Transport, Trade and Regulation News

California’s ports on Jan. 1 became the first in the world to require that container lines operate their vessels from shore-side electrical power while at berth, and this potentially industry-changing event is proceeding without any major problems.

A long-awaited rule on a CSA-based safety fitness rating system for trucking companies is one of many trucking regulations slowly moving through the federal pipeline.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is taking its Canadian pre-inspection pilot to the next phase, allowing trucks crossing the Peace Bridge to Buffalo, N.Y., to enjoy faster clearance by getting initial paperwork completed in Fort Erie, Ontario.

The P3 Network is likely set for smooth regulatory sailing in Europe and the U.S., but it’s unclear what Chinese regulators have in mind for the alliance involving the three largest global container lines.

The need for U.S. lawmakers to match their calls for increased infrastructure spending with action has never been so grave. There are few signs, however, of bold leadership willing to make unpopular political decisions so shippers and transportation providers can move goods on the nations’ network more efficiently. Congress and the Obama administration have balked at raising fuel taxes, the most straightforward method of boosting funding, transportation proponents argue.

WASHINGTON — The non-voting U.S. House of Representatives delegate from American Samoa has raised concerns that people may be reluctant to criticize the proposed P3 Network because the three largest global container lines “carry significant weight and influence.”

A key Customs and Border Protection official instrumental in expanding the agency’s trusted trader programs and forging mutual recognition agreements has retired.

China isn’t expected to approve a genetically modified strain found in corn and corn-based dried distillers grains with solubles until late spring, forcing some U.S. exporters to seek new markets or hold off on shipments, an agriculture analyst said today.

U.S. corn exporters are bracing for a potential slowdown in shipments to their top foreign customer after Chinese authorities reportedly rejected imports of corn and corn-based dried distillers grains with solubles, citing the presence of an unapproved genetically modified strain.

“K” Line and NYK Line have reached compromise agreements with the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission to settle allegations that the two Japanese carriers engaged in antitrust violations with regard to roll-on, roll-off cargo.

Asian exports and intra-Asia air and ocean trades are forecast to receive a major boost from the ground-breaking World Trade Organization deal agreed to in Bali earlier this month.

SHANGHAI — The Chinese government appears to have leveled the playing field for foregin shipping companies and forwarders in terms of its new value-added tax on logistics.

WASHINGTON — What’s said at a Surface Transportation Board hearing on reciprocal switching early next year will likely set the stage for the next fight between railroads and some shippers over what the former sees as re-regulation and the latter views as enhanced competition.

P3 carriers are betting their proposed network if allowed to proceed in the spring as planned won’t draw the ire of European Union antitrust authorities long after deployment.

WASHINGTON — The Senate today passed a two-year budget deal that is expected to provide the U.S. economy with surer footing in 2014 by preventing a partial federal government shutdown and better spreading the pain of sequestration cuts.

Shippers of containerized cargo to Japan, be forewarned: the Japanese version of the U.S. 24-hour advanced manifest rule will soon be going into effect. This means that after March 8, 2014, shipments that don’t contain the needed information in shipping instructions will be rejected for loading by customs authorities.

The ports of Seattle; Tacoma, Wash.; and Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, have decided to extend the 2007 Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy partnership through 2020...

WASHINGTON — The Federal Maritime Commission will hold its regulatory summit focused on carrier alliances on Tuesday in Washington with its counterparts from the European Union and China, but the majority of the summit won’t be open to the public.

Shippers using air cargo and expedited services will be among the biggest beneficiaries of the World Trade Organization’s Bali Package of reforms agreed to last week, express providers believe.

The deputy secretary at the U.S. Department of Transportation will leave his post at the end of the year, passing the torch to the current Federal Highways Administrator.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Merchant Marine would take another hit if the proposed bipartisan federal budget deal is passed with language that would stop reimbursing agencies for the additional cost of shipping food aid on U.S.-flag vessels.

WASHINGTON — The Chinese government is expected to clarify its position on the valued-added tax on logistics services that has confused shippers and transport providers since it was imposed Aug. 1.

WASHINGTON — Congress is unlikely to send a long-delayed major water resources bill to President Obama by year end, but shippers and transportation providers can expect action in early 2014.

The Doha round of talks began in 2001, and there seemed little chance of a breakthrough. But surprising almost all but the most optimistic of multilateral advocates, a breakthrough was indeed achieved as WTO negotiators produced the first major accord in the organization’s 18-year history.

The international shipping and logistics industry has welcomed the far-reaching trade facilitation reforms agreed to in Bali last week as part of the World Trade Organization’s latest effort to revitalize the Doha round of global trade talks.

The takeover of the Lazaro Cardenas port in November by the Mexican army underscores an enduring reality in Latin America: its ports a breeding ground for corruption, according to the global risk consultancy Control Risks.

U.S. and Chinese shipper groups are urging their respective regulators to block the proposed P3 Network, arguing the top three global container lines will reduce competition by controlling too much capacity on major trade lanes.

Former Sea Star Line President Frank Peake was sentenced to five years in prison and fined $25,000 for a his conviction in an antitrust conspiracy case that has produced guilty pleas by five other carrier executives and three carriers in the Puerto Rico trade.

Almost a month after Typhoon Haiyan devastated large swathes of the Philippines the relief effort is still struggling to meet the needs of the millions affected. Logistics capacity is proving a key choke point despite many of the world’s leading transport companies offering support.

New federal rules that cut into trucking productivity did not push rates up for most shippers in the third quarter, according to a survey by Wolfe Research.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., this week introduced a bill that would double the federal gas tax and another to push the federal government to look further into raising highway construction funds on the basis of how far trucks travel.

China’s official PMI indicated expansion during November, but the new orders sub-index lost ground and there are signs that GDP growth rates will slow this quarter, according to analysts.

Federal Maritime Commissioner Richard Lidinsky said the agency will soon stop the clock on its review of the proposed P3 Network, giving him and fellow commissioners enough time to meet with European Union and Chinese regulators on Dec. 17 before determining whether to block the plan.

The Federal Maritime Commission will host European Union and Chinese regulatory officials later this month for a summit on the proposed P3 Network alliance involving the world’s three largest container lines.

State investment in infrastructure will be critical if Southeast Asia is to realize its full economic potential, according to leading analysts.

China says it will attend a summit in Washington in December proposed by the Federal Maritime Commission to discuss the proposed P3 alliance involving the world's three largest container lines, Maersk Line, Mediterranean Shipping Co. and CMA-CGM.

WASHINGTON — A $900 million container terminal and free trade zone in northwest Cuba opening in January will be a Caribbean transshipment and could be major gateway for U.S. trade if the embargo ends, according to Cuban Ambassador Jose Cabana.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has proposed a series of highways to serve as a highway Primary Freight Network...

The European Union today announced it has launched a formal antitrust investigation into several ocean container carriers to address concerns they have coordinated freight rate hikes on the Asia-Europe trade since 2009.