Author Archives: ACT Logistics

California port truckers say there’s not a driver shortage — just look at the lines Clarissa Hawes, Senior Editor, Investigations and EnterpriseFollow on TwitterWednesday, November 3, 2021 As Miguel Silva surveyed his truck yard just outside the Port of Oakland last week, he pointed to shipping containers filled with corn and soybean seed bound for […]

By Mike Wackett 22/10/2021 There was a further slight softening of container spot rates from Asia to the US and Europe this week, but carriers appear to have held their nerve and avoided any significant discounting after China’s Golden Week holiday. The Freightos Baltic Exchange (FBX) US west coast component declined by 2%, to $17,069 per 40ft, […]

By Sam Whelan 18/10/2021 China’s power crisis is expected to further disrupt supply chains bringing longer lead times and a preference for high-value goods. Last month, factories across Guangdong’s Pearl River Delta manufacturing heartland and nine other provinces were forced to cut output due to government-imposed energy caps. According to Jacky Yan, founder and CEO of Chengdu-based New Silk […]

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor | Oct 08, 2021 3:22PM EDTPrint      Trucking employment actually dipped in September for the first time in months, despite a seasonally adjusted gain. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com. US transportation and warehousing employment surged in September as 135,000 new jobs were created in what for most industries was a lackluster hiring month. […]

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor | Sep 30, 2021 8:52AM EDT The increased interest in multiyear contracting and a sharp uptick in contract rates agreed to in the last three months may ultimately be the most meaningful change in the industry since the onset of the pandemic. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com. The familiar levers for logistics managers to […]

By Mike Wackett 16/09/2021 Ocean carriers and terminal operators in the US are closer to having their contentious container demurrage and detention charges curbed by regulators. Shippers receive huge bills for D&D charges, when in many cases they are unable to collect boxes or return empty containers to overwhelmed terminals. These revenue windfalls appear in the P&L […]

With a record vessel backup of 47 container ships waiting outside the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach during the Aug. 28 and 29 weekend, the core problem facing container logistics — the slowdown in the circulation of ships, containers, and chassis that is draining capacity and driving spot rates to record levels — […]

By Ian Putzger, Americas correspondent 02/09/2021 To frustrated US shippers, going intermodal is proving a shaky alternative to the maxed-out trucking market. Rail giant CSX provided the latest setback last Thursday with the announcement it would restrict the number of domestic containers it accepts from Chicago. It was the second time in two months CSX has restricted […]

By Alex Lennane 12/08/2021 Ships are beginning to divert from Ningbo to Shanghai, following yesterday’s decision to close the Ningbo Meishan Island International Container Terminal (MSICT) due to Covid. All operations at the terminal were suspended at 3am today, with the gate-in of export containers limited to two days of a vessel’s ETA. CMA CGM said cargo […]

Around 80 container ships are now at anchor awaiting berths at US ports Greg Miller, Senior Editor Follow on TwitterFriday, July 30, 2021 The fear voiced by Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka earlier this year was that “we will still have vessels at anchor come midsummer,” when terminals pivot to handling the peak […]