The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration on Jan. 23 issued a proposed rule that would amend the Hazardous Materials Regulations (here), in part to “facilitate international commerce,” it said. Changes would include (i) removal of the packing group (PG) II designation for certain organic peroxides, self-reactive substances and explosives; (ii) the incorporation of requirements for trailers of manifolded acetylene cylinders; (iii) new requirements to allow for shipments of damaged wet electric batteries; and (iv) revised requirements for the packaging of nitric acid, testing of pressure relief devices on cargo tanks, and shipments of black or smokeless powder for small arms. Comments are due March 24.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will allow Mexican carriers to conduct long-haul, cross-border trucking services in the U.S., ending the threat of retaliatory tariffs authorized by NAFTA arbitrators. The agency’s decision follows a three-year pilot program that allowed Mexican trucking companies to operate north of the border, it said in a Jan. 9 press release (here). Following the end of the pilot in October, FMCSA determined that trucking companies from Mexico had the same levels of compliance with safety standards as their U.S. and Canadian counterparts, it said.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is amending its Hazardous Materials Regulations to align them with recent changes to international standards, in a final rule (here) that requires compliance by Jan. 1, 2016. The final rule includes changes to proper shipping names, hazard classes, packing groups, special provisions, packaging authorizations, air transport quantity limitations, and vessel stowage requirements, said PHMSA. The revisions harmonize the Hazardous Materials Regulations with recent changes made to the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code, the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air, and the United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (UN Model Regulations).

The U.S. and Mexico reached a new air service agreement that will expand access for air cargo carriers, said the Department of Transportation on Nov. 21 (here). The new agreement includes “unlimited market access for U.S. and Mexican air carriers, improved intermodal rights, pricing flexibility, and other important commercial rights,” said DOT. Air cargo carriers will have “expanded opportunities to provide service to new destinations that were not available under the current agreement, and to offer services from the United States to Mexico and beyond Mexico to other countries,” it said. The agreement will take effect Jan. 1, 2016, following internal implementation steps in each country.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is asking for comments on the implementation of “financial responsibility” requirements for freight forwarders (here). FMCSA first implemented the bonding and trust fund requirements in October 2013 under the direction of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). The agency now says it is considering another rulemaking on the subject that may increase minimum financial responsibility requirements. Comments on FMCSA’s advance notice of proposed rulemaking are due Feb. 26.

The Federal Maritime Commission will meet on Nov. 13 at 10 a.m. to discuss recent port congestion forums and other issues, the agency said (here). There will be both an open and closed session, the agency said.

Federal infrastructure funding provides critical benefits to local communities and economies, and lawmakers on Capitol Hill need to act quickly to provide long-term solvency to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), said National Association of Counties President Riki Hokama in an Oct. 22 letter (here) to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio. President Barack Obama signed into law in August a bill that authorized federal spending for highway projects through May 31, 2015 (see 14081001). The Highway and Transportation Funding Act, HR-5021 (here), also gave the HTF nearly $11 billion to fill its coffers. Hokama did not specify how lawmakers should reform the fund’s revenue strategy, but emphasized that uncertainty surrounding the fund is preventing some highway projects from taking place. Some lawmakers have lashed out at raising corporate taxes to make the fund solvent (see 14050625). Senate Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., pushed House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., in early October to find a way to fix Highway Trust Fund insolvency over the long-term, although she also did not offer a specific remedy. The cost of construction may also threaten highway projects by outpacing inflation, so a long-term trust fund solution is even more critical, said the Oct. 22 letter.

U.S.-NAFTA freight was up 4.4% year-on-year in August 2014, said the Bureau of Transportation Statistics on Oct. 23. Vessel traffic grew the most of any mode of transportation, driven by mineral fuel shipments to Canada, said BTS. Overall, U.S.-NAFTA freight totaled $100.6 billion in August 2014, down from a high of $103.9 billion in May. U.S.-Canada freight flows were up 4.3% from August 2013, and U.S.-Mexico flows increased by 4.4% over the same period, it said.

The Federal Maritime Commission approved the proposed A. P. Moller-Maersk and MSC Mediterranean Shipping vessel sharing agreement, also known as 2M, the agency said on Oct. 9. The 2M agreement would "authorize the parties to share vessels and engage in related cooperative operating activities in the trades between the U.S. and Asia, North Europe, and the Mediterranean." The FMC "decision is based on a determination that the agreement is not likely at this time, by a reduction in competition, to produce an unreasonable increase in transportation cost or an unreasonable reduction in transportation service," it said. Commissioner Richard Lidinsky dissented.

The Federal Maritime Commission is seeking comment on its heavily revised proposed rulemaking on Ocean Transport Intermediaries (here). While the original proposal (see 13053031) was a source of concern for the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (see 13041004), the updated version strips out a number of the controversial pieces of the rule (see 14092217). Comments are due Dec. 12.