Government Regulation

May 31, 2022

Lockdown Lifted

Shanghai Is Finally Lifting Its COVID Lockdown

by Tyler DurdenTuesday, May 31, 2022 – 06:00 PM

After another two months of misery and lockdowns, Shanghai is finally starting to lift its Covid restrictions (again).

Authorities in the Chinese city have started “dismantling fences around housing compounds and ripping police tape off public squares and buildings”, according to a report published on Tuesday by Reuters

On Monday night, residents were being allowed out of their compounds for the first time in two months, the report says. Despite the lockdowns starting to come to an end, “there was a sense of wariness and anxiety among residents,” Reuters reported. 

Joseph Mak, who works in education, commented: “I feel a little nervous. It’s hard to believe it’s actually happening.”

Not only has the recent bout of lockdowns triggered public protests and anger in the city of more than 25 million people, it also threw another sizeable wrench into the global supply chain at a time when the world could least afford it. 

Shanghai government spokeswoman Yin Xin told reporters this week: “This is a day that we dreamed of for a very long time. Everyone has sacrificed a lot. This day has been hard-won, and we need to cherish and protect it, and welcome back the Shanghai we are familiar with and missed.”

Despite the lockdowns being lifted, residents will still have to test every 72 hours to take public transportation and those who test positive will still be subjected to China’s “normal” quarantine procedures. 

Shanghai brought COVID under control at “very significant personal and economic cost”, commented Julian MacCormac, chair of the British Chamber in China. He continued: “What has materially changed to ensure that this will not happen again? That’s where the uncertainty lies.”

Todd Pearson, managing director of Camel Hospitality Group added: “I’m hopeful that they will rush things along to restart the economy. I just hope it’s not at the cost of more outbreaks. I’m not sure many businesses or the people could handle much more.”

Qu Weiguo, a professor at the Fudan University school of foreign languages even wrote online: “The Shanghai government needs to make a public apology in order to obtain the understanding and support of the people of Shanghai and repair the damaged relationship between the government and the people.”

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/shanghai-finally-lifting-its-covid-lockdown

February 18, 2022

DOJ & The Supply Chain

DOJ expands scrutiny of possible supply-chain profiteers

Trucking, warehousing, 3PLs could be in antitrust division’s crosshairs

John Gallagher, Washington Correspondent Follow on Twitter Thursday, February 17, 2022 2 minutes read

Trucking could now be in DOJ crosshairs. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Listen to this article 0:00 / 3:32 BeyondWords

The U.S. Department of Justice is now targeting a wider swath of transportation companies that it deems may be using supply chain disruption to gouge customers

The initiative, which DOJ announced Thursday, broadens the scope of the Biden administration’s heightened scrutiny of anticompetitive behavior in various industry segments, including transportation.

“The lingering challenge of supply chain disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic has created an opportunity for criminals to fix prices and overcharge customers,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to collaborate and investigate schemes that violate our antitrust laws and stifle our economic recovery.”

As part of the initiative, DOJ’s Antitrust Division is prioritizing existing investigations where competitors may be exploiting supply chain disruptions for profit and is “undertaking measures to proactively investigate collusion in industries particularly affected” by supply chain disruptions, the agency warned.

“For those who seek to exploit supply chain disruptions for their own illicit gain, the Antitrust Division, along with the FBI, will investigate and prosecute criminal violations of the antitrust laws, including agreements between individuals and businesses to fix prices or wages, rig bids or allocate markets.”

Up to now, DOJ’s stepped-up oversight of anticompetitive behavior in the transportation sector has focused on the maritime industry and railroads, where there has been evidence that the relatively few players have wielded their market power to raise rates.

In July, DOJ and the Federal Maritime Commission signed a first-time agreement to sharpen economic oversight of foreign ocean carriers serving in the U.S. international container trades. The agreement came days after President Joe Biden signed an executive order aimed at curbing potential anticompetitive behavior among 72 industries, including among ocean carriers and freight railroads.

But Thursday’s announcement should now put companies involved with trucking, warehousing, 3PLs and last-mile delivery on notice as well, according to one trade expert.

“Certainly the focus here is on other elements of the supply chain that haven’t gotten as much attention as ocean carriers and marine terminals but are needed to get cargo to and from inland destinations,” Gerald Morrissey, a partner with the law firm Holland & Knight, told FreightWaves.

“This is really saying that any company in the supply chain, particularly those that are not subject to some form of antitrust immunity [such as ocean carriers and marine terminals] could be in the crosshairs for potential complaints by customers or competitors with this increased focus from DOJ.”

