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   The U.S. Transportation Department has allocated $15.6 million in federal emergency funds to Washington state to help repair the Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River, which collapsed May 23.    A section of the four-lane bridge, located 60 miles north of Seattle, fell into the river after an overhead beam was struck by a truck with an oversized load, disrupting travel in both directions.    The funding follows $1 million in quick release emergency relief provid...

   A new test in the Pacific Northwest by U.S. Customs authorities to see how effectively and efficiently southbound trucks from Canada can be pre-cleared before crossing the border is limited to participants in the voluntary FAST security program, but will be open to all truck drivers when the pilot program switches after six months to a major crossing near Niagara Falls, the official in charge of the initiative said.    On Monday, Customs and Border Protection officers began pr...

   The U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s new hours of service rules, which require truckers to take a 30-minute rest every eight hours and impose a 34-hour restart for truckers, goes into effect in less than two weeks.    With the impending deadline fresh in their minds, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure held a hearing Tuesday to get to the heart of the changes, what they will mean to trucking companies, and how they will affect the f...

   Freightliner Group has acquired European intermodal services provider ERS Railways B.V. from Maersk Line.    The intemodal operator said the purchase of ERS supports its strategy of developing businesses in rail markets beyond its base market in the United Kingdom.    Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed and is still subject to the necessary regulatory approvals.    Rotterdam-based ERS was started in 1994 as an intermodal rail freigh...

   MOL said the fore and aft sections of the containership MOL Comfort continue to drift in the Indian Ocean.    The ship cracked in half on Monday when caught in a storm and the crew successfully abandoned ship and were rescued.    The company said at around 4 a.m. local time, the two parts of the ship were drifting at about two knots near 12’57”N 61’10”E in an east-northeast direction.    The Japanese liner company said it has arranged for a patrol boat, which h...

   The Jacksonville Port Authority's board of directors voted Monday morning to offer its chief executive officer position to Brian W. Taylor, a former executive vice president and chief operating officer of Horizon Lines, which is one of four carriers that offers shipping services between Jacksonville and San Juan, Puerto Rico.    They also elected AT&T executive Joe York to serve as the next chairman, taking over from James Citrano on July 1.    Taylor left Horizon in...

   MOL reports its containership MOL Comfort has split in half, but that as of 7 a.m. the fore and aft sections of the 7,041-TEU ship continue to float with containers onboard in the Arabian Sea near the coast of Oman.    The company said the fore part of the ship is located 13’00”N 60’40”E, and the aft part is about 19 miles southwest from that point. At present, both parts of the ship are drifting in an east-northeast direction, the company said. It is arranging for tugboats to tow ...

   The United States and Canada on Monday began a limited demonstration program at the Blaine, Wash.-Surrey, British Columbia port of entry for pre-inspecting U.S.-bound trucks in Canada instead of on the U.S. side of the border, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced.    The first phase of the pilot program is designed as a "proof of concept" to determine the viability of assigning CBP officers to Canadian border facilities to pre-inspect trucks, drivers and car...

U.S-EU free trade negotiations.    The United States and European Union announced during the G-8 Summit in Ireland that they would begin formal trade negotiations the week of July 8 in Washington.    U.S. and European Commission officials have been making preliminary plans for talks since the beginning of the year and the announcement follows final approval in recent days from the European Parliament.    Completion of a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is expe...

   The portal-based ocean shipping e-commerce network INTTRA on Tuesday unveiled a new application designed to reduce the millions of manual transactions ocean carriers process annually.    The product, called INTTRA Change, will allow shippers to submit electronic documents to carriers in the output format from their enterprise resource planning (ERP) system or transportation management system (TMS) while allowing carriers to receive it in an electronic-data-interchange (EDI) format...

   Shippers reported no major swings in rates and capacity on the eastbound transpacific lane, according to the results of the latest American Shipper Transpacific Pulse survey.    Nearly 60 shippers were polled in the survey, conducted May 31-June 7. More than 70 percent of respondents said their rates had either remained the same or increased or decreased moderately in the last month. Only 8.5 percent said their rates had increased or decreased significantly. Another 13 percent said...

   The three largest container shipping carriers in the world, Maersk Line, Mediterranean Shipping Co. and CMA CGM, said this morning they have agreed in principle to establish a long-term operational alliance on East–West trades, which they're calling the “P3 Network.”    The carriers said the P3 Network would initially operate 255 ships in 29 strings with 2.6 million TEUs of capacity on three trade lanes: Asia – Europe, transpacific and transatlantic.    While the P3 Netwo...

