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<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The new president and Congress should support a U.S. transportation system that focuses on connectiv</div>

The new president and Congress should support a U.S. transportation system that focuses on connectiv

<div>The new president and Congress should support a U.S. transportation system that focuses on connectivity and congestion reduction, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said Tuesday.The chamber's "Let's Rebuild America" agenda calls for modernizing and maintaining transportation infrastructure deemed in the national interest, consideration of all financing options, including user fees and private investment. The plan also calls for research and a streamlining of the project review process.Ports and waterways would benefit from a quick approval of projects under the Water Resources Development Act, and quick reauthorization of SAFETEA-LU, which expires on Sept. 30, 2009, the Chamber said.The report also calls...

The new president and Congress should support a U.S. transportation system that focuses on connectivity and congestion reduction, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said Tuesday. The chamber's "Let's Rebuild America" agenda calls for modernizing and maintaining transportation infrastructure deemed in the national interest, consideration of all financing options, including user fees and private investment. The plan also calls for research and a streamlining of the project review process. Ports and waterways would benefit from a quick approval of projects under the Water Resources Development Act, and quick reauthorization of SAFETEA-LU, which expires on Sept. 30, 2009, the Chamber said. The report also calls for improving infrastructure in energy, water and telecommunications. Chamber President Thomas J. Donohue said that investment in "shovel-ready" projects should be part of an economic stimulus package to pull the U.S. out of the current recession. "There are thousands of 'ready to go' infrastructure projects awaiting funding and many of these projects could be initiated in the short run," Donohue said. The national business organization unveiled its program at a day-long critical infrastructure conference in Washington.

US Chamber calls for infrastructure investment

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Among the major container lines, CMA CGM has taken the lead in reinstating shorter Suez Canal routings, offering India exporters to North America shorter transits than the majority of other services sailing around southern Africa. </div>

Among the major container lines, CMA CGM has taken the lead in reinstating shorter Suez Canal routings, offering India exporters to North America shorter transits than the majority of other services sailing around southern Africa.

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<div class="phx-topic">CMA CGM has taken the lead among major carriers in reinstating the traditional — and significantly shorter — Suez Canal route that the vast majority of vessels abandoned in late 2023 due to the Red Sea crisis. The Marseille-based carrier’s Indamex service between West India and North America — arguably the most sought-after network by exporters on the trade lane — is set to resume operating on its full port rotation via the Suez, which will include calls to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and Damietta, Egypt, in both directions, as well as Tanger Med, Morocco, on the westbound leg. The Indamex had been sailing on a truncated rotation of Port Qasim, Nhava Sheva, Mundra, New York, Norfolk, Savannah, Charleston and Port Qasim. On resumption of the Suez transit, the service will operate with 11 vessels, rather than the 12 ships that had been deployed to account for the longer transits around the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa. The revamped service will offer transit times of 31 days from Nhava Sheva to New York, down from between 35 and 40 days with the current rotation.  The first vessel to sail under the “normal” itinerary will be the 9,658-TEU CMA CGM Pelleas, departing Port Qasim Nov. 13 and transiting the Suez Canal Nov. 30. CMA CGM has no vessel partners on the Indamex, following the Gemini alliance-linked <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/india-us-east-coast-trade-poised-for-major-ocean-capacity-shakeup-5192172 ">network split with Hapag-Lloyd</a>. Industry sources have cited two plausible factors for the Suez return: capacity pressure and enhanced multinational naval presence along the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden route.  “It’s with the support of French forces,” a Mumbai-based industry observer told the Journal of Commerce.  In contrast to CMA CGM, the Gemini Cooperation of Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd in early October announced it had ruled out Suez sailings for its network launching Feb. 1 next year. Contact Bency Matthew at <a href="bencymathew@gmail.com">bencymathew@gmail.com</a>. </div>

CMA CGM has taken the lead among major carriers in reinstating the traditional — and significantly shorter — Suez Canal route that the vast majority of vessels abandoned in late 2023 due to the Red Sea crisis. The Marseille-based carrier’s Indamex service between West India and North America — arguably the most sought-after network by exporters on the trade lane — is set to resume operating on its full port rotation via the Suez, which will include calls to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and Damietta, Egypt, in both directions, as well as Tanger Med, Morocco, on the westbound leg. The Indamex had been sailing on a truncated rotation of Port Qasim, Nhava Sheva, Mundra, New York, Norfolk, Savannah, Charleston and Port Qasim. On resumption of the Suez transit, the service will operate with 11 vessels, rather than the 12 ships that had been deployed to account for the longer transits around the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa. The revamped service will offer transit times of 31 days from Nhava Sheva to New York, down from between 35 and 40 days with the current rotation.  The first vessel to sail under the “normal” itinerary will be the 9,658-TEU CMA CGM Pelleas, departing Port Qasim Nov. 13 and transiting the Suez Canal Nov. 30. CMA CGM has no vessel partners on the Indamex, following the Gemini alliance-linked network split with Hapag-Lloyd .  Industry sources have cited two plausible factors for the Suez return: capacity pressure and enhanced multinational naval presence along the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden route.  “It’s with the support of French forces,” a Mumbai-based industry observer told the Journal of Commerce.  In contrast to CMA CGM, the Gemini Cooperation of Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd in early October announced it had ruled out Suez sailings for its network launching Feb. 1 next year. Contact Bency Matthew at bencymathew@gmail.com .

