Logistics News

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Panama during his first overseas trip in the post, a source told Reuters on Thursday, as President Donald Trump makes a push for the United States to take back the Panama Canal that has angered the Central American country.Rubio is expected to depart on Jan. 31 and travel during the first week of February, making additional stops in Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and El Salvador, according to the source who was familiar with the plans.Planning for the trip is still ongoing and the itinerary is subject to change…

Several Texas ports began to resume operations on Wednesday, after winter storm Enzo moved out of the state, according to ports and a shipping notice seen by Reuters.The port of Freeport had resumed vessel operations on Wednesday morning, while the ports of Houston and Galveston were planning to reopen to vessel traffic later in the day.The storm brought several inches of snow to Texas, Louisiana and Florida, where extreme winter conditions are rare. It forced the shutdown of school districts…

The National Association of Waterfront Employers (NAWE), the leading organization representing U.S. marine terminal operators and stevedores, has expressed its support for the confirmation of Sean Duffy as the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).In a letter sent to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), NAWE emphasized the importance of experienced leadership at DOT to ensure the vitality and efficiency of the nation’s transportation infrastructure. “Mr.

Colonial Pipeline's main U.S. gasoline artery is expected to be shut through Friday as the company continues to search for the source of a suspected leak in Paulding County, Georgia, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.Line 1, one of two mainlines on the more than 5,500-mile Colonial system, was shut on Monday night after Colonial received reports of a gasoline release and began investigating. The pipeline moves gasoline from Texas to North Carolina and was earlier expected to resume service on Tuesday night…

A potential strike at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports has been avoided with the announcement of a tentative labor agreement, but the nation’s major container ports have already seen a surge in imports that is expected to continue because of potential increases in tariffs, according to the Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.“The new contract brings certainty and avoids disruptions, and we hope to see it ratified as soon as possible,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said.

American Cruise Lines is pleased to announce their biggest Alaska cruise season ever. The company will have 2 small ships in Alaska and 5 extraordinary itineraries, delivering once-in-a-lifetime experiences aboard sailings operating this May through September.For 2025, American has repositioned small ship, American Constitution, to the West Coast for summer Alaska cruises and spring and fall Puget Sound cruises. Doubling capacity in the region, 170-passenger, American Constitution…

NYK and Yusen Logistics (YL) have introduced a digital platform for managing GHG emission reductions.The platform is provided by 123Carbon, a Netherlands-based startup working on decarbonizing the logistics sector.NYK and YL will use the platform to support the reduction of Scope 3 GHG emissions by allocating to platform customers the GHG emissions reductions achieved from the use of alternative fuels in our ocean, air and land transport services and issuing certificates confirming…

CMA CGM will build and deploy a zero emissions inland transport solution in Vietnam, a solution the company says is a "100% green electricity barge coupled with dedicated charging infrastructures" supplied by a new solar farm at Gemalink terminal in Cai Mep (25% owned by CMA CGM Group). A new dedicated solar farm on the premises of Gemalink will produce 1GWH of green electricity annually to recharge the e-barge.From Binh Duong Province to the deep-sea terminal of Gemalink, the e-barge will make the 180 km return journey emitting zero greenhouse gas emissions…

Port Houston Container Volumes Up 24% in November.Port Houston is on track to close 2024 as one of its most successful years to date, handling 3,799,573 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) through November—a 9% increase over the same period last year. November volumes alone reached 369,361 TEUs, a notable 24% increase year-over-year. This marks the biggest month of the year for Port Houston in terms of containerized cargo volume.Loaded imports rose by 19% in November, driven by consumer goods and machinery, and loaded exports were up 16% the same month, reinforced by robust resin shipments.

How propane offers unmatched reliability and resiliency when severe weather strikesPorts are critical hubs for global trade and shipping logistics, and they can’t afford to slow down due to extreme weather events. Especially in the Northern U.S., winter storms bring extreme freezing temperatures that can quickly create issues for any diesel or electric engines powering port equipment. Meanwhile, ports along the Gulf Coast and Atlantic Coast must be prepared for hurricanes every year that can knock out the power grid and slow down operations for days…

Despite becoming a major developer of alternative fuels for the maritime sector, Sweden is facing limited access to the wider European market. Nils Igelström, Managing Director of GAC Sweden, discusses the need for greater clarity to prevent shipping’s energy transition stalling.Sweden is in a very strong position to support the maritime sector’s alternative fuel development. Tied closely to the country’s own goal of reaching net zero by 2045, it is investing heavily in infrastructure project to develop biofuels…

Port authorities in Singapore and Rotterdam said they have not received reports of vessels experiencing problems related to the use of cashew nutshell liquid biofuel - an issue highlighted by fuel testing agency CTI-Maritec last week.Several ships using the two ports reported operational problems in recent months after using marine fuel blended with cashew nutshell liquid, the Singapore-based agency said on Thursday, adding that the cashew nutshell liquid had come from undeclared source materials or production processes.The operational problems included fuel sludging…

As the Military Sealift Command (MSC) celebrates its 75th anniversary, it is looking to the future through the eyes of a forward-thinking “innovation cell” named for a ship from its storied past. USNS Taluga (T-AO-62) was the first Navy replenishment ship that was operated by civil service mariners.The Taluga Group is a three-person team of Director John Bruening, Dean Vesely and Jerit VanAuker who are focused on capability development and adoption of innovative practices.The Tulaga Group team have diverse backgrounds to help them look at problems in different ways.

