Shipping & Freight Resource

The Port of Long Beach, one of the 2 San Pedro Bay ports that jointly handle around 40% of the USA’s container volume, has set an ambitious target to double …

The South African Shipping Gala 2026 has sold out ahead of its third edition on 13 November at the Durban International Convention Centre, reflecting the strong support for an event …

Global Maritime Learning Solutions Empowered (GMLSe) was officially presented with the prestigious Areté recognition by the Escola Europea – Intermodal Transport during the opening ceremony of the institution’s landmark 20th-anniversary …

Having grown up with three sisters, being the father of two daughters, and having worked with some phenomenal women throughout my 37 years in global transport and trade, women have …

When this question came up as a WordPress prompt, the answer was most definitely Malcom McLean, the American trucking entrepreneur widely regarded as the father of modern container shipping.. While …

EU importers of steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers, electricity, and hydrogen are required to pay Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) costs on qualifying 2026 imports, through certificates sold from February 2027.. …

A container’s stow position is a six-digit code showing where it sits on the ship: Bay (front to back), Row (across the ship), and Tier (bottom to top).. For example, …

A car sitting on a dock belongs to nobody in particular. The seller has been paid. The buyer has not touched it. The vessel loads in four hours. Every fault …

Freight rates are generally associated with the balance between supply and demand.. But what happens when congestion, weather disruptions, and carrier capacity decisions start influencing that balance? This is one …

Choosing a Yard Management System (YMS) or Dock Scheduling Software can be a substantial investment for businesses managing warehouses, distribution centres, and logistics facilities. And like most technology investments, the …

A blank sailing does much more than move a container’s arrival date.. For customers, each cancellation can affect inventory, cash flow, production, transport planning, delivery commitments, and ultimately sales.. In …

Journey 1: How cargo moves When cargo is moved by a single mode of transport, without using another mode of transport before or after it, then that is unimodal transport.. …

Global trade is full of jargon that genuinely blocks and hinders trade because people don’t understand what it means.. In terms of trade agreements, unilateral, bilateral, plurilateral, and multilateral trade …

In the previous article on breakbulk cargo chartering, we discussed that finding a suitable vessel and agreeing on the freight rate are only part of the chartering process. In reality, …

Freight volatility hasn’t gone away in 2026; it’s just changed shape. U.S. business logistics costs came in at $2.4 trillion last year, or 7.8% of GDP, according to the 37th …

Verifying the legal identity of a supplier should be part of any cross-border transaction, regardless of where that supplier is based.. China presents a particular practical challenge because the English …

As we have repeatedly heard, seafarers are the backbone of global trade, enabling it to move across the world even when they themselves cannot move as freely.. Seafarers have been …

The Port of Los Angeles has just completed its busiest 3 consecutive months in its history, with the port handling 955,907 TEUs in August 2026, taking the combined volume for …

When a cargo owner needs to move breakbulk cargo, the first instinct is often predictable: Find a vessel. Get several freight offers. Compare the numbers. Choose the best price. On …

The Global Shipping Business Network (GSBN) has added some bulk to its business (pun intended) with the addition of BIMCO to its Board, bringing one of shipping’s largest membership organisations …

Drewry recorded 47 expected blank sailings from 729 scheduled East-West departures between 7 September and 11 October 2026.. Carriers remove weekly positions to match demand, recover schedules, reposition ships, manage …

Demand softening should normally be good news for shippers looking for freight space and perhaps some relief on rates.. But look around Asia Pacific this September and the picture is …

Car carriers use powerful mechanical ventilation systems to move fresh air through their enclosed vehicle decks and remove exhaust gases generated during loading and discharge.. The mushroom-shaped ventilators seen on …

Royal Wagenborg is strengthening its digital infrastructure across around 160 owned and managed general cargo vessels through a multiyear programme with De Boer Marine covering vessel connectivity, onboard IT and …

Project cargo shipping is rarely a routine freight exercise. Project cargo refers to large, heavy, high-value or complex cargo that cannot be handled as standard containerized freight and therefore requires …

