1 | Page

Transportation Updates and

Regulatory News (TURN)

A quarterly publication of the Agricultural Marketing Service

www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/transportation/turn

Second Quarter 2022 (April, May, June) 

Published December 2022

Thirty-One Nations Drew on Reserves To Release Millions of Barrels of Oil 

On April 7, the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced its 31 member countries, including the 

United States, would release 120 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves over 6 months, in 

addition to the 63 million barrels they pledged in March. The new commitments amounted to the 

largest release in IEA’s history, according to the organization. Half of the newly pledged amount—60 

million barrels—was to come from the United States, as part of the larger release from its strategic 

petroleum reserve announced by the White House. (See Grain Transportation Report, April 7.) From 

April through September, around 240 million barrels of emergency oil stocks—amounting to well over 1 

million barrels per day—was to be made available to the global market. IEA’s 31 member countries are 

in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The strategic releases were intended to stabilize energy prices that 

had soared since Russia invaded Ukraine. 

DOT Reported Progress Toward Relieving Supply-Chain Issues in Trucking 

On April 8, the White House provided an update on its Trucking Action Plan. According to the U.S. 

Department of Transportation (DOT), as of April 2022, the trucking industry employed roughly 30,000 

more drivers than at the start of the pandemic. DOT hoped to bolster these gains with accomplishments

in its efforts to advance trucking. These achievements included more than 90 employers launching 

registered apprenticeship programs in 90 days and—between 2021 and 2022—a 112-percent increase in 

commercial driver’s licenses issued in January and February. DOT had also recently launched a new 

Women of Trucking Advisory Board to recruit women and a new Veterans Trucking Task Force to bring 

more veterans into the industry. DOT noted trucking was “one key bottleneck,” which had struggled 
2 | Page

with declining employment—even before the pandemic—and a historic demand for goods since the 

pandemic.

FMC Examined How Carriers Can Improve Service to Exporters

On April 22, the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) announced that its staff were comprehensively 

examining how key ocean carriers served U.S. export shippers. Launched in response to a March 2022 

directive of the FMC Chair, the review was led by the Commission’s vessel operating common carrier 

(VOCC) Audit Team. The previous week, the VOCC Audit Program had finished its first round of meetings 

with 11 key shipping lines. The meetings helped identify which ocean carriers had export strategies and 

how well those strategies worked. The VOCC Audit Team also used its exchanges with carriers to urge 

companies without export strategies to establish one.

ATRI Released New Study on the Environmental Impacts of Zero-Emission Trucks

On May 3, the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) released a new report on the 

environmental impacts of zero-emission trucks. The study used Federal and industry-sourced data to 

identify and compare full life-cycle CO2 emissions for a range of truck types (including a baseline diesel 

truck, battery electric trucks, and hydrogen fuel cell trucks). The researchers found that use of electric 

trucks would result in only 30-percent less CO2 emissions than standard diesel trucks. Despite electric 

trucks’ lack of direct tailpipe emissions, the CO2 production associated with producing the vehicle, 

battery, and electricity was sizeable. The marginal environmental benefits of electric trucks were largely 

due to lithium-ion battery production, which generated more than six times the carbon of diesel truck 

production. The research concluded that hydrogen fuel cell trucks were ultimately the most 

environmentally friendly truck type. However, the technology was not presently feasible for long-haul 

operations. The report also identified additional strategies that could reduce CO2 truck emissions for all 

three energy sources—diesel, electricity, and hydrogen. For example, renewable diesel could decrease 

CO2 emissions to only 32.7 percent of a standard diesel engine without requiring new infrastructure or 

truck equipment. Finally, hydrogen sourced from solar-power electricity could enable hydrogen fuel cell 

trucks to emit only 8.8 percent of the baseline diesel CO2. The full report is available here.

FMC Enhanced Its Monitoring of Alliance Carrier Operations 

On May 5, the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) began requiring the three global ocean carrier 

alliances (2M, OCEAN, and THE) and each of their member companies to provide enhanced pricing and 

capacity information. The newly mandated information would allow FMC to use uniform data in 

assessing ocean carrier behavior and marketplace competitiveness. This new transparency was intended 

to give FMC’s Bureau of Trade Analysis (BTA) insight into carrier pricing, broken down by individual trade 

lane and by type of container and service. FMC has also gained timely information about capacity 

management decisions of ocean carriers and alliances. The new requirements were the result of a yearlong examination by BTA to determine the data needed to properly analyze carrier behavior and 

marketplace trends. BTA continuously monitors compliance to assess whether agreements have an 

anticompetitive impact on the marketplace. 
3 | Page

Iowa Enacted Law Requiring Higher Blends of Ethanol and Biodiesel

On May 17, Iowa enacted a law requiring gas stations to offer gasoline containing 15-percent ethanol

(E15). Iowa was the first State in the Nation to adopt such an E15 standard. The law was intended to

lower gas prices as it expanded consumer access to gasoline blended with high shares of ethanol and

biodiesel. The law included a range of tax credits and incentives for biofuel producers and fuel retailers.

