Union Pacific Rail Service from West Coast to Chicago Paused Temporarily  

Union Pacific announced last week that it would suspend international rail service from the U.S. west coast to its terminal in Chicago for seven days. The service pause began Monday, July 19 and will continue for the remainder of the week. According to Supply Chain Dive, UP enacted the pause in order to clear out a backlog of containers at its Global IV gateway near Chicago.

Port of New York-New Jersey Surpasses Long Beach in Monthly Container Volume 

The containerized import surge is impacting the east coast, with the port of New York-New Jersey officially moving past Long Beach in monthly volume. Per The Loadstar, the port complex processed 390,169 containers in June – a 29 .3 percent increase over 2019 and a 47.8 percent increase over the lull in 2020. New York-New Jersey is now the second busiest U.S. port behind Los Angeles.

FMC to Audit Leading Container Lines for Price Gouging 

The Federal Maritime Commission is set to review the demurrage and detention practices of nine foreign carriers. The audit is part of a broader effort to rein in shipping pricing under President Joe Biden’s pro-competition executive order. The affected carriers include:

  • Maersk
  • MSC
  • CMA CGM
  • COSCO
  • ONE
  • Hapag-Lloyd
  • Evergreen
  • HMM
  • Yang Ming

Infrastructure Bill Test Vote Fails, Chance for Debate in Coming Days 

Congress’ bipartisan infrastructure bill failed an initial test vote to begin debate on the floor of the senate. The compromise infrastructure plan proposes nearly $1 trillion over five years for conventional infrastructure improvements like bridge and road repairs. Transport Topics reports that the bill may be considered for debate again in the coming days. Meanwhile, congressional democrats have proposed a sweeping $3.5 trillion alternative infrastructure plan.

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