<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The truckload spot market is cooling after a surge in rates and volume, but seasonality is expected to give it another boost as year-end holidays approach. </div>

The truckload spot market is cooling after a surge in rates and volume, but seasonality is expected to give it another boost as year-end holidays approach.

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<div>The US truckload spot market is settling after two weeks of hurricane- and strike-inspired surges in pricing and volume, indicating the market isn’t at a long-awaited turning point in either freight demand or spot pricing — at least not yet. But spot and contract truckload rates do appear to show the US truck market is closer to equilibrium, with slight year-over-year spot increases for dry-van freight in September and slight declines in contract rates, according to DAT Freight &amp; Analytics. <div></div>Excluding fuel surcharges, the DAT average dry-van monthly spot rate was flat from August to September at $1.59 per mile....

The US truckload spot market is settling after two weeks of hurricane- and strike-inspired surges in pricing and volume, indicating the market isn’t at a long-awaited turning point in either freight demand or spot pricing — at least not yet. But spot and contract truckload rates do appear to show the US truck market is closer to equilibrium, with slight year-over-year spot increases for dry-van freight in September and slight declines in contract rates, according to DAT Freight & Analytics. Excluding fuel surcharges, the DAT average dry-van monthly spot rate was flat from August to September at $1.59 per mile. To date in October, that rate has risen 4 cents to $1.63 per mile, propelled largely by double-digit increases in the Southeast. “[Spot] rates went up [in early October] and then just stayed there,” Dean Croke, principal analyst at DAT, told the Journal of Commerce Thursday. Rates are poised to move higher as seasonal demand kicks in during the weeks leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday. DAT’s weekly average US dry-van spot rate fell 1 cent last week to $1.64 per mile and load postings were down 14% on a national basis, erasing the previous week’s volume gains. The national linehaul average rate had increased 3 cents per mile in the previous week. During the same period, Truckstop.com’s average US linehaul spot rate rose 1 cent to $1.93 per mile after climbing 7 cents the previous week. Dry-van loads in Truckstop’s system dropped 4.6%, while truck postings fell 5.5% from the previous week. Some spot volume likely dropped because freight simply couldn’t get to locations affected by Hurricane Milton, which plowed across Florida Oct. 9-10. Severe Southeast impact The check on spot rates last week appears to show the limits of a short-term boost in loads and rates from hurricanes Helene and Milton absent real change in long-term demand. The hurricanes, which struck barely two weeks apart, did substantial damage, drawing down truck capacity as relief and recovery efforts got under way. Spot rates rose slightly on a national basis following Helene but shot up in the Southeast, rising 10% in one week. Southeastern spot rates are still high and will likely remain elevated for months. DAT’s average dry-van spot rate from Atlanta to Lakeland, Florida, averaged $3.10 per mile Friday, up from $2.59 in September. But the impact is still mostly regional , Croke said. Despite the recent runup in spot pricing, “we’re not seeing anything on the demand horizon that will fundamentally change the market dynamics other than seasonality,” he said. Industrial output lagging Continued weakness in manufacturing is one factor keeping freight demand low. US manufacturing output dropped 0.4% from August to September, following a 0.5% increase the previous month, the US Federal Reserve announced Thursday. The decline in manufacturing output — a leading source of truck freight — was widespread across furniture, motor vehicles and parts, electrical equipment, appliances and components. A month-long strike at Boeing contributed to the decline, the Fed said. The S&P Global US Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell for the third straight month in September, dropping to 47.3 from 47.9 in August. Orders and output both dropped, said S&P Global, the parent company of the Journal of Commerce. The balance in the truckload market could shift more quickly if capacity tightens. Carriers don’t have to shut down or cut more trucks to tighten capacity. Simply slowing freight delivery can upset schedules and reduce the availability of tractor-trailers. “When the velocity of freight slows, but not demand, everything backs up,” said Croke. “That creates a ripple effect that takes weeks to work its way through the market.” How much capacity may contract is a question on the minds of many shippers. Although there is still excess capacity in the market, “you don’t need a Ouija board to anticipate that the market is going to turn,” John Janson, vice president of global logistics for apparel shipper Sanmar, said during an Oct. 10 TranzAct Technologies webinar. Contact William B. Cassidy at bill.cassidy@spglobal.com .

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US truckload market edging closer to equilibrium following hurricanes

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">A general rate increase implemented by carriers in the eastbound trans-Pacific on April 1 has largely stuck, giving shippers less leverage in attempting to lower contract rates for 2025–26 service year.</div>

A general rate increase implemented by carriers in the eastbound trans-Pacific on April 1 has largely stuck, giving shippers less leverage in attempting to lower contract rates for 2025–26 service year.

