Facts Friday: Diesel Fuel Costs

We all know how the "fuel surcharge" added to the trucking invoice has been an issure for many, so here's an interesting fact:

DOE: Diesel Prices at 5-Month Low

The national average retail diesel price fell 5.1 cents to $3.846 a gallon – the lowest price in five months – during the week ended Monday, June 4, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration. The average price has fallen 30.2 cents in the past eight weeks and is 9.4 cents below the same week last year.

Average retail prices fell in all regions, led by a 6.7-cent decrease on the West Coast, which excludes California, where prices fell 5.9 cents but remained the nation’s most expensive at $4.169 a gallon. The smallest decrease was 2.9 cents in the Rocky Mountain region. The least expensive diesel was $3.746 a gallon in the Midwest.

Complete diesel price information is available on EIA’s website.

Friday Facts: Houston Jobs created

785,000

The most recent economic study shows that more than 785,000 jobs throughout Texas are in some way related to ship channel-related activity.

Time is Money

As a Small Business, we at Dixie Cullen, are aware that TIME IS MONEY.    It's important not only to us, but to our customers and to the truck drivers that service our warehouse facility.   We've all heard about the tightening pool available truck drivers,  and the more time they can spend moving from one point to another means versus sitting in line waiting to be loaded is a WIN, WIN situation for everyone in the supply chain.

Here at Dixie Cullen we believe in having "outbound" loads pre-staged and ready to be loaded from the time that the truck backs into the building.  Allows for timely loading while still following standard safety precautions to protect those that are working to load the cargo,  but to provide a safe load ready to leave our facility and travel on the road to it's final destination.

Export Training from Houston Export Assistance Center

Export News  June 2012

A Monthly Publication of the Houston Export Assistance Center  « 1919 Smith Street, Suite 1026, Houston, Texas 77005 « Export.gov/Texas/Houston

SEMINARS/TRAINING

Export University:  Understanding Export Documentary Letters of Credit – and the 5 Elements to Discrepancy Free Presentations

June 20, 7:30 am – 12 noon

UH Small Business Development Center, 2302 Fannin, Suite 200, Houston, TX  77002

Cost:  $95.00 Includes Certificate of Completion and Refreshments. Parking is free.

Register: http://www.houstonexportu.org/ 

What do you need to know about Letters of Credit to protect your interests and get paid quickly.

Equatorial Guinea Economic Forum, June 11, 8:30 am – 4 pm

Hilton Post Oak, 2001 Post Oak Blvd., Houston

Cost: $30

Contact:  Kristin Smith at ksmith@houston.org or 713-844-3694

Learn about business opportunities available through the diversification of the country’s economy.  The program will be highlighted a keynote speech from His Excellency Teodoro Obiang, President, Republic of Equatorial Guinea.

Zambia: Trade Delegation to Visit Houston, June 25-26

For details, contact Nyamusi Igambi at Nyamusi.igambi@trade.gov or 713-209-3112

Export University:  U.S. Export Licensing and FCPA Requirements, August 16, 7:30 am – 12 noon

UH Small Business Development Center, 2302 Fannin, Suite 200, Houston, TX  77002

Cost:  $95.00 Includes Certificate of Completion and Refreshments. Parking is free.

Register: http://www.houstonexportu.org/ 

Texas-Africa Summit, September 27-28

International Trade Center, 11110 Bellaire Blvd., Houston, TX

Contact:  Debra Bann at dbann@texasafricasummit.com or 832-448-0524

Friday Facts: Break Bulk

    65%

The Port of Houston is the nation’s leading breakbulk port, handling about 65 percent of all major project cargo in the U.S.

Friday Facts: Houston Container Ports

Container Terminals

The Port of Houston handles about 70 percent of all the containerized cargo in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The Port of Houston Authority ‘s container handling facilities are among the finest in the nation, providing efficient and cost-effective service.

Friday Facts: Well Positioned for Growth

"The Port Authority is well-positioned for growth.  Houston container cargo trade alone could increase  by 15 % in trhe next few years as a result of the Canal Expansion."  

Co. Leonard D. Watterworth

Friday Facts: EEOC mandates new rules on background checks

The EEOC’s recent guidance concerning employers’ use of criminal background checks on job applicants comes down to two words: Individual assessment.


The bottom line of the agency’s recently released “enforcement guidance”: Blanket policies that automatically reject job candidates with criminal records are illegal.

