COPENHAGEN — Container shipping firms' annual costs have risen by a total $500 million due to new sulfur emissions regulations that have forced vessels to use higher-cost fuel, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said in a May 19 report.

For more than a year now, prolonged downturns in the coal, oil and steel industries have meant much less traffic on freight railroads.

The Teamsters union and European labor representatives last week tried, but failed, to force a meeting with XPO Logistics Inc. CEO Bradley Jacobs to discuss union issues.

Two European logistics operators with a U.S. presence have reported higher first-quarter earnings by raising profit margins on businesses such as small parcels and ocean freight.

Hapag-Lloyd AG, Germany’s top container shipping line, and five Asian carriers will form a new vessel-sharing alliance to take on bigger rivals amid a glut in capacity that’s depressed freight rates.

Consumer confidence fell last week to a five-month low as Americans became more downbeat about the economy, Bloomberg Consumer Comfort data showed May 12.

The Teamsters and European labor representatives attempted to force a meeting with XPO Logistics CEO Bradley Jacobs to discuss union issues but were rebuffed by the company at its annual meeting.

Danish firm Maersk Group, owner of the largest ocean carrier, earlier this month reported first-quarter earnings plummeted nearly 90% to $224 million, weighed down by an even greater profit decline at Maersk Line due to downward pressure on container freight rates.

Deutsche Post AG stood by profit targets through the end of the decade, dismissing the threat posed by customer Amazon.com's expansion into parcel deliveries.