The biggest East Coast winter storm in years is on target to hit the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast today, Wednesday, December 16, and Thursday, December 17, threatening up to 2 feet of snow in some areas. Winter Storm Gail will intensify into a high-impact nor’easter for parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast beginning today, where it will bring heavy snow, strong winds and some coastal flooding.
News / Supply Chain Alerts
The Port of Long Beach announced this week that it marked its best November on record. The port moved 783,523 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), which represents a 30.6% increase year-over-year. The story in Long Beach is all about imports, which were up 30.5% to 382,677 TEUs. Exports were down 5.2% to 117,283 TEUs. But the most significant figure is the number of empty containers shipped back to Asia for refilling. This number jumped 55% to 283,563 TEUs.
This is a reminder that the FDA renewals for both food facilities and medical devices are due by December 31, 2020. All domestic and foreign food and medical device facilities, along with the companies that source from them, are required to renew their registration this year.
On Wednesday, November 25, 2020, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) office released the hearing schedule for the investigation of Vietnam’s acts, policies, and practices related to the import and use of illegal timber and the valuation of its currency first announced in a press release on October 2.
On Tuesday, November 17, 2020, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released in Cargo System Messaging Service (CSMS) Message 44890398 updated information regarding the processing of Post Summary Corrections (PSCs). In the notice, CBP notes that they aim to prioritize processing of PSCs filed with accelerated liquidation requests over PSCs submitted without accelerated liquidation requests.
Containerized imports into the USA reached an all-time high this summer on the back of retail sales rebounding post the pandemic shutdowns, merchant inventory replenishment, and early stock up for the holiday season. After largely staying at home this spring and early summer, consumers began buying again in the third quarter, and retail supply chains are working overtime to keep up with the demand.
Numerous changes to the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) were made in an October 30 presidential proclamation following the beneficiary developing country assessments, product reviews and eligibility review.
Noatum Logistics will be closing our Miami office on Monday, November 9, 2020, due to dangerous weather conditions from Tropical Storm Eta.
Effective October 1, 2020, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) adjusted certain customs user fees pursuant to the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) for fiscal year 2021 in accordance with the Fixing American’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) as implemented by CBP regulations.
On Friday, October 2, 2020, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) office announced in a press release that it is “initiating an investigation addressing two significant issues with respect to Vietnam.”