@Risk

The World Shipping Council (WSC) and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) want all loaded containers be weighed at the marine port facility before they are stowed aboard a vessel for export.

In a joint statement issued last week, the WSC and ICS urge the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to establish an international legal requirement that all loaded containers be weighed at the marine port facility before they are stowed aboard a vessel for export.

According to the WSC and ICS, In the absence of a legal requirement that marine terminal operators perform a weighing function for all loaded (“stuffed”) containers before vessel loading, it seems likely that a significant number of unweighed and overweight containers will continue to pose a risk to safe ship operations, to ships’ crew, and to other personnel in the transport chain. In addition, overweight containers threaten operational reliability and add to liability claims, operating costs, and administrative expenses.

Specifically, WSC and ICS propose that: (more…)

Even though import cargo volume at major US retail container ports is on the downswing, analysts still expect totals to be up 9 percent in November over the same month last year.

As you may recall, December 2009 broke a 28-month streak of year-over-year declines. Then, this past September –the latest month for which actual numbers are available –was the tenth month in a row to show a year-over-year improvement.

Now, according to the Global Port Tracker report by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates: (more…)

New proposed federal legislation, H.R. 6167, the “Shipping Act of 2010,” aims to significantly change the way that the international liner shipping industry is regulated in US foreign trades.

But, does it go too far?

The World Shipping Council (WSC) thinks so.

According to a 16-page report released by the WSC earlier this month, enacting the bill would be detrimental because the new legislation would: (more…)

Global trade activity held steady in July –and that’s certainly good news. But does a “holding steady” trend like this signal a robust recovery? Panjiva doesn’t think so.

The latest report from Panjiva shows that last month there was a 0.2 percent increase in the number of global manufacturers shipping to the US market, and a 0.5 percent increase in the number of US companies receiving waterborne shipments from global manufacturers. In addition, Panjiva found that: (more…)

Imports into the Port of Los Angeles were up 32 percent last month, compared to June 2009, and exports also finished strong, up about 12 percent over the same period last year.

In addition, the Port of Los Angeles website reports that for June 2010: (more…)