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Efforts to rein in excess capacity accelerated among large carriers, lowering the JOC Truckload Capacity Index to 85.2 in the fourth quarter. However, even that reading is still high.

The dismantling of a protest blockade blocking the Canadian National Railway line at Tyendinaga Monday morning could signal the end of the two-week old blockade that has crippled the movement of cargo by rail across Canada.

Driven mostly by increases in bunker fuel charges due to the IMO 2020 global low-sulfur fuel requirement, carriers say they intend to achieve all-inclusive freight rates that are slightly higher than the rates in last year’s service contracts.

The Chinese government says it will take “strong measures” to ensure supply chain fluidity for refrigerated (reefer) food products, but US exporters must wait for factories to reopen and ships to begin leaving China again.

Attention is shifting from mitigating the effects of China's dramatic measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus to how to recover from its impact on the supply chain.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government is working with railroad operators to find alternatives to blocked rail lines as he urged First Nation protesters to end the crippling blockades he called “unacceptable.”

The Port of Houston says a group of non-container stakeholders should revise its plan for the authority to float a $500 million bond for the project to widen the port channel, saying that under the plan the port would then be responsible if payments were not made.

A sizable investment in a yard automation startup this week is a signal that shippers and logistics providers need to prioritize efficiencies in their warehousing and distribution facilities to cope with the speed of supply chains.

Following intervention by various industry groups amid the coronavirus outbreak in China, the Indian government has issued a directive to customs authorities to waive penalties typically levied for the late filing of import shipment data.

The vulnerability of the container shipping supply chain has been repeatedly — and painfully — exposed, but as 2020 gets underway, the industry is facing disruption on a scale not seen in its more than 60-year history as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in China.

Halifax and the ports of Montreal and Vancouver have endured cargo backlogs at marine terminals and disruption to domestic and international shipments.

Terminal operators, truckers, and BCOs agree that expanding free-flow operations for the delivery of containers at West Coast ports is a win-win situation for all participants, but the complexities of pulling it off in an era of big ships and alliances is limiting its potential.

DirectChassis Link, one of the three largest US chassis providers, will be exiting the Chicago cooperative chassis pool this year, a blow to those who envision a market in which any chassis can be used on any container.

A.P. Moller-Maersk’s integration strategy calls for the carrier to grow its non-ocean segment to half the business, but that process slowed dramatically in 2019.

Lufthansa Cargo will offer instant air freight quotes via an application programming interface with digital forwarder Fleet, a company in which the German airline invested in 2018.

Capacity expansion at Bangladesh’s second port of Mongla is meant to relieve congestion at the busy port of Chittagong, where frequent vessel backlogs result in delays and demurrage costs for shippers.

Following imposing draft restrictions in four of the last six years, Panama Canal Administrator Ricaurte Vásquez says a new approach is needed since the value of the larger locks, completed for some $5.25 billion in 2016, is for naught if full water draft can’t be guaranteed.

Due to reduced demand tied to the coronavirus, Maersk said it has cancelled more than 50 sailings beyond what it normally cuts during the traditional Chinese Lunar New Year lull.

MPV/HL carrier Zeamarine files for insolvency in Bremen court as the Zea Gold is arrested for bunkers on board.

Coyote Logistics predicts truckload contract rates will remain flat to down in 2020 versus a year ago, while spot rates will be higher than 2019 levels very soon.

With Canadian National Railway’s Eastern Canadian network virtually shut down due to First Nation blockades protesting a planned pipeline, shipping and other business groups are urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to bring an end to the conflict.

Maersk is more than doubling its warehousing and distribution assets in North America through an acquisition that serves as another signal of its commitment to transition from container line to integrator.

Europe’s hub ports are bracing for the impact of the coronavirus on volumes as the number of canceled sailings reached unprecedented levels.

Colombo had respectable container volume growth last year, but saw its dominance over Indian cargo begin to slip following cabotage reform enacted in mid-2018.

A weak container shipping environment in the fourth quarter was unable to prevent Hapag-Lloyd growing both revenue and average freight rates across the year.

The developer of a Texas industrial park scheduled to open in early 2021 says it will work with Kansas City Southern of Mexico to offer a shorter, cheaper way for Mexican manufacturers to ship goods to Houston and other Texas markets.

Declining imports due to factory shutdowns in Asia from the Lunar New Year and the coronavirus are beginning to produce a shortage of empty containers in the US interior, with the shortages expected to spike in March.

A rail blockade in Ontario as part of a more than week-long First Nation protest against a proposed oil pipeline in Canada remains in place, and CN’s eastern Canadian network is at a near standstill.

Truck tonnage increased for the second straight month in January, but a weak manufacturing sector and high inventories are keeping a lid on freight demand.

Truckload carrier Alabama Motor Express sees opportunities to grow by purchasing smaller carriers hit by rising truck insurance premiums.

Stakeholders on the ground say the supply chain in coronavirus-hit China is beginning to show some initial signs of recovery, albeit slowly, and normal operations aren’t expected until well into March.

With no belly cargo available for flights to China, demand for chartered freighter capacity has risen sharply, along with air freight rates, as relief aid and medical supplies move to the country amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The truckload freight marketplace Transfix is allowing shippers to guarantee forward spot rates up to a year out based on an machine learning model it has been using internally for more than a year.

Shippers have long complained of transshipment containers being rolled with little or no warning, but new data tracking the issue has revealed the extent of the problem.

Carriers are not having much success in balancing capacity with falling demand as the coronavirus impact cuts China’s export volume.

US refrigerated (reefer) shippers reported improved service from ocean carriers in 2019, but equipment issues and other uncertainties could impact cold chains this year.

Pacific International Lines, which participates in a half-dozen trans-Pacific services, mostly in slot-charter arrangements, is exiting the highly-competitive Asia-US trade lane.

The Port of Houston has been awarded a $21.8 million federal grant to help fund the extension of a berth at the Bayport Container Terminal.

Federal grants totaling almost $33 million for the neighboring ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will help support intermodal rail efficiency at the Southern California port complex.

US shippers are demanding more precise delivery times for their goods, as retail charges for late deliveries and better awareness of truck driver hours of service raise the stakes in visibility.