USDA OFFERS ONLINE REPORT ON OCEAN CONTAINER MARKET

USDA OFFERS ONLINE REPORT ON OCEAN CONTAINER MARKET    The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Thursday it has published the Agricultural Ocean Transportation Trends, a semiannual online report on the ocean container market's cost and service trends.
   The report was developed using data reported monthly in the AMS Ocean Rate Bulletin, which tracks agricultural container rates for high-valued agricultural commodities to most Asian and some European countries. USDA uses the data to generate monthly container rate trends in the ocean market to help shippers and carriers se how the market is responding to changes in trade patterns or U.S. regulations — such as the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 1998, which allows confidential service contracts.
   The report may be viewed at https://www.ams.usda.gov/tmd/agott .