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The severe space constraints that drove container shipping rates to record levels over the past two years are over, easing shippers' reliance on long-term fixed rates.

The longer it takes for the ILWU and West Coast longshore employers to agree on a new contract, the threat of disruption grows and more cargo will be diverted elsewhere – some of it permanently.

A Geodis initiative around automating service requests from shippers is an example of growing consumption of robotic process automation in the third-party logistics industry.

Canadian freight forwarders and their shipper-clients are calling on federal transportation agencies to address supply chain bottlenecks they say have resulted in delays and mounting detention and demurrage costs.

Less demand for its customers’ goods is cutting into tonnage and shipments at Old Dominion Freight Line, but not the company’s revenue or profit.

Container analysts and carriers differ widely on how much impact two new IMO rules will have in softening a wave of tonnage hitting the water in two years, writes JOC Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.

While US intermodal shippers are pleased service has improved, some don’t need the service reliability they sought earlier in the year because of elevated inventories and fears of an economic recession.

Cosco’s acquisition of the stake in the Hamburg terminal was subject to approval by the German government, but significant resistance due to political sensitivities prolonged the process.

Mediterranean Shipping Co.’s terminal arm is working with a developer to build a container facility at the Sparrows Point industrial park near the Port of Baltimore.

A funding round into Shippeo shows that demand for visibility and fragmentation of the market continue to grow despite a slowing venture capital environment.

The inability to get past the jurisdictional issue in Seattle has now led some observers to conclude that contract negotiations between the ILWU and longshore employers on the West Coast are unlikely to be resolved this year.

The FMC is attempting to define when it’s reasonable for ocean carriers to refuse export cargo, but some shippers say the agency is making it too easy for that to happen.

Volume and rates fell through the third quarter, but not enough to slow the highly elevated earnings reported by two of the world’s largest forwarders.

The surcharge revisions come as average contract prices out of Indian trades have already declined to the mid-2021 trendline and could drop further to near pre-pandemic levels.

Freight congestion, now at inland distribution sites such as warehouses and intermodal rail terminals, and on-time delivery continue to be problems for shippers despite falling trucking costs.

More than two years in development, a standard electronic bill of lading for less-than-truckload shipments promises to streamline the flow of data, providing greater visibility to shippers.

US ports saw a jump in shipments from Bangladesh this year through August, mostly from apparel and clothing accessories, as importers support a “China-plus-one” sourcing strategy.

The rate declines seen in major ocean trades this year have begun to seep into intra-Asia markets, with regional carriers now reporting lower revenues and volumes.

US shippers will find LTL savings in 2023, but the biggest savings will go to those who can accurately forecast demand and fit freight to carrier networks, according to BlueGrace Logistics.

The increasingly bitter dispute between the union and Liverpool’s terminal operator is over pay increases labor is seeking to compensate workers for the UK’s runaway inflation rate.

South Florida Container Terminal will be handling more volumes after the start of a new trans-Atlantic service from the Mediterranean, with the CMA CGM Navegantes making its first call to Miami this week.

The industrial warehouse market in the US has enough supply to last through the next year, but logistics developer Prologis cautions there could be an emerging gap in capacity starting as soon as late next year.

The rank-and-file of the US’s third-largest rail union rejected a tentative deal hammered out last month, raising fears of a crippling strike just days before Thanksgiving.

Europe’s two largest container port hubs have reported declining throughput in the first nine months of the year as a series of factors stacks up to put the brakes on demand.

Rates on ocean trades from India continue to slide, although the country’s shipping lobby thinks prices will eventually settle at a midpoint between pre-pandemic levels and the record highs of earlier this year.

US shippers will win transportation savings in 2023 bids, but large truckload carriers haven’t lost all pricing muscle.

Carriers will continue to skip calls at South African ports next week even with the end of the strike, which has caused widespread disruption to terminal operations with cargo backlogs and omitted calls on key services.

Reduced backlogs in Southern California due primarily to the diversion of cargo to the East and Gulf coasts have shifted the congestion problems to ports in those regions.

Union workers at Mobile’s breakbulk and general cargo docks are the only ones working for a maritime employer without a ratified contract during the ILA’s current 2018-2024 master contract term.

Buyers of ocean capacity have long used freight rate indexes to gauge the direction of the market, but disruption and sky-high costs during the COVID-19 pandemic have elevated their prominence, often leading to difficult discussions with their executive leadership.

A widely held view by carrier executives that the IMO’s environmental regulations will absorb a large amount of surplus vessel capacity has been countered by shipping analyst Drewry.

Maersk and Wan Hai are throttling back their capacity into the US West Coast amid a severe drop in container freight rates that could lead to even more vessel cuts as the fourth quarter progresses.

A mix of slow-steaming and scrapping in upcoming years due to fuel efficiency rules could cause a significant reduction in ocean vessel capacity.

J.B. Hunt believes BNSF Railway’s service has improved in recent weeks, which could lead to faster turns of containers and lower costs for shippers; but when that happens is still an open question.

The world’s long-haul airlines are celebrating a steady return of passenger traffic, but as planes fill with travelers, weakening freight demand means carriers are struggling to fill the surplus cargo capacity below their feet.

It was the “year of the ocean carrier” as liner operators saw 2021 revenue results that were more than double those of other top 50 transportation providers.

An increase in US manufacturing output is putting more freight in trucks this fall, contributing to an increase in truck tonnage as measured by the American Trucking Association and others.

CMA CGM is adding a new South America-US Gulf service that aims to restore some of the capacity lost on that trade lane due to cutbacks over the past year.

The ILA’s local union at Mobile’s general cargo and breakbulk docks may walk off the job this week if a deal can’t be reached with breakbulk stevedore CSA Equipment.

Among the Indian port projects in motion is a new deepwater greenfield harbor along the Bay of Bengal that the Adani Group hopes can serve as a growth catalyst for the relatively underrated trade region.