June - 2017

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GOP chairman: Trump’s infrastructure plan may slip to next year

Congressional work on President Trump’s $1 trillion infrastructure package may slip to next year, a Republican chairman said Thursday. Lawmakers are facing a pile of other priorities, while the White House has yet to unveil formal legislative text for its massive rebuilding proposal. “They’re supposedly going to submit some sort of plan in the fall, so we’ll see,” Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, told reporters. “We’re

CBO: Debt ceiling will be hit in October

The Congressional Budget Office on Thursday projected that the U.S. Treasury would “most likely” run out of cash in early to mid-October unless Congress raises the debt ceiling. The exact timing is unclear, the CBO said in a new report, as unpredictable swings in revenues and outlays may deplete funds more quickly or slowly than projected. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has urged Congress to lift the debt limit before its August recess, though he has said that the nation c

Some box terminals are facing 'catastrophic economic failure', warns analyst

Major container ports could be facing an investment crisis that will dwarf the problems seen in liner shipping over the last few years. At the TOC Europe Container Supply Chain event in Amsterdam today, Lars Jensen, partner and chief executive of liner analyst SeaIntelligence Consulting, warned that with the large number of 18,000-21,000 teu ultra large container vessels (ULCVs) entering the global shipping fleet, the only way operators at hub ports would be able to compete w

Why Would Anyone Fear a Self-Driving Car?

To understand what the world will be like in ten years, it isn’t enough to look back at how different things were a decade ago and presume the differences will be comparable. The pace of technological change is speeding up so quickly, says Astro Teller, who leads the arm of Google that aims at “moonshots,” that one must look back 30 years to experience the same amount of discontinuity we’ll feel ten years hence. A decade out, he continued, half of all cars on the road will be

White House Office of American Innovation Lays Out Priorities

The White House Office of American Innovation announced in March has been an object of fascination among the government community. Led by President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, the collection of White House talent has been described as a “SWAT team of internal consultants” and a liaison between federal bureaucracies and Silicon Valley innovation. Save for a few public appearances by its chief officials and praise from those who’ve worked behind the scenes with the

This Encrypted Ride-Sharing App Could Be the Future of Transportation

For many people, the convenience of a ride-sharing service like Uber or Lyft outweighs the collection and use of their personal data, including location data. But for those who find the treasure trove of data collected by companies like Uber extremely troubling, there is a ride-sharing option currently in development. According to Wired, cryptography researchers from the Swiss Federal Polytechnic Institute in Lausanne have developed the beginnings of a software system called

One year on, the expanded Panama Canal still 'surpassing expectations'

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) yesterday celebrated the first anniversary of the opening of the expanded waterway, described as a game-changing event in the history of maritime transport. ACP said the expanded canal’s inauguration on 26 June 2016 had resulted in “redrawn global trade routes”. The first post-panamax vessel to transit the canal was the specially renamed 9,443 teu Cosco Shipping Panama. Prior to the $5.2bn upgrade and widening of its locks, the 77km canal link

Abbott plots aggressive approach to special session

Gov. Greg Abbott is plotting an aggressive approach to the upcoming special session of the Legislature, diverting from his above-the-fray style to try to see through an ambitious 20-item agenda. The push came into public view Thursday, when Abbott's office began announcing lawmakers who will take the lead on individual items — state Rep. Craig Goldman, R-Fort Worth, and state Sen. Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills, intend to author legislation cracking down on mail-in bal

ULTRA Wide Load! World's LARGEST container ship that weighs 210,890 tonnes and spans FOUR footba

Stretching a quarter of a mile and weighing a mighty 210,890 tonnes, the world's largest container ship laden with cars, car parts, clothing, shoes and electrical goods from Asia hauled itself into a British port for the first time as stunned onlookers gasped and took photos of the mega-vessel with their phones. The 21,413 TEU OOCL Hong Kong, which can carry up to 21,000 20ft containers, arrived after a 17-year absence from British waters at the Hutchinson Port of Felixstowe,

LAW: Measure would prohibit U.S. states from establishing rules on AV technology

A U.S. House Republican proposal revealed last week would bar states from setting their own rules about the designing and testing of self-driving vehicles. The proposal also would block federal regulators from demanding pre-market approval for autonomous-vehicle (AV) technology. The draft legislation is far from becoming law, but would benefit automakers and technology companies seeking to persuade Congress and the Trump administration to pre-empt rules under consideration in

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