Commentary

California's all-out commitment to mitigating climate change appears to be taking priority over maintaining the competitiveness of the state’s seaports, particularly the critical Los Angeles-Long Beach gateway.

US shippers could get a raw deal from China’s reshaping ocean and land transportation linking Asia, Africa, and Europe via the Belt and Road program.

A customer refuses payment to a motor carrier and broker, and issues what amounts to be an empty threat. Is there a way to collect?

The largest and most ambitious global infrastructure project is China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and the United States is falling behind.

Digital forwarders and online marketplaces akin to Expedia for freight are taking verbal shots at each other, showing how unsettled the emerging digital space in shipping is as business models remain fluid.

Without such guarantees, carriers spending billions of dollars to meet the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO's) rule will be unfairly disadvantaged by competitors who do not meet it.

“Act of the shipper” is the common way of referring to the exception to carrier cargo liability that exists when the shipper’s conduct is the cause of in-transit loss or damage. This defense covers the shipper’s acts and its omissions — failures to act.

Shippers clamor for better services, but they won’t get better until there are solid gains in container shipping rates and the industry is making money.

Rail carloads have big intermodal implications because if carloads aren’t growing, more pressure is put on the intermodal sector to deliver the goods, in terms of volume and revenue.

Vessel capacity remains the overriding concern about whether the Port of Houston will be able to handle the wave of plastic resins exports that will add half a million TEU annually to export volumes within a few years.

Modern logistics operation demands high levels of visibility.

Reweighs have long been a bone of contention between shippers and carriers. It’s a lot more of a two-way street.

When the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement entered into force on Feb. 22, it represented the culmination of a three-year effort. The equally difficult task of actual implementation is just starting.

The most challenging of regulations under the Food Safety Modernization Act — the Foreign Supplier Verification Program — takes effect on May 30. Are you ready?

A few developing issues could significantly affect enforcement and interpretation of the Jones Act.

No-shows, or 'downfalls' in industry jargon, have been an issue for decades, but as the container industry gets more ambitious about discovering the next big opportunities for cost savings, this issue stands out.

Regardless of how the North American Free Trade Agreement fares under the Trump administration — whether it undergoes a tweaking, is fully renegotiated, or is scrapped outright — Texas and other southern border states will be on the front lines of the fallout.

The US International Trade Commission’s imposition of countervailing duties on Canadian softwood lumber entering the US provides a glimpse of how a trade dispute can vastly complicate life for shippers.

Change doesn’t come easily for the transportation industry, but nevertheless, there are significant shifts happening in 2017.

A prudent manager needs to pay attention to contingency plans or risk difficulties that exacerbate whatever problem may occur in a motor carrier shipment.

Government-owned or heavily supported container carriers still exist, and to me that’s the flaw in the industry’s business model.

The uncertainty of North American trade has loomed since Trump railed against NAFTA — calling it the “worst trade deal.”

Preliminary research suggests much of North America’s trade community remains relatively indifferent to the major changes taking place.

The idea that Maersk Line would partner with a technology accelerator and that CMA CGM would disclose plans to invest in startups takes the container shipping industry into uncharted territory.

There are several things to consider when deciding the best way to reduce risk in your supply chain.

A driver has committed a theft by changing the name on bills of lading to his to solicit payment.

There are few inevitable truths that people will not attack: protecting people, the environment, and our jobs from a natural disaster.

Change is coming to the maritime industry, and rivals may not necessarily come from the industry.

Container carriers may have found a way to effectively serve small and midsize shippers, a market they've let drain away for decades.

It’s a brave new (virtual) world for big-box retailers who have actively chosen to take a head-on approach to competing with Amazon.

The first tangible indications of what trade policy might look like under the Trump administration have been released.

A carrier has no legal right to hold a shipment “hostage,” no matter how much a shipper may be past due with it for other shipments tendered.

Speculation continues to swirl regarding the potential for more mergers, acquisitions, and bankruptcies in the container shipping industry.

Effort to make trade more efficient comes as US antitrade rhetoric flares.

The California Air Resources Board without public notice adopted a resolution that could undermine the competitiveness of California's ports.

Bradley S. Jacobs has forgotten about his encounter with XPO employees and union representatives from around the world at the company’s 2016 shareholder meeting in Connecticut.

Leveraging technology and investment to focus on the niche of serving the needs of fast-moving cargo is a positive direction for the ports to pursue.

Looking at inland point intermodal data for 2016, the biggest gains were seen in the corridor linking the Northeast with the Midwest.

Companies can try to associate their brand with big global tech brands such as Amazon, Alibaba, and Uber but this is a marketing technique and requires further scrutiny.