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Maritime

The Journal of Commerce is the industry’s source for maritime news and analysis about ocean container shipping, logistics, supply chains, global shipping ports, shipping technology solutions and end-to-end connectivity. Coverage tracks the movement of containerized cargo — from origin to destination — handled by marine terminals in the US and abroad, depots, container ports, container lines, drayage, consignees and shippers, forwarders, non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCs) and off-dock warehousing providers, as well as pricing, capacity, volume and reliability on the trans-Pacific, Asia-Europe, North America-Caribbean, Central and South American and intra-Asia trades.

Subsections

The latest Maritime News & Analysis

Indian port productivity gains accelerate

India Special Correspondent |
Major ports’ productivity statistics collected from official sources show vessel turnaround times have dramatically improved in recent years.
Marine terminals

Why tight US trucking capacity isn’t going away soon

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor |
Once cyclical, problems such as the driver shortage are becoming systemic. That threatens to ‘bake’ higher costs into transportation rates.
TruckloadLTLBreakbulk News

Rising cargo volume spurs Baltimore to move chassis pool

Hugh R. Morley, Senior Editor |
Growth at the Port of Baltimore is driving up truck turn times and forcing operational changes.
North American portsDrayage

Tariffs expose US shippers to higher chassis, container costs

Ari Ashe, Senior Editor |
US tariffs on Chinese imports are threatening to not only increase costs for shippers, but also force them to pay more for the equipment they use.
Marine terminals

New APL service to test expedited demand on trans-Pacific

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor |
A new service from APL will test the hypothesis that shippers will pay more for better service, if it is available.
Container lines

NYK, Adani form rail joint venture for India auto-handling

India Special Correspondent |
The new collaboration comes as India’s automobile sector logs robust growth.
Breakbulk News

China Merchants to revamp old port of Djibouti

Turloch Mooney, Global Ports Editor |
The company overseen by Beijing’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission likened its plans for the east African country to the development of its home base of Shekou and Shenzhen in southern China, where it has carried out extensive port, industrial, and real estate development.
Marine terminalsBreakbulk News

Electronic lock rule sparks Chittagong shipper, political protests

Bangladesh Correspondent |
A rule requiring electronic locking of containers and re-imposition of weight limits for trucks is riling Chittagong shippers.
International portsTrucking News

JNPT pushes for uniform rail and road free storage times

India Special Correspondent |
Authorities at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust believe less free time for rail shipments would improve port operations, but shipping agents are dubious.
International portsRail News

JOC Chassis Explainer: Shipping industry seeks solutions

Hugh R. Morley, Senior Editor |
Chassis has been called the shipping industry’s conundrum, and with good reason. Providing a basic piece of equipment seems simple enough. Yet the issue has taxed US ports and railroad terminals for at least a decade, causing cargo disruptions, delays, and complaints about poor equipment. And as of mid-2018, the industry is still searching for the most efficient solution.
Trucking NewsDrayage

Deadly container ship fires finally spurring carrier action

Peter Tirschwell |
It’s now an unavoidable fact that the precautions traditionally taken to avoid container ship fires — such as ensuring that stowage plans comply with dangerous goods guidelines and carriers scan bills of lading for keywords indicating the possibility of misdeclared cargoes — are failing to adequately mitigate the risk to crews, cargoes, and ships.
Transport, Trade, and Regulation NewsMaritimeContainer lines

Brazil truckers and shippers battle over post-strike rates

Rob Ward, Brazil Special Correspondent |
Shippers and business groups argue the current truckers’ freight rate table is too generous and would increase shipper costs and retail prices by double digits. The truckers’ union wants a fair rate table and said it will strike again if it is not obtained.
Trucking NewsTrucking laborTransport, Trade, and Regulation NewsBreakbulk News

Trans-Pac spot rates rise again amid third service cut

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor |
Eastbound Pacific spot rates rose for the second straight week as Cosco and Ocean Alliance partners became the third carrier alliance to announce peak season cuts in services.
Container lines

US shippers and chassis providers clash over planned SE chassis pool

Ari Ashe, Senior Editor |
Supporters, including some smaller companies, believe the pool will encourage chassis providers to contribute new chassis with the safest features and increase fleet size. Opponents counter the existing pool works fine, and there are legal and operational questions that must be answered before rendering a decision.
Trucking NewsDrayage

Felixstowe congestion forces two temporary Maersk service changes

JOC Staff |
Port owner Hutchison Ports said it will continue to work to improve productivity levels at Felixstowe.
Container lines

NY-NJ makes do without gray chassis pool

Hugh R. Morley, Senior Editor |
A gray chassis pool is not off the agenda, stakeholders say, but as of mid-2018 it appears to be a solution in search of a problem, for several reasons.
North American portsTrucking NewsDrayage

Chennai Port slashes shortsea and transshipment rates

India Special Correspondent |
In a trade advisory, the port trust announced substantial tariff reductions for domestic and foreign ocean carriers handling export-import containers for transshipment.
International portsBreakbulk News

EMS’s LA Pier 300 customer focus system slashes truck turn times

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor |
<p>It took the new management team at APL’s Pier 300 in Los Angeles only three months to improve truck turn times from the worst in the harbor to the fourth best among the 12 terminals. And they accomplished it by deploying a "customer focus/consumer focus" strategy.</p>
North American portsTrucking NewsDrayage

European ports hopeful about breakbulk despite geopolitics

Bruce Barnard, Special Correspondent |
After a mixed performance in 2017, Europe’s top breakbulk ports face a complicated 2018, despite above-trend European GDP growth, due to the threat posed by tariffs and the reinstatement of sanctions against Iran.
Breakbulk NewsCool Cargo NewsTransport, Trade, and Regulation News

