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An Asia food inspection specialist has highlighted the enormous task facing China in improving its quality controls as the fragmented food production industry regularly generates high profile scandals

Union Pacific Railroad said U.S. West Coast port congestion will remain a drag on its volume growth until the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and waterfront employers agree to a contract.

Thousands of supporters of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union are expected to attend a rally this evening near the Port of Los Angeles to urge waterfront employers to resolve what has become the most controversial issue of West Coast contract negotiations — jurisdiction over chassis maintenance and repair.

Brazilian container terminal operator Grupo Libra has opened a 30 million reais ($11.7 million) bonded warehouse and logistics park to serve the Port of Santos, the busiest container port in South America.

Construction began this week on a rail link that will connect a 360-acre logistics hub being built at a former Army base at the Port of Oakland with Union Pacific’s main line.

The return of CMA CGM, the opening of a grain containerization facility, healthy volume on Mediterranean and Caribbean services, and even diversions from the U.S. West Coast in 2014 helped lift Port of Montreal’s container volume 4.2 percent versus 2013.

The global container ship fleet this year is set to increase 7.8 percent in terms of capacity, outpacing last year’s 6.3 percent growth, according to Alphaliner.

A labor dispute involving crane operators that produced intermittent gate closings and resultant violent protests by truck drivers over long waits at APM Terminals-managed Gateway Terminals India was settled Wednesday, giving beleaguered shippers relief after months-long cargo delays and congestion surcharges in Nhava Sheva, also known as Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust.

Australian wine exports to China have almost recovered to levels recorded before Beijing’s austerity measures severely dented volumes, according to data released by the Australian Grape and Wine Authority.

Kerry Logistics is planning to convert one of its basic warehouse facilities in Hong Kong into a columbarium that will store the remains of up to 100,000 people, according to a local media report, a move that would appear to be a significant money spinner for the group.

South Carolina Ports Authority CEO Jim Newsome expects the Port of Charleston’s 2015 container volume to expand 5 percent to 7 percent after traffic measured similarly jumped 12 percent in 2014 from 2013.

Container volumes at the Puget Sound ports of Seattle and Tacoma declined slightly in 2014 for the second consecutive year, highlighting the wisdom of the ports’ decision last year to work together as a gateway for the good of the entire region.

Congestion at West Coast ports is the worst it has been since longshoremen began hard-timing employers in early November, and conditions are expected to worsen as terminal operators and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union use manning issues to see how much pain they can inflict on each other.

The Teamsters union suffered a pair of setbacks this week in its drive to organize FedEx Freight, the largest U.S. less-than-truckload carrier.

Terminal gridlock and persistent labor issues caught up with the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in December as the container volume at the busiest U.S. port complex declined 1 percent compared to December 2013.

Europe’s ports face a rocky ride in 2015, dominated by a potential glut of container-handling capacity in the north that will only be partially offset by steadily rising transshipment traffic in the Mediterranean.

Alitalia unveiled plans to increase its cargo operations as part of a strategy to return to profitability in 2017 following years of losses, billions of dollars of state subsidies and a narrow escape from bankruptcy.

Amsterdam Schiphol airport said cargo traffic got off to a slow start this year because increased trans-Pacific shipper demand for air cargo services due to U.S. West Coast port congestion is diverting freighters from Asia-Europe routes to the Pacific.

More “solid” and steady U.S. economic growth will increase freight demand and boost shipping costs and domestic transportation rates in 2015, economists and analysts said at the SMC3 JumpStart 2015 conference in Atlanta.

APM Terminals management at India’s Port of Nhava Sheva (Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust) on Wednesday said it is making all efforts to restore "complete" normalcy in the terminal operation and bring “vessel calls back on schedule.”

Rising foreign trade that drove up throughput at China’s container ports in 2014 is expected to continue this year on the back of strengthening demand from the U.S. and Europe, and despite a slowdown in the mainland economy.

It will be “better luck” this year for loss-making Neptune Orient Lines as plummeting bunker fuel prices give a huge boost to the company’s cost savings drive, according to investment bankers DBS Vickers.

A free trade agreement (FTA) between Australia and Japan came into effect on Jan. 15, granting virtually all Australian exports preferential or duty free access to the giant Japanese market.

Total container throughput at China’s top 20 ports reached 175 million TEUs in 2014, an increase of 5.3 percent over the previous year as solid exports to the U.S. helped drive up the cargo numbers.

The China-financed Mombasa-Nairobi rail link that is under construction is facing competition from Africa’s largest private equity firm that has invested $70 million in a competing rail connection that will also link the two cities.

Terminal operators resumed daytime vessel unloading Tuesday after a one-day hiatus, but otherwise it was status quo at all U.S. West Coast ports.

Trucks serving various container terminals on the left bank of the Brazilian port of Santos are expected to see shorter trips thanks to a new 3 million reais ($1.15 million) access road.

A bipartisan group of 32 U.S. House members are pushing back against a recently filed amendment to repeal requirements that domestic waterborne cargo be shipped in U.S.-flag ships owned, built and operated by Americans.

Asset-light less-than-truckload carrier Shift Freight is expanding from its U.S. West Coast base to the Midwest and Northeast, building out its third-party-based LTL network.

A key indicator of U.S truck activity was flat in December, reflecting a decline in retail sales but an increase in manufacturing production in the same period.

California’s roadways and freeways are in desperate need of repair or expansion, so the trucking industry is willing to examine a variety of funding mechanisms that will raise billions of dollars to address the problem immediately.

The International Transport Workers' Federation has stepped up its protest of automation at the new Rotterdam World Gateway container terminal, and called for “all parties” to discuss RWG’s labor arrangements.

The air cargo industry had its longest peak season in years in 2014, driven by massive demand for new products, most notably the iPhone 6 that sold more than 40 million units in the third quarter alone. But the big question that has airline executives frantically polishing their crystal balls is whether airlines and air freight forwarders can count on the strong performance continuing through this year.

Container traffic soared 18.5 percent to nearly 3 million TEUs at Cosco Pacific’s Piraeus container terminal last year, again outpacing growth at Mediterranean rivals.

Challenged by the need to make their companies ever more cost-effective and competitive, third-party logistics companies are compelled to assess ever longer — and often more confusing — lists of new technology options.

Operations at the Port of Nhava Sheva returned to “near” normal levels Monday afternoon, a day after violent protests by container trailer drivers led to the closure of gates at APM Terminals-operated Gateway Terminals India.

When the longshore contract negotiations are over and productivity has returned to normal, the CEOs of California’s container ports will face even greater challenges dealing with the problems that remain: handling big ships, adjusting to powerful carrier alliances and establishing a new chassis regime.

Russia’s potential as an emerging logistics market was downgraded by 66 percent of respondents in the sixth annual Agility Emerging Markets Survey that was released Monday, with an additional 10 percent of the logistics professionals surveyed believing the market has lost all potential.