<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">To accommodate the market share gains, the port is ramping up its expansion program, which will boost capacity from 500,000 TEU to 1.2 million TEU.</div>

To accommodate the market share gains, the port is ramping up its expansion program, which will boost capacity from 500,000 TEU to 1.2 million TEU.

<div><div><img></div>Commercial director of Itapoá Roberto Pandolfo said that the increase in containers through the port is due to the hard work of the commercial department in targeting new shipper business. Photo credit: Porto Itapoá.Porto Itapoá is winning market share in an intense battle for containerized cargo in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina — a battle that is <a>driving down handling rates</a> and benefiting shippers.One of Brazil’s newest container shipping terminals, Porto Itapoá, which has Hamburg Süd (recently bought by <a>Maersk Line</a>) as a shareholder, handled 612,000 TEU last year, which equates to about 32 percent of the Santa...

Commercial director of Itapoá Roberto Pandolfo said that the increase in containers through the port is due to the hard work of the commercial department in targeting new shipper business. Photo credit: Porto Itapoá. Porto Itapoá is winning market share in an intense battle for containerized cargo in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina — a battle that is driving down handling rates and benefiting shippers. One of Brazil’s newest container shipping terminals, Porto Itapoá, which has Hamburg Süd (recently bought by Maersk Line ) as a shareholder, handled 612,000 TEU last year, which equates to about 32 percent of the Santa Catarina market. That is roughly double the 16.2 percent market share it had in February 2015; it had a 12 percent market share at the end of 2013. In 2016, the port handled 558,000 TEU. Managers at Porto Itapoá — which competes primarily with Portonave and APM Terminals (from the Itajai Port Complex) for the Santa Catarina market — told JOC.com that an influx of new shippers at the end of 2017 propelled Porto Itapoá’s market share rise from 30.8 percent in October to 35.3 percent for November. In addition, the port is ramping up its expansion program, which will boost capacity from 500,000 TEU to 1.2 million TEU. Porto Itapoá’s hinterland also includes the neighboring state of Parana and with its only box terminal — TCP, which is Brazil’s second biggest after Santos — thrown into the equation the Hamburg Süd-connected facility saw its share rise from 20.7 percent in October to 23.3 percent in November — almost one-quarter of the movement of the two southern states. At the end of 2013, Porto Itapoá’s share of this market was just 12.4 percent, further evidence of the terminal’s rapid expansion in Brazil . Furthermore, those two market shares are expected to increase again this year as managers at Porto Itapoá — which was inaugurated in June 2011 — are forecasting the facility will handle about 750,000 TEU in 2018, which would represent another 22 percent increase in throughput at Itapoá. Itapoá is located on Babitonga Bay, just 50 miles from the industrial city of Joinville and Araquari, where BMW has a production facility. (The hinterland also includes some of the biggest chicken exporters in the world: BRF Food, JBS, and Marfrig.) Further, a data analysis reveals that the sectors showing the largest increases, especially toward the end of 2017, were full export and import containers to and from long-haul destinations. Fully loaded boxes increased 16.21 percent to 337,000 TEU, about 47,000 TEU more than 2016. Moreover, this is a massive 68.5 percent surge from the 200,000 TEU of fully laden boxes that were moved through Porto Itapoá during the 12 months between February 2014 and February 2015. Of that 337,000 TEU figure, imports jumped 25 percent, from 116,000 TEU to 145,000 TEU in 2017. Exports increased 10.34 percent, from 174,000 TEU to 192,000 TEU in 2017. Commercial director of Itapoá Roberto Pandolfo said that the increase in containers through the port is due to the hard work of the commercial department in targeting new shipper business in Santa Catarina and Paraná. "This result is a reflection of the work developed by the employees of Porto Itapoá over these six years of operations, in direct contact with our customers,” Pandolfo said. "Clients notice when the port they have chosen adds value to their products. There are a series of commitments involved, from understanding a client's industrial process to the configuration of the terminal, which is prepared to cater to their individual demands with greater expedience and security." To help the port handle the burgeoning flows of containers, Porto Itapoá has embarked on a substanial expansion program. Near the program’s end, box annual capacity will be expanded in phases, from its initial 500,000 TEU to 1.2 million TEU by the end of 2018, which will take port construction spending since its inception to more than $400 million. In 2017, the port operated beyond its designed capacity, and various logistical problems resulted. Concerning the expansion, last month an important first-stage project was completed: engineering work in a 60,000-square-meter (645,835-square-foot) area, which will be added to its maneuvering yard. Later, by May 2018, another 40,000 square meters will be added to the patio, which will increase its total area to 210,000 square meters. Also, by the end of May, the pier will be extended from the current 630 meters (2,067 feet) to 800 meters. The extension will enable two of the largest vessels currently calling on the east coast of South America — one with a 13,000 TEU capacity — to berth at the same time. In the year ahead, the draft is also set to increase from 13 meters to about 15 meters. Porto Itapoá president Cássio Schreiner points out that during the six years of operation, the terminal has had very positive numbers, "even when the economic and political scenario was unfavorable.” “Porto Itapoá has striven constantly for the sustainable growth of its operations, focusing on clients while also providing security for investors,” Schreiner said. “We have started an expansion project, even though the country is in a moment of crisis, since we have reached a record turnover number of more than 600,000 TEU in 2017.” Porto Itapoá says that if it can obtain planning permission it could expand capacity to 2 million TEU. Porto Itapoá handled 465,665 TEU in 2014 and 501,523 TEU in 2015 and the only year it recorded a decrease was in 2014, when Hamburg Süd switched large volumes of transhipment boxes to Santos because of extra, new capacity there — at Embraport and Brasil Teminal Portuaria — and because cheap handling rates made it economically viable; that action cleared the way for more import and export cargoes through Itapoá. Contact Rob Ward at rcward788@btinternet.com .

International ports

Porto Itapoa records more market share gains

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Amid the US-China trade war, inquiries for bonded storage north of the border have increased four-fold this month, according to one Canada-based third-party logistics provider.</div>

Amid the US-China trade war, inquiries for bonded storage north of the border have increased four-fold this month, according to one Canada-based third-party logistics provider.

