Congress to Continue Look at HMT Revisions, Says FMC Update on Canada/Mexico Transit Cargo to U.S.
Continued consideration in Congress of a revised Harbor Maintenance Tax as a means to improve U.S. port competitiveness is likely, said the Federal Maritime Commission Aug. 9 in a statement. Former agency Chairman and current Commissioner Richard Lidinsky noted the potential for HMT revisions as part of a one-year update to its report to Congress on the movement of U.S. inland containerized cargo entering through the Canadian or Mexican borders (see 12073001). The Senate approved some HMT reforms as part of the Water Resources Development Act (see 13051602) that passed earlier this year.
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The FMC also said it expects 2013 to mark slowed growth in cargo volume moving through Canada's Port of Prince Rupert into the U.S. According to the FMC, the number U.S. bound containers in 2012 that transited Prince Rupert rose to an estimated 190,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), up from 140,845 TEUs in 2011. The 2013 volume is expect to reach 197,400 TEUs, the agency said.