Oct 19, 2018
— Container ports should spearhead an “Internet of Logistics” to tackle inefficiencies in global container supply chains. According to PSA International chief executive Tan Chong Meng, a “connected community” beyond the scope of Internet of Things (IoT) technology is needed to improve data sharing.
Oct 19, 2018
— The images of Hurricane Michael’s debris and devastation are heartbreaking, especially when they are combined with what we have already been seeing come out of the Carolinas as a result of Hurricane Florence. And there is no sugar-coating how long and difficult the path to recovery will be. There’s so much to do that it’s difficult to know where to start.
Oct 19, 2018
— AGS Nigeria would like to inform its partners and colleagues of an increase of additional charges implemented in Lagos on all import and export shipments, following heavy port congestion which has lasted for several months.
Oct 18, 2018
— Interest in freight-related startups and technology continues to grow, as evidenced by several recent investment deals as well as a first-of-its-kind Founders Camp whereby representatives from 20 startup firms met with trucking executives and shippers in Chattanooga, Tenn., to exchange ideas for new products and services.
Oct 18, 2018
— Forwarders have the power to keep wannabe disrupters at bay and create advantages for themselves – but they must act now, and as an industry.
Oct 17, 2018
— Jordan’s Aqaba New Port will see all ship and goods movements, warehouse management and logistics fully digitised in a project with a contract volume worth millions of euros. German company INPLAN Software Solutions (INPLAN), which provides software solutions for ports, terminals and maritime logistics firms, has won a tender for the venture, which will be realised in several phases and is anticipated to last two years.
Oct 17, 2018
— IAM was informed today by JPPSO-SC of the potential for a large number of household goods shipments originating from Tyndall AFB, FL in the near future. Due to significant damage to Tyndall AFB from Hurricane Michael, the Air Force expects to PCS almost the entire military/dependent population out of Tyndall.
Oct 17, 2018
— A new federal rule will allow state driver’s licensing agencies to waive the requirement of the commercial learner’s permit test for individuals who worked in a military position that required operating a truck within the last year.
Oct 16, 2018
— AGS São Tomé would like to advise of possible delays following the recent elections in the country. Please note that protests are likely to hamper AGS operations in São Tomé. We are uncertain as to when the situation will be restored, however, AGS São Tomé remains operational and all possible measures are being taken to prevent delays.
Oct 16, 2018
— Arpin International Group has named Deena Fernandes head of operations for Arpin Middle East. In her new role, Fernandes will oversee and manage all international operations in the Middle East office, including allocation of moves, data integrity, pricing, and monitoring the team’s performance.
Oct 15, 2018
— Errol Gardiner joined Transworld International in New Zealand to handle business development on 24 September 2018. Until recently Errol ran New Zealand Van Lines and became FIDI President in 2013.
Oct 15, 2018
— Several projects to shift truck traffic on to barges, and several other more general goals to meet the same target, are part of the Freight NYC project that is being implemented by New York City’s Economic Development Corporation.
Oct 12, 2018
— A robust economy is placing new demands on third-party logistics service providers, based on survey results from two long-running university-sponsored studies released at the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals annual conference in Nashville, Tenn.
Oct 12, 2018
— The Panama Canal closed its 2018 fiscal year (FY 2018) with a record tonnage of 442.1 million Panama Canal tons (PC/UMS), marking a 9.5 percent increase from 2017. The total tonnage for the year is greater than the 429.4 million PC/UMS tons forecast for FY 2018, as well as the 403.8 million PC/UMS tons registered in FY 2017.
Oct 11, 2018
— The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration relaxed hours-of-service regulations in eight states as Hurricane Michael made landfall, battering the Florida Panhandle with 155 mph winds. Administrators at FMCSA’s Southern Service Centers on Oct. 9 declared a state of emergency in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Oct 11, 2018
— Hong Kong cannot compete with its shipping rivals and will turn its attention to maritime services as a way to strengthen its position as a key seaport trading centre, the city’s leader has admitted. Acknowledging the decline in sea cargo passing through Hong Kong, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor sought to address the weakness by boosting the sector elsewhere.
Oct 11, 2018
— The US-China trade war has seemed “positive” for transpacific shipping lines, so far, with importers rushing to beat tariff deadlines. But there is growing concern that a prolonged dispute would leave shippers with question marks on whether to reorganise their supply chains.
Oct 10, 2018
— Synergy Group has launched a new counselling service aimed at improving mental health support for sea and shore-based maritime personnel. iCALL is a free psychological helpline for the worldwide maritime community available 24/7 in nine different languages via phone, email and the chat-based nULTA App.
