News - Industry News
Mammoet transports massive modules for GCGV
Mammoet crews at the Gulf Coast Growth Ventures (GCGV) site in San Patricio County, Texas have recently completed the heavy haul of the largest modules to be received so far for the construction of a Gulf Coast plastics manufacturing facility. The most recent shipment included some of the largest onshore modules...
CHIPOLBROK - America’s presence
Whilst China’s economy is booming there is also a growing demand for industrial and project materials in the American market. We are providing frequent services to ports in South and central America but also to USWC and USEC. The main challenge is how to get the vessels back in an...
Fresh Indian COVID-19 lockdowns raise risk of cargo slowdowns, congestion
[caption caption="Handling emergency medical supplies (above) has been a top priority for Indian ports amid surging COVID-19 infections across the country. Photo credit: JNPT."][/caption]The pace of Indian containerized freight movement, propelled by resurgent export demand in recent months, seems to be ebbing amid labor availability problems caused by heightened lockdown...
Top US Shippers: Semiconductor shortage a fork in the road for auto trade
[caption caption="US imports of automobiles and parts slipped 4.5 percent to just over 1 million TEU in 2020 after falling 15.5 percent in 2019. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption](The following story appears in the Top 100 US Importers and Exporters issue of the Journal of Commerce print magazine.)The COVID-19 pandemic is set...
US legislation would focus port grants toward decarbonization
[caption caption="Under a proposed revision of the funding formula, the set asides for project grants for inland river and small projects would increase from 18 to 25 percent. Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]Bipartisan legislation under review in the US House of Representatives would expand a federal grant program to target port projects linked to decarbonization, increase funding to inland river and...
Tight Asia-Europe container market to last through summer: forwarders
[caption caption="European importers will need to settle in for a sustained period of high rates and tight capacity this year. Photo credit: Port of Antwerp."][/caption]Shippers on the Asia-Europe ocean trade who have been struggling with tight space, difficulties sourcing equipment, and sky-high rates should expect no respite through the summer...
Descartes acquires Portrix to address rate management gap
[caption caption="The combination of Portrix and Kontainers, which Descartes acquired a year ago, enables the software provider to offer a pre-bundled quoting package to forwarders. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]Logistics software provider Descartes announced Monday it has acquired rate management system maker Portrix Logistic Systems for $26.7 million as consolidation continues among solutions companies catering to logistics services providers (LSPs). Descartes CEO...
New Southern California pollution rules to hike warehouse costs
[caption caption="With other ports also challenged in handling record import volumes, rising warehouse costs are not expected to result in cargo diversion from Southern California. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]A Southern California regulatory agency has approved new air pollution rules that will increase costs for warehouse operations, but the regulations are not expected to stymie growth in the country’s largest warehouse and distribution region. Rules 2305...
Straight talk on chassis pools
Editor's Note: The following piece expresses the opinion of the author and does not reflect the opinions of JOC. The other parties involved in the dispute have been given the opportunity to counter with their own opinion pieces. From a federal lawsuit and a government study to heated public commentary, debate...
US retailers’ upgraded import forecast signals stronger shipping pressures
[caption caption="Global Port Tracker now expects US imports to rise 6 percent year over year in August compared with a previous estimate of a 1.2 percent decline. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]US retailers are upping their forecast for imports in the coming months, suggesting that shippers who are already struggling to secure vessel...
Chittagong container vessel owners seek more berthing space to cut ship queue
[caption caption="Eight vessels were waiting at the outer anchorage of Chittagong late this week, while another 11 were loading and unloading containers at the main jetties. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]With ships waiting five to six days at the outer anchorage for berthing at the main Bangladeshi port of Chittagong, container vessel owners have asked the...
Hot breakbulk market underlines MPV newbuilding shortfall: Drewry, Toepfer
[caption caption="The BBC Mont Blanc discharging project cargo to barge in the Sea of Okhotsk. Photo credit: BBC Chartering."][/caption]Aging ship designs, uncertainty about supplies of next-generation ship fuels, and a demand recovery of uncertain duration are deterrents to ordering new multipurpose vessel and heavy lift (MPV/HL) ships even as freight rates hit record highs, shipping analysts told JOC.com. London-based maritime consultancy Drewy this...
BluJay targets rail shippers with new TMS acquisition
[caption caption="Shippers generally want to use their transportation management system to handle as many modes as possible, including multimodal shipments together. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com."][/caption]Transportation management system (TMS) provider BluJay Solutions has added the ability for its users to manage rail shipments by acquiring a competitor specializing in technology and managed services in...
70 years of CHINESE–POLISH JOINT STOCK SHIPPING Co - a success story
In the early 1950s, China was largely destroyed by foreign invaders and war. There was also an UN embargo and the war in Korea. Under these circumstances there was no access to world markets, but necessity to rebuild the country. This prompted the government of the newly formed The People's...
Congestion surcharges add to soaring Asia–Europe rates
[caption caption="MSC Rifaya was the first container ship to arrive in Rotterdam after being trapped behind the Ever Given, which ran aground in the Suez Canal on March 23. Photo credit: Port of Rotterdam."][/caption]Shippers already paying sky-high spot rates for Asia-North Europe cargo began to see congestion surcharges levied this week by some carriers on import and...
APM Terminals to study proposed Louisiana container terminal
[caption caption="The Plaquemines Port is seeking to a build a 1,000 acre marine terminal for mega-vessels. Photo credit: Plaquemines Port."][/caption]APM Terminals will join Plaquemines Port in studying the feasibility of developing a $5 billion container terminal at the mouth of the Mississippi River in Louisiana that would serve vessels up to...
MPV/HL charter rates to remain at record highs through June: Toepfer
[caption caption="Project cargo is discharged from a Jumbo heavy-lift ship to barge at the Port of New Orleans. Credit: Port Nola."][/caption]Strong breakbulk cargo demand is set to keep multipurpose/heavy-lift (MPV/HL) vessel charter rates at record levels in the coming weeks with little sign of an immediate slowdown, according to Hamburg-based Toepfer Transport. The shipbroker’s latest Multipurpose Shipping...
JOC Research: Intermodal savings hit records, but could be short lived
[caption caption="Companies such as COFC Logistics and J.B. Hunt were able to deliver record-level savings on intermodal in Q1, but those savings may not last long for non-contract customers. Photo credit: Visions of Ed."][/caption]Intermodal shippers saved a record amount on contract and spot market business in the first quarter compared...
The State of the Automotive Industry
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the automotive industry was reeling. After new vehicle sales notched an impressive 8.4% year-over-year gain in February, sales tumbled for the next two months. In April, new vehicle sales were down 46% from the same time last year. The short-term outlook was...
Savannah port delves into transloading to jolt development
[caption caption="Georgia Ports Authority expects the majority of transloaded shipments to move via truck, though they hope some will go by rail as well. Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com"][/caption]The port of Savannah’s decision to build what will be the one of the first cross-dock facilities within a US container port speaks to...
