Transport, Trade and Regulation News

A U.S. trade group representing public port authorities Thursday voiced caution over new legislation aimed at providing Congress with a database of port performance metrics in order to avoid a repeat of the crippling West Coast longshore labor negotiations earlier this year.

The U.S. Coast Guard has unveiled a new cybersecurity plan, the latest in an ongoing effort to protect U.S seaports and the commercial vessels that berth there from the rising risk of cyberattack.

Plans to invest 198.4 billion reais ($63.83 billion) in infrastructure concession projects have been announced in Brazil this past week by President Dilma Rousseff. Roughly 37.4 billion reais is expected to be invested in the port sector.

In an ominous sign for its export-reliant economy, Japan’s red-hot merchandise trade with the United States lost some steam in May after expanding by more than 20 percent in March and April.

The U.S. government needs to take on sweeping reforms and new national policies if it intends to address the mounting congestion at the nation’s major port cities, the Brookings Institution said in a pair of new reports released today.

India’s merchandise exports fell for the sixth consecutive month in May, the longest streak of declines since 2009, even as the Narendra Modi-led government rolled out a spate of schemes to stimulate manufacturing output and spur domestic demand.

New global requirements on the construction of large container vessels aimed at reducing the risk of catastrophic structural failure will likely increase the price tag for carriers, reducing the economies of scale carrier operators gain via massive ships.

A look at the accompanying graphic reveals the integrated and complex nature of China’s state-owned shipping ownership structure — a dizzying maze of companies and subsidiaries, many interconnected and several with dual listings on the Hong Kong and Shanghai exchanges.

More than a dozen non-vessel-operating common carries have endorsed further changes to U.S. Federal Maritime Commission’s rules governing NVOs’ contracts with shippers.

The U.S. Congress stymied President Obama’s trade agenda Friday, after the House of Representatives failed to approve a key portion of a trade package that would have given Obama the ability to fast-track trade deals, including a high-profile treaty with Pacific Rim nations.

From New Jersey to California, developers of industrial real estate face a slew of environmental regulations and oftentimes community pushback when they announce plans for a new warehouse or distribution center. While the odds seem stacked against the developers, more often than not they are able to deliver a project.

The industrial real estate market is tight, causing rents and land prices to increase, which will eventually lead to higher costs for users as the market reaches saturation.

U.S. shippers are set to regain access to duty-free imports from developing countries after Congress renewed the country’s Generalized System of Preferences program.

When it came to influencing the flow of U.S. maritime container traffic, West Coast longshoremen owned 2014 (and the first two months of 2015). The standoff with waterfront employers crippled West Coast container traffic and sent surges of volume through Canadian and U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports.

Nearly 100 shipping and trade associations urged the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission to prohibit late fees for containers and chassis that can’t be picked up or delivered on time because of port congestion.

Despite its well-publicized port congestion and labor problems this past year, Southern California continues to be a hotbed for industrial real estate development, industry experts told the I.CON Industrial Real Estate Conference sponsored by the Commercial Real Estate Development Association Wednesday in Long Beach.

Cargo carriers in the U.S. have raised concerns that action by Washington to curb open skies agreements with Middle Eastern carriers over allegations they are subsidised by their governments could become a threat to vital worldwide air freight networks.

U.S. railcar shippers Wednesday welcomed a new report advocating for an overhaul of the the country’s freight rail regulations — sweeping reforms that are well beyond the purview of even the country’s federal rail regulatory agency.

U.S. freight infrastructure advocates are urging Congress not to let the TIGER grant program be reduced from a roar to a meow.

U.S.-flag interests are supporting a congressional effort to increase annual government payments for the 60 commercial ships covered under the Maritime Security Program.

The trucking lobby heartily approved a House spending bill that would allow 33-foot pup trailers in double-trailer combinations and restrict the government's ability to reintroduce tougher truck driver regulations. But those provisions face a long, uphill battle as the Obama administration and Democrats spar with Republicans over federal spending limits.

Ukraine is unleashing a combo of lower taxes on tonnage and terminal expansion projects to counter plummeting container volume.

It’s been more than a decade in the making, but the Mexican government has finally cleared a hurdle that prevents U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents from pre-clearing cargo south of the border.

Alberta manufacturers and retailers can improve their cash flow by getting their factories and distribution centers designated within two newly-establish free trade zones.

The ugly specter of a protectionist trade dispute was raised at the International Air Transport Association annual meeting in Miami where the long-running subsidy allegations levelled against Gulf carriers by U.S. airlines again hit the headlines.

The U.S. Department of Transportation on Friday said changes to federal limits on truck sizes and weights shouldn’t be considered because data limitations in its own study are “so profound.”

U.S. soybean exports are projected to decline this year in terms of both value and volume due to the strong dollar and competition from Brazil and Argentina, according to JOC.com economist Mario Moreno.

U.S. beef and pork exports in April regained some momentum as congestion at West Coast ports dissipated and vessel scheduling in the trans-Pacific improved.

A bill introduced in Congress on Friday would empower the president to intervene to halt port labor slowdowns as well as strikes, and would allow state governors to initiate the process for federal back-to-work injunctions.

The Obama administration opposes cuts to TIGER grants, housing programs and longer pup trailer limits in the House transportation and housing appropriations bill.

The political courage and compromise displayed in the early 1980s is in short supply now on the Hill, leaving transportation providers and shippers to pick up the bill for higher shipping costs incurred through congestion.

A House Republican wants to save the Federal Highway Trust Fund from insolvency and he’s targeting funds under the country’s universal health care program to do it.

U.S. shippers’ expectations for freight growth has dropped to its lowest levels in nearly five years, according to a recent survey.

It has become increasingly unlikely that the Export-Import Bank, the official export credit agency in the United States, will survive the 114th U.S. Congress.

Merchandise trade between Japan and the United States is expanding at a breakneck pace, as Japan’s exports and imports both charged ahead by more than 20 percent for the second straight month in April on a year-over-year basis.

The two-month extension of legislation authorizing the Highway Trust Fund to continue supporting infrastructure projects across the country is a patch, not a fix, to much-needed highway and transit development, according to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

A long-awaited Pacific trade deal between the U.S. and other Pacific Ring nations cleared another hurdle Friday evening. In a 61-38 vote, the U.S. Senate passed legislation to renew trade promotion authority for the country’s president.

A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate would set national standards for shippers and third parties contracting or hiring trucking companies, complementing legislation in the House. Shippers and brokers want clarity, especially in courtrooms where they face negligent hiring claims.