Failure to embrace technology is often borne out of an inability to see past the immediate impacts and toward an ultimately more efficient future. Breaking news: the Internet is important to international trade. That statement comes as a result of attending a panel at a think tank in Washington, D.C. in early February […]
Consumers are an influential bunch, and just as they have pushed express companies to deliver products when and where they want them, so too are they having the same effect on old school container transportation providers — namely through strong demand for fresh fruits and vegetables. Fifteen years ago, one had to wait […]
New ocean transportation trends and infrastructure, especially transshipment and the expansion of the Panama Canal, will enable the refrigerated container sector to continue its rapid growth on Latin American trade lanes, Robert West, principle strategist for ports and marine terminals at Australian engineering services firm WorleyParsons, said at a recent port industry conference.
By Walter Kemmsies, chief economist, Moffatt & Nichol Economic recovery has been uneven in most segments of the economy, particularly the freight movement industry. In some regions volumes have exceeded previous peak levels but in others they have not. This is particularly evident in port volume data…
International Shipholding Corp. (ISC) — the parent company of several shipping companies including Central Gulf Lines, Waterman, United Ocean Services and CG Railway — said it will return its headquarters to New Orleans. After Hurricane Katrina, ISC relocated its corporate headquarters to Mobile, Ala. In New Orleans, ISC will create 100 new […]
Build it and they will come is not a viable strategy for container terminals in the international maritime sector. Ocean terminals are hugely expensive. Banks and investors are unlikely to make loans or deploy capital on the speculative assumption that a good idea for a cargo hub will attract enough business to provide an […]
Ocean transportation intermediaries question FMC’s push for new regulations. The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission is continuing its review of proposed changes for regulating ocean freight forwarders and non-vessel-operating common carriers, also known collectively as ocean transportation intermediaries (OTIs). The FMC said there are about 5,900 licensed OTIs and foreign-based NVOCCs within its records. […]
Officials say re-branding reflects Florida bay port’s regional scope. The Port of Tampa is now called Port Tampa Bay, part of a re-branding effort designed to emphasize the port’s regional reach beyond the city and attract more business from shippers and carriers. Port President Paul Anderson splashed the news, along with a new […]
The White House’s Rural Council has launched a new “Made in Rural America” export and investment initiative. “This initiative is charged with bringing together federal resources to help rural businesses and leaders take advantage of new investment opportunities, and access new customers and markets abroad,” council said. Specifically, the Rural Council — […]
On Jan. 4, CBP implemented new features of its Automated Commercial Environment, marking the second successful deployment of new features in less than six months. The new deployment improves Cargo Release by: Expanding the pilot program to include foundational capabilities for ocean and rail manifest shipments. Allowing processing of in-bond transactions with partial […]
During a regularly scheduled meeting in Dublin, Ireland, in December, global customs chiefs discussed how to implement the World Trade Organization’s breakthrough agreement on multilateral trade covering trade facilitation, achieved days earlier in Bali, Indonesia. If enough countries accede to the Trade Facilitation Agreement it could provide an annual global benefit of between […]
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.
