Transport, Trade and Regulation News

A white paper released by the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America concludes that a program designed to streamline trade is still a “work in progress” that is “still in need of a substantial infusion of common sense policy, solid programming, additional budget allocation and good government oversight.”

Given increasing road congestion, the European Union is under pressure to make a concerted effort to create a genuine, pan-European rail market, but given the dominance of state-owned rail operators in most countries that stifles competition, shippers and forwarders remain skeptical.

Port officials said expanding facilities at the port has now become crucial, in order to cater to the nation’s growing trade — volume that the existing establishment cannot handle.

To cite the late, great writer Mark Twain, the reports of the North American Free Trade Agreement’s death are greatly exaggerated. Shippers and transportation providers looking past the noise of mainstream reporting see reason for optimism in 2018 for the world's largest trilateral trade pact.

Crunching shipper data, Zipline Logistics has found that the electronic logging device mandate is having a measurable impact on US trucker transit times and capacity.

Exporters in the United Kingdom are struggling to find new markets for the huge volume of recycled waste that has been banned by China.

Changing the hours-of-service rules could give US truckers more flexibility or mask shipper inefficiencies.

Pasha said US-flag domestic vessel capacity between the US mainland and Puerto Rico now is sufficient for the trade’s regular carriers.

The Trump administration wants to reduce the amount of money importers are charged for using ports, a move that would cut the amount of federal aid the latter get for dredging and jetty maintenance.

Channel-deepening projects at the ports of Savannah and Corpus Christi are included in the Trump administration’s US Army Corps of Engineers budget request; Congress has the final say regarding funding. Georgia's governor argued the Savannah project is the Southeast's most important infrastructure project.

Shippers that are skeptical of the efficiency of the Port of New York and New Jersey and its ability to handle higher cargo volumes may take comfort that authorities are considering extended gate hours and how to boost rail efficiency after crippling delays in early 2018.

Experts argue shippers, truckers, and forwarders are paying the price and the European Union is putting its economic growth at risk because of inadequate spending on transport and digital infrastructure.

US spot market truck rates are receding from January peaks, but not by much, and shippers should not take too much consolation in the dip: spring is coming.

A rule requiring a new, cleaner bunker fuel in 2020 will likely boost ocean carrier fuel costs — and analysts say that behooves shippers to determine whether their carrier transport cost includes fuel or whether it could be an add-on fuel charge.

The sheer scale of China’s waste import business means exporters need to find alternative markets for their recyclable products.

Member companies that have invested in costly new trucks want the April 1 deadline enforced, saying they will be at a competitive disadvantage versus those who are allowed to continue driving older trucks.

Expected and unexpected challenges have marked the start of the electronic logging device mandate era — magnifying shipper concerns about inadequate truck capacity and rising rates.

The Mexican Federal Competition Commission, the report-issuing body, declined to comment on the release date but issued a statement saying the agency is still going through the steps set out by Mexican regulations for such investigations.

After four years of behind-the-scenes work, US shippers, truckers, and intermediaries last month finally secured the federal regulatory hearing on their congestion-related fees for which they are not at fault. They should not expect speedy relief from the federal body.

Container lines and terminals denied using demurrage and detention as profit centers and warned that regulatory guidelines governing late fees for cargo pickup and equipment return would create more problems than it would solve.

The California appellate court's decision, which is good news for beneficial cargo owners, overturns all but one environmental roadblock erected by a lower court’s ruling in 2016.

One question that is definitely on the minds of shippers, especially transportation, is if the UK’s post-Brexit trade agreements will stimulate or dampen the growing Europe/UK economies.

Commission action is needed because commercial solutions have failed, said representatives of the Coalition for Fair Port Practices, a group of 26 organizations of intermediaries and truckers that filed the petition.

Waterfront officials are suing to stop New Jersey's governor from enforcing a law enacted Monday that would terminate an agreement giving the Waterfront Commission the power to do background checks and criminal investigations at the Port of New York and New Jersey.

There is hope for the steel sector in the form of a macroeconomic tailwind: beneath the fog of politics, steel trade volume depends on underlying demand, which analysts predict will rise modestly in 2018.

In particular, the FMCSA will focus on accelerating tests of autonomous vehicle technologies, believing they have the potential to significantly reduce crashes.

Ocean carriers eventually will have an alternative to the Bosphorus Strait — if Turkish President Recep Erdogan sticks to his plan to start work this year on a new 32-mile canal. It is top among Turkey's new transport projects.

From its roots in the chaotic trucking world of the 1970s, Johnston built the OOIDA into an organization of about 160,000 members operating more than 300,000 trucks.

Thousands of Canadian truckers who cross the US border daily are required to use ELDs, but there are some differences between the US rule and the Canadian proposal.

Under the expanded VAT system, all services at the Port of Chittagong will be subject to the VAT.

The revised rules are broadly modeled on the bidding approach used for public-private partnership projects in the highway sector.

As the third decade of globalization nears, Indonesia has several characteristics that shippers and business interests find attractive.

New Jersey's new governor is a big union supporter, which could help the ILA in its fight against the Waterfront Commission.

Extended, frigid weather and high freight demand have collided in the US heartland’s freight hub, squeezing an already tight drayage market.

The technology enabled terminal operators at JNPT to substantially decrease dwell times, among other metric improvements.

Carriers have little track record of self-policing in pursuit of overall industry gains. Can carriers change their operational stance?

Business organizations, as well as individual shippers, had protested the truck weight limit, which forced transporters to move one container of goods in two trucks.

The US regulatory agency begins the year with two vacancies — vacancies that will probably have a policy impact.

It would appear that managing infrastructure needs for bigger ships and environmental responsibility are at cross-purposes. But heading into 2018, North American ports have a plan.

Implementing electronic logging in 2018 will not be easy and may spark a review of truck driver work rules.