CMA CGM reinstates Suez transits on India-US route

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The Journal of Commerce Truckload Capacity Index indicates large US carriers pulled back on capacity cuts in the third quarter and are planning for expansion and higher rates.</div>

The Journal of Commerce Truckload Capacity Index indicates large US carriers pulled back on capacity cuts in the third quarter and are planning for expansion and higher rates.

<div class="phx-topic">The long, steep slide in the Journal of Commerce Truckload Capacity Index (TCI), a measure of trucks fielded by large companies, almost came to a halt in the third quarter, with the index dropping only 0.3 percentage point from the previous quarter. That slight drop in the third quarter TCI indicates large, publicly owned truckload carriers are reining in efforts to cut their fleet capacity as the US truckload market shows signs of rising from the pricing bottom it struck last year, although freight demand is weak. “We continue to see positive signs that we believe point to the early stages of an improving operating environment,” Derek Leathers, chairman and CEO of Werner Enterprises, said during an Oct. 29 earnings call. “We’ve secured some contractual rate increases.” <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="35c695a2-a36a-4f58-bb37-2af3d1035470"></dynamic-object></div>Dry-van truckload spot rates were stable for four weeks, with an average rate of $1.65 per mile excluding fuel surcharges, before rising last week to $1.66 per mile, according to DAT Freight &amp; Analytics. That average is 10 cents higher than the same week a year ago. “Replacement rates” in new dry van contracts are up 1% to 2% year over year in early November, Dean Croke, principal analyst at DAT, told the Journal of Commerce Thursday. “Shippers know the days of rate decreases are behind them,” he said. Truckload capacity remains a key concern and metric for carriers, brokers and shippers as they venture further into annual contract negotiations in the fourth quarter. Despite <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/us-truckload-carriers-cutting-deeper-into-fleets-capacity-5703090">steep cuts in capacity at large carriers</a> and the exit of tens of thousands of small carriers since the beginning of the current downcycle in freight demand in 2022, truckload capacity remains readily available, shippers have told the Journal of Commerce. Even so, “there is an ongoing kind of subtle tightening taking place,” Leathers told Wall Street analysts. “Our expectation as we look into 2025 is that the time for rates to be going up is upon us. The question is the magnitude, and I think it’s too early to tell.” <h3>Lowest TCI in 10 years </h3>The eighth consecutive quarterly drop in the TCI was the smallest sequential decrease since the index began to fall in the third quarter of 2022. Since that time, the index has dropped 16.6 percentage points as large truckload carriers shed equipment. The 76.6% TCI reading for the third quarter is the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2014 and is only 2.8 percentage points higher than the index’s nadir of 73.8 in the 2013 fourth quarter. The last time the index dropped 16.6 points was between 2008 and 2013. The TCI has dropped as far in the last two years as it had in the four and a half years following the 2008–09 recession. That says much about the severity of the freight downturn that began in 2022. From 2020 to 2022, truckload demand boomed and pricing on average rose 60%, according to the US producer price index (PPI) for long-distance truckload primary services.The truckload PPI, a measure of all-inclusive, shipper-paid “selling prices,” has dropped 26% since its pandemic peak in May 2022. The PPI has remained in a narrow range between readings of 170 and 175 since June 2023 — defining the market bottom. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="d23f2a9b-3229-4a30-a8ff-b0aa7208f5cc"></dynamic-object></div><h3>Carriers looking for some lift </h3>Werner, one of the carriers tracked by the TCI, has cut its capacity by 13.4% since the last quarter of 2022, reducing it to 7,445 heavy-duty trucks. In the last quarter, it slowed its sequential rate of capacity reduction to 0.2%, the company’s earnings data shows. The overall TCI group of carriers slashed its truck count 14.1% in the same period. The group’s collective capacity is down 23.4% from the fourth quarter of 2006, the base period for the index, which was originally created to track capacity recovery from the 2008–09 recession. “We remain confident in our position to return the fleet to growth given demand improvement within some of our existing fleets and our high customer retention,” Werner CFO Christopher D. Wikoff told investment analysts during the company’s earnings call. Still, the TCI shows large truckload carriers have not recovered all the capacity they had before the Great Recession 15 years ago. The recovery from that period launched a capacity shift in the truckload market, with the number of small carriers steadily rising. The “long tail” of small trucking companies got much longer during the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of active motor carrier operating authorities rose 53% from 2019 through 2022, according to the US Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Since the freight downturn began in 2022, about 35,000 to 40,000 trucking companies have left the market, whether through shutdowns or acquisitions. But there were still 93,100 more active carriers in October than in December 2022, the FMCSA’s data shows. Even so, “it does feel like we are closer to a rebalancing or equilibrium,” DAT’s Croke said. “The rate of carriers leaving has slowed to a low net negative, closer to neutral.” Contact William B. Cassidy at <a href="mailto:bill.cassidy@spglobal.com">bill.cassidy@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

