Author Archives: just2bruce

Maersk faces $180m claim for US shipper losses in legal row over contract

Posted on September 2, 2022 | Leave a comment

A shipper consortium from New York claims Maersk failed to provide space the consortium had contracted for, and instead sold the space to others at higher spot prices. So the consortium members had to procure their slots on the spot market too.

The consortium, U Shippers Group, claims Maersk also offered their space to another shipping consortium, in violation of the contract. U Shippers believes the damage is over $180 million.

The contract with U Shippers had a volume incentive3 program (VIP), based on the number of containers shipped. Because space was not provided, U Shippers did not get credit for payments they would have received had the space been available.

It’s a nasty dispute. I suspect that this was a result of a local office of Maersk taking some liberties. The picture may not be totally clear, either; perhaps some of the shipments were a little iffy.

It will be interesting to follow up and see the FMC decision in the case. It won’t be settled for over 6 months.

By Nick Savvides 02/09/2022

Maersk faces $180m claim for US shipper losses in legal row over contract – The Loadstar

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Posted in Logistics, Shipping

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How will autonomous trucks handle blowouts?

Posted on August 31, 2022 | 1 comment

This article discusses the issues surrounding blowouts, and how autonomous trucks might handle the problem. Blowouts occur fairly frequently, though tire manufacturers are making better tires as time goes by. Drivers can usually use their ‘feel’ of the truck to navigate to a safe place to take care of the tire. How would an autonomous truck do it.

The article notes that this problem is one of the top five remaining problems for autonomous navigation.

Blowouts are not a major source of highway deaths. But they occur frequently. All the major tire manufacturers are working on means to control them. Sensors are the main approach. Progress in this area will benefit both driverless and people-driven trucks.

Alan Adler Monday, April 4, 2022

How will autonomous trucks handle blowouts? – FreightWaves

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Posted in Logistics, Trucking

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Biden could reduce inflation, mitigate a recession, and strengthen democracy with a new EU-US trade agreement

Posted on August 31, 2022 | Leave a comment

This article from Brookings offers a way to reduce inflation, add jobs, and improve commerce by making a bilateral trade agreement with the European Union.

It’s got lots of support for expecting good outcomes for the American economy and American workers. And it quantitatively spells out what the gains might be.

This is one of the trade relationships the Trump administration fouled up. And especially in these times, with the Ukraine war and Chinese threats, we need reliable trade partners to ‘near-shore’ our sources of supply with. And the EU needs us and our export capabilities as well.

It’s a well-reasoned and thought-provoking article.

Trade agreements take time, and it’s not early to begin.

Sanjay Patnaik and James Kunhardt Tuesday, August 30, 2022

Biden could reduce inflation, mitigate a recession, and strengthen democracy with a new EU-US trade agreement

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Posted in Logistics, Supply Chains

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