Transport, Trade and Regulation News

Beneficial cargo owners are commending the US Customs and Border Protection's one-stop cargo processing offices, but they also have a few tips for overall service improvement.

The technology that has enabled the birth and growth of the surging e-commerce sector has also introduced new requirements and demands for customs brokers and shippers.

The rate hike may be just the beginning of additional, larger Federal Anti-Monopoly Service fee increases, as part of Russia's response to the West’s latest package of sanctions, imposed by the United States, and supported by many European allies.

The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation sent the nominations of Patrick Fuchs and Michelle Schultz to the full floor. If confirmed by the full Senate, they would join Ann Begeman and Deb Miller on the agency’s board.

The ban on imports of recycled waste by China that has hurt shippers in the major markets is also affecting forwarders.

A survey of more than 600 owner-operators and small carriers shows little change in detention practices at shipper docks, despite electronic logging and market pressures.

The end of Grupo Libra operations at the Port of Santos would cause problems for shippers, freight forwarders, and non-vessel operating common carriers, as it would reduce their options and could lead to a rise in terminal handling charges, as well as fewer deepsea services.

The federal agency declined to elaborate on the identity of the beneficial cargo owners that issued these complaints or which ocean carriers received letters sent out on April 20.

It is no exaggeration to say that literally every container ship is a catastrophe waiting to happen, given how little carriers know about cargo loaded onto their ships, among other risk factors. But there has been little momentum to address the menace of container ship fires despite the fires killing crew members and causing tens of millions of dollars of cargo losses and supply chain disruption annually. Something needs to change.

Indian agencies overseeing the project eliminated a requirement and several other conditions previously needed by the ultimate winning bidder. However, these changes still need government approval before finalization of the contract.

There are good reasons why participants at the 3rd Annual JOC Gulf Shipping Conference in Houston this week are bullish on US Gulf ports: the region’s growth is outpacing other US coasts, Asian import growth is promising, and the potential exists for Gulf ports to funnel a rebound in Latin American trade. Those are three legitimate growth engines and the resin boom has not even begun yet.

After a container is unloaded from a vessel to the yard, the Chittagong Port Authority lets shippers store the container in the yard for free for four days; on the fifth day, storage rent is charged.

The strike, owing to a pay and benefits dispute with Brazil's federal government that dates to November, has increased dwell times at the port to seven days, with some shippers facing up to 14-day delays.

A bill before the California Legislature that would make beneficial cargo owners share in liability for paying wages, fines, and damages to misclassified harbor truck drivers draws Teamsters support and California Trucking Association opposition.

The warning follows reports that Djibouti is working with other parties at the disputed Doraleh Container Terminal (DCT), a move DP World said would violate its exclusivity rights. Further, DP World said it has started new arbitration proceedings at the London Court of International Arbitration to settle the DCT issue with the government of Djibouti.

Argentina’s economy and international trade volumes have disappointed economists and analysts for a decade, but current economic and related conditions suggest that the South American country is headed for a sustained period of economic and trade growth.

Neither country has listed a deadline for tariff implementation, hence the situation remains dynamic and fluid. However, key analysts are formulating worst-case scenarios.

Steel and aluminum are important cargoes at US ports on the Gulf, East, and West coasts and the Great Lakes.

Investigators in the inquiry, led by Commissioner Rebecca Dye, have directed carriers to provide detailed information about their detention and demurrage practices; the same is being sought from marine terminal operators.

Shippers worried that the launch of the US Customs and Border Protection bureau’s (CBP's) much-delayed Automated Commercial Environment system could disrupt cargo flow can take comfort from the CBP’s conclusion that the launch went off without a major incident, and is operating as it should.

There has been little progress regarding the Trump infrastructure plan, but shippers will benefit from $1.5 billion in Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant funds appropriated in the current federal budget — triple the amount of last year. Lawmakers have also expressed a commitment to pass a Water Resources Development Act bill in 2018 for port dredging projects to enable them to handle larger vessels.

Shippers could find their cargo severely disrupted at the Port of New York and New Jersey if a ban on pre-2007 trucks goes into effect, according to a letter by the New York Shipping Association and several trucking groups that criticizes an effort by two congressmen to revive the ban.

After six years of losses, the container shipping industry ended 2017 with a profit of about $7 billion. Financial reports of the 13 carriers do show improvement but do not yet reflect a full recovery — a recovery that should continue in 2018, given the strengthening global economy, unless political issues intervene.

Shippers should be aware that there are anecdotal reports that questionable forms of co-brokering or double brokering are on the rise in 2018, as the supply of US trucks tightens and some brokers look to make a quick buck. During these instances, shippers essentially fund a double commission and could be exposed to financial damages, delays or lawsuits when things go wrong.

China’s planned tariffs will initially affect US containerized exports, but an escalation could produce a wider impact.

The UK-EU trade reality is that a hard Brexit would delay supply chains almost immediately — something negotiators on both sides of the Channel will try to avoid, given the extra 21-month transition period.

Shippers hoping that US Customs and Border Protection's Automated Commercial Environment system will soon operate without the kind of problems that have plagued it for years should not count on that happening for a while longer.

The bulk of regional economic fundamentals indicate a strong year is ahead for container trade, GDP growth, earnings growth, and job creation — with all of the positives that implies for lateral sectors and society.

The accelerated growth in intra-regional trade volumes as a result of the agreement is expected to provide a further boost to intra-Asia container trades already on an upward trend as Asia-based manufacturing increasingly serves Asian consumers.

Trucks are being hijacked at a rate of more than one per hour in the Brazilian city and its hinterland, according to reliable sources, and this has boosted insurance and security costs.

With a quarter of the island’s residents lacking electrical power, long-term improvements are taking a back seat to rebuilding efforts.

The Port of Baltimore won the single largest sum for maritime infrastructure in this round of TIGER grants.

DP World has accused the government of Djibouti of illegally seizing the Doraleh Container Terminal.

The Alabama State Port Authority is moving forward with plans to develop an automobile terminal at the Port of Mobile.

In the letter from the South Carolina's congressional delegation, the nine lawmakers noted that state lawmakers have appropriated $300 million for the project — a substantial local investment.

The São Paulo Harbor Authority’s six-month investigation concluded that the Log-In Pantanal’s captain, its first mate, and two other officers were at fault.

IHS Markit Chief Economist Nariman Behravesh shares his outlook for global economic and trade growth with attendees at the 18th Annual TPM Conference at a time of growing uncertainty surrounding fiscal and trade policy.

A coalition of beneficial cargo owners, freight forwarders, and truckers scored a small victory, as the Federal Maritime Commission voted to investigate its petition that ocean carriers and marine terminal operators unfairly charge detention and demurrage fees — even when the delay is out of the shippers’ control.

Political decisions, whether in trade or monetary policy, are the biggest threats toward US and global economic expansion, IHS Markit’s Nariman Behravesh tells TPM 2018.