Commentary

Q: We’re a motor carrier, and recently subbed out a load to another carrier.

Living in Virginia, the biggest sports news I read often revolves around the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Although the trucking industry and environmental interests are claiming victory following a federal court of appeals

The willingness of the Port of Long Beach, its harbor commissioners and its customers to adapt to containerization and intermodalism have helped to make the port the second busiest container gateway i

Summer is just about over and hopefully you’ve had a chance to get some down time: some activity that gets you away from your desks, telephones, Blackberries, iPhones, laptops, whatever type of

It’s hard to imagine in looking at the reports of slack demand and plentiful capacity on the trans-Pacific over the summer that a squeeze on shipping space is imminent, but that possibility is l

Fasten your seatbelts, as that non-vessel operator Bette Davis famously said, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

Q: My company ordered a truck — four, actually — from a third party.

When is a pallet more than a pallet?

Soon after President Obama in his 2010 State of the Union Address challenged the U.S.

It is great news for the nation’s millions of unemployed or underemployed people to find our elected officials now are focused on challenges faced with the high level of unemployment, which is s

Thursday’s announcement that the Panama Canal Pilots Union voted to affiliate with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union sent shivers down the spines of employers on both the East and

The logic behind the two competing proposals for a long-term transportation spending plan sound pretty good unless you go outside the Beltway’s infrastructure circles.

Q: Can you help me understand what’s going on in Washington these days?

It’s tempting to look at Maersk Line’s announcement of daily service with delivery guarantees within the tight parameters of the shipping line’s own operations and economics, and its

One of my curious discoveries when researching a column recently on the growing market share of non-vessel-operating common carriers in the U.S.

The annual conference of the American Association of Port Authorities in Seattle isn’t just an ideal occasion for top port executives to discuss successes and challenges.

One of the most memorable images from last week's highly heated and sometimes violent actions by Internatio

A number of friends have asked recently, “What’s it like, working that side of the street?” That “side of the street” is the non-vessel-operating side after 27 years with

Q: My company, a 3PL provider, arranged for less-than-truckload service for a customer. This customer prints materials for trade shows and promotional marketing campaigns.

We all should have projected that forecasting would be at the forefront of the debates over the future of business processes between shippers and carriers.

Will President Obama offer any carrots or does he just keep swinging a stick to pressure budget-cutting lawmakers for new transportation spending?

U.S. poultry exporters had their best pay period ever during the first half of the year when meat valued at $2.16 billion was shipped overseas.

When I woke on September 11, 2001, I faced what I regarded as the world’s most tedious commute, from my home in Brooklyn Heights to The Journal of Commerce’s Newark, N.J., office — a

Customs has a storage problem, and how it is adapting will dramatically affect importers who file paper entries.

The battle over the U.S. debt will affect Americans and government spending for a long time, and will mean major sacrifices in many programs.

In a recently released report drawing from its deep well of data on non-vessel-operating common carriers, Journal of Commerce sister company

Q: Now that ocean carriers are implementing so-called no-show fees when a container misses its booked sailing, we’re faced with a problem when a rail or motor carrier delivery arrives late at a

President Obama’s call last week for simple, straightforward extensions of national transportation programs was well reasoned and measured, and a desperately worrisome window on the state of pol

President Obama said it best: “To attract new businesses to our shores, we need the fastest, most reliable ways to move people, goods and information.”

How tightly is growth in trucking employment tied to rising freight tonnage? Not as tightly as you might think, based on a review of U.S. payroll and tonnage data.

After the storms of August – political, financial and most recently natural – things may seem to be getting back to normal. It won’t last.

Farmers may have to lead the way to achieving President Barack Obama’s goal of doubling exports by 2015.

Tuesday’s Virginia earthquake again tested the nation’s infrastructure, which came through pretty well. But it also reminded us of vulnerabilities.

John Bowers enjoyed a good, rousing speech and could deliver one himself when the occasion demanded. But that wasn’t his preferred style.

No amount of diligence can guarantee protection against cargo theft or double brokering, but you can minimize your risk by carefully screening the carriers with which you do business.

Like many men of a certain age, I have a monthly night out with the guys, usually to catch up with each other, play a few hands of cards and generally whine about the state of the economy and the worl

The more things change, the more they stay the same, the old axiom goes. But is it true?

The trucking industry was quick to rebound in 2010 after a major falloff in revenue and profit during 2008 and 2009.

Since the late 1980s, when personal computers started appearing on every worker’s desk, all industries have capitalized on the opportunities technology offers us to do more with less.