Transport, Trade and Regulation News

U.S. wholesalers’ inventories rose 0.8 percent last month, held down by tighter automotive inventories, while sales increased 0.3 percent, the Commerce Department said.

President Obama is keeping open the option of drawing oil out of the U.S.

Two national trucking groups called on the Department of Transportation to begin researching the benefits of crashworthiness standards for heavy trucks.

Record exports fueled by a slumping dollar combined with a drop in automotive and oil imports to shrink the U.S. trade deficit in April by 6.7 percent to $43.7 billion, the lowest since December.

Customs and Border Protection announced a major step toward fulfilling a 10-year-old goal of giving importers a “single window” to government.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce leaders said Wednesday that the U.S. and Mexico should elevate their efforts to promote security and trade facilitation at the border.

Freight volume carried by for-hire transportation companies in April fell 1 percent from the previous month but was up 3.7 percent from April 2010, the Transportation Department reported.

The Baltic Exchange’s new electronic marketplace for dry freight derivatives, Baltex, began trading today.

The board of directors at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce elected Iowa trucking industry executive John Ruan III as chairman for a one-year term.

U.S. shippers moved more freight than normal in the first quarter, as a wave of inventory restocking hit earlier than in 2010, according to a shipper survey.

The Department of Homeland Security, in a move that would be welcomed by long lines of beleaguered travelers, is considering letting most airline passengers go through airport security screening witho

Japan’s trade deficit with the rest of the world soared more than three-fold to a record in the first part of May as the country’s exports withered in the wake of the

The combination of Mississippi River flood water levels dropping and the river’s bottom silting up is creating what some call a navigation emergency in the channel between New Orleans and the Gu

Japan and India will put a free trade agreement into force on Aug.1, ushering in a new era of trade between the two giant economies by eliminating import tariffs on most products moving between the co

A key measure of freight shipping in the United States slipped back 0.2 percent in May from the month before, a new sign that the economy is losing momentum heading into the summer.

The State Assembly will most likely not address a bill that would classify drayage truck drivers at California ports and intermodal rail yards as employees, although it could be taken up next year.

The Department of Transportation’s payouts to states for work done under the 2009 economic stimulus law went above $28.4 billion as of May 20, the government reported, a

Union Pacific Railroad will pay $25 million to settle a longstanding dispute with the Environmental Protection Agency over lead cleanup costs for a Superfund site in Omaha, Neb.

The Federal Maritime Commission is back in business and reopened today after being closed all week because of

Transport Corporation of India, the Asian country’s largest integrated supply chain and logistics service provider, on Thursday posted net profit of $11.4 million for fiscal 2010-11, a 20 percen

The Federal Maritime Commission announced that its offices remain closed on Thursday while the local electric utility attempts to restore power to the building that houses its offices.

Michigan Gov.

U.S. manufacturing growth slowed sharply in May amid rising commodity prices and an uncertain economic outlook, according to the Institute for Supply Management’s monthly index.

The International Chamber of Commerce is urging G20 leaders to push for conclusion of the Doha Round of trade talks and says a new report shows major nations are violating pledges to restrict protecti

Japan and Peru have a new free trade agreement to eliminate import tariffs on almost all products traded between the two countries within 10 years.

Japan’s exports to the rest of the world sank at an accelerated pace in early May in the wake of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit the country on March 11.

The value of surface transportation trade between the U.S.

President Obama said he will nominate John Bryson, former chairman and CEO of utility company Edison International, to head the Department of Commerce.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will delay the release of its controversial new truck driver hours-of-service rules until October.

Ocean container freight rates on the Asia-Europe shipping lanes have become more volatile since the European Union outlawed liner conferences in October 2008, Alphaliner said.

New Jersey-based logistics company NFI Industries acquired the West Coast operations of The Gilbert Company from ocean shipping giant Maersk.

American exporters are doing their part to meet the government’s goal of doubling exports in five years.

When European Union antitrust authorities sprang a series of surprise visits on the offices of several of the world’s largest container lines, it set off what promises to be a long investigation

Ports are facing a new security squeeze. The Department of Homeland Security is offering $235 million for the 12th round of port security grants.

After suffering a decline in production as a result of growing company layoffs and bankruptcies tied to the Great Recession of 2008-09, the chemical industry is back to formulating trade gains.

U.S. farmers and processors are gearing up for another big year of corn exports — in high-value solid and liquid form.

Don’t expect the next long-term transportation legislation from Congress to look much like the highway bills of old.

U.S.

Exports of beef and pork increased at a double-digit pace in the first quarter of 2011 and continued strong growth is projected for the rest of the year, according to the U.S.

New orders for manufactured durable goods dropped 3.6 percent in April after rising 4.4