Yesterday, July 24th, COSCO’s U.S. offices fell victim to a cyber attack. According to initial reports COSCO’s U.S. network broke down rendering the majority of their electronic communications inoperable, thus hindering COSCO’s ability to communicate with vessels, customers, vendors and terminals within the U.S. At this time, COSCO has not proposed a timeline for when […]

As of 6 AM (IST) this morning, the All-India Motor Transport Congress, led by Chairman Bal Malkit Singh, commenced an indefinite strike as a means of protesting rising diesel costs, heightened taxes with decreased exemptions and the current system for tendering port cargo. Initial reports indicate that over 80% of the country’s truck capacity is participating […]

The International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance reached a US East and Gulf Coast ports tentative labor agreement Wednesday, June 6th, after 16 long months of negotiations. The tentative deal reached by dockworkers and port operators is a six-year master contract at East and Gulf Coast ports, ensuring labor peace until 2024. […]

The 18th summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is taking place in Qingdao on June 9th-10th . To ensure a successful summit, safety procedures are being put into place well in advance, causing closures and inconveniences to customers and shipments. From May 30th to either June 11th or 13th, the Chinese Government is conducting […]

The Brazilian Government and truckers in Brazil still have not reached an agreement to end the strike, continuing into day 5 of no truck drivers. The Brazilian Association of Trucking, which represents about 700,00 drivers, organized the strike and rejected the deal late Thursday, causing one of the worst strikes in country history and affecting […]

Congestion at several critical Asian ports is disrupting shipping service, with berthing delays of at least a week as ships are forced to wait at anchor. The ports of Bangkok, Chittagong, Kolkata, and Shanghai are reported to be most affected, with increased container volumes, poor infrastructure and in some cases, bad weather all contributing to […]

Two unions at the Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (CP), representing over 3,300 workers, have given 72-hour notice for a strike that would commence on April 21, 2018 at 12:01am EDT. The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference – Train & Engine (TCRC) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) comprised of engineers, conductors, signal and communication […]

Heavy fog across the North China region is causing many ocean carriers in Shanghai and Ningbo to reschedule or delay sailings for several days or even weeks. Dense fog has been reported in the region for the past two to three weeks, making it difficult for shipping lines to maintain schedules and port operations.  Some […]

To offset increasing costs and challenges in the drayage market, many ocean carriers are beginning to implement an Emergency Door Service (EDS) surcharge on door moves.  The new ELD mandate and equipment/driver shortages are causing significant delays, and as a result, carriers are levying a fee against shippers to cover such costs or even restricting […]

According to The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, due to Winter Storm Quinn and weather conditions expected to deteriorate overnight, all NY/NJ container terminals will be CLOSED on Thursday, March 8, 2018. Several terminals have stated that normal operations will resume Friday morning. Shapiro will continue to monitor the situation closely and […]

Domestic Rates are Increasing As Service Levels Decrease The new ELD mandate, a severe chassis shortage, port congestion due to mega vessels, and an exponentially decreasing pool of drivers have brought the transportation industry to the precipice of a crisis. Now more than ever, shippers need to know how this veritable “perfect storm” of events […]

The new Electronic Log Data (ELD) mandate, which officially goes into effect on December 18th, is forcing truckers to pay much closer attention to their logs so as not to exceed their Hours of Service (HOS) requirements. Electronic logs, which cannot be manipulated with the same ease as their paper predecessors, have already caused rate […]

Shapiro has received multiple reports that Baltimore’s Seagirt Marine Terminal has ceased operations for the remainder of the day today, Tuesday, November 7th due to crane operators walking off the job. There has been no further information released regarding the closure at this time, so full details cannot yet be provided. We will continue to […]

The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party, a gathering of China’s top delegates that occurs twice a decade, will commence in Beijing on Wednesday, October 18th and is expected to last one week. In preparation for the meeting, security measures have been tightened as of October 16th and the majority of cargo entering Shanghai […]

In light of Irma’s changing trajectory and weakened condition, there are a number of updates to the information released in last Friday’s Shap Flash.  Please note the following: Port of Charleston is open and operating normally. Port of Savannah is CLOSED.  As of now, it is expected to re-open on Wednesday, 9/13. We are not […]

The most recent forecasts for Hurricane Irma now predict the Category 5 storm will make landfall in Florida tomorrow morning, after which Irma is expected to continue her trajectory, diminishing in size and severity throughout her journey along the Southeast coast of the U.S. In anticipation of Irma’s disastrous path, numerous ports along the Southeastern […]

Despite the destructive wake of Hurricane Harvey, which was officially classified as a Category 4 hurricane, the majority of affected Gulf Coast ports are hoping to resume normal operations by Labor Day. Though the Coast Guard has already reinstated partial operations at a few smaller Gulf Coast ports, namely Corpus Christi, Lake Charles and Galveston, […]

Based almost exclusively on the historical levels of flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, all major components of Houston’s vast transportation gateway are closed and inoperable. George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), The Port of Houston, and all major rail ramps remain closed with only IAH hoping to open as early as Thursday, August 31st. […]

The 9th annual BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Summit, which is touted as a major international relations event that brings in top officials from each member nation, is being hosted in Xiamen, China this year. The 2017 summit will officially take place between September 3rd and 5th. However, tightened security measures leading […]

Although no date has been set and no firm details are available, the International Longshoremen’s Association has begun to lay the groundwork for a one-day work stoppage at ILA ports from Houston to Maine.  The ILA hopes to draw attention to two issues affecting its members: the activities of the Waterfront Commission in the ports […]