Ocean Freight

Total POLA volume, at 828,662 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units), rose 7.8% annually, representing the highest-volume May in POLA’s 112-years of operations, and total POLB May volume, at 573,623 TEU, was off 16.6% annually, when the port recorded its highest-ever May volume tally.

With global express delivery and logistics services provider DHL Express recently celebrating its 50th birthday, Logistics Management Group News Editor Jeff Berman recently caught up with DHL Express U.S. CEO Greg Hewitt to discuss various topics, including DHL’s growth in the U.S. and globally, the evolution of shipping, and logistics trends, among other topics.

The most recent edition of the Port Tracker Report issued by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and maritime consultancy Hackett Associates late last week indicted that import levels and United States-based retail container ports are pegged to see growth in the coming months, with retailers boosting inventory levels in advance of increased tariffs.

When the 2019 USC Marshall Global Supply Chain Excellence Summit convenes this August, prominent executives from both San Pedro Bay ports will be the featured keynoters.

As if things were not tough enough for global ocean carriers these days, meeting shippers’ service and contractual expectations continues to decline,according to the third annual shipper satisfaction survey conducted by the London-based consultancy, Drewry and the European Shippers’ Council.

April shipments, at 994,492, rose 3.5% compared to March, which was up 6.8% compared to February. On a year-to-date basis, shipments for the first four months of 2019, at 3,893,067, are up 2.9%. The firm added that containerized freight was up 4.4% in April.

With the Jones Act under fire, it's time once again to consider the advantages of having a ready U.S. Merchant Marine

The theme of tariffs influencing increased import activity at United States-based retail container ports, coupled with rising retail sales, remains fully intact with according to the Port Tracker report, which was released today by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and maritime consultancy Hackett Associates.

A financial mechanism that would allocate billions of dollars in already-collected fees targeted to maintain United States-based federal ports and harbors, to be put into use, may be seeing some positive movement towards that goal based on legislation recently introduced and approved by a key House committee.

March shipments, at 919,696, were up 6.8% compared to February, which fell 4.1% compared to January and followed an aggregate increase of 5.5% over the previous three months. On a year-to-date basis, shipments for the first three months of 2019, at 2,896,821, are up 2.6% compared to the same period a year ago.

Dun & Bradstreet recently released their Compliance & Procurement Sentiment Report, polling compliance and procurement professionals on their concerns around Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG). This is the third iteration of the survey since it’s inception in 2018, and contains some surprising findings, say researchers.

In an effort to adapt to current global supply chain demands, A.P. Moller-Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, MSC and Ocean Network Express have established the Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) in The Netherlands.

Logistics Management Group News Editor Jeff Berman recently caught up with Victor Garcia, president and CEO of San Francisco-based CAI International, a global transportation company offering intermodal container leasing and sales, rail leasing and operations, and global logistics services. Garcia provided insight and analysis over various topics relating to CAI's business and its visibility into different market segments.

Here are four steps you can take now with your freight forwarder to navigate volatility for the year ahead.

A combination of previously planned tariff hikes remaining in a holding pattern and the pending summer season coming equals an expected gain in United States retail container volumes according to the Port Tracker report, which was released today by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and maritime consultancy Hackett Associates.