On Tuesday, we covered three international shipping news stories affecting shippers. Among them was the Federal Maritime Commission’s (FMC’s) publication of a new rule concerning ocean freight carriers’ unreasonable refusal to deal with shippers. This has been a particular problem for U.S. exporters, especially agricultural ones, during busy shipping seasons when Eastbound transpacific shipping routes […] The post FMC’s New Rule on Carriers’ Refusal to Deal with Shippers Full Text appeared first on Universal Cargo ..read more

What’s happening in international shipping right now? Here are three news stories currently affecting imports and exports. Plus, there’s a bonus ILA Strike threat summary at the end. 1. Russia to Aid Houthi with Anti-Ship Missiles? It appears Russia is getting involved with the Houthi attacks on ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, which have been stopping carriers from sending container ships through the Suez Canal. From the beginning of the attacks, Houthi rebels have been backed and supplied with weapons by Iran. Now, according to an article by Michael R. Gordon and Lara Seligman in ..read more

It’s not the economy that drove up shipping demand. Not consumer spending. It was logistical considerations. Importers were trying to get ahead of supply chain disruption risks. Risks like the potential International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) strike the union has been threatening. At least that’s what international shipping industry analysts and large importers of goods believe. Peter Tirschwell reported in the Journal of Commerce (JOC): Some analysts, as well as some large US import beneficial cargo owners (BCOs) the Journal of Commerce spoke to over the past week, believe logistics c ..read more

DEFCON levels for the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) strike watch just went up a level. Or wait, down a level, as lower levels mean higher threat. Oh, DEFCON, how you vex me. On Friday, the union posted an article in the ILA News section of its website that warns a strike is more likely, largely quoting and paraphrasing ILA President Harold J. Daggett. Highlights of the message include: AI generated ILA Strike Image “…a strike at all Atlantic and Gulf Coast Ports is becoming more likely…” “…employers represented by United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) are running out of time ..read more

According to S&P Global data shared in the Journal of Commerce (JOC), July 5th freight rates from Asia to the U.S. West Coast (USWC) were up 350% compared to the same time last year. Asia to U.S. East Coast (USEC) rates were up 551%. Asia to U.S. freight rates had been doing nothing but rise and rise and rise since April 19th. By this month, we were looking at freight rates soaring to “supply chain crisis” types of heights. However, the freight rate numbers on July 10th finally broke the week-on-week growth streak. Asia to USWC freight rates suddenly decreased by 2% this week, and Asia to ..read more

Universal Cargo’s International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) strike watch continues…. Shippers dread an ILA strike, which would shut down ports all along the East and Gulf Coasts, massively disrupting supply chains. That wouldn’t just be bad for businesses that import or export goods. It would also be an enormous blow to the economy, likely measured in billions of dollars in damage per day. Thus, the country’s leaders, all the way up to America’s president, often must get involved when negotiations turn sour and labor action becomes a factor…. But politician involvement is where the curren ..read more

This is a guest post by Jane Dorsey. As the holiday season approaches, businesses face the challenge of managing increased demand and ensuring that their products reach customers in a timely manner. Whether you’re a small business owner or a logistics manager for a large company, preparing for peak season requires strategic planning and effective execution. In this article, we’ll explore various storage and shipping strategies that can help you navigate the busiest time of the year with ease and efficiency. 1. Understanding Peak Season Demands The first step in preparing for peak season is un ..read more

Today’s blog post is a little different. We put a pertinent international shipping story for shippers into a Star Wars parodying crawl. However, not everyone may enjoy reading about U.S. ports and terminal operators pushing back on President Biden’s proposed tariffs on Chinese ship-to-shore (STS) cranes inside of a Star Wars spoof crawl, so I’ve also included the complete text of the video below… Full Text of Port Wars/Star Wars Spoof Crawl It is a dark time for the Biden Administration. Last week, the first presidential debate of 2024 was held. Despite a week at Camp David to do nothing bu ..read more

It’s been over two weeks since the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) abruptly cancelled contract negotiations on the day they were to finally resume. There has been no sign of the union relenting and going to the negotiation table. The ILA said it will strike if a new deal is not reached by the time the current contract expires. That happens September 30th. Thus, Universal Cargo’s ILA Strike Watch 2024 continues… Photo of Joe Biden by Gage Skidmore Shippers are rightfully becoming more and more anxious at the prospect of East and Gulf Coast Ports shutting down over a new ILA maste ..read more

Yang Ming is one of the world’s major ocean freight carriers. It’s Taiwan’s second largest ocean carrier. It’s the 10th largest ocean freight carrier in the world. According to a Journal of Commerce (JOC) article by Keith Wallis, Yang Ming says the early peak season we’ve seen in 2024 shows no sign of slowing down. Is that true? Universal Cargo’s internal numbers show a 20% drop from May shipments to June ones. That is just anecdotal evidence, though I often use Universal Cargo’s numbers as a barometer for the international shipping industry. And that barometer approach has served me well in t ..read more