American Shipper

ZIM has appointed a president to lead its newly established U.S. agency, while SEKO names chief client solutions officer.

A Department of Transportation study found over 75 percent of truck drivers and nearly 66 percent of logistics professionals reported regularly having difficulty finding safe – and legal – parking during rest periods.

UTi’s new CEO Feitzinger is resolved to bring back freight forwarder’s shine.

   This is the third, and final, part of our discussion of the pending maritime financial tsunami. Shippers are, for this discussion, the direct buyers of ocean transport. They use service contracts, spot market rates, relationships with carriers, and other methods to get rates for their shipments.    There are two buyer subsets—BCOs and OTIs. […]

On Second Thought with John Tabor    It’s hard to believe that we are now halfway through the third quarter of 2015, and closing in on the back-to-school season that kicks-off the frenetic, end-of-year run of holidays. Before we plunge into Q4, let’s take a look back at some of the trends that shaped 2015, […]

   Part of a shipment of polyester flags and rubber mats from a Chinese company, Chesta, was damaged or lost when a BNSF train derailed.    An intermodal container containing the cargo arrived from Shanghai in Los Angeles and then was put on a BNSF train for inland carriage to the consignee and owner of […]

   E-commerce improbably only accounts for about 7 percent of total U.S. retail sales, according to Census Bureau statistics in the first quarter of 2015.    I say “improbably” because I’m pretty sure my wife and I account for at least 1 percent alone, given our predilection for Internet shopping.    All kidding aside, it […]

   The problems at cargo hubs—whether seaports, airports or intermodal rail transfer facilities—often parallel each other and underscore the need for a national conversation among supply chain stakeholders to apply local lessons in a more systematic way where possible.     Take away the names and one might not be able to distinguish from the problems […]

More freight delays feared at Chicago O’Hare airport for peak season.

Software company Infor looks forward to offering supply chain solutions.

   The European Union and Vietnam recently agreed to a free-trade agreement that will eventually see tariffs removed on nearly all goods transacted to and from the Southeast Asian nation.    Total trade between the European Union and Vietnam was 28.2 billion euros in 2014, including 22.1 billion euros in Vietnamese exports to the European […]

   Three Texas cities have offered to donate resources for infrastructure improvements designed to improve the flow of commercial trucks at international ports of entry along the Mexico border.    U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it has tentatively selected the cities of Donna, El Paso and Pharr for an alternative program aimed at allowing […]

Railroads, IMCs see long-term growth for both domestic and international intermodal.

   American Shipper’s August issue article “Setting the benchmark” (pages 6-10) provided useful information on the changes now happening in transportation benchmarking and the increased focus on data.     In our experience of providing ocean transportation benchmarking services to shippers, we do agree that benchmarking costs alone, without taking into account differences in carrier service […]

   Have you noticed how some ports try to create the impression that new dredging projects will make their harbors deeper than the specified depth?    I’m primarily thinking about Port Everglades in South Florida. The port is 42-feet deep and it recently got approval from the Army Corps of Engineers to take the bottom […]

Trade Trends with Taneli Ruda    Wage growth in China and the subsequent rise of the “China, plus one” supply chain strategy has, as we outlined in last month’s American Shipper, opened doors for other growth-oriented Asian economies.     India stands out as one such economy that is making unique progress in light of changing […]

   Media outlets a few weeks ago, once again, began reporting that Singapore-owned investment company Temasek Holdings is looking to sell Neptune Orient Lines, parent company of ocean carrier APL.    Like many liner companies, APL has been hemorrhaging cash since 2008 when the worldwide economic downturn brought revenues crashing down across the ocean carrier […]

Larger companies and bigger ships dominate container shipping.

   There’s been a lot of attention in the news these days about how large logistics services providers are buying up similarly large to midsized counterparts to add to their portfolios.    Since the start of the year, the announcements have come fast and furious. Here’s some of the most notable acquisition plays so far: […]

Strategic View with Walter Kemmsies    Over the last 12 months, the U.S. dollar has increased in value by 12.5 percent against other world currencies, according to the trade-weighted index published by the Federal Reserve. This has direct and indirect consequences for U.S. trade.     While the U.S. economy has been improving, European and Asian […]