Supply chain

The US Federal Maritime Commission and Department of Justice outlined additional resource sharing as part of their efforts to police container shipping.

Supply chain partners who share shipment data that is filed with US Customs via a common platform can help terminal operators build “peel-off” piles that help to reduce trucker turn times.

The Federal Maritime Commission is being urged to implement processes that would allow US shippers to easily get accurate data on ocean freight.

The US Department of Transportation said that it has nearly doubled the amount of grant money it had last year to support port improvement projects through the US.

A provider of technology to help brokers understand appropriate spot pricing has nabbed funding from an array of notable investors, including Tiger Global and Cambridge Capital.

As it prepares to go public, Transfix is looking to derive more revenue from non-transactional shipper services, including its drop trailer program, and to draw smaller shippers to its platform.

Expeditors International has yet to fully recover from a cyberattack over the weekend that forced the forwarder to shut down its entire computer network.

A mystery shopper survey by forwarding technology provider RPA Labs found that the vast majority of forwarders can’t automate quotes for a new ocean customer.

The board of UK e-commerce and reverse logistics specialist Clipper will recommend shareholders accept terms of a takeover deal from New York-based GXO.

Kerry Logistics’ plan to buy The Topocean Group will further consolidate the booming trade among non-vessel-operating common carriers able to provide end-to-end services on the eastbound trans-Pacific.

Although White House Port Envoy John Porcari is stepping down from leading the White House’s intervention in port operations, the administration will continue to push for short- and long-term fixes for port congestion.

FourKites has partnered with e-commerce technology specialist Narvar to link predictive freight visibility with post-purchase solutions for retailers and brands aspiring to fulfill orders online.

DB Schenker has been unable to keep pace with its global peers over the past year as they make billion-dollar investments to build scale that is critical in the fragmented forwarding market.

The Pilot Freight acquisition gives Maersk not just last-mile delivery capabilities, but the “middle-mile” backbone needed to speed freight to the final mile.

Descartes is adding to its in-house roster of trade compliance tools with the $40 million purchase of online customs broker software provider NetCHB.

Paris-based visibility provider Shippeo is eyeing North America as it seeks to expand the competitive landscape of the fierce global predictive cargo visibility market.

The $1.6 billion acquisition of Pilot Freight Services gives Maersk greater power to integrate ocean, air, and land-based services from the first to last mile.

Freight brokerage technology vendor Parade has landed a venture capital round to build out its tools to help truckload intermediaries automate the sourcing and management of capacity.

Leaf Logistics has turned growth of its forward truckload contract and procurement optimization products into a new funding round that it will use to double its headcount and expand its product suite.

Traxens has received a cash infusion from its existing investors, a shot in the arm that enabled the Marseilles-based container tracking provider to acquire French competitor NEXT4.

High profile forwarder Flexport has landed more than $900 million in new venture capital to fuel its growth, an amount sure to fuel debate about whether it is fundamentally reshaping the nature of global logistics.

The Federal Maritime Commission is looking for comments over the next month about how it can make detention and demurrage billing more transparent, accurate, and timely.

The Senate’s Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 calls for container lines and terminal operators to validate container storage fees while strengthening their common carriage responsibilities.

Logistics technology provider BlueX Trade, known for building online quoting tools for liner carriers, has waded into the realm of electronic payments with a new platform designed to ease the reconciliation of freight bills.

An agrichemical shipment from South Korea to Bangladesh using an electronic bill of lading is a test of TradeLens’ ability to connect banks, shippers, and logistics providers through its platform.

The impact of investigations by the Federal Maritime Commission into container shipping — driven by new leadership and pressure from the White House — pales in comparison to fast-moving reform legislation making its way through Congress.

Loadsmart is the latest digital intermediary to use SoftBank venture funding to surpass the $1 billion valuation barrier after announcing a $200 million round Tuesday.

CMA CGM has increased its e-commerce capability in Europe with an acquisition that targets end-to-end control of goods within its network.

Amazon and third-party logistics providers are busy adding distribution capacity in the eastern half of the US to take advantage of more ocean services into East Coast ports.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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

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.

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.

Singapore-based drayage technology provider Haulio has landed an investment that it plans to use to grow its footprint in Southeast Asia.

FourKites’ acquisition of European trucking and rail data provider NIC-place enhances its ability to get granular data on shipments in an increasingly competitive landscape for visibility.