California/Pacific : California Shippers

FedEx Corp. said Thursday it had net profit of $239 million for its third quarter ended Feb. 28, 146 percent more than the $97 million earned in the same 2009 period. The company said revenue in the quarter was $8.7 billion, up 7 percent from $8.14 billion a year ago. FedEx said it expected revenue and earnings through increased demand in the current quarter. “With our improved pe...

Ten House lawmakers representing districts on the southwestern border on Thursday urged the Senate to get moving on the stalled confirmation of Alan Bersin to be commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Baucus The Congressional Border Caucus expressed concern in a letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus that CBP is without a permanent leader at a time when securit...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it has amended its Farm Storage Facility Loan program to allow producers to build cold storage facilities to store fresh fruits and vegetables. The program is part of the USDA’s “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” initiative and uses discretionary authority provided by the 2008 Farm Bill. “On-farm storage may cost a lot of build, but it can help ...

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission said Wednesday it has launched a fact-finding investigation into ocean vessel capacity and shipping equipment availability for U.S. exports and imports. The announcement came as FMC Chairman Richard Lidinsky and several shipper and carrier representatives testified to members of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation about th...

Bunning Three weeks after standing in the way of an emergency bill to sustain unemployment benefits and highway programs for an extra 30 days, Republican Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky is blocking confirmation of two Obama administration nominees for trade-related posts. Michael Punke is President Obama's choice to be U.S. ambassador and permanent representative to the World Trade Organiza...

Kirk The U.S. and Indian governments announced an initiative to encourage small businesses in both countries to participate more in bilateral trade. The initiative, “Integrating U.S. and Indian Small Businesses into the Global Supply Chain,” is part of the “Framework for Cooperation on Trade and Investment,” signed by U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Indian Minister of Commerce and I...

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will travel to Japan on April 5-9 to promote U.S. agricultural exports to the Asian country. Vilsack will meet with Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Hirotaka Akamatsu, as well as U.S. exporters and Japanese importers. “My mission on this trip will be to continue to push hard to open markets and to bolster an open, rules-ba...

Kelly Ed Kelly, general manager of the Transportation Security Administration’s Air Cargo division, was posthumously awarded the Jim Foster Award for Excellence this week by the Airforwarders Association. Kelly died late last year after contracting an illness. He was responsible for conceptualizing and implementing a strategy to screen all air cargo transported on passenger planes. A key p...

Retailers polled on their supply chain activities during the 2009 peak season said low inventory levels last year did not negatively impact sales volume, according to a survey by Tompkins Supply Chain Consortium. Those polled said strategies most commonly used during the last peak season were: • Reduced inventory levels. • Increased emphasis on forecasting. • Improved planning...

Kirk The Obama administration’s initiative to double exports within five years is based on the premise that companies in the international marketplace grow faster, add jobs faster and pay higher wages, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said in address to the National League of Cities on Tuesday. A critical part of the effort is to provide more counseling and other resources to make it ea...

The Department of Homeland Security is accepting applications from trade and transportation professionals interested in serving on the Commercial Operations Advisory Committee for a two-year term, expected to begin in early 2011. The panel provides industry input to DHS and Treasury Department on matters related to trade enforcement, border security, trade facilitation and department oper...

ATC Logistics & Electronics (ATCLE) said this week it has begun offering customers with foreign trade zone access to reduce expenses on import duties, tariffs and fees. ATCLE said it has activated its use of FTZ No. 196 at the Alliance Global Logistics Hub. ATCLE assembles, repairs and handles logistics for manufacturers and providers of products such as GPS units and cell phones. The com...

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said his office will release this month an extensive report shedding light on sanitary and phytosanitary rules around the world that are being used as unfair technical barriers to protect domestic agriculture interests from imports. “As tariff barriers fall, these non-tariff barriers are becoming some of the most difficult challenges our exporters face,”...

credits:Siemens AG, Munich/Berlin Stimulus grants designed to create wind power jobs are mostly going to foreign manufacturers to build wind farms in the United States, according to a report by the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University's School of Communications in Washington. The Energy Department has doled out more than $2 billion from the 2009 Recovery Act for renewabl...

Jean Louis Cambon, head of the ocean management committee for tire manufacturer Michelin, has been elected chairman of the European Shippers’ Council’s influential Maritime Transport Council this week. Cambon, who is also a prominent member of the French Shippers’ Council (AUTF) is well known in liner shipping circles. “The ESC should seek a constructive relationship with the carrier ...

U.S. exports continue to be a sign of strength in the economy as goods and services sold abroad increased 15.1 percent in January from the $123.9 billion value from the same month a year ago, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. On a monthly basis the trade deficit narrowed 6.6 percent to $37.3 billion between December 2009 and January. Exports were almost flat in January, dipping 0...

Moulton Logistics Management will locate a distribution and logistics facility near Charleston in Berkeley County, S.C. The $25 million investment is expected to generate 500 new jobs in the next five years. Los Angeles-based Moulton Logistics Management provides order fulfillment, call center and integrated logistics services to direct response, retail and multichannel merchants. ...