Related to yesterday’s ShapFlash: in wake of the rapidly spreading Coronavirus, the Chinese government has decided to extend its Lunar New Year an additional 3 days– from January 30th to February 2nd – in all cities except Shanghai and Ningbo. In the Shanghai and Ningbo provinces, which are closer to Wuhan, the New Year extensions […]

The deadly Coronavirus, which has already negatively impacted trade, has now claimed up to 80 lives and infected over 2,700 people. Wuhan, which served as ground zero for the outbreak, is still actively in the process of cancelling events and imposing mandatory quarantines. In a report released this weekend, the Chinese government had already decided […]

China has commenced the process of reducing the number of ships calling the city of Wuhan in an effort to avoid the further spread of the Coronavirus, a deadly respiratory infection that first catalyzed in central China last week. A number of ships have been left idling along the Yangtze River, which serves as an […]

Chinese New Year (CNY) 2020 will commence on Saturday, January 25th.  As usual, it is expected to be accompanied by the typical pre-holiday surge and post-holiday deluge of blank sailings implemented by the carriers. Manufacturing in China will begin to cease as early as Thursday, January 16th, with most factories opening their doors again during […]

As referenced in our latest Freight Report, we are roughly 1 month away from the IMO 2020 effective date, which mandates that carriers must burn 0.5% very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO) or operate vessels with exhaust scrubbers to meet IMO 2020 emissions regulations. In light of the above, carriers have begun implementing various surcharges […]

Effective Tuesday, November 19th at 12:10 AM, approximately 3,200 unionized conductors and railyard workers from Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) organized an official labor strike against Canadian National (CN). Although reports indicate that representatives from both Teamsters and CN have already sat down with federal mediators in an effort to create a deal to replace […]

By now, you may have learned that 17 metric tons of cocaine have been seized from the MSC Gayane by federal authorities on Tuesday, June 18th, at Philadelphia’s Packer Marine Terminal.  MSC has since been notified by United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that their C-TPAT certification has been suspended for a period of […]

The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) and Canadian International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) have reached a tentative agreement to end yesterday’s planned labor lockout at the Vancouver and Prince Rupert ports, and will resume normal port operations effective this afternoon, Thursday, May 30th at 4:30 pm. Mediated negotiation efforts to end the lockout […]

The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) released an official notice to the Canadian International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) indicating its intention to lockout dockworkers at the Canadian ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert beginning Thursday, May 30th at 8:00 am. The announcement trails the continuously tumultuous contract negotiations between BCMEA officials and ILWU […]

Several carriers have already announced upcoming Trans-Pacific blank sailings for June. The OCEAN Alliance, including CMA (including APL), COSCO (including OOCL) and Evergreen, will remove approximately 25,000 TEU from its Trans-Pacific trade lane in June (this represents over 6% of total capacity). The news comes amid declining demand due to the low volume of Chinese […]

The grace period is nearly up for Air Cargo Advanced Screening (ACAS). Air cargo carriers should already have their method in place prior to June 12th 2019 to technologically meet the advanced security filing requirements for air cargo imports to the U.S. This data collection and submission program is a joint effort between Customs and […]

On May 3rd, the Panama Canal Authority released its 6th draft restriction of 2019, a result of the country’s ongoing and severe drought conditions. Effective May 28th, vessels traveling through the famous canal will be restricted to a maximum draft of 13.1 meters (43 feet). Authorities lowered the current restrictions on the waterway by an […]

President Trump threatened to close the U.S. border with Mexico as early as this week in light of the issues stemming from the continued immigration crisis. Trump’s announcement is the latest in a series of escalated threats against Mexico in his pursuit of border security. It’s unclear whether the closure would apply to all traffic […]

Extremely low water levels in the Panama Canal have led to the imposition of a draft restriction on the waterway due to safety considerations. Presently, there is no expiration date for the restriction, but it will be eliminated once water levels stabilize. As of now, Maersk will roll almost all containers on GUNHILDE MAERSK/913E, which […]

We have been informed that the Seagirt gate at the Port of Baltimore re-opened at 2:15 PM today, January 24th, after a brief closure earlier as a result of an ongoing labor dispute. Seagirt has advised that they will be offering today, January 24th, and tomorrow, January 25th, as additional free days. Shapiro will continue […]

We have been informed that Union Pacific (UP) rail ramps at Chicago (UP – Global 4) and Memphis (UP – Marion) are experiencing severe chassis shortages, leading to massive delays for truckers awaiting loads and unexpected costs for importers. This news is just the latest development in a series of reported backlogs across U.S. ports […]

As a follow up to California Senate Bill 1402, which became enforceable as of January 1, 2019, the California Division of Labor Standards and Enforcement has published the first list of port drayage providers with outstanding, unsatisfied court judgments, tax assessments or tax liens. Use of carriers on this list by customers can result in […]

Typhoon Usagi, which is arriving on the heels of devastating Tropical Storm Toraji, brought record breaking rain and flooding to southern Vietnamese cities this weekend and powerfully struck the port cities of Ho Chi Minh and Vung Tau. Transportation services and port operations in the region remain halted as a result of continued high winds […]

Typhoon Mangkhut, which just finished ravaging southern China and continues to move inland, and Hurricane Florence, which continues to be a catalyst for major flooding along the southeastern coast of the U.S., have caused major havoc on ground, sea and air transport schedules. Believe it or not, Hurricane Florence appears to be the lesser of […]

Reports from New Delhi have confirmed that the Indian trucker strike officially ended on Friday, July 27th, though inflated pricing and inland capacity woes are expected to plague the nationwide market into late August. The strike commenced on July 20th as the All Indian Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) took 10 million vehicles off the road […]