Oct 10, 2018
— Apple’s new Measure App could be one of their best features yet, but has it been created as a novelty or are Apple’s intentions to replace the good old tape measure, and how could this benefit the removals industry?
Oct 8, 2018
— There have a lot of questions regarding the state of capacity in the trucking market and whether the market is adding capacity or losing it. The surge of new truck orders suggests that the industry is growing, but most of the answers to date have been subjective.
Oct 8, 2018
— Pressure is mounting on container ports to improve efficiency in terminal operations, as wholesale change in the shipping industry continues to increase competition and drive down revenue per box.
Oct 8, 2018
— U.S. logistics hiring surged in September at the fastest pace in a year, as warehousing and transportation companies ramping up for peak season added 23,800 jobs.
Oct 6, 2018
— The Port of San Diego continues to work with federal, state and local officials to investigate and repair the damage from a ransomware cyberattack uncovered last week. The port commission is expected to get a closed-door briefing on the attack at its Tuesday meeting, according to a spokesperson. While the port has continued to operate, some of its computers and information technology systems remain disabled.
Oct 6, 2018
— Huntington Ingalls Industries has announced the closing of the sale of the former Avondale Shipyards site to Avondale Marine, a joint venture between T. Parker Host and Hilco Redevelopment Partners, which has to redevelop the New Orleans-area property into a global logistics hub.
Oct 6, 2018
— The Port of Rotterdam Authority has signed a partnership agreement with an artificial intelligence software startup to help develop autonomous navigation within the port.
Oct 5, 2018
— The modernisation of Indian ports and liberalisation of regulations could threaten the container transhipment business of Sri Lanka’s Colombo port, according to speakers at maritime industry forums this week.
Oct 5, 2018
— At the end of December this year, Terry Head, IAM’s charismatic president, will retire from the role. Steve Jordan spoke to him to get his thoughts after 50 years in the industry and 21 years working with the world’s largest moving association.
Oct 5, 2018
— Increased freight demand across South-east Asia has given rise to a new breed of intermodal networks, driven by cross-border trucking. According to Gursimran Singh, regional business development manager at China-ASEAN road freight specialist Kart Asia, more and more large 3PLs are choosing Bangkok as their regional logistics hub and are relying on cross-border trucking networks for air and sea connections.
Oct 4, 2018
— The New Silk Road has become an integral part of the Eurasian rail freight sector. This became clear as experts from all over the world gathered in Tilburg, the Netherlands on 27 September to discuss the opportunities of the New Silk Road. They revealed the latest investments, new routes and remaining bottle necks on the multimodal connection between Europe and China.
Oct 4, 2018
— North American railroads' growing interest in precision scheduled railroading has the potential to improve flagging service levels, according to a new report by Moody's Investors Service.
Oct 2, 2018
— The maritime industry has usually been slower when it comes to transformation. However in recent years, the digitalisation and automation of its supply chain has significantly changed shipping from the inside. Disruptive technologies are expected to take centre stage even more in the coming years to make improvements on issues of capacity, data integrity, connectivity and standardisation.
Oct 2, 2018
— The start of October marked the start of more expensive air freight in the UK, as a series of handlers and airlines increased their charges, in some cases significantly.
Oct 2, 2018
— More ultra-large container vessels (ULCVs) are likely to be diverted from UK ports as Felixstowe and Southampton struggle to cope with the annual peak season surge, impacting the working programmes at other North European container hubs.
Oct 2, 2018
— As we approach the 3rd decade of the 21st Century could we be facing another Perfect Storm? Will it also have a seismic impact on the international maritime community? There are voices calling the alarm.
Oct 1, 2018
— Ports in Japan re-opened Monday after operations were suspended Sunday as Typhoon Trami made landfall, bringing strong winds and heavy rains. Trami, which at its peak packed maximum gusts of 216 kph, was weakening slightly but still causing extreme weather Monday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
Oct 1, 2018
— Port of San Diego ceo Randa Coniglio, said: "The Port of San Diego is partnering with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on the investigation of a serious cybersecurity incident first reported on Tuesday, September 25, 2018 that has disrupted the agency's information technology systems. The port also continues close communication and coordination with the US Coast Guard.”
Oct 1, 2018
— Chronic congestion at the UK’s two largest container ports is forcing ocean carrier planners to make further last-minute ship diversions, causing chaos to the country’s supply chain.
Oct 1, 2018
— Commissioner Rebecca Dye of the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission, as part of “phase two” of the agency’s ongoing Fact Finding 28 demurrage and detention investigation, will hold field interviews in Southern California and Southern Florida in October.
