August should be the busiest month of the year for import cargo volume at the nation's major retail container ports now that retailers have stocked up for back-to-school and are getting a head start on holiday season merchandise. That's according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates, which said cargo volume for 2016 should end the year with a 1.6 percent increase over last year.
With the goal of building up a worldwide network of medium-sized freight forwarders, BuyCo For Growth sought a link to ocean carriers that would provide instant access to schedules, rates and other data critical to the movement of its customers' cargo.
Blount International, a maker of farm, forestry and gardening equipment, needed to get a handle on its global logistics spend. A performance-management tool from Trax Technologies cut costs and helped the company to take a long-range, strategic view of operations.
The IMO has launched Glomeep.imo.org, a website with information about energy-efficient technologies - covering areas such as machinery, propulsion systems, hull improvements and energy recovery.
Increasing trade and contracting supply will support a recovery in charter rates on major dry bulk shipping routes, with the prospect of China importing more coal and iron ore to combat pollution and poor quality, according to the latest edition of the Dry Bulk Forecaster, published by global shipping consultancy Drewry.
Making it mandatory for airlines and freight forwarders to file advanced information about cargo loaded onto aircraft bound for the United States seemed like a foregone conclusion several years ago, but U.S. Customs late last month announced plans to extend a pilot program testing the concept for another year.