<div class="phx-topic">Just weeks after signing 2025–26 service contracts with trans-Pacific ocean carriers at $1,600 to $1,800 per FEU for West Coast imports, big-box retailers are attempting to knock those numbers down as they look to assign their remaining cargo to liners they have yet to ink deals with. That final push, which will play out in the coming weeks, may face some headwinds, however. That’s because a general rate increase (GRI) implemented by carriers on April 1 has largely stuck, giving shippers less leverage in attempting to lower contract rates for next service year. The largest big-box retailers <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/largest-us-importers-finalizing-contracts-in-unsettled-trans-pacific-5971122">in recent weeks signed annual service contracts</a> with their core carriers in the range of $1,600 to $1,800 per FEU from Asia to the West Coast and about $2,600 to $2,800 per FEU to the East Coast. Those rates are about 15% to 20% higher than what they signed for in their existing 2024–25 contracts. Most contracts will run from May 1 through April 30, 2026. The Journal of Commerce spoke with 10 forwarders, three carriers and two consultants for this story. Large retailers ship with multiple carriers, and they are reportedly negotiating with their remaining core carriers for lower rates. However, most carriers on Tuesday implemented GRIs of up to $1,000 per FEU on spot rates. “It’s pretty much across the board for almost all carriers,” Kurt McElroy, executive vice president at the forwarder Kerry Apex, said of the GRIs. Platts, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global, pegged spot rates to the West Coast at $2,275 per FEU as of Thursday, up 42% week over week. The East Coast rate was exactly $1,000 higher at $3,275/FEU, up 26%. Carriers attempt to leverage rising spot rates into higher contract rates as they finalize contract negotiations with customers. <h3>GRIs providing support for carriers </h3>When contract negotiations in the eastbound trans-Pacific began earlier this year, carriers said they were aiming for rates of <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/trans-pacific-carriers-reaching-higher-in-early-202526-contract-talks-5952701">$2,000 per FEU to the West Coast and $3,000 to the East Coast</a> with their largest customers. By setting the floor at those rates, carriers would then attempt to sign the second tier of customers for a couple of hundred dollars per FEU higher. But with spot rates in decline until late March, carriers were forced to accept levels about $200 to $400 under their expectations. Now, with a mostly successfully GRI to provide support, they are making a final push to reverse the momentum and get close to their original goal, Ben Coleman, president of the forwarder Teampower Logistics, said. “They started with $2,000 [to the West Coast], then early signings dropped that to $1,600-$1,800, and now they’re trying to claw back to $2,000,” Coleman said. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="e7a65aab-9aac-4f07-9b74-1793746c01ef"></dynamic-object></div>An industry consultant who formerly served as a logistics manager with national retailers said it is not unusual for larger importers to attempt to secure lower contract rates from each carrier they deal with until all their volume has been committed. “They will try to get the best rates they can,” the source said. “Maybe they can get it done with some contracts, but not all.” A carrier executive echoed that point, but noted retailers could end up being shut out by some lines. “The more you try to push down rates, the riskier it will be to get space,” the executive said. “Still, some are still trying to leverage their volumes.” A forwarder said even though the April 1 GRI may not be as fully effective as carriers would like, they appear resolved to reach their initial goals for service contract rates. “We are moving forward with our contract discussions, and benchmarks, at least for named accounts, remaining at $2,000 [for the West Coast] and $3,000 [for the East Coast], respectively,” the source said. Some carriers this week launched a second round of negotiations with non-vessel-operating common carriers (NVOs), which will put additional pressure on importers to wrap up their contract negotiations, a second forwarder said. He estimates that most NVO contracts will settle near $2,000 per FEU to the West Coast. Some importers had resisted finalizing their contracts until the Trump administration announced its tariff policy, but with <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/trump-announces-10-across-the-board-tariffs-on-all-us-imports-5975639">Wednesday’s announcement</a>, those retailers and other importers with fall merchandise to book are likely to finalize their contracts and step up their bookings, forwarders said. With spot rates higher, bookings in Asia picking up and importers looking beyond the tariffs to finalize their fall and holiday merchandise needs, shippers realize they can’t wait much longer to wrap up their contract negotiations, one forwarder said. “There’s been a different dynamic the last 72 hours,” the source said. Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at <a href="mailto:bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com">bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com</a>.Contact Laura Robb at <a href="mailto:laura.robb@spglobal.com">laura.robb@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

