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Container lines, who were just as surprised as the rest of us at the V-shaped volume recovery that followed COVID-19 lockdowns last spring, returned all withdrawn capacity to the trans-Pacific trade and deployed 150 extra loaders in the second half, “and even then those very significant efforts weren’t enough in the end to completely cover the market,” Ocean Network Express

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Members of the US House of Representatives are joining a group of Senators in supporting a probe by the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) into the inability of agriculture exporters to secure containers, and want the FMC to provide monthly updates on the matter. In a letter sent Tuesday to the FMC, 112 House members said the delays facing agricultural shippers

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The e-commerce juggernaut and crowded international gateways are making many secondary airports attractive alternatives for freight transport providers, but few are growing like Chicago Rockford International Airport. Located about 70 miles northwest of Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, Rockford Airport (RFD) last year increased cargo throughput by 15% to a record 2.7 billion tons of cargo landed weight (aircraft plus payload) and

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Members of Congress are getting involved in a dispute between US agriculture exporters and container carriers over an alleged denial of service during the second half of last year, when a sudden and sustained surge in volumes sent spot trans-Pacific freight rates through the roof. US exporters, particularly those moving agricultural products, claim carriers have been systematically refusing bookings since last

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The liner shipping industry is at the beginning of an up-cycle that will be marked by rising container volumes, a reasonable balance between supply and demand, and a retention of pricing power by carriers, Lars Jensen, CEO of SeaIntelligence Consulting, told the JOC virtual TPM21 conference Wednesday. This short-term cycle will feature continued competition among shippers for vessel capacity, empty

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Global container vessel reliability fell to 34.9 percent in January, the lowest ever recorded, as ports around the world continued to struggle with near-record volumes for the sixth consecutive month. “Global schedule reliability was down 33.5 percentage points compared to January 2020, and is now the lowest figure ever recorded by Sea-Intelligence [Maritime Analysis],” the maritime consulting firm said Thursday

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The trans-Pacific container shipping system is sagging under a seemingly unending deluge of imports from Asia into North America. The winter storms have only stressed some port gateway further and slowed cargo through rail hubs including Chicago. Importers are often shelling out more than double the posted rates to secure ship and container equipment capacity and watching demurrage fees stack

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US imports from Asia in January increased 14 percent from January 2020, extending the peak shipping season that began last July for an unprecedented seven consecutive months. If import volumes remain near January’s level of 1.59 million TEU through the spring — as retailers, terminal operators and freight forwarders said is possible given the importance of e-commerce merchandise to the US trade

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Ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach – The Port of Los Angeles processed an increase of 27.3% TEUs in October 2020 compared to October 2019. Propelled by replenishment of inventories and retailers preparing for upcoming holidays, October marked the busiest month in the Port’s 114-year history. In Los Angeles, vessel wait time is 4 days due to yard congestion, high import

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Montreal and Halifax Update   Dear Valued Client , As you are aware, due to prolonged labor disruptions at the port of Montreal in August, a number of sailings were diverted to the Port of Halifax. While some congestion due to the influx of additional cargo was expected, we regret to advise excessive dwell times continue to be experienced. To add to

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