Tag Archives: supply chains

DCSA digital standards poised to become globally accepted

Posted on September 17, 2022 by | 1 comment

The Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) has made some strides in becoming the main source of digital standards for shipping. Digital standards are very important for supply chain management because they guarantee that information is interchangeable between partners in any chain. I think the DCSA has gotten furthest in acceptance of everyone trying to do this.

One view has it that for the maritime industry, ports are the natural players to insure that there is an information hub with standard data for its stakeholders. This data would include not only maritime-related data such as arrival times, departure times, unloading times, locations of containers in the yard, but data relating to transport out of the yard, as well as data related to customs and clearing and safety. In cases where the port has inland depots, the information set should include what’s relevant for customers, and the partners who use those depots to move their cargo, whether it is transload or pickup and delivery.

But what standard data should be captured? Allowing ports themselves to design the data structures themselves is going to open the door to myriad incompatible sets of data. The DCSA has the right idea in trying for a standard that everyone can use.

The European Shippers Council is on board with the DCSA standards, which can be found on the dcsa website. Also, DCSA and the US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) have been cooperating on the Maritime Data Initiative (MTDI) project.

It’s an important and interesting project for anyone interested in digitizing supply chains. If it works, major advantages will come about for writing software to make supply chains work better.

Maia Kemp-Welch 16/09/2022

DCSA digital standards poised to become globally accepted – The Loadstar

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Posted in Advanced Computing, Logistics, Shipping, Supply Chains

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Feds dodging US-flag ship cargo rules, GAO reveals

Posted on September 13, 2022 by | 1 comment

The General Accounting Office (GAO), the branch of the US government that audits agencies, has found that the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) has not been following the Jones Act rules for cabotage.

Cabotage is a type of regulation that mandates that cargo to or from domestic destinations should be carried in the ships flagged in that nation.

There are lots of cabotage rules around the world. Air is one place we see them worldwide, where foreign airlines cannot fly do=mestic US routes, for instance. Most countries have cabotage rules for air traffic. Many nations also have maritime cabotage rules.

In the US the cabotage law is known as the Jones Act. Among other things, it says that cargo being carried for the US government, the army or navy for instance, or for NGOs and other organizations carrying US government-owned goods (like soybeans for hunger relief), must use a certain proportion of US-flagged and US-built ships.

Apparently MARAD has not been monitoring this kind of traffic, and abuses have followed. The article outlines the claims and MARAD’s response.

Cabotage also came up just a few weeks ago when gas and oil prices were rocketing skyward. Some, such as the Cato Institute, claimed that US cabotage which prohibited transport between domestic ports of oil and gas by foreign-flagged ships was responsible for a part of the price rise. The Cato Institute suggested doing away with cabotage for this trade. Puerto Rico was one of the main places the pain might be felt, since foreign ships could easily do the job there. There are students of the situation on the other side in this dispute with Cato, though.

The long-term justification for the Jones Act and cabotage, in general, is to preserve a nation’s capability in logistics, in terms of vessels, manpower, construction capability, and infrastructure, so as not to be dependent on foreign powers in case of disagreement or conflict. One could argue that we have already compromised the US ability to mount a strong seafaring merchant force in case of war, with shortages of captains and seafarers.

But it certainly would help if MARAD could enforce the existing law more closely. The Ukraine war has made us think about disruptions of military supply lines, and how we might respond to them.

John Gallagher Monday, September 12, 2022

Feds dodging US-flag ship cargo rules, GAO reveals – FreightWaves

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Posted in Logistics, Shipping

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Midwest soybean farmers to help pay for Pacific Northwest export terminal; rail service is risky for harvest this year.

Posted on September 2, 2022 by | 1 comment

Soybean exports are one of the US major sources of export revenue. China is the biggest consumer of soybeans that are exported, about half the US crop. The US competes with Brazil for the Far East soybean market.

Most soybeans to China are for pig feed. However, they can be used to produce biofuel as well.

The new port, in Aberdeen, WA, near Seattle and Tacoma, will export soybean meal. Six state Soybean Associations will chip in to cover the cost, along with the Soy Transportation Coalition. They’ll contribute $900K of the cost.

The terminal will have rail service, involving an interchange between the BNSF and UP main lines, which are predominant in service to Midwest farmers and their elevators, and the Puget Sound and Pacific line, which goes right to the port.

Like the agricultural shipping terminal near Oakland, CA, this facility ought to be of great value in exporting soybean products.

Elsewhere, corn farmers in the US Midwest are worried that railroad inefficiency and poor reliability will prevent grain exports from being shipped as the harvest comes on. A good summary of the situation is in the second article.

Many elevators rely on rail transport to get their grain to a port for export. Some can use barges down the Mississippi, but others, in locations more than 200 mi. from a Mississippi port, use rail at local sidings at elevators. Railroads will need to up their game to support the US export market for agricultural products.

Joanna Marsh Thursday, September 1, 2022

Midwest soybean farmers to help pay for Pacific Northwest export terminal – FreightWaves

 Joanna Marsh Friday, September 2, 2022

Grain shippers eye hiccups on rail network

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Posted in Logistics, Rail, Shipping, Supply Chains

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