China

Freight revenue drops by 12.1 percent, led by a more than 20 percent plunge from airline’s Pacific routes.

Global equipment manufacturer Caterpillar’s (CAT) second quarter earnings disappointed analysts. The company cited a combination of tariffs, weaker sales in China and slower growth in the Permian Basin for the declines. The Deerfield, Illinois-based company reported a 5.1 percent decrease in second quarter net income to $1.62 billion, or $2.83 per share, compared with $1.71 […]

The already dicey relationship between the U.S. and China could get even dicier after a new sanctions decision.

Ben Thrower explores the financial and political influence that China is wielding in Panama and around the Panama Canal.

Ben Thrower recently visited the Panama Canal. He writes about the canal’s expansion and what that means to global trade and the maritime industry.

Cathy Roberson writes about Beijing’s new airport – and plans for many new airports in China and what impact they may have on the economy of the country.

Spot rates have fallen back to 2017 levels, but costs are still on the rise for carriers. Plus, ocean container rates increased on July 1st from China to the U.S.

China has developed a prototype magnetic levitation train that can travel at a maximum speed of 373 mph, and is expected to go into production by 2021.

Nations in South East Asia are experiencing plunging trade and stumbling economies, analysts say, and they add it is due to a weakening Chinese economy and trade war tensions.

Top transportation economist Paul Bingham goes in-depth on trade war freight consequences, both pro and con.

Solid growth in China’s cargo throughput has been revealed in newly published data. No doubt about it – the country’s cargo volumes are growing.

No single country can absorb the trade flow from China to the U.S., and likely contenders are already growing faster than capacity.

CIMC Vehicles, the world’s largest maker of specialty truck bodies and trailers as measured by sales volumes, increasingly appears to be heading for an initial public offering (IPO) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

FedEx sues U.S. Department of Commerce claiming trade restrictions are difficult to meet and places additional burden on common carriers to ensure shippers comply.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will boost trade between African partner states by removing tariffs. This helps the U.S. improve trade relations as it takes out the need to draft separate trade agreements with individual African states.

Although some Chinese economic indicators are flashing warning signals, Yunda, STO, YTO, and ZTO are still on fire.

While President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have agreed to meet at the G20 Summit in Japan next week, the U.S. agriculture industry remains skeptical that the ongoing tariff battle between the two countries will end anytime soon.

President Trump and Prime Minister Trudeau agree to implement agreement that has the potential to speed up the flow of goods between the two countries.

Shanghai Stock Exchange-listed China Merchants Energy Shipping (SSE:601872) is engaging in a new private share placement of up to 4.1 billion Chinese Yuan to fund a fleet renewal program.

Geopolitical and trade tensions are having an increasing effect on shipping rates.

The scale and growth of China’s domestic over-the-road trucking and international ocean container shipping trade has been revealed in new data from the country’s Ministry of Transport.

Laredo’s historic reign as the top United States trade port was short-lived, as the Port of Los Angeles rebounded from its lowest monthly total in three years, enabling it to once again lay claim to the number 1 ranking among U.S. ports. “In April, imports into the Port of Los Angeles recovered from the worst […]

The FedEx-Amazon divorce isn’t that big. AI to transform Indian transport. GLP out at the top of US logistics real estate market?

For the first time in its 168-year history, Port Laredo is No. 1. Laredo surpassed Los Angeles as the nation’s busiest trade hub, including airports, seaports and international border crossings. Port Laredo did $20.09 billion in trade during the month of March (according to the latest Census Bureau numbers available and analyzed by WorldCity), while […]

Trade war tariffs are hurting the competitiveness U.S. businesses working in China, according to the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China). Tariff troubles increased over the weekend as the latest round of Chinese tariffs on $60 billion of U.S. goods began on Saturday, June 1.

The logistics giant said it will “fully cooperate” with any investigation.

As U.S.-China trade tensions escalate, data appears to be pointing to a volume slowdown.

The supply chain has become a pawn in the battle over immigration, and freight businesses are the ones who will be hurt.

