<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Major US retailers in 2020 responded to COVID-19 lockdowns and last-mile delivery constraints by expanding customer fulfillment options like curbside pickup, buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS), and same-day delivery, demand for which continued to increase even as stores reopened.</div>

Major US retailers in 2020 responded to COVID-19 lockdowns and last-mile delivery constraints by expanding customer fulfillment options like curbside pickup, buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS), and same-day delivery, demand for which continued to increase even as stores reopened.

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<div>This story appears in the print edition of the Jan. 4, 2021, Journal of Commerce Annual Review and Outlook.The so-called last mile for international cargo has traditionally been from a distribution center to either a retail store or a residential location. However, the meteoric growth of e-commerce, which accelerated further in 2020, has led to alternative last-mile options as retailers minimize shipping and transportation costs, last-mile delivery providers focus on network efficiency, and consumers increase their use of contactless shopping options.<div><img>l</div>The COVID-19 pandemic and related business closures accelerated growth in e-commerce and put the spotlight on residential last-mile deliveries, which...

This story appears in the print edition of the Jan. 4, 2021, Journal of Commerce Annual Review and Outlook. The so-called last mile for international cargo has traditionally been from a distribution center to either a retail store or a residential location. However, the meteoric growth of e-commerce, which accelerated further in 2020, has led to alternative last-mile options as retailers minimize shipping and transportation costs, last-mile delivery providers focus on network efficiency, and consumers increase their use of contactless shopping options. l The COVID-19 pandemic and related business closures accelerated growth in e-commerce and put the spotlight on residential last-mile deliveries, which are typically more time-consuming and, therefore, costlier for transportation providers such as FedEx and UPS than commercial deliveries. Brick-and-mortar retailers responded to government lockdowns and last-mile delivery delays and capacity constraints across the United States by expanding or introducing customer fulfillment options such as curbside pickup; buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS); and same-day delivery. Even as restrictions eased and stores began to reopen, demand for curbside pickup and BOPIS offerings continued to increase as consumers remained wary of shopping in stores. According to a May 2020 survey conducted by the consulting firm McKinsey & Co., 60 percent of US consumers who used BOPIS in 2020 say they will continue to do so after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides. US retailer Kohl’s, for example, doubled the number of drive-up parking spaces at its store locations to support increased curbside pickup demand. Likewise, Target has also doubled the number of parking spaces for its drive-up services, to 8,000 nationwide. In its latest earnings report, Target noted that curbside pickup service grew more than 500 percent year over year in the third quarter of 2020. Best Buy is testing a drive-through pickup service outside a redesigned store in which the square footage of selling space has been reduced to facilitate the handling of more e-commerce, including BOPIS and ship-from-store orders. “This is about a market working together to serve customers in the most effective way possible,” Corie Barrie, CEO of Best Buy, said on the company’s Nov. 24 third-quarter earnings call. Closer to home FedEx and UPS are increasing their alternative pickup and delivery location partners such as Dollar General, Michaels, CVS, and Walgreens as the number of e-commerce parcels grow, particularly in rural areas. These locations help to build delivery density to gain efficiency and, in turn, reduce costs for last-mile carriers. UPS expanded these locations to more than 22,000 this year. “FedEx has more than 27,000 staff locations, with 92 percent of the US population within five miles of a FedEx pickup or drop-off location,” according to Brie Carere, executive vice president and chief marketing and communications officer for FedEx. Amazon has also introduced alternative pickup locations. Referred to as “hub locations,” Amazon’s alternative pickup facilities are available in more than 900 cities for shoppers to pick up parcels, according to the e-commerce behemoth. The locations are a combination of self-serve and staffed lockers, as well as retailers such as Amazon 4 Star, Amazon bookstores, and staffed pickup counters in Rite Aid and Health Mart pharmacies and GNC stores. Besides Amazon, universities, apartment buildings, and other retailers are embracing parcel lockers for contactless last-mile deliveries. Home improvement retailer Lowe’s, for example, began installing lockers at select store locations ahead of the holiday season and plans to expand lockers to all of its store locations in 2021. Quadient, formerly known as Neopost, which specializes in mail-related solutions, business process automation, and customer experience management, reported a 28.9 percent year-over-year increase in global parcel locker solutions sales during the third quarter. The company is collaborating with Canon Solutions America to offer smart lockers it calls Parcel Pending by Quadient. The lockers are aimed at universities, corporations, and retailers and enable users to track parcels and notify recipients of delivery in real time. “We are pleased to offer our customers a safe, easy-to-use solution to help manage the overwhelming influx of parcels, especially amidst COVID-19,” Peter P. Kowalczuk, president of Canon Solutions America, said in a statement. “We’re hopeful that this automated workflow will help organizations maintain social distancing and improve the overall customer experience.” While there is much uncertainty about what post-pandemic shopping will look like, the definition of the last mile was already expanding prior to 2020 to accommodate consumers’ changing lifestyles and demands. Retailers and last-mile delivery carriers will continue to introduce new options not only to satisfy consumers’ needs but also to manage costs and improve efficiencies. Contact Cathy Morrow Roberson at Cathy.Morrowroberso@ihsmarkit.com and follow her on Twitter: @cmroberson06 .

