The U.S. Maritime Administration has advised operators of U.S.-flag ships that they should “protest but comply” with boarding requests by the Iranian Navy. “Reports from maritime forces and commerical maritime interests indicate concern with the potential for localized disruption to shipping in conjunction with future Iranian naval exericises,” MarAd said in a Dec. 23 advisory. […]
As previously reported by American Shipper, it is confirmed the New World Alliance of liner shipping carriers has merged its PS1 transpacific service with APL’s CMX service connecting Asia with the Middle East.
Echo Global Logistics, a transportation management company, has acquired all of the outstanding stock of Rochester, N.Y.-based TTS to expand its intermodal services.
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has awarded a $450,000 grant to EcoRodovias, a privately held Brazilian intermodal logistics and highway concessionaire company. The grant will fund a technical assistance program to help EcoRodovias modernize and expand its use of intelligent transportation system (ITS) technologies on its road network in Brazil. […]
A notice seeks comments on ways to make the tariff filing exemption provided to licensed NVOs more useful, including giving foreign-based NVOs not licensed by the agency the ability to enter NRAs.
The Ethiopian Ministry of Transport has issued a directive, effective January, requiring all government-owned cargoes to be transported by the Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Enterprise (ESLE) and only delivered to ports and warehouses that are recognized by the country’s customs service. The directive also covers vehicle shipments of more than three tons, requiring them to […]
Post NL, the private firm that provides postal service in the Netherlands, said it intercepted a large series of counterfeit postage stamps sold on public Websites at deep discounts. Legitimate stamps have certain authenticity features such as phosphor tagging that Post NL security systems automatically check as letters and packages go through […]
The way companies import goods into the United States could look a lot different in a few years if U.S. Customs continues to make progress on several fronts to streamline processes for releasing cargo and the types of documentation required of shippers.
By Alan F. Spear TAPA Americas chairman, and U.S. director of cargo security loss control for Chartis This because this first column has to do with work TAPA has been doing for the past few years that may change the way logistics planners look at trucking companies, at least from a security perspective.
We are finally beginning to see a Customs bureaucracy that views part of its role as assisting the U.S. economy by making it easier for companies to engage in international trade and generate profits. Beyond that, Customs and Border Protection is maturing into an organization that works smarter. Rather than each office or […]
Jo-Ann Stores says it has benefited from pre-payment audit system. By Chris Dupin Jo-Ann Stores is the largest specialty retailer of fabrics and one of the biggest sellers of craft items in the United States, with annual sales of over $2 billion in its fiscal year ending Jan. 29, 2011, but threading together […]
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, under the leadership of Commissioner Alan Bersin, wants to get to know the nation’s top shippers a whole lot better, not to make their lives difficult at the border, but to create a more customer-friendly atmosphere. For years, Customs — no matter where in the world — has […]
Brightstar International, the owner of 215 cartons of cell phones, brought suit against Minuteman International, a company that sells equipment used to buff floors. Brightstar said its telephones, en route to Wal-Mart, were destroyed by a fire in a container used in an intermodal rail movement. The company further alleged the blaze was […]
When the containership Deneb capsized at dockside in the port of Algeciras last June, an investigation found 16 of the 168 containers on the load list had actual weights far in excess of declared weights — from 1.9 to 6.7 times above their declared weights. Incidents like this prompted the International Association of […]
TTI’s proposed operation will load containers mostly destined to Asia. By Chris Dupin Total Terminals International has proposed to build a special 10 acre facility within its 385 acre terminal at Pier T in the Southern California port of Long Beach to handle exports of grain and related products, such as distiller’s […]
Love them or hate them, non-vessel operating common carriers have become part of the fabric of the ocean shipping community. But could this business model be headed for a significant change or possibly extinction? “I believe the traditional NVOCC business model is at risk,” proclaimed Jon Monroe, industry veteran and systems developer for third […]
Korean line’s 10 mega-ship order helps counter ‘hyper-competitive market.’ In a world of growing containership fleets and ship sizes, the South Korean container line Hyundai Merchant Marine has managed to carve its niche as a profitable mid-sized line over the past few years. Despite having only the 18th largest fleet in the world […]
10 things we don’t expect next year, but could happen
Speculation has been rampant of late that the top container lines are starving the market of viable rates in order to force what they consider to be much needed consolidation. What’s changed in recent weeks is that some of the beleaguered carriers in the chasing pack are starting to speak their minds about the issue.
Further proof that environmental stewardship is becoming a big priority for the aviation industry comes from Swiss WorldCargo, which said it will introduce new “lightweight’ containers to its fleet during the next four years. The company said the unit load devices (ULDs) will significantly reduce weight and, by extension, lower fuel consumption, costs […]
