South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) is taking urgent action to deliver over 200,000 stranded parcels resulting from a prolonged strike by subcontracted couriers of the country’s largest logistics company, CJ Logistics. Around 1,700 workers hired by the sub-contractors have refused to work since 28 December, claiming their wage...
The port of Long Beach is the winner in the first round of funding from Washington for port and marine infrastructure development since President Biden signed the $1.2 trn infrastructure bill in November. The California port has garnered a $52.3m grant, which will go towards its Pier B rail project. Improvements to transport...
The US Federal Maritime Commission’s investigation into carrier detention & demurrage (D&D) charges could be supercharged following a complaint by specialist drayage firm Orange Avenue Express (OAE), in what could become an industry test case. Lori Fellmer, second vice-chairman of the National Industrial Transportation League (NITL) and VP of logistics and carrier...
Volume shippers offered new long-term fixed-rate contracts by container lines are, nevertheless, still keen to keep a foot in the door of the spot market. The extreme volatility of the spot market saw many shippers get their fingers badly burned over the past 18 months as rates were turbocharged by supply constraints...
Property giants are scooping up logistics portfolios in anticipation of continuing clamour for warehouse capacity in a booming market fuelled by e-commerce. CBRE Group, the world’s biggest industrial real estate player, is leading the charge with the $4.9bn acquisition of the logistics portfolio of Hillwood Investment Properties. The move, announced on Tuesday, was...
With the changes to post-Brexit border policies, pressure is set to intensify for UK importers next week as volumes begin to climb back, post-Christmas lull. The first week of new import controls on EU goods saw a notable hitch when the new IT system, the Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS), crashed on...
Increased commercial power, diminished choice and competition, along with carrier exemption from competition regulations are distorting the container shipping market, according to the British International Freight Association (BIFA). Its director general, Robert Keen, is the latest in a list of shippers and their representatives to raise competition concerns with regulatory authorities following...
South Korean vehicle maker Hyundai’s logistics unit, Hyundai Glovis, has itself established a subsidiary in Chengdu, in China’s Sichuan province. Chengdu Glovis SCM, aims to help its parent to diversify into container rail freight – in 2020, Chengdu was the Chinese city with the second-most direct rail freight trains to Europe. Hyundai Glovis plans a...
It’s that time again – The Loadstar’s annual Christmas quiz. Given the sheer volume of news this year, we have divided it by month. Good luck! January There were “urgent calls” for a review on container lashings in January after the 13,092 teu Maersk Essen incident. How many boxes went overboard on its route...
“Shape-shifting” is how Sarah Banks, global freight and logistics lead at Accenture, describes 2021. There have, of course, been many changes, but perhaps the one with the longest-term effect is the massive growth in M&A, spurred on by vast profits, particularly for shipping lines. And the M&A news just keeps on coming, as...
