Forwarding

Container terminals in gateway ports around the world, already suffering from congestion caused by mega-ships, may not be able to keep up with their ever-increasing size because of limits on crane technology and the lack of yard space.

Nearly half of all post-Panamax ships saw delays of 12 hours or more at North and South American ports in July, according to a new study released by CargoSmart.

U.S. container imports could hit an all-time record in August, as July data shows container numbers soared year-over-year, according to the National Retail Federation.

Within days of it being officially announced, work on a second channel of the Suez Canal has apparently already begun and, according to Egyptian authorities, will be completed within a year.

Wilh. Wilhelmsen ASA, the world’s largest deep-sea roll-on, roll-off carrier, posted a 30 percent decline in second-quarter profit as one-off charges offset a double-digit increase in cargo volume.

Troubles in the Pacific Northwest dominated the news this week.

Starting Aug. 8, DP World Vancouver will stop accepting U.S.-bound containers intended for direct transfer to rail, citing a lack of railcars to handle the surge of cargo headed across the border.

Egypt today unveiled plans to build a “second” Suez Canal alongside the existing waterway to keep pace with growing traffic on the Asia-Europe shipping lanes.

More gloom has darkened the outlook for the export of U.S. distiller dried grains now that China is requiring all shipments to have a certification showing the feed ingredient doesn’t include an unapproved genetically modified strain.

The first half of 2014 saw the start of several stories that JOC.com will most likely be covering for the next year and perhaps beyond.

China will remain the clear leader in U.S. footwear imports even as Vietnam and other countries nibble away at its market share, according to a new forecast by the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America.

More shippers contracting with C.H. Robinson Worldwide shifted loads from railroad to highway in the second quarter after seeing intermodal rail service deteriorate.

DSV today became the latest top 10 freight forwarder to post market-beating growth in ocean container traffic as the consolidation of the fragmented global logistics industry gathers pace.

The Suez Canal’s major deepening project is just over the horizon as crews will start widening and dredging a 34-kiliometer strip in order to improve wait times for vessels using the canal.

When the Nicaraguan government earlier this month approved plans by a Hong Kong-based company to build a canal linking the Pacific with the Caribbean and thus the Atlantic, observers in the maritime industry were largely left scratching their heads.

Container volume at the Port of Philadelphia jumped 29 percent during the first half of the year, aided by two new services and a continuing shift of breakbulk to containers for shipments of imported fruit.

Several container lines have planned general rate increases in multiple trade lanes in August, although any gains achieved could be temporary as overcapacity and sluggish global demand continue.

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission is seeking authority to use its website instead of the Federal Register to provide public notice when it revokes or suspends the licenses of ocean transportation intermediaries.

INTTRA has hired John F. Fay, formerly of brokerage Newedge Group, as CEO, effective immediately.

Multiple carriers have announced general rate increases on several trade routes to take effect in August.

First-quarter 2014 numbers are in for the U.S. containerized ocean trade, with year-over-year results essentially flat.

The U.S.-Asia ocean container trade increased 2.7 percent to 20 million 20-foot-equivalent units in the 12 months ending March 2014 compared with the prior 12-month period, according to data from PIERS, the data division of JOC Group.

The top 10 companies among JOC’s Top 100 exporters were responsible for exporting 1,454,700 TEUs in 2013.

Multiple container lines have planned general rate increases in several trade routes to take effect Aug. 1...

With West Coast longshore contract negotiations still underway, U.S. retailers expect to bring in record levels of merchandise this month to protect against supply chain disruptions, pushing up container import projections for the first half of the year.

The Panama Canal Authority, which earlier this year dismissed the possibility of an alternate canal through Nicaragua, had a more cautious reaction this week following the Nicaraguan government’s approval of plans by a Hong Kong-based company for the proposed $40 billion canal.

Endochoice, a six-year-old Atlanta-based importer of medical devices and disposable infectious control supplies and services for gastroenterologists, most of whom were in the U.S., had to reengineer its global supply chain last year when it acquired high-tech medical companies in Israel and Germany and began to manufacture and distribute a sophisticated new system for colonoscopies internationally.

Events on the U.S. West Coast dominated the news this past week, as the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association continued negotiations toward a new contract.

Several container lines have planned general rate increases in multiple trade routes to take effect Aug. 1...

The gap between global liner schedule reliability this year and last year has narrowed, although monthly performance in May was still down year-over-year.

A major Tokyo-based research firm has painted a grim picture of Japanese container trade in the current fiscal year that started on April 1, citing weaker exports and imports than previously thought.

Global sea and air freight rates could decline by as much as 2.5 percent by the end of 2014, experts at Drewry Maritime Research say.

Beneficial cargo owners and harbor trucking companies that consistently experience long turn times at container terminals may want to fire their ocean carriers.

Forwarders and non-vessel-operating common carriers will learn by the end of the year just how far the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission has mitigated many of their concerns with a proposed overhaul of ocean transportation intermediary rules.

New numbers released by the World Shipping Council suggest that, on average, more than 1,500 containers have been lost at sea each year since 2008.

Overweight shipping containers can cause accidents at sea and on the roads, but difficulties clamping down on false declarations of the weight and context of the boxes, potential slowdowns caused by weighing all containers and possibly billions of dollars in extra costs are also concerning, according to a panel of experts at the WISTA-UK Liverpool Forum.

Thieves increasingly are using computer data to steal high-value cargo by generating cargo-release codes for containers, according to transportation insurance and risk specialist TT Club.

Retailers are making new pleas for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association to agree on a contract and avoid a West Coast port shutdown after the ILWU-PMA contract expires next week.

Several container lines have planned general rate increases in multiple trade routes to take effect in July, although any gains achieved could be temporary as overcapacity and sluggish global demand continue.

The Panama Canal Authority is already thinking beyond the limits of the current expansion project.