Feature image

<div class="phx-topic">US importers are snatching up bonded warehousing in Canada to store freight from China and temporarily avoid paying hefty tariffs on the goods in the hopes the levies are significantly eased before the product needs to be in the US. Amid the US-China trade war, inquiries for bonded storage in Canada have increased four-fold this month, according to Canadian third-party logistics provider 18 Wheels Warehousing and Trucking. There's no readily available data on bonded storage, but several companies said they’re seeing bonded warehousing space in high demand. “We’ve observed a significant increase in demand for bonded storage solutions in both the US and Canada as a direct response to the US tariffs on Chinese imports,” Brian Riley, senior vice president of Customs House Brokerage at supply chain management company GEODIS, told the Journal of Commerce. “Companies are actively exploring bonded warehouses in both countries to mitigate the impact of these tariffs.” Bonded warehousing, sometimes known as customs warehousing, offers shippers a secure storage facility where imported goods can be stored without paying import duties until they are released – not to be confused with free trade zones (FTZs), said Riley. “FTZs didn’t present a viable alternative due to the duty implications upon submission, unlike bonded warehouses where duties are only applicable upon withdrawal of the goods,” he said. Michael Kotendzhi, CEO of 18 Wheels, attributed the increase in Canadian warehousing to several factors, including the lack of bonded warehousing available in the US, a shipper’s ability to avoid the US tariffs entirely by finding a non-US buyer for the cargo, and the US dollar’s buying power in Canada. “The buying power with the US dollar in Canada is strong,” he said. <h3>Strategic move </h3>One freight forwarder said his customers are looking at bonded warehousing in Canada after they sought to divert their US-bound cargo to Canada, which is not an option. Instead, the forwarder recommends that shippers unload their cargo in the US and move it “in bond” -- thus delaying the payment of tariffs – to bonded storage in Canada. “You can't divert it,” said the forwarder. “You can stop it in the US and move it in bond to Canada – but you can't take a container that's destined for a US port and then divert it now to a Canadian port. You can stop it in the US and move it in bond to Canada so that you don't have to pay the US tariffs.” Riley said while Canadian bonded warehousing is emerging as a strategic alternative when US options are constrained, the decision is ultimately driven by a combination of tariff implications, logistical efficiency and overall cost-effectiveness. “For instance, a company targeting the US Northwest might consider a bonded warehouse in Vancouver as a practical solution if they face limitations in securing space in the Seattle, Tacoma or Portland areas,” he said. “This allows them to hold their goods and then export them to the US when the logistics and cost factors are more favorable.” Forwarders agreed that a growing number of shippers are using the bonded warehouse option as a temporary solution in the hope the tariffs on goods from China are reduced soon. Indeed, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/white-house-considers-slashing-china-tariffs-to-de-escalate-trade-war-6f875d69?mod=WSJ_home_mediumtopper_pos_1">The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday morning</a> that the White House is considering slashing the tariffs, in some cases by more than half, to de-escalate the trade war with Beijing. “The expectation is that this will get some sort of resolution at some point,” said Landon Bibeau, CEO of freight forwarder OEC Group Canada. “And so rather than pay 145% tariffs, hopefully [shippers] can [reduce that cost] or find other customers in Canada.” Contact Laura Robb at <a href="mailto:Laura.Robb@spglobal.com">Laura.Robb@spglobal.com.</a></div>

US importers are snatching up bonded warehousing in Canada to store freight from China and temporarily avoid paying hefty tariffs on the goods in the hopes the levies are significantly eased before the product needs to be in the US. Amid the US-China trade war, inquiries for bonded storage in Canada have increased four-fold this month, according to Canadian third-party logistics provider 18 Wheels Warehousing and Trucking. There's no readily available data on bonded storage, but several companies said they’re seeing bonded warehousing space in high demand. “We’ve observed a significant increase in demand for bonded storage solutions in both the US and Canada as a direct response to the US tariffs on Chinese imports,” Brian Riley, senior vice president of Customs House Brokerage at supply chain management company GEODIS, told the Journal of Commerce. “Companies are actively exploring bonded warehouses in both countries to mitigate the impact of these tariffs.” Bonded warehousing, sometimes known as customs warehousing, offers shippers a secure storage facility where imported goods can be stored without paying import duties until they are released – not to be confused with free trade zones (FTZs), said Riley. “FTZs didn’t present a viable alternative due to the duty implications upon submission, unlike bonded warehouses where duties are only applicable upon withdrawal of the goods,” he said. Michael Kotendzhi, CEO of 18 Wheels, attributed the increase in Canadian warehousing to several factors, including the lack of bonded warehousing available in the US, a shipper’s ability to avoid the US tariffs entirely by finding a non-US buyer for the cargo, and the US dollar’s buying power in Canada. “The buying power with the US dollar in Canada is strong,” he said. Strategic move One freight forwarder said his customers are looking at bonded warehousing in Canada after they sought to divert their US-bound cargo to Canada, which is not an option. Instead, the forwarder recommends that shippers unload their cargo in the US and move it “in bond” -- thus delaying the payment of tariffs – to bonded storage in Canada. “You can't divert it,” said the forwarder. “You can stop it in the US and move it in bond to Canada – but you can't take a container that's destined for a US port and then divert it now to a Canadian port. You can stop it in the US and move it in bond to Canada so that you don't have to pay the US tariffs.” Riley said while Canadian bonded warehousing is emerging as a strategic alternative when US options are constrained, the decision is ultimately driven by a combination of tariff implications, logistical efficiency and overall cost-effectiveness. “For instance, a company targeting the US Northwest might consider a bonded warehouse in Vancouver as a practical solution if they face limitations in securing space in the Seattle, Tacoma or Portland areas,” he said. “This allows them to hold their goods and then export them to the US when the logistics and cost factors are more favorable.” Forwarders agreed that a growing number of shippers are using the bonded warehouse option as a temporary solution in the hope the tariffs on goods from China are reduced soon. Indeed, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday morning that the White House is considering slashing the tariffs, in some cases by more than half, to de-escalate the trade war with Beijing. “The expectation is that this will get some sort of resolution at some point,” said Landon Bibeau, CEO of freight forwarder OEC Group Canada. “And so rather than pay 145% tariffs, hopefully [shippers] can [reduce that cost] or find other customers in Canada.” Contact Laura Robb at Laura.Robb@spglobal.com.

Transport, Trade and Regulation News

Supply chain

US importers turn to Canadian bonded storage to delay payment of tariffs

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Demand for light vehicles and components began 2025 on a sour note amid rising production costs, tariff uncertainty and projections for slower US economic growth.</div>

Demand for light vehicles and components began 2025 on a sour note amid rising production costs, tariff uncertainty and projections for slower US economic growth.

<div class="phx-topic">US trade in automobiles and auto parts could shift into reverse gear this year after a strong 2024 amid higher tariffs and other trade policies expected to weigh on consumer vehicle demand and overall economic growth. The auto sector experienced a strong fourth quarter after mild growth for much of the year, said Chris Hopson, manager of North American light vehicle sales forecasting at S&amp;P Global Mobility. S&amp;P Global is the parent company of the Journal of Commerce. However, 2025 started off with economic headwinds. Dealers are raising prices, which is already having an impact on sales, and uncertainty over the administration’s tariff policies is expected to continue into the fall, which will complicate buying decisions, Hopson said. “For light vehicles, this is not good,” he said. “Parts will be taxed even more.” After rebounding 11.6% last year, containerized US auto imports have declined on an annual basis for three straight months to begin 2025, according to PIERS, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global. Through March, those shipments have slipped 2.1% compared with the first quarter of 2024. Automobile production in the US depends upon the shipment of parts and components from Asia, Europe, Canada and Mexico. Tariffs can add significantly to the final cost of light vehicles. “You end up with stacked tariffs,” said Paul Bingham, director of transportation consulting for S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="da17915f-151c-4d71-a6fe-620954db9057"></dynamic-object></div>Auto sector demand is closely correlated with overall economic growth, and recently downgraded forecasts for US GDP growth do not inspire confidence. S&amp;P Global’s initial projection of 2.2% growth in US GDP this year has been downgraded every month since January; as of April, analysts expect US GDP to rise just 1.5%. And if tariffs on imports of automobiles and parts from Mexico, Canada, China and other countries increase during the year, “the risk is very high” that US economic growth could slow further, Bingham said. <h3>‘A lot comes from China’ </h3>An 145% tariff on imports from China imposed by the Trump administration is likely to cause some sourcing of automobile parts and components to shift to other countries in Asia and North America. Further complicating the delivered cost of light vehicles and components is the US Trade Representative’s planned Section 301 remedy of charging Chinese-operated and -built ships as much as $1 million per US port call. The Section 301 port fee will not impact vehicles or components manufactured in North America, “but a lot comes from China,” Hopson noted. Mainland China accounted for 37.2% of containerized auto sector imports last year, followed by South Korea (17.1%), Japan (11.6%) and Germany (6.6%), according to PIERS. Hopson said he had not yet seen any significant shift of production of auto components and parts away from China, adding that for single-source importers, such a shift would take months. For consumers, that means vehicle prices will likely continue to rise in the short term, putting downward pressure on demand. Although some importers in the auto sector have pulled forward as much product as they can this year, time is running short. “Auto inventory turns pretty quickly,” Hopson said. On a positive note, Hopson said US importers have logistics plans in place to deal with supply chain disruptions of recent years that diverted vessels from the Suez Canal, as well as port congestion, excessive rail container dwell times and inland bottlenecks. “The takeaway from the 2021–22 issues is that this is a resilient industry,” he said. Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at <a href="mailto:bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com">bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

