newsworthy
Per-mile truckload pricing hits highest
level in years
Truckload carriers in October commanded prices for their services not seen since January 2005, according to an index published
by one of the nation’s leading freight audit and payment firms.
Cass Information Systems Inc., which audits and pays $17 billion
a year in freight invoices on behalf of its customers, said its
Truckload Linehaul Index reached a value of 108.8 in October, up
9. 8 percent over the same month last year and the highest level
since Cass began tracking the data nearly seven years ago. The
index only analyzes the linehaul component of truckload rates and
excludes components like fuel surcharges and accessorial fees. As
a result, Cass said, the index is an accurate reflection of trends in
per-mile truckload pricing, independent of other elements.
“The trajectory of the index reaffirms that capacity remains
tight and carriers are being more disciplined regarding pricing
and capacity additions in this cycle,” according to the report,
which was published in conjunction with investment firm
Avondale Partners LLC.
This is the first time Cass and Avondale have published an
index tracking per-mile truckload pricing, although they have
been keeping data since the start of 2005.
The findings put hard data behind a growing body of anecdotal evidence of a continued escalation in truckload rates,
fueled by capacity reductions, driver shortages, a pickup in
freight demand, and decisions by carriers to boost yield by
shedding unprofitable or marginally profitable business. ;
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The Bureau of U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) is staying busy.
CBP plans to implement three trade facilitation initiatives, two of which the agency said will
make international trade processes more efficient, and one which will expand the role customs brokers play in trade security.
In a presentation at the Coalition of New
England Companies for Trade’s (CONECT) 10th
Annual Northeast Cargo Symposium held in early
November in Foxborough, Mass., Stephen Hilsen,
CBP’s director of trade policy and agreements,
outlined the initiatives’ objectives.
Implementation details are being worked out in
consultation with the trade community, Hilsen
said.
The first initiative, “simplified processes,”
would streamline the entry submission and cargo
release processes for low-risk importers. CBP is
looking at reducing the number of data elements
required for the entry summary—the foundation
of all customs clearance activities—from 27
down to 13 to 16.
One way to do that, Hilsen said, might be to
stop requiring importers to provide transportation information that CBP already receives from
carriers. That would allow importers to file entry
summaries earlier since they would no longer
have to wait for carriers to supply the data. Hilsen
also noted that many of the elements would be
the same as those on the Importer Security Filing
(ISF) and that CBP may someday be able to collect data once and apply it for both purposes.
CBP is also considering linking what are now
separate filings of entry summaries and payment
of duties, taxes, and fees, and then removing
those transactions from the cargo release process.
In addition, rather than continually file formal
entries as cargo arrives, approved low-risk
importers would be allowed to summarize all
entries for a single “business month” on one document, and then file final details and financial
information for those entries at a later time. CBP
is seeking importers and customs brokers to test
the concept through a pilot involving air freight.
The second initiative, CBP’s “Centers for
Excellence and Expertise,” is ready to move from
the pilot to the permanent stage. The centers
bring together customs personnel who specialize
in a specific industry to process entries, protests,
post-entry reviews, and other transactions for
Customs moves ahead with
trade facilitation initiatives