Trump’s tariffs might hurt the U.S. economy in the long run; Waymo is re-entering Arizona for autonomous truck testing; China might look to restrict rare-earth material export to the U.S. over trade war.

Beijing’s new dry bulk shipping regulations give the Chinese authorities powers to issue stop/suspend work, to redirect vessels and to prevent entry or exit from ports. There are a variety of monetary penalties for non-compliance.

The Chinese Belt and Road Initiative aims to create seamless freight movement between Europe and Asia, but the sustainability aspect of the project is still unclear.

China’s ports have handled just under 4.3 billion tons of cargo between January to April. The country’s main seaports have also handled 82.3 million TEU.

As a major owner of Capesize bulkers, Golden Ocean is heavily exposed to events in Brazil.

U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing ahead on the successor of NAFTA following the end of tariffs on Canadian and Mexican metals.

The trade war between China and the U.S. is having a noticeable impact on freight markets. Shippers and carriers are struggling to adapt.

Beijing has sworn to institute countermeasures to combat a huge increase in tariffs, from 15 percent to 25 percent, that have been imposed by Washington on $200 billion worth of a wide range of Chinese goods. A set of high-level, last-minute, talks yesterday to postpone or prevent the tariffs failed.

Dry bulk shipping faced multiple headwinds in the first quarter, but NYSE-listed Scorpio Bulkers benefited from its smaller ships and its diversification into the product-tanker sector.

South Korean ocean box shipping company, Hyundai Merchant Marine, and Russian far East intermodal box transport specialist, FESCO, have announced a series of changes to their Russia-China-Korea shipping operations. Rail specialist FESCO has also announced extensive Russia-China rail services.

Three states and several utilities will study the needs of electric trucks along the I-5 corridor to make long-haul electric trucks a reality. Plus, the future of Cummins, flex fuels, and are the Chinese taking our railway jobs?

Amazon bowing out of China; U.S. doubles oil exports in 2018; electric scooters bite into dockless bike sharing market.

The industry’s hottest conference will only get hotter.

Global mega-box port operator China Merchants Port Holdings recorded a 6 percent increase in its world box throughput in 2018 compared to the year before. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed port operator revealed its throughput details while disclosing that it had generated revenues of HK$10.16 billion (US$1.29 billion) in its annual report.

Ports, logistics and finance conglomerate China Merchants Port Holdings announced a massive jump in operating revenues and a rise in profits for the year ended December 31, 2018. Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed China Merchants, which operates box and bulk ports primarily in China but also around the world, reported revenues of HK$10.16 billion (US$1.29 billion). That’s a 16.9 percent increase on the previous calendar year’s figure of HK$8.7 billion.

Italy’s buy-in on major project boost China’s place in world maritime trade, but Western powers decry what some call ‘vanity project.’

Trucks designed to haul freight on highways are becoming much more sophisticated in China. Thanks to standardization, trucks now have the ability to do drop and hook, according to Perkins. Trucks are also being upgraded to more modern emissions systems.

Chinese buses reduce oil demand by 270,000 barrels a day; Lyft has disclosed business risks ahead of IPO; Ford to expand electric-vehicle production at Michigan plant.

International oil major BP has announced that it will retail a new very low sulfur fuel oil following successful sea trials, however, it has not released a date when sales will begin. The fuel will have a maximum sulfur content of 0.5 percent and will be sold by BP around the world. BP is one of several refiners, such as Shell and Sinopec, that are offering or are researching low-sulfur fuel.

Down, down, down – freight rates are down, nearly across the board, on export and import routes to and from China, according to indices published by the Shanghai Shipping Exchange.

The FinEst Bay Area has secured a $17 billion financing for the world’s longest undersea tunnel between Finland and Estonia from a large Chinese private equity firm. This is yet another example of the Chinese interest in European infrastructure, a possible extension to their grand OBOR initiative.

The annual deficit in goods and services increased by $68.8 billion, or 12.5 percent, according to Commerce Department data released today.

