Trade and Compliance

US customs brokers, forwarders cautiously trickle back to offices

After several months of stay-at-home orders, America’s customs brokerage and freight forwarding firms are preparing to reopen their offices in the weeks and months ahead. However, these companies do not anticipate a return to pre-coronavirus conditions, industry experts say.

“Our return-to-office plan considers that the future of work, as we have known it for all companies around the world, is shifting,” Marcia Lyssy, chief human resources officer for BDP International, told American Shipper.

Phil...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/us-customs-brokers-forwarders-cautiously-trickle-back-to-offices

Commentary: Can managed trade really work?

The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of FreightWaves or its affiliates. 

Managed trade, ironically, is hard to manage. This is especially true when it is between the world’s two largest economies trying to settle their trade and political disputes. The U.S.-China trade war entered a détente of sorts with the “Phase 1” trade deal signed on January 15, 2020. Between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021, China is required to import more...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/commentary-can-managed-trade-really-work

More air cargo finds its sea legs during COVID-19

Escalating airfreight transportation rates and capacity shortages out of China in recent months due to the coronavirus pandemic have led many shippers to try hybrid services that combine sea and air modes.

So-called “sea-air” services offered by some global freight forwarders and non-vessel-operating common carriers (NVOCCs) have been around for decades, but they tend to come and go depending on airfreight market conditions.

Mortan Bach, global chief commercial officer, Shipco Trasport (Courtesy...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/more-air-cargo-finds-its-sea-legs-during-covid-19

National Shipper Advisory Committee for FMC gets Senate push

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee has approved a bill that would allow the formation of a committee of American shippers to advise the Federal Maritime Commission on policies related to competitiveness, reliability, integrity and fairness in ocean shipping.

FMC Commissioner Rebecca Dye proposed the FMC National Shipper Advisory Committee two years ago when the agency was analyzing persistent ocean shipping bottlenecks due to systemic port congestion throughout the U.S.

Under the 2019 FMC...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/national-shipper-advisory-committee-for-fmc-gets-senate-push

FMC’s Dye keeps eye on COVID-19-challenged US supply chains

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) official in charge of monitoring the current U.S. supply chain impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic said she has brought together myriad industry stakeholders to find immediate remedies to these problems and prepare for the reopening of the economy.

“We need to be ready in our seaports for the increased cargo that we know is coming soon,” FMC Commissioner Rebecca Dye told attendees of the virtual annual Agriculture Transportation Coalition...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/fmcs-dye-keeps-eye-on-covid-19-challenged-us-supply-chains

FMC investigates Canada’s proposed ballast water rules for Great Lakes

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) said it will investigate whether Canada’s proposed ballast water regulations discriminate against U.S.-flag vessels operating in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway.

All five FMC commissioners — Chairman Michael Kouri, Rebecca Dye, Louis Sola, Danial Maffei and Carl Bentzel — on Wednesday voted to approve the petition from the Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA), which asked the agency to carry out the investigation.

Under Section 19(1)(b) of the 1920...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/fmc-investigates-canadas-proposed-ballast-water-rules-for-great-lakes

Toilet paper rolls and supply chain roles

Before the coronavirus pandemic, the American consumer likely reached for a package of toilet paper on the supermarket shelf without a thought about how that product got there. 

“People now understand how critical it is for us to get our goods. When we’re standing in line waiting to get toilet paper and paper towels, they now start to understand a little bit about the role the ports and everybody in the supply chain play in getting goods and actually where those goods are manufactured,” said...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/toilet-paper-rolls-and-supply-chain-roles

Steering US customs brokers, forwarders through COVID-19

Janet Fields of Savannah, Georgia-based John S. James Co. is no stranger to risk management issues at the corporate level. But Fields, the recently appointed president of the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA), is seeing those skills put to the test as the industry weathers the dismal effects on trade from the coronavirus pandemic.

Fields was nominated to serve as NCBFAA president in January, following two years as the association’s vice president and decades...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/steering-us-customs-brokers-forwarders-through-covid-19

Commentary: Trade flow and the warning flares it signals

The U.S. trade war with China and COVID-19 have reshaped the flow of supply and demand. While the trade war shifted the movement and volume of goods, the coronavirus has impacted the buying behavior of consumers. Now with the world in various stages of reopening, the big question that remains is will the consumer come roaring back?

One way to track this trend is by analyzing the volumes of containers. With a lead time of several months, retailers and manufacturers fill orders based on expected...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/commentary-trade-flow-and-the-warning-flares-it-signals

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