Supply chain

After three years of appeals failed to stop AB5, California legislators are calling on Gov. Gavin Newsom to take any action he can to further delay the worker classification law or exempt truckers from it.

Competition watchdogs in key Asian jurisdictions are extending antitrust exemptions for the vessel-sharing agreements of ocean carriers, but trimming the validity period of those exemptions.

Recent funding rounds for Flexe and PayCargo are symbolic of the confusing market that logistics technology companies are navigating, with funding still available but harder to obtain than last year.

Not only does cargo flow in both North America and Europe fail to show any positive effects from the slowdown at origin, it’s trending in the opposite direction.

Small truckload fleets want access to online insurance quotes and coverage, which led low-cost transportation management software provider AscendTMS to partner with trucking insurance specialist CarrierHQ.

CloudTrucks is arming small carriers that struggle to get access to traditional credit lines with a product that facilitates routine operational expenses like fuel and lumper payments.

Forwarding software provider WiseTech Global has waded into the fragmented electronic bill of lading space with the purchase of Bolero, an early provider of trade finance and electronic documentation tools.

Sea-Air Logistics will increase Scan’s market share on the trans-Pacific, Asia-Europe, and intra-Asia trades through nine warehouses and offices in China, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

Convoy has expanded existing relationships with transportation management software provider MercuryGate and forwarder Flexport to give brokers access to more automation and shippers access to transload activity.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Import automation provider Flowfox is working with some of the largest container lines and global forwarders to adapt its European container release product to US needs.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide says the changing trucking market is driving up demand for automated spot pricing quotes by double-digit percentages.

The head of the Federal Maritime Commission said his agency is ready to enforce new US shipping reform aimed at monitoring carrier behavior around container use charges and export slots.

The White House says US shipping reform will help corral inflation by easing port congestion and more closely monitoring ocean carriers, claims disputed by OSRA-22 opponents.

Recent layoffs and delayed public offerings in the logistics technology sector offer clues that economic uncertainty over the health of the freight market is mirrored in the software world.

Paper and forest product exports continue to drop as exporters face delays both at home and abroad getting their goods to customers.

Chain.io has landed an $11 million funding round to expand its basket of logistics-specific integrations to transportation management and operating systems used by forwarders and shippers.

The pending arrival of Amazon’s Dave Clark as CEO of Flexport may signal as much about the forwarder's potential as it does about where it has fallen short in recent years.

Sustained growth in new home construction and remodeling that drove seemingly insatiable consumer demand for household goods last year has continued in 2022.

President Joe Biden has promised to sign ocean shipping reform legislation, but the bill won’t do anything to address US port and inland congestion or the record freight rates he’s railed against.

President Joe Biden visited the Port of Los Angeles to take ocean carriers to task while stumping for final Congressional approval of major US shipping law reform.

Freight management software provider Cargobase is expanding into Mexico to tap into cross-border, near-shoring, and Latin American market opportunities for its procurement and execution tools.

Blume Global customers will soon have more real-time data on supplier visibility and delays through a partnership with a risk-monitoring software company.

Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen will hand over the reins to Amazon logistics vet Dave Clark, a move that shows the forwarder’s lure for heavyweight talent — and possibly an acknowledgement of slower-than-expected market share gains.

US container shipping regulators are signaling measured moves aimed at providing more structure to commercial exchanges without stepping directly into them, writes JOC Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.

Clothing imports rose in 2021, but shippers are struggling to get time-sensitive fashion items onto store shelves due to delays getting into US ports and inconsistent intermodal rail service.

The Federal Maritime Commission hopes to increase its team to 160 full-time staff to boost enforcement capabilities and deepen its monitoring of shipping alliances.

Maersk’s Performance Team subsidiary said it will open its fourth US cold-storage warehouse near the Port of New York and New Jersey as it seeks to add refrigerated cargo handling to its growing suite of integrated logistics services.

Gartner’s annual examination of the real-time visibility market changed little from 2021 to 2022, with the analyst identifying standalone visibility providers as continued leaders for the in-demand market.

Agricultural shippers are bracing for another year of COVID-related disruptions that will add further costs and delays during the 2022–23 marketing season that begins in the fall.

Persistent supply chain disruptions, along with a slight return to spending on entertainment outside of the home, contributed to a cooling of consumer demand for electronic devices in 2021.