USDA PUBLISHES 3RD ISSUE OF ONLINE REPORT ON OCEAN CONTAINER MARKET

USDA PUBLISHES 3RD ISSUE OF ONLINE REPORT ON OCEAN CONTAINER MARKET    The global economic slowdown, overcapacity, and the Sept. 11 attacks, have affected the ocean container industry, according to a recent online report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
   'In addition, the report discusses service contract trends, including the amendment of force majeure clauses, the change in surcharge enforcement, increased contract confidentiality, and the service capabilities of shipping lines. This information and other issues that affect or that might affect the market are culled from interviews with agricultural shippers that control more than 150,000 containers.
   This is the third issue of the USDA publication, Agricultural Ocean Transportation Trends, a semi-annual, online report that provides information on the ocean container market’s cost and service trends.
   The report is on the Web at https://www.ams.usda.gov/tmd/agott .