shipping industry through a proposed port usage fee on Chinese-built and -operated ships calling on the US. Exporters, too, face the risk of higher costs if new mandates requiring the use of US fleets go into effect. The proposals, if implemented, threaten to raise costs for US shippers and upend the economics of the global containerized supply chain. The proposed port usage fee takes direct aim at China’s ocean carriers but would also penalize the global maritime industry that relies on China’s shipbuilders. The US Trade Representative (USTR) said Friday its year-long investigation of China’s shipbuilding and maritime logistics industry concluded China “has employed increasingly aggressive and specific targets in pursuing dominance.” The investigation — initiated during the Biden Administration after it received a petition from a group of US manufacturing unions — laid out how China’s state support brought the country’s share of the global shipbuilding industry from less than 5% in 1999 to over 50% in 2023. Chinese companies now control about one-fifth of the world’s shipping fleet, the USTR said. “China has largely achieved its dominance goals, severely disadvantaging US companies, workers, and the US economy generally,” the USTR said. The USTR, which will soon be led by Trump appointee Jamieson Greer, laid out a series of penalties and remedies as part of its investigation. Those are now open for public comment through March 24. Among the USTR’s proposals are a $1 million fee for each US port call of a Chinese-operated ship, or a $1,000-per-net-ton fee applied on the ship’s carrying capacity. For all other ocean carriers, the USTR proposes a sliding port entrance fee of up to $1.5 million per Chinese-built vessel based on the percent of the carrier’s fleet built in China. Likewise, an additional fee of $1 million per vessel could also be assessed based on the percent of the carrier’s newbuild order book at Chinese shipyards. The USTR said ocean carriers could receive a $1 million refund for each call by a US-built vessel at a port. US-based ocean carriers will also get cargo preference under the USTR’s proposal that an increasing share of exports move on US fleets. The USTR would require an increasing percentage of US exports, starting at 1%, moved on US-flagged vessels in the first two years of its proposed actions. Starting in the third year, the proposal also requires that an increasing percentage of exports move on US-built and US-flagged ships. Once public comments are received, the USTR will also hold a public hearing on its proposed actions, which could go into effect up to six months later. While affected parties can ask for waivers on the new fees and the proposed actions could be postponed through a trade deal, they would hit every container shipping company outside of the US. Contact Michael Angell at michael.angell@spglobal.com .

Transport, Trade and Regulation News

Trans-Pacific

Container lines

US port fees could hit Chinese ships under Trump trade proposal

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The poor operating conditions look set to continue this year, likely keeping container handling numbers under pressure at Europe’s third-largest port.</div>

The poor operating conditions look set to continue this year, likely keeping container handling numbers under pressure at Europe’s third-largest port.

