Archive for September 2022

According to the National Hurricane Center Hurricane Ian has made landfall on the Florida peninsula and producing a catastropic storm surge, winds and flooding.  Florida Ports / airportsPort of Miami’s two main container terminals were closed todayTampa area ports were closed Tuesday Jaxport in Jacksonville closedPort Everglades closed to all traffic​​​Orlando International Airport closed today at…

According to the National Hurricane Center forecast, Hurricane Ian is approximately 100 miles west of the Cayman Islands and is expected to reach Florida’s gulf coast later this week. The US Coast Guard has set port condition Yankee for Port of Palm Beach and Port of Fort Pierce.  All other Florida ports (Miami, Port Everglades) are at port…

All USA imports of food and beverages are required to have a US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) registration number.  Every two years the FDA requires all registrations to be renewed between October 1st, 2022 – and December 31st, 2022.  Each food facility outside the USA must renew registration and provide a DUNS number for the food…

All port terminal labor unions at Livorno port are striking this week (September 15 through September 22) after negotiations broke down.  This is a limited strike of 2 hours at the end of each work shift. This will add to general gate congestion and operational slowdowns for containers at the terminals.  We will continue to…

A tentative agreement has been negotiated between US railroads and labor unions that looks to avert a rail strike.  The preliminary deal will extend the cooling-off period giving unions more time to ratify the agreement while avoiding rail disruption. More background on the agreement in this article from American Journal of Transportation here. ​​​​​​Norfolk Southern had…

Freight rail providers are enacting contingency plans for a potential US rail strike if an agreement is not reached by this Friday September 16th, when the mandated cooling off period ends.  Norfolk Southern will implement gate closures effective on 12 noon Tuesday September 13, 2022 to intermodal traffic.  More information on the carrier’s contingency planning…

Supply chain outlook and port updates Where are we today?  It appears the lengthy queue outside of Southern California is getting shorter… down to about a week of delay for containers to berth.  But what does that trend mean for shipping in general and where did the vessels go? ​​​​​In part we definitely have seen more ship…

If you have imports coming in on Hapag-Lloyd, it’s vital to check their free time rules and not rely on the port terminal website.  The LFD (Last Free Day) granted by the ocean carrier may not be the same as the port terminal and this can lead to additional storage charges in demurrage and detention.  …