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Mode-malleable breakbulk cargo is shifting back to containers even as disruptions threaten to squeeze capacity and drive container rates higher.

The crisis has been a logistical headache for container lines, but overcapacity in their fleets is enabling them to cover the loss of effective capacity being used up by the longer transits around southern Africa, Lars Jensen told TPM24.

The nationwide drayage provider is looking for opportunities to expand its footprint and fill in its network.

Drivers arriving at the Landers terminal have complained about multi-hour delays picking up import containers over the past four months, causing shippers to wait longer for their cargo.

Shippers are no fans of transshipment and have expressed reservations over the ability of Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd to provide the efficiency needed to achieve their stated on-time performance goal of 90%.

Shippers seeking more flexible supply chains are turning to transloading, and not just for containerized imports, speakers at TPM24 said.

TRAC Intermodal is investing in its fleet and positioning equipment in inland markets that saw the worst chassis shortages in 2021 and 2022, CEO Daniel Walsh told TPM24.

DHL’s decision leaves Denmark’s DSV as the only remaining obvious potential bidder for DB Schenker after Kuehne+Nagel confirmed last week it would not pursue an acquisition.

CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd and Mediterranean Shipping Co. have confirmed pushing their previously announced rate increases scheduled for this week to the second half of the month.

Although the port is losing some intermodal service to the Midwest, demand is surging to core inland cities within the Southeast US.

Otto Schacht, who’s worked for Hapag-Lloyd and Kuehne+Nagel, said forwarders will remain vital to the industry thanks to a high degree of customer service.

Increased demand from cargo owners for expensive low-carbon transport options is essential to the development and production at scale of alternative fuels, TPM24 attendees were told.

The purchase of American Pacific gives IMC two new locations in California as US imports from Asia increase after a lackluster 2023.

The second-largest US less-than-truckload provider reported a slight increase in shipments in February, and improving US manufacturing may herald stronger demand ahead.

As soon as regular transits resume through the Suez Canal, ocean rates will fall and container shipping’s endemic overcapacity will return, Alan Murphy told TPM24 attendees.

The railroads say more vessels calling Houston translates into heavier volumes that will help intermodal services from the port gain traction this time.

While the extended transit times around southern Africa are currently manageable, the diversions, combined with a trend toward slower sailing speeds, will require stock holding levels to be raised, TPM24 attendees were told.

The “twining” of Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd in the Gemini partnership will significantly improve vessel schedule reliability thanks to a hub-and-spoke strategy, Rolf Habben Jansen told TPM24.

Fiscal “loosening” ahead of interest rate cuts is spurring growth, but inflation remains a threat, S&P Global chief business economist Chris Williamson told TPM24.

The global order of the last several decades that fostered growth in container shipping is largely over, leading to a risky world for supply chains, Robert Gates told TPM24.

The saga of embattled technology vendor Slync may have reached a final chapter with its technology assets being acquired by a consulting group that works with importers and exporters.

Four EPC majors — Fluor, KBR, TechnipFMC and Worley — reported double-digit growth in order backlogs and say they are optimistic about continued revenue momentum into 2024.

Changing shipping requirements and competitive pressures are reshaping US less-than-truckload networks and LTL terminals themselves at an unprecedented rate.  

The offer made by CEVA in January appeared to be a done deal, but GXO’s competing bid delivered a 26% premium on the CEVA offer and was swiftly accepted by Wincanton’s board.

Amid growth in US infrastructure spending, the heavy-haul transport segment is calling for better synchronization among state transportation departments when it comes to oversized transport requirements and permitting processes.

The market upswing that began in November has continued through February, with the forwarder expecting further growth this year, especially in ocean freight.

The capacity reinstatement is also a boon for Indian shippers facing intermittent void calls and longer transits as they try to maximize exports ahead of the current fiscal year closing on March 31.

Even as the industry seemingly adjusts to the new status quo of routing ships around southern Africa, there are significant — yet less apparent — changes afoot in container shipping, writes Journal of Commerce Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.

The prospects of trucking goods from the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia to the trade hub of Jeddah on the Rea Sea looks increasingly more favorable amid soaring ocean spot rates and few signs that southern Red Sea security will be restored soon.

Using layers of technology from digital documents to artificial intelligence to tracking devices, shippers can detect and even head off the growing threat of cargo crime, experts say.

The carrier’s acquisition spree has brought one of France’s largest transport and logistics companies into the group, but its bid to acquire UK forwarder Wincanton is being challenged.

PayCargo has taken a majority ownership stake in process automation company Rippey AI to better connect invoicing to payment transactions.

Simpson will become the first woman to take the top job at J.B. Hunt, something many in the industry expected to happen after she was named president 18 months ago.

The multipurpose sector is managing security risk, dodging pricey transit fees at the Panama Canal and finding new cargo sources as route diversions globally become routine.

Carriers are advocating in increasingly vocal and high-profile ways to ensure that an effective price on carbon comes out of IMO deliberations and puts regulatory teeth behind its commitment to eliminate carbon emissions from shipping by or around 2050.

APM Terminals will make more slots available for retrieving import containers at its Port Elizabeth site as truckers say delays in booking appointments are worsening.

The move makes sense, according to a Mumbai-based source, as ONE needs a partner to fill space and Cosco needs a strong service out of India.

A drop in schedule reliability was expected on trade lanes such as Asia-Europe and Asia-US East Coast, but the diversions around southern Africa have also affected routes not directly connected to the Red Sea.

Folk Maritime’s stated goal is to “fill an essential void” in the regional maritime market, with its launch coinciding with heavily disrupted container shipping flows.

As California-based RK Logistics’ high-tech customers move east to new markets, the logistics provider is following by buying New York-based On Time Trucking.