Sep 28, 2018
— Azerbaijan is keen to further leverage its transit and logistics potential by transforming the transportation system and services into one of the key comparative advantages of its economy, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said.
Sep 28, 2018
— Warehouse workers and truck drivers at Los Angeles ports are planning to launch a three-day strike Monday, aiming to put pressure on logistics companies they claim owe them back wages.
Sep 27, 2018
— The UK’s two biggest container ports appear to have hit crisis level. UK retailers potentially face weeks of delays in getting their Christmas stock onto the shelves in time for the peak consumer spending rush.
Sep 26, 2018
— U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Tuesday announced a set of enhancements that it plans to make to its umbrella computer system, known as the Automated Commercial Environment or ACE.
Sep 26, 2018
— Approximately 80% coastal member states of the United Nations have some form of cabotage laws governing foreign maritime activity in their domestic coastal trades, according to an independent analysis conducted by the Seafarers’ Rights International (SRI), a leading international research center on maritime and seafarers’ law.
Sep 24, 2018
— Premiere Van Lines President and adventure enthusiast Walt Peniuk will be taking on one of his greatest challenges yet by trekking from Mississauga, Canada, to National Harbor for this year's IAM Annual Meeting. Walt is running and biking the entire distance to raise fund for IAM's new charity, IAM Here 2 Help. He is collecting funds at his Crowdrise page.
Sep 24, 2018
— Intermodal rail-truck service may not be as fast as trucking, at least in most transportation lanes, but Adam Achten, vice president of rail relationships at Schneider, says it does offer the consistency that many shippers are looking for.
Sep 20, 2018
— The American Logistics Aid Network continues to receive requests for – and offers of – warehousing and logistics services to support hurricane response.
Sep 20, 2018
— U.S. Southern Command’s humanitarian assistance program conducts Defense Department-approved activities within its area of responsibility in conjunction with partner nations to alleviate human suffering, disease, hunger and privation, particularly in regions where those needs may pose major challenges to the civilian populace.
Sep 19, 2018
— Some 30 containerships are without a berth in the Antwerp region, following a 24-hour walkout by the Flemish Pilotage Service union. The strike commenced at 7pm on Monday, with sources yesterday telling The Loadstar that about 40 vessels were then outside Antwerp, unable to discharge or load.
Sep 19, 2018
— To get rid of the need for a driver, French state-owned railway SNCF will upgrade its existing trains and use century-old tracks to keep costs down. The first prototypes will be ready within five years.
Sep 19, 2018
— Typhoon Mangkhut is currently the largest storm in the world in 2018, and it’s impacting a region that is the center of manufacturing and shipping. The effects will be felt by industries, companies, and consumers across the globe.
Sep 19, 2018
— The U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will hold a public listening session Sept. 22 on potential changes to its Hours of Service (HOS) rules for commercial truck drivers. The listening session takes place at the National Automobile Museum in Reno, NV from 10 a.m.-noon PDT.
Sep 18, 2018
— Portuguese stevedoring unions are planning to stage a 24-hour strike on September 20, bringing the port operations in Leixoes and Lisbon to a halt.
Sep 18, 2018
— To handle the mounting maritime traffic, the port in 2011 embarked on a nearly $1.5 billion project to combine two of its oldest terminals. Known as the Middle Harbor Redevelopment Project, it calls for significantly renovating piers E and F, and expanding the on-dock rail yard from 10,000 linear feet to more than 70,000 linear feet.
Sep 18, 2018
— A shipping vessel operated by the world’s largest container shipping company, Maersk, has for the first time managed to sail through Arctic waters off northern Russia, Danish public broadcaster DR reported Sept. 17.
Sep 18, 2018
— Lufthansa Cargo has handled the world’s first electronic Dangerous Goods Declaration (eDGD) shipment using Dakosy’s INFr8 shipping portal. Dangerous Goods Declarations on paper arrive at the airport with the respective goods and airlines can begin checking the documentation only after handover. Thanks to the new electronic system, errors in accompanying documentation can be detected and corrected before the airline receives the shipment.
Sep 17, 2018
— A typhoon made landfall in China's Guangdong on Sunday (Sep 16), the country's most populous province, killing at least two and causing millions to be evacuated. Typhoon Mangkhut made landfall in Haiyan after wreaking havoc in Hong Kong and Macau and killing more than 50 in the Philippines. Ports, oil refineries and industrial plants in Guangdong have been shut.
Sep 17, 2018
— Fewer ships from China and the United States could use the Panama Canal if trade tensions escalate between the two economic giants, but the dip could be offset by grain exports from north Brazil, the head of the organization that operates the waterway said.
