Chris Jones News

U.S. West Coast ports, which reached a labor deal with their workers this summer, gained market share in August from the previous month, while their main rivals on the East Coast lost ground, Descartes Systems Group DSG.TO said on Monday.For more than a year, as worker labor talks dragged on, West Coast ports lost market share. Worried shippers diverted containers filled with everything from furniture to food to ports on the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico.Some shippers told Reuters…

Some U.S. importers who shifted cargo away from West Coast ports to rival gateways over fears that labor contract talks could disrupt shipments have begun bringing some of that volume back, even as those negotiations stretch into their 13th month, company supply chain executives said.But anxiety over labor negotiations only explains part of the market share losses at West Coast container ports, including the nation's busiest at Los Angeles/Long Beach, eight importers said at the…

U.S. imports of goods in ocean shipping containers in December fell to levels approaching those last seen before the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report said on Tuesday.Demand for kitchen appliances, furniture, big-screen TVs, apparel and other retail goods softened late last year as record inflation bit into disposable income and consumers shifted spending back to travel and other previously restricted activities.December 2022 U.S. container import volume topped 1.9 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), according to Descartes Systems Group.

Shipping technology startup CargoMate has closed a GBP 500,000 seed investment round. The investment allows the company to continue the development of their port call optimisation platform for container ships and expand the number of shipping companies they work with. CargoMate, who have been piloting their technology with a major ship operator since December 2017, reduce turnaround time for container ships in port by providing real-time port productivity analytics to vessels and fleet management departments. The CargoMate platform gives vessel operators full visibility of cargo operations and predicts the earliest time a ship can leave port. Because it is deployed to the ship, it doesn’t rely on any terminal infrastructure so works in every port worldwide.

The Baltic Exchange announced it will launch an Escrow Service for its members to hold deposits for ship sale transactions.The paid-for service will be available from May 2018 for use in transactions where the buyer of the vessel is a Baltic Exchange member. The service will cost $5,000 per side and is likely to be extended to disputes related payments, the Baltic Exchange said.The Escrow Service will be run by the Baltic Exchange's Asia office in Singapore and will be subject to the Singapore Exchange's (SGX) compliance and money laundering procedures.

Jones joins the Baltic Exchange from ICAP Shipping Singapore where he was director of sale & purchase. He will replace Philip Williams who retires from the role in April, and he 
will be based at the Exchange's Singapore office. Baltic Exchange Chief Executive Jeremy Penn said:

 “We’re delighted to welcome Chris Jones to the team. The Baltic Exchange’s presence has grown significantly in Asia with our Singapore office leading the drive. More of the Baltic’s freight market information than ever before is produced from Singapore.

Huntington Ingalls Industries has announced that its Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division has officially opened its new Apprentice School, located at 3101 Washington Ave. in downtown Newport News. Apprentices, faculty and staff were joined by Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, U.S. Reps. Bobby Scott and Rob Wittman, Virginia Delegate Chris Jones, Newport News Mayor McKinley Price, HII President and CEO Mike Petters, NNS President Matt Mulherin, Armada Hoffler Holding Co. President and CEO Lou Haddad…