Trucking News

Outlook 2021: Retailers redefining the 'last-mile' through expanded contactless fulfillment

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The president of the second-largest US LTL provider sees Amazon’s decision to offer its vendors LTL service as an opportunity for ODFL to move more retail freight. </div>

The president of the second-largest US LTL provider sees Amazon’s decision to offer its vendors LTL service as an opportunity for ODFL to move more retail freight.

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<div class="phx-topic">Amazon’s interest in less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments isn’t a bad thing for the LTL sector, and may even be an opportunity, the president of Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) said Wednesday. “We really don't see Amazon's LTL offering as a threat to the LTL industry, especially Old Dominion,” Marty Freeman told Wall Street analysts during his company’s first-quarter earnings call. “As I understand it, it's mainly geared towards their own suppliers.” Recent reports that Amazon was hiring LTL specialists led to rumors the online retail giant might be interested in acquiring an existing LTL carrier or that it would create its own semi-autonomous LTL company to compete directly against ODFL and other carriers. Amazon earlier this month <a href="https://freight.amazon.com/newsroom/2025-ltl-inbound-launch?ref=E_CO_R4S_2025-ltl-inbound-launch_WEB_AR_">launched an LTL service</a> for vendors shipping goods to the company’s fulfillment and distribution centers. ”I actually see it as an opportunity for us to help them with their logistics needs,” Freeman said. “If their suppliers need to pick up the same day, we certainly cover (the contiguous) 48 states and we’re able to help them out with that.” If Amazon wants help, ODFL certainly has available space. “We’ve got north of 30% [excess] capacity,” CFO Adam Satterfield said during the earnings call. The second-largest US LTL carrier also has less freight to move through its network, with its shipments per day falling 5% year over year in the first quarter to 44,566. The continuing soft market pushed LTL intercity miles down 7.4% in the quarter. ODFL’s LTL revenue dropped 5.8% year on year in the first quarter to $1.4 billion. So far this month, revenue is down 7% from the same three-week period a year ago, though revenue and demand this year were impacted by the timing of the Easter holiday, which occurred in March last year, Satterfield said. Even so, ODFL has been winning price increases in contract negotiations with customers, he said. ”Our costs continue to go up, and so that’s why we’ve got to continue to ask for increases,” Satterfield said. <h3>LTL costs still elevated </h3>LTL pricing rose rapidly earlier this year. The monthly US long-distance LTL producer price index (PPI), a measure of all-inclusive shipping prices, was up 5.5% year over year in March, but 12.1% from July 2023, when former LTL provider Yellow went out of business. That alone may encourage some of Amazon’s vendors to consider giving their biggest customer more of their palletized shipments. Satterfield pointed out that retail freight represents only about 25% to 30% of ODFL’s business, which is still largely focused on industrial-based freight. But retail freight represents a “tailwind” for the LTL business, he said. Amazon has pulled LTL further into the retail world in the last decade by shifting “middle-mile” freight moving to distribution and fulfillment centers to LTL carriers. That’s a trend that will continue to play out, Satterfield said. “Many of those large retailers have on-time and in full (OTF) programs in place,” Satterfield said. “And that puts the burden on the vendor that's controlling the freight charges and choosing the carrier to select a carrier that can help them meet those metrics and avoid fines and chargebacks.” Contact William B. Cassidy at <a href="mailto:bill.cassidy@spglobal.com">bill.cassidy@spglobal.com.</a></div>

