Commentary

The National Rifle Association’s refusal to support background checks is befuddling given that more than 2 million transportation workers already are required to get them for employment.

Who's liable for cargo loss on a through bill of lading involving an ocean shipment that extends beyond port limits?

Organizations crave more visibility into operations to make smarter business decisions and unlock potential within the value chain.

Shippers this year will continue to search for more ways to balance production and procurement with demand for sales orders.

The past year has been one of great uncertainty, from the eurozone crisis and slowing Chinese economy to the U.S. presidential election and fiscal cliff negotiations.

2012 was a rollercoaster ride, and the cards dealt for 2013 promise excitement.

Following a presidential election in which the word “outsourcing” became such a lightning rod, industry needs to do a better job of helping policy-makers understand the reality of today’s global marketplace, the central role American business plays in worldwide production and value chains, and the benefits of all this for our workers, consumers and small businesses at home.

What’s ahead for the maritime industry in 2013? In a phrase — cautious optimism.

The source of energy that we may anticipate will continue to propel increasing activity at ports of Texas and beyond has been around for more than 80 million years.

This year, seaports must continue to re-analyze their ability to handle increased containerized cargo loads from larger ships, whether those ships are transiting a wider Panama Canal or serving other trade routes.

On Monday Oct. 29, the Port of New York and New Jersey was closed in anticipation of Hurricane Sandy’s winds and the 13-foot storm surge it brought with it.

The closely watched unemployment rate will inch up again as layoffs at defense contractors create a ripple effect through small and medium-size companies.

Competition will be tough for anyone who isn't leveraging cloud technology in 2013.

A year ago, we predicted new distribution channels and emerging markets would continue to expand, along with greater supply chain flexibility, efficiency and alignment. These trends are clearly in place and continuing, as are concerns about demand volatility and supply chain risks.

Transportation is an asset-based network-operating business.

From the perspective of Wall Street, 2013 is shaping up to be another year characterized by uncertainty

The financial problems in Europe and the U.S. are accelerating a redesign of the global trade map, with new winners and losers emerging as companies develop increasingly complex supply chains.

In past essays, I may have touched on this point when discussing the economics of port operations, but I think it bears repeating, and with a bit more emphasis as our industry moves into increasingly hopeful but still challenging waters after the national economic downturn of years past.

We had another record in PC/UMS (Panama Canal Universal Measurement System) tonnage recorded during fiscal year 2012 despite a 0.95 percent decrease in transits.

While West Coast ports face a number of competitive challenges, the greatest threat may be internal and related to port governance.

Fortunately, the shipping industry has not witnessed major casualties as may have been expected.

In line with our earlier forecast, 2012 proved to be another tough environment for the container shipping industry with weak demand growth, volatile fuel prices and unsustainable freight rates for many major trade lanes.

Governments around the world are taking action to improve the external environment of their trading community by, for example, improving existing infrastructure, creating a better general business environment and enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of their national economic, institutional, regulatory and competition policies.

The inland waterways industry looks ahead to 2013 with optimism. The inland system’s locks and dams are aging rapidly, and this critically important infrastructure requires capitalization. Momentum for positive change is moving forward in Congress.

For more than 222 years, we have been America’s lifesavers. We protect people on the sea, protect against threats delivered by sea, and protect the sea itself. We’re proud of our unique service and the thousands of lives we save.

We must fight the regulatory war on business.

I anticipate two major trends to continue into 2013: the continued resurgence of manufacturing in the Midwest and a greater appreciation and implementation of sustainability principles in the commercial navigation industry.

The global economic landscape remains unsettled.

A number of phenomena could affect trade in 2013.

Trade expansion and labor issues are likely to be among the developments the retail industry will watch closely in 2013.

The biggest challenges facing the transportation and supply chain industry are capacity, capacity and capacity.

There’s a lot of negative rhetoric being spouted about China around the world these days. Frustrated European policymakers, for example, complain because Beijing has been unwilling to jump in and bail out the debt-laden European Union without some assurances.

The high tide of containerized U.S. exports in ocean shipping will continue to ebb in 2013.

Coastal shipping refers to container and trailer services routed along the U.S. Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific coasts.

The state of the global economy will likely continue to preoccupy decision-makers during 2013, especially as the maritime sector continues to struggle with financial and capacity issues.

One of the underestimated developments we saw in 2012 was further slow-steaming.