As part of the initiative, the Antitrust Division has formed a working group with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the Canadian Competition Bureau, the New Zealand Commerce Commission, and the United Kingdom Competition and Markets Authority, focusing on collusion in global supply chains.

“The working group is developing and sharing intelligence, utilizing existing international cooperation tools, to detect and combat collusive schemes,” DOJ stated.

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/doj-expands-scrutiny-of-possible-supply-chain-profiteers?utm_source=sfmc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=FW_Daily_2_18_22&utm_term=Read+More&utm_id=116781&sfmc_id=63552105

February 18, 2022

DOJ & The Supply Chain

DOJ expands scrutiny of possible supply-chain profiteers

Trucking, warehousing, 3PLs could be in antitrust division’s crosshairs

John Gallagher, Washington Correspondent Follow on Twitter Thursday, February 17, 2022 2 minutes read

Trucking could now be in DOJ crosshairs. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Listen to this article 0:00 / 3:32 BeyondWords

The U.S. Department of Justice is now targeting a wider swath of transportation companies that it deems may be using supply chain disruption to gouge customers

The initiative, which DOJ announced Thursday, broadens the scope of the Biden administration’s heightened scrutiny of anticompetitive behavior in various industry segments, including transportation.

“The lingering challenge of supply chain disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic has created an opportunity for criminals to fix prices and overcharge customers,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to collaborate and investigate schemes that violate our antitrust laws and stifle our economic recovery.”

As part of the initiative, DOJ’s Antitrust Division is prioritizing existing investigations where competitors may be exploiting supply chain disruptions for profit and is “undertaking measures to proactively investigate collusion in industries particularly affected” by supply chain disruptions, the agency warned.

“For those who seek to exploit supply chain disruptions for their own illicit gain, the Antitrust Division, along with the FBI, will investigate and prosecute criminal violations of the antitrust laws, including agreements between individuals and businesses to fix prices or wages, rig bids or allocate markets.”

Up to now, DOJ’s stepped-up oversight of anticompetitive behavior in the transportation sector has focused on the maritime industry and railroads, where there has been evidence that the relatively few players have wielded their market power to raise rates.

In July, DOJ and the Federal Maritime Commission signed a first-time agreement to sharpen economic oversight of foreign ocean carriers serving in the U.S. international container trades. The agreement came days after President Joe Biden signed an executive order aimed at curbing potential anticompetitive behavior among 72 industries, including among ocean carriers and freight railroads.

But Thursday’s announcement should now put companies involved with trucking, warehousing, 3PLs and last-mile delivery on notice as well, according to one trade expert.

“Certainly the focus here is on other elements of the supply chain that haven’t gotten as much attention as ocean carriers and marine terminals but are needed to get cargo to and from inland destinations,” Gerald Morrissey, a partner with the law firm Holland & Knight, told FreightWaves.

“This is really saying that any company in the supply chain, particularly those that are not subject to some form of antitrust immunity [such as ocean carriers and marine terminals] could be in the crosshairs for potential complaints by customers or competitors with this increased focus from DOJ.”

As part of the initiative, the Antitrust Division has formed a working group with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the Canadian Competition Bureau, the New Zealand Commerce Commission, and the United Kingdom Competition and Markets Authority, focusing on collusion in global supply chains.

“The working group is developing and sharing intelligence, utilizing existing international cooperation tools, to detect and combat collusive schemes,” DOJ stated.

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/doj-expands-scrutiny-of-possible-supply-chain-profiteers?utm_source=sfmc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=FW_Daily_2_18_22&utm_term=Read+More&utm_id=116781&sfmc_id=63552105

February 15, 2022

Wood Structural Panel Primer

Look for quality mark on wood structural panels

By Larry Adams February 14, 2022 | 9:55 am CST

TACOMA, Wash. — When ordering or specifying wood structural panels, it is important to receive the right panel for the application, and equally important that the panel is manufactured with the required quality, according to the APA – The Engineered Wood Association.

Wood structural panels trademarked by APA meet both criteria, based on qualification tests in compliance with Product Standards PS 1 for plywood and PS 2 for plywood and oriented strand board (OSB), as well as on-going quality assurance tests on every production period with a robust quality assurance system. In Canada, APA panels are trademarked to similar standards, which include CSA O121 for Douglas fir plywood, CSA O151 for Canadian softwood plywood and CSA O325 for OSB and plywood.

APA’s Quality Assurance System
APA’s quality assurance system includes review of mill quality procedures, independent third-party audits of the mill quality program and regular independent testing that verifies the quality and performance of wood structural panels. Also, APA’s quality assurance system has proactive steps to ensure any product quality issues are addressed promptly and properly in the manufacturing plant.

