Supply chain

Changes coming to Mexican customs regulations in October will give maquiladoras, or manufacturers focused on exports, more competitive pricing on brokerage and allow brokers to expand the number of ports of entry where they manage cargo.

One of the largest Mexican rail shippers said it supports more regulation of the country's three major railroads but is against a proposal being debated in Mexico City that would require the country’s two rail concession holders to share their lines with third parties.

DHL Global Forwarding, named on April 1 by Singapore’s competition watchdog as one of 11 forwarders involved in 2002 to 2007 price-fixing of Japan to Singapore shipments, said the economic effects of its activities were “minimal.”

Deutsche Post forecast its operating profit will top €5 billion ($6.9 billion) by 2020, driven by double-digit growth at its core DHL logistics unit and an accelerating shift towards fast-growing emerging markets.

WASHINGTON — Two U.S. House leaders earlier this week asked the congressional watchdog to investigate two studies used to justify changes to hours of service rules for truck drivers, the latest sign the industry isn’t giving up its fight against the regulations.

NEWPORT, R.I. — Companies must “keep the pressure on” for congressional passage of pro-trade legislation, said Jonathan Gold, vice president, supply chain and customs policy, at the National Retail Federation.

WASHINGTON — The U.S House yesterday unanimously approved legislation aimed at reforming the Federal Maritime Commission and require the Maritime Administration to create a National Maritime Strategy.

HONG KONG — The phenomenal growth of e-commerce in China has the Big Three integrators salivating as they contemplate a market that offers great opportunities yet remains largely out of reach.

Major Japanese international freight forwarder Yusen Logistics Co. released a new medium-term management plan that calls for boosting its group operating revenue by 25 percent within the next three years, but its ambitions go even further.

The Swiss manufacturer of key distribution system components is expanding its own distribution and manufacturing footprint in the U.S. as e-commerce demand fuels distribution center construction.

Transportation writer Greg Knowler joined the JOC today as senior editor for Asia.

WASHINGTON — Some U.S. and Canadian railcar shippers could get some pricing relief if efforts in Washington, D.C., and Ottawa to change switching rules take effect.

Frederick W. Smith, chairman and CEO of FedEx, met with JOC editors William B. Cassidy, Peter T. Leach, Bill Mongelluzzo and Mark Szakonyi at the 2014 TPM Conference in Long Beach, Calif., to discuss the challenges of growing protectionism, e-commerce and serving post-recession supply chains.

The Canadian government yesterday introduced legislation aimed at forcing the country’s two largest freight railroads to move grain faster...

WASHINGTON — Members of a U.S. House subcommittee yesterday accused the Obama administration of underfunding port and inland waterway projects through its proposed fiscal 2015 budget.

WASHINGTON — Canada Transport Minister Lisa Raitt sharply criticized proposed U.S. legislation that would tax cargo entering the U.S. from Canadian ports, saying the Senate and House bills would harm trade relations between the two countries if passed.

WASHINGTON — Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Mario Cordero told Congress today that commissioners were reviewing a memorandum that mitigates some of the shipping industry’s concerns with the agency’s proposed overhaul of ocean transportation intermediary rules.

Li & Fung, the Hong Kong-based consumer goods sourcing, logistics and distribution group, has acquired China Container Line as part of a new restructuring strategy...

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission today voted 4-to-1 to allow the P3 Network to set sail in the second quarter and vowed to create new reporting requirements to monitor the vessel-sharing agreement involving the three largest global container lines.

WASHINGTON — The federal government is on track to free up trust fund dollars for inland waterway improvements other than a long-delayed, grossly over-budget project that has soaked up much needed funding.

The rolling wave of storms that hit the U.S. from December through February cost $45 billion FedEx about $125 million and cut into package volumes...

The inland port of Monterrey, Mexico, is attracting new shippers, and new customs legislation will allow existing and future tenants to more easily tap foreign trade zone benefits.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says cargo diverted to U.S. Pacific Northwest ports because of the truck driver strike in Vancouver, British Columbia...

WASHINGTON — The Florida ports of Jacksonville and Everglades could get federal authorization to deepen their channels this year instead of having to wait two years or more for the passage of another water resources development bill.

A coalition of global shipper groups today urged the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission and European Commission to investigate the impact the P3 Network would have on price and service.

Shippers need to pay as much attention to supply chain safety as supply chain efficiency, or be prepared for greater government involvement in how they run their businesses and manage supply chains.

WASHINGTON — A new study suggesting U.S. freight railcar premiums have soared in recent years...

The stricter enforcement of Chinese forwarding regulations could force container lines to turn away business and force forwarders out of the market.

A proposed rule that would require truck and bus drivers to replace paper logbooks with electronic devices is “on the street” and available for review online...

SHANGHAI — Forwarders in China still can’t deduct freight payments of a value-added tax, even though Chinese officials provided additional guidelines earlier this year.

The world’s largest transportation and logistics company is getting larger as demand for e-commerce, time definite international express delivery and supply chain services drives up revenue and profit at Deutsche Post DHL.

India’s exports shrank for the first time in eight months in February on a year-over-year basis...

Orbcomm, a global wireless asset-tracking company, has acquired Euroscan, expanding its product line and ability to track refrigerated containers and trailers worldwide.

The FMCSA is close to publishing its much anticipated proposed rulemaking that would require all heavy truck drivers to use electronic devices to complete their daily and weekly logs.

U.S. red meat exports kicked off 2014 on a “positive note,” although market conditions suggest the year ahead could be “challenging,” according to statistics...

WASHINGTON — A breakbulk and container line, and three non-vessel operating common carriers have agreed to pay $350,000 total in civil penalties following Federal Maritime Commission allegations that they violated the Shipping Act of 1984 and the agency’s regulations.

The European Commission has adopted a proposal to temporarily remove customs duties on Ukrainian exports to the European Union until Nov. 1, 2014...

Overcapacity is a threat to container lines’ refrigerated cargo segment this year, despite projected growth in the global reefer market, according to Peter Frederiksen, a member of the executive board of Hamburg Süd.

The U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act has impacted the global food supply chain and, by extension, global reefer carriers too.