American shippers may be preoccupied about how the expanded Panama Canal, increasing fuel costs and finding properly trained labor will impact their supply chains in the near future, but they should be careful not to lose sight of where they should focus their energies by the end of this decade. China is expected […]
In an effort to put a travel expenses scandal behind it, the Port of Oakland has taken steps to be more transparent. The scandal led to the departures of Executive Director Omar Benjamin, and James Kwon, maritime director, in November and December, respectively. The port proclaimed its latest actions demonstrate “a new […]
By Chris Gillis All indications in the market are that freight transportation costs, both international and domestic, are on the rise for American shippers in 2013. These increases — some steeper than others and varying by transport mode — are unwelcome news for many shippers who have already roughed it through several […]
The six commissioners of the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) on Nov. 7 voted unanimously that domestic producers of photovoltaic solar panels are harmed by similar imports dumped on the U.S. market by government-subsidized Chinese producers. As a result of the ITC’s affirmative determinations, the Commerce Department will issue antidumping and countervailing duty […]
It’s not unusual to find stories in the financial pages about companies and individuals buying up portfolios of patents — often related to software — just to become “patent trolls,” or defend themselves from such trolls who have no intention of ever creating a product themselves, but aggressively seeking to shake down businesses for […]
If you ask senior managers in the third party logistics services profession in the United States how they got into the industry, the answer you’ll often get is “I fell into the business.” When these executives finished their educations 15 to 20, or even more, years ago, they weren’t thinking about pursuing a […]
American Shipper associate editor Chris Dupin recently reported that the U.S. Transportation Department is scrapping obsolete ships in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet in California at a faster than anticipated pace. In 2010, the Maritime Administration said it would remove 28 ships from the fleet by Sept. 30, 2012. To date, 36 ships […]
The United States is undergoing the biggest fundamental change to its export control regime in a generation, but risks stalling and losing out on the much needed reform benefits for American shippers. Many of the country’s export controls were formulated more than 30 years ago when the United States and its allies were […]
By Chris Gillis Maybe it’s a sign of the times, but today’s American shippers appear to be much better informed and prepared to work around potential breakdowns in their supply chains — even those created by labor disruptions. This is certainly the case with the potential for a dockworkers’ strike on the […]
Atlantic Container Line has long had a reputation for going its own way, one that looks to be enhanced with its order last month of five new combination container-roll-on/roll-off ships, or “con-ros.” The company’s current con-ros, built in 1984, are the world’s largest. They have a capacity to carry 1,850 TEUs, 1,000 cars […]
Claitor’s Publishing has recently issued a second edition of Daniel W. Raab’s Transportation Terms and Conditions. A Miami-based attorney who specializes in transportation issues, Raab told us his aim was to create a book that will be useful not only for lawyers, but for men and women who work in the logistics departments […]
Liner carriers are doing their utmost in these economically depressed times to prevent their operations from becoming just another humdrum commodity-based business. To do this, some carriers are making concerted efforts to increasingly court shippers with new customer service offerings. In mid-July, Maersk Line unveiled its Web-based MyFinance suite aimed at making […]
Two Nova Scotia ports with deep water, intermodal links vie for large containerships. By Chris Dupin Two communities in Nova Scotia – about 70 miles apart — are seeking to build large new marine terminals and emulate the success of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, which has attracted growing quantities of container traffic by […]
The decision to draw down 30 million barrels of crude from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is still making news a year later. That’s not much oil in a world that consumes 88 million barrels a day, but hauling it would have been a nice piece of work for the U.S. tug […]
Nova Cold Storage has begun construction on a $9.5 million facility for refrigerated and frozen food logistics at the Atlantic Gateway – Halifax Logistics Park. Nova is expanding to accommodate its frozen fish and processed foods storage business, servicing processors, exporters, and freight forwarders. When complete, the new 60,000 sq. ft., federally inspected, […]
