Transportation: Page 431

Amazon Introduces First Branded Jet for Prime Members Delivery

The Boeing 767-300, with “Prime Air” emblazoned on its side in bright blue letters, is part of the company’s plan to support one- and two-day U.S. package delivery.

Amazon One is one of 40 jets that Amazon agreed to lease through air cargo partners Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc. and Air Transport Services Group Inc. earlier this year.

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Walmart Bids to Acquire Jet.com to Fight Amazon

The world's largest retailer is playing catch up with Amazon.com Inc. on distribution and technology, and acquiring Jet.com could give Wal-Mart access to their innovative pricing software, its network of warehouses and customer data.

Wal-Mart disclosed a total of $3.1 billion for e-commerce and digital projects, such as its platform and new warehouses, in the four fiscal years to January 2017.

Ocean Ports & Carriers

Expanded Panama Canal to Push Container Traffic to East Coast Ports

Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

It’ll be slower, but cheaper – perhaps as much as 30 percent cheaper in some cases – to ship certain goods from East Asia to the East Coast.

The savings that manufacturers, shippers, retailers and consumers may realize from the new routing patterns will need to be balanced against the bill taxpayers are being handed to deepen East Coast harbors and shipping channels and upgrade port facilities.

Central Texas & Colorado River Railway Starts Operations

Central Texas & Colorado River Railway (CTXR) operates 68 miles of track running due west from Lometa, Texas, where it interchanges with BNSF, to Brady, Texas.

CTXR current traffic includes grain, feed, building products, aggregates, and “Brady Brown” frac sand. Given OmniTRAX’s experience and expertise in handling a more diverse and specialized commodity mix across its portfolio, the CTXR is ready to diversify and reinforce its traffic handling capabilities.

West Coast Ports to Charge Shippers for Chassis Services

Port of Los Angeles

The rule applies to chassis owned by chassis leasing companies that receive services from WCMTOA’s marine terminal members at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif.

The rule provides for a $5 fee each time a chassis enters or leaves the terminal, to cover the cost of services. The fee will be collected by PierPass on chassis with loaded or empty containers mounted, but not on bare chassis.

BNSF and Los Angeles Appeal Ruling Halting Southern California International Gateway

The appeal could mean years of legal wrangling for the Southern California International Gateway, a project nearly a decade in the planning and opposed by the community, the city of Long Beach, its schools and several environmental groups.

In the latest twist of what has been a three-year-long legal battle, the city of Los Angeles and BNSF Railway rejected a Contra Costa judge’s finding that the city failed to adequately analyze the environmental impacts the rail yard would have on the West Long Beach community, as required by state law.

Georgia Port Authority Receives $44 Million for Rail Expansion

Georgia Ports Authority

The $44 million award, made possible through the Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects (NSFHP) Program, is a significant portion of a total $128 million project known as the Port of Savannah International Multi-modal Connector.

Currently, 18 percent of the containers handled at Garden City Terminal (above) moves on Class I railroads Norfolk Southern and CSX.

Cal-Maine Foods to Acquire Foodonics International's Egg Production Assets

The assets to be acquired include commercial egg production and processing facilities with capacity for approximately 1.6 million laying hens and related feed production, milling and distribution facilities in Georgia, Alabama and Florida.

In addition, Cal-Maine Foods will acquire the Egg-Land’s Best, Inc. franchise with licensing rights for portions of certain markets in Alabama, Florida and Georgia as well as Puerto Rico, Bahamas and Cuba.

USDA Announces Reopening of Brazilian Market to U.S. Beef Exports

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has reached an agreement with Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply to allow access for U.S. beef and beef products to the Brazilian market for the first time since 2003.

Both countries will immediately begin updating their administrative procedures in order to allow trade to resume. U.S. companies will need to complete Brazil's regular facilities registration process.

Yusen Logistics Opens Temperature-Controlled DC in Cambodia

Yusen Logistics (Americas) Inc.

The 33,000-sqaure-foot facility, which is almost double the capacity of the existing warehouse, includes a 4,237-square-foot temperature-controlled storage area.

Yusen will also offer a consolidated delivery service available to customers in Phnom Penh on a daily basis, excluding weekends. Yusen Logistics will also provide the same service for chilled and frozen goods using cold-storage boxes and will ensure product quality is maintained up to the point of delivery. (Phnom Penh Distribution Center above).

Grocery Delivery Startup Shipt Raises $20.1 Million to Take on Instacart

Shipt members receive unlimited grocery deliveries on all orders over $35 and Shipt shoppers are paid per-order and average about $17 per-shop, according to TechCrunch.

Now with offices in San Francisco, Shipt has grown to deliver groceries in 27 cities across 10 states with a community of more than 5,000 shoppers.

Feds Drop Proposal to Give Freight Trains Priority Over Amtrak

The surface transportation board ultimately concluded Thursday that current law does say that passenger trains are to be given preference over freight trains on shared tracks.

Amtrak argued that if the policy change had been implemented, long-distance and commuter trains would have seen a substantial increase in delays, since nearly 97 percent of the passenger railroad's route miles operate on host railroad tracks that are not owned by Amtrak. Freight rail companies, however, said the effort would have allowed railways to determine the priority of trains on a case-by-case basis.

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