Just weeks after signing 2025–26 service contracts with trans-Pacific ocean carriers at $1,600 to $1,800 per FEU for West Coast imports, big-box retailers are attempting to knock those numbers down as they look to assign their remaining cargo to liners they have yet to ink deals with. That final push, which will play out in the coming weeks, may face some headwinds, however. That’s because a general rate increase (GRI) implemented by carriers on April 1 has largely stuck, giving shippers less leverage in attempting to lower contract rates for next service year. The largest big-box retailers in recent weeks signed annual service contracts with their core carriers in the range of $1,600 to $1,800 per FEU from Asia to the West Coast and about $2,600 to $2,800 per FEU to the East Coast. Those rates are about 15% to 20% higher than what they signed for in their existing 2024–25 contracts. Most contracts will run from May 1 through April 30, 2026. The Journal of Commerce spoke with 10 forwarders, three carriers and two consultants for this story. Large retailers ship with multiple carriers, and they are reportedly negotiating with their remaining core carriers for lower rates. However, most carriers on Tuesday implemented GRIs of up to $1,000 per FEU on spot rates. “It’s pretty much across the board for almost all carriers,” Kurt McElroy, executive vice president at the forwarder Kerry Apex, said of the GRIs. Platts, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global, pegged spot rates to the West Coast at $2,275 per FEU as of Thursday, up 42% week over week. The East Coast rate was exactly $1,000 higher at $3,275/FEU, up 26%. Carriers attempt to leverage rising spot rates into higher contract rates as they finalize contract negotiations with customers. GRIs providing support for carriers When contract negotiations in the eastbound trans-Pacific began earlier this year, carriers said they were aiming for rates of $2,000 per FEU to the West Coast and $3,000 to the East Coast with their largest customers. By setting the floor at those rates, carriers would then attempt to sign the second tier of customers for a couple of hundred dollars per FEU higher. But with spot rates in decline until late March, carriers were forced to accept levels about $200 to $400 under their expectations. Now, with a mostly successfully GRI to provide support, they are making a final push to reverse the momentum and get close to their original goal, Ben Coleman, president of the forwarder Teampower Logistics, said. “They started with $2,000 [to the West Coast], then early signings dropped that to $1,600-$1,800, and now they’re trying to claw back to $2,000,” Coleman said. An industry consultant who formerly served as a logistics manager with national retailers said it is not unusual for larger importers to attempt to secure lower contract rates from each carrier they deal with until all their volume has been committed. “They will try to get the best rates they can,” the source said. “Maybe they can get it done with some contracts, but not all.” A carrier executive echoed that point, but noted retailers could end up being shut out by some lines. “The more you try to push down rates, the riskier it will be to get space,” the executive said. “Still, some are still trying to leverage their volumes.” A forwarder said even though the April 1 GRI may not be as fully effective as carriers would like, they appear resolved to reach their initial goals for service contract rates. “We are moving forward with our contract discussions, and benchmarks, at least for named accounts, remaining at $2,000 [for the West Coast] and $3,000 [for the East Coast], respectively,” the source said. Some carriers this week launched a second round of negotiations with non-vessel-operating common carriers (NVOs), which will put additional pressure on importers to wrap up their contract negotiations, a second forwarder said. He estimates that most NVO contracts will settle near $2,000 per FEU to the West Coast. Some importers had resisted finalizing their contracts until the Trump administration announced its tariff policy, but with Wednesday’s announcement , those retailers and other importers with fall merchandise to book are likely to finalize their contracts and step up their bookings, forwarders said. With spot rates higher, bookings in Asia picking up and importers looking beyond the tariffs to finalize their fall and holiday merchandise needs, shippers realize they can’t wait much longer to wrap up their contract negotiations, one forwarder said. “There’s been a different dynamic the last 72 hours,” the source said. Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com .Contact Laura Robb at laura.robb@spglobal.com .

Container Shipping News

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Maritime

Trans-Pac GRI offers resistance to retailers’ push for lower contract rates

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The deal will merge “K” Lines’ traditional logistics activities in ocean and air freight with Kamigumi’s niche business in project cargo logistics.</div>

The deal will merge “K” Lines’ traditional logistics activities in ocean and air freight with Kamigumi’s niche business in project cargo logistics.

