In late February, members of the OCEAN Alliance (OA), CMA CGM, Cosco Shipping, Evergreen and OOCL, announced the extension of their partnership agreement for five more years. Solidifying this alliance provides some stability in the shipping sector, that has seen other alliances restructured or dissolved recently. The new agreement begins [...]
Implementation of the Strengthening Organics Enforcement (SOE) Rule goes into effect today, March 19, 2024. The new rule updates the USDA’s organic regulations, oversight, and enforcement for organic products including production, handling, and sales. The new rule also implements 2018 Farm Bill requirements, addresses industry requests for regulation updates and National [...]
In this Week 12 Freight Market Update edition, we explore significant developments impacting freight operations across various regions. PANAMA CANAL Water levels in the Panama Canal are projected to decrease over the next two months, potentially dipping below 80 feet by early April. This decline will likely result in [...]
The recently published Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) budget for Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) demonstrates the Commission's focus on staffing, restructuring, case prioritization, OSRA implementation, and a new electronic case management system. These updates are part of the $48.4 million congressional funding request FMC submitted for FY25 - an increase of [...]
California state and regional regulatory agencies are facing backlash from the freight transportation sector due to new emissions rules. Similar in goal to SB-253 and SB-261, these rules are being introduced to reduce emissions from freight transportation activities. The agencies are being urged to delay the rules due to high [...]
In Week 11 of 2024's freight market update, we observe ocean carrier alliance announcements for 2024-2025, and provide updates on the situations in the Suez Canal, Red Sea, Gatun Lake, and Panama Canal. PANAMA CANAL & RED SEA Due to the current situation, many ships are impacts by the [...]
EUROPEAN UNION ANNOUNCES NEW FORCED LABOR RULE The European Union (EU) announced March 5th that a deal had been reached on a new rule set regarding forced labor. Specifically, this new rule will ban imports suspected of being made with forced labor, outlining how the EU will investigate and penalize [...]
In Week 10 of 2024's freight market update, we observe railcar shortages in select regions while container supplies rebound elsewhere. Meanwhile, geopolitical challenges continue to impact freight transit times through the Red Sea and Panama Canal. CONTAINER SUPPLY There is an improvement in China, with main ports fully stocked, [...]
In the freight market update for Week 09 of 2024, we see new FMC rulings and other governmental administrative changes. UNREASONABLE CARRIER CONDUCT The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) announced a forthcoming final rule on unreasonable carrier conduct during a recent congressional hearing. With fines totaling over $2.8 million in [...]
At a February 28th congressional hearing, the FMC confirmed the final rule surrounding unreasonable carrier conduct can be expected to arrive in “the next couple of months.” This rule will come during a time of increased enforcement by the FMC as they have been closely watching surcharges related to the [...]
