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LOS ANGELES — For the past five years, top shipping companies pushed forward with fat investments in more and bigger vessels, even as signs of trouble piled up.

HOUSTON — Intermodal businesses that have become accustomed to steady long-term growth are facing the prospect of tougher times ahead in the form of a likely recession and changing freight patterns, three industry experts said Sept. 19.

Forward Air Corp. lowered its third-quarter earnings projections, no longer confident that it’ll generate more revenue than the same period in 2015, the company announced on Sept. 20.

The National Retail Federation and other U.S. trade groups are urging the Commerce Department to work with the South Korean government to resolve the Hanjin Shipping Co. crisis, which stranded an estimated $14 billion of goods at sea.

The Port of New Orleans said it’s begun a Clean Truck Replacement Program that will allow 20 drayage truckers to replace their older Class 8 trucks with newer models.

Hanjin Shipping Co., the South Korean container line that sought bankruptcy protection last month, received a court advisory to return all chartered vessels to cut costs while the company is in the midst of reducing its fleet.

As Hanjin Shipping vessels finally arrive in the United States, some motor carriers are reluctant or refusing to accept cargo that might have been damaged because it could expose them to liability claims.

Cargo stranded by the Hanjin Shipping bankruptcy slowly began to flow through U.S. ports last week, offering the first small signs of relief for truckers and their customers.

A new industry group called the Globalia Logistics Network has been formed to align independent freight forwarders to compete with large multinational logistics providers.

Bankrupt Hanjin Shipping Co.’s efforts to unload vessels in the United States while it goes through bankruptcy in South Korea are meeting with complaints from cargo owners and from the companies that service and equip its fleet.