<div class="phx-topic">Japanese carrier “K” Line will expand its international and domestic logistics business with the launch this week of a joint venture with Japanese forwarding company Kamigumi that is expected to target contract and project cargo logistics. That came after “K” Line transferred ownership of its “K” Line Logistics into a new holding company, KLKG Logistics Holdings. “K” Line subsequently transferred 47% of its shares in KLKG Logistics to Kamigumi. “Through this capital alliance, we aim to achieve further growth in domestic and overseas markets by [strengthening] contract logistics and providing high-quality and more diverse logistics services to customers,” “K” Line said in a statement announcing the venture. Keiji Kubo, “K” Line managing executive officer for the product logistics division, said the entry into new project cargo-related logistics businesses, such as offshore wind power, will also offer opportunities. The deal will merge “K” Lines’ traditional logistics activities in ocean and air freight with Kamigumi’s niche business in project cargo logistics, which includes handling spent nuclear fuel and transporting industrial equipment such as power transformers and wind power components. “K” Line Logistics had revenues of about $300 million last year, while Kamigumi is expected to post revenues of approximately $1.9 billion when it reports full-year earnings in May. “K” Line Logistics is mainly focused on Asia and Australia with warehousing and cold storage in China, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, India and the United Arab Emirates, with freight forwarding across the region. It also operates cross-board trucking between Thailand and four neighboring countries including Malaysia, Myanmar and Laos. Operations in the Americas and Europe, which include offices in the US, Mexico, France, Germany and the Netherlands, mainly provide freight forwarding and customs brokerage. Kamigumi mainly operates in Southeast Asia, China and Mexico. Contact Keith Wallis at <a href="mailto:keithwallis@hotmail.com">keithwallis@hotmail.com</a>.</div>

Japanese carrier “K” Line will expand its international and domestic logistics business with the launch this week of a joint venture with Japanese forwarding company Kamigumi that is expected to target contract and project cargo logistics. That came after “K” Line transferred ownership of its “K” Line Logistics into a new holding company, KLKG Logistics Holdings. “K” Line subsequently transferred 47% of its shares in KLKG Logistics to Kamigumi. “Through this capital alliance, we aim to achieve further growth in domestic and overseas markets by [strengthening] contract logistics and providing high-quality and more diverse logistics services to customers,” “K” Line said in a statement announcing the venture. Keiji Kubo, “K” Line managing executive officer for the product logistics division, said the entry into new project cargo-related logistics businesses, such as offshore wind power, will also offer opportunities. The deal will merge “K” Lines’ traditional logistics activities in ocean and air freight with Kamigumi’s niche business in project cargo logistics, which includes handling spent nuclear fuel and transporting industrial equipment such as power transformers and wind power components. “K” Line Logistics had revenues of about $300 million last year, while Kamigumi is expected to post revenues of approximately $1.9 billion when it reports full-year earnings in May. “K” Line Logistics is mainly focused on Asia and Australia with warehousing and cold storage in China, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, India and the United Arab Emirates, with freight forwarding across the region. It also operates cross-board trucking between Thailand and four neighboring countries including Malaysia, Myanmar and Laos. Operations in the Americas and Europe, which include offices in the US, Mexico, France, Germany and the Netherlands, mainly provide freight forwarding and customs brokerage. Kamigumi mainly operates in Southeast Asia, China and Mexico. Contact Keith Wallis at keithwallis@hotmail.com .

Supply chain

‘K’ Line to expand logistics operations in joint venture with Kamigumi

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">For Singapore-based PSA, the investment cements a beachhead in a West India market primed to benefit from Asian trade diversification and burgeoning consumer demand.</div>

For Singapore-based PSA, the investment cements a beachhead in a West India market primed to benefit from Asian trade diversification and burgeoning consumer demand.

<div class="phx-topic">PSA International has kicked off operations at its 2.4 million-TEU Phase II terminal at India’s Nhava Sheva Port (JNPA), albeit at a limited scale ahead of an official full-fledged launch scheduled for April 15. The expansion doubles the size of PSA Mumbai, also known as Bharat Mumbai Container Terminals (BMCT), which opened its Phase I terminal of the same size in early 2018. Each stage of the overall project, on a 30-year concession involving a total $1 billion investment, has been designed with three berths with a quay of 1,000 meters able to accommodate 16,000- to 18,000-TEU vessels. The original terminal is already operating at 90% utilization, having seen fiscal year 2024–25 volumes spike 12% year over year to 2.3 million TEUs on 1,077 container ship visits, up from 863 calls a year earlier, data shows. As ocean services in and out of West India steadily expand, more volume consolidation toward the PSA facility is imminent as other terminals in the port complex, especially APM Terminals’ Gateway Terminals India (GTI), have little spare capacity. With a combined 4.8 million TEUs in annual capacity, BMCT is poised to emerge as India’s largest standalone terminal. It currently hosts about 30 weekly sailings, which include ship calls up to 15,000 TEUs, largely from Mediterranean Shipping Co. For Singapore-based PSA, the Nhava Sheva investment gives it a “beachhead” to cement itself in a market primed to benefit from Asian trade diversification and burgeoning consumer demand. Its Indian operations include a 1.4 million-TEU facility at Chennai Port, but that faces serious regional growth challenges. At the same time, with vessels often arriving out-of-window due to the Red Sea-linked diversions and carriers increasingly deploying “ultra-large” tonnage that typically involves significantly higher container exchanges per call, Nhava Sheva has been wrestling with severe pressure inland, a concern that could exacerbate as volumes build. To ease landside bottlenecks in the harbor, a second highway extension project has just been approved by the government at a cost of some $525 million, but a definite timeline is yet unknown for its completion. Contact Bency Mathew at <a href="bencyvmathew@gmail.com.">bencyvmathew@gmail.com</a>.</div>