Amazon’s interest in less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments isn’t a bad thing for the LTL sector, and may even be an opportunity, the president of Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) said Wednesday. “We really don't see Amazon's LTL offering as a threat to the LTL industry, especially Old Dominion,” Marty Freeman told Wall Street analysts during his company’s first-quarter earnings call. “As I understand it, it's mainly geared towards their own suppliers.” Recent reports that Amazon was hiring LTL specialists led to rumors the online retail giant might be interested in acquiring an existing LTL carrier or that it would create its own semi-autonomous LTL company to compete directly against ODFL and other carriers. Amazon earlier this month launched an LTL service for vendors shipping goods to the company’s fulfillment and distribution centers. ”I actually see it as an opportunity for us to help them with their logistics needs,” Freeman said. “If their suppliers need to pick up the same day, we certainly cover (the contiguous) 48 states and we’re able to help them out with that.” If Amazon wants help, ODFL certainly has available space. “We’ve got north of 30% [excess] capacity,” CFO Adam Satterfield said during the earnings call. The second-largest US LTL carrier also has less freight to move through its network, with its shipments per day falling 5% year over year in the first quarter to 44,566. The continuing soft market pushed LTL intercity miles down 7.4% in the quarter. ODFL’s LTL revenue dropped 5.8% year on year in the first quarter to $1.4 billion. So far this month, revenue is down 7% from the same three-week period a year ago, though revenue and demand this year were impacted by the timing of the Easter holiday, which occurred in March last year, Satterfield said. Even so, ODFL has been winning price increases in contract negotiations with customers, he said. ”Our costs continue to go up, and so that’s why we’ve got to continue to ask for increases,” Satterfield said. LTL costs still elevated LTL pricing rose rapidly earlier this year. The monthly US long-distance LTL producer price index (PPI), a measure of all-inclusive shipping prices, was up 5.5% year over year in March, but 12.1% from July 2023, when former LTL provider Yellow went out of business. That alone may encourage some of Amazon’s vendors to consider giving their biggest customer more of their palletized shipments. Satterfield pointed out that retail freight represents only about 25% to 30% of ODFL’s business, which is still largely focused on industrial-based freight. But retail freight represents a “tailwind” for the LTL business, he said. Amazon has pulled LTL further into the retail world in the last decade by shifting “middle-mile” freight moving to distribution and fulfillment centers to LTL carriers. That’s a trend that will continue to play out, Satterfield said. “Many of those large retailers have on-time and in full (OTF) programs in place,” Satterfield said. “And that puts the burden on the vendor that's controlling the freight charges and choosing the carrier to select a carrier that can help them meet those metrics and avoid fines and chargebacks.” Contact William B. Cassidy at bill.cassidy@spglobal.com.

Surface

Amazon LTL offering is no threat to standalone carriers: ODFL

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Shippers need to collect and share accurate shipment data and even rethink some shipping processes ahead of July 19 changes to LTL classification, experts tell the Journal of Commerce. </div>

Shippers need to collect and share accurate shipment data and even rethink some shipping processes ahead of July 19 changes to LTL classification, experts tell the Journal of Commerce.

