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Despite concerns that the intense bursts of cargo exchange triggered by mega-ship calls could stress port resources and systems, the port has seen no notable increase in congestion, terminal-gate truck backups, or chassis access problems after the raising of the Bayonne Bridge.

Demand for US drayage has spiked in the last seven to 14 days, but no one knows exactly why beneficial cargo owners, non-vessel operating common carriers, and freight forwarders are so hungry for truck power.

Having filled staff shortages at its US call centers and improved data integrity, the new Japanese liner company Ocean Network Express is providing beneficial cargo owners with the level of service they rightfully demand, but CEO Jeremy Nixon said carriers will struggle to implement meaningful peak-season surcharges this fall.

The Legends of LTL event in Pittsburgh brought together executives from more than 20 US trucking companies, many of whom fought tooth and nail for freight for decades, but also learned from each other.

This is known: in less than 18 months, the container shipping industry will be hit with a massive annual operating bill in the billions of dollars. What is less known is how the costs will be passed along to shippers, and how ocean carriers will adjust, both in terms of capital investment and operations.

More, faster rail route options with more reliability/visibility, are the chief reasons China-Europe rail use is increasing. Add the historic time advantage over ocean freight and cost advantage over air cargo and the net result is a shift in rail from an “interesting option” to “preferred transport mode" for many shippers.

“No one’s coming to save us,” Bobby Harris, president and CEO of BlueGrace Logistics, tells shippers. He’s talking about the tight-capacity, high-priced, surface transportation market, which he expects will continue until late 2019. One BlueGrace solution — it is going to Chicago to hire help.

Global Port Tracker predicts record imports this autumn, with load-center ports once again under the gun to efficiently handle containers for their beneficial cargo owner customers.

The Port of Charleston received $49 million for dredging this year, less than the $90 million it sought. However, beneficial cargo owners do not have to worry because South Carolina will provide a $50 million bridge loan, and the $558 million project is still on track to be complete in early 2021.

Shippers using the BoxTech database to track container weight and other information will get greater reach through the database, which now contains information on 40 percent of the world’s containers after Mediterranean Shipping Co. added its information.

All key fundamentals point to another strong revenue growth year in 2018 for the third-party logistics provider sector, absent a trade war.

The new digital product, which commenced global operations in early 2017, is designed to offer instant pricing/booking, cost transparency/cargo tracking, simplified/centralized documentation, and proactive/round-the-clock customer services.

German and European less-than-containerload (LCL) market leader Dachser announced this week that it will be launching 26 new LCL services and increasing the frequency of six services from every fortnight to weekly.

A funny thing has happened in the last few years even as the role of chief supply chain officer hasn’t become quite so ubiquitous: on-demand, subscription-based software providers have begun to partner more than ever, creating networks of logistics capabilities that often mimic those promised by the broader single suites.

Maersk’s first-quarter earnings conference call was not only a report card on the ocean carrier, as important as that is. It was also a summary of the major trends and factors affecting container shipping.

Ocean carriers’ fixed costs rose in the first quarter, and surcharges ensued. However, the hikes occur even as the surplus capacity issue lingers, prompting debate regarding whether carriers can maintain the surcharges.

The arms race among freight forwarding enterprise systems should be a boon for forwarders and their beneficial cargo owner customers by extending the number of applications available through a single platform.

At Shanghai — the first port to handle 40 million TEU in a year (2017) — even the slightest delay quickly causes bottlenecks to build, and the spring fog 'season' this year was more severe than it has been in the past.

Less-than-truckload carriers are in expansion mode as freight pours in from traditional and non-traditional sources. But will available industrial real estate limit their growth?

Via frequent outreach to truckers, beneficial cargo owners, and railroads — including a culture change — Total Terminals International has gone from having the worst truck turn times at the ports of Los Angeles-Long Beach to becoming one of the more efficient terminals.

Ocean carriers, shippers, and other business decision makers have big plans for Canada, where strong container trade growth is expected in the immediate years ahead. The key task now is to fully fund vital infrastructure improvement and expansion projects to maintain that promising momentum.

Integra, founded in 2003, has offices in Houston, Dallas, and Chicago and is also an intermodal marketing company and third-party logistics provider.

With Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust shippers increasingly opting to use speedy, direct port delivery to minimize logistics costs, third-party logistic providers no longer enjoy the bargaining power they had in the past.

In 2017, US imports of household goods jumped as home projects and construction soared on economic strength, and the outlook calls for continued growth in 2018.

While the data on the phenomenon are in their infancy and hardly comprehensive, it appears less-than-containerload shipping is being propelled higher by several postmodern trends that are changing the nature of global trade, including the rise of e-commerce, more frequent shipping, and technology enabling supply chain monitoring and optimization.

Rodolphe Saadé, group CEO of CMA CGM, announced the surcharge along with first-quarter results, which saw revenue surge. Despite that increase in demand, fuel costs resulted in a $77-million net loss for the quarter.

However, freight forwarders and shippers said they did not expect the disappearance of two carrier’s trans-Atlantic services to have much impact on capacity on the United States-Northern Europe route.

ShipChain, the cryptocurrency-based logistics start-up company, was issued a cease-and-desist order Tuesday by South Carolina’s attorney general for allegedly transacting securities as an unlicensed broker/dealer.

With a strong economy and fashion in vogue, US imports should be on the rise.

Finding capacity for shippers and increasing Old Dominion’s less-than-truckload (LTL) market share to 15 percent are key goals for Greg C. Gantt, the company’s new CEO. The LTL trucking company is undergoing a management transition as it seeks to overtake larger rival, XPO Logistics.

As some ocean carriers retreat from offering door contracts to beneficial cargo owners, non-vessel operating common carriers that have developed working relationships with truckers over the years are stepping in to secure truck capacity at competitive rates in today’s tight US trucking market.

Amid what the company called challenging market conditions, Maersk’s CEO said the first-quarter performance was “unsatisfactory," but the report was not without its positives; the company underscored that it has implemented initiatives to improve profitability and reiterated its 2018 earnings guidance.

The more that blockchain becomes understood, the more conceptually, at least, it fits hand in glove with international logistics. But actually transitioning logistics to the paradise of transactions being recorded instantly and efficiently is proving to be quite a formidable task.

Higher costs have weighed on results, slightly offsetting the positive impact of stronger volumes. Still, a key CEO offered an encouraging evaluation regarding the second half of 2018.

Absent a profit motive, subsidized ocean carriers have at times been less rigorous in knowing and managing their costs and innovating. However, for several reasons, the subsidized model is not likely to end anytime soon.

As freight demand and the need for capital rises, the fifth-largest US truckload operator plans a route back to Wall Street to fund growth.

Change, and technological change, is occurring in logistics, but the analysis that argues ocean carriers are trying to put logistics providers out of business is a stretch. The more likely scenario is more diverse — and one that will ultimately benefit the customer.

A key US retailer group asked the Federal Maritime Commission to turn down the new fee structure with a mandatory appointment system, or at least delay a decision, and it offered several reasons for its stance.

In that debate, Flexport's CEO underscored the company's performance to date, and how he sees 2018.

Ports in North Europe had the biggest increase in average call size in 2017, but Southeast Asia and Latin America also had impressive average growth increases.