Retail Merchandise News

The liner services group will offer ocean-freight customers a second weekly southbound sailing from Port Everglades, Fla., to Nassau, Bahamas. The new Saturday sailing day, starting Saturday, March 23, 2013, will give customers an additional option for the transport of their goods, including groceries, retail merchandise, building materials, refrigerated (reefer) products, and vehicles from Port Everglades to Nassau each week. The Monday vessel arrival in Nassau also aligns well with the logistical needs of the local market.

NRF: East and Gulf Coast Strike Would Have Devastating Implications for the Retail Industry. The National Retail Federation today sent a letter to President Obama to express the retail industry’s growing concern if a contract agreement isn’t reached between the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance, Ltd. The two sides have been in negotiations, with the assistance of federal mediators, for the past few months with little demonstrable progress. The concern for a coast-wide strike is ever increasing. While another round of talks is scheduled for this week, the contract deadline – December 29 – is quickly approaching.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Robert C. Bonner today announced that CBP will begin the next phase of enforcement for the 24-hour rule. The 24-hour rule requires an advance cargo declaration from sea carriers and became effective on December 2, 2002. CBP uses the cargo information to identify and eliminate potential terrorist threats before a vessel sails from a foreign port to U.S. seaports, rather than after a vessel and its cargo arrives in the United States. 1. On May 4, 2003, CBP will issue "Do Not Load" messages for containerized cargo that has an invalid or incomplete cargo description. Initially, enforcement efforts focused only on significant violations of the cargo description requirements of the 24-hour rule.