Jul 28, 2020
— Republican Leadership in the Senate released its proposal for legislation to address the health and economic consequences of the covid-19 pandemic this week. IAM’s Government Affairs team from PACE provided the following summary of those proposals.
Jul 23, 2020
— Bangladesh’s cabinet committee on Wednesday appointed Japanese firm to provide consultancy services for the construction of a deep seaport to handle its growing external trade in a deal worth $28m. The deep seaport will have a 16-metre water draft and will be able to accommodate 8,000 TEU post-Panamax vessels, lessening Bangladesh’s dependence on the feeder vessels to ferry export-import goods from the hub ports in Singapore, Colombo and Port Klang.
Jul 21, 2020
— IAM will move its 2020 Annual Meeting to a fully virtual environment. The coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage many areas of the world and the United States is one of the hardest hit. California, where IAM planned to hold this year’s conference, has recently seen a significant rise in COVID-19 cases and the governor has rolled back many initiatives planned to reopen the state.
Jul 17, 2020
— As of Wednesday, the Army stands at 6,104 cases, and the Navy has 5,084 sailors with the coronavirus, according to Pentagon data. The Air Force has 2,805 cases, the National Guard has 2,614 cases and the Marine Corps has 2,124 cases.
Jul 15, 2020
— Major ship losses continued to decline last year, but smaller incidents are on the rise, alongside increased safety risks resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. There were 15 cargo ships lost last year, most in South-east Asia, and the report highlights ro-ro vessels as among the biggest safety risks, with total losses and smaller incidents up 20%.
Jul 10, 2020
— RiverOak Strategic Partners (RSP), which has eyed the UK’s Manston Airport since it closed in 2014 and acquired it last year, has won the development consent order it had been aiming for.
Jul 10, 2020
— Demand remains strong on the Asia-North Europe trade, with full ships encouraging carriers to increase rates and introduce peak season surcharges (PSSs).
Jul 2, 2020
— The European moving industry will enjoy a further boost to their business from today as the Schengen borders, which have been closed since mid-March because of the pandemic, begin to reopen.
Jul 1, 2020
— South Vietnam’s Cai Mep-Thi Vai container port recently saw the maiden call of 2M’s TP17 service – another milestone in the long-awaited comeback of the much maligned deepwater complex. The 12,000 teu Seroja Lima was welcomed by the APM Terminals-operated Cai Mep International Terminal (CMIT), the second-largest of the port’s seven competing facilities and boasting a 25% share of volumes.
Jun 25, 2020
— 2M partners Maersk and MSC have extended the suspension of their TA4/NEUATL4 transatlantic loop through to September. In contrast to the main Asia-Europe and transpacific tradelanes, where carriers have seen a pickup in demand in recent weeks, trade between Europe and the US is still very much in the doldrums.
Jun 23, 2020
— Cargo vessels will still be allowed to load and unload, fishing vessels to unload and resupply, and vessels can come to New Zealand to undertake repairs and refitting, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said, although some quarantine rules would be tightened.
Jun 23, 2020
— A Hawaiian interisland barge lost more than 20 containers overboard off the coast of Hilo on Monday morning and several containers remain missing. The U.S. Coast Guard said it responded to a report of lost cargo from the barge Ho Omaka Hou as the tug Hoku Loa was transiting with the barge to Hilo Harbor.
Jun 23, 2020
— As of this morning, there are approximately 476,000 deaths and 9,247,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, representing a 0.7% increase in cases from yesterday. In the US, there have been approximately 122,610 deaths and 2,338,000 confirmed cases. Approximately 4,983,000 cases worldwide are reported to have recovered from the virus.
Jun 22, 2020
— Thank you to Decapak for sending this news. Please consider that the Chilean government announced that the mandatory quarantine in Santiago has been extended to Friday June 26.
Jun 22, 2020
— President Trump will sign an executive order to suspend the issuance of certain temporary worker visas through the end of 2020, cracking down further on immigration after signing a more narrow measure in April, officials said Monday.
Jun 22, 2020
— Oslo-listed MPC Container Ships has warned it could go bankrupt and will face severe liquidity strains from as early as next month. In a presentation to bondholders on Friday, the company, one of the fastest growing boxship tonnage providers in recent years, said it will need to sell ships or risk going bankrupt unless it can seal a $200m loan soon.