The rationale: Such policies have been found to have a disparate impact on minorities, according to the EEOC.
The guidance comes on the heels of a recent settlement between the agency and Pepsi Beverages, which agreed to pay $3.13 million after EEOC investigation found that the criminal background check policy formerly followed by Pepsi discriminated against African Americans in violation of federal anti-bias laws.

Click here for full article

Retroactive MPF Increase Bills Update

From:  OHL Trade Services CBP will start to issue Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) rate increase bills shortly.  When you receive your bill(s), CBP strongly recommends that you remit individual checks for each corresponding bill. CBP advised that remitting one check for multiple bills severely complicates their application process.  The increase applies to all goods entered beginning October 1 st, 2011 through November 5 th, 2011. If you imported goods during this period, you should expect a bill reflecting the rate increase from 0.21% to 0.3464%.

Study: Many midsized firms risk export violations

This was recently shared by Theresa Garcia from Roanoke Trade

Amber Road, formerly Management Dynamics and a provider of global trade management systems, has released a study on U.S.-based mid-market companies' export compliance challenges and found they are increasingly at risk of violating federal regulations.

Of the 150 companies surveyed, 23 percent do not screen for restricted parties prior to engaging overseas customers. For those that did perform this screening, 30 percent make checks manually using spreadsheets or Websites. Only 41 percent of respondents had a comprehensive export compliance program.   

“The good news is U.S. exports are growing, and mid-market companies in particular are increasing revenues by accessing foreign markets,” said Scott Byrnes, vice president of marketing at Amber Road. “Unfortunately, it appears that many mid-market companies aren’t fully aware of the regulatory requirements governing global trade.”
   

The concern with this lack of knowledge is that criminal and civil penalties for export control violations are often harsh. Companies can face criminal penalties of up to $500,000 per violation for "dual-use" export (items with both commercial and military applications) control violations and an individual faces up to 10 years in jail. Civil fines reach $12,000 per violation and can also include denial of export privileges.
  

Respondents said a lack of executive sponsorship was a primary reason for their trade compliance deficiencies.
  

According to a March Bureau of Economic Analysis report, U.S. exports grew 7.7 percent from January 2011 to January 2012. The bulk of the growth was related to small and midsized companies. Companies of this size also accounted for 97.8 percent of all U.S. exporters, according to the most recent report by the U.S. International Trade Commission.
   

Other noteworthy findings from the report include:

• 20 percent of companies don't have formal export compliance programs.
• 66 percent use manual processes to classify products.
• 35 percent have a management team that is somewhat aware of the regulations, but have no involvement in the compliance process.

   A full copy of the report can be found here. — Geoff Whiting

Facts Friday: Container Chassis

Chassis -- everyone has gotten so used to the "Liners" providing the Chassis to the trucking companies to move the containers from the container yard and port the the point of destination or visa versa,  that it's coming as a shock when they're being told that a "Chassis Rental Fee"  is being added to the drayage charges.    Not long ago only one or two companies were charging this fee.  As of TODAY there are over 15 that are charging.  It's a cost that needs to be built in to the landing costs of the containers.

Facts Friday: Panama Canal

The Panama Canal  has been a hot topic for quite sometime,  and everyone is looking forward to the business that it will bring to the Houston and Texas starting in 2014.

We were attending a luncheon last week,  presented by JETCO Delivery,  and  Roger Guenther VP of Container Terminals for the Port of Houston Authority was the guest speaker,  during his presentation Mr. Guenther  announced that the opening of the Panama Canal to the bigger ships is being pushed back at least 6 months until  2015.

Facts Friday: Houston Container Traffic

Houston has two major "Container Ports"  Barbours Cut and Bayport Terminals, and Houston is the gateway for 95% of the containers in Texas.

Big, Heavy and Long

Big, Heavy and Long

Preparing this  "Shaker Drum" for export  was just standard fare for Dixie Cullen, handling machinery and equipment in temporary storage,  preparing for export,  is just something that is in our day to day operating procedures.  We take the time to  close the ends up and properly secure it to the flat rack for shipment,  all in a timely manner using ISPM 15 designated wood.  No job is to big or too small.

 

More Steamships cease providing Chassis

Yes,  more steamship lines have ceased providing chassis in the Houston market:  Joining the growing list are  ACL, COSCO and HYUNDI. 

Effective April 1, 2012 --  ACL
Effective May 1, 2012 --  COSCO and HYUNDI

Trucking companies will now be passing on the daily chassis rental fee, over and above the quoted price.

