Topic

Thoughts

A collection of 12 issues

A useless class taught me everything I need to know about life

In college, I took what I thought was the most useless class ever. I had a ton of fun in the class but I thought it was completely irrelevant to me. Last night, almost 9 years later, I realized that class was the most important class I've ever taken. It's

How To Make Quick Decisions

Fast decision making is a skill - one you can learn. It's a valuable skill to have. People and businesses that can make quicker decisions can execute faster and more frequently. They can make refinements to their products and services faster. They can ship more with less all because of

How do smaller shippers compete?

A year ago someone told me they thought the mega companies of the world we're trying to completely dominate the markets. At the time, I didn't agree but, now it seems that the Walmart's and Amazon's of the world are destroying anything anyone in their wake. The global freight backupAs

Will “side stepping” the congestion work?

Lately I've seen article after article saying big brands are getting creative and leasing a ship (voyage or time charter) to "side step global congestion". No matter what you may think about big brands and their market power, there are two big questions on the table: will and can these

When the task at hand feels impossible

On the West Coast, we are in a jam. Cargo just isn't moving as quick as it needs to. There are tons of reasons why. This isn't to talk about why cargo isn't moving but how the industry is responding. Keeping the doors open and cargo moving feels impossible but,

A fix to bulging containers

Maybe you have noticed containers whose sides are bulging. Some look more round than rectangular. They are a shipping line's worst nightmare waiting to happen. Bulging containers really irk me. As a stevedore and someone who wants to eventually own and run a maritime operation, they are a pain in

More Simpler

Today I was reminded of how important simplicity is. I also remembered how luxurious the simple things are. Today we were greeted with an all-day power outage, which makes working on the computer difficult. Our options were to go home for the day or persist and get to work. We

Projects and risks

Several months back, we were debating what types of scales to purchase for our trucks. The two options: conventional pit scales; or inexpensive high efficient weigh-in-motion scales. We ended up going with the old-school scales we have used for years. Even though we needed more of them to handle our

Shipping Lines Can't Stand Small Customers

Ocean shipping lines hate small customers. Freight networks have been operating at or over capacity for months. Cargo is delayed, little is moving with any sense of speed or efficiency. Shipping lines are letting the facade fall - not all customers are made equal. I have received numerous emails over

Genius of simple

Complexity is easy. Simple is difficult - and genius. Before containers existed, ships took weeks to load. The process was cumbersome and complex. Then the container in its simplest & most elegant form arrived. Since then, the process of containerized cargo has grown more cumbersome. Complexity adds processes, steps, and