U.S. Customs modernizes trade programs with help of industry, other regulatory bodies. By Eric Kulisch One of the biggest lessons learned by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the course of implementing post-9/11 supply chain security measures is that partnerships with industry, other government agencies and the international community are essential for developing new regulations because […]
U.S. Customs may have gotten a congressional reprieve to avoid forced furloughs of field officers, Border Patrol agents and other employees, but that doesn’t mean the agency hasn’t felt the effect of the sequester. The six-month DHS appropriation gave CBP flexibility in how to implement automatic budgets trigged by gridlock over the deficit, […]
Global trade management is more about integrating compliance with finance and logistics. By Eric Johnson Compliance practitioners, analysts, and technology vendors alike point to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks as the inflection point for global trade management — the day when it became critical for companies to tackle the compliance aspect of GTM less […]
Canadian truckers feel sidelined in efforts to improve trade with United States. By Jon Ross In 2011, the Canadian and U.S. governments jointly released a report meant to update the processes at their shared border and increase the flow of trade between the nations. The Beyond the Border Action Plan aims to assist President […]
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced July 12 that she will be leaving her post in September after four years to become chancellor of the 10-school University of California system. In reporting the news for our online audience, I noted that U.S. Customs and Border Protection has been without a permanent commissioner for […]
It’s every liner carrier’s worst nightmare: a loaded containership suffers major mishap on the high seas. This was certainly the case for Japan’s MOL in the early morning of June 17 when its 7,041-TEU ship, MOL Comfort, suddenly split in two among the storm-churned waters of the Arabian Sea near the coast of […]
With competing needs for capital, liner carriers are using more leased containers. By Chris Dupin To buy or lease? It’s a question faced not only by new car shoppers, but liner shipping companies when deciding how to obtain new containers. In recent years, with many carriers recording losses and needing capital for other […]
How top companies structure their trade compliance infrastructure for success. By Eric Kulisch Opinions vary about how to structure trade compliance operations within an international company and to what extent interactions with customs authorities should be controlled from a central point. Some say the legal or finance department is the logical place to house compliance […]
Rickmers CEO says ocean shipping must tap new financial sources. By Chris Dupin For decades, limited partnerships, or “kommanditgesellschaft” (KG) in Germany, and loans from European banks have been important sources of capital for shipowners. But in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, obtaining capital for the maritime industry has become increasingly difficult. […]
What does a boutique advertising and marketing firm in Southern California have to do with global logistics? Well, it’s an interesting story, and one that highlights the way innovative thinking can drive the way logistics service providers attract customers.
Senior shipping executives and labor leaders gathered last month to celebrate the retirement of Jim Capo and Brian Dugan, respectively the chief executive officer and vice president of the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX), and Joe Curto, president of the New York Shipping Association (NYSA). Both groups were very much in the news last […]
More shippers consider air transport for oversize cargoes in logistics equation. By Jon Ross As with most aspects of transportation, project cargo, or the shipment of oversize goods on large, hulking aircraft, generally comes down to fuel. The oil and gas industry is currently a major driver of the oversize cargo industry. Large […]
Liner carriers spanning the east-west container trades may be desperately pressing for rate increases to make up for financial losses, but indications are that industry resolve is as strong as a house of cards. Since July 1, this shift upward in prices for container transport, especially on the spot market, has been witnessed […]
By Walter Kemmsies, chief economist, Moffatt & Nichol It’s clear that U.S. economic activity is picking up, which is good news for the freight movement industry since this means growing volumes, but the pattern in terms of import and export flows is likely to shift a lot since recovery also impacts the value of […]
The Port of Oakland said a litigation settlement with SSA Terminals, approved last week by its board of port commissioners, will combine three terminals in the port and create the third largest terminal on the U.S. West Coast. SSA Terminals will drop a complaint before the Federal Maritime Commission and a lawsuit in […]
UPS said it had a profit of $1.07 billion in the second quarter, 4 percent less than the $1.12 billion earned in the same 2012 period. Revenue was $13.51 billion in the second quarter, 1.2 percent higher than the $13.35 billion recorded in the same 2012 period. International package volume was up 5 […]
Maersk Line said it will implement a general rate increase (GRI) for dry and reefer shipments from the Far East to the United States on September 1. Rates will increase by $400 to the U.S. West Coast and $600 to the U.S. East Coast per standard 40-foot container. Additional information on scope and other […]
Although the company increased its hiring rate from the same period last year, Werner said it is having difficulty hitting its 7,300-driver target for the truckload sector.
Oracle on Monday released an application aimed at giving discrete manufacturers real-time visibility into their outsourced operations. Oracle Outsourced Manufacturing for Discrete Industries is part of the Oracle’s E-Business suite for supply chain management. The tool is meant users to “track and manage virtually all aspects of outsourced manufacturing business processes so that […]
The International Civil Aviation Organization has opened an office in Beijing dedicated to improving air traffic management (ATM) procedures in the region. The regional sub office is the organization’s first in the city. At the new office, officials will establish performance-driven criteria that will strive to meet Asia’s future capacity and ATM issues. […]
