Freight Forward: Restarts and Redirects

Welcome to Freight Forward, where each Monday, I’ll recap what happened in supply chains the previous week through JOC.com articles and additional sources and also what to expect for the week ahead.

I’m Cathy Roberson, a supply chain writer and researcher. For this weekly series, I serve as a research analyst for the Journal of Commerce (JOC), for whom I identify trends, provide thoughts and input into stories, and assist with express and parcel last-mile queries.

Ocean

• Carriers in March blanked sailings equal to 11.7% of total vessel capacity from Asia to the US West and East coasts, down from 21.5% in the same month last year and 29% in March 2022, according to Sea-Intelligence data. In February, carriers blanked 19.4% of capacity, down from 41.5% in 2023 and 29.6% in 2022. Meanwhile, on-time vessel performance from Asia to the US West and East coasts declined in February writes Bill Mongelluzzo.

• Samsung filed two separate complaints with the US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) claiming that Cosco and OOCL “began repeatedly and chronically failing to properly perform its inland transportation obligations,” leaving containers at marine and rail terminals for extended periods. As a result, Samsung alleged it faced “dramatically increasing amounts of alleged demurrage and detention charges” from Cosco and OOCL. Samsung also claimed that it faced similar charges for empty containers and chassis because OOCL was not able to provide a return location writes Michael Angell.
• In another filing, the US Federal Maritime Commission’s (FMC’s) enforcement bureau wants Mediterranean Shipping Co. to pay a $63 million civil penalty. In a filing FMC alleged MSC charged excessive late fees on non-operating refrigerated containers and incorrectly billed companies that had no contractual relationship with the ocean carrier writes Michael Angell.
• Maersk will resume transits through the Panama Canal in May on its Ocean-Americas (OC1) service after the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) announced a slight increase in the number of permitted daily vessel transits through the drought-hit waterway writes Keith Wallis.
• Antwerp-Bruges bunkered its first methanol-powered deep-sea container ship this while Shanghai signed a methanol and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply deal with HMM as the ports made moves to strengthen their positions as multifuel hubs writes Greg Knowler.

• THE Alliance postponed the planned restart of a service between Asia and the US East Coast due to the ongoing threats against vessels transiting the Red Sea writes Michael Angell.
• A three-member consortium led by Wan Hai Lines, will begin a Southeast Asia-West India connection branded, named SI8, at the end of April writes Bency Mathew. “This new service will help to expand Wan Hai Lines’ network in Southeast Asia and West India,” the Taiwan-based liner operator said. “It will provide customers with better frequency and service coverage between Southeast Asia and India.”
• Peter Shaw-Smith writes the Abu Dhabi terminal operator and the General Company for Ports of Iraq (GCPI) signed a preliminary agreement to develop Al-Faw, its economic zone and freight-supporting infrastructure in other Iraq cities. They envision building the gateway to ultimately be able to handle 4 million TEUs annually in addition to dry bulk capabilities, according to Technital, provider of design services and works supervision for the project.?

Baltimore

• Norfolk Southern Railway will begin running trains between the Port of New York and New Jersey and Baltimore on Friday to transport containers that have been rerouted following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge writes Ari Ashe. It comes after CSX made a similar announcement that it would rail containers from the Port of New York and New Jersey directly into the Seagirt Terminal at the Port of Baltimore to allow local truck drivers to service shippers in Maryland, southern Pennsylvania and northern Virginia.
• Engineers are aiming to restore Port of Baltimore access to normal capacity by the end of May. Ahead of the full reopening a 35-foot-deep channel will be opened by the end of April that will support one-way vessel traffic into Baltimore harbor writes Michael Angell.

Columns

• Import surge shines light on dynamics behind jump in LA/LB rail dwells, Larry Gross

Technology

• FourKites and BuyCo launched a partnership that continues the long-running trend of logistics technology vendors integrating to augment their footprint with customers writes Eric Johnson. The agreement allows FourKites to tap into BuyCo’s prowess in ocean freight planning, booking and management milestones while giving BuyCo customers access to better data on inland legs of international shipments.?

Air

• Greg Knowler writes that all air cargo block service agreements (BSAs) from Asia to the US & European Union for this year have been sold out as the ongoing surge in demand for e-commerce floods China’s airport gateways, according to forwarder Dimerco. In addition, WorldACD noted that Asia-Europe sea-air hubs such as Dubai, Colombo and Bangkok have experienced exceptionally high air cargo demand to Europe since the start of this year.

Inland

Trucking

• Saia is extending its reach across the US-Mexican border by partnering with Fletes Mexico’s Carga Express division in the latest sign of growing LTL volume thanks to increased Mexico sourcing for North American trade partners writes Bill Cassidy.
• In the latest Journal of Commerce Top 40 US and Canadian LTL carrier rankings prepared by SJ Consulting Group, only 14 of the top 40 increased their revenue while six of the 10 largest North American LTL trucking companies saw revenue decline last year writes Bill Cassidy. The top 3 LTLs are: FedEx Freight, Old Dominion Freight Line and XPO Logistics.
• Bill Cassidy writes that the combined revenue of the 40 largest truckload companies fell 29.4% to $36.5 billion, according to the Journal of Commerce Top 40 Truckload Carrier rankings prepared by SJ Consulting Group. When truckload demand and pricing collapsed, the top 40 carriers saw revenue fall below 2020 levels, according to SJ Consulting Group data. The top three TLs are: JB Hunt Transport Services, Knight-Swift Transportation and Schneider National.

Intermodal

• Workers, represented by the Teamsters Canadian Rail Conference (TCRC), will vote from April 8 to May 1 on whether to authorize a strike against Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) as soon as May 22. A strike could halt intermodal service to and from all containerized marine terminals in Canada, affecting about 50,000 TEUs per week in imports, according to a Journal of Commerce analysis of data submitted to the Association of American Railroads and Intermodal Association of North America writes Ari Ashe.
• BNSF Railway will be pilot testing several measures such as designation of a waiting area for drivers and coordinating with trucking companies to increase the usage of BNSF’s RailPass app to increase fluidity through its terminals in Chicago, Memphis and Kansas City, culminating in the implementation later this year of an appointment system for container retrieval writes Ari Ashe.

?Parcels

• The US Postal Service (USPS) named UPS its primary air cargo provider, effective immediately, ending a long-term relationship with FedEx. The switch highlights how UPS and FedEx are looking differently at the business they have, and the business they want, in a soft US and global package market writes Bill Cassidy.
• FedEx and UPS will extend its Delivery Area Surcharges (including Extended and Remote) to 82 ZIP codes effective today, April 8 for UPS and April 15 for FedEx. UPS said in an emailed statement to Supply Chain Dive that the company regularly reviews its DAS to balance evolving market dynamics with meeting customer needs. Similarly, FedEx evaluates and updates its ZIP code list “to reflect market and cost factors,” it said in a statement.
• Shippers with questions about the Delivery Area Surcharge extensions, USPS/UPS air contract and more should check out Supply Chain Now’s chat with my former colleague Robyn McAllister Meyer, ITCC on April 10.

That’s it for now. Please be sure to hit the subscribe button to receive the latest updates.

For readers interested in reading more Journal of Commerce stories, click here to subscribe. Enter code FFNL20 at checkout to receive a 20% discount on any subscription option. (Note that this is only for first-time subscribers or for upgrading a current subscription). What did I miss? Have a question? Let me know in the comments. I’ll be checking back throughout the week to answer questions, address comments, and share additional insights. In the meantime, here’s wishing everyone a good freight week ahead.

-Cathy