The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Thursday announced the allocations for the increased fiscal year 2011 in-quota quantity of the tariff-rate quota (TRQ) for imported refined sugar. TRQs allow countries to export specified quantities of a product to the United States at a relatively low tariff, but subject all imports of […]
A Chantilly, Va. woman, Chun-yu Zhao, has received a 60-month prison sentence and heavy financial penalties for masterminding a conspiracy to import counterfeit computer networking equipment, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said over the weekend. CBP officers intercepted computer networking products that were believed to be counterfeit, with the agency’s National Targeting and […]
A regulator with a sense of humor
Member lines of the Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (WTSA) said they plan to implement rate increases from Nov. 1 based on specific commodity types “as freight rates for many major commodity categories have approached unsustainable levels”.
The NOL Group, parent company of APL and APL Logistics, said Friday it has completed the transition to a new chief executive officer three months early, with Ng Yat Chung taking the helm of the company from Oct. 1. Ng has served as an NOL executive director since May, when the succession plan […]
Evergreen Line has joined an Asia-Oceania service currently operated by Japan’s Big 3 lines, and has left a multi-operator service on the same trade, according to the Taiwan-based line’s forward schedules. Evergreen will join as a vessel operator a service called AU2 by MOL, ANA2 by NYK Line and NAE by “K” Line. […]
Member lines within the CKYH Alliance are due to suspend two transpacific services over the next quarter, one of the lines confirmed to American Shipper this week. The two services, the multi-operator CLX service and the CKYH-operated SJX service, will be pulled in October and early December, respectively, a Hanjin Shipping spokesperson said. […]
FedEx Ground, the small-package ground unit of FedEx Corp., opened a new sorting and delivery station that is the fifth major facility for the company in the Chicago area. The 214,000-square-foot facility is located in Grayslake, Ill., and joins four others serving the ground shipping needs of Chicagoland. The station will dispatch up […]
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in the Netherlands has strengthened its freighter connections with China and Hong Kong, following the start of China Southern Airlines’ twice weekly Boeing 777 all-cargo services to Chongqing. Chongqing is a hub for computer manufacturing, and is home to plants for nine of the world’s top brands. The area’s fast-growing industry […]
Upward climb
The turnover rate for over-the-road truck drivers rose to 79 percent in the second quarter, according to the American Trucking Associations’ latest Trucking Activity Report, marking the third quarter in a row of increased churn in the driver market.
Groups representing the tug and barge industry are concerned about a proposal to fund inland waterway improvements with a lock user fee because it could drive consumer prices higher and hurt exports.
The European Shippers’ Council has revised its customers’ charter to better reflect sustainability initiatives in the shipper-carrier relationship, it said Friday. The ESC held a shipper forum dubbed “Greening the Maritime Supply Chain” this week in Brussels. “The relationship should be a cooperative relationship, a pro-active relationship, in which both parties – […]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory and international partners this week completed the International Internet Week of Action (IIWA), a cooperative effort to curb online sales and distribution of counterfeit and illegal medical products. The IIWA is a coordinated effort by INTERPOL, World Customs Organization, Permanent Forum of International Pharmaceutical […]
The World Customs Organization will host a customs and trade forum in Guangzhou, China on Nov. 24-25 to discuss knowledge sharing as a way to improve public-private cooperation to enhance the management of modern, secure international supply chains. The event, which is expected to draw upwards of 500 customs and business attendees, will […]
Anthony Barone, director of global logistics policy for drug maker Pfizer, has been named chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce’s Committee on Customs and Trade Regulations. He will succeed Selig Merber of General Electric in November. Barone’s term is for three years. He previously served on the U.S. Department of […]
Swiss freight forwarder Panalpina on Thursday opened a new branch office in the city of Jaipur, India. The city has a large number of exporters of construction materials, automotive products, handicrafts, jewelry and carpets, Panalpina said. “Panalpina has a very ambitious growth strategy for India,” said Rene Wernli, managing director for Panalpina […]
A consortium led by PSA International has provisionally won a concession to build a fourth terminal at India’s busiest container port, according to local news reports. Singapore-based terminal operator PSA is partnering with local port group ABG to build a terminal in the Nhava Sheva port complex that could eventually have capacity for […]
Analysis of spot rates on the two key east-west trades shows that carriers will have to shelve capacity in the coming months, according to the maritime analyst SeaIntel.
