Industry News

It’s never too early to prepare for the holiday peak season, especially with disruptions mounting amid solid consumer spending. Shippers and carriers are employing automation, data-based decision making, smart inventory management strategies, and tapping into lessons learned from last year to get into position for the 2024 peak season.

Source: The Washington Post

A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) preliminary report provides the first detailed examination of what went wrong as the cargo ship, Dali, lost power, veered off course and slammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, MD last March. It lays out a comprehensive timeline of the events leading up to and immediately after the crash, describing in technical terms a rapid-fire series of problems before the Dali struck the bridge.

Source: Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has announced this year’s International Roadcheck dates will be May 14-16, 2024, with a focus on tractor protection systems and alcohol and controlled substance possession.

The Freight Logistics Optimizations Works Initiative (FLOW) is a first-of-its-kind private-public partnership led by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) that creates a more complete shared picture of the U.S. supply chain for members, which includes the nation’s busiest container ports, major ocean carriers, and some of the largest retail importers.  

The Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, is one of the most important holiday periods in East Asia. For shippers, it presents specific logistical challenges. Production slows down, operations are limited, schedules get disrupted, and transportation gets delayed leading to significant supply chain disruptions.

With 158 vessels carrying approximately $105 billion in ocean freight being diverted away from the Red Sea amid the risk of continuing Houthis’ attacks, cargo prices are soaring. 

World Maritime Day, observed each year on the last Thursday of September, was established by the United Nations in 1978. It is meant to raise awareness about the importance of the global shipping industry and the vital contribution it makes worldwide. As an Ocean freight forwarder, BTX Global Logistics honors this day and supports the efforts of the International Marine Organization (IMO) to provide safe, efficient, and sustainable growth in the maritime shipping sector. 

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) has scheduled this year’s Brake Safety Week for Aug. 20-26 with a focus on brake lining/pad violations. 

Peak season expectations are some of the most currently discussed topics in logistics, but another key consumer metric not being considered is the back-to-school shopping season.