US trade in automobiles and auto parts could shift into reverse gear this year after a strong 2024 amid higher tariffs and other trade policies expected to weigh on consumer vehicle demand and overall economic growth. The auto sector experienced a strong fourth quarter after mild growth for much of the year, said Chris Hopson, manager of North American light vehicle sales forecasting at S&P Global Mobility. S&P Global is the parent company of the Journal of Commerce. However, 2025 started off with economic headwinds. Dealers are raising prices, which is already having an impact on sales, and uncertainty over the administration’s tariff policies is expected to continue into the fall, which will complicate buying decisions, Hopson said. “For light vehicles, this is not good,” he said. “Parts will be taxed even more.” After rebounding 11.6% last year, containerized US auto imports have declined on an annual basis for three straight months to begin 2025, according to PIERS, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global. Through March, those shipments have slipped 2.1% compared with the first quarter of 2024. Automobile production in the US depends upon the shipment of parts and components from Asia, Europe, Canada and Mexico. Tariffs can add significantly to the final cost of light vehicles. “You end up with stacked tariffs,” said Paul Bingham, director of transportation consulting for S&P Global Market Intelligence. Auto sector demand is closely correlated with overall economic growth, and recently downgraded forecasts for US GDP growth do not inspire confidence. S&P Global’s initial projection of 2.2% growth in US GDP this year has been downgraded every month since January; as of April, analysts expect US GDP to rise just 1.5%. And if tariffs on imports of automobiles and parts from Mexico, Canada, China and other countries increase during the year, “the risk is very high” that US economic growth could slow further, Bingham said. ‘A lot comes from China’ An 145% tariff on imports from China imposed by the Trump administration is likely to cause some sourcing of automobile parts and components to shift to other countries in Asia and North America. Further complicating the delivered cost of light vehicles and components is the US Trade Representative’s planned Section 301 remedy of charging Chinese-operated and -built ships as much as $1 million per US port call. The Section 301 port fee will not impact vehicles or components manufactured in North America, “but a lot comes from China,” Hopson noted. Mainland China accounted for 37.2% of containerized auto sector imports last year, followed by South Korea (17.1%), Japan (11.6%) and Germany (6.6%), according to PIERS. Hopson said he had not yet seen any significant shift of production of auto components and parts away from China, adding that for single-source importers, such a shift would take months. For consumers, that means vehicle prices will likely continue to rise in the short term, putting downward pressure on demand. Although some importers in the auto sector have pulled forward as much product as they can this year, time is running short. “Auto inventory turns pretty quickly,” Hopson said. On a positive note, Hopson said US importers have logistics plans in place to deal with supply chain disruptions of recent years that diverted vessels from the Suez Canal, as well as port congestion, excessive rail container dwell times and inland bottlenecks. “The takeaway from the 2021–22 issues is that this is a resilient industry,” he said. Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com .

Rebounding US auto imports caught in tariff crossfire

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">HHG imports rose almost 20% in 2024, fueled in part by home remodeling, but US tariffs on China and Vietnam could reverse that gain. </div>

HHG imports rose almost 20% in 2024, fueled in part by home remodeling, but US tariffs on China and Vietnam could reverse that gain.

<div class="phx-topic">A weak housing market hobbled by inflationary home values and high mortgage rates didn’t deter spending on household goods (HHG) or HHG imports last year, but tariffs and higher construction costs could be a bigger impediment in 2025. US sales of furniture and home furnishings, a core part of the HHG category, increased 8.8% from March through December 2024, rising to $11.8 billion, according to US Census Bureau data. That increase in spending fueled a 19.9% jump in HHG containerized imports last year to 5.3 million TEUs, according to data from PIERS, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global. That’s the highest level of HHG imports — a category that includes everything from furniture to rugs, drapes, appliances and cookware — since its 5.7 million TEU peak in 2021 at the height of pandemic-era purchasing. The increase in HHG imports and sales last year demonstrates the HHG market doesn’t always move in lockstep with the housing market — especially when consumers decide they need a new dishwasher, couch or coat of paint. While home remodeling is, as of now, still expected to pick up in 2025 after more than a year of decline, last year’s rebound may well be reversed by US tariffs — not just on China but on Vietnam and other sources of furniture and related goods. <h3>Home remodeling rising </h3>US consumers may need new homes, but they’re not buying yet. US single-family housing starts declined 9.7% year over year in March and were down 14.2% month to month, the latest Census Bureau data shows. Mortgage rates have declined, but the average rate for a 30-year mortgage was above 6.5% in late April, according to Freddie Mac, still prohibitively high for many potential homebuyers. Home prices and values continue to increase, however, with the national median single-family home price rising 4.1% year over year in February to $410,000, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). With the value of their property rising, many homeowners may be willing to spend more on furnishings for their existing single-family homes, townhouses and condos, even as they wait for mortgage rates to drop further before selling or buying a new home. That assumption is backed by the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA), an index prepared by Harvard University that tracks home improvement and repair spending. After five quarters of year-over-year decline, the LIRA rose 0.5% year over year in the first quarter of 2025, and is projected to climb 2.5% through the first quarter of 2026. “High home values and other strong economic indicators have supported an uptick in homeowner improvement spending,” Chris Herbert, managing director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, said in April when releasing a new index. “However, economic volatility due to the uncertainty surrounding foreign tariffs and falling consumer confidence could well dampen this expected growth,” Herbert acknowledged. Furniture and furnishings sales flattened in the first three months of this year after climbing in the previous two quarters, reaching a plateau between $11.7 billion and $11.8 billion, according to monthly US Census Bureau data. Those levels were up between 4% and 8% from a year ago, however. In another sign of demand, the inventory-to-sales ratio in furniture, household furnishings, electronics and appliance stores fell to 1.51 in February, down from 1.61 a year earlier. That implies goods are moving more quickly through those stores than at any time since 2021, following painful inventory corrections as demand fell in 2022 and 2023. <h3>Mortgage, tariff headwinds </h3>Although existing home sales are still below year-ago levels, the month-to-month gains point toward stronger home sales. How strong depends on mortgage rates, according to the NAR. The NAR expects mortgage rates to slide moderately lower, but not to the 4% or 5% range homebuyers enjoyed before the COVID-19 pandemic. HHG imports and sales also depend on US tariffs imposed on products not just from China, but also from other countries including Vietnam, the second-largest source of US HHG imports. China still accounts for most US HHG imports — 55.34% in 2024, according to PIERS. But that percentage is down 4.24 percentage points from 2019, PIERS data shows. Vietnam for the first time captured more than 20% of US HHG imports in 2024, with its market share rising from 17.93% in 2023 to 20.34% last year, according to PIERS. Vietnam has been the biggest beneficiary of the long, slow US disconnection from China, but its market share is threatened by the 46% duty the Trump administration said it would impose on its products – a duty delayed until July 9. Until then, Vietnamese goods face the across-the-board baseline 10% US tariff on imports. Many US furniture importers have been shifting sourcing toward Vietnam, including Hooker Furnishings, a Martinsville, Virginia, designer, manufacturer and importer of furniture. Hooker plans to open a new leased warehouse in Vietnam in May. “When fully operational, we believe the Vietnam warehouse will reduce domestic safety stock needs, improve product flow, enable container mixing and support margin expansion,” Jeremy R. Hoff, Hooker’s CEO and director, said during an April earnings call. But Hoff acknowledged the potential impact of tariffs on the HHG business. “Tariffs add tremendous complexity and uncertainty that require us to look at our cost structure more aggressively, particularly on the lower-margin, direct container side of our business,” he said. Contact William B. Cassidy at <a href="mailto:bill.cassidy@spglobal.com">bill.cassidy@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