U.S. shippers are steering clear of East and Gulf Coast ports amid worries the 45,000 dockworkers at those trade hubs will go on strike again if their union leader does not land a new contract with employers by a Jan. 15 deadline.The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) labor union and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employer group had ended a three-day strike in October with a tentative agreement on wages, but left the thorny issue of port automation still to be resolved."Anything we expect that we need in the back half of January…

Genoa-based shipping and logistics company, the Fratelli Cosulich Group, has officially started its Empowering Minds project.The post-graduate traineeship, managed by Corporate HR, offers a unique opportunity to the new generation approaching the workplace for the first time. The six selected young graduates have started this week, with lessons led by various internal experts acting as teachers. Over the next six months, these talented young individuals will gain in-depth knowledge of all 15 of the group's business units…

Crowley named Walter Tague as vice president of sales and supply for its Crowley Fuels businesses unit, which services energy logistics needs throughout Alaska. With more than 30 years of maritime industry experience specializing in supply chain management and support in the oil and gas sectors, Tague will oversee Crowley’s marketing, sales, customer relations and procurement of refined product supply for the Alaskan and Canadian Arctic markets.Since joining Crowley in 1999, Tague has served in multiple roles…

Global supply chains are braced for further disruption and increasing costs after US President Joe Biden announced new tariffs on Chinese imports on Tuesday.The tariffs will be imposed on a wide range of Chinese imports including semi-conductors, batteries, EVs and solar cells, with the changes staggered to come into effect between 2024 and 2026.Peter Sand, Chief Analyst at Xeneta, said: “The new tariffs under President Biden may be a case of history repeating. If so, businesses…

“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the global container market grew only 1.5% from 171.0 million TEU in 2019 to 173.5 million TEU in 2023. Without the pandemic, that figure would have been 24.6 million higher, landing at 198.1 million in 2023,” says Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.During the past four years, the container market has faced not only lower than expected growth in the global economy, but the ratio of market growth vs economic growth, the so-called GDP multiplier…

Danish shipping and logistics firm DFDS said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy the international transport network of Turkey's Ekol Logistics for 1.9 billion crowns ($277 million) and lifted its sales growth forecast for the year.The network connects Turkey and Europe and the acquisition will add road transport to its Mediterranean ferry network, DFDS said in a statement, adding that it was in line with its strategy to move goods in trailers by ferry, road and rail."Turkey's role…

SAAM reported net income of US$501 million in 2023, representing its best-ever results thanks to the sale of its port and logistics assets to Hapag-Lloyd, which generated a net gain of US$422 million.Sales for the year totaled US$540 million and EBITDA was US$160 million, surpassing the prior year by 17% and 9%, respectively."The sale of our port terminal and inland logistics operations leaves us in a solid position to move forward on the path we have set for ourselves: to lead the consolidation process in the towage industry and grow in air cargo logistics services.

France's CMA CGM has completed a $5 billion takeover of Bollore Logistics, its biggest-ever acquisition, and said it had funds for more deals as it seeks to counter volatility in container shipping.The acquisition of the logistics division of French conglomerate Bollore, announced last year, closed on Thursday at a final price of 4.85 billion euros ($5.25 billion) after debt and cash adjustments.The deal will extend the reach of CMA CGM's CEVA Logistics unit into areas such as freight management for pharmaceutical, cosmetics and luxury firms.CMA CGM, based in Marseille and privately controlled

The EU Commission on Friday said it had cleared the acquisition of the logistics operations of conglomerate Bollore by shipping group CMA CGM, subject to a number of conditions proposed by the companies.The commission, which oversees competition policy in the 27-nation European Union, said that the acquisition had been approved after its investigation found a number of concerns.To address them, the parties agreed to divest all of Bolloré Logistics' activities in Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Martin and French Guiana, as well as a number of assets in metropolitan France linked to these activiti

As zero carbon cargo efforts are progressing, it is becoming more apparent that the lowest hanging fruit is in the last few miles. This is where a large amount of carbon is expended in delivering small parcels to stores and consumers’ doors.This is particularly apparent in dense pack cities like New York City, where delivery vans clog streets and water crossings. The NYC Economic Development Commission recently issued a Request For Expression of Interest in waterborne micro cargo delivery.