Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to End Container Dwell Fee, Section 301 Exclusions Extended Through September 2023, Union Pacific to Pause Embargoes Following STB Hearing.

Ocean

Ocean carriers to blank sailings from Asia after Chinese New Year. Ocean carriers are preparing to blank around half their advertised sailings from Asia to North Europe and the US after Chinese New Year as a result of weakened demand forecasts. Chinese factories are preparing to shut down ahead of Chinese New Year because of canceled and postponed orders and uncertainty surrounding future consumer demand.

New bill seeks to close Jones Act loopholes. In an effort to strengthen enforcement of the Jones Act, Representative John Garamendi introduced the “Close Agency Loopholes to the Jones Act” last week. The bill would turn back a spate of “letter rulings” which have benefited offshore energy producers by allowing lower cost foreign vessels into the offshore realm, Seatrade Maritime reports.

Ports

Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to end container dwell fee. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are ending the container dwell fee they announced last year but never imposed. The ports will phase out the option to collect a terminal dwell fee on Jan. 24, 2023.

Customs

Section 301 Exclusions extended through September 2023. The Office of the United States Trade Representative has extended the Section 301 Exclusions that were due to expire at the end of the year through September 2023. Read the Federal Register Notice of Extensions for Reinstated Product Exclusions here.

Trucking

California appellate court must decide on constitutionality of Prop 22. After hearing arguments on whether California should allow Prop 22, an appellate court must sort through several legal interpretations. Prop 22 is the 2020 referendum approved by a large number of voters designed to exempt the state’s gig workers from the AB5 independent contractor classification law.

Rail

Union Pacific to pause embargoes following STB hearing. Following a hearing last week from the Surface Transportation Board regarding shipper and labor officials complaints of Union Pacific’s use of embargoes, UP’s chief executive has told federal regulators the railroad will pause its use of embargoes in order to give the congestion-alleviation practice a “hard look.” The number of UP’s embargoes has grown from 27 in 2017 to 662 in 2021 and 886 as of October 2022, according to FreightWaves.

Air

Air Canada to expand Vancouver cargo terminal. Air Canada announced that it will be expanding its Vancouver, British Columbia, cargo terminal in preparation for receiving two Boeing 777 factory-built freighters that will operate on trans-Pacific routes, according to FreightWaves. The Vancouver upgrade is part of a large program to improve cargo hubs across the Air Canada network.

International

CMA CGM eyes Vietnam air cargo services. CMA CGM Air Cargo announced at the Asean-EU Business Summit in Brussels that it is planning to apply for a flight license in Vietnam. The carrier’s VP for business development Patric Bergamini said that CMA CGM was “committed to continuing to support Vietnam’s economic development through the expansion of […] CMA CGM Air Cargo.”

Other

U.S. sees lowest gas prices since 2021. According to AAA, the national average for regular gasoline dropped to $3.14 a gallon on Monday, the lowest they’ve been since July 2021. Pump prices spiked early in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with the national average topping out at an all-time record of $5.02 a gallon in June.