PSA International has kicked off operations at its 2.4 million-TEU Phase II terminal at India’s Nhava Sheva Port (JNPA), albeit at a limited scale ahead of an official full-fledged launch scheduled for April 15. The expansion doubles the size of PSA Mumbai, also known as Bharat Mumbai Container Terminals (BMCT), which opened its Phase I terminal of the same size in early 2018. Each stage of the overall project, on a 30-year concession involving a total $1 billion investment, has been designed with three berths with a quay of 1,000 meters able to accommodate 16,000- to 18,000-TEU vessels. The original terminal is already operating at 90% utilization, having seen fiscal year 2024–25 volumes spike 12% year over year to 2.3 million TEUs on 1,077 container ship visits, up from 863 calls a year earlier, data shows. As ocean services in and out of West India steadily expand, more volume consolidation toward the PSA facility is imminent as other terminals in the port complex, especially APM Terminals’ Gateway Terminals India (GTI), have little spare capacity. With a combined 4.8 million TEUs in annual capacity, BMCT is poised to emerge as India’s largest standalone terminal. It currently hosts about 30 weekly sailings, which include ship calls up to 15,000 TEUs, largely from Mediterranean Shipping Co. For Singapore-based PSA, the Nhava Sheva investment gives it a “beachhead” to cement itself in a market primed to benefit from Asian trade diversification and burgeoning consumer demand. Its Indian operations include a 1.4 million-TEU facility at Chennai Port, but that faces serious regional growth challenges. At the same time, with vessels often arriving out-of-window due to the Red Sea-linked diversions and carriers increasingly deploying “ultra-large” tonnage that typically involves significantly higher container exchanges per call, Nhava Sheva has been wrestling with severe pressure inland, a concern that could exacerbate as volumes build. To ease landside bottlenecks in the harbor, a second highway extension project has just been approved by the government at a cost of some $525 million, but a definite timeline is yet unknown for its completion. Contact Bency Mathew at bencyvmathew@gmail.com .

Port News

International ports

PSA expansion project doubles capacity at India’s Nhava Sheva terminal

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The expedited service will require terminals within the Northwest Seaport Alliance to load rail-bound trains within 48 hours of vessel arrival, significantly faster than the average dwell times of eight to 15 days experienced last year during a surge in container volumes.</div>

The expedited service will require terminals within the Northwest Seaport Alliance to load rail-bound trains within 48 hours of vessel arrival, significantly faster than the average dwell times of eight to 15 days experienced last year during a surge in container volumes.