   The Jacksonville Port Authority board this morning voted unanimously to extend the contract for its chief executive officer position to Brian W. Taylor.    Based in Charlotte, Taylor has worked both in the public and private sector. He was most recently executive vice president and chief operating officer of Horizon Lines. He left the company in November 2012. Most recently, Taylor was senior vice president of sales and operations for New Breed Logistics in High Point, N.C. He...

   April's $0.06 uptick in east-west air freight rates evaporated in May, as the average rate per kilogram finished the month at $3.15, the same price as in March, according to Drewry's East-West Air Freight Price Index. Year-over-year, May's result represented a $0.10 drop in the price of air cargo.    The price index takes 21 trade lanes and averages them together, coming up with a weighted index and an average price for a kilogram of cargo.    The high point for freight i...

   The Canadian Trucking Alliance has voiced concerns over the cross-border trucking fees collected by the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and is worried they may soon increase.    Truckers pay a fee of $5.25 to the U.S. agency every time they cross the border, according to the alliance, and a recent study that shows the fees aren't generating enough revenue could lead to a larger fee. The fees are assessed whether or not the carrier is carrying ...

   The European Parliament has officially given the green light to begin formal talks between European and American officials toward the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.    Official talks will now begin as soon as U.S. officials start negotiations, which means discussions will likely start next month or so, according to the European Union.    EU member states also sent out a list of objectives the European Commission should follow when negotiating.  ...

   MOL reports its containership MOL Comfort suffered a crack amidship and was ingressing water in the hold.    The company said the ship sustained the crack in the Arabian Sea (12'30"N 60'E) at around 7 a.m. local time on Monday morning while in transit from Singapore to Jeddah.    MOL said it was not possible for the ship to continue under its own power and, because damage was extensive, the 26 members of the crew took to lifeboats and were rescued by other vessels. ...

   Developers proposing to build a new canal across Nicaragua are targeting operators of large ships that will not pass even through the new set of locks being build at the Panama Canal.    "It has become imperative to develop and construct a wider and deeper interoceanic canal to support bigger load weight and generate greater efficiency," said  Wang Jing, the chairman and chief executive officer of HKND Group, in a statement posted on his company's Website .    Last w...

   Canadian and U.S. truckers have complained about punitive measures following C-TPAT (Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism) security breaches, and the Department of Homeland Security has agreed to make suspension or removal from the program not immediate.    The department has also published a document outlining the measures it will take when security breaches occur.    Carriers had been concerned about the lack of transparency involved in security-b...

   The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday in favor of the American Trucking Associations (ATA) in the group’s effort to turn back the Port of Los Angeles' efforts to regulate the drayage trucking industry.    In 2007, the port created a Clean Truck Program that required trucking companies operating at the port to enter into concession agreements.    The concession agreements made a number of requirements on drayage companies including these five: that they be emplo...

   U.S. exporters are focusing their ire on the Servicio de Administracion Tributaria (SAT), Mexico’s tax agency for what they see as an increasing number of costly, time-consuming NAFTA audits and re-audits by the agency.    These exporters say the current Mexican government had promised to streamline the audit process.     “NAFTA rules of origin in this industry are very complex and require review of multiple levels of processing, which usually occurs at different com...

   A bill to halt shipping fees charged by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was approved Thursday by the New Jersey Senate Transportation Committee.    “Imposing a fee on ocean carriers was a step in the wrong direction," said State Sen. Bob Gordon. He added the fee placed the port at a "competitive disadvantage."    In 2011, the port authority instituted a cargo facility charge (CFC) on all waterborne cargo, including empty containers. The fee is $4.95 for 20-f...

   The Canadian government has unveiled plans for a new airport, among other developments, at the federally-owned Pickering Lands site outside of Toronto.    The new airport will replace Buttonville Municipal Airport, which is to be redeveloped as a mixed-use site.    “There will be land for an airport, there will be urban and industrial development and there will be considerable green space on these lands,” said Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty said in a statement. "We...

   Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said Wednesday in a hearing the requirement that half of U.S. food aid be move on U.S.-flag vessels is an ”impediment to an effective, efficient program. ”    “Decades ago, this cargo preference was seen as a way to ensure a reserve of ships and crew for the U.S. Navy in times of war. But by restricting competition to the few U.S.-flagged ships still sailing—the majority of which do not meet the ...

