Customs now has a solid new platform of visibility called Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). They also have established commodity specialists and developed commodity Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEE). These entities have much more access to information—and are extraordinarily informed about commodities—much, much more informed than they have ever been. This is especially true because […]

Author: Christian Hudspeth – World First  It’s hard to find an e-commerce market with more promise than Japan. For starters, the country boasts some of the most online shopping-savvy consumers on the planet. A whopping 80% of Japan’s population (or 100 million) shop online according to comScore, besting US online shopper rates of around 70%. Japan’s e-commerce […]

Whether you’re a crowd-funding startup, or a first time seller on one of Amazon’s multi-national programs, it is easy to see that ecommerce is changing the way we purchase – and fast. Rapidly expanding markets with “limitless” opportunities; who wouldn’t want to take the plunge?  But beware the dangers that lurk beneath the surface – […]

JOC’s Annual Review and Outlook outlines the major challenges, opportunities and trends in the global transportation and logistics industry via reports from the editorial staff and insight from the industry’s top players. Major segments highlighted include maritime, trucking, rail and intermodal, air cargo, government and logistics. Contributors have years of experience and range from CEOs […]

It’s the ole’ Trojan horse scenario. Just when you think Customs is being helpful sending out Informed Compliance Letters to your business with information to “assist” your company with ensuring compliance, they will state in the document that since this information has been provided to your company, violations that may occur in the future could […]

Technology is wonderful.  No one will deny that.  It allows us to shift black-and-white tedious work to a program, so we can focus on what is truly complicated and worthy of our delightful human brain. Let’s talk about freight calculators for a moment.  We move cargo from point A to point B (like human airfare […]

When I walk into a really sophisticated warehouse, the look on my face is probably akin to that of a kid in a candy store.  Seeing a high-functioning fulfillment center with box-building machines, automated sorters, and any number of other robotic components is enough to make me salivate.  That’s not to say that I don’t […]

On Saturday, August 6th the maritime industry suffered a great loss as infamous Baltimore Port advocate, Helen Delich Bentley, passed. She was renowned for her work in growing the maritime industry as a whole and will be sorely missed. After earning her Journalism degree from the University of Missouri, Helen was hired by the Baltimore […]

As the title of this blog proclaims, I am a baby boomer – but certainly not a curmudgeon.  I’m old enough to remember first-hand when America was still a shining beacon of progress and prosperity. Back when the interstate system was still new and growing; heck, I even remember when I-95 wasn’t even completed yet […]

As the holidays creep closer, shoppers are gearing up to spend hard earned paychecks on their favorite aunts, grandparents, and more importantly… marketplaces.  If you were a seller during last year’s holiday season, you probably remember the trauma of last-minute capacity tightening, peak season surcharges and general rate increases, trucking timelines, customs exams, and the […]