Shipping freight rates are being pushed up due to a U.S. West Coast port strike. Container ships are unavailable for new orders because of delays in offloading and taking on new cargo.
Off the large U.S. West Coast ports, dozens of container ships are lying in wait. Many of which have been waiting more than a week to enter port to unload or take on new cargoes.
A lot of vessels are being affected by the strike. There are a lot of delays and container rates are being pushed up due to fewer ships being available for new orders.
A new report warns us about air pollution from ships in the high Arctic, to increase air pollution from shipping.
Although the report is called “Air pollution from marine vessels in the U.S. High Arctic in 2025,” its findings are of concern to the entire Arctic region.
It is estimated that shipping could increase in the next 10 years anywhere from 150 percent to 600 percent due to Arctic ice melt,
Net absorption of warehousing and manufacturing space in the U.S. has been positive for 19 consecutive quarters, yet continued improvement is expected at least through 2015.
The main drivers of industrial real estate; cargo volumes at seaports, rail freight volumes, gains in gross domestic product, increasing retail sales and a gradually improving housing market, all indicate that the trend will continue.
According to Estes, the nationwide LTL carrier, a stronger US economy is leading to stronger earnings and a busier season for LTL carriers. Estes is the largest privately-held LTL trucking company in the United States and the sixth largest LTL carrier overall. Their management is so confident that the strong numbers will continue, that the company purchased 980 tractors this summer.
As November approaches, so do some of the most observed holidays of the year. It's important to consider how service delays will impact the delivery dates of freight that you might be shipping to customers, or having delivered to you from your suppliers. Many LTL carriers observe Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays with complete or partial closures of their networks. This can include trucks, service centers, linehauls and more. In addition, when holidays border weekends, substantial delays can occur.
Shipping managers everywhere will tell you that in recent years, LTL carriers have become mroe aggressive with regard to weighing and correcting the freight class of shipments in transit.
Rail is the most fuel efficient way to transport freight. Even as fuel prices have decreased in recent weeks, fuel remains one of the biggest factors in determining freighr rates. For this reason, intermodal freight shipping can provide significant fuel cost savings when compared to trucking.
Does your company have inbound shipments coming from your suppliers? Whether coming from domestic or international points, allowing your vendors to arrange for shipping while they bill you can be probelmatic and costly. When your suppliers know that they're billing their customers for shipping, they are usually not very motivated to make sure their rates are as low as possible. Often, we talk to companies who say that their vendors include freight charges - but rest assured that they are simply building the cost of the freight into the goods you're buying.
Accessorials are charged when a shipment requires additioanl services during transit. Some of the most common accessorials are explained below:
Inside Delivery - If the shipper or consignee requires the carrier to move freight inside a structure, inside delivery will be assessed to the shipment.
