Reading Time: 2 minutes U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to revive U.S. shipbuilding using massive fees on China-linked ship visits to American ports is causing U.S. coal inventories to swell and stoking uncertainty in the embattled agriculture market, as exporters struggle to find ships to send goods abroad.
Proposed U.S. port fees on China-built ships choking coal, agriculture exports
U.S. agriculture exports face uncertainty due to proposed shipping fees, traders say
Trump trade threats compound global ocean shipping uncertainty
Reading Time: 3 minutes The global ocean shipping industry that handles 80 per cent of world trade is navigating a sea of unknowns as U.S. President Donald Trump stokes trade and geopolitical tensions with historical foes as well as neighbors and allies.
Tentative labour deal heads off US port disruption; Trump credited
Reading Time: 2 minutes A tentative labor deal forestalled potentially damaging trade disruptions at three-dozen U.S. East Coast and Gulf of Mexico ports, with both sides in the talks crediting President-elect Donald Trump for clearing the way for them to hammer out a deal on automation.
Container rates soar on concerns of prolonged Red Sea disruption, inflation
U.S. and British militaries have advised all ships to steer clear of the conflict zone
Reading Time: 2 minutes Container shipping rates for key global trade routes have soared this week, with U.S. and UK air strikes on Yemen stirring fears of a prolonged disruption to global trade in Red Sea, one of the world's busiest routes, industry officials said on Friday.
Biggest U.S. rail union rejects tentative deal, raising threat of strike
Union digs in on paid sick time
Reading Time: 3 minutes Washington/Los Angeles | Reuters — Workers at the largest U.S. rail union voted against a tentative contract deal reached in September, raising the possibility of a year-end strike that could cause significant damage to the U.S. economy and strand vital shipments of food and fuel. Train and engine service members of the transportation division of […] Read more
U.S. government makes contingency plans for rail shutdown
Three unions represent about 60,000 rail workers
Reading Time: 3 minutes Washington/Los Angeles | Reuters — U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration on Tuesday made contingency plans aiming to ensure deliveries of critical goods in the event of a shutdown of the U.S. rail system while pressing railroads and unions to reach a deal to avoid a work stoppage affecting freight and passenger service. The potential shutdown, […] Read more
‘Containergeddon’: Supply crisis drives Walmart, rivals to hire own ships
Bulk grain ships pressed into container service
Reading Time: 4 minutes Los Angeles | Reuters — The Flying Buttress once glided across the oceans carrying vital commodities such as grain to all corners of the world. Now it bears a different treasure: Paw Patrol Movie Towers, Batmobile Transformers and Baby Alive Lulu Achoo dolls. The dry bulk cargo ship has been drafted into the service of […] Read more
Florence shuts down U.S. slaughterhouses
Reading Time: 3 minutes Chicago/Los Angeles | Reuters — U.S. food companies kept slaughter plants shut on Monday in southeastern states swamped by Hurricane Florence as flash floods collapsed the walls of at least two hog manure pits, made roads undriveable and delayed rail shipments. Catastrophic flooding from Hurricane Florence, which has dumped up to 36 inches of rain […] Read more
McDonald’s sets greenhouse gas reduction targets
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — McDonald’s Corp. on Tuesday announced what it describes as an approved, science-based target to cut greenhouse gas emissions and battle climate change, saying it is the first restaurant company to do so. Under a plan several years in the making, the fast-food company — along with its franchisees and suppliers — aims to […] Read more
Appeals court revives California ban on foie gras
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — A U.S. federal appeals court on Friday revived a California state law banning the sale of foie gras made from force-fed birds. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a January 2015 lower court ruling striking down the law, saying the judge erred in concluding that the ban conflicted with a federal […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