The global trade ecosystem includes activities performed by various role players operating across the shipping, freight, maritime, logistics, supply chain, and trade industries.. By my estimate, there could easily be …

Warehousing used to be the line item nobody argued about. You signed a lease, stacked pallets as high as the forklift could reach, and moved on to the freight contract, …

I was recently talking about Trade Fitness to someone in logistics when they said something that stayed with me: “But we are in logistics, not trade..” I understood what they …

Freight rates are coming down.. So shipping should get cheaper.. Right..?? For the past few months, we have seen freight rates climbing on the back of tariff uncertainty, frontloading, capacity …

This was a question that I got as part of a writing prompt.. While several quotes stand out, especially as you get older, for me, undoubtedly it has to be …

We all know there is no shortage of IMO regulations governing international shipping.. Over the years, the IMO has adopted conventions, codes, resolutions, circulars, and mandatory requirements covering ship safety, …

South Africa has secured a US$1.5 billion Development Policy Loan from the World Bank to support infrastructure modernisation and economic growth.. Freight transport reform is one of the three pillars …

Shipping and Freight Resource extends its warmest congratulations to Adv Michelle Phillips, Group Chief Executive of Transnet, on being named KZN Top Business Woman for 2026.. Accepting the award, Michelle …

Warehouses and transport yards are remarkably forgiving places.. Throw enough people, overtime, temporary labour, phone calls, and spreadsheets at a problem, and most operations will somehow keep moving.. C3 Solutions’ …

Around 84% of APAC shippers who took part in a recent survey said that they experienced shipment delays at least monthly, and an equal % have changed shipment strategy frequently …

A trucking company collected an import container and chassis from the Port of Savannah.. When the equipment became available for return, the port was closed for 3 days.. The shipping …

South Africa’s transport and logistics system is at a critical point. Years of underinvestment in logistics infrastructure, together with the post-pandemic decline in rail and port performance, have weakened national …

The 44th Southern African Transport Conference opens today at the CSIR International Convention Centre in Pretoria, running from 6 to 9 July 2026 under the theme Developing and sustaining transport …

There is no shortage of stories about what is going wrong in South Africa as a whole and specifically its logistics sector.. Port congestion, rail constraints, ageing infrastructure, and rising …

South Africa’s logistics system has had a difficult few years and decades, and few organisations have been more closely scrutinised than Transnet, the state-owned logistics infrastructure company responsible for the …

Every industry has its flagship events where competitors become colleagues, business conversations become partnerships, and achievements that often happen quietly behind the scenes receive the recognition they deserve.. For South …

Since 2008, Shipping and Freight Resource (SFR) has had one simple objective: to help the global trade community make better decisions through credible, practical, and independent content.. Over the years, …

Today, 25 June 2026, marks the “Day of the Seafarer” as it does every year.. For 2026, the theme is “Carrying world trade. Carrying the risks.” It is a painfully …

In March, Reuters reported that around 20,000 seafarers were stranded in the Gulf region as governments discussed the creation of a safe maritime corridor to facilitate vessel movements and improve …

South Africa’s logistics performance is usually discussed through ports, borders, transport corridors, infrastructure, and regulatory reform. These are visible pressure points, and they affect every importer, exporter, forwarder, customs broker, …

The sixth Container Port Performance Index has landed, jointly published by the World Bank Group and S&P Global Market Intelligence.. Covering over 400 ports worldwide from 2020 to 2025, it …

In bulk terminal operations, some of the most important equipment may also be unknown outside the industry.. One such piece of equipment is a Tippler.. It may not sound as …

The Asia-Pacific freight market is entering a period where cost pressures, fuel volatility, geopolitical uncertainty, and operational disruptions are becoming increasingly interconnected.. While many shippers have spent the last year …

When hazardous and noxious substances (HNS) carried by sea cause damage, the cost can fall on public authorities, coastal communities, fisheries, ports, clean-up teams, and businesses with no direct contract …

China’s revised Maritime Code came into effect on 1 May 2026, marking the first major overhaul of Chinese shipping law since 1993.. The revised Code has 16 chapters and 310 …