Category Archives for Industry News

INTTRA adds Evergreen to Top 10 carrier customer list A container ship heads out to sea. (Photo credit: Shutterstock.) INTTRA, the booking and documentation portal, has added Evergreen Marine to its customer list – which now includes all ten of the biggest carriers – after a 12 percent growth in 2017 that the company says […]

How to avoid confusion in freight payment Q: I’ve read a few of your Q&As and wanted to see if you could help me obtain an answer to a scenario we’re currently in. We’re the shipper in this situation. The parties involved are: shipper (ourselves), Broker A, Trucker A, Trucker B, consignee. For this shipment, […]

Buying group's goal is to cut small, medium BCOs' shipping rates Containers stacked at the Port of Los Angeles. (Photo credit: Shutterstock.) A buying group launch launched Friday aimed at leveraging the collective purchasing power of small- and medium-sized beneficial cargo owners (BCOs) says it can cut on average $200 from the cost of shipping […]

Trans-Pac capacity injection to outpace growth forecast More carrier capacity will challenge carriers’ attempts to charge more during 2017 to 2018 service contract negotiations. The Port of Los Angeles. (Port of Los Angeles.) Trans-Pacific importers should expect an injection of 8 to 9 percent of eastbound capacity, outpacing demand forecasts of about 5 to 6 […]

Kuehne + Nagel volumes rise in 2017, but margins narrow Containers at the Port of Hamburg. (Photo credit: Shutterstock.) Global freight forwarder Kuehne + Nagel (K+N) suffered a fall in earnings from ocean freight last year, but the impact on its overall results was offset by higher profits from air freight, overland transport, and contract […]

Europe's rail freight can better connect ports to the hinterlands A major focus has been placed on the Belt and Road initiative in 2017, with a significant emphasis put on China-Europe train shipments. Rail freight was almost described as the new “El Dorado” in the European logistics landscape, with many logistics service providers and shippers being […]

Analysis: China-Europe rail growth belies EU rail challenges An EU commission set up clear objectives in 2011: transfer 30 percent of the current freight tonnage above 300 kilometers (186 miles) from road to rail/barge by 2030 and 50 percent by 2050. Photo credit: Shutterstock. A major focus has been placed on the Belt and Road […]

Biopharmaceutical cold chain best practices Ensuring product integrity and security throughout the supply chain has always been a top priority for biopharmaceutical manufacturers. However, a convergence of new forces — intense cost pressure and competition, a changing product portfolio, stricter regulations, rapid growth in emerging markets, and increasing risk — is raising the stakes significantly. […]

As US truck capacity tightens, reefer shippers board the rails In another electronic logging device ripple, the US truck transport capacity shortage is creating an opportunity for cold-chain train transport, and the railroads may be able to seize the day. Photo credit: Union Pacific Railroad. Tight US truck capacity and rising rates marked the first […]

US recyclable exporters find new markets after China ban The volume of US recyclable exports to alternative destinations picked up sharply in the months from August through December, after China’s import ban. One market that registered a large increase: Vietnam (above). Photo credit: Shutterstock. Exporters of recyclable material in the United States quickly began to […]