<div class="phx-topic">BNSF Railway will launch a faster international intermodal service linking the ports of Seattle and Tacoma to Chicago and points east with Norfolk Southern (NS), the two railroads announced along with the Northwest Seaport Alliance. Transit times from dock to Chicago will be reduced to six days from nine and include a streamlined handoff to a Norfolk Southern crew at Chicago for service on the same train to inland markets in the Midwest and Northeast. “This service product collaboration was an outcome of listening to our joint customers, who emphasized the desire to use more rail but would need to also reduce inventory carrying and total landed transportation costs out of their networks in 2025,” Jon Gabriel, BNSF’s group vice president of consumer products, said in a statement Wednesday. The faster service will require terminals within the Northwest Seaport Alliance to load rail-bound trains within 48 hours of vessel arrival, significantly faster than the average dwell times <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/tacoma-marine-terminals-grappling-with-heavy-import-rail-congestion-5706377">of eight to 15 days experienced last year</a> during a surge in container volumes. Between June and August 2024, the average rail dwell time at Tacoma’s Washington United and Husky terminals climbed to between eight and 10 days, according to data from Opentrac. When cargo was diverted to Seattle, average dwell times between the two ports stretched as long as 15 days in August and September. That backlog came during a spike in international intermodal volumes. About 100,000 import loads moved by rail from Seattle-Tacoma to Chicago on BNSF or Union Pacific trains in 2024, up from approximately 60,000 the previous year, according to Journal of Commerce estimates. It was the highest annual throughput since the pandemic-related freight surge in 2021. <h3>Hoping to cut inland delays </h3>The new service is also meant to reduce delays in Chicago. Rather than delivering trains to a BNSF terminal and relying on the Belt Railway of Chicago (BRC) to transfer containers to Norfolk Southern, as is typical for all Chicago interchanges, all traffic will be routed directly to Norfolk Southern’s Ashland Yard on the city’s south side. From there, the only step will be a change to an NS crew before continuing east with the same train. There will be no stop in a BNSF terminal, no haul between railroads by the BRC, and no building of a separate train inside an NS terminal. The process of western railroads separating blocks of containers, employing the BRC to haul them between terminals, and eastern railroads building new trains adds 24 to 48 hours to transit times. “By collaborating with BNSF and the Northwest Seaport Alliance, we’re offering a faster, more reliable rail option that helps shippers reduce transit time, cut costs, and streamline supply chains...,” Shawn Tureman, NS’ vice president of intermodal and automotive marketing, said in the statement. Nearly 50,000 imports to Seattle and Tacoma interchange between western and eastern US railroads annually, the majority bound for destinations such as Cleveland, Columbus and Detroit, according to Journal of Commerce estimates. Reducing transit times to those markets could help West Coast ports regain ground lost to East Coast gateways such as the Port of New York and New Jersey and the Port of Virginia, which together move an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 ocean containers annually to inland hubs in the Midwest. The collaboration comes as pressure builds to retain West Coast market share following the resolution of labor tensions on the East Coast that had resulted in some discretionary cargo being diverted to the West Coast. Shippers will now weigh the service improvements against their past experiences when deciding how to route freight inland in the months ahead. Contact Ari Ashe at <a href="mailto:ari.ashe@spglobal.com">ari.ashe@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

BNSF Railway will launch a faster international intermodal service linking the ports of Seattle and Tacoma to Chicago and points east with Norfolk Southern (NS), the two railroads announced along with the Northwest Seaport Alliance. Transit times from dock to Chicago will be reduced to six days from nine and include a streamlined handoff to a Norfolk Southern crew at Chicago for service on the same train to inland markets in the Midwest and Northeast. “This service product collaboration was an outcome of listening to our joint customers, who emphasized the desire to use more rail but would need to also reduce inventory carrying and total landed transportation costs out of their networks in 2025,” Jon Gabriel, BNSF’s group vice president of consumer products, said in a statement Wednesday. The faster service will require terminals within the Northwest Seaport Alliance to load rail-bound trains within 48 hours of vessel arrival, significantly faster than the average dwell times of eight to 15 days experienced last year during a surge in container volumes. Between June and August 2024, the average rail dwell time at Tacoma’s Washington United and Husky terminals climbed to between eight and 10 days, according to data from Opentrac. When cargo was diverted to Seattle, average dwell times between the two ports stretched as long as 15 days in August and September. That backlog came during a spike in international intermodal volumes. About 100,000 import loads moved by rail from Seattle-Tacoma to Chicago on BNSF or Union Pacific trains in 2024, up from approximately 60,000 the previous year, according to Journal of Commerce estimates. It was the highest annual throughput since the pandemic-related freight surge in 2021. Hoping to cut inland delays The new service is also meant to reduce delays in Chicago. Rather than delivering trains to a BNSF terminal and relying on the Belt Railway of Chicago (BRC) to transfer containers to Norfolk Southern, as is typical for all Chicago interchanges, all traffic will be routed directly to Norfolk Southern’s Ashland Yard on the city’s south side. From there, the only step will be a change to an NS crew before continuing east with the same train. There will be no stop in a BNSF terminal, no haul between railroads by the BRC, and no building of a separate train inside an NS terminal. The process of western railroads separating blocks of containers, employing the BRC to haul them between terminals, and eastern railroads building new trains adds 24 to 48 hours to transit times. “By collaborating with BNSF and the Northwest Seaport Alliance, we’re offering a faster, more reliable rail option that helps shippers reduce transit time, cut costs, and streamline supply chains...,” Shawn Tureman, NS’ vice president of intermodal and automotive marketing, said in the statement. Nearly 50,000 imports to Seattle and Tacoma interchange between western and eastern US railroads annually, the majority bound for destinations such as Cleveland, Columbus and Detroit, according to Journal of Commerce estimates. Reducing transit times to those markets could help West Coast ports regain ground lost to East Coast gateways such as the Port of New York and New Jersey and the Port of Virginia, which together move an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 ocean containers annually to inland hubs in the Midwest. The collaboration comes as pressure builds to retain West Coast market share following the resolution of labor tensions on the East Coast that had resulted in some discretionary cargo being diverted to the West Coast. Shippers will now weigh the service improvements against their past experiences when deciding how to route freight inland in the months ahead. Contact Ari Ashe at ari.ashe@spglobal.com .

