Dear Valued Customers, Our Atlanta branch is currently without power and intermittently receiving phone calls.  In the meantime, we are having their phone lines forwarded to our corporate office in Baltimore to triage the calls. For assistance, please reach out to our Baltimore office directly by calling 1-800-695-9465.  For Global Logistics help, please contact Belinda Henson […]

Congestion at the terminals of Seattle, Tacoma, Los Angeles, and Long Beach continues to worsen as both the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) appear to be no closer to resolving their ongoing labor dispute.  The PMA issued a new statement yesterday alleging that the ILWU is withholding skilled labor, […]

Both the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) issued conflicting statements yesterday regarding an alleged slow down by dock workers in the ports of Seattle and Tacoma.   The PMA alluded that the union was engaging in slowdown tactics at the terminals in order to put pressure on the ongoing negotiations […]

The Food Safety Modernization Act requires food facilities to renew their registration between October 1st and December 31st in even-numbered years. Domestic and foreign food facilities that manufacture, process, pack or hold food must renew their registration by December 31, 2014. Registrations that are not renewed by December 31st will be invalidated and subsequent entries […]

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are experiencing higher than normal congestion.  According to a Journal of Commerce interview with executive director of the Marine Exchange of Southern California, Capt. J. Kipling Louttit, cargo container ships are dropping anchor and waiting in line to be received at terminals.  “There’s usually zero wait times […]

The chassis and labor shortages in the Los Angeles/Long Beach Ports are causing truckers, and consequently shippers, considerable setbacks at the moment. Trucking companies in the area are facing an uphill battle on two fronts; not only there is a significant labor shortage on working the vessels at the docks, but there is also a major shortage of chassis required to handle the daily cargo volume.

The Food Safety Modernization Act requires food facilities to renew their registration between October 1st and December 31st in even-numbered years. Domestic and foreign food facilities that manufacture, process, pack or hold food must renew their registration by December 31, 2014. Registrations that are not renewed by December 31st will be invalidated and subsequent entries […]

Following a toxic fire of the Pasha terminal at Berth 177 in the Port of Los Angeles, which spurred air quality concerns from creosote covered wood, officials announced remaining terminals have resumed operations 6 p.m. Tuesday evening.  Nearby Yusen Terminals International announced they would reopen 8 a.m. Wednesday morning. The fire originally broke out at 6:40 p.m. […]

The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a 6:40 p.m. Monday evening call at the 800 block of South Fries Avenue located in the Port of Los Angeles.   Air quality concerns from creosote covered wood caused the port closing as well an overnight shelter-in-place advisory.  Creosote is a gummy, foul smelling, corrosive and extremely combustible […]

The Census Bureau’s Foreign Trade Division (FTD) is announcing the publication of an Interim Final Rule revising the Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR), Title 15, Part 30. This rule reinstates the previous filing exemptions in Sections 30.37(q) and (r) of the FTR for temporary exports, including carnets, and goods that were imported under a Temporary Import […]

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) released a joint statement last night announcing that an agreement has been reached on the health care portion of the negotiations for their new master contract.  These negotiations have been ongoing since May and it was expected that discussions involving health benefits […]

A 12% increase in the trucking fee brought the Ningbo trucking strike that began last week to an end.  Port truckers are now working to help clear the backlog of freight that has amassed.  Some concessions have been made to shippers to help alleviate costs due to the strike: shipping instruction (SI) cut off times […]

As an update to our notification from yesterday, the Journal of Commerce has reported this morning that some carriers are starting to divert vessels to Shanghai away from Ningbo due to the continued backlog and congestion caused by the ongoing truckers’ strike. Trucks are blocking access to the terminals as well as container depots as […]

Earlier this week, over 100 truck owners went on strike at Ningbo Beilun port.  The key focal point of the strike is trucking freight rates.  Truckers claim rates, which were set by Ningbo Port,  have been stagnant for 8 years and that an increase is necessary due to doubling of diesel prices during this time.  […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a ban on food imports from the United States, Canada and Europe in response to sanctions imposed by those nations. A one year ban has been imposed on beef, poultry, pork, fish, fruit, vegetables, and dairy products. The Obama administration does not foresee much impact on the U.S. economy […]

The United States has moved to impose more sanctions on Russia to address that country’s continuing policy of destabilization in Ukraine and occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol. Today’s Federal Register has a notice adding controls on certain items for use in Russia’s energy sector. A license will now be required to ship certain goods used directly or […]

On May 12th, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) began negotiating a new contract covering West Coast dockworkers as the current contract is due to expire on June 30th at midnight.  Details of the labor stoppage negotiations can be found in Shapiro’s Guide to ILWU Labor Negotiations, which provides […]

Due to another winter storm that has hit the South, Shapiro’s Atlanta office is closed today, 2/12/14.  We anticipate it will be closed on 2/13/14 as well.  All employees are working remotely and are reachable by email.  For any urgent issues, please do not hesitate to contact: Kathleen Robie, Branch Manager at 678-644-1474 or email [email protected]. […]

With volumes running higher than average during comparable time-periods, the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) will resume talks tomorrow (Wednesday, July 22, 2014) after taking a brief hiatus to allow the ILWU to participate in a previously scheduled Longshore Division Caucus in San Francisco.  Although no agreement has […]

International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) workers walked off terminals earlier today at both the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles in a show of support for the Teamsters union picketing action.  The ILWU had previously stated they would not cross picket lines should the Teamster Union choose to take action.  […]