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Hot on the heels of major shipping reform signed into law, two California Congressmen have introduced a bill that would incentivize vessels to carry US ag exports or call multiple US ports.

Old-fashioned breakbulk and supply chain skills have served shippers well in the “spillover” market, and some practices may linger after the container market normalizes.

As US consumer sentiment fell to record lows in June, some retailers are sitting on higher inventory than expected heading into peak shipping season.

Modest growth in freight volumes will continue in the second half of the year even if inflation and oil prices remain high, according to trade economists who spoke at the SMC3 conference this week.

The less-than-truckload industry is positioned to ride through a rocky soft patch in the economy and even a short recession with higher pricing, carrier executives at the SMC3 Connections conference said.

Despite an almost 10 percent drop in the Port of Halifax’s first quarter volumes, Canadian National Railway has added a second daily train service in anticipation of a cargo rebound.

After two years of keeping supply chains moving in a heavily disrupted logistics sector, and now facing rapidly rising inflation, transport worker unions in Europe are turning up the heat on employers.

Jacksonville Port Authority’s chief executive sees a chance to reverse a downward trend in the port’s Asia business with the completion of dredging and marine terminal improvements that will allow post-Panamax ships to call.

The Indian Ocean Service, a weekly connection between West India and North Europe, will operate with truncated port coverage on eight upcoming sailings between July and September.

Amid ongoing complaints that shippers can’t move cargo or return empties, new US shipping rules are enforcing when carriers can levy detention and demurrage fees.

With bottlenecks at inland rail hubs in Toronto and Montreal building and rail container backups likewise mounting in Vancouver and Prince Rupert, Canada’s West Coast ports could experience congestion problems for some time.

Rate levels on the major trade lanes out of Asia should be rising as peak season begins and key destination ports remain congested, but the spot market has continued to decline.

BNSF Railway is stacking ocean containers outside Dallas as cargo owners struggle to unload inventory in a timely manner and chassis providers scramble to reposition equipment sent to Houston earlier this year.

Two logistics-focused email automation specialists are joining forces, with London-based Sedna acquiring San Diego-based Shelly to accelerate the former’s ability to automate email data extraction for logistics teams.

Northbound capacity from Brazil to the US is tight due to ongoing strength in US imports, a reality that has boosted freight rates and is likely to continue until at least the fourth quarter of 2022.

European logistics company DB Schenker will offer US shippers a more integrated package of domestic and international services by adding truckload carrier USA Truck to its Land Transport division.

Millions of tons of project cargo freight will be moving soon as energy projects, including Qatar’s massive LNG facility, gather steam, logistics executives say.

Container lines flush with cash will accelerate deployment of container sensors through 2026, spurred by pandemic-induced volatility and Hapag-Lloyd's April decision to equip its entire fleet, according to Drewry.

Arrive Logistics is seeking to help owner-operators navigate a slowing freight market by opening opportunities to private fleets, which grew in number during the capacity-constrained pandemic period.

The South Carolina Ports Authority will extend Sunday hours for truckers through September, one of several initiatives officials believe will help the port navigate the upcoming peak season.

Long-haul LTL carrier Roadrunner is cutting transit times in 66 lanes and adding more direct routes and truck drivers as freight demand from its shippers remains strong, company executives say.

Carriers are deploying extra capacity and launching new services to accommodate strong exports of produce and seafood from the west coast of South America to Asia and the Mediterranean.

Three FMC members ask the STB not to approve the proposed merger of Canadian Pacific Railway and Kansas City Southern, saying the deal would result in the loss of cargo to Canadian ports.

Freight procurement specialist Transporeon has added a freight matching component to its product suite to help brokers tender spot freight to carriers already in their network.

Ocean carriers could find themselves under pressure from shippers to revisit long-term contracts as spot market rates tumble on the trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe trade lanes.

While the number of containers lost at sea jumped significantly in 2020-21, it remained a mere fraction of the boxes moving around the globe annually.

The commander of the US Army Corps of Engineers has endorsed a study about the merits of deepening and widening the Port of New York and New Jersey to allow larger ships to call and reduce wait times.

Yang Ming and HMM are the latest container lines to be brought under the microscope of US regulators thanks to a complaint from an Illinois importer alleging the carriers breached annual service contracts last year.

Despite softening spot rates in some modes, overall supply chain costs are rising, with higher interest rates putting more pressure on inventories, according to the CSCMP State of Logistics report.

The US Supreme Court will allow New York and New Jersey to file legal arguments about whether a 70-year-old compact for joint port policing powers also allows either side to exit the deal.

US retailers’ stockpiling of inventory has not only swelled the number of import boxes sitting on marine terminals and railheads, it has also left thousands of chassis idled with unopened containers on top of them at distribution centers around the country.

The short-term cost of cutting maritime emissions in the Pacific Ocean will be relatively small compared with the market variability of rate levels, according to UNCTAD.

With new incentives, the Port of New Orleans and Louisiana state economic officials are targeting retail distribution centers to ease export-import balance that’s cost the port service and volumes.

An influx of equipment into the Indian market has caused rates to soften, but sources believe prices will climb again next month as the industry enters the traditional peak demand season.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. is bringing a new Asia service to the US Gulf and East coasts and revamping two other trans-Pacific services with additional calls amid slowing, but still growing, imports from Asia.

A new Norfolk Southern incentive program for ocean carriers in New York-New Jersey and Virginia should help grow volume while encouraging a balanced flow of rail cars between inland terminals and the two ports.

The market share of major carriers on the eastbound trans-Pacific fell through the first four months of the year amid the emergence of smaller players who took advantage of the import surge.

Ocean carriers have been looking at how to provide more export capacity to US ag shippers to head off scrutiny from regulators, but OSRA will now put those efforts under a hotter spotlight.

The next logical step in reforming US shipping law – the elimination of ocean carriers’ antitrust immunity – was briefly proposed earlier this year, but shot down due to its potential impact on carriers’ ability to operate within alliances.

FourKites will get access to previously internal shipment data from FedEx to train its predictive visibility system as part of a new planning and problem resolution platform called FourKites X.