Category: shipping

BC Strike Affects Many Across the Country

For prairie farmers like Bill Prybylski, the strike at ports in B.C. is frustrating. While the strike, which entered its fourth day Tuesday, is not expected to affect bulk shipments of grains—like loading up a freighter with wheat—it will still affect a variety of other agricultural products, such as specialty crops like mustard and peas…


Empty Shipping Containers Pile Up in Chinese Ports as China’s Exports Continue to Decline

Empty shipping containers used for export have been piling up in Shanghai, Ningbo, Guangdong, and other major Chinese ports since December, as China’s foreign trade continues to decline. The latest data from ContainerxChange, a global container trading platform, shows that in the sixth week of 2023 (February 5–11), the CAx (Container Availability Index) of Shanghai…


Former Transportation Committee Chairman Warns China Could ‘Weaponize’ Dominance Over Shipping

Former House Transportation Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio has sounded the alarm over China’s control of the shipping industry, warning that the Asian superpower could “weaponize” its dominance against the United States. Currently, China controls a vast proportion of shipping vessels and equipment, while the United States has lagged behind in its control of shipping. Speaking…


LIVE NOW: Rethinking Shipping to Reduce US Vulnerability to China: A Hudson Institute Event

The pandemic triggered supply chain chaos in the past two years, which also provided the United States a chance to see America’s vulnerability in shipping bottlenecks, given that less than 100 ships out of a global fleet of 50,000 are American. As the concern that China could weaponize its growing control over supply chains and…


Rethinking Shipping to Reduce US Vulnerability to China: A Hudson Institute Event

The pandemic triggered supply chain chaos in the past two years, which also provided the United States a chance to see America’s vulnerability in shipping bottlenecks, given that less than 100 ships out of a global fleet of 50,000 are American. As the concern that China could weaponize its growing control over supply chains and…


US Retailers’ Ocean Shipping Price Woes Ending, but New Delays Threaten

LONG BEACH, Calif.—Collapsing ocean shipping rates would seem to be good news for U.S. retailers, but they are now bracing for delays as some carriers try to prop up prices by cancelling voyages. Retailers had paid as much as $20,000 to move a container of goods during the worst pandemic disruptions. Carriers like MSC and…


Warehouse Data Show Inflation Could Roar Back With a Vengeance

The latest warehouse data are showing signs that inflation could come back with a vengeance this year. As U.S. markets await the latest release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Feb. 12, logistics managers are warning of growing signs of inflation in the supply chain, which may financially hurt consumers. The CPI for December saw…


Maritime Companies Partner With Louisiana to Invest in Future Container Facility Terminal

Port companies in New Jersey and Switzerland have committed $800 million to build a $1.8 billion container facility in Louisiana. The two global maritime companies are partnering with the state of Louisiana and the Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) to build the Louisiana International Terminal in St. Bernard Parish in Violet, Louisiana, according to…


Australia’s Record Grain Harvest Leads to Strong Demand for Export Services: Report

Bulk grain exports in Australia during the past two years have reached a new record, with the industry exporting a reported total of 40.6 tonnes from 2021 to 2022—61 percent higher than the industry’s yearly average. This comes despite recent flooding events, labour shortages, and harvest delays. According to a report (pdf) by the Australian…


US Charges 5 Russians for Shipping Military Equipment, Venezuelan Oil

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON—U.S. prosecutors on Wednesday charged five Russian nationals for sanctions evasion and other violations related to shipping military technologies bought from U.S. manufacturers to Russian buyers, some of which ended up on the battlefield in Ukraine. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said the electronic components purchased by Russian nationals Yury Orekhov and Svetlana Kuzurgasheva included…