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During the next few weeks, port terminal gates at Los Angeles and Long Beach will feature an unfamiliar sight - hundreds of new, low-polluting trucks that are entering service under [...]

BYLINE: Colin Barrett Q:We have a number of truck shipments to Mexico. We know that currently all our shipments must be interlined at the border with Mexican truckers, but we [...]

CSX is calling on the railroad industry's own regulators to step in against the District of Columbia's ban on hazardous materials shipments, claiming the measure could send a legal cloud [...]

ICC Commissioner Gail McDonald urged shippers to voice out their concerns over issues affecting the shipping industry before Congress dismantles the industry's regulating body. McDonald claims that Congress may let the Commission to stay until all critical issues such as the proposal to scrap the Carmack Amendment have been resolved. The Amendment holds carriers to pay maximum liability for losses or damages to goods hauled. The ICC recommends retention of the Amendment because it allows shippers to settle claims amicably. It believes that scrapping Carmack will prolong negotiations and end all rate regulations.

State officials successfully convinced critics of the state's proposed double-stack rail development plan about the merits of imposing a special 'toll' on container movements, with the help of some detailed explanation. The plan requires railroads to pay a $350 surcharge to the state for containers transported east of Worcester or Gardner, MA, on Consolidated Rail Corp.'s amd Guilford Transportation Industries Inc.'s lines. The plan was criticized by some sectors as an illegal attempt to regulate interstate commerce.

The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) is being clipped of many of its powers. Once considered to be one of the most powerful regulatory bodies in the US, given its oversight of the railroad and trucking industries, the ICC now has to endure not just a cutback in its budget but also a reduction of its transport oversight duties. It does not deserve such treatment and should be allowed to redeeem itself and play the important role it was intended to play: that of ensuring that it protects the interests of the public in the all-important transport arena.

Several federal agencies have been authorized to regulate interstate commerce. Such agencies operate under the premise stipulated in the commerce clause. The Constitution included the commerce clause since there had been no previous restrictions on cross-border trade. Hence, the commerce clause was originally intended to prevent states from interfering with trade between them. However, federal authority got out of hand and all transactions found to have a substantial effect on interstate commerce became fair game for federal regulators.

The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) has rejected Illinois Central Railroad Co.'s (IC) proposed tariff on shippers' liability for freight damages. The Carmack Amendment to the revised Interstate Commerce Act specifies that receiving carriers are held responsible for the full loss, damage or injury to the goods they haul. IC wants to pass this responsibility for damages on the shippers, which ICC claims contradicts the Carmack Amendment.

Mississippi federal Judge L.T. Senter ruled that the shipment of prison-made products across state borders was illegal. Senter cited a 1935 law prohibiting the use of prison laborers to defer higher labor costs. Senter dismissed the arguments made by Preston Glove and Safety Co and State Springs Glove Co. The companies filed a lawsuit against the federal government, which authorized a search and seizure action against them.

The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, CA, ruled that the ICC's regulations on tardy payment of freight bills do not preclude trustees of bankrupt trucking companies from claiming undercharges from shippers. The court ruled in favor of Transcon Lines Inc trustee Leonard Gumport, who was seeking claims between $10-15 million.