Jun 22, 2020
— Notwithstanding a significant decline in container liftings as a consequence of the global pandemic, ocean carriers have a more optimistic outlook for earnings. Sea-Intelligence said that, based on its remodelling, the carriers could potentially achieve a profit for the year “in excess of $9bn”.
Jun 18, 2020
— The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is on day 2 of their mark-up and consideration of H.R. 2, the “Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America Act’’ (INVEST in America Act). The legislation is designed to supplant the current authorization, (the FAST Act), which is set to expire at the end of September.
Jun 17, 2020
— IAM joined the ATA and other leading organizations in a letter to House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Peter DeFazio, asking the Committee consider providing an additional $505 million for trucking parking projects, as part of the INVEST In America Act.
Jun 17, 2020
— The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee began its Committee markup and consideration of the INVEST In America Act. While IAM does not anticipate the legislation will pass both chambers and be signed into law this year, it does include several policy markers for issues that will be addressed in the next Congress.
Jun 16, 2020
— IAM is pleased to announce that the following distinguished individuals have been selected to enter the Association's prestigious Hall of Honor, recognizing their dedicated service and contributions to IAM and the industry overall.
Jun 15, 2020
— Ceva Logistics has taken another step forward in its aim to give rival Bolloré a run for its money in Africa, with a new acquisition and strategy for growth. It has acquired a 70% stake AMI Worldwide, which operates as AMI and Manica, a company with particular focus on eastern and southern Africa, and offices in Africa-focused China and the Middle East.
Jun 15, 2020
— Last week’s Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) recorded a second massive spike, of over 25%, in three weeks to take the spot rate to $2,755 per 40ft – double the rate recorded by the index at this time last year.
Jun 15, 2020
— As a result of the PPP legislation signed into law earlier this month, yesterday, Treasury guidance on PPP loan requirements was issued. The Treasury Department clarified that borrowers that use less than 60% of their PPP loan amount for payroll costs will be eligible for partial loan forgiveness. The loan forgiveness period has also been increased from eight to 24 weeks.
Jun 15, 2020
— Officials closed a market that handles 90 percent of the capital’s fresh fruit and vegetables after dozens of people tested positive. It was China’s highest number of new infections in two months.
Jun 11, 2020
— The military moving industry is seeing some glimmers of hope as the Pentagon begins easing pandemic travel restrictions after a nearly three-month lockdown. The shipments of troops’ personal belongings has rebounded to about 80% of historical norms for this time of year and could reach 100% within weeks, after dropping to 30% or less in March when the Pentagon ordered a halt to most global moves, according to associations representing the industry.
Jun 10, 2020
— A $7.2 billion contract for outsourcing the management of moving service members’ household goods has been pulled back by the U.S. Transportation Command. TRANSCOM officials are reviewing reported allegations made by “an interested party,” according to TRANSCOM spokesman Micheal Walton.
Jun 10, 2020
— U.S. Transportation Command said it will take corrective action to consider new information from bid protests, gather facts and conduct a review of the Global Household Goods Contract awarded in April to American Roll On Roll Off Carrier Group, Inc., of New Jersey.
Jun 10, 2020
— Domestic, European and international moves can now take place without restriction. Both customers and our moving crews follow the strict sanitary measures, social distancing requirements and our crews wear masks.
Jun 9, 2020
— The latest skirmish in the US-China trade war could “accelerate the demise” of Hong Kong as a major transhipment port. While the ‘phase one’ trade deal was signed in January, subsequent tit-for-tat blame rhetoric has steadily raised tensions between Washington and Beijing again.
Jun 8, 2020
— The widespread removal of capacity across most of the world’s shipping trades via blank sailings and the withdrawal of services been the primary reasons that freight rates in recent weeks have managed to remain relatively high.
Jun 7, 2020
— They haul food, fuel and other essential supplies along sometimes dangerous roads during tough economic times. But Africa's long-distance truckers say they are increasingly being accused of carrying something else: the coronavirus.
Jun 7, 2020
— A successful notification of exposure allows for an exchange of information with the person (contact) exposed to COVID-19 and offers an opportunity to answer questions and provide referrals for testing, medical evaluation and other necessary support services. The goals of this interaction are to inform the person that they may have been exposed to COVID-19, assess their medical condition and other risk factors, and gather information for continued monitoring and support.
