Featured Headlines:
Section 301 Comment Period Ending Soon
White House Shines Light on FMC
CBP Search & Seizure on the Sea Shore
Are Ports Half-Full or Half-Empty?
Coast to Coast Operational Snapshot
Cathay Pacific Fired Up About COVID
Savannah Congestion Is Costin’ Boston
Section 301 Comment Period Ending Soon
- The public comment period on the possible reinstatement of certain Section 301 exclusions will close on December 1st.
- Need additional assistance with your exclusion filing? Contact [email protected] today!
White House Shines Light on FMC
- This week, the Biden administration endorsed proposed legislation that would dramatically alter container shipping regulations.
- White House officials have also urged FMC regulators to challenge ocean carrier alliance agreements if they violate the Shipping Act.
CBP Search & Seizure on the Sea Shore
- US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported a record-breaking year for seizures of counterfeit and prohibited merchandise at the LA/LB seaport.
- More than $760 million in counterfeit and prohibited products—a 652% increase—was reported over the last year.
LA/LB Dwell Fees Dwell
- The Emergency fee for dwelling containers in LA/LB was delayed until November 22nd after the ports observed a noticeable clearing of backlogged containers.
Cargo Congestion in the Air
- US shippers are facing delays of up to 2 weeks to recover cargo at New York’s JFK and Los Angeles’ airports.
- Other US airports—such as Miami and Chicago O’Hare— are faring better at avoiding severe congestion.
- Chicago has managed to smooth the flow of air cargo by sourcing warehousing solutions that allow them to move backlogs from the airport.
Are Ports Half-Full or Half-Empty?
- 27% of the world’s shipping containers passing through seaports are empty.
- There are continuous chassis shortages in LA/LB, New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Columbus, Cleveland, Chicago, Memphis, Atlanta, Nashville, and Louisville.
Coast to Coast Operational Snapshot
- Seattle: Import rail cargo dwell times are affecting the area tremendously; currently, there is a delay for Chicago-bound cargo of up to 10 days.
- Oakland: Experiencing vessel wait time of up to 4 days due to high import volume and labor shortages.
- LA/LB: Delays are about 4 weeks at times and rails are very congested; recently hit a record number of container ships with 86 vessels anchored and 30 vessels at berth.
- Chicago: Severe rail congestion due to dwelling containers and chassis shortages; the port continues to monitor in-gates with allocation or reservations due to container backlog.
- Savannah: The Georgia Port Authority has planned to use multiple inland locations as temporary emergency container yards to relieve the still highly congested ports; shortage of chassis and equipment continues to affect operations.
- Want more supply chain news? Check out Supply Chain Reactions for a condensed update for American shippers!
Cathay Pacific Fired Up About COVID
- Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific has fired three pilots after contracting COVID-19 in Frankfurt, Germany.
- According to a company statement, an internal investigation had found that the pilots were involved in a “serious breach” of coronavirus procedures during overseas layovers.
- The airline said it was continuing to review company protocols in the wake of the incident.
Port of Vancouver Gets Railed
- All rail services in the Port of Vancouver were suspended on Tuesday due to local flooding and landslides.
Savannah Congestion Is Costin’ Boston
- Savannah delays and congestion have caused the OA to cancel their only Asia-US East Coast Service into the Port of Boston until end of January.
- This will highly increase traffic at the Ports of NY and NJ— despite the short supply of truckers in the area—while the Port of Boston remains uncongested.
Blank Sailings Fill the Void
- Nearly 20% of Transpacific West Coast sailings have been removed from their regular rotations through the end of the year due to schedule delays.
- A smaller number of East Coast sailings were also removed.
