Transport, trade and regulation

News and analysis of transport, trade, and regulation, including customs

The latest Transport, trade and regulation News & Analysis

Ocean trade emerges from pandemic haze to face new realities

Peter Tirschwell | May 25, 2023, 11:23 AM EDT

Although the container shipping order book is the highest it has been in many years and demand remains subdued, the ground is shifting under the ocean market in new and unfamiliar ways, writes Peter Tirschwell.
Container shippingContainer linesTrans-PacificTrans-AtlanticAsia-EuropeTransport, trade and regulation

Shippers, regulators muddle through ‘grey area’ of rail storage fees

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor | May 24, 2023, 11:44 AM EDT

Shippers want Congress to address their inability to challenge rail demurrage fees when they contract for merchant haulage, but finding a solution will be tricky, writes Journal of Commerce Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.
Container shippingDrayageSurfaceInternational railTransport, trade and regulation

ONE agrees to pay $1.7 million fine in detention/demurrage case: FMC

Teri Errico Griffis | May 19, 2023, 12:18 PM EDT

The carrier will pay the penalty to avoid the Federal Maritime Commission launching a formal investigation into whether it violated US detention and demurrage shipping laws.
Transport, trade and regulationContainer shippingContainer linesNorth American ports

House bill wants security checks of port cranes made by US ‘adversaries’

Teri Errico Griffis | May 18, 2023, 1:21 PM EDT

The bipartisan legislation does not identify specific countries that manufacture the cranes that would be subject to inspection, but a statement from the co-sponsors specifically mentions China.
Transport, trade and regulationPortsNorth American portsPort infrastructure

NITL lends support for move to give FMC oversight of rail storage fees

Teri Errico Griffis | May 17, 2023, 4:11 PM EDT

Rail storage has been at the forefront of recent regulatory discussion as the FMC solidifies its final rulemaking on detention and demurrage, with shippers wanting ocean carriers to be the billing party for such charges.
Transport, trade and regulationContainer shippingRailNorth-American rail

FLOW gains momentum with ‘give-to-get' data-sharing model

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | May 15, 2023, 2:12 PM EDT

The growth in participation in FLOW is a signal that the private sector views the voluntary nature of the project as more amenable than governmental data-sharing mandates or legislation.
Logistics technologyContainer shippingContainer linesForwardingPortsTransport, trade and regulation

FMC needs to take oversight of rail storage charges: shippers

Teri Errico Griffis | May 11, 2023, 4:07 PM EDT

Rail storage fees continue to be a point of contention for shippers and the National Shipping Advisory Committee wants the FMC to step up and take ownership.
Transport, trade and regulationContainer shippingRailNorth-American rail

ONE becomes latest carrier to drop per diem fees at closed US marine terminals

Teri Errico Griffis | May 10, 2023, 2:03 PM EDT

The change comes in advance of the FMC’s final rule on detention and demurrage billing that is due to be published in mid-June and has already generated pushback from marine terminal operators.
Container linesContainer shippingNorth American portsTransport, trade and regulation

FMC adds oversight heft by naming first director of enforcement program

Teri Errico Griffis | May 9, 2023, 1:44 PM EDT

Ex-DOJ advisor John Crews will oversee the FMC departments that investigate and prosecute a growing number of shipping complaints.
Transport, trade and regulationMaritimeContainer shipping

Evergreen pushed contracted cargo to spot market: FMC shipper complaint

Teri Errico Griffis | May 5, 2023, 3:30 PM EDT

An automotive parts importer alleges that after Evergreen failed to provide approximately 65% of contracted vessel space, it had to pay $750,000 on the spot market to secure capacity.
Transport, trade and regulationContainer shippingContainer lines

China to remain top for logistics investment despite regional sourcing shift

Keith Wallis, Special Correspondent | May 5, 2023, 2:30 PM EDT

Logistics and industrial investment in the Asia-Pacific region was estimated at about $50 billion last year, down from a record $72 billion in 2021.
Transport, trade and regulationInternational portsIndustrial real estate

NY-NJ terminals alter free time tariff as FMC rule on closed gates looms

Michael Angell, Associate Editor and Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor | May 5, 2023, 1:38 PM EDT

The rule changes will not have much of an initial cost impact on shippers as almost all New York-New Jersey terminals are closed on weekends and holidays, thereby not counting toward free time, and containers are now moving off the port faster.
North American portsContainer shippingTransport, trade and regulation

FMC post-OSRA complaint process secures $1 million in relief for shipping interests

Teri Errico Griffis | May 4, 2023, 4:19 PM EDT

Shippers, truckers and other transport interests have filed more than 287 complaints with the FMC since last June, mostly involving detention and demurrage billing.
Transport, trade and regulationMaritimeContainer shippingContainer lines

FMC crackdown on ocean carrier billing prompts Houston per diem change

Michael Angell, Associate Editor | May 3, 2023, 4:19 PM EDT

The Port of Houston is changing its tariff to align with ocean carriers who are no longer charging detention and demurrage fees when terminal gates are closed, but it’s also increasing its own fees to incentivize cargo movement.
North American portsContainer shippingTransport, trade and regulation

US shipping interests want FMC to regulate rail storage fees

Teri Errico Griffis | May 3, 2023, 3:20 PM EDT

Currently, there is no US regulatory agency with direct authority to oversee application of rail storage fees under ocean carriers’ through bills of lading and to determine whether those charges are assessed properly.
Transport, trade and regulationMaritimeContainer shippingSurfaceRailNorth-American rail

Bed Bath & Beyond looks to recoup millions from OOCL in FMC complaint

Teri Errico Griffis | May 1, 2023, 4:49 PM EDT

The now-bankrupt retailer alleges the ocean carrier failed to provide the full vessel space it contracted for, then charged much-higher premiums to ensure its cargo wasn’t rolled.
Container shippingContainer linesTrans-PacificTransport, trade and regulation

USDOT opens $160 million in funding to cut emissions from port truck idling

Teri Errico Griffis | Apr 27, 2023, 12:04 PM EDT

Funds will go to projects that focus on reducing emissions from port-related truck idling, particularly in communities adjacent to ports.
SurfaceTruckingTransport, trade and regulation

Broad reshaping of detention, demurrage billing possible in FMC rulemaking

Peter Tirschwell | Apr 27, 2023, 9:30 AM EDT

The FMC is poised to implement potentially far-reaching changes in how detention and demurrage fees are assessed, a move that could cloud how to incentivize the movement of cargo through US marine terminals.
Transport, trade and regulationContainer shippingContainer linesMarine terminalsNorth American ports

PSA leveraging forwarder acquisition to serve shippers directly

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor | Apr 25, 2023, 1:44 PM EDT

The scale of PSA International’s ambitions to expand its reach beyond its 60 container port terminals by leveraging the acquisition of a non-asset-based global logistics provider parallels Maersk’s own integrator ambitions.
Marine terminalsContainer shippingContainer linesForwardingLogistics technologyTransport, trade and regulation

New US House bill would boost FMC’s antitrust authority

Michael Angell, Associate Editor | Apr 24, 2023, 4:56 PM EDT

The legislation would give the Federal Maritime Commission the direct ability to block carrier and terminal agreements it views as anticompetitive, without the need for a court order.
Transport, trade and regulationContainer shipping