The long, steep slide in the Journal of Commerce Truckload Capacity Index (TCI), a measure of trucks fielded by large companies, almost came to a halt in the third quarter, with the index dropping only 0.3 percentage point from the previous quarter. That slight drop in the third quarter TCI indicates large, publicly owned truckload carriers are reining in efforts to cut their fleet capacity as the US truckload market shows signs of rising from the pricing bottom it struck last year, although freight demand is weak. “We continue to see positive signs that we believe point to the early stages of an improving operating environment,” Derek Leathers, chairman and CEO of Werner Enterprises, said during an Oct. 29 earnings call. “We’ve secured some contractual rate increases.” Dry-van truckload spot rates were stable for four weeks, with an average rate of $1.65 per mile excluding fuel surcharges, before rising last week to $1.66 per mile, according to DAT Freight & Analytics. That average is 10 cents higher than the same week a year ago. “Replacement rates” in new dry van contracts are up 1% to 2% year over year in early November, Dean Croke, principal analyst at DAT, told the Journal of Commerce Thursday. “Shippers know the days of rate decreases are behind them,” he said. Truckload capacity remains a key concern and metric for carriers, brokers and shippers as they venture further into annual contract negotiations in the fourth quarter. Despite steep cuts in capacity at large carriers and the exit of tens of thousands of small carriers since the beginning of the current downcycle in freight demand in 2022, truckload capacity remains readily available, shippers have told the Journal of Commerce. Even so, “there is an ongoing kind of subtle tightening taking place,” Leathers told Wall Street analysts. “Our expectation as we look into 2025 is that the time for rates to be going up is upon us. The question is the magnitude, and I think it’s too early to tell.” Lowest TCI in 10 years The eighth consecutive quarterly drop in the TCI was the smallest sequential decrease since the index began to fall in the third quarter of 2022. Since that time, the index has dropped 16.6 percentage points as large truckload carriers shed equipment. The 76.6% TCI reading for the third quarter is the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2014 and is only 2.8 percentage points higher than the index’s nadir of 73.8 in the 2013 fourth quarter. The last time the index dropped 16.6 points was between 2008 and 2013. The TCI has dropped as far in the last two years as it had in the four and a half years following the 2008–09 recession. That says much about the severity of the freight downturn that began in 2022. From 2020 to 2022, truckload demand boomed and pricing on average rose 60%, according to the US producer price index (PPI) for long-distance truckload primary services. The truckload PPI, a measure of all-inclusive, shipper-paid “selling prices,” has dropped 26% since its pandemic peak in May 2022. The PPI has remained in a narrow range between readings of 170 and 175 since June 2023 — defining the market bottom. Carriers looking for some lift Werner, one of the carriers tracked by the TCI, has cut its capacity by 13.4% since the last quarter of 2022, reducing it to 7,445 heavy-duty trucks. In the last quarter, it slowed its sequential rate of capacity reduction to 0.2%, the company’s earnings data shows. The overall TCI group of carriers slashed its truck count 14.1% in the same period. The group’s collective capacity is down 23.4% from the fourth quarter of 2006, the base period for the index, which was originally created to track capacity recovery from the 2008–09 recession. “We remain confident in our position to return the fleet to growth given demand improvement within some of our existing fleets and our high customer retention,” Werner CFO Christopher D. Wikoff told investment analysts during the company’s earnings call. Still, the TCI shows large truckload carriers have not recovered all the capacity they had before the Great Recession 15 years ago. The recovery from that period launched a capacity shift in the truckload market, with the number of small carriers steadily rising. The “long tail” of small trucking companies got much longer during the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of active motor carrier operating authorities rose 53% from 2019 through 2022, according to the US Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Since the freight downturn began in 2022, about 35,000 to 40,000 trucking companies have left the market, whether through shutdowns or acquisitions. But there were still 93,100 more active carriers in October than in December 2022, the FMCSA’s data shows. Even so, “it does feel like we are closer to a rebalancing or equilibrium,” DAT’s Croke said. “The rate of carriers leaving has slowed to a low net negative, closer to neutral.” Contact William B. Cassidy at bill.cassidy@spglobal.com .