Sep 17, 2018
— Singapore start-up Hakovo claims to be the first digital freight marketplace to offer an electronic bill of lading (e-bill) for containerised cargo.
Sep 17, 2018
— Facing an extra fuel bill of more than $2bn a year, as a consequence of the IMO 0.5% sulphur cap from 2020, Maersk Line set to introduce a new bunker surcharge mechanism. “In order to allow customers to predict, plan and track how changes in fuel price will impact total shipping freight, Maersk Line will introduce a simple and predictive bunker adjustment factor (BAF).”
Sep 14, 2018
— As few as 1,224 UK hauliers could be eligible to transport goods to the EU if the country departs the union without a deal in place. Logistics industry representatives say a UK-EU agreement on road transport must be prioritised over a trade deal.
Sep 13, 2018
— A freight train derailed yesterday near the Hams Hall hub in the UK, which will increase the pressure on inland container supply chains and haulage capacity already stretched to breaking point.
Sep 12, 2018
— Under the liberalized cabotage program, foreign ocean carriers are free to transport laden export-import containers for transshipment and empty containers for repositioning between Indian ports, without any specific permission or license.
Sep 12, 2018
— China's coastal cities are booming with shipping and manufacturing, but there's a problem — they're running low on space, pushing some manufacturing and logistics hubs to nearby satellite cities and to that big land mass with people and plenty of area for development: The interior.
Sep 12, 2018
— South Africa’s Transnet said on Tuesday it will spend 7 billion rand ($464 million) to deepen berths at Africa’s biggest container terminal in the port city of Durban to accommodate larger vessels. Transnet aims to complete the work by 2023.
Sep 11, 2018
— U.S. East Coast ports from South Carolina to Maryland were carrying on normal terminal operations Tuesday morning, although they are closely monitoring the approach of Hurricane Florence. According to the National Hurricane Center, the storm, which is packing winds of 130 mph, is expected to pass between Bermuda and the Bahamas on Wednesday and approach the coast of North Carolina or South Carolina on Thursday.
Sep 11, 2018
— An ongoing Federal Maritime Commission investigation hopes to bring much-needed clarity to how marine terminal demurrage and ocean carrier detention charges are levied on shippers to ensure the nation’s oceanborne commerce moves efficiently.
Sep 11, 2018
— According to international rating agency Alphaliner, the Port of Colombo has recorded a 15.6 percent growth in container handling for the first half of this year, out of the top 30 global ports.
Sep 10, 2018
— As the IMO’s sub-committee on Carriage of Cargoes and Containers meets in London this week, TT Club is demanding urgent action on container safety. The major problem is mis-declared dangerous goods, it says, and suggests it leads to a major container fire every 60 days on average.
Sep 10, 2018
— Freight shipments could be delayed on the US east coast this week, which is expecting a major hurricane to hit. Hurricane Florence should hit the Carolinas on Thursday, causing rough seas and strong rip currents, along with a potentially “disastrous” level of flooding.
Sep 7, 2018
— The Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia Information Sharing Centre (ReCAAP ISC) has produced a comprehensive report showing a total of 40 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia during the first half of the year, a 15% decrease when compared to the first six months of 2017 and the lowest number of incidents reported among the 10-year first half reporting periods between 2009 and 2018.
Sep 7, 2018
— The government has opened a four-month window for public-private-partnership (PPP) cargo terminals at major port trusts operating under a restrictive rate regime of 2005 to migrate to a market-driven pricing structure finalised in 2013 for new projects and has set terms and conditions for the shift.
Sep 7, 2018
— The International Longshoremen’s Association said that members at ports from Maine to Texas on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a six-year extension of its contract with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX).
Sep 5, 2018
— Online platforms may be improving freight forwarding’s front end, but those predicting the demise of the traditional operator may have overestimated the impact of technology.
Sep 5, 2018
— IATA released figures yesterday showing that last year cargo volumes from India hit the million-tonne mark last year, year-on-year growth of nearly 17%.
Sep 4, 2018
— The container shipping industry is becoming increasingly competitive and complicated and leading terminal operators such as Hutchison Ports are taking steps through the use of technology to serve their customers better as well as cut down inefficiencies.
Sep 4, 2018
— State and local governments in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi are preparing for Tropical Storm Gordon, which is moving quickly through the eastern Gulf of Mexico and is expected to make landfall as a minimal Category 1 hurricane on Tuesday evening along the north-central Gulf coast.
