Maersk doesn't believe any of the ocean freight carriers outside of itself and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) have the ability to stand alone. For this reason, the company doesn't believe [...]
After a couple years of out of control, skyrocketing freight rates, ocean freight pricing finally came tumbling down. Freight rates have gone from peaks, including cargo routes getting carriers [...]
This is a guest post by David Burns. Shipping regular goods is stressful enough for any business that imports or export. However, if you find yourself in a position where you need to ship [...]
This is a guest post by Robin Kix. [NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: This post isn't necessarily about international shipping as Universal Cargo's blog is normally focused, even though international [...]
Air freight conditions for shippers are now starkly different from what they were during the pandemic. For the most part, this difference is positive for shippers. Air space and availability is [...]
This is a guest post by Alanna Melton. Expanding globally is a dream that many entrepreneurs hope to see come true. Thankfully, technology and increased connectedness have made it easy to take [...]
Imports from Southeast Asia to the U.S. totaled over $231 billion in 2020 alone, and the value of imports from countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam will grow. Common [...]
The people of China are standing up against the tyrannical Covid Zero a.k.a Zero Covid policies their government continues to enforce on them. These policies have disrupted supply chains through [...]
This is a guest post by Patrick Chown. Logistics is simply about moving goods from one location to another in the right amount of time. However, it is one of the most complex and critical parts [...]
There are lines in current news outlet articles that shippers, importers in particular, will actually be happy to read: "Trans-Pacific shipping rates have plummeted roughly 75% from year-ago [...]
As shippers expected, more International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) slowdowns are happening at West Coast ports as contract negotiations lag on. Labor action is creating slowdowns at the [...]
On Friday, September the 16th, the mandatory cooling-off period on negotiations between U.S. railroads and their employees' unions ends, and the unions will be able to strike. That's just three [...]
The Wall Street Journal headlined an article yesterday with "Ocean Shipping Rates Have Plunged 60% This Year." Costas Paris reports in the article: "The cost to ship a 40-foot container from [...]
A few of the smaller unions of rail workers reached a deal on Monday (August 29th) with the U.S. railroad carriers. This is a good step toward avoiding a rail strike that would cripple supply [...]
West Coast ports, East Coast ports, Gulf Coast ports... we're seeing congestion all over. A great deal of the focus lately has been on congestion at East and Gulf Coast ports as many shippers are [...]
Small and medium-sized companies rely on shipping processes to send their goods to the appropriate destinations. However, current record inflation highs make these efforts more difficult for the [...]
Shippers have more fees – or at least faster racking-up fees – to worry about at the Port of New York and New Jersey. Michael Angell reports in the Journal of Commerce (JOC): "The largest marine [...]
Afer two years of port congestion and supply chain disruption and with new powers from the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (“OSRA 2022”), the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) is considering [...]
In the last blog, we looked at how – with the slowing economy – retailers and shippers are decreasing their imports and expected to keep doing so in 2023. As discussed, that should mean [...]