Overall retail sales fell in May for the first time in 11 months but the decline was less than expected and due largely to a sharp drop in auto sales, government data show. Total retail sales slipped 0.2 percent after a rise of 0.3 percent in April, the Commerce Department said. Economists' consensus estimates had called for a 0.4 percent decline in May.
Retail sales account for two-thirds of U.S. economic activity and a large portion of containerized imports and domestic intermodal traffic.
Canadian Pacific announced the site for a new intermodal facility in Regina, Saskatchewan. The terminal will be located at a 300-acre site in the Global Transportation Hub (GTH) logistics park adjacent to CP's mainline between Regina & Moose Jaw. The new terminal will be designed to handle up to 250,000 containers annually. Construction is scheduled to start this summer and conclude in late 2012.
The board of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Tuesday approved a restructured lease with the Port Newark Container Terminal that will provide $500 million in private capital investment to upgrade the existing facility. The restructured PNCT lease calls for a 20-year extension of the existing lease through the year 2050 in order to expand the terminal through a $500 million private capital investment and secure a long-term strategic commitment with Mediterranean Shipping Co.
The lease provides guarantees from both PNCT and MSC that will dramatically increase cargo volumes at the terminal, from 414,000 containers today to 1.1 million by 2030. In addition, the lease would expand the terminal's facility by more than 100 acres, from 180 acres to approximately 287 acres.
The first-ever heavy-truck fuel-efficiency proposal has been sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review.
Glen Kedzie, vice president and environmental affairs counsel for American Trucking Associations, said he believes the joint proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has not undergone significant changes since it was first introduced in October. That proposal would cut emissions from large trucks by 7% to 20% by 2017 depending on the size of a truck and the way it is used.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit heard oral arguments in the American Trucking Associations' challenge to the Port of Los Angeles' clean-truck concession requirements this weekend, but the three-judge panel gave no indication as to how it will rule. The 9th Circuit is expected to take the case under advisement for at least two months before issuing its ruling. This is the second time the appellate court has heard testimony in the lawsuit.
ATA is challenging the requirements that Los Angeles has placed on motor carriers intending to perform drayage work at the port. The requirement that trucking companies hire drivers as employees is the chief concern of the industry, as this requirement, if upheld, could lead to the unionization of harbor truck drivers not only in Los Angeles but at ports across the country.
The Coalition for Clean and Safe Port contends that the Port of Los Angeles clean-truck concession requirements are legally defensible and are justified because they place the burden of purchasing costly new clean trucks on motor carriers rather than on relatively low-paid owner operators.
Most major economies are showing signs of "a mild loss of growth momentum" in the next few months, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said. The Paris-based organization of developed nations said its composite leading indicator for its 34 member countries stalled in April unchanged from March's level of 103. A 100 reading is the break-even point between expansion and contraction. The U.S. the U.S. was slightly above that level, with a 103.4 reading that inched up from 103.3 in March.
