Topic: Ocean Freight

The report observed that T&L dealmaking activity gained renewed traction over the second half of this year, with buyers prioritizing strategic alignment over scale. And it added that acquirers focused on subsectors offering defensible growth, operating efficiency, and exposure to high-barrier markets, with activity across what the firm called the full value chain, ranging from infrastructure to asset-light platforms, coupled with capital allocated for things like technology modernization, resilient supply chains, and specialized logistics services.

With one year ending and a new one soon beginning, there is often a sense of a change or a fresh start coming. While that may sound good on paper, when it comes to the current state of the freight, or logistics, economy, it is more than likely that that prospects of meaningful shifts, or changes, in the current landscape, may not represent anything more than wishful thinking.

Uncertainty still dominates the transportation landscape, but shifts in capacity, trade policy, energy markets, and global demand suggest a year of transition. Our panel reveals where rates may finally stabilize—and where volatility is far from over. In this annual webcast, supply chain group editorial director Michael Levans and contributing editor Brooks Bentz have assembled our annual panel of logistics and freight transportation analysts to share their insights on rate patterns in all the major transport modes in an effort...

November U.S.-bound container import volume—at 2,183,048 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units)—were off 5.4% compared to October and saw a 7.5% annual decline.

For October, the most recent month for which data is available, U.S. imports, for the ports surveyed in the report, came in at 2.07 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEU), excluding the Port of Charleston, which marked a 1.8% sequential decline and a 7.9% annual decline.  

Hacebaga currently serves as POLB Chief Operating Officer. He has been at POLB for the last 15 years in various senior management roles, and in his current position he oversees daily operations, including commercial services, engineering, finance and administration, planning and environmental affairs, and strategic advocacy.  

The November LMI reading came in at 55.7 (a reading above 50 indicates growth is occurring), following matching 57.4 readings, for both September and October. This represents the ninth straight month the LMI has been below the all-time overall average of 61.4.

Stay informed and ready for what’s next with the November Edge Report from C.H. Robinson.

2025 delivered a near repeat of 2024's volatility, with tariffs, uneven demand, political uncertainty, and shifting trade dynamics leaving logistics managers stuck in a constant state of reaction. Across every mode—trucking, intermodal, rail, ocean, parcel, and shipper operations—experts point to the same themes: excess capacity, fragile confidence, tariff-driven distortion, and a growing reliance on technology as the industry waits for clarity that never quite arrives.

POLA reported that October volume, at 848,431 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEU), fell 6.25% annually, and POLB reported that October volume, at 839,671 TEU, fell 14.9% annually, compared to October 2024, the port’s strongest month on record in its 114 years of operations.

The report, entitled "Transport M&A Review: Q3 2025," stated that quarterly deal volume, at 111, saw an 18% decrease compared to the second quarter, which was also slow, adding that on an annual basis Q3 deal volume was off 47% compared to the third quarter 2024.

October imports, at 2.71 million TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units) fell 3.4% annually, again seeing a sequential decline compared to September’s 2.72 million TEU, August’s 2.9 million TEU, and July’s 3.01 million TEU.

For September, the most recent month for which data is available, U.S. imports, for the ports surveyed in the report, came in at 2.1 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEU), which marked a 9.3% sequential decline and a 7.4% annual decline.  

With expedited review underway, businesses brace for possible refunds, new trade measures, and prolonged market volatility.

The United States and China appear to have found at least some common ground on a few different issues, during this week’s meeting between President Donald Trump and President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping, at the APEC meeting in South Korea.

In this podcast, LM Group News Editor Jeff Berman interviewed Susan Spence, Chair of the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.

The Federal Reserve said yesterday that it lowered the target rate, for the federal funds rate, which comes from its Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) for the second consecutive month, dropping it by 0.25%, to 3.75%-to-4.0%, its lowest rate level since 2022.

Quarterly consolidated revenue, at $21.4 billion, fell 3.7% annually, and basic earnings per share, at $1.74 (topped Wall Street estimates of $1.29), fell $0.24, or 13.4%, annually. Total operating profit, at $1.8 billion, was off 9.1% annually. 

Any signs of progress being made on the trade front between the United States and its second-largest trade partner, Canada, appear to be squelched, based on a social media post issued by President Trump last night.

LM Group News Editor Jeff Berman recently interviewed Chris Butler, CEO, at Cranford, N.J.-based National Tree Company. Butler provided Berman with an overview of how National Tree is handling tariff policy, supply chain uncertainty, seasonal issues, and sourcing, among other topics.