6 lessons learned about cybersecurity and freight in 2021

An illustration of a hacker holding a laptop with a tractor trailer to the right.

It was once again another rough year for cybersecurity and freight. The main reason: ransomware attacks, in which criminals encrypt data and demand payment, sometimes in the millions of dollars, in exchange for unlocking it. Even though the U.S. government has been taking an increasingly aggressive approach to fighting ransomware, the attacks have continued. They hit companies across the supply chain, including trucking, logistics, freight factoring, freight forwarding — and even fuel...

Modern Shipper’s Top 10: E-commerce

Modern Shipper launched in February 2021 with a mission of highlighting the ever-growing last mile of the supply chain. Throughout the year, we learned a lot, and our readers helped inform us of plenty more.

Looking back on the year that was, there were plenty of stories that resonated with our readers — from drones to automation, from gig workers to last-mile delivery providers. Of course, we can’t forget e-commerce, which is rapidly changing the supply chain and everything and everybody who...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/modern-shippers-top-10-e-commerce

Container shipping heads to court: Who’s suing whom?

(Photo: Shutterstock)

U.S. courts were deluged with maritime cases after the financial crisis — there were a lot of debts to collect. A decade later, the docket is far less active, but even so, 2021 had its share of legal confrontations. 

Here’s a sample of this year’s court action:

Container line gets phished

Cybercrime is an ongoing threat, as highlighted by a case filed Monday involving an alleged quarter-million-dollar heist.

Admiral Container Lines, which serves the Mediterranean and Black seas, purchased marine...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/container-shipping-heads-to-court-whos-suing-whom

The fascination with port congestion: American Shipper’s top headlines of 2021

2021 will go down as the year the mainstream media took notice of West Coast port congestion. American Shipper was writing about global port backups, shutdowns and labor issues months — no, decades — before supply chain snarls in Southern California were spotlighted on national evening news broadcasts. 

Port problems figured so prominently in American Shipper’s coverage this year that eight of the 10 most-read stories focused on problems in ocean shipping, from escalating costs to record numbers...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/the-fascination-with-port-congestion-american-shippers-top-headlines-of-2021

Check Call: Peace out, 2021; it wasn’t nice knowing you

Hot Take

image: Reddit

I think it’s safe to say that 2021 wasn’t the bright shining star we hoped it would be. If anything, 2021 has taught us a few more lessons to keep us humble. I, for one, had no idea that 100-plus ships could sit waiting for a time to come into port and thousands of flights a day could be canceled due to a covid outbreak. The past year is bound to give us some wild stories to tell for years to come, and here are the top 10 ways, in no particular order, I was a little...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/check-call-peace-out-2021-it-wasnt-nice-knowing-you

2021’s top shipping stories: From Ever Given to epic California port pileup

container shipping

This has been the year of the shipping queue — of container vessels stuck waiting in line, waylaid for weeks at the Suez Canal or off Los Angeles/Long Beach, Savannah or Shanghai.

For the second year in a row, COVID has played an outsized role: revving up import demand in the U.S., stymieing port operations in Asia, and fueling an unprecedented rate boom for liner operators and container-ship owners.

The following is a look back at American Shipper’s coverage of container shipping in 2021, one of...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/2021s-top-shipping-stories-from-ever-given-to-epic-california-port-pileup

The year in pictures: Our top photos of 2021

We asked FreightWaves photographer Jim Allen to select his favorite photos that he captured in 2021. Some reflected significant developments in the freight industry; others were simply cool images that caught his eye. While a picture’s worth a thousand words, he added a few comments below to expound on some of his selections.

Loading up on color

Jim Allen/FreightWaves

“These new Freightliner Cascadias were prepared for a specific carrier’s needs. Whoever it is sure likes color variety.”

Sad ending...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/the-year-in-pictures-our-top-photos-of-2021