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Proactive steps taken by US and Canadian motor carriers and shippers ahead of vaccine mandates for truck drivers are keeping cross-border freight flowing despite earlier fears of disruption and delays.

The freight volumes that have stressed the Asia-Europe rail trade for the past 10 months after shifting from the congested and costly air and ocean markets have begun to ease ahead of Chinese New Year.

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach want to give the temporary extension of a fee on daytime container moves more time to determine if truck moves during the off hours increase substantially.

A need for mid-market forwarders to compete with digital upstarts and well-capitalized incumbents has fueled a new round of investment into Logixboard’s customer interface-focused model.

High freight demand, driven by US imports and e-commerce, will keep pressure on less-than-truckload capacity and pricing in 2022, speakers said at the annual SMC3 JumpStart conference.

Chinese exporters to Europe that aren’t shipping time-sensitive goods are ignoring the pre–Lunar New Year rush, as they expect container spot rates to continue easing, forwarders tell JOC.com.

The Georgia Ports Authority will extend the use of pop-up storage sites another three months through April, citing the success of the off-site locations in whittling down the vessel backlog in Savannah.

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are considering an innovative but complex plan to reduce the number of empty containers that are contributing to terminal congestion by incentivizing shipping lines to increase the volume of containers they pick up during each call.

Carriers have yet to report their full-year 2021 financial results, but congested supply chains and highly elevated rate levels will keep the profitability spigot wide open through 2022.

San Francisco-based Passport said it will use $39 million in new funding to expand its outbound parcel platform for US e-commerce sellers looking to manage logistics and trade compliance on international orders.

As the offshore wind buildout gains momentum, logistics providers are adapting European models to meet the specific needs and constraints of the US market.

Hong Kong-based container carrier OOCL saw significant increases in freight rates and per container revenues thanks to supply chain disruption across key origin and destination markets.

A bill in the US House of Representatives is looking to restrict the number of US importers that can ship goods duty-free by keeping below the $800 threshold for so-called de minimis shipments.

Inflation, higher interest rates, and a gradual shift back to a more “normal” balance in consumer spending between goods and services will reduce import volumes in the second half of 2022, in turn relieving pressure on ports and inland supply chains.

Container shipping’s global group has objected to proposed amendments in Europe’s emissions trading system that it believes undermine the polluter-pays principle.

Savannah’s $250 million berth extension will ultimately increase the port’s capacity and reflect the increased pressure on major US ports to maximize their docks amid increased demand, both from regular services and extra-loaders.

BasicBlock has turned traction from small truckload carriers for its factoring and payment solutions into a large round of debt and equity funding to broaden the scope of its financial services.

Port officials are warning that the queue of 15 container ships waiting to berth at Charleston likely will not be cleared for up to six weeks due to a backlog of more than 25,000 containers at the terminal.

Yantian International Container Terminal (YICT) and Shekou Container Terminal are restricting the number of export containers they will accept in an effort to clear an existing backlog of boxes in advance of the Lunar New Year holiday on Feb. 1.

Container line members of the Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) are not adopting the very standards they have set out to develop, speakers said during a JOC webcast last week.

A $69 million infusion of federal funds will allow the Port of Virginia to begin work on the next phase of its dredging project, which along with other enhancements will allow the port to handle up to six post-Panamax vessels simultaneously in the coming years.

With Suez Canal transit tolls rising next month, Indian shippers — already dealing with elevated freight rates — are now seeing new canal-related surcharges on services to North Africa.

Having US ports return to a pre-COVID “status quo” depends on a slowing of cargo volumes and a return of labor to the logistics workforce in significant enough numbers to improve cargo flow.

CSX Transportation CEO James Foote told federal regulators he will look to increase headcount at the Class I railroad as it seeks to take more business from trucking

A lack of information on import and export flows through ports isn't as big a constraint as untimely and inconsistent data, high-profile cargo owners told the Federal Maritime Commission this week.

Matson’s fourth-quarter results surge amid growing demand for expedited ocean freight services from China to the US West Coast.

A $7.5 million funding round into Australia-based forwarder Explorate continues to demonstrate venture capital’s regional backing of the digital forwarder model.

Facing one of the most challenging labor markets in recent memory, US transportation and warehousing managers are finding workers -- they’re just having trouble holding onto them, says a sector analyst.

A new key performance indicator measuring the congested ports of Europe, Asia, and the US in terms of TEU waiting days shows most of the bottlenecks are occurring at North American terminals.

Forwarder shifl has joined a growing list of providers aiming to arm cargo owners with a means to simplify and digitize payments to vendors, a topic of increasing importance as shippers wrestle with cargo holds and penalties.

Despite an expected return to single-digit monthly increases in imports from Asia this year, already-stressed US ports are still likely to struggle to handle cargo volumes.

Schneider National will leave BNSF Railway in 2023 to partner with Union Pacific Railroad, the third major container-owning intermodal provider to leave BNSF since mid-2021.

Europe’s second-busiest port was able to withstand a year of widespread disruption to match its previous record throughput.

J.B. Hunt warns container dwells and train speeds are still below par, while new 53-foot boxes it ordered are still on the water, stuck in the ongoing congestion at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

The reality unfolding right now amid chaos in the global supply chain is that some shippers are perfectly capable of growing their business profitably in the current environment, says JOC analyst Lars Jensen.

A historic drayage capacity shift from larger carriers to small companies and owner-operators is complicating efforts by importers to secure capacity and move containers inland.

Price is taking a back seat to reliability and predictability in this year’s service contract negotiations as shippers push carriers for larger space commitments while carriers are favoring customers with a proven ability to deliver committed volumes on a consistent basis.

CSX laid out its case to federal regulators that it should be allowed to acquire New England’s Pan Am Railways in order to give shippers better intermodal service into Northeast ports.

XPO is adding new facilities and technology to its less-than-truckload network, reducing reliance on third parties.

While carriers are permitted to collaborate on freight rates under South Korea’s maritime shipping act, it must be done in discussion with shippers and details reported to the Oceans and Fisheries Ministry within 30 days.