In order to provide our customers with the most current information available, the Phoenix News Summary is emailing industry news updates. Our summaries can also be read via our web site, www.phoenixintl.com, on the Industry News page.

Ocean Carriers to Europe Overbooked – Although public notice in our industry news sources is not available, unconfirmed reports from various carrier contacts let us know there are considerable delays and issues for ocean freight moving to Europe. Delays of 2-3 weeks for moving containers to Europe are the norm right now and not likely to improve through the month of May. The situation can be attributed to: carrier mergers, volume increase due to low Euro price against the dollar, carrier rotation changes, reduction in sailings, vessels out of rotation, and skipped rotations by carriers, etc. Phoenix urges ocean exporters to book their freight as far in advance as possible.

Effective April 24 th, Phoenix International will increase the LCL Import PierPass rate to $5.00 W/M, minimum $5.00.   PierPass and Phoenix announced increases to export fees as noted in the March 24 th Industry News Summary.

Labor dispute hits NY-NJ terminals – JOC - Truck traffic in and out of marine terminals in Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal was disrupted today by an unannounced job action by International Longshoremen's Association Local 1801-1. Maher Terminals told customers it was forced to suspend gate processing of deliveries of empty and full containers. Port Newark Container Terminal is reporting substantial delays and urged customers that own their own chassis to use them to expedite transactions.

Intermodal containers surge – JOC - Intermodal container traffic has soared in recent weeks, reflecting the new wave of imports coming into the country from ocean ports. The Association of American Railroads said for the four weeks ending April 8, intermodal containers jumped 11.4 percent from the year-earlier period. Year-to-date, container traffic is up 7.5 percent.

C-TPAT is just the start – JOC - A representative of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program, warned that joining C-TPAT is only the start of continuous importer/carrier security precautions. "The process is not over after validation is over," Falanga told the Canadian Association of Importers and Exporters. "Don't fool yourself" into thinking that after Customs and Border Protection validates a company as security-tight, the company can then relax. A serious lapse could cost an importer or carrier suspension or even removal from C-TPAT and from the Free and Secure Trade (FAST) binational program of expedited border clearance. Customs is stiffening the requirements for highway and sea carriers of C-TPAT membership and requires more of importers. Apart from their own security precautions, all must offer written verification that "business partners" back to foreign manufacturers and carriers and forwarders have the same security precautions that they have. Falanga said the voluntary program has had more than 10,000 applicants, of which 55 percent have been certified and 1,775 have been validated.

Harbor truckers plan protests – JOC - Harbor truckers plan to hold rallies at key container gateways later this month to press for improved working conditions in the nation's ports. The Teamsters events will not involve a work stoppage. However, another group known as the Los Angeles Troquero (Trucker) Collective is calling for a national general strike on May 1 at ports and railyards to protest provisions of the immigration legislation now before Congress.

Our summary articles are compiled from a number of public sources that, to the best of Phoenix’s knowledge, are true and correct. In the event any information provided is erroneous, Phoenix International Freight Services, Ltd. accepts no liability or responsibility.