Large carrier truckload capacity stabilizing alongside rates

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The bullish fundamentals are expected to keep US imports healthy as the year ends and put a floor under rates, according to participants at this year’s CONECT conference.</div>

The bullish fundamentals are expected to keep US imports healthy as the year ends and put a floor under rates, according to participants at this year’s CONECT conference.

<div class="phx-topic">Waltham, MASSACHUSETTS — The confluence of strong pre-Lunar New Year cargo bookings, worries over new US tariffs and the potential for another work stoppage along the US East and Gulf coasts is expected to keep ocean freight demand elevated through the end of 2024, carrier and shipper sources say. Those bullish fundamentals will put a floor under spot rates during the fourth quarter and position the 2025 market for more potential rate increases, they say. Speaking Wednesday at the Coalition of New England Companies for Trade (CONECT) conference in Waltham, Massachusetts, Don Davis, vice president at Zim Integrated Shipping Services, said <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/strong-imports-low-blanks-extend-peak-season-on-eastbound-trans-pacific-5782101">the carrier expects strong demand for vessel space</a> during the last two months of the year due to shippers trying to move cargo before Lunar New Year, which begins Jan. 29, about two weeks earlier than this year. “This early Lunar New Year is expected to have an impact,” Davis said. “It’s likely to cause some stress in import capacity. “We see our booking pattern increasing when we look at November and December,” he added. “It’s likely that there’s going to be some capacity constraints until the end of the year.” About 5.4% of the total capacity into the US West Coast is forecast as of now to be blanked in November, according to data from maritime intelligence firm eeSea. The figure is about 8.1% on the East Coast. That’s down from the 11.5% blanked capacity observed in November of 2023 for ex-Asia imports into both regions. November’s blanks are down sharply from 16% to the West Coast and 21% to the East Coast in October, according to the eeSea data. With global schedule reliability hovering near 50%, Davis said blank sailings are necessary to get vessels back on a weekly rotation. “It’s really operational in nature when we have to have blank sailings for the most part,” he said. “It has an impact on you, but certainly it’s not something we want to try and do. It’s a lost revenue move for us.” The director of international logistics for a furniture retailer who asked not to be identified said that Lunar New Year closures are occurring across a broader swath of its Asian suppliers for longer durations. The retailer is looking to step up its imports over the next two months to get ahead of those closures. “It used to be just for a week, now Lunar New Year might last two, three weeks,” the source said. After falling almost without fail on a weekly basis since July, spot container rates have started November with gains. Platts, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global, assessed the North Asia to US East Coast spot container rate at $5,000 per FEU as of Nov. 5, up 17% from the last week of October. The rate to the US West Coast was pegged at $4,450 per FEU, a 7% gain. <h3>Tariffs, ILA deadline a concern </h3><a href="https://www.joc.com/article/potential-trump-tariffs-would-reset-business-strategy-for-us-importers-analyst-5765307">Shippers are also starting to reckon with the tariff risk after the presidential election of Donald Trump</a>, who has promised sweeping tariffs across all import goods. The logistics director said his company had two sets of purchase orders at the ready depending on which candidate came into office, with the election now forcing them to move more goods sooner based on the tariff threat. A commercial account manager at the Port of New York and New Jersey who asked not to be identified said some retailers are expecting to increase their inbound freight volumes in the next quarter by 20% in response to the tariff threat. Kim Supik, the international logistics director for discount retail Ocean State Job Lot, said during a CONECT panel discussion that importers still have time to get ahead of any new potential tariffs. She added that importers gained experience with Trump’s first round of tariffs in 2018 that should prepare them for any new tariffs after he assumes office again in January 2025. ”We currently have product that we make that is under tariffs that were initiated before. We’ve had to absorb them because what else are you going to do?” Supik said. “I think that the tariffs will come down all in one fell swoop.” Some shippers may also be looking to move cargo ahead of a potential work stoppage at East and Gulf coast ports if <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/ila-usmx-agree-on-new-wage-offer-and-contract-extension-that-reopens-ports-5741882">a final deal between the International Longshoremen’s Association and the US Maritime Alliance is not reached by a Jan. 15 deadline</a>. Lisa Yakomin, president of the Association of Bi-State Motor Carriers, said during the panel discussion that <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/ila-usmx-say-to-resume-talks-on-new-master-contract-in-november-5778794">union and maritime employers are scheduled to start meeting in