Under the law, starting next year, any new or upgraded fuel infrastructure must be compatible with E85

(gasoline with 15-percent ethanol) and B20 (diesel with at least 20-percent biodiesel). The additional

grain needed to produce the E15 blend should increase the demand for truck transportation. The new

high-ethanol blends were also expected to lower fuel prices, which have reached historic highs this year. 

Helena Harbor Awarded $535,000 Grant by Arkansas Waterways Commission

On May 19, The Arkansas Waterways Commission awarded a grant of $535,000 to the Helena Harbor,

West Helena, AR, to support the Helm Fertilizer Terminal expansion at the harbor. The grant will fund a

staging lane for 18-wheeler traffic, as well as provide for critical road improvements that enable safer,

more efficient operations at Helena Harbor. Ground breaking took place on October 9. Over the next 2

years, Helm Fertilizer plans to invest more than $12 million to expand the terminal’s infrastructure to

support agriculture and accommodate increased fertilizer demand. 

Global Index Ranked 2021 Port Performance in Processing Containers

On May 25, the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence released the second edition of their

jointly produced annual Container Port Performance Index for 2021. Listed in descending order of

efficiency, the worldwide port rankings were based on the time spent by vessels in port exchanging

container cargos, and averages were weighted by call size and vessel size. In the ranking of 370 ports

worldwide, the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles took the last two spots—369 and 370, respectively.

(In 2020, out of 351 ports, Los Angeles had ranked 337 and Long Beach, 341.) The index’s performance

metrics showed large variances in port efficiency, which often related to differences in infrastructure

spending. According to the index report, the large queue of ships on the U.S. West Coast in 2021

stemmed from such factors as pandemic-induced labor issues at the ports, slow chassis turns, lack of

container staging space, slow rail service, and containers out of position in the network. According to

the report, these issues were common among the least efficient ports. 

FMC Released Findings on Effects of COVID-19 on Ocean Transport

On May 31, the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) released its final report on “The Effects of COVID19 on the U.S. International Ocean Transportation Supply Chain,” a 2-year investigation involving

hundreds of FMC stakeholders. Both importers and exporters emphasized two primary pandemicrelated concerns: the high cost of shipping cargo and excessive demurrage and detention charges.

Among other points, the investigation’s final recommendations to address stakeholder concerns

included the following: new rulemakings to clarify carrier practices; an investigation of the various 

charges shippers are assessed; required employment of a FMC officer for ocean common carriers, 

seaports, and marine terminals; and enhanced cooperation between FMC and USDA (“the agency most

experienced in agricultural export promotion”) regarding container availability and other issues. The

final report can be accessed here.
4 | Page

Port of Houston Started Ship Channel Expansion Project 

On June 1, the Port of Houston started Project 11 to expand the Houston Ship Channel—the planning for 

which started in 2010. Scheduled for completion in 2025, the $1.1 billion expansion project will allow 

the ship channel to accommodate an additional 1,400 vessels per year. Along the Houston Ship 

Channel’s 26-mile reach to the Galveston Bay, Project 11 will increase the channel’s width from 530 feet 

to 700 feet. It will also increase the upstream segments’ depth from the current 45 feet to 46.5 feet. 

Currently, the channel accommodates about 8,200 vessels and 215,000 barges each year, hauling more 

than 247 million tons of cargo. The Port of Houston handled 5 percent of total U.S. exported bulk grains, 

soybeans, and grain products in 2020. 

DOT CRISI Grants Will Help Improve Midwestern Rail Transport

On June 2, the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Railroad Administration announced the 

award of funding from its Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant 

program—part of which will be used to help increase supply chain resilience and fluidity. The funds 

include $184 million for rural rail projects. The rural grant awards included funds devoted to shortline 

railroads in many top grain-producing States, such as Michigan ($30 million), Kansas ($20.4 million), 

Indiana ($8.4 million), Iowa ($7.1 million), Ohio ($6.9 million), North Dakota ($6.7 million), Nebraska

($6.3 million), Illinois ($1.8 million), and Minnesota ($1.4 million). The short line rail industry plays a key 

role in the first and last miles of grain shipments by rail. In 2018, USDA funded research that developed 

a list of available Federal and State short-line-rail assistance programs.

