Commentary

Not to be outdone by the Department of Transportation, the Department of Homeland Security now has its own blog.

Where is my product? When will it arrive? What documents do I need to have for Customs? What’s an MID, an ELVIS, the AES, the e-manifest, ACE or ABI?

Even the president of the United States can’t escape the United States’ jammed highways.

Theo Zwygers of LyondellBasell, a shipper of chemicals for plastics, made a critical point at the North American Rail Shippers annual meeting when he noted of his transportation use, “It doesn’t come

Don’t be surprised if one or more railroads drop their membership in the National Industrial Transportation League.

When importers rallied last fall in a surprise and ultimately unsuccessful revolt against the 10+2 security rule, it was not just a one-dimensional protest against perceived excessive container securi

I recently sat through a House hearing in which members of Congress spoke at length about the need to come up with “creative” ideas to fund highway infrastructure. Creative what?

Are U.S. export controls keeping dangerous goods and technologies out of the hands of hostile powers?

A recent comment from the chairman of the Asian Shippers’ Council recalls many discussions I’ve heard in my 35 years in the industry over the conflict between service providers and their customers.

The bar code is a small thing, but it’s changed our lives in a big way.

The mood at The Journal of Commerce's Breakbulk Europe conference in Antwerp wasn't giddy -- probably a good sign -- but it didn't have the gloom that surrounds most container shipping gatherings th

Now that the International Chamber of Shipping has added its backing to a new international agreement governing liability for cargo lost or damaged at sea, the European Shippers' Council looks increas

I thought I'd pass along these thoughts from Drewry's Neil Dekker in response to my column last week on the deteriorating eastbound

This week the JoC launched its online special report on piracy, featuring stories by JoC staff and links to external resources.

Q: Ocean piracy has been in the news a lot lately because of the activities of Somali-based pirate gangs off the northeast coast of Africa.

Small businesses that want a bigger voice in trade policy may soon get a break.

As go oil prices, so goes the breakbulk industry. That's an exaggeration, but there's more than a grain of truth to that statement.

Those watching container shipping from Asia are taking note of this week's uptick in consumer confidence.

William Zollars sent a bit of a bombshell through the trucking industry and the larger world of freight transportation last week when he said his troubled company, YRC Worldwide, would seek $1 billion

The New York Times reported a few days ago that a recent count showed 735 ships jamming anchorages in Singapore and its environs, an indication of the state of the shipping market.

Two maps from the International Maritime Bureau clearly depict a shift in the worldwide battle against piracy.

As governor of Virginia, Mark Warner often wondered why Congress, with 535 members, couldn’t come up with a national transportation policy.

In response to the financial crisis of 2008, governments around the world have pledged to spend trillions of dollars over the next few years on what is loosely called “infrastructure” and

One of the favorite pastimes for most business leaders, after the profits are counted, is lamenting how deeply the government misunderstands the needs and the drivers of business.

YRC Worldwide's reported request for $1 billion from the federal bailout fund is sending shock waves across the trucking world.

Angel Mendez knows a secret about supply chains not many logistics managers will share: they’re fun.

As an addendum to my column in the May 11 JoC exploring the critical question of whether China will maintain its market share as a source of U.S.

One victim of the recession has been toll-road privatization, according to an article in this week's Barron's.

It’s time the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach started paying attention to cleaning up truck pollution at the ports.

At the edge of New Orleans' French Quarter, the Gov. Nicholls Street Wharf occupies a site that's been in continuous maritime commerce since shortly after the city's founding in 1718.

Card check isn't the only labor issue on the table in Washington. Airport screeners checking baggage for the Transportation Security Administration may soon win the right to unionize, the Federal

I Spoke this morning with Blaine Kelley, senior vice president focusing on industrial/distribution center real estate at broker CB Richard Ellis.

In his maritime blog, attorney Dennis Bryant notes a news release from the Washington State Department of Ecology, which stated that a commercial airliner jettisoned approximately 5,000 gallons of jet

Maersk Alabama Captain Richard Phillips will be back for a second round of testimony on Capitol Hill May 5, when a Senate subcommittee takes on "Piracy on the High Seas."

We’ve all heard of the law of unintended consequences, of course. It means actions taken in one area have an unforeseen, usually very negative, impact somewhere else.

To say the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have made a big deal out of truck pollution would be an understatement.

The swine flu virus will have a significant impact on global supply chains, a consultant with supply chain management services firm Ariba warns.

Shippers have run inventory stocks down so low that their demands for on-time performance by their carriers are at an extreme high. Any disruption could lead to a dreaded stock-out.

Supply chain consultant and blogger Jim Tompkins is increasingly bullish about the prospects for economic recovery, despite the bad news of the first quarter.

I met this morning with Tom Kim, the Hong Kong-based transport analyst for Goldman Sachs, and learned more about his upbeat assessment of container shipping companies.