A weak housing market hobbled by inflationary home values and high mortgage rates didn’t deter spending on household goods (HHG) or HHG imports last year, but tariffs and higher construction costs could be a bigger impediment in 2025. US sales of furniture and home furnishings, a core part of the HHG category, increased 8.8% from March through December 2024, rising to $11.8 billion, according to US Census Bureau data. That increase in spending fueled a 19.9% jump in HHG containerized imports last year to 5.3 million TEUs, according to data from PIERS, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global. That’s the highest level of HHG imports — a category that includes everything from furniture to rugs, drapes, appliances and cookware — since its 5.7 million TEU peak in 2021 at the height of pandemic-era purchasing. The increase in HHG imports and sales last year demonstrates the HHG market doesn’t always move in lockstep with the housing market — especially when consumers decide they need a new dishwasher, couch or coat of paint. While home remodeling is, as of now, still expected to pick up in 2025 after more than a year of decline, last year’s rebound may well be reversed by US tariffs — not just on China but on Vietnam and other sources of furniture and related goods. Home remodeling rising US consumers may need new homes, but they’re not buying yet. US single-family housing starts declined 9.7% year over year in March and were down 14.2% month to month, the latest Census Bureau data shows. Mortgage rates have declined, but the average rate for a 30-year mortgage was above 6.5% in late April, according to Freddie Mac, still prohibitively high for many potential homebuyers. Home prices and values continue to increase, however, with the national median single-family home price rising 4.1% year over year in February to $410,000, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). With the value of their property rising, many homeowners may be willing to spend more on furnishings for their existing single-family homes, townhouses and condos, even as they wait for mortgage rates to drop further before selling or buying a new home. That assumption is backed by the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA), an index prepared by Harvard University that tracks home improvement and repair spending. After five quarters of year-over-year decline, the LIRA rose 0.5% year over year in the first quarter of 2025, and is projected to climb 2.5% through the first quarter of 2026. “High home values and other strong economic indicators have supported an uptick in homeowner improvement spending,” Chris Herbert, managing director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, said in April when releasing a new index. “However, economic volatility due to the uncertainty surrounding foreign tariffs and falling consumer confidence could well dampen this expected growth,” Herbert acknowledged. Furniture and furnishings sales flattened in the first three months of this year after climbing in the previous two quarters, reaching a plateau between $11.7 billion and $11.8 billion, according to monthly US Census Bureau data. Those levels were up between 4% and 8% from a year ago, however. In another sign of demand, the inventory-to-sales ratio in furniture, household furnishings, electronics and appliance stores fell to 1.51 in February, down from 1.61 a year earlier. That implies goods are moving more quickly through those stores than at any time since 2021, following painful inventory corrections as demand fell in 2022 and 2023. Mortgage, tariff headwinds Although existing home sales are still below year-ago levels, the month-to-month gains point toward stronger home sales. How strong depends on mortgage rates, according to the NAR. The NAR expects mortgage rates to slide moderately lower, but not to the 4% or 5% range homebuyers enjoyed before the COVID-19 pandemic. HHG imports and sales also depend on US tariffs imposed on products not just from China, but also from other countries including Vietnam, the second-largest source of US HHG imports. China still accounts for most US HHG imports — 55.34% in 2024, according to PIERS. But that percentage is down 4.24 percentage points from 2019, PIERS data shows. Vietnam for the first time captured more than 20% of US HHG imports in 2024, with its market share rising from 17.93% in 2023 to 20.34% last year, according to PIERS. Vietnam has been the biggest beneficiary of the long, slow US disconnection from China, but its market share is threatened by the 46% duty the Trump administration said it would impose on its products – a duty delayed until July 9. Until then, Vietnamese goods face the across-the-board baseline 10% US tariff on imports. Many US furniture importers have been shifting sourcing toward Vietnam, including Hooker Furnishings, a Martinsville, Virginia, designer, manufacturer and importer of furniture. Hooker plans to open a new leased warehouse in Vietnam in May. “When fully operational, we believe the Vietnam warehouse will reduce domestic safety stock needs, improve product flow, enable container mixing and support margin expansion,” Jeremy R. Hoff, Hooker’s CEO and director, said during an April earnings call. But Hoff acknowledged the potential impact of tariffs on the HHG business. “Tariffs add tremendous complexity and uncertainty that require us to look at our cost structure more aggressively, particularly on the lower-margin, direct container side of our business,” he said. Contact William B. Cassidy at bill.cassidy@spglobal.com .

Maritime

Surface

Air Cargo

Tariffs threaten rebound in US household goods imports

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Shippers and ocean carriers told the Journal of Commerce they are reviewing the USTR actions to estimate how the fees will flow down to freight costs. </div>

Shippers and ocean carriers told the Journal of Commerce they are reviewing the USTR actions to estimate how the fees will flow down to freight costs.

