Monthly Archives for August 2018

India’s cabotage reform help carriers cut repositioning costs Repositioning empty containers — from surplus locations to deficit areas — is typically a challenging/costly task for ocean carriers. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com. For now, grade India’s liberalized cabotage program a modest success. That’s because the latest stakeholder data show the cabotage policy is slowly but steadily driving […]

US peak season to test US intermodal service Data shows that US demand so far has been strong in all surface transportation modes this year and there are no signs that anything will change in the final four months of 2018. (Above: An intermodal train in the United States.) Photo credit: Shutterstock.com. The US intermodal […]

Trans-Pacific peak season uptrend continues, rolling varies Uncertainty regarding the Trump administration’s tariffs and when surging imports will slacken is keeping ocean carriers firmly in control of pricing in the eastbound trans-Pacific trade. (Above: The Port of Los Angeles.) Photo credit: Shutterstock.com. Spot rates in the eastbound Pacific edged up for the fifth week, and […]

Tariff threats, low rates challenge ro-ro sector’s upbeat growth prospects Above: A Wallenius Wilhelmsen ship at Bremerhaven port. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com. Threatened tariffs, depressed freight rates, looming International Maritime Organization (IMO) 2020 emissions regulations, and pressure from clients are keeping the roll-on, roll-off (ro-ro) sector on guard, despite stable capacity and a still-expanding global economy. […]

Peak season of discontent This isn’t working. Higher than usual fuel prices and tit-for-tat tariffs have exacerbated the chaos on the eastbound trans-Pacific this peak season, but the real blame falls at the feet of the container shipping industry. Capacity is so scare on the eastbound trans-Pacific that US importers from Asia, both large and small, have… […]

Container shipping dysfunction delivers US peak season chaos Higher than usual fuel prices and tit-for-tat tariffs have exacerbated the chaos on the eastbound trans-Pacific this peak season, but the problem started earlier this year, and we can point to one causal factor as the source of the problem. (Above: A container ship approaches the Port […]

Rising costs, weak rates erase Zim revenue, volume gains   Zim reported a net first-half loss of $67.3 million and negative earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of $20.9 million. The loss came despite first-half revenue increasing 11 percent to $1.55 billion. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com. Zim Integrated Shipping Services has become the latest container shipping […]

DP World: JNPT terminals working well with customs import reform Above: DP World Nhava Sheva (India) Gateway Terminal. Photo credit: DP World Subcontinent. In a response to a container freight association’s concern that it has received no incremental direct port delivery (DPD) volume gains from DP World facilities, DP World Subcontinent told JOC.com that its […]

Uber Freight’s smaller shipper play hinges on capacity, price guarantees Uber Freight’s app has become a market participant at a time when US truck capacity is very tight and shippers are looking for ways to counter (or at least blunt) the remarkable amount of negotiating power transport companies have. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com. Use of Uber […]

New and old challenges dog fast-growing Mexican shipping Perhaps nowhere in the world, save India, is a critical mass of demand and resources coming together to produce a more-promising trade future than Mexico. But to maintain that take-off status, Mexico will have to solve major infrastructure shortcomings, as well as address longstanding trade security issues. […]