Transport, Trade and Regulation News

A U.S. Federal Maritime Commission report on port congestion impact on demurrage and detention fees stopped short of recommending agency action and invited the industry to provide evidence of allegedly unreasonable practices.

The penalties for violating truck safety rules in the U.S. are about to rise by hundreds or thousands of dollars, as regulators adjust civil fines for inflation for the first time since 2007.

Green programs implemented by the port, trucking and rail industries in California have contributed mightily to harmful emissions reductions in the state over the past 20 years, according to a University of Southern California study published last month in the Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association.

The U.S. and India on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding to facilitate the exchange of technical information and best practices relating to land and water transportation systems.

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission on Monday is expected to present its much-anticipated findings on whether shippers face unreasonable demurrage charges tied to congestion.

Shipment delays through U.S. West Coast ports, compounded by severe late winter weather, cost some retailers sales in recent months, but they believe the worst is over and say inventory levels are returning to normal.

The embattled Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor is trying to defuse one of the issues that New Jersey legislators cited in sending Gov. Chris Christie a bill to break up the bistate crime watchdog agency.

U.S. ports and backers of other freight projects are getting another shot at getting some help from Uncle Sam to pay for repair and maintenance work and expansion projects, thanks to the announcement of the latest round of a popular federal infrastructure grant program.

A New York Times piece highlighting the powers at play behind lobbyists’ efforts to sway lawmakers on a potential vote for larger truck sizes promises to throw fuel on an already fiery debate.

A rising U.S. dollar — while reflecting the renewed strength of the U.S. economy — is weighing down the nation’s exports and exacerbating the West Coast port congestion pain inflicted on exporters.

The new Narendra Modi-led Indian federal government announced its much-awaited foreign trade policy, with a goal of doubling the country’s exports to $900 billion and elevate its share of world trade from the current 2 percent to 3.5 percent by 2020.

Despite the growing risk of cyberattacks to the maritime industry, there is no international or U.S. framework for how ports and carriers can protect themselves and/or respond it they are infiltrated. The Coast Guard plans to help change that.

America’s roads and bridges are “in a ditch” and the country’s infrastructure are in dire need of a long-term funding mechanism, U.S. Transportation Sec. Anthony Foxx said Monday as he unveiled the details of his administration’s new transportation reauthorization proposal.

Both sides in the debate over larger truck trailers are gearing up for the next battle in a long-standing war as Congress works on the next federal surface transportation bill.

Processing delays are forcing some applicants for Transportation Worker Identification Credentials to wait more than 60 days to receive their TWICs, the Transportation Security Administration said.

William P. Doyle was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to a second term on the Federal Maritime Commission, with a vote of 89-0.

Vietnam will now inspect foreign shipping lines for alleged unreasonable surcharges on local traders, the country’s Government Office announced this week.

If passed, a reintroduced U.S. Senate bill could help shippers gain faster relief from railroads, both in terms of service and rate challenges.

Representatives from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach visit Washington, D.C., every year around this time to meet with legislators, shippers and federal agencies, but their fly-in earlier this week was particularly pointed.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s key truck safety initiative — the Compliance, Safety, Accountability or CSA program — is coming under fresh fire on Capitol Hill and from a federal watchdog agency, even as federal regulators take that initiative mobile using a smartphone app.

If shippers and transportation providers are expecting Congress to do anything more than kick the can down the road on federal highway funding, they’re in for major disappointment come June, say transportation industry insiders.

U.S. Senate legislation introduced on Wednesday could allow railroads to expedite construction of intermodal terminals and other projects, providing shippers with more capacity and more reliable service.

The trek toward full funding of for U.S. ports can look a lot like one step forward and two steps back.

Even if the Teamsters fail to overturn a recent federal decision to allow Mexican motor carriers to haul loads past the border region, the impact of the new program may be negligible anyway.

The U.S and Canada signed a historic agreement Monday establishing the framework for pre-clearance processes at U.S.-Canadian border crossings, marking the first time pre-clearance will be available for all modes of transportation — land, rail, marine and air — in both countries.

Speaking to more than 2,000 attendees at the 15th Annual TPM Conference this month, Matthew Shay, president of the National Retail Federation, called on Congress and the Obama administration to change how unionized port labor and waterfront employers negotiate agreements so “the interest of thousands” can no longer threaten the livelihood of millions.

After a banner year for freight and an unexpected tax revenue boost, U.S. inland waterways could see shovels in the ground on a list of long-overdue projects in the coming year, helping shippers move their commodities more efficiently.

Indonesia’s logistics and forwarding markets are on the brink of a new era — if it can secure billions dollars of investment for its antiquated and overburdened infrastructure.

U.S. federal agencies able to slow and hold imports are finally getting down to brass tacks as the deadline for President Obama’s new comprehensive trade system nears.

The Port of Gothenburg, Sweden’s largest container port, said sulphur emissions have fallen by 80 percent since the beginning of the year when tighter sulphur emission controls came into force but warned that many vessels are still failing to comply.

The U.S. needs to boost its exports to fast-growing emerging markets, but it faces a number of barriers that stand in the way of a more balanced trade, Walter Kemmsies, chief economist of port design consultancy Moffatt & Nichol, told a panel at the 15th annual TPM Conference on Tuesday.

Global economic growth will accelerate next year driven by lower energy prices, a resurgent U.S. consumer as a global driver of growth, and stimulus measures being imposed by multiple central banks, IHS Chief Economist Nariman Behravesh told the 2015 TPM conference in Long Beach on Monday.

A bill introduced in the House of Representatives this week would establish national hiring standards for shippers, brokers and other parties contracting or using trucking companies.

A broad measure of business activity for the Chicago are plunged in February with much of the blame being laid at the door of the West Coast port labor standoff.

The Obama administration is discussing a plan that U.S.-flag carriers fear will further reduce their ability to carry food aid shipments financed by government agencies.

Merely suggesting that U.S. domestic ships might be built overseas is enough to jeopardize U.S. orders for ships in Jones Act trades, U.S. Maritime Administrator Paul “Chip” Jaenichen told a congressional budget hearing Wednesday.

A looming shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security could put U.S. international trade, not just national security, at risk, President Obama warned Monday, though in reality trade at ports of entry will not be delayed even in the event of a DHS shutdown.

A newly introduced U.S. House bill would allow shippers to pay for additional Customs staffing and extended gate times at the entire U.S.-Mexico border, and not just at ports of entry in Texas as they can now.