Commentary

Two economists at Northwestern University debate whether all of the great ideas have already been invented, this after a June dedication of a statue of inventor Charles F. Kettering in Loudonville, Ohio. Well, people are still intelligent and imaginative, and there are valuable things left to create.

Shippers are breathing a sigh of relief because there haven’t been any major disruptions at U.S. West Coast ports, nearly a month after a brief extension of the contract between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and employers represented by the Pacific Maritime Association expired. Both sides seem to understand that a shutdown of any kind wouldn’t be in their best interest.

An ocean forwarder will soon handle overseas shipments and questions liability impact of the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act and the Carmack Amendment regarding imports and exports.

Pressures on supply chain and warehouse operations have grown more critical as e-commerce market dynamics have evolved, led by Amazon and Wal-Mart.

I’ve been arguing since early this year that international transportation is headed for trouble because of a variety of transportation-specific problems exacerbated by an improving economy that’s driving faster volume growth and pushing capacity to the limit. With half the year over and the peak shipping season about to begin, those concerns are only deepening.

Managed services can be an effective alternative to internal staffing under the right conditions, with two of the most critical being the ability of the managed services provider to meet the customer’s service needs at a price point that would preferably be lower than it would cost to hire a person.

For months, we’ve been asking how North American infrastructure at ports, rail heads and on the roads would hold up when imports grew at sustained levels beyond the low-single-digit levels seen through the first quarter of this year. Well, the returns are starting to come in, and the news is anything but good for beneficial cargo owners.

Last winter’s supply chain disruptions were simply glimpses into what could become the new normal.

Maybe you’ve heard about China’s rejection of the P3 Network. In all seriousness, I’m hesitant to cover an issue such as this because of the overwhelming analysis and observation that has come before me. But I have strong feelings about why China refused to allow it and a lot of questions about the real outcome.

In the end, does the “why” really matter? After 12 months of planning and countless millions of dollars, isn’t it enough that China said no to the largest vessel-sharing alliance ever proposed?

With the stroke of a pen on June 17, China transformed itself from a non-player among regulators of container shipping to the most important one. In the process, it belatedly took on a role commensurate with its stature as the world’s largest container market, accounting for some 25 percent of global liftings.

There’s been no shortage of turbulence on the West Coast lately, and more is in store with the midnight June 30 expiration of the ILWU contract. In addition, there has been mounting pressure on Pacific Northwest ports, seemingly caught in a vise between the western Canadian ports to the north and California to the south.

JOC economist Mario O. Moreno updates his projections regarding U.S. containerized trade with South America.

Apparently, the U.S. Congress is of the view that $75,000 is a more appropriate bond requirement for the brokerage industry in terms of offering protection to those who might be injured if a broker went out of business. Will it really have that effect?

Although port labor strikes are anything but a recent phenomenon, the recent pace of strikes is quickening in response to escalating economic changes worldwide.

I believe it’s safe to say that among all of the aspects of international trade, the most misunderstood and misused element of an international transaction is the correct application of shipping Incoterms.

Other than last week’s stunning collapse of the P3 Network, there’s arguably no hotter issue in the container shipping world than port productivity.

Everywhere you turn, people are bullish on the future of online retailers. It’s reflected in Amazon’s stock price, which has grown rapidly thanks to … free shipping.

The timing could have hardly been worse. Two days after the U.S. trucking industry scored a rare Senate victory against last year’s revision to truck driver hours of service rules, a tractor-trailer slammed into a limousine van on the New Jersey Turnpike, killing comic James McNair and badly injuring his fellow comedian and TV star Tracy Morgan.

The ocean shipping industry faces two overriding challenges: improving cost efficiencies and improving customer experiences.

It is well documented that U.S. West Coast ports face a number of competitive challenges.

Unlike McDonald’s, where a Big Mac is the same wherever you go, services provided by ocean carriers are anything but uniform, and that leads to much of the chaos we see today at terminals and inland points when it comes to first- and last-mile operations.

ACT Research sees an increase in active truck capacity this year, in terms of the numbers of Class 8 tractors, the first since 2007 — good news for shippers.

Contract negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and U.S. West Coast waterfront employers are shining a light on the integrity of the U.S. ports system.

For those who haven’t been paying attention to TransForce, Canada’s largest trucking operator, it’s time to start.

Executive Editor Chris Brooks discusses what shippers are seeing, as revealed in recent surveys.

If there’s one thing Americans can agree on, it’s that we have a vast infrastructure deficit.

It’s a well-established axiom in the intermodal world that the drayage carrier has always been the low man on the totem pole.

When a company such as uShip links up occasional shippers with carriers for moving larger-than-parcel items, are there legal pitfalls? Is it acting as a freight broker?

Accelerating freight growth is raising questions about capacity at North American ports, the truckload market and other troublesome bottlenecks.

Columnist Jerry Peck identifies the five most popular business departments responsible for trade compliance.

Cyber-warfare. The word causes shudders throughout the e-tailing business, and you need to look no further than Target, Michaels and Neiman Marcus for the latest examples of significant consumer data theft.

A shipper finds one of its brokers is factoring its receivables. What would be the shipper’s defense if it pays the factor, the broker doesn’t pay the carrier, and the carrier demands payment?

To improve profits, carriers need to put down the big trailers and deploy straight trucks in pickup and delivery operations.

The Panama Canal expansion has triggered some serious consideration about a port’s place in the new world order of larger ships and the place of its neighbor(s).

What are shippers really willing to pay for? Better documentation? Better customer service and problem resolution?

The driving public may not know it yet, but its sustained desire to eliminate the risk of fatal truck accidents is leading inexorably to a future of automated trucks on U.S. highways. Jarring as that may seem, it’s not a bad thing at all. Everyone will be safer, and the business benefits will be huge.

The U.S. maritime industry is experiencing two trends — one promising and the other much less so. How the industry and the federal government craft a policy and implement it to harness shipbuilding momentum and aid the ailing Merchant Marine will determine whether the so-called rising tide does indeed lift all boats.

Yesterday was gray, gloomy and rainy in Newark, New Jersey — just the kind of day Conrad H.C. Everhard would have picked for a luncheon in his memory.