<div class="phx-topic">With sweeping changes to the less-than-truckload (LTL) classification system in the US coming July 19, shippers are wrestling with how to prepare for them. The reclassification being pursued by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA) is meant to shift more products to density-based LTL classes, and that could affect how much LTL shippers pay to ship goods. <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/us-shippers-urged-to-prepare-now-for-upcoming-ltl-class-changes-rate-resetting-5933927">Just how much rates might change</a> was a major issue for shippers participating in a recent Journal of Commerce <a href="https://www.joc.com/webcast/trucking-market-getting-ready-for-upcoming-ltl-classification-changes-5818436">webcast.</a>“We’ve tried to do some analysis but so few of our shipments had good NMFC [National Motor Freight Classification] information or dimensional information on bills of lading that it was very cumbersome,” said Shawn Galloway, vice president of pricing at multi-regional LTL carrier Pitt Ohio. “I’ve tried to help shippers out individually as they’ve come to me,” Galloway said during the webcast. “But overall, I would have no idea.” While many shippers are proactive about the NMFC changes, others may be waiting until July “to see how things shake out,” Galloway said. “I think that’s a bit dangerous.” Some shippers may resist accepting reclassification in a time of soft LTL freight demand, especially if it results in higher rates. But those companies can expect more shipment inspections, reweighing, and, as a result, changes to freight invoices, said Galloway, adding that “almost every LTL carrier” is working with a costing model and knows what its charges should be based on operating costs. “You could try to switch to another carrier that quotes a cheaper rate, but in a few months, they will likely come back to you and demand a rate increase, because the pricing they offered isn’t working,” he said. <h3>Building density </h3>The “reimagination” of the NMFC will affect more than 2,000 NMFC items, moving them into full-scale density classes. Although the NMFC doesn’t set prices, it is used to determine rates in motor carrier pricing tariffs. “We decided long ago to make density the primary characteristic in determining freight classification, and we’d already moved 100 items to full-scale density,” said Keith Peterson, director of operations at the NMFTA, which oversees the NMFC. “This year we put this transition on turbocharge.” Building freight density is already the overriding goal of LTL trucking companies. Reclassification will push more freight into density-based classes, including heavier freight. That will help accelerate a shift toward density-based pricing. The comments of panelists on the webcast, and questions from the audience, underscore the importance for shippers of collecting accurate and detailed shipment data and sharing that early with carriers to avoid a surge in freight inspections and higher invoices. The fact that Pitt Ohio said it received so little of that information on bills of lading (BOL) is not a good sign that disruption and reinvoicing will be limited when the new NMFC is in place. “The bill of lading is our key document, our contract of cartage, and we’ve got to make sure the NMFC item numbers and descriptions on the BOL are all valid,” said Darryl Gash, the logistics manager at department store chain Dillard’s. As an inbound shipper, Dillard’s has seen this problem with its own vendors, Gash said. The company has had to inspect and reweigh freight arriving at its own docks. Shippers will need to ensure that information collected on their docks as pallets are assembled and reflected in bills of lading produced by transportation and warehouse management systems (TMSs and WMSs). “If you’re using a TMS or a WMS to prepare bills of lading you have to make sure the information they’re out-putting is up to date and correct,” Gash said. <h3>Rethinking the process </h3>Galloway went further, suggesting that shippers may need to build shipments and collect dimension and weight data before requesting rate quotes. “You can use a dimensionizer or a tape measure, but that information has to be tied back into your system,” he said, meaning a TMS or other system. The NMFTA this week introduced a tool that could help shippers begin to determine how their LTL shipments might be affected by reclassification. Shippers can enter the item numbers for their shipments into the online NMFC “Item Lookup Tool” to see if those item numbers will be affected by reclassification. “You can put in your item number, or even upload a list of item numbers, and it will tell you what’s happening to each of those items,” the NMFTA’s Peterson said. “If the item isn’t affected by reclassification, it will tell you that, too.” That could be a first step in determining what a shipper should do to avoid cost increases as reclassification takes effect, he said. In its first 24 hours online, <a href="https://info.nmfta.org/2025-nmfc-changes/nmfc-item-lookup-tool?utm_campaign=2025%20NMFC%20Changes%20Campaign&amp;utm_source=NMFTA%20Website&amp;utm_medium=Article-Link&amp;utm_content=nmfc-item-look-up-tool-landing-page-April-2025">the tool</a> received 75,000 queries, the NMFTA said. Contact William B. Cassidy at <a href="mailto:bill.cassidy@spglobal.com">bill.cassidy@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