APA-certified products are authorized to bear a trademark clearly identifying the appropriate standard and product application. The qualification and quality assurance system apply evaluation methods that are appropriate for many end-use applications, including span ratings for roof, wall and floor construction, and for a wide variety of other uses, such as in concrete forming, upholstered furniture frames, recreational vehicles and other manufactured products where materials with high strength-to-weight ratios, durable exterior adhesives and known mechanical properties are important. 

Occasionally, imported wood structural panels are sold in North America. Those imported panels may be manufactured with foreign wood species of a low density or with adhesives of unknown durability, or they may be qualified by testing to a foreign standard that is not developed and intended for North American markets. Furthermore, the in-plant quality program, and especially the independent third-party quality assurance system of imported panels might be untested and unproven in North America.

In the past, APA has been asked to evaluate imported panels available in local markets by testing them with requirements specified in PS 1 and PS 2. In some cases, the panels were found to be lacking in stiffness and bond quality and emitting formaldehyde in excess of certified products conforming to North American standards. 

Formaldehyde regulations and structural wood products
Since North American structural wood products produced under the PS 1 and PS 2 standards are designed for construction applications governed by building codes, they are manufactured only with moisture-resistant adhesives that meet Exterior or Exposure 1 bond classifications.

These adhesives, such as phenol formaldehyde and diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), are chemically reacted into stable bonds during pressing. The final products have such low formaldehyde emission levels that they easily meet or are exempt from the world’s leading formaldehyde emission standards and regulations.

Learn more about formaldehyde emission standards and regulations for structural wood products.  Specifying APA-trademarked panels manufactured by trusted North American manufacturers is an assurance of getting the right product for the right application at a recognized quality level.

For more information, visit https://www.apawood.org.

https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/look-quality-mark-wood-structural-panels

February 15, 2022

Wood Structural Panel Primer

Look for quality mark on wood structural panels

By Larry Adams February 14, 2022 | 9:55 am CST

TACOMA, Wash. — When ordering or specifying wood structural panels, it is important to receive the right panel for the application, and equally important that the panel is manufactured with the required quality, according to the APA – The Engineered Wood Association.

Wood structural panels trademarked by APA meet both criteria, based on qualification tests in compliance with Product Standards PS 1 for plywood and PS 2 for plywood and oriented strand board (OSB), as well as on-going quality assurance tests on every production period with a robust quality assurance system. In Canada, APA panels are trademarked to similar standards, which include CSA O121 for Douglas fir plywood, CSA O151 for Canadian softwood plywood and CSA O325 for OSB and plywood.

APA’s Quality Assurance System
APA’s quality assurance system includes review of mill quality procedures, independent third-party audits of the mill quality program and regular independent testing that verifies the quality and performance of wood structural panels. Also, APA’s quality assurance system has proactive steps to ensure any product quality issues are addressed promptly and properly in the manufacturing plant.

APA-certified products are authorized to bear a trademark clearly identifying the appropriate standard and product application. The qualification and quality assurance system apply evaluation methods that are appropriate for many end-use applications, including span ratings for roof, wall and floor construction, and for a wide variety of other uses, such as in concrete forming, upholstered furniture frames, recreational vehicles and other manufactured products where materials with high strength-to-weight ratios, durable exterior adhesives and known mechanical properties are important. 

Occasionally, imported wood structural panels are sold in North America. Those imported panels may be manufactured with foreign wood species of a low density or with adhesives of unknown durability, or they may be qualified by testing to a foreign standard that is not developed and intended for North American markets. Furthermore, the in-plant quality program, and especially the independent third-party quality assurance system of imported panels might be untested and unproven in North America.

In the past, APA has been asked to evaluate imported panels available in local markets by testing them with requirements specified in PS 1 and PS 2. In some cases, the panels were found to be lacking in stiffness and bond quality and emitting formaldehyde in excess of certified products conforming to North American standards. 

Formaldehyde regulations and structural wood products
Since North American structural wood products produced under the PS 1 and PS 2 standards are designed for construction applications governed by building codes, they are manufactured only with moisture-resistant adhesives that meet Exterior or Exposure 1 bond classifications.

These adhesives, such as phenol formaldehyde and diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), are chemically reacted into stable bonds during pressing. The final products have such low formaldehyde emission levels that they easily meet or are exempt from the world’s leading formaldehyde emission standards and regulations.

Learn more about formaldehyde emission standards and regulations for structural wood products.  Specifying APA-trademarked panels manufactured by trusted North American manufacturers is an assurance of getting the right product for the right application at a recognized quality level.

For more information, visit https://www.apawood.org.

https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/look-quality-mark-wood-structural-panels