Rail News

North-American rail

Intermodal providers

BNSF-Norfolk Southern unveil faster inland service from Pacific Northwest

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">While the Gemini Cooperation is hitting its schedule reliability goals, Hapag-Lloyd’s chief executive said fully unwinding its former carrier alliance and dealing with terminal congestion in some locations are providing challenges. </div>

While the Gemini Cooperation is hitting its schedule reliability goals, Hapag-Lloyd’s chief executive said fully unwinding its former carrier alliance and dealing with terminal congestion in some locations are providing challenges.

<div class="phx-topic">The Gemini Cooperation alliance is looking to deploy more vessels in the coming weeks to reduce instances where US exporters have faced delays and cargo has been misdirected, Hapag-Lloyd Chief Executive Rolf Habben Jansen said Thursday. While the start of the new alliance has been mostly smooth, Gemini is also grappling with terminal congestion in Europe and the US, according to the CEO. During an online presentation Thursday, Habben Jansen said the entirety of Gemini’s hub-and-spoke services is now fully operational and the new alliance with Maersk has made 1,500 port calls since its February launch. Even so, Gemini has only been able to deploy 285 of the planned 340 vessels in its network. Once the additional vessels are deployed in the coming weeks, Habben Jansen said Gemini’s network should be able to provide consistent weekly capacity. During Gemini’s early stage, US exporters have faced instances of cargo being rolled to later voyages. Habben Jansen said the delays stem from having to fully phase out Hapag-Lloyd ships from its former THE Alliance services. “The US unfortunately has been harder hit than otherwise,” Habben Jansen said. “I do expect that to improve within the next few weeks.” In addition to the delays, the transition from THE Alliance to Gemini has seen some cargo being unloaded where it was not originally planned and now “we need to forward that to its final destination,” Habben Jansen said. “The issues around rollings and delays should get considerably less because of a lot of that was related to the phase-out and making sure that the ships coming out of the old cooperations still ended up back in the locations where they had to start in the new Gemini Cooperation,” he said. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="bc8c7bab-e415-4fea-861b-3926a4691794"></dynamic-object></div>Despite the issues with the rollout, Habben Jansen said Gemini has hit its reliability goals, with both Sea-Intelligence Maritime Analysis and eeSea showing the alliance is hitting its schedules about 90% of the time. The schedule reliability of other carriers and alliances is well below that level, and Habben Jansen does expect competitors to close the gap as they also work out kinks in their new networks. “We’ve definitely been off to a pretty good start,” he said. “I would say, as with any network transition of this scale, there are a number of operational challenges, and we’re trying to address those as swiftly as possible.” <h3>No Suez return in the offering </h3>The resumption of regular Suez Canal transits for container ships would boost capacity, but Habben Jansen said that return remains unclear due to the recent breakdown in the Gaza war ceasefire. The continued diversions around southern Africa mean voyage distances are up 18%, offsetting much of the 10% growth in the global fleet and creating a tightly balanced market. “Many of us expected, including me, that with the ceasefire that we saw in Gaza, that there might be a good chance that we are able to get back through Suez in the foreseeable future,” Habben Jansen said. “If we look at the events of the last four to six weeks, then that, unfortunately, looks increasingly unlikely. We'll have to continue sailing around the Cape for, most likely another couple of months, or until the end of the year.” Other than more ships, Gemini is also facing some terminal congestion at major hubs. Marine terminals at the Port of Antwerp are <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/new-alliance-vessel-plans-add-to-ongoing-port-congestion-in-europe-5963964">facing congestion due to the phase-in of new vessel alliances</a>, while one of Rotterdam’s main terminals is <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/solidarity-strike-call-by-dutch-port-union-gets-industry-attention-5948375">also clearing a backlog of inland cargo following labor action there</a>. In the US, the Port of New York and New Jersey has been dealing with <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/stakeholders-say-choked-ny-nj-marine-terminals-creating-delays-at-port-5942356">a backlog of empty containers</a> that have stymied truck transactions. But Habben Jansen said the inventory of Hapag-Lloyd empties has been “normalized and we will continue to keep an eye on that.” “We have a number of operational disruptions in selected terminals in North Europe, the East Coast of North America, and one or two terminals in Asia as well,” he said. As for other risks on the horizon, Habben Jansen said the impact of <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/ustrs-china-tonnage-tax-would-squeeze-smaller-trades-stakeholders-5967638">proposed port fees on Chinese ships</a> entering the US remains unclear as no official levy is in place yet. He hopes the Trump administration implements something less draconian, but he warned the proposed fees “would result in considerable additional cost that will need to be recovered.” As for <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/new-us-tariffs-forcing-shippers-to-recalculate-supply-chains-on-the-fly-5976471">the newly announced US import tariffs</a>, he said the tariffs implemented during the first Trump administration “did not have a material impact on cargo flows, even if sourcing locations changed.” “I think we are going to see something similar this time, but it’s too early to really conclude that,” Habben Jansen said. Contact Michael Angell at <a href="mailto:michael.angell@spglobal.com">michael.angell@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

