After a seven-month investigation by U.S. Trade Representatives into China’s unfair trade practices, the U.S. signed an executive order imposing retaliatory import tariffs on $60 billion worth of Chinese imports. Covering 1,300 product lines, the final list of targeted products will be published 15 days after the Thursday announcement and [...]
Weeks after 76 containers fell off a cargo ship off of the North Carolina coast, the Coast Guard is still warning mariners to look out for missing containers from March 4th incident. Deemed hazardous due to toxic materials and overall size of the containers floating, shippers are once again reminded [...]
It’s no secret that ocean carriers have been struggling to turn a consistent profit in the past decade. Over time, steamship lines have phased out chassis ownership and invested in mega vessels to hedge against market risks, but the current U.S. trucking environment has created an impossible door delivery expectation, [...]
As the world celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8th, the global trade community watched 11 countries, excluding the United States, sign on to the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in Santiago, Chile, removing up to 98% of tariffs for member-nations trading across Asia. Minutes later, U.S. President Donald [...]
With temperatures 40 degrees below zero, extreme weather in Northern Corridor of Canada continues to disrupt rail lines. The impact affects the ability for locomotives to generate enough air flow for the train’s braking system. WHAT SHIPPERS CAN EXPECT: capacity, train lengths, and velocity have decreased; ocean port terminals Halifax, [...]
On Thursday March 8, 2018, President Trump defied domestic and international critics and signed orders to impose 25% tariffs on steel and 10% on aluminum imported into the U.S. The action was taken in defense of American industry and leverage as the President re-negotiates NAFTA, the North American Free Trade [...]
Service contract season is just around the corner, and international shippers are asking themselves the age-old question, “are direct carrier contracts right for us?” Chances are, you’ve either hedged your bets by pairing with an NVOCC for flexibility, or are still weighing the advantages of fixed, annual pricing with a [...]
As Lunar (Chinese) New Year approaches, supply chain managers have begun their yearly, rigorous evaluation of freight services. From rate-shopping to cost-cutting, many annual initiatives are based on the projected market outlook. Here are the 2018 container freight market trends to watch: DEMAND & CAPACITY Two years ago, steamship lines [...]
Since the implementation of the International Maritime Organization’s Veified Gross Mass (VGM) mandate over a year ago, fears of disruption, congestion, and operational cost increases have fallen by the wayside, but participants are still questioning the accuracy and benefits of the program. Shippers are still showing variations in the actual [...]
The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) provides duty-free treatment to goods of designated beneficiary countries. The program was authorized by the Trade Act of 1974 to promote economic growth in the developing countries and was implemented on January 1, 1976. The GSP periodically expires and must be renewed by Congress [...]
