Supply Chain Research

Container-line SM Line will start a new service running from China and South Korea to the port of Portland, Oregon. That’s the first container service to the port since 2015. It comes at a good time for Portland, which suffered a 35.3% year over year drop in shipments in 3Q due to a trade-war linked collapse in shipments of grain. The new service comes as SM Line’s U.S.-inbound shipments fell 6.2% in October. Lower China-to-U.S. volumes were only partly offset by increases from South Korea. Previous consignees on Portland-inbound routes in the 2013 to 2014 period included food retailer K...