May 21, 2020
— As required by the Association's By-Laws, herein is formal notice that elections will take place in July for the IAM-YP Management Board. Every two years, the IAM-YP is required to hold formal elections to determine which individuals will serve as Chair and Vice Chair for the next two-year term.
May 13, 2020
— The International Association of Movers (IAM) welcomes the US Federal Maritime Commission’s (FMC) guidance issued recently specifying its new approach to assessing the reasonableness of detention and demurrage regulations and practices by shipping lines and U.S. port operators.
“The Commission's Final Interpretive Rule represents a significant milestone for the shipping public, particularly individuals moving their household goods to or from the United States. For too long, these shippers faced the prospect of thousands of dollars in excess costs due to the unregulated detention and demurrage environment” said Charles White, IAM President.
Apr 30, 2020
— On Tuesday, TRANSCOM J9 held their latest Stop Movement call with Services and industry representatives. A number of different issues were discussed.
Apr 22, 2020
— USTC J9 held their Stop Movement Update call on April 21. USTC Deputy Commander, VADM Mewbourne was on the call, along with the J9 Director, Rick Marsh, and a number of the J9 staff.
Apr 10, 2020
— GAO released their long-awaited report on their assessment of DoD’s Personal Property Program (DP3) and implications of transitioning to a single move manager under the Global Household Goods Contract (GHC).
Apr 8, 2020
— The sudden massive volume of blanked sailings announced in recent days is set to create new records in terms of the inactive containership fleet, which analysts at Alphaliner are now saying will breach the 3m teu mark for the first time meaning some 13% of the entire global box fleet will be out of work. The inactive containership fleet had actually been dropping for most of the last month having hit a record of 2.46m teu at the start of March.
Apr 7, 2020
— IAM and AMSA signed a joint letter to the USTC Commander, GEN Stephen Lyons, asking for any advocacy/assistance he could provide for this industry to work with DoD to get financial support.
Apr 7, 2020
— For companies whose operations have been curtailed or otherwise impacted by COVID-19 related restrictions, several clarifying guidance and forms were issued over the weekend, connected to programs created under the first three legislative relief packages to pass the Congress.
May 24, 2019
— This is the eighth in a series of op-eds that IAM is running to shed additional light on problems associated with privatizing the household goods program to a single source contractor.
May 17, 2019
— This is the seventh in a series of op-eds that IAM is running to shed additional light on problems associated with privatizing the household goods program to a single source contractor.
May 10, 2019
— This is the sixth in a series of op-eds that IAM is running to shed additional light on problems associated with privatizing the household goods program to a single source contractor.
May 3, 2019
— This is the fifth in a series of op-eds that IAM is running to shed additional light on problems associated with privatizing the household goods program to a single source contractor.
Apr 26, 2019
— This is the fourth in a series of op-eds that IAM is running to shed additional light on problems associated with privatizing the household goods program to a single source contractor.
Apr 19, 2019
— This is the third in a series of op-eds that IAM is running to shed additional light on problems associated with privatizing the household goods program to a single source contractor.
Apr 12, 2019
— This is the second in a series of op-eds that IAM is running to shed additional light on problems associated with privatizing the household goods program to a single source contractor.
Apr 5, 2019
— This is the first in a series of op-eds that IAM is running to shed additional light on problems associated with privatizing the household goods program to a single source contractor.
Mar 29, 2019
— USTRANSCOM Public Affairs published a press release highlighting GEN Lyons’ meeting with CEOs from various moving companies who support DoD household goods movement, and a separate meeting with moving industry trade associations. The press release is not an accurate account of the events of those meetings. Industry attendees believe the tone of the press release implied industry’s support to the general’s decision to award a contract to a single provider. To be clear, most of DoD’s current household goods service providers do not support this initiative.
— U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Creates Social Media Resources Clearinghouse; U.S. Court of Appeals Ruling - Current Guidance Issued by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) Sufficient
— As government instructions that restricted moves to exceptional cases expires on May 11, the French moving associations and Unions have published an industry directive for professional moving companies to return to work after that date.
— According to a decree adopted on March 9th by Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte restricting the ability to move across the country affected by COVID-19, freight is considered an economically viable activity and drivers are allowed to enter, exit and move goods in the designated quarantine areas for the purpose of transporting, loading and unloading of goods.
