Supply chain

It begins with a leaky faucet, or perhaps a broken piece of crown molding, or a washing machine, or ceiling fan. Something needs to be fixed, replaced, improved or installed — and the right tools are required to do it. That specific need generates the demand that sets the supply chain in motion at The Home Depot, and increasingly that demand first appears as an online order placed through the retailer’s website.

WASHINGTON — Fresh off his Senate confirmation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske today acknowledged industry concerns that he wouldn’t balance trade facilitation and security but said he understands the importance of doing so.

LONG BEACH, CALIF. — The transportation and logistics industry is dealing with “significant” issues surrounding human capital and succession planning...

Sea Star Line LLC will pay $1.9 million and Horizon Lines LLC will pay $1.5 million to settle claims that government agencies were victimized by a carrier price-fixing scheme in the U.S. mainland-Puerto Rico trade from 2002 to 2008.

WASHINGTON — U.S. and Mexican shippers and transportation providers in their countries’ trusted traded programs could see faster cargo processing at the shared border as soon as late 2014, Mexico head of customs today.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman today gave a positive picture of the Obama administration’s trade agenda success and reiterated the importance of the president gaining authority to submit two ongoing major trade pacts to Congress for a simple yes-or-no vote.

Port Logistics Group, which operates more than 5 million square feet of warehouse space near three major port gateways, has been acquired by Endeavour Capital and members of the company’s management team.

Panalpina returned to profitability in 2013 as a market-beating performance in the ocean container and air cargo markets offset anti-cartel fines in the U.S.

LONG BEACH, Calif. — The U.S. federal government should not only use all collected Harbor Maintenance Taxes on port projects, but should also require states and cities to put more skin in their game to reduce questionable deepening work, a maritime analyst said yesterday.

A Michigan-based company has acquired the operator of a refrigerated intermodal rail service, known as ColdTrain, and plans to at least triple Rail Logistics’ container fleet over the next five years.

Seko Logistics is targeting the project cargo market as part of its strategy to differentiate its portfolio from high-volume integrators on the major east-west trades.

Forecasters expect modest growth in U.S. and global shipments of refrigerated cargoes in containers.

LONG BEACH, Calif. — A rising tide of protectionism, combined with “low-growth” policies, is impeding the global economic recovery and could threaten historic levels of prosperity, Frederick W. Smith, the chairman, president and CEO of global transport operator FedEx, said today.

U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., today introduced legislation that would replace the Harbor Maintenance Tax with a fee on all containers that originate internationally, the latest attempt by state leaders to stop the diversion of U.S.-bound cargo through Canadian ports.

Kuehne+Nagel’s operating earnings soared 20 percent in 2013 driven by market-beating growth in air freight volumes, almost doubled contract logistics profit and increased market share on the transpacific and transatlantic container trades.

Japan becomes the latest country to require information from shippers of containerized cargo before the cargo heads to sea, with its 24-hour advanced manifest rule coming into force.

On a recent day in mid-December, two 747 freighters flew into MidAmerica St. Louis Airport loaded with 250,000 pounds of Chilean blueberries. Just days later, another 160,000 pounds of the fruit landed at the airport.

New and expanding refrigerated rail services are delivering new options for smaller food shippers who soon could be left out in the cold by western railroads as thousands of 50-year-old mechanical boxcars are retired in the coming years.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department Homeland of Security has until July to meet a federal mandate requiring all U.S.-bound containers to be scanned at nearly 750 foreign ports. DHS isn’t going to make it.

Container carriers and shippers of refrigerated cargoes, facing slower transit times and more distant markets, are looking to high-tech solutions from container manufacturers.

While large ocean shippers can get information about where their containers are on the high seas or elsewhere in their supply chains through electronic data interface with their ocean carriers, small shippers who don’t have EDI are often left in the dark.

More than half of Expeditors International of Washington’s revenue came from the Asia-Pacific region in 2013, which may be a good sign for the third-party logistics provider...

WASHINGTON — Is President Obama’s proposal to increase surface transportation funding through corporate tax reform the new “peace” dividend?

President Obama will ask Congress to pass a $302 billion, four-year transportation bill this year during a stop in St. Paul, Minn., backed in part by potential savings from an overhaul of the U.S. tax code.

While wide-ranging financial institutions are becoming more active in automated freight payments, more traditional, often dedicated providers of such services such as Cass, Ultra Logistics and CT Logistics are surviving by focusing on the intricacies of managing customers’ transportation spending.

WASHINGTON — The next battle in the ongoing fight over increasing truck weight and size is on the horizon, as the House and Senate begin work on the next federal surface transportation bill.

Acting U.S. Maritime Administrator Paul “Chip” Jaenichen last week sat down with JOC Senior Editor Mark Szakonyi to discuss how the agency could help the U.S. Merchant Marine survive — and even thrive. Jaenichen in January said U.S.-flag carriers in international markets are “at a tipping point,” and the creation and implementation of a National Maritime Strategy is key to make the Merchant Marine sail ahead.

Following a frenetic decade of ups and downs in volumes and rates, the steamship industry is seeking stability through alliances and cost-cutting that has lengthened voyage transit times. While many shippers don’t see much of a problem in slow-steaming, exporters of refrigerated goods have more reason to be concerned.

WASHINGTON — Following a series of accidents involving trains hauling crude oil, the major U.S. railroads and federal regulators have agreed to series of safety practices, including slower speeds through urban areas and increased inspections.

Westwood Shipping has found new use for its fleet of four BulkCon ships. The carrier, which has specialized in transporting forest products since 1892, added refrigerated cargoes to the mix in the summer of 2013.

The transport industry and China’s trade will receive a major boost if efforts to improve its logistics performance are a success, senior 3PL executives believe.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Customs and Border Protection said President Obama’s signing of an executive order to streamline cargo processes creates a roadmap for completion, puts a spotlight on the importance of trade and raises awareness of the need for other federal agencies to help speed up freight clearance.

Singapore-based logistics developer GLP adds $230 million to its Brazilian development fund, which now totals $1.1 billion, to build out leasable distribution space in Brazil.

WASHINGTON — President Obama today issued an executive order aimed at making it easier and faster for U.S. shippers to import and export by streamlining cargo processes and requiring a transition to electronic paperwork by 2017.

Japan’s economic growth slowed further in the October-December quarter as exports, a key driver of expansion, remained weak, according to a preliminary report released by the Cabinet Office on Feb. 17.

WASHINGTON — The G6 Alliance could have the go-ahead from U.S. regulators to expand its vessel-sharing agreement into the Asia-U.S. West Coast and trans-Atlantic routes by early April.

U.S. beef, Chinese solar panels, genetically modified corn and U.S. software were high on the agenda at annual trade talks the U.S. and China held in mid-January. Chinese officials also revealed the top item on their agriculture wish list: access to the U.S. market for apples grown in China.

Transportation companies soon may have new food safety regulations to follow in hauling foodstuffs in the U.S.

Cross-border trade among the U.S., Mexico and Canada is increasing, but President Obama is likely to hear complaints about U.S. trade barriers when he meets his Mexican and Canadian counterparts Feb. 19.

Global Logistics Properties wins $2.5 billion in support from Chinese investors to expand its fast-growing network of modern logistics facilities across China.