The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced the Department’s portions of the Unified Agenda (also known as the Spring Regulatory Agenda) on June 11, 2021 identifying the actions the Department plans to take over the next year and beyond to protect and serve the American people.  USDOT’s Spring Regulatory Agenda highlights include proposals that would address the following, after opportunities for public review and comment: 1. Safer and More Equitable Roadways & Vehicles; 2. Safer Workers and Workplaces; 3. Climate and Environmental Justice; and 4. Economy, Workforce, and Transformation.

U.S. Department of Transportation Releases Spring Regulatory Agenda, June 11, 2021, www.dot.gov

The Port of New York and New Jersey had another strong month in April 2021 posting double-digit increases for total container volume, container imports, and autos and setting a new April record for rail volume. Total volume in April 2021 was 712,799 TEUs (396,168 lifts) versus 559,929 TEUs (318,389 lifts) in April 2020, a 27.3 percent increase and record for the month of April. This surge brings our year through April total to 2,848,979 TEUs (1,581,682 lifts).  Imports rose by 26.5 percent in April 2021, totaling 359,265 TEUs (200,112 lifts) compared to 284,074 TEUs (161,677 lifts) in April 2020.  From January through April 2021, imports at the Port of New York and New Jersey reached 1,457,992 TEUs (811,066 lifts), a 23.7 percent increase compared to the 1,178,673 TEUs (667,626 lifts) posted in the same period of 2020 which was the start of COVID-19 pandemic.

Double-digit increases for container volume, autos and record-breaking month for rail at the Port of NY & NJ, June 7, 2019, www.ajot.com

Paul Snell, CEO British – American Shipping, warned that the recent consolidation of ocean carriers into now 17 carriers into a smaller number of alliances has been accompanied by downsizing and automation in which carriers “mimic each other” in emphasizing imports over exports and with the unintended effect of “devaluing” U.S exporters.  This consolidation is causing international trade to favor imports over exports to the United States and is creating long-term obstacles for U.S. exporters.  However, Snell emphasized that challenges faced by exporters can be mitigated by investing more in marketing their products abroad including in their logistics staff.  Exporters must accept that as import freight rates rise so must export freight rates.  Snell said logistics experts play an increasingly important role in ensuring exports arrive in a timely manner and that shippers who emphasize the lowest price are likely to experience the negative results of what they did not wish to invest in.  Snell said that exporters needed to invest in their relationship with trucker and rail partners and have a reserve of truckers who could help provide support in case of an emergency.

U.S. exporters continue to encounter rough sailing in 2021, May 24, 2021, www.ajot.com

Freight bottlenecks cost the U.S. economy more than $42 billion in 2019—a hidden tax on the American people that is only likely to increase as the country fully opens, according to a review of Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) data.  The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) study, “Throttled: The Economic Costs of Freight Bottlenecks,” also shows that freight shipments suffered almost 660 million hours of delay on the nation’s roadways.  “Our examination brings into sharp focus the continued costs of congestion on America’s highway network,” said ARTBA Chief Economist Dr. Alison Premo Black. “Legislation to address freight mobility through increased federal transportation investment would help alleviate these bottlenecks, increase business productivity, and power the economy for the next generation.”

Freight bottlenecks a $42 billion hidden cost on US economy, Federal data shows, May 24, 2021, www.ajot.com

Conditions for U.S. shippers are the worst they’ve been since FTR began tracking them via its Shippers Conditions Index.  A record-low reading of -17.8 reflects deteriorating conditions in all metrics the index tracks.  FTR anticipates conditions for shippers will improve in coming months but remain negative into 2022.  “While May and June are expected to be the worst months for shippers as rate increases in truck and rail hit their peak for the year, it is possible that the tight conditions could persist for longer,” said Todd Tranausky, vice-president of rail and intermodal at FTR.  “Capacity is expected to remain a constraining factor for transportation through the end of 2021 as truck and rail each struggle to regain employees lost during the pandemic.

