Newsletter – January 10, 2018

GROUND AND RAIL FREIGHT UPDATES

Tight U.S. Trucking Market Has Retailers, Manufacturers Paying Steep Prices
source: The Wall Street Journal

Retailers and manufacturers grappling with an unusually tight trucking market are paying the steepest prices in years to keep their goods moving.

Freight demand had been ticking up for months, closely tracking the strengthening U.S. economy. The market got a boost from retailers needing to restock stores and distribution centres amid the biggest jump in holiday sales since 2011. That wave of demand hit the trucking market just as a new federal safety rule kicked in, leading some drivers to idle their big rigs. Read more here.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Overloaded Ports Weigh Down Vietnam
source: Asia Time

Vietnam’s over-burdened shipping infrastructure is taking a big toll on freight operations; the port authority estimates the industry loses US$2.4 billion a year because it can’t reach the country’s best docks.

Cai Mep International Terminal (CMIT), 50 km southeast of Ho Chi Minh City, the nation’s commercial hub, provides deep-water access for larger vessels, with capacity of 18,000 TEUs. But shippers prefer to use the far smaller Cat Lai Port, which is closer to the manufacturing districts of Binh Duong, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Dong Nai and Ho Chi Minh City itself. Read more here.