Category Archives: Supply Chains

CH Robinson introduces drayage congestion surcharge for major US ports

Posted on September 4, 2021 by | 2 comments

This article clearly outlines some of the reasons drayage truckers don’t want the job any more. Fixing it will require major cooperation along several elements of the container supply chain.

We can enumerate them:

  • Drayage trucking companies that pick up containers weit a chassis and drive them to the next point on the journey.
  • Drayage truck drivers, who are often owner-operators, paid by theload and not hourly, who can’t afford to wait for chassis or container pickup.
  • Port terminal yards, which may have restrictions on hours, and increasingly operate with reservation systems that fix the time you can pick up.
  • Chassis pools. To move a container you must have a chassis, and chassis are currently in short supply. At many ports they are owned by leasing companies and stored in pools, where the driver must go to pick the chassis up and drop it later.
  • Forwarders and Shippers. Sometimes contracts for drayage are altered without notice and drivers must spend extra time traveling, or waiting for facilities to open. Sometimes the chassis must be dropped elsewhere, forcing the driver to go extra distance and spend unpaid time accommodating the change.
  • Rail lines. Many containers are delivered by drayage firms to transfer points where they are loaded on rail cars for a long distance trip. Currently rail lines have a shortage of the rail cars required to carry containers. Rail lines are also suffering from serious delays at key transfer points, such as Chicago. Perhaps there has been chronic underinvestment in equipment for container handling. It’s not as profitable as hauling coal or grains or other bulk commodities.
  • Warehouses. Often containers must be delivered or picked up within a specific time window. these windows are not flexible enough when there is a great deal of variation in pickup and travel times.

CH Robinson introduces drayage congestion surcharge for major US ports Published Sept. 2, 2021 Max Garland Reporter

CH Robinson introduces drayage congestion surcharge for major US ports | Supply Chain Dive

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Maersk firm strikes deal for 16 electric trucks

Posted on September 2, 2021 by | 1 comment

Maersk is one of the largest, and possibly the most advanced, ocean carriers. The LA/LongBeach ports have been a problem area for air pollution and sustainabiolity for many years. There’s no rail connection directly to the ports, and even so, rail is powered by diesel.

Presently containers are trucked to outlying areas like Riverside or San Bernardino where there are many distribution centers. Ocean containers are 40-feet long. They are often ‘transloaded’ to 53-foot trailers which are the standard size in the US, for long distance travel to the destination. That transloading is done at the distribution centers. Or cargo is delivered direct to customers within the LA basin.

Electric trucks have zero emissions when measured by today’s standards. They also should require substantially less maintenance, without an internal combustion engine (ICE). Using the trucks for these short hauls will reduce pollution near the ports, and also on the LA freeways. And with a fixed route they can be kept charged easily at charging stations near the port. It’s a good thing to try out.

Maersk has made a big point of their commitment to get to zero emissions by 2050. This is one more experiment in the process.

Volvo makes the trucks in Virginia, and they are supposed to be rolling off the assembly line by now.

1 September 2021 Port Technology International Team

Maersk firm strikes deal for 16 electric trucks across Southern California – Port Technology International

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Posted in Logistics, Ports, Shipping, Supply Chains, Trucking

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STB blocks CN bid for Kansas City Southern

Posted on September 1, 2021 by | Leave a comment

If you are interested in rail transport, you certainly will be interested in the proposed merger of the Kansas City Southern (KCS) rail line with a Canadian railroad.

Both Canadian Northern (CN) and Canadian Pacific (CP) have made offers to merge with KCS.

It’s important because either merger would let there be direct rail service between Canada and Mexico. Mexico is an important low-cost component manufacturing country, and Canada is a highly developed first-world economy, with also many intrnational connections. KCS has taken great pains over the last 10 years to develop service into and outof Mexico, and is probably the paramount player. Other major US railroads, such as BNSF, UP, and Norfolk Southern (NS), have not worked to build this capability to the same degree. So KCS is a kind of unique prize, especially for the Canadian railroads.

So far the story is one of competing buyers for KCS. CP made the first offer, but as time was running out for acceptance, CN came in with a larger offer. It involves some specialized and complex merger techniques. The Surface Transport Board (STB), a US government agency which regulates railroads in the US, has just rejected the merger, based on the form itis to take. This means that the two firms in the current merger discussions will need to try to rearrange their proposed deal structure to try to meet the STB objections. It also gives the alternate partner, CP, an opportunity to come back to the negotiations with KCS and make an offer more likely to succeed.

If there is a merger, what will happen? One thing you can be sure of is that over time the leader in the merger, the Canadian firm, will influence rail operations more and more. For shippers, it will be easier to make arrangements from Mexico to the US and Canada, and vice versa. It’s not clear how domestic US shippers will be affected. KCS serves a rural midwestern region that is not as well served by other railroads, and that will probably continue. ButKCS connections with other parts of the US may suffer a bit.

The combination of companies will be a powerhouse, putting the line in the class of UP and BNSF, the top major railroads in the US.

By Alex Whiteman and Ian Putzger 01/09/2021

STB blocks CN bid for Kansas City Southern – ‘not in the public interest’ – The Loadstar

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