Shipping & Freight Resource

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 …

Federal prosecutors in the United States have filed criminal charges against the operator of the cargo ship Dali, two years after the vessel struck Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing …

A vehicle move looks simple from the outside: collect the car, load it safely, and deliver it to the consignee. In practice, vehicle shipping sits at the intersection of capacity …

As geopolitical tensions continue to disrupt international travel networks, the maritime industry is once again facing mounting pressure around one of its most operationally sensitive areas, crew changes.. Flight cancellations, …

If you thought cargo theft was still about opportunistic break-ins at truck stops or the stolen containers, the latest cargo theft intelligence from BSI Consulting and TT Club paints a …

If you are managing freight today, you would have already felt it.. Capacity tightening without much warning, rates moving faster than your contracts can keep up, and routing decisions needing …

~20,000 Seafarers are paying for a war they didn’t want or choose.. We should all be ashamed..!! Twenty thousand human beings.. Civilian workers.. People with families waiting for them at …

Transnet SOC Ltd has announced the appointment of Mohammed Abdool as Chief Executive of Transnet National Ports Authority, effective 01 May 2025.. Mohammed Abdool brings over 29 years of professional …

I was fortunate enough to attend Bryan Adams’ “Rolling with the Punches” concert over the weekend in Johannesburg, South Africa.. My word, what a performance and performer..!! Somewhere between the …

Ten years ago, I wrote a little birthday tribute to the container.. It was a moment to pause and appreciate just how far this humble steel box had come since …

Supply chain teams are under pressure they haven’t felt in a generation. Tariffs, port congestion, and the whiplash of pandemic-era disruption have forced a hard look at where fulfillment networks …

In my previous article on Document of Title not equalling Ownership of Goods, I made the point that holding a Document of Title does not automatically make you the owner …

Multi-load food shipments are a common practice, but without the right precautions, it creates the perfect conditions for cross-contamination. Just one of these incidents can cost carriers and operators between …