This is a guest post by Arslan Hassan. Combine ever-advancing technology with economic situations along with fluctuations in demand and the result is the occurrence of unprecedented changes in [...]
Freight rates in the international shipping industry are always volatile, especially for small to medium shippers who play the spot market for their import and export pricing. There are many [...]
IMO 2020 went into effect on January 1st, requiring sea vessels, including container ships, to abide by a 0.5% sulfur cap on fuel or use scrubbers (systems that clean fuel in engines) in order to [...]
This is a guest post by Mary Walton Marijuana products have long been used for medical treatments. But marijuana is not legal in all countries, whereas some states made it legal. Because of [...]
Growing businesses are continuously looking for ways to lower costs and streamline operations while reaching a wider market base. With the rapid expansion of global commerce, savvy businesses [...]
This is a guest post by Jeremy Raynolds. In December 2018, we reached a new record level of carbon dioxide emissions. The global CO2 emissions for 2019 are still not in, but one thing is [...]
The 15% tariff hikes on Chinese goods that were scheduled to hit Sunday (December 15th) didn't happen. Instead, we got the Phase One Trade Deal just days earlier. That's right, we finally have [...]
Before 2020 hits, let's take a look back at 2019. What happened in international shipping this year didn't happen in a bubble. Just like events of years past affected this year, the things [...]
As 2019 draws to a close, a ton of things are happening in international shipping. You would think with the last three blogs getting into IMO 2020, Incoterm changes with Incoterms 2020, and the [...]
We're less than a month away from New Year's Day when some big rule changes are to be implemented on the international shipping industry: Incoterms 2020 and IMO 2020 go into effect on January [...]
2020 is less than a month away, and it's not an exaggeration to say it will be one of the most eventful new years the international shipping industry has ever seen. First, IMO 2020 goes into [...]
Last week, one of our partners in Vietnam emailed Universal Cargo about the country's customs significantly increasing inspection "ratio on all cargo bound to the states." The change in procedure [...]
Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the world's second largest ocean freight carrier by capacity for the moment, put out a press release on Monday concerning its executive leadership: MSC [...]
In case anyone actually needed more evidence for the volatility of freight rates, ocean shipping prices just swung in the opposite direction again. After blogging just a week ago about a surge in [...]
The much toted Phase One Trade Deal between the U.S. and China was hoped to be signed this weekend on the 16th or 17th of November. With the 17th being my birthday, I would have accepted the deal [...]
This year, freight rates in the traditionally peak season months have behaved untraditionally. Instead of seeing higher freight rates, this peak season was full of falling freight rates. However, [...]
In March of 2015, I wrote a Universal Cargo blog post about how the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) should pay damages for what the union did at the Port of Portland. Today's [...]
The outlook on shipping through the Arctic is changing. And I'm not just talking about the changes in climate making shipping through the North Pole possible. Ocean freight carriers are coming [...]