American Shipper

   While the asset-based freight transportation business continues to consolidate into the hands of fewer and larger firms, the non-asset-based counterpart—made up mostly of freight forwarders and non-vessel-operating common carriers—remains bountiful, although fragmented.    That’s not to say that these intermediaries haven’t experienced their own share of mergers and acquisitions in recent years. However, a […]

   Three U.S. Customs Centers of Excellence and Expertise will transition beyond the test phase and assume trade processing for all transactions associated with their respective industries, starting Jan. 28.    The industry integration centers consolidate internal expertise, eliminate significant duplication of work for compliant importers and enable inspectors at ports of entry to focus […]

   Commercial truckers and travelers have a new way to find out how long it will take them to get through a port of entry on the southern and northern borders of the United States.    U.S. Customs and Border Protection in December launched a free app that displays border wait times and open lane […]

   I’ve written before about the shortsightedness of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union when it comes to dragging out contract talks with the marine terminal operators to the point they impact other industries and jobs that depend on the ports to sell their goods.     There may be some short-term gain to playing hardball […]

   Amid the news about port congestion, the Port of Oakland was able to draw our attention to a little good news in February.    The Army Corps of Engineers completed dredging 400,000 cubic yards of mud from a 50-foot shipping channel leading to the port, and brought it to Suisun Bay where it is […]

   In Ben Meyer’s Container Analytics column, “Skipped sailings still on the rise,” in the February issue, he has hit on an important topic. He discussed it with regards to overcapacity and carrier attempts to adjust it.      However, there is another take on blank sailings—slow steaming, schedule revisions, alliance changes, alliance operations, and […]

Air Transport with Jon Ross    The lengthy labor fight on the West Coast and the resulting congestion at major seaports has wreaked havoc on ocean transportation and the shipment of goods from Asia to the United States, but it is also leading to a surge of air cargo volumes, both domestically and internationally.    […]

   Dewayne Gregoire said he was injured in a slip-and-fall accident while working as a tankerman on Enterprise Marine Services’ vessel, Marie.    Like many injured seafarers, he chose to file a claim in state court, in this case the 32nd Judicial District Court for the Parish of Terrebonne, La.    As attorney Marissa Henderson […]

Third-party systems and back office arrangements allow intermediaries to focus on core customer-facing functions.

U.S. Labor Secretary Perez announced Friday night the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Pacific Maritime Association reached an agreement on a new five-year contract.

Harley Shaiken, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, said an agreement between the ILWU and PMA could be reached in days rather than weeks.

Ships stacking up at anchorages, off coast, and slowly steaming across the Pacific.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called the two days of meetings this week in Havana with Cuban government officials “very productive.”

Transit times for less-than-container-load ocean freight shipments will be reduced by seven days, according to the global forwarder.

The North Carolina State Ports Authority is extending its hours at the Port of Wilmington from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m., effective Feb. 23.

The Dutch airport group saw cargo volumes increase by 6.7 percent.

Workers on the railway’s Northern Quebec Internal Short Line agreed to a four-year deal.

Furniture retailer IKEA has submitted its final plans to the City of Joliet, Ill. to proceed with building a distribution center there.

West Coast port labor negotiations are now focused on arbitration system.

CMA CGM launches a new logistics platform in Cameroon, Broekman Group becomes Broekman Logistics and Air Canada Cargo adds more capacity in Asia.