<div class="phx-topic">Geopolitical issues and a slowdown in the German economy held back container throughput at the Port of Hamburg in 2024, with overall volumes at the gateway growing just 0.9% to 7.8 million TEUs. Operating conditions are unlikely to improve this year, with the port warning that throughput figures will be influenced by a “highly volatile” global situation and the continued weakening of the German economy. “The annual result highlights the Port of Hamburg’s resilience in a challenging market environment,” Axel Mattern, a member of the executive board at Port of Hamburg Marketing, said in a statement Monday. The 2024 volumes left the German hub firmly in third place in European container port rankings behind Rotterdam’s 13.8 million TEUs and Antwerp-Bruges’ volume of 13.5 million TEUs last year. China remains Hamburg’s largest trading nation, with volume edging up 0.7% year over year to 2.2 million TEUs, while trade with the US reached a record 685,000 TEUs, up 5% compared with 2023. But the impact of longer transit times as ships avoid the Red Sea was causing route changes and vessel diversions that are being felt acutely by Hamburg, which sits at the northernmost end of North Europe port rotations. As a result, the port last year reported fewer calls of megamax ships of 23,000 TEUs and above, which are primarily used on the Asia-North Europe trade lane. Still, container exchanges — the number of containers offloaded and loaded during a port call — increased by more than 20% at Hamburg, with an average of 10,000 TEUs per megamax visit. Hamburg reported a 2.5% year-over-year increase in rail traffic with 2.6 million TEUs transported in and out of the port during 2024, allowing rail to hold on to its 50.2% modal share of container transport. Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Geopolitical issues and a slowdown in the German economy held back container throughput at the Port of Hamburg in 2024, with overall volumes at the gateway growing just 0.9% to 7.8 million TEUs. Operating conditions are unlikely to improve this year, with the port warning that throughput figures will be influenced by a “highly volatile” global situation and the continued weakening of the German economy. “The annual result highlights the Port of Hamburg’s resilience in a challenging market environment,” Axel Mattern, a member of the executive board at Port of Hamburg Marketing, said in a statement Monday. The 2024 volumes left the German hub firmly in third place in European container port rankings behind Rotterdam’s 13.8 million TEUs and Antwerp-Bruges’ volume of 13.5 million TEUs last year. China remains Hamburg’s largest trading nation, with volume edging up 0.7% year over year to 2.2 million TEUs, while trade with the US reached a record 685,000 TEUs, up 5% compared with 2023. But the impact of longer transit times as ships avoid the Red Sea was causing route changes and vessel diversions that are being felt acutely by Hamburg, which sits at the northernmost end of North Europe port rotations. As a result, the port last year reported fewer calls of megamax ships of 23,000 TEUs and above, which are primarily used on the Asia-North Europe trade lane. Still, container exchanges — the number of containers offloaded and loaded during a port call — increased by more than 20% at Hamburg, with an average of 10,000 TEUs per megamax visit. Hamburg reported a 2.5% year-over-year increase in rail traffic with 2.6 million TEUs transported in and out of the port during 2024, allowing rail to hold on to its 50.2% modal share of container transport. Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

Container Shipping News

Asia-Europe

Geopolitics, weak German economy slowed Hamburg’s 2024 volume growth

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Forwarders say demand expectations for trans-Pacific imports to North America are softening for the second quarter, forcing liners to reduce peak season surcharges that have been in place for almost a year. </div>

Forwarders say demand expectations for trans-Pacific imports to North America are softening for the second quarter, forcing liners to reduce peak season surcharges that have been in place for almost a year.

<div class="phx-topic">At least four ocean carriers on the eastbound trans-Pacific are cutting their peak season surcharges amid expectations for softening demand on the trade lane into the second quarter and as spot rates have fallen more than 30% over the past two weeks, forwarders say. The carriers include Hapag Lloyd, which halved its peak season surcharge (PSS) from $1,000 to $500 per FEU effective Feb. 20 through mid-March, sources said. A US-based non-vessel-operating common carrier (NVO) reported a $500 reduction on its PSS with Ocean Network Express (ONE) to $300 per FEU, a $300 PSS cut from CMA CGM to $1,200 per FEU, and a PSS drop from $1,000 to $800 per FEU from Zim Integrated Shipping Services. Other carriers have reduced their PSS figures to about $1,000 per FEU from $1,500, said the sources, who agreed that once a core number of carriers reduce their PSSs, most others follow suit. “Carriers are just hungry,” one non-vessel-operating common carrier (NVO) source told the Journal of Commerce. Most carrier PSSs, which are usually tacked on to an NVO’s fixed-rate named accounts, were implemented during a period of increased demand in early to mid-2024. That heightened demand coincided with tighter vessel capacity caused by <a href="mailto:https://www.joc.com/article/no-clear-timeline-for-red-sea-return-as-carriers-face-rising-insurance-costs-5946947">Red Sea diversions</a>. Those charges, however, have not been retracted after nearly a year — leading forwarders to question the true length of a “peak season.” While volumes in the eastbound trans-Pacific have been strong to start the year — US imports from Asia were up 12.7% year over year in January, according to Journal of Commerce sister product PIERS — importers may be taking a respite. Sources say frontloading ahead of US tariffs has resulted in stable inventories, and importers are hesitating to move cargo. Sufficient inventories, a slower-than-normal return to work in China following Lunar New Year and increasing economic uncertainty in the US have forwarders seeing a slowing in bookings. Several forwarder sources said they’re even hearing of low utilization on vessels leaving China this week. <h3>Degrading spot rates, delayed contracts </h3>An NVO source based in Canada said he is seeing US import volumes wane, especially amid new tariffs and the threat for more — leading carriers to push hard to nail down contracts. “Clients have existing purchase orders, and they’re fulfilling those — but new purchase orders are not happening right now,” the source said. “It’s because [shippers] just don’t know what is going to happen.” The spot rate from Asia to the West Coast was pegged at $2,600 per FEU on Friday, according to Platts, a Journal of Commerce sister company within S&amp;P Global, down from $4,000 per FEU on Feb. 5. “It’s not as if carriers will lay back and roll over,” said a second NVO source. “When we hit mid-March and we haven’t seen any demand improvement, we will start to see some service manipulation with <a href="mailto:https://www.joc.com/article/ocean-carriers-ever-tightening-grip-on-capacity-control-shows-no-signs-of-loosening-5946744">regards to capacity</a>.” Rapidly falling rates would put carriers in a tough spot during <a href="mailto:https://www.joc.com/article/small-trans-pac-forwarders-feeling-ignored-by-carriers-stay-agile-to-secure-capacity-5943785">contract season</a>, the source said. If spot rates continue to dissolve in March and April, it would minimize any leverage carriers have in talks with shippers over annual service contracts, most of which begin May 1. Contact Laura Robb at <a href="mailto:Laura.Robb@spglobal.com">laura.robb@spglobal.com</a>.Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at <a href="mailto:bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com">bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

