CORONADO, Calif. -- The Federal Maritime Commission is “carefully monitoring capacity” as the potential rises for economic troubles on the horizon, with some predictions calling for a repeat of 2009, FMC Commissioner Rebecca Dye said in remarks at the Western Cargo Conference Oct. 7.
A new integrated rail complex about 130 miles inland from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will be built by BNSF Railway for $1.5 billion, the company announced Oct. 1. The Barstow International Gateway will include warehouses, a rail yard and an intermodal facility. Containers will be able to go from ships to rail and not be staged for their final destinations until Barstow.
The data says that cargo logistics are untangling, but that things are not back to pre-COVID patterns, Flexport officials shared during a webinar that asked if the cargo crisis is over.
The Department of Transportation is seeking public comments to assist it in identifying federal and nonfederal sites for the storage and transfer of cargo containers to help alleviate port congestion, the agency said in a notice this week. DOT also is accepting information on whether more storage space would help mitigate congestion, which entities would most benefit from more inland ports, how the government can create “the most effective strategy to implement congestion mitigation” and more. The comments will help DOT meet a provision under the Ocean Shipping Reform Act that requires the agency to study the “feasibility” of more inland ports to ease container congestion. Comments are due on or before Oct. 26, and information submitted after the deadline will be considered “to the extent practicable.”
President Joe Biden on July 15 signed an executive order establishing an emergency board to help resolve ongoing disputes between freight rail carriers and their unions. The board will provide union workers and management a “structure” to address their disagreements, the White House said, and will issue a report within 30 days recommending how the disputes should be resolved. “The President’s goal is to make sure America’s freight rail system continues to run without disruption, delivering the items that our families, communities, farms and businesses rely on,” the White House said. The emergency board will begin work July 18.
The Federal Railroad Administration is going to spend $368 million across 46 projects, some of which are aimed at strengthening supply chains, it said. "Americans deserve a world-class rail system that allows people and goods to get where they need to go more quickly and affordably, while reducing traffic and pollution on our roads," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. "We're proud to award these grants to improve passenger rail for riders and strengthen the freight rail that makes our supply chains and our economy work."
Senators called on the Surface Transportation Board to intervene with freight railroads, because manufacturers and agricultural producers are not getting reliable service. "If these problems persist into summer and fall, significant portions of the world's breadbasket could be cut off from assisting those most in need...," said a letter, led by Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., and Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and signed by 19 other senators from both parties. They said some grain producers cannot contract to get a freight car, causing flour mills to shut down. They said that shipping vessels have waited to leave because of delays of rail arrivals of grain. The May 23 letter is supported by the National Grain and Feed Association, the National Mining Association, the American Chemistry Council and the ethanol trade association Growth Energy.
The Surface Transportation Board recently voted to issue a proposed rule intended to ease the process for shippers to request emergency intervention when facing supply chain delays on rail lines. The proposed rule, adopted April 22, would shorten the process for petitions for STB emergency service orders, under which the STB directs railroads to divert cargo onto other lines or railroads. It also would remove the process that a shipper secure an alternative carrier in advance, instead only requiring a list of potential alternative carriers.
Massive delays and a drop in traffic at the U.S.-Mexico border caused by secondary Texas state inspections have drawn fire from CBP, the trade community and even the White House.
Russia’s war on Ukraine has led to a “rapidly worsening outlook” for the global economy, including rising trade costs for certain agricultural goods and fuel, the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development said in a March 16 report. The trade outlook is especially dire for developing nations due to increasing food and energy prices, the U.N. said, and is leading to rising freight rates around the world. “Due to higher fuel costs, rerouting efforts and zero capacity in maritime logistics,” the report said, “the impact of the war in Ukraine can be expected to lead to even higher freight rates."