<div class="phx-topic">Cosco Shipping says new fees that Chinese carriers and ships will be forced to pay for calling the US — possibly as high as $8 million to $10 million per voyage, according to one analyst — are unfair and will “distort” the ocean shipping market. That comes as other ocean carriers grapple with the impact of the fees on freight costs and how to redraw their networks to avoid them. Cosco Shipping Corporation, the container line’s parent, said in a statement Monday that the US Trade Representative (USTR) made a “discriminatory decision” in <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/scaled-back-ustr-port-tariff-to-hit-chinese-carriers-hardest-5987549">issuing new fees against China’s maritime industry</a>. It said the charges unveiled Friday against China-based ocean carriers and Chinese-built ships in all other fleets will put <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/us-port-tax-would-scramble-ocean-services-raise-shipper-costs-drewry-5952046">global supply chains at risk of higher costs and result in less-efficient service</a>. “We firmly oppose the [USTR’s] accusations and the subsequent measures,” Cosco said. “Such measures not only distort fair competition and impede the normal functioning of the global shipping industry, but also threaten its stable and sustainable development.” Barring their rescission, the fees are the USTR’s final actions against China’s carriers and container ships and will take effect in October. The fees will only be charged on the first US port of call on a vessel string, unlike the per-port fee schedule in the original USTR plan. The revised per-voyage fee will be charged a maximum of five times per year on each affected vessel. <h3>Confusion on net tonnage </h3><a href="https://www.joc.com/article/us-port-fees-could-hit-chinese-ships-under-trump-trade-proposal-5949409">While less draconian than the initial USTR proposal</a>, Cosco and its Hong Kong subsidiary OOCL face fees that are three times higher than what would be charged to all other ocean carriers. The USTR said the goal of the fees is to “disincentivize” shippers from using China’s ocean carriers. Starting this October, China’s ocean carriers will have to pay $50 per net ton of a vessel arriving at US ports. The fee goes up $30 each year on the anniversary of the USTR’s actions, topping out at $140 in 2028. Ocean carriers based outside of China operating Chinese-built ships will face a fee based on either net tonnage or container volume, whichever is higher. The tonnage fee for non-Chinese carriers starts at $18, escalating to $23 by April 2026 and topping out at $33 in 2028. The per-container fee starts at $120 and rises to $153 next year and $250 in 2028. Shippers and ocean carriers told the Journal of Commerce that they are reviewing the USTR actions to estimate how the fees will flow down to freight costs. But until there’s more clarity from the USTR, the fees are best guesses at this point. The fees are based on a ship’s “net tonnage,” but the USTR’s order does not include a definition of net tonnage. According to the US Coast Guard Marine Safety Center, net tonnage refers to a ship’s internal volume for cargo and is not measured in tons similar to a ship’s deadweight. The US signed a 1969 treaty that bound it to an international convention on measuring net tonnage that is included on a ship’s documentation. However, the Coast Guard noted that there are other ways to measure net tonnage that account for different types of vessels. Data from Sea-web, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global, shows the net tonnage of Chinese-built ships of 12,000-TEU to 15,000-TEU capacity can range anywhere from 60,000 to 85,000. Sea-web uses the 1969 international convention on net tonnage. An executive with an independent ocean carrier told the Journal of Commerce that its US services might typically include Chinese-built ships of 8,500-TEU capacity and net tonnage of about 64,000. That would result in a total estimated fee of about $1.2 million, which would average out to approximately $275 to $300 per container, assuming the ship is full at 4,000 containers. The $300 estimate “is in the range of what we are expecting,” the source said. “But we will reshuffle our vessels to limit exposure to USTR fees, so it’s likely to be less overall,” he added. In contrast, the 13,800-TEU Cosco Shipping Rose, which calls the US East Coast, has net tonnage of 84,940. That would put its port call fee at over $4 million, equating to about $600 per container assuming it is carrying over 6,000 containers. An executive with a European alliance carrier said multiple factors make a per-container rate difficult to estimate at this point, including the fact that ships are not always arriving in port full. Net tonnage generally refers to a ship’s internal volume, but container ships also carry freight on top of their hatches. The source said the USTR fees will result in costs “probably higher” than $300 per container. <h3>Ocean Alliance in focus </h3>Whatever fees other container lines face, Cosco and OOCL face triple the costs. That has some industry watchers looking for both carriers to shuffle US services offered under the Ocean Alliance, alongside partners CMA CGM and Evergreen Marine. Thanks to their role among China’s exporters, Cosco and OOCL have the leading market share in trans-Pacific services to the US, according to data from PIERS, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global. Cosco and OOCL handled just over 17% of trans-Pacific imports to all US coasts during March 2025. CMA CGM came in second at 13.6%. <div class="wrapper-narrow"><dynamic-object type="jocchartid" resource-id="17b008be-6389-4bcf-974c-dea36b662564"></dynamic-object></div>Of Ocean Alliance’s nine direct services to the US West Coast, four are operated by Cosco and OOCL. Those include the Bohai, Hibiscus Express and Yangtse services to Long Beach and the Dahlia service to Seattle. Cosco and OOCL also supply ships to the Manhattan Bridge and South Atlantic Express services to the US East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico Express service. Lars Jensen, CEO and partner of consultancy Vespucci Maritime, said in a LinkedIn post the fees that Cosco and OOCL face for a US port call, which he estimated could be as high as $8 million to $10 million, will likely prompt them to potentially reduce or even eliminate US services altogether. “COSCO and OOCL will be hit harder than other carriers,” Jensen said. “This is likely to cause a network adjustment in Ocean Alliance such that CMA CGM and Evergreen will be operating US-bound services as much as possible.” Ports America Chief Executive Matthew Leech said in another LinkedIn post that Cosco and OOCL “are more disadvantaged than other lines” by the USTR’s actions. But Leech said the Ocean Alliance has options to keep Cosco and OOCL ships busy. The two carriers could handle Ocean Alliance’s services to Europe while CMA CGM and Evergreen redeploy that capacity to US service networks. In media statements, CMA CGM said there are no plans for Cosco or OOCL to withdraw from Ocean Alliance, which lasts under its current agreement until 2032. Cosco’s statement Monday gave no indication of network changes but indicated that it would continue “offering a comprehensive range of dependable services.” Contact Michael Angell at <a href="mailto:michael.angell@spglobal.com">michael.angell@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Cosco Shipping says new fees that Chinese carriers and ships will be forced to pay for calling the US — possibly as high as $8 million to $10 million per voyage, according to one analyst — are unfair and will “distort” the ocean shipping market. That comes as other ocean carriers grapple with the impact of the fees on freight costs and how to redraw their networks to avoid them. Cosco Shipping Corporation, the container line’s parent, said in a statement Monday that the US Trade Representative (USTR) made a “discriminatory decision” in issuing new fees against China’s maritime industry . It said the charges unveiled Friday against China-based ocean carriers and Chinese-built ships in all other fleets will put global supply chains at risk of higher costs and result in less-efficient service . “We firmly oppose the [USTR’s] accusations and the subsequent measures,” Cosco said. “Such measures not only distort fair competition and impede the normal functioning of the global shipping industry, but also threaten its stable and sustainable development.” Barring their rescission, the fees are the USTR’s final actions against China’s carriers and container ships and will take effect in October. The fees will only be charged on the first US port of call on a vessel string, unlike the per-port fee schedule in the original USTR plan. The revised per-voyage fee will be charged a maximum of five times per year on each affected vessel. Confusion on net tonnage While less draconian than the initial USTR proposal , Cosco and its Hong Kong subsidiary OOCL face fees that are three times higher than what would be charged to all other ocean carriers. The USTR said the goal of the fees is to “disincentivize” shippers from using China’s ocean carriers. Starting this October, China’s ocean carriers will have to pay $50 per net ton of a vessel arriving at US ports. The fee goes up $30 each year on the anniversary of the USTR’s actions, topping out at $140 in 2028. Ocean carriers based outside of China operating Chinese-built ships will face a fee based on either net tonnage or container volume, whichever is higher. The tonnage fee for non-Chinese carriers starts at $18, escalating to $23 by April 2026 and topping out at $33 in 2028. The per-container fee starts at $120 and rises to $153 next year and $250 in 2028. Shippers and ocean carriers told the Journal of Commerce that they are reviewing the USTR actions to estimate how the fees will flow down to freight costs. But until there’s more clarity from the USTR, the fees are best guesses at this point. The fees are based on a ship’s “net tonnage,” but the USTR’s order does not include a definition of net tonnage. According to the US Coast Guard Marine Safety Center, net tonnage refers to a ship’s internal volume for cargo and is not measured in tons similar to a ship’s deadweight. The US signed a 1969 treaty that bound it to an international convention on measuring net tonnage that is included on a ship’s documentation. However, the Coast Guard noted that there are other ways to measure net tonnage that account for different types of vessels. Data from Sea-web, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global, shows the net tonnage of Chinese-built ships of 12,000-TEU to 15,000-TEU capacity can range anywhere from 60,000 to 85,000. Sea-web uses the 1969 international convention on net tonnage. An executive with an independent ocean carrier told the Journal of Commerce that its US services might typically include Chinese-built ships of 8,500-TEU capacity and net tonnage of about 64,000. That would result in a total estimated fee of about $1.2 million, which would average out to approximately $275 to $300 per container, assuming the ship is full at 4,000 containers. The $300 estimate “is in the range of what we are expecting,” the source said. “But we will reshuffle our vessels to limit exposure to USTR fees, so it’s likely to be less overall,” he added. In contrast, the 13,800-TEU Cosco Shipping Rose, which calls the US East Coast, has net tonnage of 84,940. That would put its port call fee at over $4 million, equating to about $600 per container assuming it is carrying over 6,000 containers. An executive with a European alliance carrier said multiple factors make a per-container rate difficult to estimate at this point, including the fact that ships are not always arriving in port full. Net tonnage generally refers to a ship’s internal volume, but container ships also carry freight on top of their hatches. The source said the USTR fees will result in costs “probably higher” than $300 per container. Ocean Alliance in focus Whatever fees other container lines face, Cosco and OOCL face triple the costs. That has some industry watchers looking for both carriers to shuffle US services offered under the Ocean Alliance, alongside partners CMA CGM and Evergreen Marine. Thanks to their role among China’s exporters, Cosco and OOCL have the leading market share in trans-Pacific services to the US, according to data from PIERS, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global. Cosco and OOCL handled just over 17% of trans-Pacific imports to all US coasts during March 2025. CMA CGM came in second at 13.6%. Of Ocean Alliance’s nine direct services to the US West Coast, four are operated by Cosco and OOCL. Those include the Bohai, Hibiscus Express and Yangtse services to Long Beach and the Dahlia service to Seattle. Cosco and OOCL also supply ships to the Manhattan Bridge and South Atlantic Express services to the US East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico Express service. Lars Jensen, CEO and partner of consultancy Vespucci Maritime, said in a LinkedIn post the fees that Cosco and OOCL face for a US port call, which he estimated could be as high as $8 million to $10 million, will likely prompt them to potentially reduce or even eliminate US services altogether. “COSCO and OOCL will be hit harder than other carriers,” Jensen said. “This is likely to cause a network adjustment in Ocean Alliance such that CMA CGM and Evergreen will be operating US-bound services as much as possible.” Ports America Chief Executive Matthew Leech said in another LinkedIn post that Cosco and OOCL “are more disadvantaged than other lines” by the USTR’s actions. But Leech said the Ocean Alliance has options to keep Cosco and OOCL ships busy. The two carriers could handle Ocean Alliance’s services to Europe while CMA CGM and Evergreen redeploy that capacity to US service networks. In media statements, CMA CGM said there are no plans for Cosco or OOCL to withdraw from Ocean Alliance, which lasts under its current agreement until 2032. Cosco’s statement Monday gave no indication of network changes but indicated that it would continue “offering a comprehensive range of dependable services.” Contact Michael Angell at michael.angell@spglobal.com .

