Port of Oakland Requires Tenants to Develop Zero Emission Plan, Canadian Pacific – Kansas City Southern Merger Approved by STB, California and Japan Sign Letter of Intent to Form Green Shipping Corridor

Ocean

California and Japan sign letter of intent to form green shipping corridor. A letter of intent between the Japanese government and California governor Gavin Newsom of California was signed to establish a green shipping corridor over the Pacific. The agreement also looks to commercialize zero-emission fuels. Green corridor pacts have also been signed between Los Angeles, Long Beach and Shanghai. Busan, the largest port in South Korea, agreed to form a green corridor to the Port of Tacoma last November, according to Splash247.

Ports

Port of Long Beach continues to lag behind East Coast. The Port of New York and New Jersey recorded its third-busiest January on record, while Long Beach had its slowest January since 2016. The East Coast port moved 645,430 20-foot-equivalent units compared to Long Beach’s 573,772. The Long Beach figure represents a 14.6% decrease from January 2019 and a 39.6% decrease from January 2022, according to the Long Beach Business Journal.

Port of Oakland requires tenants to develop zero emission plan. The Port of Oakland, California approved an environmental ordinance requiring operators to develop zero-emission plans to “encourage the reduction of emissions for onshore operations and comply with increasing state regulations,” according to Maritime Executive. Tenants will have until December 31, 2023, to create a cargo-handling equipment conversion plan. No deadline has been announced for when they would be required to complete the transition.

Trucking

Mexico’s truck production and exports see substantial year over year increase. Officials say that continued demand from the U.S. and nearshoring-related relocations contributed to an increase in Mexico’s truck production and exports in February. A total of 16,912 were manufactured by the 10 truck makers in Mexico that are members of the National Association of Bus, Truck and Tractor Producers (ANPACT, marking an 18% year-over-year increase compared with 2022. Exports of trucks increased 13% y/y to 13,231 vehicles, according to FreightWaves.

DOE/EIA benchmark diesel price drops for sixth week in a row. The benchmark used for most fuel surcharges dropped for the sixth week in a row, and has been down 16 of the past 20 weeks. The Department of Energy/Energy Information Administration price declined 3.5 cents a gallon, to $4.247.

Rail

Ohio sues Norfolk Southern over East Palestine derailment. Ohio is filing a lawsuit in the U.S. district court in Columbus against Norfolk Southern over the Feb. 3 train derailment in East Palestine. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said the lawsuit is “to hold Norfolk Southern financially responsible” for the train derailment. Yost said the derailment released over 1 million gallons of hazardous chemicals and “recklessly” endangered the region’s inhabitants and natural resources.

Canadian Pacific – Kansas City Southern merger approved by STB. The Surface Transportation Board approved the $31 billion merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern on Wednesday, paving the way for the creation of the first single-line railroad linking the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The STB decision allows for the creation of a combined system known as Canadian Pacific Kansas City as early as April 14, according to Supply Chain Dive. In a joint statement, Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern said they will announce more details on the creation of the CPKC system in the coming days.

Air

Saudi airlines order 78 Boeing Dreamliners. Boeing has reached a deal to sell 78 of its 787 Dreamliner planes to two Saudi airlines. CNBC reports that the jetliners will go to Saudi Arabian Airlines, or Saudia, and new airline Riyadh Air. Saudia ordered 39 of the planes, with options for 10 more, and Riyadh Air will also get 39 of the two largest models of the planes, with options for 33 more.

International

China Railway Express (Shenyang) Hub begins official operation. China Railway Express (Shenyang) Hub for China-Europe freight trains came into official operation and will be able to handle over 1,000 trains every year. Yahoo Finance reports that the China Railway Express (Shenyang) currently has the full coverage of “three routes and five ports,” and the cargo delivered has reached over 50 cities in more than 20 countries across the world. The number of trains in operation ranks first in Northeast China and among the top in China overall, according to the Information Office of Shenyang Municipality.

Other

Volkswagen to build EV battery plant in Ontario. Early this week, Volkswagen announced its plans to build a major plant for electric vehicle batteries in Canada, according to AP News. The Volkswagen Group and its battery company PowerCo plan to start production on its first overseas “gigafactory” for battery cell manufacturing in 2027, in St. Thomas, Ontario. Last year, the company signed an agreement with the Canadian government to identify potential sites for the factory. St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston said it “will be the largest automotive industrial complex in Canada’s history.”

Seat belt issues cause Honda to recall nearly 500k vehicles. Honda announced that it is recalling nearly 500,000 vehicles over a manufacturing issue with the front seat belts that could prevent them from latching. Affected models include certain 2018-2019 Accord and Accord Hybrids, the 2017-2018 CR-V, 2018-2020 Odysseys, the 2019 Insight and 2019-2020 Acura RDXs. In documents detailing the effect, the company said that “with continuous use, the buckle channel surface coating may deteriorate over time, and the release button may shrink against the channel at low temperatures, increasing friction. This can result in issues with the seat belt buckle latching.”