Aug 31, 2018
— CMA CGM heaped further misery on the port of Felixstowe this week by announcing it would withdraw one of its services from the gateway. The Epic 1 rotation, which connects Northern Europe with the Indian subcontinent, will instead use London Gateway as its UK port of call.
Aug 29, 2018
— OOCL has piled further pressure on Felixstowe, announcing it is leaving the UK gateway while “severe” operational delays continue to plague the port’s IT systems. OOCL said its North Europe-Turkey route (NET) would instead use Southampton as its UK port of call.
Aug 29, 2018
— In response to growing calls for more hours-of-service flexibility, the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) has published a technical memorandum on hours-of-service flexibility. Produced by Jeffrey Short, senior research associate, the report concludes, to no great surprise, that truck drivers who travel during peak times are slowed and that more flexible HOS regulations could not only speed those travel times, but also would not impact the miles drivers cover in a day.
Aug 29, 2018
— Sanjeev Gadhia, the founder and chief executive of Astral Aviation, an all-cargo carrier based at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, as well as a TIACA director and vice chairman of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) Cargo Task Force, has made a plea on behalf of freighter carriers for African airports to improve their cargo-related infrastructure and procedures.
Aug 29, 2018
— For long-suffering rail customers in the US, further grief is on the horizon. From September 17, those which have to move traffic across Chicago on Union Pacific and CSX will face a costly slalom on nearly 200 routes.
Aug 29, 2018
— We got word today of yet another email spoofing campaign falsely claiming to be from IAM President Terry Head. This one is very brief and asks the recipient to open a fraudulent attachment. Unfortunately, emails like this will occasionally circulate; here are some warning signs that will tell you a message is not actually from Terry...
Aug 27, 2018
— Four ship-to-shore cranes at Oakland International Container Terminal (OICT) – the busiest terminal at the Port of Oakland – are 27 feet taller following completion this week of a year-long, crane-raising project.
Aug 24, 2018
— Considering present congestion in Bangladesh ports, CMA CGM reminds its customers of the implementation of a Port Congestion Surcharge as follows:
Effective August 20th, 2018 (B/L date) for all imports into Bangladesh
(except US trades: September 20th, 2018)
Aug 24, 2018
— One in six (17 percent) of UK manufacturers have identified supply chain disruption as being the single biggest factor that will impact their business post Brexit.
Aug 23, 2018
— Electric trucks are coming, and they’ll be cleaner and cheaper to operate than conventional models that burn diesel, according to Tesla Inc., which already has prototypes on the road. Diesel advocates say range and recharging will be bigger hurdles for massive 18-wheelers than they have been for cars, and it will be several years before battery-powered models are ready for the open road.
Aug 23, 2018
— Technology’s role in logistics has never been bigger. JDA and EFT’s “2018 Global Logistics Report” pulls together responses from 313 logistics professionals to see which tech is having the biggest impact on their industry.
Aug 23, 2018
— Water levels on the Danube dropped to record lows on three sections of the river in Hungary on Wednesday due to a recent drought, hindering passenger cruise ships and causing losses to freight shipping companies.
Aug 23, 2018
— Hawaii residents already reeling from months of explosive eruptions from Kilauea volcano braced on Wednesday for Hurricane Lane, which was bearing down on the U.S. island chain with high winds and lashing rains and the potential to trigger flooding and landslides.
Aug 22, 2018
— The U.S. Coast Guard has issued a storm watch for Hawaii's seaports in expectation of the arrival of Hurricane Lane, which is expected to turn and advance towards the Hawaiian Islands later this week. Port Condition X-Ray is in effect for ports on the island of Hawaii, including Hilo Harbor. This Coast Guard designation means that winds above 39 mph are expected within 48 hours.
Aug 22, 2018
— The Mumbai Maersk, operated by APM Terminals Mumbai, has set a world record in loading the highest number of containers, surpassing the 19,000-TEU-mark, the shipping line has said. The vessel loaded 19,038 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) setting a new world record, which is a fete not only for a Maersk vessel but also for any vessel in the world, the shipping line said in a statement on Wednesday.
Aug 21, 2018
— Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration officials have issued a proposal that seeks comment on several possible changes to the agency’s hours-of-service rule, ranging from how to increase driver or workday time in adverse driving conditions to revising the current mandatory 30-minute driver break after eight hours of continuous driving.
Aug 21, 2018
— Denmark's Maersk (AMKBY) said Tuesday it plans to send the first container ship from East Asia to Europe via the Arctic Ocean. The newly built Venta Maersk is set to leave the Russian port of Vladivostok later this month. It will sail through the Bering Strait and over the top of Russia en route to St. Petersburg, taking what is known as the Northern Sea Route.