Trans-Pacific

North American ports

Container lines

Cosco slams US port fees as other carriers reckon with potential costs

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">US electronics imports are riding a wave of cyclical replacement, but tariffs could bring on an ebb tide.</div>

US electronics imports are riding a wave of cyclical replacement, but tariffs could bring on an ebb tide.

<div class="phx-topic">US electronics importers are still riding waves of replenishment after a boom in imports last year, but US tariffs are already affecting the costs consumers will pay. The Trump administration’s tariffs will challenge growth in the sector and likely raise costs for consumers despite exclusions from tariffs for several electronic products, including laptops and smartphones manufactured in China. The array of tariffs facing US trading partners has electronic manufacturers rethinking pricing and rollouts given how dependent they are on the Chinese market. The White House is considering a new tariff on products containing semiconductors, which are used in everything from automotive engines to computers and phones to the fancier range of espresso makers. The uncertainty created by proposed tariffs that remain undefined plays an even bigger part in deliberations about whether to push the “pause” button on imports or move ahead. The delayed launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 gaming console provides an early example. For a brief time, fans of Mario, Luigi and Donkey Kong thought they might have to pay more and wait longer for the new gaming console, a critical product for Kyoto, Japan-based Nintendo. The company initially scheduled pre-orders for the Switch 2 to begin on April 9 but delayed the order launch until April 24 due to uncertainty caused by the tariffs. On April 18, Nintendo said Switch 2 pricing would remain unchanged at $499.99 per unit, but prices for some accessories will be adjusted due to “changes in market conditions.” Those changes are the uncertainty of US tariffs. On April 2, President Donald Trump imposed a 24% reciprocal tariff on Japan, but that levy was suspended for 90 days on April 9. Japan, similar to most of the world, still faces a 10% baseline tariff and 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum and cars and automotive parts. Goods imported from China face a combined tariff of 145%. The tariffs threaten to short-circuit the market for containerized electronic imports, which shot up 9.4% in 2024 to reach nearly 1.8 million TEUs. That rebound after two years of declines topped the 1.7 million-TEU record set in 2021, according to PIERS, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global. The tariffs and proposed tariffs could derail forecasts for higher electronics sales in 2025 — if consumers decide the higher retail prices aren’t worth paying. “Consumers remain very price sensitive — something that will be further amplified by uncertainty surrounding potential trade and economic disruptions,” Paul Gagnon, vice president and technology industry advisor for research company Circana, said in a statement earlier this year. <h3>‘Refresh wave’ coming </h3>Circana, formerly IRI and the NPD Group, in January forecast an additional $1.8 billion in spending on electronics, a 1.6% year-over-year gain. Computers, portable audio devices and televisions were expected to contribute 70% of the increase. Much of the increase will be driven by a “refresh wave,” Circana said, as consumers replace older electronics with more powerful personal computers and larger screen TVs. Since January, consumers have become even more price sensitive. Surveys of consumer confidence and expectations have dropped significantly, alarming economists. That refresh wave could be shallower than expected. Even so, US consumers show no sign they’re sated with electronic gadgetry, especially the computers, tablets and smartphones embedded in daily life. New products and features such as artificial intelligence capabilities may convince them to spend more. But the upper limits of their discretionary spending remain to be tested — especially when a video game console is priced at $500. <h3>China, Vietnam make gains </h3>Despite tariffs and the threat of tariffs, China remains the largest single source of US electronics imports. China even increased its share of US electronics imports in 2024, pushing it up 0.5 percentage point to 45.47%, according to data from PIERS. That figure is down substantially from 56.2% in 2019, a sign of long-term decoupling from the US market. Vietnam’s share of the US electronics market also increased 0.5 percentage point to 15.77%; back in 2019, Vietnam had a 7.19% share. The next largest source of US electronics imports, Thailand, increased its market share last year to 6.65% from 6.2% in 2023, according to the PIERS data. South Korea and Malaysia, the next largest players, saw their market share shrink slightly to 5.49% and 3.34%, respectively. The rest of the world, including Japan, saw their US market share in electronics slip to 22.3% in 2024 after rising to 22.5% in 2023, losing some share to China and Vietnam. Those figures could change in 2025 as high tariffs on Chinese products that aren’t excluded discourage the shipment, as well as the purchase, of cheaper electronics. Some of these goods, however, may be cheap enough that even tariffs won’t deter their sale. Contact William B. Cassidy at <a href="mailto:bill.cassidy@spglobal.com">bill.cassidy@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