Freight rates for biggest ships fall below those of smaller ships, but that is set up for rebound, market experts say.

Political tensions in the Washington-Beijing bilateral relationship are making the China-based U.S. business community uneasy. Tariffs are being blamed for driving business confidence down, decreasing investment and for re-routing Asia-Pacific supply chains.

Widespread jitters in the Australian political and business communities that China may have banned imports of Australian coal now appear to be unfounded. Customs clearance delays at Dalian are happening owing to entirely “normal” reasons and coal cargo can be re-routed around a given port anyway, coal mining and coal transport executives have explained to FreightWaves.

Delphi Technologies (NYSE: DLPH) beat Wall Street’s consensus expectations of its fourth quarter non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) of $0.88 by 20 percent according to Seeking Alpha. However, quarterly EPS decreased 14.5 percent year-over-year (Y/Y) from $1.24 to $1.06.

China leads the world in adopting futuristic transport technology and transit models – like electric vehicles and mobility as a service (MaaS). McKinsey believes that the trend would continue in autonomous driving niche as well.

Kerry Logistics (SEHK: 636) has entered a joint venture with E-Services Group (ESG) according to a Kerry press release. The joint venture, Kerry ESG, will increase e-commerce fulfillment in Hong Kong, mainland China and Taiwan, as well as the 10 members nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Stifel’s head of equity strategy thinks the stock market will be weak for the next decade and that the federal government will default on debt unless it can force access into Chinese markets.

A weak December pulled down full-year volumes, trade group said.

Chinese e-commerce newcomer Pinduoduo (NASDAQ: PDD) seeks to finance an operational expansion by raising $1 billion. The company’s filing with the SEC said that it plans to sell 37 million shares to raise necessary capital.

Foxconn Technology Group (OTC US: FXCNY) created more uncertainty for its suppliers on Friday when it announced that it’s recommitting to building a liquid crystal display monitor (LCD) factory in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin according to the Wall Street Journal.

The Grain Transport Report, a weekly publication by the Agricultural Marketing Service (a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture) released information showing that total export inspections for grain (corn, wheat and soybeans) declined 22 percent from the previous week.

JUSDA, a supply chain platform that spun off Foxconn Technology Group, has raised $356 million in its Series A round.

China has problems that go well beyond U.S. tariffs.

Apple’s manufacturing partner Foxconn Technology Group, which assembles Apple’s iPhone product in China, announced on Saturday that it has raised over $213 million for what it described as a “mega-development” in India.

Profitability will lag in high growth markets like Brazil and India, but aftersales services in NAFTA and the EU will drive profitability growth.

Missing USDA data on wheat stockpiles has traders reacting cautiously.

The market for lumber slowed considerably in the second half of 2018 as the Chinese economy lost momentum and trade disputes with the U.S. persisted.

The Quadrobot is a modular design autonomous delivery vehicle, launching this year in both China and the U.S.

Economic and freight indicators are mixed, with some suggesting a downturn is coming, but others pointing to continued growth.

Delivery robots, shifting supply chains due to trade wars, and automation slowing productivity in ports

The third week of the partial Federal government shutdown is impacting U.S. agriculture. Without full funding, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is not providing some real-time information, full financial support, or some critical services for farmers and ranchers.

China is embarking on an effort to become a leader in the electric vehicle market.

The first week of 2019 saw three of America’s largest companies announce revenue expectation reductions, signaling a potential cooling of the U.S. shipping market.

China introduces new e-commerce law; Brexit leading to shortage of labor in the manufacturing industry; oil prices decline on supply glut; Ninebot introduces a more sturdy e-scooter model.

China announced wide-sweeping changes to its import and export tariffs over the Christmas break; Australia-based expert China-watchers are divided as to Beijing’s motivations and what it might mean for Australia. Photo: Shutterstock.

U.S. equity futures tumbled and stocks slumped across Europe and Asia after evidence of slowing Chinese growth dashed investor hopes for an upbeat start to 2019.

