Commentary

Rock historian Robert Santelli has described Bruce Springsteen’s ballad “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy),” as “the perfect musical study of the Jersey Shore boardwalk culture.” It’s a cruel irony that Hurricane Sandy devastated large parts of the Jersey Shore — and beyond — while killing more than 200 people and causing $60 billion in damage.

As you know, each year has different challenges, but our mature industry is still attempting to define itself in our 21st century.

2012 was a year that saw carriers start to show some discipline as far as freight rates, despite supply and demand not being totally in our favor.

The state of some of the economies around the globe is a major challenge facing the maritime industry this year.

The maritime profession is ever changing, and never so rapidly as now.

When the International Longshoremen’s Association and United States Maritime Alliance agreed to extend their existing contract through Feb. 6, many East and Gulf Coast shipping interests thought their labor issues were behind them. After all, the big stumbling block — royalties — had been settled.

The Washington, D.C., agenda will shape international commerce and transportation in 2013.

Hope that 2013 will result in strengthening the resolution of the use of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund probably will be dashed early in the 113th Congress.

The slow but steady economic expansion we witnessed during 2012 will continue through 2013.

When Congress passed MAP-21 last summer, the legislation offered a much-needed commitment to transportation infrastructure funding for the next two years.

For those of us in the shipping industry’s regulatory sector, we expect the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission to continue its efforts to increase efficiency and to encourage innovative business strategies in 2013.

As if planning and managing a seamless supply chain weren’t tough enough, a group of gremlins put their heads together last year to find more fiendish ways to bedevil logisticians.

There are two major changes that if they occur this year would be a good thing for us in future years.

Although some may argue that there is gradual stability in the transportation and logistics market, I remain only cautiously optimistic and contend there is still a great deal of uncertainty and unforeseen hurdles in our future.

As we look out into 2013, we see enough economic concerns to make us cautious about our optimism for growth.

2013 has arrived, but you may not have fully adjusted to the turning of the calendar. Some of you are just coming to accept that the world didn’t end on Dec. 21; others are still breathing sighs of relief that U.S. waterfront labor is still at work, although no one knows how long this will last.

Judging from the number of calls and inquiries I receive from analysts and experts, intermodal is no longer a stranger to transportation cognoscenti.

Railroads are no strangers to operational efficiencies or being on the leading edge of new technologies.

As 2013 begins, economic indicators suggest a more moderate pace of growth.

The railroad industry has made some progress in seeking out costs and eliminating them.

A shipper claims a set-off against a broker for storage charges incurred after a later-than-requested pickup of a less-than-truckload shipment. Is the shipper on solid legal ground?

Each year brings challenges and opportunities to the global transportation sector born out of events beyond its control. So much of the sector’s fate depends on the U.S. economy and the changing global trade market.

Two seismic events occurred in the fourth quarter of 2012 that will have a lasting impact well into 2013 and beyond. The first event — a $6 billion, four-year push to bring dramatic change to our gridlocked political system — never materialized and the end result was a November vote for the status quo.

Get ready for another year of modest growth for U.S. containerized imports.

Given the number of unknowns faced by the global economy, any predictions as to what lies ahead for 2013 are likely to be about as accurate as reading the entrails of crows.

2013 will be a continued year of change.

The “game changer” we have been championing for the industry for the past two years has been capital constraints.

To use an oft-cited, but appropriate, metaphor, the global container shipping community continues to find itself in somewhat of a “perfect storm.”

Since bargaining kicked off nearly a year ago, it’s been clear that the road to a new International Longshoremen's Association contract would run through New York-New Jersey.

Anyone searching for unqualified good news in 2012 was bound to be disappointed.

We see increased strategic opportunities in the air freight market for 2013.

The air freight industry continues to look for ways to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

As it was in 2011, the adverse global economy was the prevailing issue for the air cargo industry in 2012.

With the reelection of President Obama, one can reasonably expect a continuation of the trade policies of the last four years...

The maritime industry, and in particular the container segment, is subject to an array of regulatory requirements.

In discussing the changes I see for the year ahead, I believe it’s more prudent to recognize the influences that will cause these changes.