US electronics importers are still riding waves of replenishment after a boom in imports last year, but US tariffs are already affecting the costs consumers will pay. The Trump administration’s tariffs will challenge growth in the sector and likely raise costs for consumers despite exclusions from tariffs for several electronic products, including laptops and smartphones manufactured in China. The array of tariffs facing US trading partners has electronic manufacturers rethinking pricing and rollouts given how dependent they are on the Chinese market. The White House is considering a new tariff on products containing semiconductors, which are used in everything from automotive engines to computers and phones to the fancier range of espresso makers. The uncertainty created by proposed tariffs that remain undefined plays an even bigger part in deliberations about whether to push the “pause” button on imports or move ahead. The delayed launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 gaming console provides an early example. For a brief time, fans of Mario, Luigi and Donkey Kong thought they might have to pay more and wait longer for the new gaming console, a critical product for Kyoto, Japan-based Nintendo. The company initially scheduled pre-orders for the Switch 2 to begin on April 9 but delayed the order launch until April 24 due to uncertainty caused by the tariffs. On April 18, Nintendo said Switch 2 pricing would remain unchanged at $499.99 per unit, but prices for some accessories will be adjusted due to “changes in market conditions.” Those changes are the uncertainty of US tariffs. On April 2, President Donald Trump imposed a 24% reciprocal tariff on Japan, but that levy was suspended for 90 days on April 9. Japan, similar to most of the world, still faces a 10% baseline tariff and 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum and cars and automotive parts. Goods imported from China face a combined tariff of 145%. The tariffs threaten to short-circuit the market for containerized electronic imports, which shot up 9.4% in 2024 to reach nearly 1.8 million TEUs. That rebound after two years of declines topped the 1.7 million-TEU record set in 2021, according to PIERS, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global. The tariffs and proposed tariffs could derail forecasts for higher electronics sales in 2025 — if consumers decide the higher retail prices aren’t worth paying. “Consumers remain very price sensitive — something that will be further amplified by uncertainty surrounding potential trade and economic disruptions,” Paul Gagnon, vice president and technology industry advisor for research company Circana, said in a statement earlier this year. ‘Refresh wave’ coming Circana, formerly IRI and the NPD Group, in January forecast an additional $1.8 billion in spending on electronics, a 1.6% year-over-year gain. Computers, portable audio devices and televisions were expected to contribute 70% of the increase. Much of the increase will be driven by a “refresh wave,” Circana said, as consumers replace older electronics with more powerful personal computers and larger screen TVs. Since January, consumers have become even more price sensitive. Surveys of consumer confidence and expectations have dropped significantly, alarming economists. That refresh wave could be shallower than expected. Even so, US consumers show no sign they’re sated with electronic gadgetry, especially the computers, tablets and smartphones embedded in daily life. New products and features such as artificial intelligence capabilities may convince them to spend more. But the upper limits of their discretionary spending remain to be tested — especially when a video game console is priced at $500. China, Vietnam make gains Despite tariffs and the threat of tariffs, China remains the largest single source of US electronics imports. China even increased its share of US electronics imports in 2024, pushing it up 0.5 percentage point to 45.47%, according to data from PIERS. That figure is down substantially from 56.2% in 2019, a sign of long-term decoupling from the US market. Vietnam’s share of the US electronics market also increased 0.5 percentage point to 15.77%; back in 2019, Vietnam had a 7.19% share. The next largest source of US electronics imports, Thailand, increased its market share last year to 6.65% from 6.2% in 2023, according to the PIERS data. South Korea and Malaysia, the next largest players, saw their market share shrink slightly to 5.49% and 3.34%, respectively. The rest of the world, including Japan, saw their US market share in electronics slip to 22.3% in 2024 after rising to 22.5% in 2023, losing some share to China and Vietnam. Those figures could change in 2025 as high tariffs on Chinese products that aren’t excluded discourage the shipment, as well as the purchase, of cheaper electronics. Some of these goods, however, may be cheap enough that even tariffs won’t deter their sale. Contact William B. Cassidy at bill.cassidy@spglobal.com .

