Initially, analysts predicted that blanked sailings would subside after Lunar New Year, but new predictions push the slump past the Spring Festival and well into the end of the first quarter before improving. Vessel sharing alliances have blanked more than 27% of their sailings connected to Asia, prompting shippers who are concerned about inventory to
The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen’s union has voted against the National Tentative Agreement, becoming the second union to say no to the contract proposed in September after a lengthy negotiation that required the Presidential Advisory Board to step in and urge both sides to come together. Unfortunately, despite that intervention, the issues regarding sick time,
Anxious to hold onto the profits and control they had during the pandemic, carriers are struggling to amend capacity and availability to keep rates up as demand flops worldwide. Coupled with new lockdowns coming from China’s zero-COVID policy in Ningbo, Shanghai, and Tianjin, there could be more cuts coming in addition to the issues that
After the booming ocean cargo season that turned a sprinkle of profit into a firehose, any slowdown will feel like the world is ending for ocean carriers. So to maintain their success, some of the biggest ocean carriers are announcing an air cargo arm to bolster their service offerings and offset the reduction in ocean
Railroad labor negotiations are coming to the end of a thirty-day cooling-off period this Friday, September 16th which means a strike is possible. While many Class 1 railroads prepare for the possibility of a work stoppage, many have started placing embargoes on cargo that is time- or security-sensitive or hazardous. While the government has made
The goal of a forward-thinking, proactive forwarder is to make the process of importing and exporting easier for our clients. That responsibility isn’t limited to just the shipping and documentation – at Coppersmith, we believe that any steps we can take to make our clients’ lives more efficient are beneficial. This outlook makes us proud
From congestion to disruption to full-blown crisis, the logistics industry has been under such intense pressure it’s amazing we aren’t living under a rainstorm of diamonds! With reports coming in that we’re seeing days of 100 ships waiting in the San Pedro Bay, forwarders are desperate for options to expedite and recover the cargo. Technically,
Unlike most years, 2021’s peak season started in June as retail giants Walmart and Amazon desperately try to restock inventory and avoid the trucking, rail, & ocean cargo congestion delays that plague the US west coast. Between rail embargos and empty containers getting preference overloaded export boxes, the new measures many carriers and companies are
As much as we hear about the delays on the US West Coast regarding ocean freight, the focus on retail goods does a disservice to the issues coming up for other cargo including granite shipments from India. Following the pandemic explosion of e-commerce, home improvement spending experienced a 3% increase as people stuck at home
The delays that customers experience in light of congestion and capacity changes are one of the most important factors facing us at Coppersmith Global Logistics. We have had several customers and domestic agents ask for our help to find chassis, even if shipments are booked at carrier door delivery because the equipment is so tight.
