Legal issues

Democrats, labor consider California’s AB5 a “good first step”

A U.S. Coast Guard investigation in February discovered the Nederland Reefer’s chief engineer had devised a scheme to illegally dump oily bilge into the sea.

FreightWaves finds growing evidence that manufacturers and distributors are transferring operations from the U.K. to northern Europe.

Law firm Benesch warns legislation will likely raise costs but carriers have options.

It has been a dramatic week in Australian trucking: strip club bus-truck crash; nine months of jail; massive infrastructure works; trucker death; call for mandatory brakes; beer crates. And more!

The company employed 540 drivers and was Camping World’s primary delivery service for RVs

In this week’s Down Under Trucking – death by reckless driving; hill driving; trucker fired; police shoot tow truck thief; logistics industry urges government to ramp up!

Rod Sims, the chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, has barked at the many monopolists inhabiting Australia, including the world’s biggest coal export port, the Port of Newcastle.

U.S. trucking operators, heed this warning from Asia. Maritime experts say that after the IMO 2020 deadline, fuel availability will be uncertain, scrubbers won’t work, stockpiles will “evaporate” and fuel prices will “go through the roof”.

Carriers face prospect of hiring more company drivers should they fail the ABC test.

Customs and Border Protection officers in the Kentucky port of entry seized counterfeit Cartier bracelets and other jewelry between July and September, resulting in an importer’s arrest.

Countries around the world are aligning their corporate insolvency regimes with the U.S. system. Lawyers say alignment will benefit the international ocean shipping industry.

Container ships are setting new records, but for all the wrong reasons, as the vessels become an increasingly popular way to smuggle drugs.   As FreightWaves’ Mike King reported, the Maersk […]

Despite sea change in business model, carriers and drivers may want to wait for more clarity.

Pressure applied as some Democrats remain concerned about labor provisions.

Manufacturer installed diesel engines in construction equipment that failed to meet emissions standards under the Clean Air Act when imported into the U.S. from 2012 to 2015.

Dip Shipping will pay a criminal fine to settle an antitrust violation charge as part of an ongoing U.S. Justice Department forwarder price-fixing investigation.

EEOC agreement clarifies obligations to both union and non-union workers.

U.S. government alleged company broke federal contract pricing rules.

The Justice Department has asked the express carrier’s lawsuit to be dismissed, stating that it should be up to Congress and not the court to decide if the Export Administration Regulations apply.

“Aggressive” management style has led to driver abuse, senators claim.

Higher transport costs are a price worth paying to cut carbon emissions, says a U.K. government energy czar. Ship owners beg to differ.

The NCBFAA proposes amending the U.S Bankruptcy Code to allow “subrogation” rights for customs brokers who have paid duties to the U.S. government on behalf of a bankrupt importer.

Digitalization and automation are increasing the risk of cyberattacks, say intelligence agencies, but many shipping companies are refusing to act.

Not many people are aware of this, but Alaska received a special exemption from the HOS regulations.

Bill approved in state senate with no carve-out for owner-operators

Decision could make it easier for employers to make unilateral work-rule changes

Attorney Richard Luthmann received a four-year prison term and was ordered to pay $500,000 in restitution for defrauding businesses in the U.S. and overseas.

Humans are helping e-tailers lower logistics costs; logistics newbies, meet the seasoned pros

The new e-commerce delivery paradigm poses legal risks that have not been thought through, noted attorney says

Resit Tavan, owner of Istanbul-based Ramor Dis Ticaret Ltd., will spend 27 months in jail for conspiring to export U.S. marine equipment to Iran.

Ruling considered a win for trucking companies.

There isn’t a driver shortage. In fact, there is a glut of capacity on the road, and not enough freight to haul.

The gruesome deaths of five family members leads to what may be a record-breaking award.

Anthony Levandowski, a star engineer at Google and Uber, is charged with 33 counts of theft and attempted theft in a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday, August 27.

MUFG Bank’s anticipated acquisition of the aviation finance business of DZ Bank draws scrutiny.

Norway’s Wallenius Wilhelmsen, a major global ocean carrier of vehicles, now faces a criminal prosecution in Australia after the local competition regulator filed charges against it.

Trucking stands to gain, rail to lose if project moves forward.

The U.S. Justice Department said American Airlines has agreed to pay a $22.1 million civil penalty to resolve allegations that it falsely reported the times it transferred U.S. mail to foreign postal services.

Company representative confident award will be reinstated in state supreme court.

XPO unit, class of drivers and helpers reach $5.5 million settlement to end three-year legal fight over job classification

Safety, labor advocates register early opposition to rule changes.

Government denies claims the IRS misled company on excise tax rules.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has started making examples of companies that did not take its administrative subpoenas for information involving alleged sanctions violations seriously.

Jack Cooper Ventures says it will be “business as usual” as the auto hauler undertakes a restructuring.

Chinese billionaire Liu Zhongtian, former president of China Zhongwang Holdings Ltd., was indicted by federal court in Los Angeles for allegedly evading $1.8 billion antidumping and countervailing duties on aluminum shipments.

A federal grand jury indicted three Texas men – two truckers and a state worker – in connection with a scheme to sell commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) without the drivers […]

Legislation includes first-ever grants for electric vehicle infrastructure.

Ports receive 15% of grant program typically used for surface projects.

Negligent hiring and vicarious liability lawsuits have been around, but there are emerging risks as well.

After California, New Jersey is the next battleground for trucking’s owner-operator business model. And motor carriers fear the war there may be largely lost. The latest skirmish centers on a […]

ABF Freight, YRC Freight employees affected by pension-saving bill.