US tariffs threaten a ‘refresh wave’ of US electronics sales, imports

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The world of LTL is slow to embrace change. Business anachronisms permeate current supply chain processes. These vestiges of the way things used to work define the LTL freight transportation procurement process of many modern shippers.David Knuth, logistics specialist at IEWC, a global supplier of cable and wire based in Wisconsin, is happy to have modernized the RFP process, automating the entire LTL bidding procedure with Bid$ense, SMC³’s automated truckload and LTL freight transportation sourcing solution. But when prompted, he can still recall what once was.In his previous job, a large part of his duties were consumed by creating an intermodal bid package for carriers. In a spreadsheet, Knuth detailed the company’s volumes lane by lane, taking care to delete any errant keystrokes or misleading data. He would then email out the information to each carrier, taking time to respond to detailed technical questions about the spreadsheet data. Finally, he had to compile all the results, create an algorithm that would compare the carriers on each lane, and award the business.“It was a huge undertaking. It took about four months to do,” Knuth said of the old process. “It was almost a full-time job for that part of the year, every year.”In his new job at IEWC, he sat down with Bid$ense on day one and was amazed at the capabilities. Knuth had never before used a bid tool. SMC³’s latest versions of Bid$ense automate the process even further, taking truckload and LTL RFPs entirely online. The tool draws on RFP best-practices protocols to streamline the bidding communication process, enabling bidding carriers to respond accurately and promptly to shipper requests. The solution also does all the distribution work automatically, electronically submitting shipper bid data to carriers based on their actual service capabilities and performance records. Carriers are alerted with timely prompts for RFP deliverables, so shippers aren’t waiting by the phone for responses.Another benefit of automating the process is the data-cleansing assistance. When Knuth sent spreadsheets to carriers, data errors might cloud the bidding process; he might have to resend data or simply accept a price that did not truly reflect the costs of doing business. Data cleansing is incredibly beneficial, he said.The spreadsheet technique also made bidding analysis an onerous task. Since Bid$ense automates and streamlines the entire RFP process, intensive examination is now simple. SMC³ knows that each bid has more than one best outcome. With uniform responses from each carrier, shippers can quickly rank results and create an unlimited quantity of what-if scenarios to make the optimal procurement decision.Jesse Burnett of Central Garden &amp; Pet experiences many of the same benefits. Founded in 1980, Central Garden &amp; Pet has spent the last three decades growing from a small garden supply company to a provider of a range of products from dog chews and bird seed to soil supplements and natural insecticides. For much of its life, the company shipped these disparate goods via LTL and truckload carriers to retailers throughout the country, relying on each business unit to negotiate directly with their freight transportation providers. This arrangement worked fairly well for a small company, but as Central Garden &amp; Pet expanded, leadership decided to consolidate decision making.Burnett helped centralize the transportation decision making in 2015 with SMC³’s Bid$ense. Before Bid$ense, every business unit operated independently as far as negotiating with carriers.“There were a lot of different things just floating around,” he said. “We didn’t have master agreements in place; no national pricing at all. The pricing from carriers was just all over the place, depending on where you were.”The transformations he saw with Bid$ense were immediate. Burnett has been using the tool about every other year since its implementation at the company. Central Garden and Pet’s $19.6 million 2019 LTL bid saved the company just more than 9 percent when compared to its historical average. For Burnett, though, bid automation extends far beyond savings.“We knew that we weren’t getting the best pricing offer from our carriers just because nothing was centralized,” he continued. “We knew that if we combined everything from all these business units and paired it with one corporate offering, then it would drive some cost benefit with it.”When the company initially decided to centralize bid procurement, executives researched a number of different methodologies and technologies. In the end, though, Burnett found that Bid$ense was both widespread and well known, and that his carrier partners already knew how to use the application. Burnett also highlighted the data-cleansing process as a major benefit, saying the rigorous process ensures that carriers always return the best price.“It definitely has helped drive savings,” he said. “Any time you go out there and you drive that competitiveness with the carriers and they know they’re in a bid environment, it seems to sharpen their pencils.”Transportation procurement is an integral part of the modern supply chain. With Bid$ense, shippers can develop a strategic implementation plan that saves them time and money, but also helps them create strong relationships with their carrier partners. These carriers appreciate the solution’s data-cleansing process; when carriers receive a complete shipment history and future volume forecast, they don’t have to guess on pricing. Carriers that receive more data from shippers get a complete picture of that shipper’s freight, allowing them to accurately plan instead of simply preparing for the worst-case scenario. Clean data presented through an automated system can lead to both bigger shipment savings and a lasting partnership between carrier and customer.Whether customers are looking to streamline over-the-road transportation bidding by automating the RFP process or create an entirely new, centralized sourcing process, Bid$ense has the analytical horsepower to get the job done.SMC³ 2020 Customer Case Study

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Shippers save money, time with automated transportation bidding tools

If there’s one immutable truth in the world of logistics, it’s this: LTL is an inherently complex form of transportation. Tariffs, rates, DIM weights, transit times — it’s enough to confuse even seasoned logistics professionals. The solution to this knowledge gap has historically been on-the-job training or university supply chain education, but for a variety of reasons there is now a pressing need for third-party, remote LTL training that prepares logistics workers for transportation success. Global Scope Can Overlook Local Intricacies In the past, professionals looking to move into a supply chain career learned about the basics of supply chain from universities. However, many of these college supply chain programs are now global in scope, focusing on worldwide supply chain management instead of the intricacies of specialized domestic transportation. And even these programs, which used to be widespread, are becoming less common. LTL is not an industry of broad-brush strokes; supply chain professionals really need a pointillistic understanding of the logistics of LTL in order to excel in the industry. Accelerating Need for Dedicated LTL Education This lack of specified training put the onus on employers to prepare new hires with the LTL knowledge needed to do their jobs. Dedicated LTL study is a necessity, not a luxury. At the same time, changes in LTL and the broader supply chain world are accelerating. The reliance on e-commerce has ballooned since the start of the pandemic, and last-mile LTL shipments and related e-commerce strains on the supply chain won’t diminish once social distancing abates. That genie isn’t going back into the bottle. So supply chain employers need logistics workers that are fully versed in all aspects of the industry, ready to solve unique shipping and delivery problems based on their extensive supply chain knowledge But why care about LTL? It’s been reported that some shippers in today’s world are no longer concerned with what mode is used to ship their goods. A Multimodal Approach Ensures On-Time Delivery This mode agnosticism means supply chain stakeholders have to be well versed in all modes of transportation. As unforeseen weather events and other disruptions, such as protests, become more common, savvy logistics employees will need to be armed with familiarity of all modes, not just the most popular, to ensure that freight is delivered on time, without damage, and in the most financially expedient way possible. Offerings like SMC³’s LTL online education courses cover a wide range of topics from LTL basics and operations to more advanced concepts like pricing analytics and transportation law. The company also has plans to continually refresh content, adding new expert presenters and taking the feedback of students to make the courses even better as time goes on. Learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://logisticstrainingcenter.com/smc3-courses/" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link">SMC³’s LTL Online Education program</a>&nbsp;and view the 2021 hybrid schedule, featuring live industry experts,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.smc3.com/onlinelearning2021/" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link">here.</a>

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Filling the Supply Chain Education Gap with LTL Education Courses

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Breakbulk Quarterly

An extensive dashboard of charts organized by trade lane, mode, and topic

Gateway - Rectangle Box

Gateway

Customers scoring their intermodal partners to identify the best service providers

Intermodal Service Scorecard - Rectangle Box

Intermodal Service Scorecard

A premium access outlook critical to shippers and transportation providers

QI Report - Rectangle Box

Quarterly Intelligence

The latest port news from the Journal of Commerce spans the globe from North Carolina and Florida to Shanghai and Singapore. Port news includes port automation, terminal construction projects, the future of decarbonization and net-zero shipping, dredging, port hinterland connectivity, labor, disruption, port congestion and cargo flow.

Drayage

Port infrastructure

Breakbulk ports

Marine terminals

Longshore labor

Stay informed on port news worldwide with Journal of Commerce. From decarbonization to labor updates, get insights on global developments.

Port News | Journal of Commerce

Port News

Breakbulk News shipping | Journal of Commerce

Breakbulk News

Container shipping news and analysis of ocean container shipping, logistics, supply chains, technology and end-to-end connectivity.

Container Shipping News | Journal of Commerce

Container Shipping News

News and analysis of ocean containerized cargo movement, logistics, supply chains, technology, and end-to-end connectivity. Maritime news and analysis of containerized ocean cargo movement, breakbulk and roll-on and roll-off shipping from origin to destination.

Latest News

More News & Analysis

US importers turn to Canadian bonded storage to delay payment of tariffs

Rebounding US auto imports caught in tariff crossfire

Tariffs threaten rebound in US household goods imports