Higher contract rates pull volume from spot truck market

DAT Principal Analyst Dean Croke said this is the result of carriers securing higher contract rates, which reduces the incentive to focus on the spot market.

By Matt Leonard • July 14, 2021

Stockouts worsen for the chemical industry as shipping delays exacerbate inventory woes

Shortages may last yet another year due to the lasting effects of a February storm in Texas, increased demand and supply chain congestion.

By Matt Leonard • July 13, 2021

Walmart will add transportation pillar to Project Gigaton

The effort will focus on suppliers' fleets to achieve the retailer's goal to avoid one billion metric tons of greenhouse gases in scope 3 emissions by 2030.

By Matt Leonard • July 13, 2021

Freight overflows push LTLs to make tough decisions

FedEx Freight admitted to "temporary targeted volume control" as shippers rush to fill inventories.

By Jim Stinson • July 13, 2021

Levi's diverts freight to East Coast amid 'challenge in Long Beach'

The decision was one of several actions Levi Strauss took to mitigate supply chain disruptions in Q2, according to CEO Chip Bergh.

By Edwin Lopez • July 12, 2021

Biden takes aim at consolidation in ocean, rail with new executive order on increasing competition

The FMC and DOJ Antitrust Division signed a Memorandum of Understanding Monday as the two agencies begin to work more closely on oversight and enforcement in the ocean freight market.

By Matt Leonard • Updated July 13, 2021

Detention and demurrage were hotly debated pre-pandemic. Congestion made it worse.

The average charge more than doubled from 2020, increasing 104%, Container xChange found.

By Matt Leonard • July 8, 2021

Airfreight demand returns to pre-pandemic levels, but capacity could take longer to materialize

The transpacific lane won't be the first to benefit from the return of passenger planes and belly capacity. Freighters expect their services will be in demand into next year.

By Matt Leonard • July 8, 2021

Timeline: How the Suez Canal blockage unfolded across supply chains

The Ever Given was lodged in the canal for six days, blocking hundreds of ships from traversing the waterway. It finally arrived at the Port of Rotterdam.

By Matt Leonard , Shefali Kapadia • Updated July 29, 2021

FedEx, UPS take divergent LTL freight paths

As UPS sold off its Freight segment to TFI this year, FedEx doubled down on Freight and called its commitment to the segment "absolute."

By Jim Stinson • July 2, 2021

HB Fuller leans on 'strong supplier relationships' to navigate shortages, tight freight market

Strategizing for a "ship stuck in the Suez is exactly what they're set up to do," an executive said of its supply chain team.

By Matt Leonard • July 1, 2021

Flexport, Convoy integration enables automated transloading

All shippers have to do is select their origin and destination, and the Flexport platform handles the rest, the company said.

By Matt Leonard • June 30, 2021

Ocean carrier reliability falls 35 points from last May as congestion persists

Maersk was the most punctual carrier for the month, but its 46.2% schedule reliability figure means a shipper is more likely to correctly guess a coin flip than have their ship show up on time.

By Matt Leonard • June 29, 2021

JFK seeks to modernize 'inefficient cargo operation' with new facility for airfreight handling

The $145 million project will develop a 350,000 square-foot facility that includes modern technology, such as an automated vertical racking system.

By Edwin Lopez • June 29, 2021

Hapag-Lloyd, ONE complete integration with Maersk's TradeLens

The carriers have finished the pilot, but it could take up to 10 months to provide all of the milestone updates associated with TradeLens' visibility platform, a Hapag-Lloyd executive said.

By Matt Leonard • June 28, 2021

Yantian resumes full operations, backlog expected to linger up to a month

"Having an incident like Yantian right now, in a market which is out of balance, that just adds on top of the current imbalance," one analyst said.

By Matt Leonard • June 24, 2021

Last year, the Transpacific was a 'nightmare.' It's only gotten worse.

One shipper offered a carrier $6,000 for space. It was told $60,000 wouldn't even be enough.

By Matt Leonard • June 24, 2021

6 charts show the effects of Yantian port congestion

Dwell times increase, containers build up and blank sailings surge — all at a time when shippers are planning and importing for peak season.

By Matt Leonard • June 22, 2021

Supply chain constraints, spot posts push up trucking rates

Strong demand resulted in rates continuing to rise MoM and YoY across van, flatbed and reefer, according to DAT.

By Matt Leonard • June 21, 2021

Patent Pending: Walmart's idea for just-in-time, FourKites' plan for predictive visibility

Supply chain innovators apply to patent what they see as important tools for the future. Sometimes they're brilliant. Sometimes they're funny.

By Matt Leonard • June 18, 2021

FMC commissioners back audits of ocean carrier detention and demurrage

One shipper called the fees "unfair" and scolded carriers for profiting off of supply chain challenges.

By Matt Leonard • June 16, 2021

Railroads post strong volume but struggle with congestion

Rail dwell time at the San Pedro Bay surged to 11.2 days in April, up from more than 7 days in January.

By Matt Leonard • June 14, 2021

Wilmington Air Park, once abandoned by DHL, is brought to life by Amazon Air

Wilmington grew its cargo volume by nearly 289% YoY in 2020, according to an analysis of government data by researchers at DePaul University

By Matt Leonard • June 14, 2021

Low capacity keeps airfreight rates high between Asia and US

Prices from Hong Kong to the U.S. reached $8.07 per kilogram as of Monday, which is down from a mid-May peak but more than double 2019 rates.

By Matt Leonard • June 10, 2021

Congestion, container issues pile up at Yantian and southern China ports

Analysts and container lines warn of two-week delays as ports limit operations due to COVID-19 outbreaks.

By Shefali Kapadia • June 9, 2021