   The U.S. agribusiness Cargill said Thursday it has expanded its operational use of CargoDocs, an electronic bill of lading (eB/Ls) solution, to include agricultural shipments from South America.    Cargill first used the solution on a shipment of grain from Houston to Veracruz, Mexico in March.    Electronic Shipping Solutions (ESS), a provider of shipping and trade document and data solutions, is partnering with Cargill to include new trade routes from Argentina and Bra...

   For the next few weeks, increased activity in the Southern Midwest due to the wheat harvest season will drive up rates, according to bulk freight industry watchers.    Many carriers in the area will be tied up as part of harvest programs that pay double the usual truck rates.    Wheat harvest season will start within the week in Northern Texas and Southern Oklahoma, according to reports. Some in the industry are predicting a larger-than-usual crop for Kansas.   ...

   The U.S. Department of Transportation is distributing money awarded last June in the fourth round of TIGER grants.     The City of Bayonne, N.J., and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey received an $11.4 million grant on May 22 that will be used by Global Marine Terminals as part of its $350 million expansion and renovation. The TIGER funds will go to the purchase of two double-cantilever rail-mounted gantry cranes capable of loading and unloading double-stack ...

   The U.S. State Department on Wednesday announced a new limited waiver of the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003 (SAA) to allow the export and re-export, under license, of certain reconstruction-related items for the benefit of the Syrian people.    Consistent with Section 5(b ) of the SAA and the May 11, 2004 Executive Order 13338, the waiver authorizes the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security to issue licenses on a case-by-case b...

   The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is asking fuel producers worldwide for help in transitioning the aviation industry to unleaded fuel.    The administration is seeking a way to replace the current 100 octane low-lead fuel for most of the general aviation fleet by 2018.     Parties have until July 1, 2014, to submit proposals. By September 2014, the FAA will choose 10 participants for phase-one laboratory testing. Two fuels from this first phase will move on t...

   The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority (PRPA) said a project to deepen the Delaware River shipping channel from 40 feet to 45 feet is now about 60 percent complete.    PRPA said in late May work was completed on "Reach D," an 11-mile stretch of the river.    “After years of discussions and hurdles, it’s wonderful to finally see steady progress on this critical project,” said PRPA Chairman Charles G. Kopp, in a statement. “A deeper shipping channel will allow us to welc...

Moro    The Port of Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners last week appointed Al Moro as the port's interim executive director.    Moro, currently the chief harbor engineer, replaces Christopher Lytle, who recently was hired away to lead the Port of Oakland.    Moro, who joined the port in 1997, oversees all engineering activity, including the port's $4 billion capital improvement campaign.    His appointment will go into effect following a formal vote on ...

   The Website of the Virginia Pilot newspaper said that Hampton Roads terminals were shut down Wednesday morning while local longshoremen held a meeting with management .    The meeting was described as a "state of the port" briefing for longshoremen, who rejected a local contract seven weeks ago, but continue to work while negotiations continue.    The newspaper said the port was to reopen at noon.

   The U.S. Department of Transportation said Tuesday that the fifth round of TIGER grants is oversubscribed once again, with 568 applications from around the country seeking more than $9 billion for infrastructure projects for a program that only has $474 million in available funding.    The deadline for public and private entities to submit applications was June 3. States, local governments, port authorities, metropolitan planning organizations, transit agencies and other grou...

   Enviornmental groups, including the  Natural Resources Defense Council filed a lawsuit on Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court challenging plans to build the Southern California International Gateway railyard project .    NRDC complained the project "violates the California Environmental Quality Act and the state and federal Civil Rights Acts, and will increase cancer rates, chances of children developing asthma, and add to chronic air pollution plaguing the region."  &nb...

   With both passenger and cargo traffic expected to grow 5 percent annually moving forward, the global airline industry will need more than 35,000 new planes at a cost of $4.8 trillion over the next 20 years, according to Boeing’s Current Market Outlook .    The largest amount of demand will come in the single-aisle category, with Boeing predicting a need for 24,670 planes at a cost of $2.29 trillion. The manufacturer predicts the least amount of demand will come for large, wide...

   Construction crews working to repair the collapsed Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River in Washington plan to finish a temporary structure by next week, allowing traffic to once again traverse the river.    The bridge collapsed into the river May 23 when a passing truck with an oversized load struck critical support posts.    The crews put the finishing touches Monday on the first of two temporary spans over the river and have started work on the second one. Accordin...

