Beginning June 6, the Port of Oakland’s largest marine terminal, Oakland International Container Terminal (OICT), will make appointments mandatory for most containerized import pick-ups. The requirement means harbor truckers usually won’t be able to drive off loaded boxes without a reservation. READ MORE

American values outweigh economic expediency, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske said June 1 in imposing a detention order on imported stevia extracts produced by a Chinese company, PureCircle Ltd. Stevia is a sweetener and sugar substitute. READ MORE

A coalition of Great Lakes trade and transport stakeholders filed suit this week in Washington D.C. challenging a U.S. Coast Guard decision to increase pilotage rates on the Great Lakes by 58 percent over two years.

Some of the key players in the coalition include the U.S. Great Lakes Shipping Association, the Shipping  Federation of Canada, the American Great Lakes Ports Association and Montreal-based Fednav International. READ MORE

Concerned about a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on aviation security, Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) called on the House this week to act without delay on Senate-passed Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization legislation. READ MORE

The U.S. Commerce Department seeks comments by July 11 on American  seaport efficiency and competitiveness issues. The input is needed for Commerce’s 21^st Century U.S. Port Competitiveness Initiative.

In the port competitiveness initiative, Commerce is working with seaports, stakeholders and port users to identify and share best practices in port-stakeholder coordination, collaboration and information-sharing. The goal is to remove operational and infrastructure issues that negatively affect freight flows and worsen port and supply chain congestion. READ MORE

On May 31^st the League told the Surface Transportation Board (STB) that rail shippers need the essential freight rail performance metrics now being reported to the agency by the nation’s Class I carriers.  The League’s comments were in response to an April 29^th release of a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the latest development in the STB’s Ex Parte 724 proceeding (United States Rail Service Issues—Performance Data Reporting.) READ MORE

Are you transporting dangerous TIH/PIH commodities in tank cars? If so, this webinar, presented by AllTranstek and FTR | Transportation Intelligence, is designed to educate you on the importance of “nondestructive testing” (NDT) and its vital role in tank car safety. NDT is required for tank cars after construction, qualification, and maintenance, with the goal of ensuring that hazardous commodities are traveling in safe vessels. But like all tank car related matters, NDT poses its own unique challenges.
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The Association of American Railroads (AAR) used a platform created by Infrastructure Week last week to tout the $26 billion annually that freight rails invest in the U.S. rail network.

“On a daily basis, Americans experience the stark contrast in publicly funded highways versus privately owned railways,” AAR President Edward Hamberger said. “One is emblematic of dysfunction while the other embodies efficiency and self-sufficiency.” READ MORE

The American Trucking Associations (ATA) reported this week that its Truck Tonnage Index decreased 2.1 percent in April, following a 4.4 percent drop during March.

“After having an abnormally large seasonally adjusted gain in February, tonnage fell in April, in addition to the large drop in March,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “However, while freight remained soft in April, based on other economic indicators, the outlook for tonnage is a little better than just a couple of months ago.” READ MORE

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced the availability of the 2016 edition of its Pocket Guide to Large Truck Statistics. The annual publication contains extensive information on the overall state of the commercial motor vehicle (CMV) industry, safety enforcement activity, large truck crashes and other key data. READ MORE