If you go on Facebook and scroll through, you'll probably find a lot of people bemoaning 2020 as a terrible year. For ocean freight carriers, on the other hand, 2020 has been one of the greatest [...]
A month ago, Greg Miller reported in an American Shipper article that not only had freight rates finally stopped rising but they also had dropped a bit. He posed the question, "Is this a new [...]
This is a guest post by Ofer Tirosh. What are the pros and cons of business process outsourcing in supply chain logistics? Will it make the business operate more smoothly or will it hamper [...]
The massive explosion at the Port of Beirut last week shined a light on a problem in international shipping that has long been hidden in the shadows. The blast – which killed 171 people and [...]
On Tuesday, the Port of Beirut was blown off the map by an explosion so big it shook the entire capitol city of Lebanon. The death toll is still growing, but last I saw, 135 people were reported [...]
Surcharges aren't only the tools of ocean freight carriers. Rail companies can slap surcharges on cargo movement too. Indeed, U.S. shippers, right now, are seeing surcharges and gate restrictions [...]
The category of personal protective equipment (PPE) covers a broad range of goods and devices. It can refer to anything from gloves to protective clothing, face shields, surgical masks and [...]
This is a guest post by Brad Smith. Swift technological developments over the past 30 years have provided critical benefits to multiple global industries, with international shipping being no [...]
Ocean freight rates have been high in 2020. Extremely high. Ocean carriers have managed to hike freight rates in the middle of a global crisis when demand has been lower than normal by [...]
No-roll premiums? What's that? Hopefully, as a shipper, you've never heard of a no-roll premium. Unfortunately, many shippers are finding out about them right now as they're being forced to [...]
A couple weeks ago, we posted a blog about how ocean freight carriers, in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, went from being projected to lose as much as $23 billion in 2020 to looking like [...]
This is a guest post by Helvis Smoteks. Cryptocurrencies keep growing in popularity as we cross the second quarter of 2020. By now everyone has at least heard about Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin [...]
We're fast approaching what's known as the peak season for international shipping. Traditionally, August and September are huge months for the international shipping industry as retailers stock [...]
This is a guest post by Arslan Hassan. Businesses that cater to customers on a global scale require an efficient and powerful logistics system that ensures the safe delivery of their products. [...]
This is a guest post by Darren Hann. Traditionally, managing a supply chain was a simple concept that predominately manufactured identical bulk products and made them available to market. Over [...]
Ocean freight carriers are supposed to lose billions of dollars in 2020, right? Wrong. They're going to make billions. Probably. As long as things continue the way they're going. Wait. [...]
The results are in. Of what, you ask? Of the Federal Maritime Commission's (FMC) "Fact Finding No. 29, International Ocean Transportation Supply Chain Engagement, in order to identify operational [...]
With the first half of 2020 marked by COVID-19 shutdowns around the world, first in China and eventually in the U.S., ocean carriers' biggest strategy for dealing with decreased shipping demand [...]
This is a guest post by Jake Rheude. It may feel like time is meaningless and we’ve lived through 329 Mondays in a row at this point, but for supply chains, this time is more crucial than [...]
Importers and exporters are on their way to getting a stronger voice with the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC). By its own description, the FMC "is the independent federal agency [...]