   China Merchants Holdings (International) Co. Ltd. (CMHI) today completed its purchase of a 49-percent equity stake in CMA CGM's  Terminal Link business for 400 million euros ($530 million).    The deal was  originally announced in January.    Terminal Link owns 15 container terminals in eight countries: Container Handling Zeebrugge at Zeebrugge (Belgium). Antwerp Gateway at Antwerp (Belgium). Terminal des Flandres at Dunkirk (France). Terminal de Fran...

   The U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on Monday unanimously approved the nominations of Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx to be secretary of transportation and Penny Pritzker to be secretary of commerce.    Meanwhile, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., was announced as the new chairman of the Commerce subcommittee on surface transportation and merchant marine infrastructure, safety and security, previously held by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who died June 3. Sen. Richard ...

   A long-planned barge service between the Ports of Stockton and Oakland, Calif., began operation on Sunday evening.    A barge loaded with 32 40-foot containers filled with animal feed set off from Stockton and arrived at the Ports America terminal on Monday morning where they were to be loaded onto a Yang Ming ship, said Mark Tollini, deputy director of the Port of Stockton.    Discharge of the barge was delayed for several hours while an arbitrator for the Pacific Mariti...

   An effort by container shipping companies to deal with surplus tonnage by cascading 8,000-TEU vessels into the trade lane between Asia and South America's east coast "appears to have seriously backfired," said an article in  the latest edition of Drewry's Container Insight Weekly .    The London consultant said "recent launching of MSC’s new Ipanema service in the middle of April, and the subsequent announcement of the deployment of much bigger 8,000-TEU vessels by other...

   Ships in the Maritime Security Program (MSP), under which operators of 60 U.S.-flag ships receive a $3.1 million stipend to offset higher operating costs, such as employing U.S. mariners on ships in foreign trade, will only get about 75 percent of their normal monthly stipend in August and none in September because of the effect of sequestration on the federal budget, said Paul N. Jaenichen Sr., deputy maritime administrator at the U.S. Maritime Administration.    Jaenich...

   The Express Association of America (EAA), representing the four largest integrated express carriers, DHL, FedEx, TNT and UPS, said it is forming an Export Committee to manage policy issues that effect shipping products from the United States.    “Over the past year, the U.S. government has made significant changes to the export controls regime for dual-use items and also is discussing changes to the information requirements for all products being exported,” Michael Mullen, executi...

   The Associated Press is reporting that a concession to build a canal across Nicaragua will be considered by the country's legislature this week .    The AP quoted Rene Nunez, president of Nicaragua's National Assembly, as saying a Chinese company, HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment, is working with the Nicaraguan government on a $40 billion project that would provide an alternative to the Panama Canal. Nunez said the company will use funds from investors around the worl...

   U.S. Customs and Border Protection will begin full enforcement of the Importer Security Filing requirement on July 9, the agency announced Friday.    On that date, the agency will begin to issue liquidated damages for ISF violations, such as filing incomplete, inaccurate or late documentation.    The ISF rule went into effect on Jan. 26, 2009, but for the first year the program had no sanctions so that shippers and carriers could learn how to collect and file the ne...

   President Obama’s nominee for U.S. Trade Representative, Michael Froman, spent Thursday on Capitol Hill telling the Senate Committee on Finance that his goals of promoting growth and bolstering the economy will be achieved by renewing Trade Promotion Authority and making sure pending free-trade agreements come to fruition.    Obama tapped Froman, who has been serving as deputy national security advisor for international trade and economics, to run the agency on May 22. According to...

   Gerry Wang, the chief executive officer of Seaspan, one of the world’s largest builders and charterers of containerships, told financial analysts that while freight rates are depressed, there is no shortage of demand for efficient new vessels.    Referencing the price war on the Asia-Europe trade, he said ships are still loading up by 75-80 percent, and said in other industries it might be possible to make money by increasing prices, but “because of some stupidity” among operators...

   Port operations will be put on hold for a half day on June 12 at the Port of Virginia so that port management and users can talk with longshoremen about market conditions, industry trends and efficiency at the port, the Virginia Port Authority announced this week.    The meeting will be held in Portsmouth at 8 a.m., and terminal gates will be closed until noon.    The date was chosen because vessel traffic that day will be light, Hampton Roads Shipping Association Presid...

   The way truckload carriers price their services has been affected by increased usage of transportation management systems (TMS), the transportation and logistics research group of the investment bank Stifel Nicolaus said in an industry wrapup Friday.    “(Truck) pricing has become more technical/surgical as the usage of Transportation Management Systems has become more widespread across the universe of shippers,” the group wrote. “The days of shippers living year after year w...

