While most shippers concentrate on negotiating April carrier contracts, or finding the right freight forwarder, to meet their 2018 goals, they should have noticed a much more prevalent issue happening creeping up, right here at home. U.S. trucking is in a tenuous state - capacity is tight, chassis are non-existent, [...]
Service contract season is just around the corner, and international shippers are asking themselves the age-old question, “are direct carrier contracts right for us?” Chances are, you’ve either hedged your bets by pairing with an NVOCC for flexibility, or are still weighing the advantages of fixed, annual pricing with a [...]
Nationwide, importers are struggling to get cargo containers picked up from U.S. ports as congestion and chassis shortages compound delays from winter storms and peaking consumer demand. When ocean carriers took themselves out of the chassis business, the industry stumbled to adjust; now, as we enter the dawn of mega-vessels, [...]
As Lunar (Chinese) New Year approaches, supply chain managers have begun their yearly, rigorous evaluation of freight services. From rate-shopping to cost-cutting, many annual initiatives are based on the projected market outlook. Here are the 2018 container freight market trends to watch: DEMAND & CAPACITY Two years ago, steamship lines [...]
Following frigid air temperatures and unexpected snow, the following terminals are expecting delays and/or closures on January 4, 2018: PORT TERMINALS Boston Conley Terminal: Closed SCPA Terminals in Charleston: Scheduled to resume terminal operations today at 1:00PM *South Carolina DOT has issued truck restrictions on I-526 and I-26 Savannah: Scheduled [...]
Shippers may have enjoyed a brief respite as they closed year-end inventories and celebrated the holidays with family and friends. But, with a New Year comes a fresh shipping cycle - and rates are already on the move. Spot rates from Asia increased across the board as we brought in [...]
Since the implementation of the International Maritime Organization’s Veified Gross Mass (VGM) mandate over a year ago, fears of disruption, congestion, and operational cost increases have fallen by the wayside, but participants are still questioning the accuracy and benefits of the program. Shippers are still showing variations in the actual [...]
The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) provides duty-free treatment to goods of designated beneficiary countries. The program was authorized by the Trade Act of 1974 to promote economic growth in the developing countries and was implemented on January 1, 1976. The GSP periodically expires and must be renewed by Congress [...]
As demand for international goods continues to grow, so do the number of lost and stolen cargo containers. Now, freight containers can be tracked once registered in BoxTech, a non-profit technical characteristics database of global container information established by the Bureau International des Containers (BIC). BoxTech was released in July [...]
U.S. importers and exporters not budgeting or preparing for the impact of the electronic logging device (ELD) rule are in for a surprise next quarter. The electronic logging device (ELD) rule is part of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) transportation reauthorization bill signed into [...]