mid-November</a> in hopes of reaching a deal ahead of the deadline. “Everyone that I speak to at the ILA and USMX is acting in good faith and wanting to get this done,” she said. Contact Michael Angell at <a href="mailto:michael.angell@spglobal.com">michael.angell@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Waltham, MASSACHUSETTS — The confluence of strong pre-Lunar New Year cargo bookings, worries over new US tariffs and the potential for another work stoppage along the US East and Gulf coasts is expected to keep ocean freight demand elevated through the end of 2024, carrier and shipper sources say. Those bullish fundamentals will put a floor under spot rates during the fourth quarter and position the 2025 market for more potential rate increases, they say. Speaking Wednesday at the Coalition of New England Companies for Trade (CONECT) conference in Waltham, Massachusetts, Don Davis, vice president at Zim Integrated Shipping Services, said the carrier expects strong demand for vessel space during the last two months of the year due to shippers trying to move cargo before Lunar New Year, which begins Jan. 29, about two weeks earlier than this year. “This early Lunar New Year is expected to have an impact,” Davis said. “It’s likely to cause some stress in import capacity. “We see our booking pattern increasing when we look at November and December,” he added. “It’s likely that there’s going to be some capacity constraints until the end of the year.” About 5.4% of the total capacity into the US West Coast is forecast as of now to be blanked in November, according to data from maritime intelligence firm eeSea. The figure is about 8.1% on the East Coast. That’s down from the 11.5% blanked capacity observed in November of 2023 for ex-Asia imports into both regions. November’s blanks are down sharply from 16% to the West Coast and 21% to the East Coast in October, according to the eeSea data. With global schedule reliability hovering near 50%, Davis said blank sailings are necessary to get vessels back on a weekly rotation. “It’s really operational in nature when we have to have blank sailings for the most part,” he said. “It has an impact on you, but certainly it’s not something we want to try and do. It’s a lost revenue move for us.” The director of international logistics for a furniture retailer who asked not to be identified said that Lunar New Year closures are occurring across a broader swath of its Asian suppliers for longer durations. The retailer is looking to step up its imports over the next two months to get ahead of those closures. “It used to be just for a week, now Lunar New Year might last two, three weeks,” the source said. After falling almost without fail on a weekly basis since July, spot container rates have started November with gains. Platts, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global, assessed the North Asia to US East Coast spot container rate at $5,000 per FEU as of Nov. 5, up 17% from the last week of October. The rate to the US West Coast was pegged at $4,450 per FEU, a 7% gain. Tariffs, ILA deadline a concern Shippers are also starting to reckon with the tariff risk after the presidential election of Donald Trump , who has promised sweeping tariffs across all import goods. The logistics director said his company had two sets of purchase orders at the ready depending on which candidate came into office, with the election now forcing them to move more goods sooner based on the tariff threat. A commercial account manager at the Port of New York and New Jersey who asked not to be identified said some retailers are expecting to increase their inbound freight volumes in the next quarter by 20% in response to the tariff threat. Kim Supik, the international logistics director for discount retail Ocean State Job Lot, said during a CONECT panel discussion that importers still have time to get ahead of any new potential tariffs. She added that importers gained experience with Trump’s first round of tariffs in 2018 that should prepare them for any new tariffs after he assumes office again in January 2025. ”We currently have product that we make that is under tariffs that were initiated before. We’ve had to absorb them because what else are you going to do?” Supik said. “I think that the tariffs will come down all in one fell swoop.” Some shippers may also be looking to move cargo ahead of a potential work stoppage at East and Gulf coast ports if a final deal between the International Longshoremen’s Association and the US Maritime Alliance is not reached by a Jan. 15 deadline . Lisa Yakomin, president of the Association of Bi-State Motor Carriers, said during the panel discussion that union and maritime employers are scheduled to start meeting in mid-November in hopes of reaching a deal ahead of the deadline. “Everyone that I speak to at the ILA and USMX is acting in good faith and wanting to get this done,” she said. Contact Michael Angell at michael.angell@spglobal.com .

Early Lunar New Year, tariffs, strike risk underpin Q4 strength in ocean freight

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Despite multiple highly disruptive exterior events, from hurricanes to labor strikes, there has not been an intermodal service meltdown in North America, writes Larry Gross.</div>

Despite multiple highly disruptive exterior events, from hurricanes to labor strikes, there has not been an intermodal service meltdown in North America, writes Larry Gross.

