World Trade - October 2008 - (Page 10)

TRUCKING AIR OCEAN TECHNOLOGY TRADE FINANCE 3PL WAREHOUSING SUPPLY CHAIN AIR Watch shipments, “It could be paralyzing and devastating for the border,” said the president of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, an industry group. Although CBP officials say there are no plans to apply the rule to truck shipments, the vice president of public affairs and government relations for the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce thinks otherwise. According to a report in the Windsor Star, the official from the Detroit Chamber of Commerce says that the U.S. government stated in writing when it published the rule that it intended to bring it to land crossings. Controversy Continues over DHL Deal A proposed plan by DHL to hire UPS to handle domestic air cargo and sorting prompted Ohio lawmakers to try and block the deal based on charges of antitrust violations and efforts to save thousands of jobs that would be affected at DHL’s freight hub in Wilmington, Ohio. However, the U.S. Department of Transportation rejected Ohio’s request to block the deal in August, with Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters suggesting that Ohio take its concerns to the U.S. Department of Justice, which has authority to determine whether corporate actions would violate antitrust laws by reducing market competition. Ohio and its congressional delegation have already urged the Justice Department to commence an antitrust investigation. Last month, the debate moved before a House Judiciary Committee, which is now investigating the matter. Analysts, meanwhile, say it’s likely that the $10 billion deal will eventually go through, and the state of Ohio has already started to ﬁnd ways to ease the economic impact on the community. rier’s Chicago to Beijing route, by one year, to April 2010. Although U.S. carriers were queuing up last year to enter the Chinese market, the new routes have been plagued by overcapacity and weaker demand. At the same time, United Airlines has also asked defer the start date for ﬂights from San Francisco to Guangzhou from March 2008 to June 2009; US Airways asked for a postponement of its Philadelphia-Beijing service by one year, to March 2010; Northwest has asked to suspend U.S.-Guangzhou cargo operations through March 2011; and Delta and Continental have requested to convert some ﬂights to a seasonal rather than yearround basis. security arrangements by requiring ISO-compliant seals on U.S. export containers. Containerized imports at the nation’s top seaports this year is estimated to total nearly 16 million. RAIL BNSF Offers Expedited Intermodal Service BNSF Railway has begun carrying intermodal containers on its “expedited” trains, which for an extra fee, offer faster delivery times than the railroad’s “premium” service. The railroad will offer the new service between the Paciﬁc Northwest and Chicago, and from the Paciﬁc Southwest mainly to Dallas, with plans for future expansion. An executive with BNSF said the premium service moves both international and domestic boxes about 400 to 500 miles a day, while the expedited trains cover 700 miles or more a day. TRADE FINANCE OCEAN October 15 Deadline Set for Ocean Container Seals Starting October 15, a new rule mandated by Customs and Border Protection will require all ocean containers bound for the U.S. to have seals that meet the ISO/PAS 17712 standards for unique numbering, strength, durability, and resistance to tampering. According to an executive with APL Ltd., the new regulations shouldn’t pose too big of a problem for U.S. importers, as most of the major ocean carriers are C-TPAT compliant, which means they have an obligation to meet the new requirements for high-quality ocean container seals. The big question, though, is whether major U.S. trading partners will beginning demanding mutual recognition of their UPS Unveils Financing Plan for Importers United Parcel Service Inc.’s ﬁnancial arm UPS Capital has started a bridge loan program for small U.S. businesses to help them ﬁnance trade transactions with international suppliers. The new program, available through UPS Capital Cargo Finance, will help small U.S. importers to use their in-transit UPS shipments as collateral for loans. UPS Capital Cargo Finance is for U.S. companies with up to $50 million annual revenue and that import between 1 and 10 ocean or air freight containers of goods per month, UPS said. “Because UPS manages the shipment of the goods and provides visibility, UPS Capital is able to do something banks and other financial services companies may not be willing to do—provide financing earlier in the transaction,” said Robert J. Bernabucci, president of UPS Capital, in a news release. TRUCKING Shippers Fear 24-Hour Rule Could Apply to Trucks Canadian manufacturers are worried that U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) socalled 24-hour rule will eventually be applied to cross-border truck shipments. Under the 24-hour rule, foreign shippers must provide details of U.S.-bound cargo to CBP 24 hours before it’s loaded on the vessel. However, if the same rule is applied to truck American Airlines Seeks to Delay Launch of China Service American Airlines has become the latest airline to ask the federal government to delay the start of a new service between the U.S. and China, in particular the car- 10 WORLD TRADE OCTOBER 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of World Trade - October 2008

World Trade - October 2008 Contents Tune Up Your Supply Chain Globalization: The Real Competitive Threat Supply Chain Watch Tradewinds Shippers and Providers Collaborate to Take on a Challenging Economy Tweaking the Supply Chain to Optimize Value and Minimize Cost Supply Chain Software Morphs Into Enterprise Management Can Warehousing Really, Truly Be Strategic? Everybody is Global Between the Devil and the Deep The Hidden Costs of ‘Free’ Translation Blowing Smoke

World Trade - October 2008

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