The trans-Pacific air freight market is expected to remain subdued through the second quarter of 2023 due to slowing demand, high inventory levels in the North America, and abundant capacity on trans-Pacific container ships at low cost. North American retailers are focused on reducing inventory to lower carrying costs, which has resulted in weak demand for Asian imports.

The container shipping industry is anticipating an increase in rates through the 2023 peak season as demand for freight is expected to recover in Q2 of 2023. According to the container price sentiment index (xCPSI), industry professionals’ short-term price expectations have turned from negative to positive in April, showing confidence building for the coming quarter. Despite the postponement of inventory …

Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern have officially combined to form Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), the only railway connecting North America and offering unrivaled port access on coasts around the continent. The acquisition, completed on December 14, 2021, resulted in the new combined company operating approximately 20,000 miles of rail and employing close to 20,000 people. CPKC plans to …

Longshore workers from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 13 have been conducting job actions at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach for the past week. The ILWU has been “red-tagging” cargo-handling equipment at the ports’ three automated terminals, which designates the equipment as unsafe, although it was fine, and forces an inspection. These tactics have …

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Canada has filed a “notice of dispute” with the Canadian federal government’s Minister of Labor, asking for assistance in negotiating a new contract with maritime employers. The existing contract between ILWU Canada and the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) expired at the end of March. The two sides have had five face-to-face …

Starting in April 2023, Air Canada Cargo will begin their Boeing 767 freighter service from Toronto to Liege, Belgium, with a stop in Halifax on the way. It will also start a service to Basel, Switzerland.

On April 14th, Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern will officially merge to create Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC). This final decision follows approval from the U.S. Surface Transportation Board on March 15, 2023 of CP’s US$31 billion acquisition of KCS on Dec. 14, 2021.

The last half of 2023 will have six separate North American longshore unions engaged in contract talks with ports, unless there are any breakthroughs. This rare occurrence is causing shippers to be nervous, as containerized trade cannot happen without unionized port workers.

Due to a decrease in freight rates and the recent dissolution of the 2M alliance between Maersk and MSC, concerns have arisen regarding the stability of existing alliances. At the TPM Conference last month, there were reassurances that existing alliances will remain unchanged. Hapag-Lloyd CEO has also recently issued an announcement saying, “Our alliance is pretty strong and stable, and …

Air cargo demand has continued to plummet, falling for 11 consecutive months. Experts from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) are projecting a 5.6% drop in air shipment demand for this year, following an 8% decline in 2022. Other market reporting groups indicate that demand has fallen even further, with January’s figures showing a year-over-year drop of 10% to 20%.

Negotiations have started for a new contract between clerical office workers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and the shipping lines and terminal operators, but there are concerns over potential disruptions of cargo flow if talks do not go well.

At the TPM 2023 conference in Long Beach last month, one topic of conversation was for ocean carriers to transition from fossil fuels to decarbonized green fuels. Jeremy Nixon, CEO of Ocean Network Express (ONE), said that the cost of using green fuels will be $2000-3000 per forty-foot container. The average cost of fossil fuel is about $1000 per forty-foot …

The Georgia Port Authority (GPA) discontinued its evening truck hours at the Port of Savannah in February as a result of reduced utilization of evening gate hours as well as decline in volumes. GPA also closed several temporary inland storage yards.

CN Unifor Local 100 and Unifor Council 4000 represents roughly 3600 clerical, mechanical, intermodal, and facility management employees, and they have voted in favour of strike action as early as March 21, 2023.

Workers across France have been protesting all week against pension reforms that would raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. There were 1.28 million people protesting on Tuesday, which was the sixth day of protest this year. Our partners in France are reporting that ports are impacted. Some empty container depots and logistics warehouses are blocked and inaccessible. Some …

The nine ocean carriers that are members of the Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) have committed to 50% adoption of an electronic bill of lading (eBL) within 5 years and 100% by 2023. Their commitment accelerates the digitization of original bills of lading.