Cargo Crime Increases Over Holiday Periods

From our Friends at Roanoke Trade:  info@roanoketrade.com     Theresa  Garcia  tgarcia@roanoketrade.com

Last year, FreightWatch reported that cargo crime increases by 28% over holiday periods and that Thanksgiving weekend recorded the most cargo theft activity of all holiday periods in the United States (click here to register to view the report).

Shippers, manufacturers and transportation companies must remain aware of the increased security risks during the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend. Long holidays provide provide criminals with excellent opportunities to target, steal and transport goods to their storage locations before the product is even discovered missing.

Additionally, holidays can cause long delays for drivers attempting to deliver loads. These delays will increase the risk to drivers and loads in-transit by leaving them vulnerable for longer periods of time.

Holiday weekends are notorious for high volumes of cargo theft activity, especially at terminals and drop yards where loaded trailers are parked for long periods of time. This amplifies the need for logistics professionals to ensure their security protocols are up to date and in line with industry best practices. 

For warehousing operations, ensure your security alarm systems are functioning properly. FreightWatch also recommends the following:

• Treat all alarm trouble signals as an intrusion alarm
• Do not rely on a backup (cellular/radio) system
• If primary alarm fails assign security officer to patrol facility exterior or have a member of management remain at the facility

For in-transit operations, FreightWatch recommends drivers remain vigilant and maintain communication with their dispatch when stopped at high risk areas such as truck stops and rest areas. Loads should not be dropped or left unattended for any reason.

For More Information About This Topic  Contact FreightWatch.

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As a side note to this posting  Dixie Cullen has always taken the extra steps during the Holiday's to ensure that your material and equipment, that is in storage at our facility, is not an easy target.  Monitored Security by off site firm,  people maintained on site and dogs.

U. S. Trade Deficit Narrows; Exports Hit Record

From Transport Topics 11/10/11

The U.S. trade narrowed by 4% in September as exports climbed to a record high, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

 

The gap between imports and exports declined to $43.1 billion, the lowest level this year, from a revised $44.9 billion in August that was smaller than originally estimated, Commerce figures showed.

Economists had forecast the deficit to widen to $46 billion, Bloomberg reported.

Exports increased 1.4% to a record $180.4 billion, boosted by sales of industrial supplies, capital equipment, automobiles and consumer goods, Bloomberg said.

Imports rose 0.3% to $223.5 billion. Demand rose for automobiles, food and industrial supplies, but crude oil imports declined, Bloomberg said.

Do you know about the Houston Ship Channel Security District?

Being involved with International Business and handling material that comes in and out of the port at our warehouse facility,  we are familiar with the Houston Ship Channel Security District.

However I've not had any direct dealings with them,  but earlier this week I had the opportunity to attend the Houston Ship Channel Security District  update luncheon,  was  found it extremely informative,  and left the meeting feeling reassured that Houston is in good hands.

I also left the meeting with some facts that surprised me,  and thought I would share some of them here.

• Houston is the busiest port in the Nation!
• Harris County Sheriff's Office is responsible for much of the port security both on land and water, and is the 3rd largest police force in the country.
• If the Houston Port System had to be shut down for a day because of an "EVENT",  it could cost the local economy 300 Million  dollars a day.
• A common quote that I've heard over the past couple of years was restressed  "so goes the port of Houston, so goes the National Economy"

Turning Basing Terminal Truck Office

Faxed Delivery Orders will soon be History at Port of Houston Turning Basin Terminal Truck office.

The Port of Houston Magazine reported in their September/October issue that After December 31, 2011 faxed or e-mailed dock receipts or delivery orders will no longer be accepted at the North Side Turning Basin Terminal Truck Office.   This change will affect drivers delivering or picking up cargo from the public wharves on the lower level.

The Policy Change will enable the Port Authority to better serve all of its customers because it will expedite the processing of trucks through the Truck office,  eliminate unnecessary delays and reduce the possibility of errors.

Port of Houston Turning Basin upgrades under way to meet today's TRADE!

"In the beginning the Ship Channel was built on the backbone of cotton" says the port's managing director of general cargo facilities.

These days, steel is king, with more than 3.1 million tons moving through the port in the first nine months of this year,  up from 1.9 million tons over the same period last year.

from Houston Chronicle Article  10/29/11  Jenalia Moreno   jenalia.moreno@chron.com