Oregon Rail-to-Barge Facility Received $2 Million State Grant 

On June 3, the Oregon Transportation Commission approved a $2.1 million grant for the Morrow County 

Grain Growers (MCGG) cooperative to expand its rail-to-barge grain facility at the Port of Morrow on the 

Columbia River. The grant will cover two-thirds of the project’s $3 million dollar cost. The MCGG board, 

which is responsible for the final costs not covered by the grant, must issue the final approval. The Port 

of Morrow facility is currently the only one on the Columbia River that can unload grain from rail cars 

into barges headed to downstream export elevators. The expansion will install a new 600,000-bushel 

grain bin, which will enable the facility to handle Canadian Pacific trains of 134 or more railcars. 

According to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers data, from 2016 to 2020, grain shipments originating or 

moving through the Columbia River system ranged between 27.5 million tons and 33.8 million tons—or 

66-74 percent of all shipments on the river. From 2016 to 2020, wheat was the primary grain commodity 

shipped on the Columbia River, with shipments ranging between 12.7 million tons and 16.4 million tons. 

EPA Finalized Ethanol and Biodiesel Blending Requirement 

On June 3, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the renewable volume obligation (RVO), 

at 20.63 billion gallons for 2022. The RVO is the EPA-set minimum of renewable fuel that must be 

blended with gasoline or diesel and made available to consumers, for a given year. EPA’s 2022 RVO 

includes 15 billion gallons of ethanol, up from 12.5 billion gallons finalized in 2020 and 13.79 billion 

gallons in 2021. The 2022 biodiesel volume is set at 2.76 billion gallons, up from the 2.43 billion gallons 

set in both 2020 and 2021. The 2022 ethanol and biodiesel totals comprise the highest RVO to be 

finalized since EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standard was created in 2007. According to EPA, the increased RVO 

will help reduce the Nation’s dependence on oil. The high blending requirements are also intended to 
5 | Page

diversify the fuel supply by raising domestic biofuel production. The additional blending requirements 

will require more grain and should increase the demand for transporting grain and biofuels. 

FHWA Issued Final Rule Extending Inspection Requirements for Bridges

On June 6, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) implemented its final rule updating the National 

Bridge Inspection Standards (NBIS) for the Nation’s highway bridges. Taking a risk-based approach to 

inspection, the rule lengthens intervals between inspections for some bridges (based on the level of risk 

they pose) from 24 months to 48 months for routine inspections and to 72 months for underwater 

inspections. Conserving resources in this way, FHWA can then support more effective use of inspection 

resources elsewhere (for bridges that need the most attention). The final rule will also allow the use of 

technologies such as unmanned aerial vehicles and sonar to perform some inspections. According to the 

American Road and Transportation Builders Association’s 2022 Bridge Report, more than 43,500 bridges 

are rated in poor condition (i.e., classified as “structurally deficient). Furthermore, “36 percent of U.S. 

bridges—nearly 224,000 spans—need repair work, and 78,800 bridges should be replaced.”

FMC Launches Three Initiatives To Improve Supply Chain Performance 

On June 8, the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) announced three new initiatives that will enhance 

assistance to shippers, further improve compliance with FMC regulations, and help resolve supply chain 

issues. All three actions are based on recommendations in FMC’s report, “The Effects of COVID-19 on 

the U.S. International Ocean Transportation Supply Chain.” One initiative will establish a new and 

permanent International Ocean Shipping Supply Chain Program. Another will reestablish the Export 

Rapid Response Team. Finally, the third action will take the steps necessary for carriers, marine terminal 

operators, and operating seaports to employ a designated FMC compliance officer. The report 

recommending the actions is the result of a 2-year investigation involving hundreds of FMC 

stakeholders.

STB Instructed Railroads To Revise Service Recovery Plans 

On June 13, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) required the four U.S. Class I railroads to correct 

deficiencies and provide additional information on their planned actions to improve their service.

Throughout 2022, the railroads—BNSF Railway, Union Pacific Railroad, CSX Transportation, and Norfolk

Southern Railway—have struggled with delays and congestion on their networks. On May 20, the

railroads submitted service recovery plans to STB, as requested. STB said the plans were “an opportunity

[for the railroads] to show their commitment to improved service—and to demonstrate progress.”

However, STB also stated, “the Carriers failed, in varying degrees, to provide service recovery plans that

met the Board’s stated expectations.” In its June 13 decision, STB described in detail the information

needed from each of the four railroads. The railroads were required to submit their revised service 

recovery plans on June 23. 

