Following significant congressional support, the President signed an omnibus appropriations bill last week that included approximately $41.3 million for the Port of Oakland’s Harbor Deepening Project (-50 Foot Project). This should be good news for U.S. exporters, said port spokesmen.

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Can U.S. seaports profit by permitting private investors to take a stake in their operations? At least one prominent shipping analyst believes so…if it’s not too late.

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In a move to ensure U.S. shippers with long term access to a deep water gateway in China, NYK has announced a new round of investment in that country’s port and terminal infrastructure.

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The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners approved a lease agreement with Aero Ontario RFP, LLP (Aeroterm) earlier this month to develop and manage an international air cargo center at LA/Ontario International Airport (ONT). While the lease agreement is subject to final approval by the Los Angeles City Council, shippers here feel that is all but assured.

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The Los Angeles Harbor Commission has joined Long Beach in approving a new fee on cargo containers moving through the ports.

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Less-than-truckload transportation services provider YRC Worldwide Inc. said this week it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Shanghai Jiayu Logistics Co. Ltd, a China-based provider of LTL ground transportation services.

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Freight traffic volumes on United States railroads for the week ending December 15 was down compared to the same timeframe last year, according to data recently released by the Association of American Railroads (AAR).

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Global on-demand software-as-a-service logistics technology service provider Descartes Systems Group said this week it has acquired RouteView Technologies, a provider of map-routing software designed for the last mile of delivery.

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UPS said this week that it was recently notified by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters that a new contract that covers roughly 240,000 UPS employees has been certified, approved, and ratified.

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After facing the possibility of the Bush administration eliminating several homeland security grant programs—some of which focus on port security—that were part of the fiscal 2008 omnibus spending package, it appears that it is smooth sailing ahead for port security funding, with Congress passing a $555 billion domestic spending bill yesterday.

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