Industry Insights

Celebrated this year on September 29, Worldwide Maritime Day, an official United Nations day, put the spotlight on the importance of shipping and maritime activities around the globe. This year’s theme, “Shipping: Indispensable to the World,” focused on the critical link between shipping and the everyday lives of people throughout the world. Approximately 80% percent of global trade by volume and over 70% of global trade by value are carried by sea and are handled by ports worldwide, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade & Development.  These shares are even higher for most developing countries. Moreover, at the […]

  A customs broker’s daily operations involve attention to detail, extensive documentation and keeping abreast of constantly changing rules so that your business remains in compliance. Yet unintentional mistakes and inadvertent errors can and do happen, particularly in a business environment where requests from clients are for “yesterday”. The opportunity for errors is further heightened in the hustle and bustle of today’s new normal for transportation intermediaries.   What type of things can go wrong? Everything from failing to follow instructions, incorrect classification of goods, improper quote charges, and unauthorized release of goods, to improper document preparation, failure to properly […]

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conservatively estimates that 100,000 police-reported crashes are the direct result of driver fatigue each year. This results in an estimated 1,550 deaths, 71,000 injuries, and $12.5 billion in monetary losses. One of the causes of accidents, particularly among transportation operators, is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) – a common disorder that can cause perilous levels of fatigue in drivers who need to remain alert at work. The airways of people who suffer from apnea close repeatedly while they sleep, interrupting their breathing dozens of times an hour. They often don’t notice the interruptions, but it […]

WESCCON 2016 is only a few weeks away, and your Roanoke Trade team is gearing up for another successful conference! This year we will be manning booths 28-29, and can’t wait to connect with you! Many changes have been happening at Roanoke in the past year – including the transition of Glenn Patton to our corporate office in Chicago and the return of Dave Jordan as our new Los Angeles Regional Vice President! While Glenn’s presence in California will be greatly missed, we’re excited to announce his promotion to Vice President, National Sales Management. In this role, Glenn is tasked […]

  When the world’s seventh largest shipping company, the Korean company Hanjin Shipping, went bankrupt, it sent the transportation and global supply chain industries scrambling to protect their cargo. It’s estimated there are around 400,000 containers (the total capacity of the Hanjin fleet is estimated at 600,000 TEUs) with goods that are stuck on board the Hanjin ships. There are many moving parts as a result of the Hanjin bankruptcy that affect freight forwarders and logistics operators who entrusted their shipments to carrier, including cargo being seized, ships being held at different ports waiting for judiciary sentences, ports and terminals […]