Shipping and Cargo

Negotiators in a protracted labor dispute between workers and management at sea ports along the East Coast are "making good progress," the mediator that is overseeing the talks is reporting.

A potential shut down of several ports along the Atlantic coast on Oct. 1 was narrowly avoided when the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) and the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) agreed to extend their negotiations after they stalled in August.

Retail groups had warned that a shut down of the East Coast ports would have ripple effects across the entire U.S. economy as goods are being shipped into the country for the holiday season.

Business groups want Congress to overhaul a rule that all cargo shipped to the United States be scanned.

The number of goods forecasted to ship through U.S. ports in the month of October has increased 9.9 percent as stores increase their inventory in preparation for the holidays, the National Retail Federation said Tuesday.

The Washington, D.C.-based NRF said its monthly Global Port Tracker showed an uptick during what is the traditional end of the period of increased holiday-focused shipping activity. 

NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said the increase is a good sign for the overall U.S. economy.

“NRF’s annual forecast says retailers should see solid growth during the holiday season this year and these cargo numbers back it up,” Gold said in a statement. “Increased imports show that retailers have gauged the market and expect increased sales.”

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed (D) is touting praise of his city and state’s plans to develop new infrastructure from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

Speaking at an air cargo conference in Georgia this week, LaHood praised a planned expansion of the port of Savannah, Ga., which Atlanta officials lobbied the Obama administration to provide funding for.

“When it comes to infrastructure policy, Atlanta is positioning itself as a global leader,” Reed said Thursday in an email to supporters. "That was the message of US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood on Tuesday as he spoke before the 26th International Air Cargo Forum & Exposition.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) called on the U.S. Department of Transportation to investigate truck drivers crashing into low bridges while relying on GPS devices.

Although there are typically warning and directional signs alerting commercial truck drivers of the dangers, most basic Global Positioning Technology devices don’t show these restrictions, and suggest roads not all trucks should travel on.

Your morning transportation speed-read: 

A pair of Pittsburgh-area airports are accepting bids for natural-gas drilling on their land. 

The number of Americans who commute by themselves is declining. 

Fatalities in the trucking industry increased 14 percent last year.

In news involving our friendly neighbors to the north: A Winnipeg, Manitoba, bus driver got off his bus to give a homeless man his shoes. 

Democrats in the Senate packed a committee hearing Thursday with sharp criticism of online moving companies for an industry trend of increasing prices of long-distance moves after taking possession of a customer's furniture.  

Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) said the practice amounted to "extortion." 

"American consumers use moving companies only a few times in their lives, so we shouldn’t expect them to understand the complicated rules governing interstate shipping," Rockefeller said. "And even if they do their homework before they hire a moving company, consumers don’t understand all of the fine print on the paperwork ... they are asked to sign as their possessions are loaded on to a moving truck." 

Ports along the East Coast will remain open for business after Oct. 1 because negotiators in labor talks have agreed to an extension of the facilities' existing collective bargaining agreement. 

The possibility of a shut down had loomed since talks between the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) and the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) had stalled in August after months of negotiations.

But the group that is mediating the contentious discussions, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), said Thursday that the two sides have made progress since returning to the negotiating table on Sept. 17 and have agreed to continue talking to each other.

"I am pleased to announce that at the close of today's productive negotiation session, in which progress was made on several important subjects, the parties have agreed to extend the collective bargaining agreement due to expire on September 30, 2012, for a ninety (90) day period, i.e. through December 29, 2012," FMCS Director George Cohen said in a statement. "In taking this significant step, the parties emphasized that they are doing so 'for the good of the country' to avoid any interruption in interstate commerce." 

The House will vote this week to exempt truck drivers from some regulations if they’re transporting grapes during harvest.

The Grape Region Accelerated Production and Efficiency Act, introduced by Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.), would exempt drivers from federal maximum driving time if they’re transporting grapes during a harvest season. 

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is touting a new council devoted to developing a national freight policy that was launched recently by the Obama administration.

In a blog post on the Department of Transportation's website this week, LaHood said the panel would help the administration to develop a policy for freight shipments that will allow the United States "to stay competitive in today's global economy.

"America has one of the best freight systems in the world," LaHood wrote on his "Fast Lane" blog on the DOT's website. That’s important, because freight movement is the lifeblood of the American economy. No economy can grow faster than its ability to move the raw materials and parts its businesses use and the goods its businesses produce."