Tech investors pump funding into ‘predictive freight matching’

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor |
The question shippers are asking is, “If you see the freight, can’t you let me know where there’s carrier capacity available?”
Trucking NewsLogistics Technology NewsDrayage

Analysis: Tight US surface capacity requires early peak season shipments

Lawrence Gross, president, Gross Transportation Consulting |
In the past, resourceful supply chain managers always had alternatives in their hip pocket to meet the unexpected, for a price. Not this year. In 2018, shippers should not expect surge freight capacity.
Rail NewsTrucking NewsDrayage

Krishnapatnam Port’s new gantry cranes to boost fluidity

India Special Correspondent |
Krishnapatnam Port officials have a specific objective in mind as they deploy the expansion and productivity improvement plan.
International ports

US portal success hinges on pushing data to users

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor |
Pushing data back to users may very well prove to be the pivotal point at which the container shipping industry shifted en masse to portals. But getting to that step will likely require another cultural shift.
MaritimeLogistics Technology NewsContainer linesTrucking News

Panama Canal: Low-sulfur fuel rule will attract new services

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor |
The new Panama Canal’s larger locks appear to have hit the shipping industry at the right time, given at least one, and possibly two, global trends in international trade.
Supply chainContainer lines

Rockier than usual peak season ahead for US importers

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor |
<p>This much is known about rates for US importers from Asia heading into peak season: there are factors that would generate firm-to-higher rates, but also historical factors that would lead to a softening of rates.</p>
Container lines

ILA contract approval outlook brightens on NY-NJ local vote

Hugh R. Morley, Senior Editor |
The East Coast’s largest port, with the most complex negotiations, has reached an agreement. The International Longshoremen's Association wants all such local agreements to be completed before the master contract that covers the ports on both coasts can be ratified.
Longshore laborTransport, Trade, and Regulation News

Inland port serving NY-NJ moves forward

Hugh R. Morley, Senior Editor |
Shippers that use the Port of New York and New Jersey may find that Syracuse offers an attractive option once a rail-linked inland port is built. But will its lower rent offset higher logistics costs?
North American portsIndustrial Real Estate NewsRail News

US shippers face daunting intermodal peak season

Ari Ashe, Senior Editor |
US beneficial cargo owners will face unprecedented challenges using intermodal this peak season. Still, there are time-tested tactics that will ensure the best possible transportation result.
Rail NewsTrucking NewsDrayage

CMA CGM to restart Chittagong feeder service

Bangladesh Special Correspondent |
The service, if added, would complement existing feeder services by other ocean carriers. A CMA CGM official said the company has held talks about the possible service.
Container lines

JOC Blockchain Explainer: Demystifying the buzz for the shipping industry

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
Many experts argue that blockchain technology is tailor-made for container shipping’s international logistics work. But blockchain faces numerous hurdles — the biggest of which may be cultural.
Logistics Technology NewsContainer linesTrucking News

Record US imports forecast for peak season

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor |
US importers plan to bring in record container volume this peak season, which will translate into an impressive 2018 year-end gain compared with 2017.
Container linesTransport, Trade, and Regulation News

India's minor ports increase pressure on major, public rivals

India Special Correspondent |
New provisional port statistics show total freight handled at minor ports during the revenue/accounting year, which ended March 31, increased 9.2 percent year over year.
Port News

Peak season to test year-long US chassis scale-up

Ari Ashe, Senior Editor and Hugh R. Morley, Senior Editor |
Efficient supply chains contain the premise that for every container there is a chassis available. But don't tell shippers that, as the issue has been a thorn in their side and that of other container trade stakeholders for nearly a decade.
Trucking NewsDrayageRail News

Container lines end Iran services ahead of US sanctions

Greg Knowler, Senior Europe Editor |
Ocean carriers want to avoid being caught up in secondary sanctions that will be imposed by the United States on companies dealing with Iran.
Transport, Trade, and Regulation NewsContainer lines

Trans-Atlantic spot rates rise despite slower US import growth from EU

Greg Knowler, Senior Europe Editor |
However, far from being an omen of declining demand, headhaul rates from Europe to the United States have strengthened as peak season gets under way.
Container lines

Trans-Pac spot rates surge amid another service cut

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor |
Beneficial cargo owners can anticipate higher rates this peak season as Yang Ming and its THE Alliance partners announce removal of a trans-Pacific string. This development follows a similar service reduction in late June by the 2M Alliance and was accompanied Friday by an increase of 20 to 30 percent in spot rates.
Container lines

US shippers question effectiveness of shorthanded FMC

Hugh R. Morley, Senior Editor |
Shippers watching for the way the Federal Maritime Commission rules on a wide variety of issues that affect the movement of cargo may question the quality of analysis and decision making that will result from having just two Republican commissioners on the board, out of a possible five-member bipartisan board.
MaritimeTransport, Trade, and Regulation News

More ad-hoc ship calls put PSA's JNPT terminal on growth track

India Special Correspondent |
Port statistics show Bharat Mumbai Container Terminals processed 17 ship calls in June, compared with 10 calls a month since March, after the new terminal settled into a steady/seamless operation.
International ports

Brazil customs officers suspend strike after politician’s intervention

Rob Ward, Brazil Special Correspondent |
The suspension decision was implemented after delegates from the National Sindifisco and a politician close to Brazilian President Michel Temer reached an agreement.
International portsTrucking laborTransport, Trade, and Regulation News

Bank's push of cross-border trade blockchain complicates single platform aim

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor |
Global trade-oriented blockchain solutions are moving from pilot to purported commercial viability in Asia and Europe, as shippers evaluate whether blockchain is something in which they should invest in the short term and which project to back.
Logistics Technology NewsMaritimeContainer lines
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