American Shipper

   For years, industry has been working with Congress and the Executive Branch to develop, and ultimately pass, bipartisan Customs reauthorization legislation. It is essential to codify the changes to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that have taken place since the agency moved from Treasury to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) following Sept. […]

   The automotive industry is the engine—the V8, 440-horsepower manual transmission engine with overdrive—of Mexico’s industrial growth, and this looks to be the new state of play for the famously export-dependent country.    The relationship that the auto industry has with Mexico’s economy is strikingly balanced: There is a mutual dependence that exemplifies what free […]

   Over the last half century, a confluence of factors, such as infrastructure investments and policies to promote international trade, have helped create a larger and more prosperous global economy. The good news is that the best is yet to come. However, growth comes at a cost, not just the cost of investing to grow […]

   When freight is managed as a “commodity” there is little opportunity for long-term, successful and profitable relationships in the purchasing of global transportation services between shippers and their service providers and carriers.    When we have “sustainable relationships” we capitalize on the following:    •Better working relationships between shippers, service providers and carriers. We […]

The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, also known as the Customs reauthorization bill, which went into effect in March, raised the de minimus level to $800 from $200. De minimus refers to low-value shipments listed on a freight carrier’s manifest that are admitted without taxes, tariffs or formal customs procedures. The reduced […]

   2016 promises to be one of the busiest years in the history of ship recycling, said Anil Sharma, the president and chief executive officer of GMS Inc.    Shipbreakers are busy, he said, because there is simultaneous weakness in demand in three separate sectors–dry-bulk shipping, container shipping, and the oil industry where there is […]

   Mergers and acquisitions don’t take place in a vacuum. No matter the industry, or specific situation, there are almost always knock-on effects, which often take the form of further consolidation, either via M&A activity or more organic means like companies going under. This is especially true when it comes to consolidation on a large […]

Breakneck pace of migrating functions to ACE brings pain for U.S. Customs and the trade community.

   So this month’s column was going to focus on the state of supply chain convergence, based on an interesting session at the transportation management software provider LeanLogistics’ user conference in April.    The session was a forum in which LeanLogistics customers talked about whether global and domestic transportation management were overlapping, and also how […]

   The 3rd Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals has affirmed the right of ocean carriers, including non-vessel-operating common carriers, to have contracts that extend common law maritime liens.    Brendan Collins of Washington-based GKG Law represented OEC Group and was successful in getting the 3rd Circuit to rule in favor of his client, […]

Is the emperor naked on that horse? Transportation policies and investment that helps manufacturers. Correction.

  Not much seems to change for the air cargo industry. Last month, the International Air Transport Association said it as plain as day: 2016 will be another difficult year for air cargo. The difficulties in 2016 follow those experienced by the industry in 2015, 2014 and… well, you get the picture.    IATA’s latest worldwide […]

   Remember a handful of years ago when major global airlines formed numerous alliances, supposedly to benefit travelers? The same was said about the purported outcomes of the various airline mergers in the United States, Europe and Asia. Now tell us, with all honesty, has flying the friendly skies gotten any better in terms of […]

   Consulting firm Quetica’s Statewide Freight Transportation Network Optimization Strategy for Iowa has led to the development of a new line of business—helping the energy sector avoid shortages.    That was the case during the extremely cold winter of 2013-2014 in the Midwest when Iowa experienced a crisis-level shortage of propane. In big agricultural states […]

   In late 2015 there was a collective realization that a major deadline was looming ahead of the container-shipping industry. A little known convention of the International Maritime Organization governing the safety of crews aboard commercial vessels was soon to be become a household name among shippers, freight forwarders, and non-vessel-operating common carriers. That’s because, amid […]

However, the International Maritime Organization’s Maritime Safety Committee said there should be no delay in the implementation of the verified gross mass rule.

South Korean shipping conglomerate Hyundai Merchant Marine, which said it is continuing efforts to stabilize its business, predicts that normalization of its business is only a matter of time.

A trip to Gartner’s Supply Chain Executive Summit in Phoenix never fails to foster critical think around supply chain technology by bringing like-minded shippers together.

A total of 221 cargo theft incidents were reported in the United States during first quarter 2016, up 8 percent from the same 2015 period, but average loss value per incident fell 56 percent, according to the latest report from FreightWatch International.

Global container shipping lines will face one or two more years of pain as the industry consolidates amid overcapacity and weaker demand, Port of Long Beach CEO Jon Slangerup said.