Shippers experiencing toughest conditions on record: FTR, May 24, 2021, www.todaystrucking.com

Following criticism from shippers over perceived unfair carrier practices and high fees at logjammed ports in the US, the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has voted to establish a National Shipper Advisory Committee, where importers and exporters will be able to provide advice to the agency.

The Commission will solicit applications from qualified candidates for appointment to the Committee, which will consist of 24 members, evenly divided between exporters and importers.

The new committee will “advise the FMC on policies relating to the competitiveness, reliability, integrity, and fairness of the international ocean freight delivery system.”

A notice will be published in the Federal Register soliciting nominations and outlining qualifications of applicants, obligations of Committee members, and steps for how to apply for membership.

Rebecca F Dye, Commissioner with the FMC, said: “I applaud the creation of the National Shipper Advisory Committee and am gratified with today’s vote and that we will soon be able to solicit applications from our importers and exporters to serve on this body.

“I am confident that with the right mix of people serving on the Advisory Committee, we can make meaningful progress in addressing those that are most urgent for the benefit of America’s freight delivery system.”

The National Industrial Transportation League (NITL) recently called for changes to The Shipping Act of 1984 to address port congestion and ongoing challenges experienced by importers and exporters.

In particular, it has proposed reforms that aim to end ‘unreasonable’ demurrage and detention practices and charges; to establish minimum service standards for carriers, administered through an FMC-led process; to enable third parties to challenge anticompetitive agreements.

The Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Transportation Technology Center (TTC) has reached a service milestone: 50 years of railroad research, testing and training.  After the High-Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965 authorized TTC’s development, U.S. Secretary of Transportation John Volpe inaugurated the Pueblo, Colo., site on May 19, 1971.  TTC is now a “proving ground for safety standards development and the latest rail technologies,” FRA noted in an announcement of the golden anniversary. The 52-square-mile facility offers laboratories, maintenance shops, full-scale training facilities, and 50-plus miles of test track.  Amtrak, which also marks 50 years in 2021, recently tested its next-generation high-speed Acela trainset prototype at TTC.

TTC: 50 Years of ‘Safety Research and Innovation’, May 20, 2021, www.railwayage.com

On February 24, 2021, Canada’s Minister of Transport, the Honourable Omar Alghabra and United States Transportation’s Secretary, the Honourable Pete Buttigieg, issued the following statement: “Recognizing the transport sector constitutes one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions for both nations, and in light of the integrated nature of our transportation sectors, we are committed to reinvigorate our bilateral cooperation to fight climate change and limit the environmental impacts from our transportation networks—on land, air and sea. … This new focus on climate will reinforce our already vast cooperation portfolio across all modes of transportation to ensure safe, secure, and efficient transportation networks of today, while preparing for the innovations of tomorrow, and recovering our economies in a way that promotes employment, sustainability and equity.”

Joint Statement by Transport Canada and the U.S. Department of Transportation on the Nexus between Transportation and Climate Change, February 24, 2021, www.tc.gc.ca

Port Houston is positioning itself as a viable option for handling more containerized imports from Asia, thanks to congestion woes for importers on the West and East coasts.  Austin, Texas-based cooler and drink ware manufacturer Yeti is testing Port Houston as an alternative to the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach or Port of New York/New Jersey for importing its shipments from Asia, according to Paul Carbone, Yeti’s CFO.  “We’re seeing some elongated wait times coming through the ports in the process of shipments,” Carbone said during Bank of America’s 2021 Consumer and Retail Technology Conference on March 9, 2021. To mitigate wait times and supply chain risks, Carbone said Yeti is cross-docking its shipments, using some different shipping lanes, and using faster shipping lanes out of Southeast Asia “to cut down on the transport time.”

Port congestion? Maybe Houston is the alternative, March 16, 2021, www.freightwaves.com