Contract negotiations between the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) and their employers at the West Coast ports, the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), have been suspended until [...]
Countdown ‘Til ILWU Slowdowns Contract Negotiations The countdown is at nine days. This isn’t an exciting countdown like counting down the days ’til Christmas or the seconds [...]
A good supply chain is predictably critical. Without goods, no one can grow and thrive. This, of course, causes imports and exports to grow in importance in turn. Fresh goods, goods not available [...]
Their supply chains shaking and rattling, shippers wake up in cold sweats. If not dark, the horizon is hazy, impossible to see what lies ahead. But shippers know there's a contract expiration out [...]
This post concludes our long Jones Act blog series, recapping the major points of the debate we covered and putting them all in one easy reference point. We began this series after President [...]
We're now deep in a series covering the debate over the 100-year-old piece of legislation known as the Jones Act. The controversial Merchant Marine Act of 1920, as it is formally named, has [...]
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 [...]
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 Ceci Amador.
As a business owner or manager, it’s only natural for you [...]
This is a guest post by Dave Gilbert. The United States imported over $3 trillion worth of goods in 2018 alone. Hundreds of thousands of businesses depend on foreign suppliers and producers [...]
Despite the fact their Master Contract permits port automation by terminal operators, the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) is fighting hard against APM Terminals' plan to automate [...]
There's tension building with the dockworkers at West Coast ports.
Shippers have been feeling good about stability at the ports because of the contract extension and new contract the [...]
This is a guest post by Alexandra Reay.
In the past 40 years, the Arctic sea ice extent maximums and minimums have gotten increasingly smaller. Sea ice loss is happening, and it’s [...]
This is it! Universal Cargo's final blog of 2018!
It's become a tradition over the last couple years to make the last blog of the year a look back on the year's top 10 international [...]
TOP 10 INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING NEWS STORIES OF 2017 - Universal Shipping NewsWatch this video on YouTube This is it! Universal Cargo’s final blog of 2017. This year certainly seems to have [...]
Something has changed at U.S. ports. And it’s a good thing for shippers. The International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) agreed to an early contract extension in August that brings [...]
What kind of freight rates are shippers getting right now on their ocean shipping? The last time we posted on freight rates was in August with a blog titled Freight Rate Wars: Carriers Strike [...]
Is international shipping manipulating weather? Controlling the weather has often captured our imagination in popular fiction. Examples include the upcoming movie Geostorm about weather [...]
The worst is over with Hurricane Irma; however, Florida and Georgia took pretty big hits. Millions are without power. Homes and businesses were damaged. Worse, ABC reported the death toll in the [...]
It’s actually happening. The International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) is extending its contract before the current one expires. This might be one of the most exciting news items [...]