But President Trump still hopeful a deal can be done; tariffs costing both sides billions, and truckers plan one-day labor action for April.

Hundreds of manufacturing firms in China seek to take advantage of the vast national investment directed at renewable energy and battery storage technology. This motivates China to capitalize on metal resources necessary for launching the electric vehicle industry.

Hedging all those barrels coming out of the ground in the U.S. is creating downward pressure on prices.

China’s government is making the port-city of Xiamen, in the south-east of the country, one of the main nodes oin its 21st Century version of the Silk Road. A major new initiative involving ports, road transport, maritime carriers, rail transport, common-marketing, a logistics single trade window and many other features are being set up in the City.

European Commission lays out ground rules and a regulation relaxations post-Brexit; Uber loses latest legal bid over driver rights; European Union announces a 37.5% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030.

Fervent hope and speculation in the West about forthcoming policy announcements by China failed to materialise yesterday in a speech given by China’s President Xi Jinping.

A truck has moved freight from China to Poland in a record 13 days, via the TIR system, which requires road transport operators to only declare their data once when they are hauling goods across multiple borders.

Dry bulk carriers outperformed the S&P 500 by a significant margin today, with Star Bulk Carriers, the largest publicly traded fleet in the segment, gaining 5.1% on the day.

Beijing-based startup Geek+ is a pioneer of AI-enabled logistics robots for warehouses, and is powering technological transformation of the logistics industry.

Tesla cuts prices of Model S and Model X; oil prices are down to a one-year low; Hong Kong bats for free trade; Hapag-Lloyd is launching a premium product based on extensive market research.

Trump going the wrong way on trade, FedEx founder says

Will fundamental policy changes happen over the next two years leading up to the general election regardless of which party wins out?

Capacity constraints, strong demand, and chaotic tariff-related traffic pushed transpacific containers rates to new heights, but the current inbound container surge, unrelated to consumer demand, will create a steeper drop off in Q1 2019.

Trump government looks to phase out IMO2020 sulfur cap regulations; Shanghai Composite Index crashes by 3%; Amazon revisting cities for finalizing HQ2.

Continuing efforts to fight what he says are unfair trade practices, the administration of President Donald Trump announced the U.S. will pull out of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) treaty, which sets how much can be charged for international shipping.

$200B of tariffs imposed on Chinese imports today; the 4PL era is here; China cancels further trade talks; Germany’s maritime fleet shrinks by 1/3; air cargo not yet feeling tariff pain; oil rallies.

North Carolina, the second largest hog producing state, has concentrated its pig farms in the southern coastal region, precisely where Hurricane Florence made its most severe flooding impacts.

Utility solar projects see growth as prices of imported Chinese solar panels fall despite Trump tariffs; no-deal Brexit could see higher mortgage rates even if housing prices tumble; Chinese car market is weakening and it is troubling major-OEMs.

China has toyed with the concept of bike-sharing but met with disastrous results due to an unsustainable business model and excessive dumping of bikes on the streets. The U.S. bike-sharing startups could take a leaf out of their book and improvise accordingly.

There’s mounting pushback among developing nations that China’s ambitious infrastructure project, the Belt and Road Initiative, is a debt trap. Countries using Chinese financing have seen public debt soar to unsustainable levels, and they’re increasingly worried about asset seizures.

Ports of LA and Long Beach have reduced emissions by replacing diesel-run equipments with zero-emission engines; oil prices rise over signs of U.S. sanctions on Iran; warehousing workers salaries have seen good increases over the last three years.

Unilever, the massive Rotterdam-headquartered company that brings beauty, personal care, and food products to over 2.5 billion people daily, has partnered with JD.com, an e-commerce giant based in Beijing, to expand its reach in China.

The lira is down more than 40% this year, battered by concerns about the North Atlantic Treaty Organization member’s political and economic stability and a continuing trade tensions with the U.S.

Chinese oil and PNG demand is hitting the roof; EU is interested in buying U.S. PNG supply; trade tariffs on China might end up increasing cost of fish in the U.S.