Dwell times at marine terminals in the Northwest Seaport Alliance have doubled in recent weeks as intermodal container moves spiked amid peak season imports.

A big jump in spot rates was pegged to the cascading impacts of blank sailings and a volume rush from shippers ahead of China’s Golden Week holiday in October.

After five rounds of negotiations and a series of 24-hour warning strikes at Germany’s ports, the union and port employers may finally be close to an agreement.

Despite sources telling the Journal of Commerce that management has reached out more than 10 times since June seeking new talks, none have been scheduled and there now appears to be little motivation on the part of management or labor to secure a deal to avert a strike.

With just three weeks to go until the union’s master contract with port employers expires, US importers are scrambling for options but are finding there are no ideal alternatives.

The International Longshoremen’s Association is starting to coordinate local labor actions as its executive leaders note the ongoing “impasse” in talks with maritime employers.

Multipurpose carriers are reluctant to invest in newbuildings for several reasons, including uncertainty around the availability of carbon-neutral fuels for tramp shipping.

New cranes on order will serve the larger ships that are coming with the expected 2025 completion of a multi-year project to widen Houston’s ship channel to accommodate two-way traffic of neo-Panamax vessels, Charlie Jenkins tells the Journal of Commerce.

Shippers with substantial cargo volumes and just-in-time inventories look for an optimum mix of frequency, transit time and schedule reliability in ocean services, writes analyst Jeremy Masters.

Mundra – India’s top container port – is dealing with operational chaos after it was forced to halt operations for a few days last week in the aftermath of severe weather.

Forwarders booking less-than-containerload business from shippers face documentation and pricing challenges that cut into their ability to carve out margin.

Strong economic growth in the region has led to the deployment of more capacity and increased the number of services from China.

While rates remain more than four times higher than this point last year, forwarders and carriers report an easing of demand ahead of the traditional end to the peak shipping period.

Cargo Services will expand the global port operator’s reach in Asia across a range of industry verticals.

A new warehouse due to open early next year in Portland for frozen and ambient-temperature cargoes could cut transportation costs for shippers now using out-of-state storage and ports.

EPCs report revenue gains and hefty project backlogs as manufacturing and traditional and alternative energy projects gain momentum.

Forwarders say carrier executives are seeking volume-linked pricing expectations after dictating terms over the last two months or so.

The added capacity – 14 extra-loaders at each port -- comes amid peak season demand and an anticipated boost in discretionary cargo diverted from ports along the US East and Gulf coasts as shippers protect themselves from potential longshore labor disruption.

The carrier said it was “cautiously optimistic” about business prospects in the second half of the year, while acknowledging that a “complex geopolitical situation,” delivery of new capacity and rising costs could provide headwinds in the coming months.

The US maritime regulator said the ocean carrier did not simply have a contractual dispute with a shipper but instead clearly violated the US Shipping Act.