Supply chain

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.

Advances in digital technology are enhancing the way freight forwarding and logistics business is conducted, but the improving online processes are creating competition from outside the industry as well as from within it, Kuehne + Nagel Chairman Karl Gernandt says.

Former executives at a defunct refrigerated rail service have filed a multimillion-dollar federal lawsuit against BNSF Railway, alleging the railroad’s failing service reliability and shirking of professional commitments drove the company out of business.

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.

After FedEx Corp. unveiled a $4.8 billion deal to acquire Dutch company TNT Express this week, the immediate focus was on how the merger would significantly boost the U.S.-based company’s footprint in the European express market.

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.

FedEx Corp. on Tuesday unveiled a €4.4 billion ($4.8 billion) agreed takeover of TNT Express, two years after European regulators shot down United Parcel Service’s bid for the Dutch company.

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.

Air cargo shippers using Chicago O’Hare International Airport are experiencing delays because of major road construction around the hub and inconsistent service from third-party handlers. A surge of cargo from shippers unwilling to brave West Coast port congestion isn’t helping.

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.

Development of Panama Pacifico, a master-planned community located on the former U.S. Howard Air Force Base near the canal, offers more than 516,000 square feet of expansions and new development projects, and the site has more than 365,000 square feet of available Class A office space, allowing for long-term growth opportunities.

Several of the world’s top shippers have signed up to the Green Freight Asia (GFA) initiative that aims to lower the carbon footprint of land transport while driving lower logistics costs into the regional supply chain.

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.

Kerry Logistics plans to build a regional express delivery platform in China and across the Asean region to capitalise on a rapidly growing segment of the logistics business, but it will be a cautious entry into a difficult market.

State-owned logistics provider Container Corporation of India has opened a $1.6 million temperature-controlled facility in Adarsh Nagar, near Delhi, the latest investment in line with parent Railways’ fiscal year 2015-16 budget plan announcement last month.

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.

Japanese trading giant Mitsui & Co. has signed an agreement to sell Transfreight North America, its wholly owned U.S. logistics subsidiary, to Penske Logistics for an undisclosed sum.

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.

Major Japanese trading house Sumitomo Corp. has unveiled plans to set up a logistics subsidiary in Myanmar to cash in on the increasingly promising local market and further strengthen its footprint in the entire Southeast Asian region.

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.

DB Schenker Logistics profit stalled in 2014 even as the company increased ocean container, air freight and trucking volumes.

Revenue from Li & Fung’s logistics network soared 66 percent in 2014 to $874 million as the acquisition of giant sea freight forwarder China Container Line last year made its presence felt on the financial statements of the supply chain and sourcing group.

Truck drivers employed by Agility in Kenya ended a strike and are back at work, the company said, after a Kenyan court issued an order calling the strike “unlawful, and therefore unprotected.”

Across-the-board gains in freight volumes and a strong peak shipping season drove FedEx profit skyward, lifting net income 53 percent year-over-year to $580 million in the fiscal quarter that ended Feb. 28, while total revenue rose 4 percent to $11.7 billion.

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

Canadian National Railway on Tuesday announced plans to build a $196 million intermodal and logistics hub outside of Toronto as its existing terminal serving Canada’s largest urban center nears capacity and regional freight demand builds.