Transport, Trade and Regulation News

US imports of goods that left China prior to Friday’s increase of tariffs from 10 percent to 25 percent may be able to enter the country at the lower duty rate under certain circumstances.

While CMA CGM is the first carrier to implement the emergency bunker fuel surcharges this quarter, other carriers are likely to follow

The costs of climate change and impacts to business are typically discussed as abstract and distant, but a review of recent history shows those costs are already here, and climbing.

US President Donald Trump's decision to hike tariffs on a wide selection of Chinese-made goods took the US trade community by surprise.

Applications are now being accepted for $900 million in USDOT BUILD grants for the upcoming fiscal year, a 40 percent reduction from the $1.5 billion made available last year for port, road, and rail projects.

Container vessel on-time performance could degrade even further as carriers remove ships from service to install equipment that “scrubs” harmful sulfur particles from ship exhaust in lieu of burning low-sulfur fuel.

Container carriers and the shipper supply chains that depend on them are in for a rude awakening if European regulators repeal the block exemption for liner carrier consortia.

Trucking operators and shippers should be keeping a close eye on the implementation of a National Drug and Alcohol Driver Database and other potential regulatory changes that will affect available capacity.

Trump’s trade policies find little favor with footwear executives, but a former USTR reminded them that trade is a long game and the complicated US-China relationship predates the current president.

While British politicians have been chasing their tails in Parliament, businesses in the UK and Europe have been planning for a no-deal Brexit.

Carrier executives are increasingly confident they will have compensatory, floating low-sulfur fuel BAFs installed with their customers by the fourth quarter.

For trucking companies, third-party logistics providers, and shippers alike, the lack of progress in this area after a year spent stressing the need for greater collaboration is disappointing.

Only when carriers start actually using low-sulfur fuel later this year will the demand -- and the price -- be established.

Although the final decision lies with the college of commissioners, a European Commission working group is examining the pros and cons of modifying the liner block exemption regulation, rather than renewing or repealing it.

The International Transport Forum is calling for more clarity in the EU liner shipper block exemption rules, just days after the World Shipping Council submitted a report in support of extending the exemption.

The Trump administration has designated Michael Khouri as Federal Maritime Commission chairman more than a year after the commissioner was tapped to lead the top maritime regulatory agency in an acting role.

IHS Markit Chief Economist Nariman Behravesh tells TPM 2019 slowing global economic growth puts the odds of a recession at 3-to-1, with a likelihood of a worldwide recession in 2020 at 50-50.

President Donald Trump will want to ensure voters in northern tier states don’t see heating oil and diesel prices skyrocket before the 2020 election as a result of the new IMO low-sulfur fuel rule, IHS Markit vice chairman Daniel Yergin tells the TPM 2019 Conference.

The DOT OIG's audit of FMCSA medical certification procedures and examiners is one example of how federal regulators are cracking down on truck and bus drivers in an effort to keep unqualified drivers off the road and reduce accidents and fatalities.

The risk of severe disruption in early 2020 should be on the minds of all beneficial cargo owners and forwarders leading up to the Jan. 1 imposition of the IMO's low-sulfur fuel rules.

Matson CEO Matt Cox says additional costs associated with the IMO's 2020 low-sulfur fuel rules are quickly becoming the defining factor in annual trans-Pacific contract negotiations.

Enforcement of a revamped customs program requiring carriers to electronically submit manifest data prior to arrival or departure at Indian ports had already been pushed back twice.

The higher cost of low-sulfur fuel remains one of the greatest threats to carrier profitability over the next year.

The European Commission is reviewing submissions regarding a five-year extension of the exemption covering liner carrier consortia in advance of a 2020 expiration of the current extension.

With less than a year to go before the IMO's global requirement for the use of low-sulfur fuel, vessel operators still lack clarity into plans by refiners and suppliers to ensure sufficient fuel and infrastructure at major US gateways.

With meat shipments to the Middle East poised to decline, exporters are hoping the lifting of a previous ban in Russia and an outbreak of African Swine Flu in China will offset those losses.

Maersk and others are cracking down on dangerous goods misdeclarations, but more awareness is needed to address the underlying issues behind improper cargo classification.

UK forwarders, shippers, and ferry operators fear that any delay caused by customs checks will quickly lead to extensive bottlenecks and disruption.

Among shipowners’ concerns: will there be enough low-sulfur fuel on Jan. 1, 2020? And will the low-sulfur quality be consistent?

The injection of vessels comes as demand growth of Asia-Europe westbound volume slows.

Several US ports, many in the Gulf, are expecting a surge in wind cargo during the next 24 months.

Container and chassis dwell times in Los Angeles-Long Beach edged lower in December.

This lack of clarity on future high- and low-sulfur fuel costs worries BCOs and NVOs as they enter the more critical second phase of negotiations in March.

The new rule is similar to 24-hour advanced manifest rule for US cargo and recent regulatory changes in China.

The 2019 regulatory schedule isn’t clear, but what is clear is that there will be many more hours of debate over truck driver hours of service.

For the new fee, the port promises timelier inspections and fewer detention and demurrage charges.

Nuisances are popping up that irk port authorities and customs brokers.

However, even planning for no deal is not a straightforward matter.

Indian authorities believe the revised “tariff guidelines 2019” will create a more conducive operating environment for initial concession holders.

Even owner-operators work under ‘contracts of employment,’ the US Supreme Court said, which means claims of misclassification, ‘stolen wages,’ can’t be forced into arbitration.