At least four ocean carriers on the eastbound trans-Pacific are cutting their peak season surcharges amid expectations for softening demand on the trade lane into the second quarter and as spot rates have fallen more than 30% over the past two weeks, forwarders say. The carriers include Hapag Lloyd, which halved its peak season surcharge (PSS) from $1,000 to $500 per FEU effective Feb. 20 through mid-March, sources said. A US-based non-vessel-operating common carrier (NVO) reported a $500 reduction on its PSS with Ocean Network Express (ONE) to $300 per FEU, a $300 PSS cut from CMA CGM to $1,200 per FEU, and a PSS drop from $1,000 to $800 per FEU from Zim Integrated Shipping Services. Other carriers have reduced their PSS figures to about $1,000 per FEU from $1,500, said the sources, who agreed that once a core number of carriers reduce their PSSs, most others follow suit. “Carriers are just hungry,” one non-vessel-operating common carrier (NVO) source told the Journal of Commerce. Most carrier PSSs, which are usually tacked on to an NVO’s fixed-rate named accounts, were implemented during a period of increased demand in early to mid-2024. That heightened demand coincided with tighter vessel capacity caused by Red Sea diversions . Those charges, however, have not been retracted after nearly a year — leading forwarders to question the true length of a “peak season.” While volumes in the eastbound trans-Pacific have been strong to start the year — US imports from Asia were up 12.7% year over year in January, according to Journal of Commerce sister product PIERS — importers may be taking a respite. Sources say frontloading ahead of US tariffs has resulted in stable inventories, and importers are hesitating to move cargo. Sufficient inventories, a slower-than-normal return to work in China following Lunar New Year and increasing economic uncertainty in the US have forwarders seeing a slowing in bookings. Several forwarder sources said they’re even hearing of low utilization on vessels leaving China this week. Degrading spot rates, delayed contracts An NVO source based in Canada said he is seeing US import volumes wane, especially amid new tariffs and the threat for more — leading carriers to push hard to nail down contracts. “Clients have existing purchase orders, and they’re fulfilling those — but new purchase orders are not happening right now,” the source said. “It’s because [shippers] just don’t know what is going to happen.” The spot rate from Asia to the West Coast was pegged at $2,600 per FEU on Friday, according to Platts, a Journal of Commerce sister company within S&P Global, down from $4,000 per FEU on Feb. 5. “It’s not as if carriers will lay back and roll over,” said a second NVO source. “When we hit mid-March and we haven’t seen any demand improvement, we will start to see some service manipulation with regards to capacity .” Rapidly falling rates would put carriers in a tough spot during contract season , the source said. If spot rates continue to dissolve in March and April, it would minimize any leverage carriers have in talks with shippers over annual service contracts, most of which begin May 1. Contact Laura Robb at laura.robb@spglobal.com .Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com .

