The International Longshoreman's Association (ILA) Wage Scale Committee voted to recommend approval of a six-year agreement with the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX), according to a press release. The contract will now go to ILA's and USMX's members for ratification.
The amount of freight carried for-hire rose 1.2% in January from December, rising for the third consecutive month, said the Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics' (BTS) Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI). The rail and trucking increases were partly due to inventory growth, said BTS.
The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) approved an agreement between the G6 alliance, a group of six carriers that share vessel space, that will allow for more Trans-Pacific Trade for the group, said FMC Commissioner William Doyle in a March 12 statement. The alliance, made up of APL, Hapag-Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Nippon Yusen Kaisha and Orient Overseas Container Line filed the request with the FMC in February (see 13021217).
The Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is holding a public meeting on the agency’s intent to modify permits relating to non-DOT specification composite cylinders, a Federal Register notice said. The meeting, April 18 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m., will discuss PHSMA’s proposal to modify the permits to reflect appropriate International Standards Organization standards for composite cylinders, the notice said. Comments on the proposal should be submitted by April 4 to be considered at the meeting. They can be submitted to www.regulations.gov.
The Federal Maritime Commission released a notice of the filing of the following agreement under the Shipping Act of 1984. Interested parties may submit comments on the agreements to the Secretary, Federal Maritime Commission, Washington, DC 20573, within 10 days.
“Air cargo is vital to the global economy, transporting more than $5 trillion worth of goods annually, or more than a third of world trade by value,” International Air Transport Association Director General and CEO Tony Tyler at the World Cargo Symposium in Doha, Qatar. But the last two years have been difficult for the air cargo industry, he said, noting a 2 percent decline in both air cargo demand and yields last year. “There are early signs that an upturn is on the way,” said Tyler. “To seize the opportunity we must strengthen the industry’s competitiveness.”
The Agricultural Marketing Service released the Ocean Shipping Container Availability Report (OSCAR) for the week of March 5-12. The weekly report contains data on container availability for westbound transpacific traffic at 18 intermodal locations in the U.S.1 from the eight member carriers of the Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (WTSA).2 Although the report is compiled by AMS, it covers container availability for all merchandise, not just agricultural products.
The Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is amending its Hazardous Materials Regulations, said a Federal Register notice to be published March 11. The amendments were first proposed in April 2012, the notice said, and were necessary to update and clarify regulatory requirements. A list of the changes adopted by PHMSA in its final rule is as follows:
The Federal Maritime Commission said the following have filed applications for a license as a Non-Vessel-Operating Common Carrier (NVO) and/or Ocean Freight Forwarder (OFF)-Ocean Transportation Intermediary (OTI) pursuant to section 19 of the Shipping Act of 1984. The FMC also gave notice of the filing of applications to amend an existing OTI license or the qualifying individual for a license. Interested persons may contact the Office of Transportation Intermediaries, Federal Maritime Commission, Washington, D.C. 20573, at 202-523-5843 or at OTI@fmc.gov.
The Federal Maritime Commission released a notice of the filing of the following agreement under the Shipping Act of 1984. Interested parties may submit comments on the agreements to the Secretary, Federal Maritime Commission, Washington, DC 20573, within 10 days.