Commentary

The NFL's recent controversy around the New England Patriots and a separate case involving the legality of laptop searches don't seem to have much relevance to global trade, but they share a key issue: employee privacy vs. corporate and security interests.

Importers are leaving millions of dollars on the table in what might otherwise be legally avoidable duties, simply because they’re unaware of, or unsure of, how to take advantage of a tax reduction program called the First Sale for Export rule.

Anyone who knows Jim Newsome knows he’s as competitive as they come. But the CEO of the South Carolina Ports Authority also knows that competition is healthy. So whether it’s the raising of the Bayonne Bridge to give mega-vessels access to marine terminals at the Port of New York and New Jersey or efforts to improve gate efficiency in Virginia, it’s all good for Jim.

Beneficial cargo owners are celebrating an early Christmas. Anticipating the supply-demand ratios again were trending to the demand side for the year, trans-Pacific contract rates for major BCOs barely moved, if at all. To be sure, some inland point intermodal rates bumped up, but still aren’t close to the cost levels associated with providing the services.

Today's intermodal customers seem on the verge of a similar entreaty to the Dickens character Oliver Twist: They're virtually begging for more capacity, more service and more pricing.

From transportation to communications and technology infrastructure, investments in building, maintaining and upgrading the systems that keep the U.S. economy moving are vital to long-term success. Although the United States’ physical infrastructure is impressive, it’s aging. Investing in maintenance and expansion is critical.

Changes made in National Motor Freight Classification by the Commodity Classification Standards Board won’t likely impact the filing and processing of damage claims by shippers, so don’t panic.

Last year’s story for the Class I railroads was one of higher volumes and changing traffic mix. But this year, volume is down. The big 2014 growth drivers that ostensibly helped create the congestion are notably absent this year, with a collective 4,600 fewer cars of these commodities being originated over the last few weeks versus 2014.

The law pertaining to importing goods into the United States might seem dry — until your goods aren’t allowed into the country, costing you or your customers money and time.

Ports, transportation and logistics providers, temperature-controlled facilities, and software and technology solutions comprise the fundamental network that supports the global cold chain, and we’re seeing exciting new innovations and applications taking place within each of these segments to build a truly integrated cold chain.

Mexico plans to inject $5 billion into the nation’s ports to keep up with growth in demand. But more interesting is that Mexico’s investment is part of a broader approach to manage and expand Mexico’s ports as a system. “We think the ports work in a better way if we use them as part of a logistics chain,” Guillermo Ruiz de Teresa, general coordinator of Mexico’s ports and merchant marine fleet, told the AAPA’s annual spring conference in Washington last month.

By failing to act forcefully on controversial detention and demurrage charges during recent spikes in port and terminal congestion, the Federal Maritime Commission missed a golden opportunity to be relevant.

After a motor carrier's rollover accident damaged freight, a broker needs advice on damage claims. Even though a bill of lading was prepared with his name shown as shipper, he isn't the owner of the goods.

A leading retail industry consultant suggests the nearly year-long stretch of disruption and uncertainty tied to the recent West Coast longshore labor standoff wasn’t just a minor event in the minds of those companies. Wanting to “de-risk,” shippers may alter their supply chain plans, bypassing the West Coast as much as they can.

The recent deaths of hundreds of refugees at sea is potentially game-changing and may at last spur all European Union member states to take the urgent collective action needed to prevent further massive loss of life at sea.

A customs broker should make certain its name is reflected on the documentation, by whatever name you choose to call it, only as agent for the beneficial shipper and not as principal. That should suffice to insulate the broker from any lawsuit that might be brought in connection with the inland domestic movement of a shipment.

In the past several months, the Port of New York and New Jersey and other ports along the East Coast have experienced record cargo growth due primarily to containers routed here from the West Coast. This growth has led to challenges in how we handle the increased volume on the land side, which we are working on collaboratively with various stakeholders including terminal operators, trucking companies, chassis providers and public safety to address.

It should be no surprise that executives at FedEx and UPS would be fed up with the false reports of their business model being disrupted by developments with app-based, Uber-like models for same-day and next-day delivery of online retail orders.

There is no easy or single solution to what many believe is a worsening truck driver shortage in the U.S., but that’s not stopping motor carriers and their customers from escalating their response.

