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Big cargo ships are more efficient. And more risky.

Mar 27, 2024
Cargo ships have grown since the Francis Scott Key Bridge was built. Collisions have greater impact, physically and economically.
The scene of the shipping accident in Baltimore. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law earmarked billions of dollars for port upgrades made necessary by the scaling up of cargo ships.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Supply chains already feel the pinch as collapsed bridge blocks Baltimore's port

Mar 26, 2024
And there's no telling how long it'll take to reopen the port. Other East Coast ports will have to handle some of the shipping traffic.
The cargo ship Dali reported losing power before it struck a column on the Francis Scott Key bridge.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Why prices are dropping at furniture retailers like Ikea

Mar 12, 2024
Furniture prices fell 3.7% over the last year, according to the latest Consumer Price Index report.
Demand for furniture spiked at the beginning of the pandemic, but now manufacturing and shipping costs have eased, making price cuts to furniture possible.
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

Historic drought at the Panama Canal threatens global shipping

Mar 6, 2024
Many fewer vessels now traverse the canal daily. The water deficit is a global phenomenon that has been linked to climate change.
Water levels at the Panama Canal are among the lowest on record.
Courtesy Panama Canal Authority

“Ro-ro” your boat to Georgia: why the state sees a lucrative future in automotive shipping

Jan 15, 2024
The rural Port of Brunswick is trying to overtake the Port of Baltimore as the top “roll-on/roll-off” port in the U.S.
A Nissan Rogue exits the bay of the vehicle carrier Neptune Ace at the Port of Brunswick in Georgia.
Benjamin Payne

As Christmas looms, the shipping wars accelerate

Dec 21, 2023
UPS and FedEx, not to mention Target and Walmart, are all racing to keep up with Amazon's same- or next- day shipping options because shoppers have become used to faster delivery times.
Amazon says more than half of Prime orders arrived same day or next day during the first half of this year in the 60 biggest U.S. metro areas.
Octavio Jones/Getty Images

Faced with an onslaught of returns, retailers are telling shoppers: "Just keep it."

Dec 1, 2023
“Returnless refunds” or “keep it" return policies have now been adopted by more than half of major retailers, according to a new survey.
One reason retailers have adopted "keep it" return policies is that shipping and re-shelving can cost a lot.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

The shipping industry is still struggling, but analysts see potential for an upswing

Nov 8, 2023
Does weakening demand for shipping suggest a downturn in 2024, or might there be signs of brighter days ahead for the freight industry?
Thierry Monasse / Getty Images

UPS moves further into "reverse logistics" with purchase of Happy Returns

Oct 30, 2023
Delivery giant grows its network of sites where customers can send back packages by adding 10,000 Happy Returns drop-off locations.
Expanding its network of drop-off locations promises to boost the efficiency of UPS' package pickup operation.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Strike shuts down St. Lawrence Seaway, a main commercial artery

Oct 23, 2023
A shutdown will affect farmers exporting products from Canada, mostly to Europe and the Middle East.
The Seaway was built by the U.S. and Canadian governments in the 1950s to connect the upper Midwestern states and prairie provinces to global markets.
Andrej Ivanov/AFP via Getty Images