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What exactly does the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA) say and do? This blog series goes through it section by section, so you can see exactly what our lawmakers changed in the U.S. Code [...]

The latest International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) labor action that shut down terminals and slowed down port operations up and down the West Coast is all about money. The ILWU is [...]

International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) labor action shut down port terminals up and down the West Coast on Friday. The labor action actually started on Thursday evening and has [...]

Democrat and Republican lawmakers seem to have found something they can agree on: the international shipping industry, and ocean freight sector in particular, needs regulatory change. On Monday, [...]

The International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) claimed today to have reached a "tentative agreement" with the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) on "certain key issues." Immediately, it [...]

Patrick E. McLean wrote in his book How to Succeed in Evil, "There is no such thing as coincidence, Topper. It is always, always your enemies conspiring against you." Shippers may feel that's an [...]

The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach suddenly shut down Thursday night. The closure of the country's busiest port complex continued Friday. "Terminals noted they closed due to labor [...]

One of the things we often do in Universal Cargo's blog is give shippers an outlook for how the international shipping freight rate market is behaving and looks to behave. Over the years, [...]

Shippers have long complained about unfair detention and demurrage fees at the ports. A particular point of contention is getting charged for days when port terminals are closed, and it's [...]

A group of 238 state, local, and federal trade associations sent a letter to President Biden, imploring him and his administration to mediate the International Longshore & Warehouse Union [...]

Shippers may find themselves uneasy when they realize North American dockworker unions coast to coast will be negotiating contracts at the same time. As port disruption from labor slowdowns is [...]

Shippers, get ready for the freight rate war saga of the ocean carriers to continue. Perhaps the biggest reason for shippers to pay attention to what's happening with carriers is because it [...]

At last there’s news about the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) contract negotiations. After months of being completely stalled, negotiations have reportedly resumed. [...]

Ocean freight rates have fallen, for which U.S. importers can rejoice. Readers of Universal Cargo's blog certainly don't need a recap of how freight rates skyrocketed during the pandemic, thanks [...]

Like a bad hairstyle fad, the 2M Alliance is coming to an end. But that end won't be abrupt. The process is not as simple as combing hair along a part, sending this section of hair that way and [...]

It's become something of a habit when talking about the sister ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to mention they're the busiest port complex in the U.S. in terms of cargo volume brought in [...]

There was more port disruption this week as the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) contract negotiations drag on. And shippers can expect this to continue for some time. By all [...]

More International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) disruption is happening at West Coast ports, particularly at the Port of Oakland, as contract negotiations don't appear to be getting [...]

By all reports, the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) are still far away from reaching terms on a new master contract. And now [...]

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the world’s largest ocean freight carrier by capacity, has been making moves that could position itself to leave the 2M Alliance it has with Maersk, [...]