USACE Endorses Deepening Port of New York and New Jersey

On June 15, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) endorsed a 4-year study done by USACE and the

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), which recommends deepening the port to

55 feet, from its current depth of 50 feet. To accommodate longer, larger ships, the study also

recommends widening all bends in the channel leading to the port. Likewise, the study proposes

deepening Ambrose Channel—from its current depth of 58-feet—to help ease supply chain issues. As
6 | Page

the main entrance into the lower New York Harbor, a deeper Ambrose Channel would allow ships to 

enter the harbor with more containers, generate less idle time due to tide restrictions, and allow more 

post-Panamax ships to call on the East Coast’s busiest box port. The port has road and rail reach into 17 

States and is a key driver of East Coast economic activity. USACE’s endorsement of the study allows the 

agency to seek congressional funding in the 2024 Water Resources Development Act to help pay for the 

recommended projects. PANYNJ will also contribute funds.

Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 Became Law

Enacted on June 16, the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA) is intended to expand the Federal 

Maritime Commission’s (FMC) authority to optimize the ocean transportation system to facilitate 

movement of U.S. exports. In contrast to previous ocean shipping policy, the law specifies shipment 

details that detention and demurrage invoices must include, directs FMC to promptly investigate 

complaints about charges, and makes carriers responsible for establishing the reasonableness of any 

detention and demurrage charges. Within the new law’s first 45 days, FMC must initiate a rulemaking to 

further define prohibited detention and demurrage practices. The law also prohibits carriers from 

“unreasonably refus[ing] cargo space accommodations when available” and from “unreasonably 

refus[ing] to deal or negotiate, including with respect to vessel space accommodations.” In the months

following OSRA’s enactment, FMC must initiate rulemakings to further clarify carrier practices. Such 

rulemakings are expected to help prevent carriers from returning only empty containers to China, rather 

than first loading them with agricultural products.

USDA Partnered With Two More Port Locations—Tacoma and Houston 

On June 16, USDA announced partnerships with two more ports to ease congestion for agricultural 

exporters—on top of earlier projects with the Ports of Oakland and Seattle. In one case, the Northwest 

Seaport Alliance (NWSA) opened a 16-acre “pop up” site at the Port of Tacoma, WA. Both the Tacoma 

site and NWSA’s 49-acre pop-up site in Seattle accept dry agricultural or refrigerated (reefer) containers 

for temporary storage. USDA will provide payments of $200 per dry container and $400 per reefer 

container to help cover the additional logistical costs of using the sites. In addition, a partnership 

between USDA and the Port of Houston, TX, has ensured agricultural companies and cooperatives can 

export their commodities. During the first year of the Port of Houston’s 5-year lease of an additional 

1,060 chassis, USDA will cover 50 percent of the cost of obtaining and leasing the chassis. USDA’s aim 

with these projects is “to help American farmers and agricultural producers move their product to 

market.” 

Port of Houston Awards Contracts To Dredge Houston Ship Channel

On June 17, the Port of Houston awarded two contracts, worth $429.4 million, to dredge a 17.3-mile 

section of the Houston ship channel. The two firms performing the work are Weeks Marine (with a 

$329.6 million contract) and Curtin Maritime Corp (with a $99.8 million contract). The firms will widen 

one portion of the channel by 700 feet and another portion by 455 feet. The channel dredging is part of 

the Port of Houston’s previously announced $1.1 billion expansion, to be completed by 2025. The 

expansion should allow the ship channel to accommodate 1,400 vessels per year and is expected to 

generate more than $134 billion annually. The Houston Ship Channel is currently the busiest waterway 
7 | Page

in the Nation. Its facilities have an economic impact of almost $802 billion and support more than 

2.1 million jobs. 

U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Hear CTA’s Petition

On June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the California Trucking Association’s (CTA) petition 

regarding California’s Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) independent contractor law. The Supreme Court’s decision 

means the previous ruling upholding AB5 from a lower U.S. Circuit court stands and a preliminary 

injunction preventing AB5 from being enforced on motor carriers ended July 7. The new law requires 

employers to prove workers are independent contractors, rather than direct employees, and the law 

could result in a reclassification of all owner-operators within the State. 

FMCSA Cancels HOS Waiver for Feed and Fuel 

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) canceled its waiver on hours-of-service (HOS) 

requirements for trucks transporting feed, fuel, propane, and ethanol. After the waiver was first issued 

in 2020 to help address the national COVID-19 emergency, FMCSA extended the waiver more than 10 

times, sometimes modifying it. Based on comments received during the most recent extension period 

through October 15, FMCSA decided to let the waiver expire.

Preferred Citation

Mulik, Kranti. December 2022. Transportation Updates and Regulatory News. U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service. Web. <http://dx.doi.org/10.9752/TS345.12-2022> 

Photo credits: 

Truck: Burt Barnes

All other photos: USDA

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.