<div class="phx-topic">In one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous Sherlock Holmes short stories, “Silver Blaze” — a mystery involving the disappearance of a famous racehorse and the death of its trainer — the culprit is ultimately identified in part by the fact that the stable’s watchdog was not heard barking that night. Holmes infers from this that the dog knew the murderer, and that the canine thought that this familiar individual offered no threat. <div class="wrapper-narrow float-right-element"><img src="/images/phoenix/5788792_0.1.jpg"></img></div>There is, perhaps, an intermodal equivalent of late, and that is the fact that despite multiple highly disruptive exterior events, there has not been an intermodal service meltdown. Yes, the system has seen some bending, but it has not broken. The news is mainly not the presence of stories covering a meltdown, but rather, the absence of them. A list of the disruptive elements thus far this year is enough to make your head spin. IPI (inland point intermodal) movements of ISO containers out of California rose 40% in the third quarter versus the prior year — a huge increase that necessitated massive repositioning of railcar and locomotive capacity. <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/canadas-labour-minister-orders-end-to-rail-work-stoppage-via-binding-arbitration-5709672">A rail strike in Canada</a>, although thankfully short-lived, completely shut down operations north of the border in late August. <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/us-truckload-market-edging-closer-to-equilibrium-following-hurricanes-5751947">Three major hurricanes</a> caused major impacts in the Southeast in late summer and fall. To top it all off (so far), <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/us-east-gulf-coast-ports-confident-of-smooth-post-strike-reopening-5742607">the brief longshore strike at the beginning of October</a> affected every port from Maine to Texas. This is not to say that intermodal’s performance has been immaculate. Far from it. There has been congestion on the West Coast and dwell times have lengthened. The metrics tracked by the US Surface Transportation Board (STB) <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/up-pins-performance-slip-on-lack-of-notice-from-ocean-carriers-5773561">have shown the strain</a>. Most notably, average intermodal train speeds have dropped well below average (29.1 mph in the most recent week versus an average of 30.5 mph for that week over the previous five years). In the same week, the number of loaded intermodal cars that did not move for 48 hours or more was up by about 25% versus the five-year average, another negative sign. But the number of intermodal trains that were holding prior to departure due to lack of crews, locomotives or other causes was still actually a bit below normal, indicating adequate supplies of these key capacity limiters. The takeaway is that while the intermodal network was laboring, it was still fluid and there was no service meltdown. <h3>Advance warning helped </h3>The railroads had an advantage in that most of these events, with the exception of the hurricanes, had plenty of advance warning, so they had time to put their contingency plans in place. Volume was proactively throttled in advance of the disruptions, preventing the system from clogging up and facilitating a quick recovery. Equipment was repositioned to handle the surges. Sufficient numbers of train-operating personnel, cars and locomotives were available and put to use. Helping the situation was the adequate availability of other non-railroad indicators that were in short supply the last time around. This includes drayage capacity, chassis capacity and warehouse space, both at transload sites near the ports and at inland locales. These all combined to keep the pipelines open and flowing. The results point toward the conclusion that lessons were learned during the recent meltdowns and improvements have been made. The performance hasn’t been perfect, but as Winston Churchill is reputed to have said: “Perfection is the enemy of progress.” Contact Larry Gross at <a href="mailto:lgross@intermodalindepth.com">lgross@intermodalindepth.com</a>. </div>