With sweeping changes to the less-than-truckload (LTL) classification system in the US coming July 19, shippers are wrestling with how to prepare for them. The reclassification being pursued by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA) is meant to shift more products to density-based LTL classes, and that could affect how much LTL shippers pay to ship goods. Just how much rates might change was a major issue for shippers participating in a recent Journal of Commerce webcast. “We’ve tried to do some analysis but so few of our shipments had good NMFC [National Motor Freight Classification] information or dimensional information on bills of lading that it was very cumbersome,” said Shawn Galloway, vice president of pricing at multi-regional LTL carrier Pitt Ohio. “I’ve tried to help shippers out individually as they’ve come to me,” Galloway said during the webcast. “But overall, I would have no idea.” While many shippers are proactive about the NMFC changes, others may be waiting until July “to see how things shake out,” Galloway said. “I think that’s a bit dangerous.” Some shippers may resist accepting reclassification in a time of soft LTL freight demand, especially if it results in higher rates. But those companies can expect more shipment inspections, reweighing, and, as a result, changes to freight invoices, said Galloway, adding that “almost every LTL carrier” is working with a costing model and knows what its charges should be based on operating costs. “You could try to switch to another carrier that quotes a cheaper rate, but in a few months, they will likely come back to you and demand a rate increase, because the pricing they offered isn’t working,” he said. Building density The “reimagination” of the NMFC will affect more than 2,000 NMFC items, moving them into full-scale density classes. Although the NMFC doesn’t set prices, it is used to determine rates in motor carrier pricing tariffs. “We decided long ago to make density the primary characteristic in determining freight classification, and we’d already moved 100 items to full-scale density,” said Keith Peterson, director of operations at the NMFTA, which oversees the NMFC. “This year we put this transition on turbocharge.” Building freight density is already the overriding goal of LTL trucking companies. Reclassification will push more freight into density-based classes, including heavier freight. That will help accelerate a shift toward density-based pricing. The comments of panelists on the webcast, and questions from the audience, underscore the importance for shippers of collecting accurate and detailed shipment data and sharing that early with carriers to avoid a surge in freight inspections and higher invoices. The fact that Pitt Ohio said it received so little of that information on bills of lading (BOL) is not a good sign that disruption and reinvoicing will be limited when the new NMFC is in place. “The bill of lading is our key document, our contract of cartage, and we’ve got to make sure the NMFC item numbers and descriptions on the BOL are all valid,” said Darryl Gash, the logistics manager at department store chain Dillard’s. As an inbound shipper, Dillard’s has seen this problem with its own vendors, Gash said. The company has had to inspect and reweigh freight arriving at its own docks. Shippers will need to ensure that information collected on their docks as pallets are assembled and reflected in bills of lading produced by transportation and warehouse management systems (TMSs and WMSs). “If you’re using a TMS or a WMS to prepare bills of lading you have to make sure the information they’re out-putting is up to date and correct,” Gash said. Rethinking the process Galloway went further, suggesting that shippers may need to build shipments and collect dimension and weight data before requesting rate quotes. “You can use a dimensionizer or a tape measure, but that information has to be tied back into your system,” he said, meaning a TMS or other system. The NMFTA this week introduced a tool that could help shippers begin to determine how their LTL shipments might be affected by reclassification. Shippers can enter the item numbers for their shipments into the online NMFC “Item Lookup Tool” to see if those item numbers will be affected by reclassification. “You can put in your item number, or even upload a list of item numbers, and it will tell you what’s happening to each of those items,” the NMFTA’s Peterson said. “If the item isn’t affected by reclassification, it will tell you that, too.” That could be a first step in determining what a shipper should do to avoid cost increases as reclassification takes effect, he said. In its first 24 hours online, the tool received 75,000 queries, the NMFTA said. Contact William B. Cassidy at bill.cassidy@spglobal.com .

Lack of accurate data a threat to US shippers as LTL reclassification nears

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The carrier said its Gemini Cooperation alliance with Maersk is not resorting to blanked voyages to deal with the downturn, but it did redeploy ships to deal with demand changes. </div>

The carrier said its Gemini Cooperation alliance with Maersk is not resorting to blanked voyages to deal with the downturn, but it did redeploy ships to deal with demand changes.

