Shipping Expert Mike Coleman Discusses Shipping and Supply Chain with Rotary

Rotarian Edgar Marx and President Chuck Redden with Mike Coleman.

This week the Rotary Club of Birmingham welcomed Mike Coleman, President & CEO of CV International and Capes Shipping Agencies, a family-owned, global logistics and vessel agency service provider.

Coleman discussed the current state of global shipping, including record volumes, congestion and backlogs, and record profits stemming from the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic and compounded by lacking infrastructure and labor shortages. He explained that circumstances are changing rapidly and rates are declining.

Coleman explained that steamship lines and carriers experienced high levels of consolidation and low profit margins prior to 2020. The industry was hit hard when bookings suddenly dropped dramatically in March or 2020 and then struggled to ramp up to meet skyrocketing consumer demand in May of 2020, creating a catastrophic bullwhip effect.

“We went from thinking we were going to have to downsize to now we have people working massive amounts of overtime trying to handle this influx of freight,” Coleman said.

Coleman explained that terminals such as the Port of Los Angeles were immediately overloaded, while the Port of Virginia was able to respond more efficiently due to recent infrastructure improvements. A massive ship stuck in the Suez Canal further exacerbated issues.

“It all had a ripple effect down the supply chain. The effect of it is freight rates skyrocketed.”

Coleman shared that the current realities of inflation, reduced consumer spending, weak fourth quarter forecasts, excess inventory in warehouses, continued strong volumes and softening of freight rates inform a cautiously optimistic future. He addressed the need for trucking companies to find solutions to long-standing problems with driver recruitment and for infrastructure upgrades including technological advances to be implemented throughout the supply chain.

“I don’t think we’ve found a new normal in the supply chain. I don’t think rates are going to stay where they are right now,” Coleman said. “Do I think we’re going to go back to where we were pre-pandemic? I don’t think so. I think the carriers have become wise about allocating capacity that allows them to keep the rates where they need them to be in order to make money…They’re not going to put themselves in a position where they are losing money with cutthroat competition…I don’t think that’s good for anybody.”

About Mike Coleman
Mike Coleman is President & CEO of CV International and Capes Shipping Agencies, a family-owned, global logistics and vessel agency service provider. Coleman started working at CV International in 1996 in ocean freight documentation and, after working in various capacities within the organization, was named president in 2006. In 2018, he was named CEO. In his current capacity, Coleman is responsible for the overall management, direction, and growth of the company.

Coleman has served in leadership positions on multiple trade boards. He currently serves as Chairman of the Virginia Maritime Association (VMA) and a board member and member of the labor contract negotiation committee of the Hampton Roads Shipping Association. Coleman previously served as President of the VMA and president of the Hampton Roads Global Commerce Council.

In 2019, Coleman was appointed to the Commonwealth of Virginia Board for Branch Pilots; a board that oversees the licensing and regulation of harbor pilots in the Ports of Virginia. In 2021, he was appointed by the Virginia Secretary of Transportation to the Virginia Freight Advisory Committee (VFAC) to the Virginia Department of Transportation. In 2022, Coleman was appointed by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin to the Board of Commissioners of the Port of Virginia.

In 2015, Coleman was recognized by the Hampton Roads Business Journal as a “Top 40 Under 40,” and has been recognized the past three years in Virginia Business Magazine’s Power 500 as one of the most influential individuals in Virginia’s transportation industry.

Coleman received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Richmond and a juris doctor from Louisiana State University where he was a member of the Louisiana Law Review. He is a licensed customs broker and is licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Virginia.