Forwarding

‘Hungry’ carriers slicing surcharges in eastbound trans-Pacific as bookings slow

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Cargo tracking shows no clear advantage for Chinese-based ocean carriers transiting the critical waterway, throwing doubt on the US president’s claims of China’s influence, according to a report from the visibility data provider.</div>

Cargo tracking shows no clear advantage for Chinese-based ocean carriers transiting the critical waterway, throwing doubt on the US president’s claims of China’s influence, according to a report from the visibility data provider.

<div class="phx-topic">Despite Trump administration claims of China’s dominance over the Panama Canal, it remains unclear if that country’s ocean carriers reap any advantage in terms of access to faster transits, according to visibility data provider project44. Moreover, the split of canal terminal operators between US, Singapore and Taiwan-domiciled companies throws into question claims of Chinese control of Panama’s ports. Since his election, President Donald Trump has ratcheted up tensions with Panama, which took control of the canal in 1999, some 20 years after President Jimmy Carter signed a deal ceding a century of control by the US. Among Trump’s unsubstantiated claims are that <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/fmc-chair-questions-level-playing-field-in-panama-canal-operations-5932469">Panama overcharges US customers</a> 	, including the US Navy for canal tolls and that <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/bolder-trump-injects-new-volatility-into-container-shipping-5927954">China has undue leverage over the canal through its alleged control of port operations</a>, putting US supply chains at risk. As for whether China’s ocean carriers receive any preferential treatment at the canal, “there are no clear indications that this is occurring,” project44 said in a report Friday. It cited “thousands of shipments” p44 tracked transiting the canal over the last 13 months. “While Chinese carriers remain competitive, there is no clear sign of favoritism exhibited in the overall transit times,” p44 said. “Our analysis suggests that the performance of individual carriers has a stronger correlation with transit times than [a] carrier’s country of origin.” Vessels operated by Cosco Shipping appear to have an advantage in services between the southern Chinese port of Yantian and the US East Coast, according to p44’s cargo tracking. It said Cosco ships made the trip in an average of 43 days, compared with an industry-wide average of 48 days. But on the Shanghai-US East Coast route, CMA CGM showed a seven-day advantage over the industry average 37-day transit, p44 said, attributing this to the carrier’s “streamlined operations and high efficiency.” Mediterranean Shipping Co. also sees better-than-average transit times between Shanghai and US Southeast ports, p44 data shows. In early February, Panama President Jose Raul Mulino accused the US of “lies and falsehoods” related to a supposed deal to allow US naval ships priority access. Mulino has also denied claims of Chinese influence at the port. The Panama Canal Authority (ACP), an independent agency, administers the canal’s operations. While its board of directors are Panamanian, its advisory board includes, among others, William Flanagan, a former US Navy Commander in Chief for the Atlantic Fleet and NATO. Ship capacity is controlled through a reservation process, with tolls based on the type of ship and cargo. Last-minute reservations are also auctioned. <h3>Panama’s port ownership </h3>Operations of the Panama Canal’s major container terminals at the Atlantic ports of Colon and Cristobal and the Pacific port of Balboa have also been an issue for Trump. But the Chinese are hardly the sole overseas operators at the ports. CK Hutchison Holdings, a Hong Kong-listed conglomerate with holdings in telecom and retail, owns Hutchison Ports, which has operated a 2 million-TEU terminal in Balboa since 1997. It also operates a 1 million-TEU port at Cristobal. A separate unit, Hutchison Port Holdings, is a Singapore-listed public investment trust for the conglomerate’s container terminals in China. A different Singapore-listed entity, PSA International, the former Port of Singapore Authority, operates another 1 million-TEU terminal in Balboa. SSA Marine, a Seattle-based portfolio company of US private equity firm Blackstone, has a concession for the 3-million-TEU Manzanillo terminal at Colon, while Taiwan’s <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/evergreen-takes-full-control-of-panama-transshipment-hub-5245803">Evergreen Marine also operates a 2 million-TEU terminal in Colon</a>. Michael Kristiansen, a principal at Panama-based advisory CK Americas and a 25-year veteran of Maersk, told the Journal of Commerce that claims of Chinese influence at the Panama Canal are “total BS.” Rather, he said Trump is likely using Panama as a wedge to counter any further Chinese investments