Transport, Trade and Regulation News

The chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping warned that regional maritime regulations on ships’ emissions and ballast-water discharges threaten conflicts with global maritime rules.

The American Trucking Associations is urging the Department of Transportation to move forward with a rulemaking that would require electronic speed limiters on all large trucks.

In a major setback for the new Narendra Modi-led Indian government’s aggressive effort to rev up the economy, the nation’s merchandise exports for fiscal year 2014-15, which ended March 31, fell far short of the targeted $340 billion, according to preliminary trade figures released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

U.S. diesel prices have fallen to a low not seen since Avatar raked in hundreds of millions of dollar at movie theaters across the country.

The Transportation Intermediaries Association wants truck safety data generated by a controversial federal program — the CSA program — immediately removed from public view.

New legislation unveiled Thursday would give U.S. President Obama “fast track” authority to negotiate an ambitious trade accord with 11 other Pacific nations and set the course for what will be one of the toughest battles of the president’s last 19 months in office.

Weak exports from China are driving Asia-Europe container freight rates down to new record lows, according to the world’s largest shipping association.

A U.S. senator is asking Congress’s watchdog to study the labor-related disruption at U.S. West Coast ports, the latest sign of Congress getting more involved in curbing marine terminal congestion that threatens the nation’s economic growth.

U.S. maritime regulators have approved an agreement allowing terminal operators and equipment managers on the West Coast to work with shipping lines, trucking companies and railroads to tackle congestion.

U.S. exports of logs and lumber via ocean container declined year-over-year in January for the fourth consecutive month, partly because of declining demand from China and unfavorable exchange rates.

U.S. Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Mario Cordero on Tuesday said the agency is “taking the temperature” on alleged unreasonable demurrage and detention fees. But the agency doesn’t have a timeline on when it will act -- whether that’s through an investigation, a fact-finding mission or something else -- nor is there a guarantee it will.

The U.S. House and Senate may have to act to preserve changes to a controversial restart provision in 2013 truck driver hours-of-service rules if a report on those rules isn't ready by Sept. 30, NASSTRAC officials told shippers.

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.