PANAMA CANAL NEARING NORMAL LEVELS AND INCREASING TRANSIT VOLUME After months of low water levels due to a historic drought, the Panama Canal’s freshwater reservoirs are approaching normal levels as summer begins. The drought, starting in mid-2023, reduced water levels in Gatun Lake, forcing the Panama Canal Authority (APC) to [...]
ELECTRIC TRUCKING INVESTMENTS The Los Angeles and Long Beach ports are investing a combined $25 million to support the development of charging infrastructure for electric-powered heavy-duty trucks to service southern California harbors and warehouses. The commissions of both ports also authorized another $12.5 million from their respective clean truck funds [...]
SHIPPERS PUSH FMC TO ADDRESS ISSUES WITH CHANGING DROP OFF DATES FOR EXPORTS U.S. exporters have expressed concerns to the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) that the inconsistent information on vessel schedules and drop-off dates leads to higher costs and delays. Although having a single source for this kind of data [...]
SPECIAL HANDLING CODE NEEDED FOR E-COMMERCE DUE TO AIR VOLUME CONSUMPTION E-commerce has sustained enormous volume growth over the last 18 months, commanding large portions of the global air markets. The exponential growth of the industry was kickstarted by the pandemic; and shows no signs of slowing. Retail sales are [...]
The U.S. Commerce Department recently solicited insights on strengthening supply chain resilience through the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). Diverse stakeholders, including trade associations and companies, have offered varying perspectives, such as restoring and trade liberalization, on achieving this critical objective. Federal Register: Request for Comments on Commerce Supply Chain Risk [...]
The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) are currently entrenched in contract negotiations revolving around the coast-wide Master Contract. The ILA is the largest union of maritime workers in North America, representing 85,000 longshore workers along the East Coast, Gulf Coast, Puerto Rico, Great Lakes, and [...]
Manzanillo and Lazaro Cardenas, two Mexican ports, saw significant increases in cargo last year, which suggests that Asia's inputs are driving up export production for the U.S. and other markets. Both ports also moved up in the rankings of the busiest North American gateways based on laden volumes. MEXICAN PORTS RISE [...]
President Biden and the United States Trade Representative (USTR) recently announced Section 301 tariff hikes on key imports to address strategic trade concerns with China. These tariffs impact a wide range of products including electric vehicles (EVs), critical minerals, and other key sectors. New tariffs are set to take effect [...]
"To encourage China to eliminate its unfair trade practices regarding technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation, the President is directing increases in tariffs across strategic sectors such as steel and aluminum, semiconductors, electric vehicles, batteries, critical minerals, solar cells, ship-to-shore cranes, and medical products." White House Fact Sheet | May [...]
A surge in Asian imports to the Pacific Southwest is driving an increase in eastbound intermodal train movement, adding to the chronic deficit in rail cars returning west. ASIAN IMPORTS SURGE AT PACIFIC PORTS The Port of Los Angeles reports that local dockworkers moved 2,380,503 TEUs in the first quarter [...]
