Transport, Trade and Regulation News

Marianne Rowden, the longtime public face of a key importer-exporter lobbying group, is stepping down at the end of March as e-commerce growth makes the interaction between shippers and the public sector all the more vital.

Frustrated shippers and forwarders want European competition authorities to take action against what they have labeled market distorting practices by container carriers.

The as-yet-unfulfilled promise of expedited cargo clearance for shippers under US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) trade facilitation programs may soon come at a cost of compulsory self-regulation

The increase in one-way container moves means drivers spend more time waiting on line at different terminals, and running down the hours of service they can legally drive.

New York–based new trade compliance automation startup Altana AI has designs on creating a new version of much-maligned trusted trade cargo facilitations programs.

The US Federal Maritime Commission has rejected an argument from container lines that it lacks the authority to hear the American Trucking Associations’ complaint over so-called merchant haulage moves.

The FMC will look into whether ocean carriers are incorrectly holding truckers, third-party logistics, and freight forwarders responsible for penalties that should be paid by the shipper.

Lawyers representing ocean carriers, OCEMA, and CCM have asked the FMC to dismiss ATA’s complaint into chassis, arguing the regulatory body lacks jurisdiction and only cargo owners can bring such a case.

In what is still very much an evolving scenario, carriers are digesting what they were told by the Chinese government and how it will impact their businesses going forward.

A proposed Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration pilot project would let truck drivers stop the hours of service clock for up to three hours and then resume driving, giving them more control over their schedules, but a longer day.

Logistics managers have to negotiate dueling mandates around speed to market and carbon emissions reductions; a new tool from APL Logistics is designed to help them determine which metric is more important.

New costs related to the COVID-19 crisis and lower revenues due to the pandemic’s effect on cargo volumes are threatening the financial viability of ports across the United States.

The carrier block exemption from Europe’s competition law expires in 2024, but there is a growing view among shipping line customers that an evaluation of the regulation should be held as soon as possible.

Federal Maritime Commissioner Rebecca Dye said the agency’s fact-finding investigation into the largest East Coast port would include three teams consisting of truckers, marine terminal operators, cargo owners, and transportation intermediaries, among others.

A startup that calculates door-to-door cargo shipping emissions has released an interface to convey its data directly to shippers and forwarders needing to meet emissions reductions goals.

An appellate court has denied the commission’s request for a rehearing of an earlier decision that would shift responsibility for background checks and criminal investigations at the largest US East Coast port to New Jersey state police.

Olaf Merk, one of the world’s leading container shipping critics, has spelled out his view of an industry that he says is unfairly advantaged by favorable regulations.

The federal grants will go to waterborne freight services in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Tennessee, Washington, and American Samoa.

The US Federal Maritime Commission is signaling to the industry that the fairness of detention and demurrage fees should be viewed through a lens of whether they encourage the pickup of import containers and return of empties.

CBP has reversed course on allowing certain importers to defer duties by 90 days for companies whose receipts in March or April dropped by more than 60 percent due to COVID-19.

It is a matter of both national security and economic necessity that the flow of goods to end-markets is preserved. In turn, this requires identifying in detail the critical roles required for the transportation system to function.

The Trump administration may be celebrating its “phase one” trade deal with China as a success, but the collateral damage on Europe will be costly.

CBP issued a statement saying it will no longer accept requests to delay duty payments, after notifying the trade community on Friday that it would consider such requests on “case-by-case basis.”

Disappointment and criticism from users of container shipping services and their service providers has followed the European Commission’s decision to extend the carrier block exemption for another four years.

Importers can apply to CBP to request an extension to pay applicable duties and taxes due to disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

The MSC Joanna has only burned compliant fuel since the IMO 2020 mandate was imposed Jan. 1, the carrier maintained, but the vessel was found to be carrying high-sulfur fuel oil apparently meant for scrubber testing.

The FMCSA is sending undisclosed changes to truck driver hours of service (HOS) rules to the White House for approval, raising hopes for greater flexibility in truck scheduling.

The IMO is taking seriously concerns raised in Europe that certain blends of low-sulfur fuels can emit greater amounts of harmful black carbon than the high-sulfur fuels they are meant to replace.

A no-deal Brexit could knock 14 percent off the UK’s exports to the European Union by value, according to a new United Nations study.

A range of transport organizations have cautiously welcomed the European Commission’s Green Deal emissions strategy, but their support will depend on how the carbon-neutral plan is implemented.

The long-promised National Freight Strategic Plan should be about more than highways, groups representing US ports and shippers said this week. The question still is how to pay for freight priorities.

The UK formally leaves the EU at 11pm Friday, Jan. 31, beginning an 11-month transition period where its future trading relationship with the EU will be determined.

Mexico’s economy will stagnate this year after experiencing a technical recession in 2019 that saw GDP decline in the first three quarters, but the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement is expected to provide a much-needed boost.

Opponents of the European Commission’s plan to extend Europe’s liner shipping block exemption regulation for another four years have ratcheted up their challenge to the proposal.

US District Court Judge Roger Benitez ruled that AB5 is preempted by existing federal statutes, delivering a win for the California Trucking Association and dealing a blow to state lawmakers attempting to restructure the worker classification process for truck drivers.

Ag exporters are pleased by Wednesday’s signing of the US-China “Phase One” trade agreement, but the immediate impact on export volumes in the westbound trans-Pacific is unknown because the deal lacks specific details on commodity codes and tariff levels, they say.

New Jersey truckers may find that the strategy California truckers have used to fight AB5 won’t work if a tough classification bill similar to the West Coast legislation passes in the state.

The world is a very different place since the advent of the Universal Postal Union in 1874. With the approval of “Option V,” the landscape will change, including the US being permitted to raise prices for packages arriving from other countries in exchange for a contribution into the Union’s voluntary fund.

Customs officials and brokers in the United States are both being challenged by constantly changing tariff levels and a continued influx of smaller e-commerce parcels.

New authorization for the US Ex-Im Bank resolves its quorum quandary for the time being and readies it to face off with China in developing markets.