Rail unions are struggling to pass the National Tentative Agreement, suggested back in September as two have now rejected the offer due to lack of sick time and vacation days. In the event of a rail strike, the US economy could lose $2 billion per day in revenue, prompting shippers, carriers and holiday retailers to […]

Recent news that ocean carriers like MSC, CMA CGM and Maersk are looking at opening, merging with, or acquiring an air cargo arm for their ocean freight business raises questions about the benefits of diversifying service offerings. As rates fall and the ocean logistics industry slows down, with exports from China coming to US shores […]

As the thirty-day cooling-off period ends on Friday, September 16th, only two unions remain holdouts to an agreement. Unfortunately, those two unions, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and the International Association of Sheet Metal Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers, represent more than 90,000 members and encompass the whole of the US rail system as we […]

Peak season has been merely a fond memory throughout the pandemic as the breakneck pace of cargo and e-commerce took on the disruption in the supply chain and grew into a monolith of commerce. The period during late summer when retailers begin shipping cargo for the holiday shopping season, the peak itself is returning to […]

When Shanghai and other parts of China went on multiple lockdowns in attempts to curb the spread of Covid-19 it repeatedly brought the global supply chain to its knees. Earlier in June, lockdown orders were finally rescinded, but now, with the advent of the new Omicron BA.5 sub-variant, China is bracing for additional rounds of […]

During the pandemic, consumers turned their attention to e-Commerce, causing a massive influx of freight into the United States and the freight market to surge with almost double the amount of new players entering the industry.  However, now that the market is facing the crack of the supply chain bullwhip, coupled with an impending recession, […]

As the Chinese government continues its staunch “zero-Covid” campaign, which includes lockdowns, mass testing, and alarms on residents’ doors to ensure compliance, these measures have brought one of the biggest financial and production hubs in the world to a near standstill. When the movement of goods and services stops in Shanghai, it affects the global […]

In the San Pedro Bay ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, average vessel waiting times for berth and labor have improved significantly in the past few weeks, halving the number of queuing ships to below 50 from the 100+ ships last year around December. According to the latest data from Los Angeles’ Signal port […]

As you know, fuel surcharges (FSCs) are used by carriers to compensate for variations in diesel prices for paid mileage. But deadhead, out-of-route miles, and idle time are not covered by FSCs. As the cost of fuel rises, so does the cost of running out of gas. Increased fuel costs alone might drive up the […]

The world consumes roughly over 97 million barrels of oil per day. The US currently has 35 billion barrels in reserve today, making it 11th in the global rank of oil reserves. We could stop drilling right now and still have enough oil to last us for just under 50 years before we ran out. […]

Concerns that truckload pricing will continue to rise in 2022 bear out as analysts predict tighter capacity on the horizon. One of the market signifiers, the last time spot rates increased in the month of January was back in 2018 at the start of a bull market that lasted well into June of that year. […]

With the issues and events impacting US trade from China, including the coming Beijing Olympics, Lunar New Year public holiday, and changing COVID restrictions, trade actions against Chinese goods that are made in Xinjiang produced using forced labor have emerged as critical. As awareness and evidence of genocide, forced internment, and human rights abuses mount, […]