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In the first four months of 2022, fewer than half of ocean freight contracts signed across 13 major trade lanes have been annual in duration, as shippers try new procurement strategies to wade through constrained vessel capacity.

The number of LNG-powered dual-fuel vessels ordered by major carriers has risen sharply in the past year, but so has opposition from environmental groups that say the newbuilds will lock in fossil fuel production for decades.

The new fiscal year has gotten off to an uneven start for Indian exporters, who are contending with port omissions and schedule rerouting on major strings to Europe and the US.

A study commissioned by the Pacific Maritime Association says the automation of cargo-handling equipment at two marine terminals in Los Angeles-Long Beach resulted in more jobs for longshoremen. The ILWU disagrees.

Approval of APM’s expansion project comes as Mobile continues to see strong growth, with year-to-date volumes through March climbing 10 percent.

Severely limited warehousing capacity at North American ports is adding to the challenges facing breakbulk shippers in 2022, attendees at JOC’s Breakbulk and Project Cargo conference were told.

Vancouver port stakeholders say stubbornly high rail container dwell times and vessel delays at anchor have become a “new normal” that could worsen existing bottlenecks when import volumes increase as expected this summer.

Given recent challenges with connections via Colombo in Sri Lanka, carriers are turning to new transshipment options on India’s west and east coasts.

Multipurpose and heavy-lift vessel capacity will remain tight for years, keeping upward pressure on pricing, carrier executives said at the JOC Breakbulk & Project Cargo conference.

Hapag-Lloyd's move to equip its entire box fleet with sensors could herald a new era that unlocks new tools beyond mere visibility for carriers, even if tracking devices aren’t a cure-all for shipper supply chain woes.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. has added Philadelphia to its weekly service from India amid strengthening freight rates to the US East Coast.

Shipper demand for more integrated port-to-door logistics is driving development of new, denser distribution networks, with facilities popping up in previously overlooked locations, Ryder System said.

The outage on Blume Global's platform comes after a cyberattack on Expeditors International in February that crippled the forwarder’s digital operations.

As terminal operators implement excessive dwell fees to get containers moving, importers are pushing the US Federal Maritime Commission to step in and regulate the charges under the same standards as demurrage.

On-time vessel reliability improved in March for vessels arriving at US ports from Asia, but a disparity in the gains showed how upcoming labor negotiations on the West Coast are affecting US ocean shipping dynamics.

E2open’s organic and acquisition-driven growth has it eyeing opportunities to expand revenue opportunities from existing customers, but its share price has been dragged down by public market unease.

Capacity at the port of Antwerp is already maxed out, so a merger with the nearby port of Zeebrugge could provide some relief when the expected wave of cargoes arrives once COVID-19 measures are lifted in China.

Federal Maritime Commissioner Carl Bentzel wants the agency to regulate rail storage fees in certain cases when ocean containers cannot be picked up from an intermodal terminal through no fault of the cargo owner.

The longer China’s COVID lockdowns persist and manufacturing is interrupted, the more pent-up demand will build and eventually be unleashed into the trans-Pacific.

Singapore-based ONE reported its third consecutive year of profitability during which flat volume was massively offset by rising rates and 100 percent utilization on major trade lanes.

Ocean freight rates in the short term will primarily be affected by the duration of mainland China’s COVID-19 lockdowns and the broader economic impact of the Russia-Ukraine war, Drewry says.

Hapag-Lloyd has started a new Mediterranean service into the Port of Virginia that will also offer trans-continental intermodal service to the West Coast.

Rates and volumes may ease through the second half of the year, but there will be no relaxing of the disruptions faced by supply chains on the major trade lanes, says DSV.

More than 40 percent of drivers at small truckload carriers surveyed by technology provider SmartHop have entered the industry over the past two years, but many are considering moving to larger carriers for stability.

Union Pacific Railroad at the end of June will begin revamping how it builds domestic intermodal trains in Southern California in a bid to improve service for all shippers.

The longer the Chinese lockdowns last the more intense the scramble by US importers to secure factory production and transport capacity, potentially mirroring the whiplash of order cancellations in early 2020 that were followed by unprecedented demand.

While sustained demand is a factor for the strength on the India–US trade, sources say carriers are playing a “cherry-picking” policy while signing contracts with shippers or forwarders, prioritizing the ones they see as more lucrative partners.

Disruption from COVID lockdowns in China may worsen once those restrictions are lifted and a fresh wave of containers heads for US ports, S&P Global economist Patrick Newport warned Tuesday.

A new office near Washington, DC, is intended to help the CMA CGM–backed startup accelerator ZEBOX attract technology that can help its corporate partners in North America advance their digital logistics initiatives.

Federal Maritime Commissioner member Carl Bentzel said US Class I railroads need to hire and invest more to boost their intermodal service if the nation’s ports are to avoid future meltdowns and congestion.

Kuehne + Nagel reported solid-first quarter results, but its outlook for the rest of the year remains muddied with no end to COVID-19 controls in China, deteriorating global supply chains, and consumer demand uncertainty.

Hapag-Lloyd is betting customers will eventually demand that all its containers be trackable by sensors, leading it to commit to equipping its fleet of 3 million dry boxes starting next year.

As domestic intermodal volumes rise, non-asset intermodal marketing companies are worried that US railroads are not buying enough 53-foot containers to support their shipper customers.

Maersk has signaled that another exceptionally profitable year is on tap after the carrier dramatically upped its 2022 earnings forecast.

Exporters face additional headwinds later this week when China starts a nationwide five-day Labor Day holiday which is likely to further stymie cargo movements.

Seven ocean carriers blocked empty container returns to New York-New Jersey marine terminals last week as import volumes swell due to West Coast freight diversions.

The jury is still out on whether the steep fall in Asia-North Europe rate levels since Chinese New Year is purely seasonal or a reflection of slowing demand as inflation adds to mounting cost pressures.

Container supply chain disruption and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has left Rotterdam and Antwerp unable to match the volume growth experienced in last year’s first quarter.

Massive investment in offshore wind energy projects planned for Asia and the US is fueling orders for installation vessels, but at least one analyst expects an equipment shortfall by the end of the decade.

Knight-Swift now gets 13 percent of its revenue from its regional less-than-truckload subsidiaries, as it adds terminals and expands from a “super-regional” to a national footprint.