Grain shippers say Congress should take a “fresh look” at railroad policy.

Owners of ships, railcars and trucks face increased risk from environmental regulations, credit rating agency Moody’s said. The value of $265 billion in debt owed by transportation companies may be […]

Criminal syndicates are smuggling huge volumes of methamphetamine around the globe by hiding it in the lawful flow of freight. Find out where meth flows, how it flows, and who profits as it flows.

Labor Department says drivers do not have to be paid for time spent in sleeper berth.

Declaring an undervalue on imported watercraft has triggered demands for millions of dollars in duty from the authorities. Experts say customs authorities will, in future, only become more efficient… and aggressive.

Investor speculation that VW’s Traton SE would complete an acquisition of Navistar International took a hit along with the share price July 17 when the head of Traton said he was satisfied with the present 16.8 percent of the Illinois company’s shares.

A truck driver who was convicted and sentenced for dangerously driving his truck in a way that caused grievous bodily harm and severe brain damage to a young woman has escaped a much more severe sentence owing to bureaucratic failings.

California bill affecting owner-operators will die if not on governor’s desk by September 13.

Three-judge panel says lower court acted properly to block union pilots from slowing down Atlas Air’s operations during contract talks

Reefer specialist claims use of the word “prime” constitutes unfair competition.

Ray Martinez said truck users will benefit from better data from CSA scores to make carrier selections i

The developer of a wheeled container storage site is suing the Port and City of Los Angeles, alleging that the project was derailed due to demands for longshoremen to be […]

Punitive damages now off limits in certain personal injury lawsuits

BiTA’s Patrick Duffy informs committee of blockchain approaching critical mass

Smoking crystal meth directly led to a fatal crash that killed two truckers; meanwhile, dead kangaroos, speeding, and dodgy crane operators feature in two labor-law hearings in Australia

Changing harbor tax could help smaller ports compete with trucks

Carrier and logistics firm NFI was named in a report highlighting deficiencies in a New Jersey tax incentive program aimed at keeping businesses in the state. Camden-based NFI was one […]

State-by-state benefits of raising gas tax included in White House letter.

Business groups may also look to courts as potential way out

Potential for added employment costs for trucking companies down the road.

Airline Garuda Indonesia has been ordered by an Australian court to pay A$19 million (US$13.14 million) in penalties for air cargo price fixing as part of a massive international cartel. Australian penalties of A$132.5 million (US$91.64 million) have so far been levied against 14 airlines.

Tariffs starting June 10 at 5 percent to escalate to 25 percent by October 1.

Raising the gas tax a priority despite pushback by conservatives.

$2 trillion infrastructure plan would boost Highway Trust Fund to $850 billion

Democrats boost maritime programs over Trump’s budget

The highway and viaduct that now shoots truckers and others straight through the heart of Syracuse on interstate 81 might be no more under a plan making its way through […]

President walks out abruptly following cover-up allegations

US Supreme Court denies petition by UPS to review US Postal Service’s accounting cost structure

2020 U.S. presidential election could become major roadblock

Operating cost savings at stake as company deals with IPO expectations

Carrier accused of overworking driver in no position to pay.

U.S. lawmakers weigh Arctic “St. Lawrence Seaway”

Beijing has sworn to institute countermeasures to combat a huge increase in tariffs, from 15 percent to 25 percent, that have been imposed by Washington on $200 billion worth of a wide range of Chinese goods. A set of high-level, last-minute, talks yesterday to postpone or prevent the tariffs failed.

One of North Korea’s largest coal-hauling vessels has been taken out of service by U.S. authorities in the first-ever cargo ship seizure related to sanctions violations by Pyongyang. The vessel […]

A long-running lawsuit over leased vehicles appears to be reaching its conclusion. The lawsuit, Roberts, et al. v. C.R. England, Inc., et al, is scheduled for final approval by a […]

CEO Paul Svindland calls settlement “milestone” in path to stability after hit from financial scandal.

U.S. unveils new strategy in response to increasing investments by Russia and China.

Feds have exempted Wing Aviation from a block of regulations clearing way for an operating permit.

Australia’s import, export and logistics industries are in dismay at a massively escalating series of surcharges that are being unilaterally charged to truckers and shippers by the nation’s main box terminal operators. There have been hikes in surcharges of hundreds of percentage points. And, in one case, an imposed surcharge was literally increased over a couple of years by 2,372 percent. Industry executives are furious.

D.C. to Baltimore in 15 minutes could help advance hyperloop technology for cargo.

Not long after its IPO, Lyft is removing electric bikes from the markets of New York City, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco after reports of problems with the vehicles’ brakes.

Another outbreak of salmonella poisoning has occurred – this one caused by tainted fruit. Read how blockchain could help deter and detect these outbreaks before they harm many.

Trump now threatening tariffs against Mexico while trade groups claim cross-border supply chains still at risk.

Peter Armbruster was not in the original indictment from last year but now joins two other execs facing criminal charges and from the SEC as well.

Australia’s Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has handed out a smack-down to the three main longshoremen companies in Australia, which were using their oligopoly market power to impose unfair terms on trucking companies. The stevedoring companies involved are DP World Australia, Hutchison Ports Australia and Victoria International Container Terminal.

John Garamendi (D-CA) asserted energy exports are tied to US shipbuilding and national security.

The Supreme Court denial effectively upholds a lower court decision that gives the states powers that the California Trucking Association said it legally should not have.

The succession makes perfect sense and is a step in the right direction.