Motor carrier “scores” issued under the Compliance, Safety, Accountability program are not helping the public as intended and are causing unnecessary harm. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration needs to take those scores off the table and out of public view until it fixes problems with the methodology used to create them.

Ports need a clear vision of trade developments, equipment and staffing issues, and hinterland infrastructure in their communities.

Shippers are experiencing a period of relative tranquility on the trucking front, but the calm won’t last long,

J.B. Hunt grew its top line revenue by 10.4 percent in 2014 from 2013. While this mark may not be noteworthy by itself, what is unique is that this marks the fifth consecutive year J.B. Hunt increased its revenue by double digits. Only two other companies in SJ Consulting Group’s Top 50 Trucking Companies list have achieved the same feat: Kenan Advantage Group and Roadrunner, although the manner at which they went about this growth is very different.

There’s plenty of speculation about how the proposed liability insurance increase would affect small owner-operators, but one thing’s for sure: The camps for and against the increase are highly polarized.

A federally sponsored infrastructure initiative for major regional ports to be linchpins of a national port strategy would be a first step in upgrading the U.S. in terms of competitiveness in productivity and ability to serve this and future generations of vessels.

There is an expression, “Build It and They Will Come." For the truckers, it’s “Open It Up And They Will Come."

One thing’s for sure if you’ve been involved with international trade in recent times: Things are getting ever more complicated and risk management and compliance challenges are consistently getting harder to anticipate and manage.

The impact of the $75,000 bond on smaller motor carrier brokers has been immense, a reader says, and many have been forced out of the industry by the cost involved. Is the brokerage industry simply stuck with this “unreasonable requirement?”

With the expanded Panama Canal set to open in a year and shippers frustrated with West Coast delays, Florida is pitching itself as an international container import gateway. But the Sunshine State faces fierce competition from Southeast rivals.

When BNSF Railway ceased intermodal service at its Fresno, California, ramp in December, the change neatly encapsulated many of the North American intermodal industry’s challenges.

A customs broker issues delivery orders for shipments in which it isn’t involved in the final delivery arrangements. How can the broker protect himself from any potential lawsuit from a carrier if freight charges are not paid?

There are plenty of factors that contribute to tightening truck capacity and rising transportation costs, but one of the most overlooked is the lack of adequate truck parking. Shippers need to be part of the solution.

Mexico’s low wages, free-trade savvy, and infrastructure and logistics upgrades have been well-documented in JOC coverage over the past decade. What we haven’t documented until now is how the United States’ NAFTA partner has transformed from a backwater country known for its poverty, corruption, drug cartels and tourist attractions into the world’s seventh-largest auto producer, the second-largest U.S. auto supplier, and a rapidly growing manufacturing center for white goods and aerospace products.

As ships get bigger and productivity fails to improve, the industry is digging itself into a hole from which it is increasingly difficult to escape.

The last two surface transportation authorization laws, President Obama’s recent surface transportation proposal and other plans to use one-time revenues to prop up the Highway Trust Fund have one thing in common: They all left or would leave the HTF in worse financial health after the bill expires than it was in before the bill was enacted.

The nine months of negotiations between the Pacific Maritime Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union and concomitant congestion leading to so much misery for so many cargo interests and logistics service providers made the 2015 TPM Conference a highly anticipated event.

Intermodal service is sliding back downhill, and things could get worse if federal regulators slow down crude oil trains, a move that would take velocity out of the entire network.

The Port of Oakland was recently quoted on JOC.com as saying, “Cargo is moving and the backlog is shrinking.” Such a statement doesn’t tell the complete story and causes a great deal of confusion and resentment on the part of cargo owners.

Less-than-truckload growth accelerated in a big way in 2014 as total market revenue grew 7.5 percent to a record $35.4 billion. After years of losing share to parcel and truckload carriers, it seems the LTL industry is finally regaining some of its old business.

Truckers, its time to link up the entire East Coast. This port transportation business has gotten completely out of hand. The actions of today's intermodal management are much more vicious than organized crime. Forcing truckers to play by impossible rules while working for the lowest of rates anywhere within the trucking industry is breaking labor laws, inhuman, reckless and in many cases considered theft by deception.