Chairman Mario Cordero discussed proposed changes to Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) regulations for Ocean Transport Intermediaries during an Aug. 22 address to members of the Los Angeles Customs Brokers & Freight Forwarders Association (LACBFFA). Cordero said the proposed changes to the FMC’s OTI regulations under the proposed rulemaking (see 13082122) could make the FMC’s “regulatory process more efficient” by “improving transparency” and adapting to changing industry conditions.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is beginning a pilot to test off-site review of new motor carriers in five states and five Canadian provinces, it said Sept. 5. Under the program, FMCSA will require remote submissions of documentation from new carriers, instead of safety audits at the carrier’s place of business. The pilot, which began in June, will cover new entrant motor carriers in California, Florida, Illinois, Montana, and New York, as well as in Canadian provinces bordering Montana and New York (British Colombia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Quebec) that are audited by FMCSA inspectors from those states. The initiative is meant to ease the burden of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act’s shortening of the timeframe between a new motor carrier’s receipt of a USDOT number and the safety audit from 18 to 12 months.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is considering a continued legal battle to dispute the legality of a federal pilot program that enables Mexican truckers to operate in the U.S. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on July 26 denied a Teamsters petition to revisit a challenge to the program (see 13072906). The case was argued in December and the court decided to uphold the program on April 19. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association joined the Teamsters in the effort to revisit the challenge. “While it’s unlikely we will appeal to the Supreme Court, we are carefully monitoring the pilot program and won’t rule out further legal action in the future with regard to opening the border to Mexican trucks,” said a International Brotherhood of Teamsters spokesman. The Department of Transportation launched the program in 2007. Munroe declined to comment on whether the Teamsters intend to seek congressional oversight for the program.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA)’s global air cargo travel results for July 2013 showed continued modest improvement from June for Europe and the Middle East, which offset weakness in Asia’s freight markets. IATA said that air freight levels are at their highest since mid-2011, with European carriers seeing a 1.5 percent increase and Middle East airlines seeing a 14.4 percent increase in freight ton kilometers (FTKs) compared to July 2012. However, Asian cargo demand fell 1.4 percent compared to July 2012 and has seen “the largest decline among regions” in air freight through the first seven months of 2013. IATA added that the “weakness extends beyond China, with emerging Asia trade volumes shrinking almost 5 percent in the first half of 2013.”
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has begun using a new version of its Uniform Fine Assessment software to calculate civil penalties for violations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and the Hazardous Materials Regulations, the agency said in a notice set for publication in the Sept. 3 Federal Register. New version 4.0 simplifies the algorithm previously used to calculate penalties, and applies the stiffer penalties mandated by the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). It also applies factors used to determine penalties for violations of the motor carrier and hazmat regulations to violations of operating authority registration requirements, other commercial regulations, and commercial driver’s license regulations, FMCSA said.
There was $93.5 billion in trade between the U.S. and its NAFTA partners in June 2013, down 1.3 percent from June 2012, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). BTS said that trucks carried the majority of this trade with 60.7 percent, followed by rail with 15.8 percent and vessels with 8.2 percent. The value of freight carried by the surface modes of truck, rail and pipelines also decreased in June 2013 from June 2012 by 1 percent.
The Federal Maritime Commission released a notice of the filing of the following agreements under the Shipping Act of 1984. Interested parties may submit comments on the agreement to the Secretary, Federal Maritime Commission, Washington, DC 20573, within 10 days.
The Federal Maritime Commission said the following have filed applications for a license as a Non-Vessel-Operating Common Carrier (NVO) and/or Ocean Freight Forwarder (OFF)-Ocean Transportation Intermediary (OTI) pursuant to section 19 of the Shipping Act of 1984. The FMC also gave notice of the filing of applications to amend an existing OTI license or the qualifying individual for a license. Interested persons may contact the Office of Transportation Intermediaries, Federal Maritime Commission, Washington, D.C. 20573, at 202-523-5843 or at OTI@fmc.gov.
The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) revoked the ocean transportation intermediary license of Transporte Medrano/Medrano Express on July 25, the agency said in an Aug. 23 press release. The agency has received complaints that consumers are unable to contact the company or locate their goods. The company "is no longer authorized to provide ocean transportation services" and "consumers and businesses should not tender cargo to Medrano Express or its agents for the international shipment of goods."
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will no longer review applications for transfer of operating authority by motor carriers, instead moving to a notification system, said the agency in a Federal Register notice set for publication Aug. 23. Instead of applying for approval of transfers of operating authority, parties to a transfer will simply have to provide information on their business operations. The new policy is effective Oct. 22.