Last week we discussed the possibility of a rail strike hitting as we move into the holiday season, and intelligent shippers are talking to their logistics partners to determine what can be done to mitigate disruptions if a work stoppage occurs. Besides transportation solutions, customers need to be aware of warehousing and distribution options they...Read More

The usual fluctuations in the logistics market are typically cyclical throughout the year, especially in years with minimal fluctuations and no elections. In those standard years, peak season is a clearly defined section of the year when massive quantities of cargo depart from manufacturers and warehouses to journey toward the retailers gearing up for the...Read More

Rail services are backed up across the United States. It would be a simple enough matter to blame the port congestion for this cargo bottleneck, but our rail system infrastructure began failing before these supply chain woes. Although, overloaded ports don’t help, considering we’re short on engines, equipment, and personnel. This isn’t a matter of...Read More

Worsening congestion at the east coast in North American container ports is driving up costs and furthering delays of getting goods to consumers, all to avoid gridlock on the west coast. But is it helping? Not by much.   Thirty-one ships anchored off the Port of Charleston on February 22 while another 13 were off...Read More

In the past couple of years, there have been massive shortages, congestion, limited space, and horrifying freight rates. But what will 2022 have to offer? The good news is that freight prices are expected to drop throughout 2022, though it is unlikely that they will drop back down to the 2019 levels.  There will be...Read More

Ocean Shipping congestion continues unabated as the west coast sees nearly seventy ships waiting in the harbor for space. The delays correlate to approximately 11.5% of the global vessel capacity being taken out of the market by idle time waiting for berth. While the additional threat of escalating detention charges has helped clear some of...Read More

We started the year with the crux of how to deal with the ongoing pandemic that increased online ordering from all over the world. Then in March, the Ever Given decided it would be fun to take on things at a new angle, blocking up the Suez Canal for 6 days and 7 hours. This...Read More

Congestion is reaching out from the ocean to impact air cargo as the logistics industry stumbles under record imports and extreme equipment imbalances. When supply chains go topsy turvy, shippers who traditionally move cargo by ocean turn to air options to expedite the urgent inventory while the main shipments are delayed by congestion. If the...Read More

Extensive congestion stress on U.S. ports is the most critical issue facing brokers and forwarders this year and to call the situation difficult is laughably minimizing a terrible problem. According to The Loadstar, last week there were 65 ships at anchor in San Pedro Bay, a current record-breaking number*. Amazingly, the current average transit time...Read More