Supply chain

There are just 100 days to go until the UK exits the European Union, with British businesses "watching in horror" as the country lurches towards the worst case scenario — leaving the EU with no deal.

Despite the lower growth, India's logistics reform measures have increased competition across transport modes — something cargo owners and logistics providers welcome.

US-China tariff uncertainty is prompting US-bound manufacturing moves out of China, but undertaking the shift is not a quick and easy process.

The presidential task force on US Postal Service reform has focused on an important aspect of its business model, but unfortunately it has missed an opportunity to make a change that would truly make a difference for the Postal Service.

The lawsuit stems from a long-running dispute and investigation into reweighing of military freight.

One shipping-trade group representing foreign carriers in trade to/from India, questioned why authorities went live with the revamped, single window system without an adequate trial-run process.

Among other findings, the McKinsey report provided further evidence supporting the thesis that automation technology incorporation in container shipping, and in particular at marine terminals, will likely be part science and part art.

There is almost assuredly no one system that will solve inefficiencies, especially in a large port complex with a dozen independently operated terminals like Southern California, speakers at the JOC Port Performance North American Conference in Newark, New Jersey, said this week.

Matt Kane hopes new services, including factoring and insurance, will draw more truckers and shippers to his ‘no-broker’ loadboard, MyRiteLoad.com.

Two variables shippers will have to determine that will likely influence the instant quote practice’s acceptance/rejection are — will the shipper's business model benefit from an instant quote and an immediate booking? And how much of a premium are shippers willing to pay to obtain them?

“PCS 1X is a cloud-based, new-generation technology, with a user-friendly interface. This system seamlessly integrates eight new stakeholders, besides the 19 existing stakeholders from the maritime, trade on a single platform,” a Ministry of Shipping statement said.

The latest deal reached between Britain’s Theresa May government and the European Union has failed to win any political support, and Brexit contingency planning suggests the private sector is assuming all trade with the EU will be on World Trade Organization terms, regarded as a worst-case scenario.

Port, rail, and highway projects are among 91 grants distributed by the US Department of Transportation, including for the extension of port berths and terminals and inland port rail access.

At the JOC Port Performance North America Conference in Newark, New Jersey, on Tuesday, a key technical director offered insights regarding how to increase port productivity as ships get bigger, including what stakeholders should expect from automation.

Over the weekend, drivers protested at Alemoa, in front of the main road access to the port of Santos, and closed the main highway between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro for six hours, backing up truck traffic more than two kilometers (1.24 miles).

Both clauses are designed to be "simple and practical" and ease the global fleet's Jan. 1, 2020 transition to a low-sulfur fuel era, BIMCO said.

Automating often ignored ‘behind-the-scenes’ systems can bring big benefits, including savings and improved customer service, says Echo Global Logistics CEO Doug Waggoner.

CMA CGM (India) said the smart container was loaded onto the CMA CGM Tosca at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust on Nov. 30, destined for Marseilles, France.

The Federal Maritime Commission stopped short of any regulatory action on detention and demurrage. Instead, a task force would meet to “refine commercially viable demurrage and detention approaches.” There were several findings, however, which validated cargo owner concerns and provide reasons to be optimistic that teams of stakeholders will be able to find resolutions.

The FMCSA published 10 decisions rejecting petitions for ELD exemptions Friday, a sign the agency has drawn a sharp line when it comes to pleas for relief from the year-old rule. Instead, expect more focus on the hours of service rules themselves.

The new tools provide peace of mind for a segment of shippers who want web-based booking tools, and also offer a path to value/service differentiation for ocean carriers. But what happens to the value proposition of NVOs and their decades-long relationships and nuanced, specialized services?

The European Commission said that several EU member states and EU shipbuilding associations have complained about carriers in Asia receiving state subsidies.

The challenge of taking blockchain pilots and proofs of concepts to wide-scale adoption is that the latter requires a broad adoption from a range of parties. But with a smart contract, that requirement is much smaller.

“By bringing our companies together permanently, we have created the first ever single-pane view into all our customers’ global shipments,” Jett McCandless, CEO and founder of project44, said.

Following complaints from at least 10 port members, the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) urged Customs to provide its reasoning for focusing on often “expensive, overbuilt” facilities — the resources for which the AAPA says can be better-allocated.

CMA CGM is the first carrier to participate on the marketplace hosted by Freightos, a technology startup that until now only provided aggregated rates to forwarders.

Of course, many factors can be involved in an air cargo volume uptrend, but this holiday season trade tension and the threat of higher tariffs certainly is one.

Container shipping is at a key point in its pursuit of carbon neutrality, and Maersk wants industry help in cleaning up the business.

The export/import surge was propelled by a combination of factors.

Tyler Smith, director of Viant, a blockchain-based supply chain modeling software company, said consortia have not proven their value, so far, but hopefully they will. He added that consortia are a way to get people involved.

There are still more unknowns than knowns about the US-China tariff ‘truce,’ but this is clear: the extra time until March 1 helps shippers by giving them a longer time cushion before higher tariffs could potentially start.

Market share remains in the single digits —both as a percentage of overall reefer imports and exports in the US and overall volumes within the individual ports — but the port authorities of Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia say the US Department of Agriculture clearance will open the door to even more business opportunities.

The infusion of billions of dollars of venture capital (VC) is tasking shippers not only to keep track of a broader range of potential systems to use, but also to think about the financial structure of smaller VC-backed software providers and third-party logistics providers that have recently emerged. Further, failure by shippers to undertake diligence could mean time wasted, in more ways than one.

Following a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Buenos Aires on Saturday at the G20 summit, President Trump agreed to a 90-day truce in which the US wouldn’t impose higher tariffs on Jan 1. as threatened.

The existing Dhaka-Chittagong highway is a lifeline for Bangladesh’s growing international trade business, but it is outmoded. The new, expanded highway is expected to substantially reduce cargo transport costs and time.

Alphaliner offered telling data on ocean carrier third-quarter operating margins compared with a year ago, and despite higher shipping demand and revenue, the margins are a source of concern.

Ports are seeking a larger percentage of federal transportation funds, and with good reason: the American Association of Port Authorities has identified $20 billion in multimodal project needs for public port authorities alone.

If the top players in the industry coagulate, and if ocean carriers continue to take a broader role in forwarding and logistics activities than they have in the recent past, that will have an undeniable impact on shippers.

To some shippers, the World Shipping Council’s (WSC) petition, filed Sept. 11 to the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), looks like a recipe for uncompetitive behavior. For the industry, represented by the WSC, it is an attempt to move away from bureaucratic practices, cut costs, and become more dynamic.

Even after a 2019 rate increase for first class mail, the US Postal Service remains a bargain, compared with rates for other national postal services in the developed world. And there’s additional good news regarding parcel select service rates.