In one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous Sherlock Holmes short stories, “Silver Blaze” — a mystery involving the disappearance of a famous racehorse and the death of its trainer — the culprit is ultimately identified in part by the fact that the stable’s watchdog was not heard barking that night. Holmes infers from this that the dog knew the murderer, and that the canine thought that this familiar individual offered no threat. There is, perhaps, an intermodal equivalent of late, and that is the fact that despite multiple highly disruptive exterior events, there has not been an intermodal service meltdown. Yes, the system has seen some bending, but it has not broken. The news is mainly not the presence of stories covering a meltdown, but rather, the absence of them. A list of the disruptive elements thus far this year is enough to make your head spin. IPI (inland point intermodal) movements of ISO containers out of California rose 40% in the third quarter versus the prior year — a huge increase that necessitated massive repositioning of railcar and locomotive capacity. A rail strike in Canada , although thankfully short-lived, completely shut down operations north of the border in late August. Three major hurricanes caused major impacts in the Southeast in late summer and fall. To top it all off (so far), the brief longshore strike at the beginning of October affected every port from Maine to Texas. This is not to say that intermodal’s performance has been immaculate. Far from it. There has been congestion on the West Coast and dwell times have lengthened. The metrics tracked by the US Surface Transportation Board (STB) have shown the strain . Most notably, average intermodal train speeds have dropped well below average (29.1 mph in the most recent week versus an average of 30.5 mph for that week over the previous five years). In the same week, the number of loaded intermodal cars that did not move for 48 hours or more was up by about 25% versus the five-year average, another negative sign. But the number of intermodal trains that were holding prior to departure due to lack of crews, locomotives or other causes was still actually a bit below normal, indicating adequate supplies of these key capacity limiters. The takeaway is that while the intermodal network was laboring, it was still fluid and there was no service meltdown. Advance warning helped The railroads had an advantage in that most of these events, with the exception of the hurricanes, had plenty of advance warning, so they had time to put their contingency plans in place. Volume was proactively throttled in advance of the disruptions, preventing the system from clogging up and facilitating a quick recovery. Equipment was repositioned to handle the surges. Sufficient numbers of train-operating personnel, cars and locomotives were available and put to use. Helping the situation was the adequate availability of other non-railroad indicators that were in short supply the last time around. This includes drayage capacity, chassis capacity and warehouse space, both at transload sites near the ports and at inland locales. These all combined to keep the pipelines open and flowing. The results point toward the conclusion that lessons were learned during the recent meltdowns and improvements have been made. The performance hasn’t been perfect, but as Winston Churchill is reputed to have said: “Perfection is the enemy of progress.” Contact Larry Gross at lgross@intermodalindepth.com .

Intermodal bent, but didn’t break, during recent disruptive events: analyst

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Sources also noted that some recent sailings on the trade lane have had difficulty filling space at Nhava Sheva and Mundra in line with declared allocation plans.</div>

Sources also noted that some recent sailings on the trade lane have had difficulty filling space at Nhava Sheva and Mundra in line with declared allocation plans.

<div class="phx-topic">Container lines on the India-US trades are navigating intense rate pressure amid the downturn in headhaul volumes, according to local market updates. Spot rates from West India to the US East Coast have dropped between $2,500 and $3,000 per TEU over the last month or so, freight forwarders who spoke with the Journal of Commerce say. Sources put current average rates at $2,200 per TEU and $2,300 per FEU for the lead carriers on the trade lane, while reporting even lower rates from a few carriers working on slot rights, mainly OOCL and HMM, for large-volume accounts. By carrier, published booking rates as of Thursday for loads from Nhava Sheva/Mundra to New York stand at: Maersk — $2,097 per TEU and $2,385 per FEU; CMA CGM — $2,332 and $2,732; Hapag-Lloyd — $2,432 and $2,832; Ocean Network Express — $2,539 and $2,784; Cosco Shipping — $2,246 and $2,501; and OOCL — $2,146 and $2,401, data obtained from forwarders shows. Forwarder executives generally expect booking prices on the route to fall to $2,000 per TEU by late November and to about $1,800 in early December, a level at which carriers were signing contracts in May before the sharp spike that began in mid-June. Platts, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global, pegged India-USEC spot rates at $2,450 per FEU as of Nov. 5, the lowest since mid-June and down from $5,300 per FEU two months ago. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="893ffa5c-0a69-45c7-a555-425e44318711"></dynamic-object></div>“India-USEC ocean rates seem to be going back to the late-second-quarter trendline,” a sales executive at a Mumbai-based forwarding house who didn’t want to be identified told the Journal of Commerce. “This downward shift could continue through December.” Forwarders also noted that some recent India-USEC sailings have had difficulty filling space at Nhava Sheva and Mundra in line with declared allocation plans. Schedule disruptions also persist on the trade lane because of the Red Sea-linked diversions and network realignments, with three November calls out of West India expected to be voided. Still, major carriers have lined up a fresh round of rate increases for early December, including a $1,000-per-container hike announcement by Hapag-Lloyd. However, forwarders do not believe carriers have an opportunity to attempt any measurable price hikes in the immediate future. Contact Bency Mathew at <a href="mailto:bencyvmathew@gmail.com">bencyvmathew@gmail.com</a>. </div>

