U.S. Customs and Border Protection is in the process of updating its Focused Assessment Program for the first time in more than a decade to align with current Government Auditing Standards and other professional standards, according to the agency’s first quarter newsletter. The Focus Assessment is a Customs audit to ensure that importers […]
In December, Jim Newsome, president and chief executive officer of the South Carolina State Ports Authority, suggested ports may respond to the planned P3 Network of Maersk, Mediterranean Shipping Co. and CMA CGM by filing agreements with the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission to work more closely together. Ports that are in close proximity […]
New services pop up around the country to move perishables by train. Class I railroads have done a masterful job since 2000 developing their intermodal franchises to the point that they are the fastest growing business line. Within the intermodal space there has been much innovation over the years, including double-stack trains, dedicated […]
By Julie Gibbs, Director, BPE Global Internal audits should be on your list of quarterly and annual activities. Why audit so regularly? First of all, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) expect you to audit as a part of a […]
Industry experts advise taking control of process rather than letting it drive you. While the U.S. government’s ongoing initiative to reform its Cold War-era export control regulations promises significant simplification and streamlining of procedures in the future, many exporters are struggling in the present with how to properly straddle their compliance programs between the […]
In the culmination of a long labor negotiating and debt wrangling process, YRC Worldwide Thursday came to new financing terms on a $700 million loan and received a $450 million asset-based loan facility.
A Norfolk Southern train transporting crude oil from Canada that was traveling between Chicago and New Jersey derailed Thursday in western Pennsylvania, forcing 21 of its 120 cars off the track, according to Reuters.
The UK’s Imperial Tobacco Group is considering listing shares in its European logistics division on the stock market, according to reports by media outlets including Reuters and the Wall Street Journal. The company’s tobacco brands include Davidoff, Gauloises Blondes, West and JPS. Imperial’s logistics business is of considerable size — £8.3 billion […]
Global carriers have geared up for weeks in preparation for Valentine’s Day 2014, and have seen increases in flower activity this year compared to last year.
Momentum Transportation USA has acquired Jacksonville, Fla.-based JIX International Freight Solutions, a freight forwarder working in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, India and the Caribbean for the past three years. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. “The addition of JIX International Freight Specialists to the Momentum team adds to our […]
Global transportation and logistics mergers and acquisitions rose by 57 percent in the fourth quarter, while the value of those deals increased by 100 percent, according to a study by PwC US. The firm, which publishes a quarterly analysis of mergers, said there were 66 transportation and logistics transactions deals worth $50 million […]
Cargolux has ordered a new 747-8 freighter, valued at $357.5 million, from Boeing, bringing the airline’s total oder of 747-8 planes to 14. Delivery of the additional plane is expected in March 2015.
DHL has launched Resilience360, a supply-chain risk management tool using Big Data that the company says will help customers protect against supply chain disruptions. The idea comes out of DHL’s “Big Data in Logistics” report, which was released in December. The company is also piloting two additional programs, one of which would anticipate […]
The Government Accountability Office is recommending the Maritime Administration take steps to improve its process when it selects companies to scrap ships. MarAd uses a two-step process by first qualifying ship recycling facilities and then awarding contracts. GAO said MarAd should enhance communications and update its strategic plan “to help ensure the […]
Commerzbank said Thursday, as it reported its year-end results, that it had reduced the size of its shipping portfolio by €4.5 billion ($6.14 billion) — approximately 24 percent — to €14 billion. The bank, Germany’s second largest, said that in trimming the portfolio to that level, it has reached a goal it set for itself […]
CSAV said it plans to raise up to $600 million by selling additional stock capital in order to finance ships and complete its proposed merger with Hapag-Lloyd. The company said that, subject to approval by shareholders at a special meeting in March, it would raise $200 million to complete the finance of seven […]
A massive snow storm slammed much of the East Coast Wednesday and Thursday, shutting down entire cities, transportation systems and governments, as well as ports.
The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners has agreed to fund a $2 million pilot test of a mobile, barge-mounted emissions-control system for cargo ships at berth. The new technology would provide an alternative to shore power.
The chief executive officer and founder of the container shipping analyst SeaIntel Consulting, Lars Jensen, has launched a new company focusing on cyber security in the maritime industry.
Wilh. Wilhelmsen Holding ASA Group (WWH), the Norwegian company that is a part owner in Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics and several other roll-on/roll-off cargo companies, said it saw positive growth in the fourth quarter in volumes transported deep sea and continued growth in sales for its maritime services segment. The Wilhelmsen companies have a […]
