Buy-side decisions for transportation and logistics services are increasingly driven by both internal subject matter experts and their corporate procurement teams. The traditional procurement perspective yields certain...more
7/23/2019
/ Air Carriers ,
Brokers ,
Common Carriers ,
Customs ,
FMCSA ,
Freight Forwarding ,
Logistics ,
Motor Carriers ,
Registration Requirement ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Risk Management ,
Shipping ,
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) ,
Transportation Industry ,
Vessels
The International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) system is an important clearinghouse mechanism for for-hire motor carriers and private carriers with interstate operations. The IFTA plan benefits participating carriers by offering...more
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published recommendations from the 2016 FAST Act Household Goods Working Group on February 27, 2019. The Working Group was a Federal Advisory Committee created by...more
Safety hazards presented by the air transportation of lithium ion batteries are once again the subject of regulatory action in the United States. The U.S. DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)...more
4/25/2019
/ Air Cargo ,
Air Carriers ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Hazardous Substances ,
ICAO ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Lithium Batteries ,
Manufacturers ,
PHMSA ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Supply Chain ,
Warning Labels
Since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) publication of the Final Rule regarding Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food on April 6, 2016, 21 CFR 1.900, et seq. (the STF Rule), there has been an increase...more
4/23/2019
/ Audits ,
Brokers ,
FMCSA ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Food Safety ,
FSMA ,
IFTA ,
Lithium Batteries ,
Motor Carriers ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Sanitary Food Transportation Act (SFTA) ,
Shipping ,
Trucking Industry
Customs duty drawback has long been recognized as a lawful means by which importers may reduce the realized impact of tariff duties on imported items. United States Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) published a highly...more
The INCOTERMS published by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) have long served the international community by offering a “shorthand” for communicating key shipping terms. INCOTERMS are so ubiquitous in international...more
11/20/2018
/ Buyers ,
China ,
Contract Interpretation ,
Contract Negotiations ,
Contract Terms ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Duties ,
Imports ,
International Freight ,
Manufacturers ,
Purchase Agreement ,
Section 301 ,
Sellers ,
Shipping ,
Supply Chain ,
Supply Contracts ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations ,
US Trade Policies
Letters of Credit (LOCs) have long been used to minimize the financial risk of international purchase agreements. Sellers and buyers may agree to use LOCs to ensure that goods are received and payment is remitted as intended....more
11/20/2018
/ Banking Sector ,
Buyers ,
Common Carriers ,
Exports ,
Imports ,
International Freight ,
Letter of Credit ,
Sellers ,
Shipping ,
Supply Chain ,
Terms and Conditions ,
Transportation Industry
“It Was A Very Good Year” (For Freight Brokers) -
Frank Sinatra certainly was not thinking about freight brokers when singing this Grammy-winning song back in 1966. However, the title of the song definitely resonates for...more
11/19/2018
/ Brokers ,
Buyers ,
Commerce Clause ,
Contract Claims ,
Imports ,
International Freight ,
International Treaties ,
Letter of Credit ,
Preemption ,
Public Procurement Policies ,
Sellers ,
Shipping ,
Shipping Cargo ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs ,
Transportation Industry ,
Wrongful Death
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (“FMCSA”) issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (“ANPRM”) on Thursday, September 27, 2018, to address broker and freight forwarder financial responsibility...more
Regulatory changes are coming to in-bond transportation that will impact the operations of bonded carriers in the United States. The practice of in-bond transportation permits motor carriers to lawfully transport freight from...more
As has been widely reported, the California Supreme Court on April 30, 2018, issued a decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. The Superior Court of Los Angeles County that rejected a long-standing flexible, multifactor...more
Enterprise shippers are often attracted to the opportunities presented by outsourcing certain operational functions. Credible third-party logistics (3PL) providers are available to run warehousing, distribution, fulfillment...more
Global supply chains present unique opportunities for large shippers and their lenders to negotiate credit agreements. Lending against in-transit freight, in particular, allows a shipper to expand its asset base to include...more
We have found that more and more of our clients are involved in e-commerce fulfillment, distribution and last-mile services. We handle sophisticated issues in this sector every single day, including drafting and negotiating...more
3/16/2018
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Bodily Injury ,
Contract Negotiations ,
Exports ,
Food Manufacturers ,
Freight Forwarding ,
Manufacturers ,
Shipping Cargo ,
Surface Transportation ,
U.S. Commerce Department ,
UPS
Airlines and air forwarders are changing their global relationship for the first time in decades with the launch of a new International Air Transport Association (IATA) and International Federation of Freight Forwarders’...more
A United States Court of Appeals radically altered the scope of an air carrier’s liability under the Montreal Convention, the international treaty controlling an air carrier’s liability for damages to persons or property...more
We live in the era of gig economies and e-commerce, where supply chains are evolving before our eyes due in part to the speed of technological innovation. All transportation and logistics services are under pressure to...more
Many outside of over-the-road motor carriers are taking notice of the looming Electronic Logging Device Mandate (ELD Mandate). We are seeing raised hands with many questions and some confusion at this very moment from a wide...more
North American Free Trade Agreement (“NAFTA”) renegotiations are presently under way with closed-door rounds of negotiation planned for most of 2017. Fortunately, the proposed “Border Adjustment Tax” is off the table and...more
The receipt, storage, and handling of sensitive shipper data occurs, often frequently and in real-time, alongside the flow of goods. Commercial shippers are well aware of the supply chain security risk to the materials and...more
Companies impacted by the operational burden of customs procedures and compliance now have the opportunity to identify areas for regulatory reform. For a limited time, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) is actively...more
Every day, supply chain managers and logistics coordinators navigate a world of risk. Those risks include interruption due to delay, the damage, contamination, or loss of goods, customer service failures, and even regulatory...more
9/18/2017
/ C-TPAT ,
Customs ,
Due Diligence ,
Freight Forwarding ,
Hanjin Shipping ,
NAFTA ,
Outsourcing ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Shipping ,
Supply Chain ,
Transportation Industry
The removal of CSA scores from public view may not eliminate the ability for an injured party to sue based on the negligent selection of a motor carrier, but it changes the analysis. The FMCSA still allows public access to...more
Many, if not most, agreements between sellers of goods and logistics service providers (LSPs) contain a list of metrics that are used to evaluate various aspects of supply chain or provider performance. In theory, these...more