The rapid growth of charter rates in the container shipping market is likely to be over as ocean carriers release some ships back to the open market in order to curb the impact of weak profitability.
Author Archives: Jeffrey Goh
U.S.-based low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines has launched its Houston-Mexico City route – marking the debut of the carrier’s international shipping program – with the intention to add Cancun, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas to its network later this summer.
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) today reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending July 14, 2018. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 559,064 carloads and intermodal units, up 5 percent compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending July 14 were 271,207 carloads, up 3.8 percent compared with the same week in 2017, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 287,857 containers and trailers, up 6.1 percent compared to 2017.
A Mexican government mandate intended to reduce accidents by requiring that all double tractor trailers meet new certification requirements is sparking shipper fears of higher rates. The rule will reduce available truck capacity and may spur some shippers to move more cargo by more expensive single-trailer trucks or convert cargo to intermodal rail.
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A significant number of North American fleets have not yet installed electronic logging devices, with many relying on grandfathered automatic onboard recording devices to track driver logs. A new survey by MiX Telematics found that three in 10 fleets operating in North America are not yet running ELDs, almost eight months after the mandate became law.
“In 23 years, I’ve never seen a situation where the supply chain is at capacity,” the shipper said. “Trust me,” the trucking executive said, “nobody is adding any capacity. Nobody is thinking of adding any capacity. And even if they were, they couldn’t find any drivers to put in the truck.”
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China’s trade surplus with the United States swelled to a record in June as its overall exports grew at a solid pace, a result that could further inflame a bitter trade dispute with Washington.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell gave an upbeat assessment of the U.S. economy but warned a sustained period of high tariffs on a wide variety of imports could be harmful to growth.
After a June full of diesel and gasoline price dips, July has started with two straight weeks increasing prices at the pump across the nation, according to EIA. Fuel prices crept up the pump this past holiday week – marking the second week in a row of national average increases for both diesel and gasoline, according to data released Monday by the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Imports at the major retail container ports in the U.S. are expected to set a new record this month driven by increasing consumer demand and rising retail sales, the National Retail Federation said.