The Gemini Cooperation alliance is looking to deploy more vessels in the coming weeks to reduce instances where US exporters have faced delays and cargo has been misdirected, Hapag-Lloyd Chief Executive Rolf Habben Jansen said Thursday. While the start of the new alliance has been mostly smooth, Gemini is also grappling with terminal congestion in Europe and the US, according to the CEO. During an online presentation Thursday, Habben Jansen said the entirety of Gemini’s hub-and-spoke services is now fully operational and the new alliance with Maersk has made 1,500 port calls since its February launch. Even so, Gemini has only been able to deploy 285 of the planned 340 vessels in its network. Once the additional vessels are deployed in the coming weeks, Habben Jansen said Gemini’s network should be able to provide consistent weekly capacity. During Gemini’s early stage, US exporters have faced instances of cargo being rolled to later voyages. Habben Jansen said the delays stem from having to fully phase out Hapag-Lloyd ships from its former THE Alliance services. “The US unfortunately has been harder hit than otherwise,” Habben Jansen said. “I do expect that to improve within the next few weeks.” In addition to the delays, the transition from THE Alliance to Gemini has seen some cargo being unloaded where it was not originally planned and now “we need to forward that to its final destination,” Habben Jansen said. “The issues around rollings and delays should get considerably less because of a lot of that was related to the phase-out and making sure that the ships coming out of the old cooperations still ended up back in the locations where they had to start in the new Gemini Cooperation,” he said. Despite the issues with the rollout, Habben Jansen said Gemini has hit its reliability goals, with both Sea-Intelligence Maritime Analysis and eeSea showing the alliance is hitting its schedules about 90% of the time. The schedule reliability of other carriers and alliances is well below that level, and Habben Jansen does expect competitors to close the gap as they also work out kinks in their new networks. “We’ve definitely been off to a pretty good start,” he said. “I would say, as with any network transition of this scale, there are a number of operational challenges, and we’re trying to address those as swiftly as possible.” No Suez return in the offering The resumption of regular Suez Canal transits for container ships would boost capacity, but Habben Jansen said that return remains unclear due to the recent breakdown in the Gaza war ceasefire. The continued diversions around southern Africa mean voyage distances are up 18%, offsetting much of the 10% growth in the global fleet and creating a tightly balanced market. “Many of us expected, including me, that with the ceasefire that we saw in Gaza, that there might be a good chance that we are able to get back through Suez in the foreseeable future,” Habben Jansen said. “If we look at the events of the last four to six weeks, then that, unfortunately, looks increasingly unlikely. We'll have to continue sailing around the Cape for, most likely another couple of months, or until the end of the year.” Other than more ships, Gemini is also facing some terminal congestion at major hubs. Marine terminals at the Port of Antwerp are facing congestion due to the phase-in of new vessel alliances , while one of Rotterdam’s main terminals is also clearing a backlog of inland cargo following labor action there . In the US, the Port of New York and New Jersey has been dealing with a backlog of empty containers that have stymied truck transactions. But Habben Jansen said the inventory of Hapag-Lloyd empties has been “normalized and we will continue to keep an eye on that.” “We have a number of operational disruptions in selected terminals in North Europe, the East Coast of North America, and one or two terminals in Asia as well,” he said. As for other risks on the horizon, Habben Jansen said the impact of proposed port fees on Chinese ships entering the US remains unclear as no official levy is in place yet. He hopes the Trump administration implements something less draconian, but he warned the proposed fees “would result in considerable additional cost that will need to be recovered.” As for the newly announced US import tariffs , he said the tariffs implemented during the first Trump administration “did not have a material impact on cargo flows, even if sourcing locations changed.” “I think we are going to see something similar this time, but it’s too early to really conclude that,” Habben Jansen said. Contact Michael Angell at michael.angell@spglobal.com .

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

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Shippers save money, time with automated transportation bidding tools

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

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Filling the Supply Chain Education Gap with LTL Education Courses

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