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An increasingly constrained freight market is ratcheting up the pressure on shippers to improve the performance of their supply chains and make better use of the limited hauling capacity of their own private fleets and for-hire carriers.

A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S is in an unusual place this year as the world’s biggest shipping company finds itself the target of an attack by hedge funds.

A new study found that Great Lakes shipping to ports such as the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor and the Port of Chicago on the South Sides pumps $25.6 billion into the economy and supports 237,000 jobs, including 147,500 in the Midwest.

Cosco Shipping Holdings Co. pledged to sell a container terminal in California, helping allay concerns of U.S. regulators and clearing the way for its $6.3 billion acquisition of Orient Overseas International Ltd. announced last year.

Whether it’s the price of hiring giant freighters to haul hundreds of millions of tons a year of iron ore and coal, or smaller carriers moving grains, there’s a theme emerging: dry- bulk shipping rates are rallying despite an escalating trade war that may yet damage China’s economy.

Cosco Shipping Holding Co. plans to sell as much as HK$7.43 billion ($947 million) of shares in Orient Overseas International as part of efforts by China’s biggest container-shipping line to maintain the listing status of the rival it is acquiring.

A surge in demand is coming for diesel and related fuels as shipping companies close in on a deadline to reduce sulfur emissions.

Globalization has brought the most advanced trading networks the world has seen, with the biggest, fastest vessels, robot-operated ports and vast computer databases tracking cargoes. But it all still relies on millions and millions of paper documents.

A Greek shipowner is predicting new rules for marine fuel will put thousands of the world’s merchant vessels out of business in the next two years, roiling global trade. In fact, he’s wagering $1.1 billion on it.

United Parcel Service Inc. says it’s gotten deliveries under control after a surge of online shopping caused some delays following Thanksgiving.