Supply chain

Federal Maritime Commissioner Richard Lidinsky called for global regulation of container shipping alliances today.

The largest U.S. trucking advocacy group wants Congress to pass an omnibus spending bill during its “lame duck” session, not a continuing resolution that simply extends funding for a few months, before calling it quits and turning responsibility over to the next Congress.

A wide coalition of shippers and transportation providers are urging President Obama to send in a federal mediator to help reach a U.S. West Coast labor contract deal.

Logistics provider Transplace is building up its chemical business by acquiring Logistics Management Solutions, a 3PL with a strong chemicals customer base.

The Republican takeover of the U.S. Senate could unblock the gridlock delaying a long-term highway bill, but the window for legislative action may be short.

Transport Canada is proposing to allow shippers to screen their cargo before it reaches an airport, rather than solely relying on carriers to do so, in order to bridge security gaps and prevent terrorist attacks.

To help reduce congestion at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, U.S. Customs Border and Protection is offering extended gate hours to shippers and allowing them to schedule non-intrusive inspection appointments on nights and weekends.

Rising operating costs coupled with the slowdown in international freight hauling hurt profit growth at Container Corporation of India, the country’s largest intermodal logistics provider.

Jittery shareholders of China logistics operator Sinotrans frantically off-loaded shares following mainland media reports that its subsidiaries were involved in making multiple pledges of the same inventory as loan collateral.

Expeditors International of Washington, the largest non-vessel operating common carrier in the trans-Pacific eastbound market, will expand into the Asia-Europe market

Chinese regulators will closely monitoring the vessel-sharing agreement between Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Co., and the so-called 2M faces additional scrutiny if the duo doesn’t reduce their market share on Chinese trade routes to 30 percent.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Gil Kerlikowske is sticking to his pledge to solidify his team and focus on improving cargo facilitation.

The Republican takeover of the Senate could spell a hard stop for federal regulators defending existing trucking rules and pushing for stricter safety measures. But carriers and shippers should still expect tough battles over rulemakings and regulations ahead.

S.F. Express, one of China’s largest express logistics companies, plans further overseas expansion, and is targeting Europe, a company official said.

China has lifted its suspension on Red and Golden Delicious apple imports from Washington state, giving apple shippers an opening to move their record crop to a new market as domestic transport capacity tightens.

Shippers are pressuring the Obama administration send in a federal mediator to help the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and U.S. West Coast employers reach a contract, as talks appear to be deteriorating and Los Angeles-Long Beach congestion persists.

In an effort to tap growing Asian perishable demand, a Japanese logistics firm and a Chinese fishing company today joined to create a cold chain logistics provider that will serve China and then eventually Southeast Asia.

Nippon Express Co. more than doubled its group net profit in the first half of fiscal 2014, which ended Sept. 31, from the same period in 2013, as strong international freight forwarding offset U.S. antitrust lawsuit costs, and weak Japanese imports and construction-related cargo.

Foreign logistics property developers continue to beef up their business in China’s fast growing inland provinces, with Australia’s Goodman Group and Singapore-listed Global Logistics Properties (GLP) this week adding almost 900,000 square feet of combined leased space to existing customers.

Major Japanese international freight forwarder Yusen Logistics Co. saw its net profit surge 146.8 percent year-over-year in the first half of fiscal 2014, which ended Sept. 31, to ¥695 million ($6.17 million).

Transport Corporation of India’s net profit rocketed 63 percent year-over-year in its second quarter, which ended September, as more shippers turned to the company’s third-party logistics offerings.

One year after extreme holiday shipping volumes resulted in millions of missed deadlines, retailers are seemingly backing off last-minute deals in order to guarantee delivery, a new survey shows.

BNSF Railway’s relatively new intermodal terminal in the Kansas City area has attracted another shipper and fueled speculative industrial warehouse construction.

Home Depot Canada is building a more than 1 million-square-feet distribution hub near a Canadian Pacific Railway intermodal terminal in Calgary, further cementing the largest city in Alberta province as a major staging ground for western Canada.

The Federal Maritime Commission has allowed Consolidated Chassis Management, the ocean carrier-owned operator of regional chassis pools, to license its pool management software and provide management services to third-party pools.

Industrial vacancy rates in the U.S. have dipped to 7.1 percent, and could sink even lower in the fourth quarter, JLL Research says.

U.S. shippers’ increasing difficulties in finding long-haul trucks to move their loads is making intermodal rail, including the transport of refrigerated goods, more a “capacity play” than about saving money.

Russia, struggling after it enforced food embargoes on European Union countries, is ramping up its chicken imports from Brazil, registering a massive 291 percent year-over-year increase in imports of the white meat in September.

A group of Mexican produce and meat exporters are sold on the idea of starting weekly ocean service between the ports of Veracruz, Mexico, and Philadelphia, saying it would be faster, cheaper and provide better security and cargo integrity than current trucking routes.

Next Tuesday’s Senate elections could determine the future of federal regulations governing drivers’ hours of service and the publication of driver safety scores, Transplace CEO Tom Sanderson says.

Amazon’s opening of three distribution centers in western Poland this week closes the remaining gap in the e-commerce giant’s European network.

A major new initiative has been launched to upgrade infrastructure and the logistics network along the Yangtze River, an undertaking that will impact almost half of the country’s population.

A manufacturer of custom office furniture is investing $17 million to establish a Virginia distribution center at the CenterPoint Intermodal Center in Suffolk, a boost for the Port of Virginia and CSX Transportation and another sign of growing momentum for inland ports served by rail.

HONG KONG — Robert Mylod, the former Priceline CFO who played a major role in automating the online consumer travel market, has joined online freight pricing and quoting network Freightos, which plans to mimic the automated system that was such a game changer in the travel business.

Fruit shippers in Central Washington hoping for refrigerated rail service to be reinstated at the Port of Quincy, Washington, have a long wait. After Cold Train suspended the reefer service, BNSF stopped any intermodal service to the port.

Global Logistic Properties (GLP) has announced its second giant investment this week, pouring $138 million into a Japanese joint venture development that will be matched by long term partner Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

With the nation’s ability to move imports and exports “in crisis mode,” U.S. Federal Maritime Commissioner Chairman Mario Cordero is urging PierPass to “seriously consider” calls for a moratorium on its fees as congestion at the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex builds.

In its first attempt to regulate transportation-related food safety, the Food and Drug Administration has confused quality with safety, a move that could force the automatic rejection of countless loads and push cargo claims and insurance rates up sharply, shippers, carriers and industry associations say.

Most shippers are happy with the European Union’s new electronic customs system, which aims to replace paper customs procedures to facilitate trade and enhance security at the EU’s external borders, this despite potentially higher costs and possibly more enquiries and audits, according to a new survey.