in the Americas, referring to the 1 million-TEU Chancay terminal in Peru that Cosco Shipping helped develop. “The Trump administration is sending China a signal that this is the US’ backyard, especially after the inauguration of Chancay,” Kristiansen said. Contact Michael Angell at <a href="mailto:michael.angell@spglobal.com">michael.angell@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Despite Trump administration claims of China’s dominance over the Panama Canal, it remains unclear if that country’s ocean carriers reap any advantage in terms of access to faster transits, according to visibility data provider project44. Moreover, the split of canal terminal operators between US, Singapore and Taiwan-domiciled companies throws into question claims of Chinese control of Panama’s ports. Since his election, President Donald Trump has ratcheted up tensions with Panama, which took control of the canal in 1999, some 20 years after President Jimmy Carter signed a deal ceding a century of control by the US. Among Trump’s unsubstantiated claims are that Panama overcharges US customers , including the US Navy for canal tolls and that China has undue leverage over the canal through its alleged control of port operations , putting US supply chains at risk. As for whether China’s ocean carriers receive any preferential treatment at the canal, “there are no clear indications that this is occurring,” project44 said in a report Friday. It cited “thousands of shipments” p44 tracked transiting the canal over the last 13 months. “While Chinese carriers remain competitive, there is no clear sign of favoritism exhibited in the overall transit times,” p44 said. “Our analysis suggests that the performance of individual carriers has a stronger correlation with transit times than [a] carrier’s country of origin.” Vessels operated by Cosco Shipping appear to have an advantage in services between the southern Chinese port of Yantian and the US East Coast, according to p44’s cargo tracking. It said Cosco ships made the trip in an average of 43 days, compared with an industry-wide average of 48 days. But on the Shanghai-US East Coast route, CMA CGM showed a seven-day advantage over the industry average 37-day transit, p44 said, attributing this to the carrier’s “streamlined operations and high efficiency.” Mediterranean Shipping Co. also sees better-than-average transit times between Shanghai and US Southeast ports, p44 data shows. In early February, Panama President Jose Raul Mulino accused the US of “lies and falsehoods” related to a supposed deal to allow US naval ships priority access. Mulino has also denied claims of Chinese influence at the port. The Panama Canal Authority (ACP), an independent agency, administers the canal’s operations. While its board of directors are Panamanian, its advisory board includes, among others, William Flanagan, a former US Navy Commander in Chief for the Atlantic Fleet and NATO. Ship capacity is controlled through a reservation process, with tolls based on the type of ship and cargo. Last-minute reservations are also auctioned. Panama’s port ownership Operations of the Panama Canal’s major container terminals at the Atlantic ports of Colon and Cristobal and the Pacific port of Balboa have also been an issue for Trump. But the Chinese are hardly the sole overseas operators at the ports. CK Hutchison Holdings, a Hong Kong-listed conglomerate with holdings in telecom and retail, owns Hutchison Ports, which has operated a 2 million-TEU terminal in Balboa since 1997. It also operates a 1 million-TEU port at Cristobal. A separate unit, Hutchison Port Holdings, is a Singapore-listed public investment trust for the conglomerate’s container terminals in China. A different Singapore-listed entity, PSA International, the former Port of Singapore Authority, operates another 1 million-TEU terminal in Balboa. SSA Marine, a Seattle-based portfolio company of US private equity firm Blackstone, has a concession for the 3-million-TEU Manzanillo terminal at Colon, while Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine also operates a 2 million-TEU terminal in Colon . Michael Kristiansen, a principal at Panama-based advisory CK Americas and a 25-year veteran of Maersk, told the Journal of Commerce that claims of Chinese influence at the Panama Canal are “total BS.” Rather, he said Trump is likely using Panama as a wedge to counter any further Chinese investments in the Americas, referring to the 1 million-TEU Chancay terminal in Peru that Cosco Shipping helped develop. “The Trump administration is sending China a signal that this is the US’ backyard, especially after the inauguration of Chancay,” Kristiansen said. Contact Michael Angell at michael.angell@spglobal.com .

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Panama Canal transit data belies Trump’s claims of China’s control: project44

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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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