Forwarding

Container carriers and shippers of refrigerated cargoes, facing slower transit times and more distant markets, are looking to high-tech solutions from container manufacturers.

While large ocean shippers can get information about where their containers are on the high seas or elsewhere in their supply chains through electronic data interface with their ocean carriers, small shippers who don’t have EDI are often left in the dark.

More than half of Expeditors International of Washington’s revenue came from the Asia-Pacific region in 2013, which may be a good sign for the third-party logistics provider...

While an increase in the scrapping of Panamax ships may help counteract oversupply in the container shipping industry, it won’t be enough to solve overcapacity.

Following a frenetic decade of ups and downs in volumes and rates, the steamship industry is seeking stability through alliances and cost-cutting that has lengthened voyage transit times. While many shippers don’t see much of a problem in slow-steaming, exporters of refrigerated goods have more reason to be concerned.

Westwood Shipping has found new use for its fleet of four BulkCon ships. The carrier, which has specialized in transporting forest products since 1892, added refrigerated cargoes to the mix in the summer of 2013.

The settlement of the dispute over cost overruns between the Panama Canal Authority and the engineering consortium building its new set of larger locks leaves unanswered the questions of when the $5.25 billion expansion project will be completed and how much more it will cost in the end.

In 2013, container shipments from Europe to the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent declined 3 percent year-over-year to 3.0 million TEUs...

The global container ship fleet this year is expected to grow at the slowest rate in a decade, but large and small shipping lines continue to order more new ships than the forecast growth of global container cargo can fill over the next two years, especially on the Asia-Europe trade.

For a second consecutive year, Container Trade Statistics data showed that the global container market witnessed a “slightly accelerated pace” in global output in December 2013...

Harbor truck drivers returned to their jobs on Feb. 12 after a four-day strike at the Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal, a DP World facility in India’s Port of Cochin.

Air and ocean trades to and from China will remain slow until next month due to the Lunar New Year shutdown, according to a survey by JOC of leading transport operators and analysts based in Asia.

A strike by harbor truck crews has affected normal operations at the Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal, a DP World facility in India’s Port of Cochin.

Major container lines hope to increase rates in multiple trade lanes in March, April and May, although any hikes achieved could be fleeting.

Shippers should expect declining container ship reliability over the near term.

International Shipholding Corp. plans to relocate its corporate headquarters next year from Mobile, Ala., to New Orleans, where the company was based from its founding in 1947 until 2006.

Work to expand the Panama Canal was suspended today following a breakdown in talks between the canal authority and the construction consortium to resolve a bitter dispute over more than $1 billion in cost overruns.

Based on SeaIntel’s monthly Global Liner Performance reports from 2013, container ships reached their destination ports around the world on time 79.5 percent of the time in 2013...

Supply chain operators claim intra-Asia cargo shipped to China via South Korean ports is being hit with unnecessary delays and tariffs that could be part of a Chinese strategy to reduce reliance on foreign transshipment ports.

SEA ISLAND, Ga. — A canal through Nicaragua connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans will cost double proponents’ estimate and will likely never be built, the No. 2 official at the Panama Canal said today.

Improved economic stability in key markets appears certain to benefit major exporting economies in Asia, as well as ocean carriers, rail operators and airlines that ship their goods.

The impending launches of the P3 and G6 alliances have contributed to fewer ships being laid up and services withdrawn despite weak demand...

The transloading of imported cargo from marine containers to domestic containers in Southern California increased sharply in 2013, but new data suggests transloading has hit a plateau and future growth will be incremental.

Container ships arrived at their destination ports across the globe on time 73.7 percent of the time in December 2013...

Maersk Container Industry has teamed up with Primaira, a Boston-based technology company, to develop a high ozone air cleaning system for refrigerated containers...

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Li & Fung Logistics is preparing alternatives to shipping through U.S. West Coast ports, as the unit of the global sourcing giant expects some type of International Longshore and Warehouse Union disruption tied to the negotiations for a contract to replace the current one that expires on June 30.

A legally binding rule book for all ships, from container vessels to oil tankers, sailing in Arctic and Antarctic waters, has moved closer after maritime officials agreed on a draft text for a so-called Polar Code.

Jefferies expects Asian container lines’ earnings for the fourth quarter of 2013 overall will be in line with or below Bloomberg consensus estimates, as freight rates in Asia-related trade lanes continued to slide and overcapacity remained.

Major container lines hope to increase rates in multiple trade lanes in February, March and April, although any hikes achieved may be temporary.

Although the Lunar New Year holidays do not officially start until the end of the month, factory towns across China’s manufacturing heartland have been powering down this week due to labor shortages or weak order books, hitting export loadings earlier than expected, according to logistics executives.

The market for breakbulk and heavy-lift ocean cargo is emerging from the doldrums it experienced last year. Although a backlog of global industrial projects carried the heavy-lift sector through 2012 and construction of new pipelines and wind farms in the U.S. filled inbound multipurpose breakbulk vessels that year, demand largely dried up in 2013. But the picture is brightening, and the market is positioned for a significant recovery in 2014 and 2015.

All chemical types have become increasingly more containerized in ocean transportation over the last 12 years, although some chemical types continue to be primarily shipped in bulk, according to Seabury.

If the P3 Network gets the go-ahead from regulators, it will enjoy a cost advantage over the G6 alliance not only because of the larger average size of its ships...

The world’s 20 largest container carriers lost an average of $16 on each TEU they carried from 2008 through 2012, according to a new report by Dynamar.

The deputy administrator of the Panama Canal Authority on Tuesday said the $5.25 billion expansion of the Panama Canal will meet the target date of mid-2015.

Three shippers discuss what they expect in 2014.

Singapore is set to benefit this year from its status as one of Asia’s leading transport hubs, as demand from key markets in the West boosts trade.

U.S. containerized imports are projected to increase 6 percent in 2014, up from 3.5 percent growth in 2013, according to Journal of Commerce economist Mario Moreno.

The U.S. Maritime Administration’s top official said U.S.-flag carriers in international markets are “at a tipping point” and that helping them compete will be an important part of Marad’s effort to develop a national maritime strategy.