Monthly Archives for December 2017

Brazil customs strike causing truck border delays Importers in the Mercosur neighboring countries are now lobbying their governments to exert pressure on Brasilia to try harder to resolve this bitter, long-running dispute. Photo credit: WikiCommons. With Brazil’s customs office strike nearing its eighth week, long but “just about manageable” delays have occurred at its leading […]

Trans-Pac spot rates rise on pre-Chinese New Year rush Despite this week’s rate rise, there is concern in the trade that imports next year will not be as strong as they were this year. Photo credit: Shutterstock. Spot rates in the eastbound Pacific rose 9 percent this week, experiencing a pre-Chinese New Year bump before […]

Amid competition, Chennai port productivity declines The large decline in Chennai’s productivity, especially longer vessel turn times, occurs as the threat posed by private competitors — which feature sophisticated infrastructure and flexible tariffs — intensifies. Photo credit: WikiCommons. The Port of Chennai, India’s busiest east coast port, appears to be losing the battle to regain […]

UPS: Customer collaboration shortest route to more capacity As a key UPS executive underscores, in the decade ahead technology will drive operations improvement, but so will knowledge of your customers’ needs. Photo credit: UPS. Rapidly evolving e-commerce supply networks and uncertainty over transportation capacity and pricing challenge shippers and their transportation partners, including the world’s […]

US retailers expect slower import growth in 2018 The Lunar New Year is skewing forecasts for early 2018 for US import volumes. Photo credit: Shutterstock. US import growth will decelerate in 2018 after an impressive 6.4 percent jump in 2017, with the second half of the new year expected to be weaker than the first […]

FMC proposes privately-funded portal to fight port congestion A report by the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) proposes the commission works with shipping industry stakeholders to instigate a privately funded national industry portal designed to give shippers key supply chain information. In the final report from the agency-led team of industry leaders, FMC Commissioner Rebecca Dye […]

In Russia, new rail cargo container operator may increase competition A new, separate Russian rail cargo company is being formed and it will likely provide competition for Transcontainer. Photo credit: Transcontainer. Containerized rail tariffs in Russia may decline by 10 to 15 percent on competitive forces, due to the establishment of a new container cargo […]

FMC green lights carrier positions on NYSHEX board The NYSHEX marketplace aims to reduce the volume of containers that are rolled, or are not delivered as agreed by shippers. Credit: Shutterstock The Federal Maritime Commission on Friday approved four shipping carriers — CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, MOL, and COSCO — as potential candidates to join investors, […]

Trans-Pacific spot rise at fastest pace in six weeks Rates spiked, but whether carriers can maintain capacity discipline beyond the pre-Lunar New Year surge remains an open question. Photo credit: Shutterstock. US trans-Pacific importers saw spot rates surge to the US East and West coasts, hitting the fastest clip in six weeks, but the coming […]