European Union Customs authorities stopped almost 40 million products worth nearly 1 billion euro ($1.32 billion) last year due to suspected intellectual property rights (IPR) violations, according to a European Commission report. Officials this year saw a sharp decrease in the number of articles detained, but only a slight drop in the amount […]
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency and George Washington University signed a memorandum of understanding establishing a partnership to develop the Global Procurement Initiative: Understanding Best Value. The Initiative is designed to share best practices in procurement with officials from emerging economies to “foster fair and transparent procurement systems that use best-value determination […]
Emirates SkyCargo will start calculating fuel and security surcharges based on chargeable weight instead of actual weight on Sept. 1, according to the airline’s Edward Chism. There are no changes to the surcharges themselves, which were last updated in late July. The fuel surcharge is currently at $0.95 per kilogram, with the security […]
Senate confirmation was reached Friday on three key U.S. Commerce Department posts. Ellen Herbst was confirmed as Commerce assistant secretary for administration and chief financial officer. She has served in the department since 2005, starting as director of the National Technical Information Service and then senior advisor to the deputy secretary of Commerce beginning […]
Old Dominion, which recently doubled the size of its Amarillo, Texas service center, has opened a new facility in Rapid City, Wyo., and expanded its current gateway to Washington-area facility in Manassas, Va. The Rapid City development, located along Interstate 90, has seven doors, and the addition will help increase Old Dominion’s network in […]
Two Democratic Capitol Hill lawmakers from New York, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Jerrold Nadler, introduced legislation Thursday that they said will “update federal law to ensure that ports can enact and enforce Clean Truck programs.”
A three-judge panel with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has upheld most of the FMCSA’s hours of service rule change, striking down the 30-minute break provision for short-haul carriers.
Rail activity in the United States rose during the last full week of July, with carloads growing 2.5 percent, year over year, to 295,532 units, according to the Association of American Railroads. Intermodal activity grew by 2.4 percent, year over year, to 256,379 units. Total traffic rose by 2.5 percent. Carload activity grew […]
The U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Thursday proposed eliminating a burdensome paperwork requirement for truck drivers related to vehicle maintenance that could save the trucking industry $1.7 billion per year. Truckers are required to conduct pre-and post-trip inspections of their tractors and trailers and file reports with the employing motor carrier after each tour of duty, whether or not an […]
NYK Line said that effective Sept. 2 it will implement a chassis provision charge (CPC) for motor carrier transport moving under NYK import or export merchant haulage bills of lading when chassis from the South Atlantic Chassis Pool are used. The CPC will be $14.50 per chassis per day charged directly to motor […]
An agreement between U.S. Customs and Border Protection and China’s General Administration of Customs to cooperate on combating intellectual property theft has produced its first tangible results with the seizure of 243,000 counterfeit electronic products sold by Apple, Beats by Dr. Dre, Blackberry, Samsung, Sony and UL. A month-long enforcement operation also resulted in the arrest by local police in the […]
French liner carrier CMA CGM said it has “signed for the acquisition” of three more 16,000-TEU ships. A spokeswoman said the ships will be delivered in the second half of 2015 and that the company is “envisaging to add three others hopefully for end 2015.” The first three 16,000-TEU ships – Marco […]
U.S. Gross Domestic Product increased 1.7 percent in the second quarter, up from 1.1 percent in the first quarter of 2013, according to an initial estimate by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The main drivers of productivity gains in the quarter were exports, a smaller decrease in government spending, an upturn in state and […]
Alabama’s Gov. Robert Bentley named Angus R. Cooper III to the Alabama State Port Authority board’s at-large seat and chairman. In a concurrent gubernatorial action, Bentley also appointed Tim Parker III to the board’s Central Region. Both appointments are five-year terms and are effective Aug. 1. Established by state legislative act in […]
Swissport has announced it will acquire Servisair from French Derichebourg SA for an undisclosed amount. Subject to regulatory approval, Swissport expects the deal to close in the fourth quarter. Servisair, which boasts 118 locations in 20 countries, focuses on cargo and ground handling, fueling, airport services and load control. “Servisair is a […]
The former secretary general of the International Air Cargo Association, Daniel Fernandez, has left the organization following the appointment of Douglas Brittin to the secretary general post. Brittin, it was announced last week, is to take over his new duties on Aug. 15. The organization had offered Fernandez what it called a “substantial […]
Roanoke Trade Services is advising freight forwarders and property brokers that they need to “re-comply” with new permitting and bonding mandate put forth in the 2012 highway reauthorization bill, known as MAP 21.
GSP is designed to promote economic growth in the developing world by providing preferential, duty-free entry for up to 5,000 products when imported from one of 127 designated beneficiary countries and territories.
The European Union will continue to provide U.S. beef producers with significant access, at zero duty, to the EU market for high-quality beef produced from non-hormone-treated cattle. The United States and European Union are planning to extend for two years Phase 2 of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in 2009 in connection […]
FedEx has expanded its temperature-controlled packaging options, unveiling a product that will keep goods within a range of 2 degrees to 8 degrees Celsius for up to 96 hours without using gel packs or dry ice. The environmentally friendly option, which was built by NanoCool and is targeted at the healthcare industry, can […]
