As the holidays creep closer, shoppers are gearing up to spend hard earned paychecks on their favorite aunts, grandparents, and more importantly… marketplaces.  If you were a seller during last year’s holiday season, you probably remember the trauma of last-minute capacity tightening, peak season surcharges and general rate increases, trucking timelines, customs exams, and the […]

If you are (or plan to be) an Amazon seller importing physical goods from overseas, we hope you took some time watch our Secrets of Importing Your Amazon Product WEBINAR hosted by Shapiro’s very own FBA Manager, Nicola Phillips Malaney. In case you didn’t get your fill of logistics goodness during the webinar, we’re back to […]

When shipping cargo in an ocean freight container, it’s certainly tempting to adopt the mindset that you’ve paid for the space in that box and, dammit, you’re going to use it!  We get it!  But alas, there’s more than that to compliant shipping.  Observance of the maximum load limits of a container isn’t the whole […]

JOC’s Annual Review and Outlook outlines the major challenges, opportunities and trends in the global transportation and logistics industry via reports from the editorial staff and insight from the industry’s top players. Major segments highlighted include maritime, trucking, rail and intermodal, air cargo, government and logistics. Contributors have years of experience and range from CEOs […]

Imagine you are back in 4th grade and happen to be the pudding czar of the elementary school’s most lucrative snack trade (you know; pudding for just about anything – mostly lunch money – strawberry Gusher’s for Cheetos, those little fudge elf cookies for string cheese and everything else that falls within the trade; don’t […]

On Friday, December 4th, a decade-long congressional standoff on federal transportation funding came to an end with the signing of Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act by President Obama. The landmark legislation allocates $305 billion dollars to America’s multimodal transportation network over the next five years, a marked change from the short-term one to two […]

Like many of you, I just saw The Big Short and was appropriately shocked and sickened by the greed, the fraud, the cynicism, and the strong feeling that history will simply repeat itself in the coming years. And, just to brighten this blog a bit, let me add that I was also amazed that the […]

“The cargo has been discharged, but we are still looking for an available a trucker.” No phrase is more petrifying for an importer who has already had to deal with the stress and interruptions of port strikes, chassis shortages, and airport congestion delays that have become the ‘norm’ when bringing goods into the U.S. While […]

After a busy 2014 and first quarter of 2015, ocean carriers are having a very unhappy holiday peak season.  Poor bets on future economic growth, new infrastructure, increased vessel capacity, and importer inventory trends have created a shipping environment with excess supply and dwindling demand. How did the shipping industry, which was enjoying record profits […]

Have you tracked your air shipment and found that only 23 cartons of 100 arrived? Or, maybe you’ve heard this popular message from one of the larger air carriers, “your shipment has been split for more efficient transportation.” More efficient? For whom?  Split Shipments occur when an air carrier transports cargo covered under a single […]

Maintaining any form of infrastructure comes at a cost.  Developing and growing that infrastructure is equally costly.  Dredging isn’t free; nor is disposing of dredged materials properly. As importers into the United States, it is simply expected that the bill from your broker will likely arrive with a Harbor Maintenance Fee (HMT/HMF) line item.  However, […]

Importers and exporters checking gas pump receipts have been looking around and scratching their heads…  If gasoline is so cheap, why haven’t shipping rates decreased? Since 2008, carriers have cited the rising cost of fuel for increases in shipping rates.  This made sense since fuel surged by a whopping 279% from 2008 through 2014, but […]

The January 2015 edition of the JOC Annual Review & Outlook contributes an industry barometer and analysis of the challenging year ahead including changes that may be coming in the broader economy, in the marketplace or in the regulatory world that will affect business in 2015 including Air Cargo, Government, Logistics, Maritime, Rail and Intermodal and Trucking sectors. The […]

The maritime industry has been through quite a lot in the past few years, from carriers leaving the chassis business, to U.S. East and West Coast labor issues, to the introduction of mega-vessels, to atypical peak seasons, and rate fluctuations. And yet, another surcharge is about to take center stage. Say hello to the Low […]

Unless you just started your first logistics job today, you’ve heard about the chaotic situation at the ports of LA/LB.  It’s a lot more likely that you have not only heard about it, but that you have felt its impact to your supply chain, budget, and sanity. After enduring weeks of slow moving freight through […]

If you’re like most importers or exporters, you probably shuddered when reading the subject line. Oh, the horror of receiving an unexpected bill showing demurrage, detention, or per diem!  Not only did you not plan for those fees, you may not be completely certain of the cause for such charges. Well, I’m here to set […]

So there you are, going about your (crazy) business, and out of nowhere, your boss asks, “Hey, what if we started to self-file our Customs entries and did it all in-house? Wouldn’t that save us a lot of money?” Your world seems to temporarily collapse and you can’t breathe properly. How do you even begin […]

For anyone who has attended a meeting with a vendor from China, I’m sure you’ve noticed, and hopefully you’ve reciprocated, that business cards are given and received with some ceremony, using both hands to give and accept.  A card isn’t merely a card in the Chinese culture; it’s a piece of the person to be […]

“Once you get in, you can’t get out.”  That’s what you hear from folks that have been in the logistics industry for years.  Those same people can quickly spot the rookies who aren’t going to make it; the logistics vets are in the corner saying, “That poor kid, he just can’t handle it.”  The international […]

Let’s take a walk down memory lane.  Remember your search for “the one?” The courtship, the evaluation process, the long sleepless nights, the bidding wars…  Remember making that call to say, “I pick you!”  I’m talking about choosing a forwarder, of course!   Think back to that time. Now consider, what selection criteria did you use?  […]