Transport, Trade, and Regulation News

The US Federal Maritime Commission and Department of Justice outlined additional resource sharing as part of their efforts to police container shipping.

The US Department of Transportation said that it has nearly doubled the amount of grant money it had last year to support port improvement projects through the US.

Although White House Port Envoy John Porcari is stepping down from leading the White House’s intervention in port operations, the administration will continue to push for short- and long-term fixes for port congestion.

The Federal Maritime Commission is looking for comments over the next month about how it can make detention and demurrage billing more transparent, accurate, and timely.

The Senate’s Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 calls for container lines and terminal operators to validate container storage fees while strengthening their common carriage responsibilities.

The impact of investigations by the Federal Maritime Commission into container shipping — driven by new leadership and pressure from the White House — pales in comparison to fast-moving reform legislation making its way through Congress.

A bill in the US House of Representatives is looking to restrict the number of US importers that can ship goods duty-free by keeping below the $800 threshold for so-called de minimis shipments.

Although the US supply chain is in desperate need of more chassis, it will take a while longer before enough chassis are injected into the market to make a notable difference.

Despite the urgency around decarbonizing one of the world’s most polluting industries, the IMO continues to struggle to achieve consensus on the way forward among its 175 member states.

Clearing an unprecedented number of low-value shipments driven by cross-border e-commerce will require US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to leverage automation.

The US secretaries of Transportation and Agriculture are urging ocean carriers to bring more ships to Oakland and Portland so agriculture shippers can get their products to market.

The drive by the federal government to address short-term supply chain pressures — most notably through fast-moving legislation that would reshape US container shipping regulation — would foster major long-term changes.

An effort by the US Federal Maritime Commission to facilitate data sharing in supply chains needs to be global in nature and focused around resolving data conflicts between carriers and terminals, experts said.

Near-term operational issues make it difficult for supply chain leaders to focus on climate change, but scientific reports are driving greater urgency to achieve fully decarbonized operations.

The World Shipping Council, representing major container lines, is asking federal maritime regulators to hold off on weighing on new Southern California port tariffs until the fees have been implemented on Nov. 15.

An exemption to the US’ large employer vaccine mandate granted to outdoor workers may cover truck drivers, the American Trucking Association argues. But it’s not clear that exemption would apply to all types of truck drivers.

Stakeholders agree the US logistics sector is facing its biggest strains ever due to high consumer demand and inventory restocking after COVID-19.

US Customs and Border Protection is stepping up its efforts to reduce port congestion amid record imports by working with customs brokers to target illegal shipments, thereby freeing up staff and resources to expedite clearance of legitimate imports.

FMC Chairman Daniel Maffei said the agency is still investigating issues around surprise surcharges and hopes to lay out better rules on detention and demurrage soon.

Worsening port congestion is forcing western governments to realize that strong infrastructure is crucial to global trade and that migration rules need to be eased in order to fill supply chain jobs.

If passed into law as currently written, the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2021 would bring about the most profound changes to maritime contracting since the 1998 version by allowing the government to weigh in on what constitutes a “reasonable” agreement.

The National Industrial Transportation League said that it will get a new executive director as it ends a management services agreement with an outside organization.

A demurrage dispute between a New York customs broker and Mediterranean Shipping Co. unmasks the degree to which key communication of shipment milestones is overly reliant on email.

Two cases before the Federal Maritime Commission will test the limits of the regulator’s interpretative rule on detention and demurrage penalties.

Ocean carriers, terminal operators, and stevedores have joined to fight against the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2021, arguing the bill will cause detention and demurrage to increase and further constrain the supply chain.

A Brazilian wood importer is the latest shipper to strike back with a Federal Maritime Commission complaint that alleges unfair treatment from CMA CGM and Fenix Marine.

The Federal Maritime Commission said it is taking steps toward addressing detention and demurrage bills that US shippers and truckers are facing.

A US Congressman said other legislative priorities will delay any regulatory relief for US importers and exporters until well after peak season, despite growing calls for more immediate ocean carrier oversight.

As part of the National Shipper Advisory Committee, the likes of Wal-Mart, Amazon, and DuPont will give guidance to the Federal Maritime Commission as the federal agency steps up its monitoring of the industry.

The Federal Maritime Commission is meeting with global regulators as part of its regularly scheduled conferences regarding issues facing the container shipping industry.

Controlling dangerous wood-boring pests in wood packaging material will require more consistent enforcement across the US and helping the private sector learn how to look for these pests themselves.

The responses of two major carriers to an importer’s complaint to the US Federal Maritime Commission underscores the difficulty in using a regulatory avenue to settle contract disputes.

The White House named a former deputy secretary for the Department of Transportation to work with ports and related businesses to find ways to relieve the port congestion seen across the US.

Increased infrastructure investment and regulation may help the US regain some of the economic ground it has lost in competing against China.

Federal Maritime Commissioner Carl Bentzel is looking into China’s dominance of intermodal equipment manufacturing as a potential risk area for shippers and carriers.

The proposed Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2021 could restrain carriers from imposing legitimate detention and demurrage fees, undermining the goal of systemwide container fluidity.

The Biden administration has nominated a former longshoreman and state representative from the state of Washington to replace Michael Khouri on the US Federal Maritime Commission.

The Biden administration has nominated a former longshoreman and state representative from the state of Washington to replace Michael Khouri on the US Federal Maritime Commission.

The Biden administration is wading into ocean regulatory waters via an executive order, upping pressure on maritime regulators to crack down on illegal behavior and work more closely with the Department of Justice.

The US Department of Transportation met with groups representing major container lines and retailers, and officials say they are looking at solutions to mitigate the capacity crunch causing port congestion.