   Last month, intermodal traffic rose 3 percent, year over year, to 1.21 million containers and trailers, according to the Association of American Railroads. May’s weekly average for intermodal traffic stood at 242,823 containers and trailers, the highest result the AAR has recorded.    Carloads finished the month at just more than 1.4 million units, a 0.7-percent increase over May 2012.    Out of the 20 major commodities tracked by AAR, 11 increased in May, with the bigge...

   Coos Bay Rail Link (CBR) signed a 10-year agreement signed with the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay last week to run the 134-mile railroad. CBR has been running revenue freight trains on the line since October 12, 2011, under an interim agreement.    "This long-term agreement assures stability for the railroad," said CBR General Manager Tom Foster. "It is important for shippers, employees and communities along the line to know that their railroad is here to stay."  &nbs...

   Shippers are increasingly using the free carrier (FCA) Incoterm in their freight contract rather than the free on board (FOB) designation, according to an executive with Ryder.    In a blog entry this week , Lee Williams, director of business development for the retail division of Ryder Supply Chain Solutions, wrote that companies sourcing in Asia are turning to the FCA designation to start taking more control of their supply chain.    Using FCA essentially means the buye...

   Masamichi Morooka, the chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), said this week that new legislation to protect the environment could potentially cost the shipping industry $500 billion between 2015 and 2025.    “As many companies struggle to survive during the difficult years ahead, we must persuade governments to avoid placing yet more straws that risk breaking the shipowner’s back — and the straws to which I refer are the impending costs of environmental legislat...

   The U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday adopted by voice vote an amendment to the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act that would maintain funding for the Port Security Grant program.    Last year, Congress appropriated $97.5 million for the program, a quarter of the amount available in 2009.     Port authorities, facility operators, and state and local governments can apply for port security grants to implement area-wide and facility-specific secu...

   The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, which has been rocked by a series of controversies in recent years, most recently evicting the school's alumni association from campus , has a new advisory board.    U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood named seven persons to the board, which he said will "help the academy achieve its strategic plan goals. Their experience and expertise will further its mission to educate and graduate the best-qualified merchant marine...

   North American freight volumes rose by 2.9 percent last month when compared to April, while expenditures stayed relatively flat, with an increase of .04 percent, according to the May issue of the Cass Freight Index Report .     Compared to the same month last year, however, May’s shipment volume declined by 0.3 percent; expenditures also dropped, showing a 2.6-percent decline.    Rail, and the shipment of crude oil, had a lot to do with increased volumes in May. Cru...

   In a nod to sluggish global economic activity, FedEx Express will accelerate the retirement of 66 older aircraft and 308 related engines that are less fuel efficient and less reliable than newer planes, the company said Monday.    During the previous year ended Feb. 28, the FedEx airline spent $3.8 billion on fuel for its 660 aircraft. Last October, FedEx announced a $1.7 billion cost-cutting initiative.    The express carrier will take a $100 million impairment charge o...

   ART Logistics has started a new sea-rail service connecting Southeast Asia with Central Asia    The new service connects Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand with Central Asia.    Cargo is moved by sea from the ports of Jakarta, Port Kelang, Bangkok, Haiphong, Keelung and Singapore. Shipments are then routed by rail through the China corridor, from Lianyungang in north-eastern China to the Kazakhstan border crossings of Dostyk and then on to Almaty, the co...

   Saltchuk Resources, a Seattle-based family of transportation and petroleum distribution companies, has acquired Carlile Transportation Systems, one of the largest trucking and logistics companies in Alaska.    Carlile’s 700 employees will join Saltchuk’s national team of 5,500 workers. Carlile will remain a standalone company headquartered in Anchorage.    "As with all of the Saltchuk companies, we will reinvest in Carlile’s assets, pursue growth opportunities, and build ...

   Continuing interest by U.S. shipping companies in natural gas to power ships was highlighted by the announcement by General Dynamic's NASSCO shipyard in San Diego last week that four, 50,000 DWT Jones Act product tankers that it is building for American Petroleum Tankers will be "LNG-conversion-ready." The contract includes options to build four additional ships.    Construction of the first tanker is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2014, with deliveries scheduled to beg...

   A “pristine” balance sheet, an increasingly sunny outlook from management, and a focus on costs and margin improvement are indications that Expeditors International is poised for a strong end of the year, according to analysts at BB&T Capital Markets.    Customers have said they will start shipping more during the second half of the year, and BB&T analysts think Expeditors will pick up on some of the business that left their company when they were getting undercut on pricin...