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Car dealers are "screaming" for inventory, but COVID-19 shutdowns and a snarled semiconductor supply chain are throwing up obstacles to production.

Maersk issued its third upgrade of full-year 2021 results thanks to the continued strength of its ocean business and high freight rates.

Port officials in the southeastern US are taking steps to help importers and exporters navigate terminal congestion that isn’t expected to ease anytime soon.

The Federal Maritime Commission said it is taking steps toward addressing detention and demurrage bills that US shippers and truckers are facing.

The failure of importers to move their containers from the docks to their warehouses in a timely manner is the root cause of congestion at both East and West coast ports, terminal operators say.

A consortium of container industry heavyweights has enlisted three banks in Asia to advise it on development of trade finance solutions to tether shipping data to new financing opportunities.

Maersk is acquiring a Portuguese company that specializes in outsourced e-commerce fulfillment services to the fashion industry as the ocean carrier moves deeper into integrated logistics services.

Canadian National has bowed out of its pursuit of Kansas City Southern, two weeks after US regulators threw up a major roadblock to a proposed deal, clearing the way for Canadian Pacific to apply for regulatory approval for its deal with the US-Mexico railroad.

A Drewry analyst sees global port congestion lasting beyond the Lunar New Year of 2022 as retailers decide they do not want to run the risk of stockouts and empty shelves next summer.

Private equity fund Bridgepoint has funneled capital into supply chain technology provider Blume Global, which has customers in nearly every segment of the global logistics industry.

With shippers facing crippling congestion in Southern California, the Port of New York and New Jersey is seeing more volume and the demand has spilled over to long-haul trucking.

TrueCommerce’s acquisition of competitor DiCentral gives it a deeper roster of supplier and transportation partner connections for its now 18,000-strong customer base.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. is repositioning vessels from the trans-Atlantic to the trans-Pacific in a bid to meet the market’s high demand for Asia services.

Vessel bunching at US ports and unprecedented bottlenecks landside will continue to cripple the US supply chain because a “fantastic peak” of imports from Asia shows no signs of abating for at least six months, according to industry analysts.

Carrier association Shipping Australia believes the container shipping market will return to normal only when the effect of the COVID-19 shock on supply chains works its way through the system.

Reduced harvesting in Asia has created additional demand for agricultural goods from the US and Australia, but a shortage of intra-Asia feeder ships is preventing exporters from taking full advantage.

Google Cloud is using project44 to boost the visibility prowess of its supply chain solutions, as cloud-hosting giants target the logistics industry.

A US Congressman said other legislative priorities will delay any regulatory relief for US importers and exporters until well after peak season, despite growing calls for more immediate ocean carrier oversight.

A new funding round into London-based forwarding automation specialist Vector.ai highlights the need for forwarders to offload administrative tasks to keep up with industry growth and complexity.

Iowa-based CRST is installing a telematics-based fleet management system the truckload carrier claims will benefit both drivers and shippers seeking supply chain intelligence.

Taking aim at a lack of proof-of-delivery certainty in global logistics, Clockwork Logistics Systems has received financial backing from a range of logistics-focused investors.

Container shippers are increasingly switching to breakbulk solutions to move their cargo, pushing MPV/HL bookings into the fall and driving up rates.

The $1.3 billion acquisition of Echo Global Logistics by a private equity company will fuel an automation drive at the third-party logistics provider as shippers dealing with disruption demand more sophisticated technology.

With their profitability now firmly established, carriers appear to be placing renewed vigor into growing their contracted cargo base.

Asset providers say it will be difficult in the short term to satisfy the transportation requirements needed to handle growing cargo volumes in Southern California.

Container visibility data specialist Vizion’s latest funding round adds more fuel to a market searching for quality, real-time ocean freight milestone information to execution systems.

Chemicals transportation and logistics specialist A&R Logistics is rebranding and reorganizing as Quantix, adding trucking assets to meet growing demand from shippers.

Magaya’s acquisition of two forwarding technology providers lets customers manage instant quoting and customer service through a unified platform to compete with digital forwarders.

As part of the National Shipper Advisory Committee, the likes of Wal-Mart, Amazon, and DuPont will give guidance to the Federal Maritime Commission as the federal agency steps up its monitoring of the industry.

Although monthly year-over-year import growth will be minimal during the peak season, import volumes will still be at near-record levels as they are benchmarked off of unusually large volumes in the second half of 2020.

The Port of Baltimore received four fully electric cranes on Thursday for a second berth that will open when the cranes are put into commission in a few months.

CMA CGM said its decision to suspend all spot rate increases until early 2022 is a matter of prioritizing long-term relationships with customers.

In a finely-tuned transport machine that spans oceans and borders, introducing variability in any location ricochets down the supply chain, often getting amplified with every step.

While container dwell may be up, intermodal volume on the UP network — domestic and international combined — is down 4.6 percent since July 1 from a year ago, according to the Association of American Railroads.

The tight space and delayed shipments affecting European shippers are being driven by capacity-side issues, with increasing levels of deployed capacity effectively cut back by supply chain bottlenecks.

The Federal Maritime Commission is meeting with global regulators as part of its regularly scheduled conferences regarding issues facing the container shipping industry.

National drayage operator RoadOne is filling in gaps in its service network through acquisitions, and expanding transloading services as container backlogs build up at ports.

The Port of Philadelphia’s main container terminal will stop unloading and loading operations through the rest of the week in a bid to clear out a container backlog.

The chairman of the US Surface Transportation Board urged railroads to focus less on serving Wall Street investors and more on serving shippers, employees, and the public interest — or else the agency may have to intervene.

More funding has flowed into container visibility solutions to address a growing need for shippers and their logistics providers to predict where and when disruptions are likely to occur.