<div class="phx-topic">Ocean carrier Hapag-Lloyd says it pivoted to smaller ships rather than blanking trans-Pacific voyages in order to manage the sharp decline in US import bookings following the Trump administration’s implementation of hefty tariffs against China. Following President Donald Trump’s April 9 unveiling of “reciprocal” tariffs against China and subsequent escalations of those tariffs, Hapag-Lloyd said its container bookings from China to the US fell 30%, a spokesperson for the carrier said in a statement to the Journal of Commerce, confirming reporting from Reuters. The number of canceled bookings largely mirror those <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/trans-pacific-blank-sailings-set-to-rise-after-china-bookings-drop-sharply-5984166">that another ocean carrier saw</a>, while forwarders and non-vessel-operating common carriers (NVOs) said over half of their China bookings were canceled in the aftermath of the tariffs. At the same time, Hapag-Lloyd said bookings from Southeast Asia “are currently going up significantly” after Trump paused reciprocal tariffs against other trading partners for 90 days. The sudden decline in bookings triggered ocean carriers to cancel trans-Pacific voyages at <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/trans-pacific-blank-sailings-set-to-rise-after-china-bookings-drop-sharply-5984166">a rate not seen since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020</a>. But Hapag-Lloyd said it and Gemini Cooperation partner Maersk maintained the alliance’s trans-Pacific service by using smaller ships instead of canceling voyages. “Gemini is not blanking any sailings and not canceling any voyages — but in some cases using smaller vessels to adapt to changing demand,” Hapag-Lloyd said. <h3>Capacity shift </h3>Vessel tracking data from Sea-web, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&amp;P Global, shows Hapag-Lloyd shifting some capacity into the trans-Pacific. The 9,954-TEU Nhava Sheva Express, which had been calling European and US East Coast ports in the first quarter of 2025, is now en route from Busan to Tacoma as part of Gemini’s WC4 service to the Pacific Northwest. Likewise, the 6,921-TEU Missouri Express is now part of Gemini’s WC5 service from Ningbo to Los Angeles after it served the trans-Atlantic trade. <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 on China, in some cases by more than half, to de-escalate the trade war with Beijing. But whether shippers quickly resume bookings is unclear as West Coast ports still expect volumes to drop in the coming weeks. Inbound shipment data from the Port of Los Angeles shows that container volumes during the first full week of May will drop 34% from a year earlier, indicating how quickly shippers canceled bookings from China in early April. Contact Michael Angell at <a href="mailto:michael.angell@spglobal.com">michael.angell@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Ocean carrier Hapag-Lloyd says it pivoted to smaller ships rather than blanking trans-Pacific voyages in order to manage the sharp decline in US import bookings following the Trump administration’s implementation of hefty tariffs against China. Following President Donald Trump’s April 9 unveiling of “reciprocal” tariffs against China and subsequent escalations of those tariffs, Hapag-Lloyd said its container bookings from China to the US fell 30%, a spokesperson for the carrier said in a statement to the Journal of Commerce, confirming reporting from Reuters. The number of canceled bookings largely mirror those that another ocean carrier saw , while forwarders and non-vessel-operating common carriers (NVOs) said over half of their China bookings were canceled in the aftermath of the tariffs. At the same time, Hapag-Lloyd said bookings from Southeast Asia “are currently going up significantly” after Trump paused reciprocal tariffs against other trading partners for 90 days. The sudden decline in bookings triggered ocean carriers to cancel trans-Pacific voyages at a rate not seen since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 . But Hapag-Lloyd said it and Gemini Cooperation partner Maersk maintained the alliance’s trans-Pacific service by using smaller ships instead of canceling voyages. “Gemini is not blanking any sailings and not canceling any voyages — but in some cases using smaller vessels to adapt to changing demand,” Hapag-Lloyd said. Capacity shift Vessel tracking data from Sea-web, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S&P Global, shows Hapag-Lloyd shifting some capacity into the trans-Pacific. The 9,954-TEU Nhava Sheva Express, which had been calling European and US East Coast ports in the first quarter of 2025, is now en route from Busan to Tacoma as part of Gemini’s WC4 service to the Pacific Northwest. Likewise, the 6,921-TEU Missouri Express is now part of Gemini’s WC5 service from Ningbo to Los Angeles after it served the trans-Atlantic trade. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday morning that the White House is considering slashing the tariffs on China, in some cases by more than half, to de-escalate the trade war with Beijing. But whether shippers quickly resume bookings is unclear as West Coast ports still expect volumes to drop in the coming weeks. Inbound shipment data from the Port of Los Angeles shows that container volumes during the first full week of May will drop 34% from a year earlier, indicating how quickly shippers canceled bookings from China in early April. Contact Michael Angell at michael.angell@spglobal.com .

Trans-Pacific

North American ports

Container lines

Hapag-Lloyd saw China bookings drop hard after US enacted tariffs

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

<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 those products need to be in the US. Amid the US-China trade dispute, 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 is 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 those products need to be in the US. Amid the US-China trade dispute, 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 is 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 .

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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

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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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