Import cargo volume at the nation's major retail container ports is expected to be mostly down through the summer but should see a significant uptick just before the winter holiday season, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

Carmichael International Service is expanding its suite of customs brokerage services into Canada.

The digital economy is putting pressure on traditional supply chain models to conform to the "now" generation. To avoid disruption, companies must give customers what they want, when they want it and how they want it.

Those idle cranes in the Port of Oakland's Outer Harbor stand as mute testimony to the changes that are roiling container ports and terminals today.

Although a new study by Google and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund Temasek projects the Southeast Asian e-commerce market to reach $200bn by 2025, the region's air cargo capabilities remain underdeveloped, according to Cainiao, the logistics unit of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.

Several logistics companies are seeking buyers, a sign that stagnant shipping demand is driving a new wave of consolidation in the industry.