Container lines on the India-US trades are navigating intense rate pressure amid the downturn in headhaul volumes, according to local market updates. Spot rates from West India to the US East Coast have dropped between $2,500 and $3,000 per TEU over the last month or so, freight forwarders who spoke with the Journal of Commerce say. Sources put current average rates at $2,200 per TEU and $2,300 per FEU for the lead carriers on the trade lane, while reporting even lower rates from a few carriers working on slot rights, mainly OOCL and HMM, for large-volume accounts. By carrier, published booking rates as of Thursday for loads from Nhava Sheva/Mundra to New York stand at: Maersk — $2,097 per TEU and $2,385 per FEU; CMA CGM — $2,332 and $2,732; Hapag-Lloyd — $2,432 and $2,832; Ocean Network Express — $2,539 and $2,784; Cosco Shipping — $2,246 and $2,501; and OOCL — $2,146 and $2,401, data obtained from forwarders shows. Forwarder executives generally expect booking prices on the route to fall to $2,000 per TEU by late November and to about $1,800 in early December, a level at which carriers were signing contracts in May before the sharp spike that began in mid-June. Platts, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global, pegged India-USEC spot rates at $2,450 per FEU as of Nov. 5, the lowest since mid-June and down from $5,300 per FEU two months ago. “India-USEC ocean rates seem to be going back to the late-second-quarter trendline,” a sales executive at a Mumbai-based forwarding house who didn’t want to be identified told the Journal of Commerce. “This downward shift could continue through December.” Forwarders also noted that some recent India-USEC sailings have had difficulty filling space at Nhava Sheva and Mundra in line with declared allocation plans. Schedule disruptions also persist on the trade lane because of the Red Sea-linked diversions and network realignments, with three November calls out of West India expected to be voided. Still, major carriers have lined up a fresh round of rate increases for early December, including a $1,000-per-container hike announcement by Hapag-Lloyd. However, forwarders do not believe carriers have an opportunity to attempt any measurable price hikes in the immediate future. Contact Bency Mathew at bencyvmathew@gmail.com .

India-USEC rates hit four-month low amid sagging cargo volumes: forwarders

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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

SSA Marine Mexico has made significant strides in modernizing its infrastructure at the Port of Manzanillo, investing $15 million to enhance operational efficiency and sustainability at its facilities. This move is part of the company's broader strategy to remain at the forefront of the shipping and logistics industry. •	Strengthening Sustainability with Advanced Technology <figure class="joc_admin__inline-image-position-left joc_admin__inline-image-size-medium" data-figure-size="medium" data-figure-position="left"><img src="/content-assets/1730488295264_Cranes%20arrival%20to%20TEC%20I.png" alt="Cranes arrival to TEC I" class="joc_admin__inline-image-inherit"></figure> In July, SSA Marine Mexico added seven state-of-the-art E-RTG (Electric Rubber-Tired Gantry) cranes to its fleet, valued at $14 million. These advanced cranes were distributed across its two terminals: four cranes were assigned to the Multipurpose Terminal, and three to the Specialized Container Terminal I. What sets these cranes apart is their dual-operation capability, allowing them to function either on electric power or diesel fuel. This innovation plays a critical role in reducing the environmental impact of operations, contributing to a 7% increase in energy efficiency. This efficiency improvement is equivalent to eliminating nearly 4,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually, underscoring SSA Marine Mexico's commitment to sustainability. Through this acquisition, SSA Marine Mexico not only enhances its cargo-handling capabilities but also reinforces its leadership in integrating cutting-edge, eco-friendly technology in the maritime industry. The company continues to push the boundaries of efficiency and sustainability, ensuring long-term value for both its customers and the environment. •	Upgraded Facilities to Meet Growing Demand <figure class="joc_admin__inline-image-position-left joc_admin__inline-image-size-medium" data-figure-size="medium" data-figure-position="left"><img src="/content-assets/1730488350634_Multipurpose%20terminal.png" alt="Multipurpose Terminal" class="joc_admin__inline-image-inherit"></figure> In addition to the new cranes, SSA Marine Mexico has completed crucial modernization and repair work across its Multipurpose Terminal and Specialized Facility at the Port of Manzanillo. This $1 million investment targeted critical infrastructure enhancements, focusing on both structural integrity and operational functionality. Key improvements included leveling approximately 12,000 square meters in the dock area, along with the removal of outdated concrete curbs and asphalt layers. The upgraded space now features high-resistance pavers designed to optimize water drainage and prevent pooling, ensuring safer and more efficient operations. Moreover, the Specialized Facility saw significant upgrades, including the leveling of key warehouse areas to facilitate smoother cargo handling processes. These infrastructure improvements directly enhance the handling of TEUS (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit containers), further demonstrating SSA Marine Mexico's unwavering commitment to continuous modernization, operational safety, and efficiency. With these initiatives, SSA Marine Mexico is well-positioned to meet the growing demands of the global shipping industry while setting new standards in sustainable port operations. LINK:<a href="https://www.ssamarine.mx/ssa-ing/index" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link"> https://www.ssamarine.mx/ssa-ing/index</a>

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SSA Marine Mexico Modernizes Facilities with $15 Million Investment 

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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