World’s Largest Container Ship Arrives at Port of Antwerp-Bruges

(Read more on Container News)

The MSC Loreto set sail from Ningbo on April 19 and will make port at Felixstowe on May 28. This week it docked at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, the largest ship to call at the port. Along with its twin the MSC Irina, the Loreto has a carrying capacity of 24,346 TEUs and measures 400 meters long by 61 meters broad.

Nearshoring Trend Escalates for US Companies

(Read more on Transport Topics)

Mexico has surpassed China as the U.S.’s top trading partner, with 16.1% of total trade. The trend of nearshoring, or moving overseas operations like production to a nearby country, is ramping up according to the UberFreight study cited here. Includes a nod to Flexport’s recent piece on the rise of Laredo as the top port of entry for goods entering the U.S., as well as several quotes from our own Chief Economist, Phil Levy.

Weak Truck Market Finally Shows Up in BMO Transportation Group’s Quarterly Report

(Read more on FreightWaves)

Major fleet lender out of Canada, BMO (formerly Bank of Montreal), released their fiscal Q2’23 numbers and they don’t look good for the trucking industry. Provisions for credit losses in Q2 rose to CA$18 million from $6 million in Q1. Be forewarned, this article has a lot of numbers, but the bottom line is that trucking firms are hitting the limits on their lines of credit at a faster rate than at the beginning of the year, mirroring the weakening trucking market.

France Bans Short-Haul Flights To Cut Carbon Emissions

(Read more on BBC)

You can no longer book a flight from Paris to Lyon. France has banned all short-haul flights where there is a train that will get you to your destination in 2.5 hours or less, though connecting flights are unaffected. The move is part of the country’s broader ongoing efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

Houston Ship Channel Generates Over US$900 Billion Economic Value to the US

(Read more on Container News)

The Houston Ship Channel, created by dredging and widening natural waterways between the Gulf Coast at Galveston and the main body of the Port of Houston, generated US$906 billion in economic value in 2022. In addition, the channel and its terminals are credited with supporting 3.4 million jobs across the U.S., with 1.5 million of those being in Texas.