The Bureau of Transportation Statistics announced that the Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) fell 2.5% in September from its August level, declining for the second consecutive month. (BTS statistics available at http://www.bts.gov/press_releases/2008/bts053_08/html/bts053_08.html)

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has issued a release regarding its hosting of more than 1,000 leading suppliers, Chinese officials, and NGOs in Beijing, China. The company outlined a series of aggressive goals and expectations to build a more environmentally and socially responsible global supply chain. (Wal-Mart press release, dated 10/22/08, available at http://walmartstores.com/FactsNews/NewsRoom/8696.aspx.)

The Port of Long Beach has issued a news release stating that despite a requested injunction by the Federal Maritime Commission against the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to invalidate portions of the ports' Clean Trucks Programs, the Port of Long Beach is confident in its legal position and will continue to move ahead with its initiative to ban and replace dirty diesel trucks that pollute the region. (News release available at http://www.polb.com/news/displaynews.asp?NewsID=475&targetid=1)

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has issued an interim rule, effective November 3, 2008, which adds Russia and Azerbaijan to the list of regions where African swine fever exists. APHIS notes that it is imposing these restrictions retroactively to November 19, 2007, for Russia, and to January 28, 2008, for Azerbaijan. Comments are due by January 2, 2009. (D/N APHIS-2008-0107, FR Pub 11/03/08, available at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-26140.pdf)

Sony’s on the hot seat again, with yet another recall of batteries it supplied for other brands’ laptop PCs. On Friday, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a voluntary recall of Sony-made lithium-ion rechargeable batteries used in Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Toshiba notebook PCs. The recall involves about 35,000 batteries in the U.S. and another 65,000 worldwide, the Commission said. “These lithium-ion batteries can overheat, posing a fire and burn hazard to consumers,” it said. “There have been 19 reports of the batteries overheating, including 17 reports of flames/fire, 10 resulting in minor property damage. Two consumers experienced minor burns.” The Sony batteries involved were shipped with PCs sold Dec. 2004 through June 2006 for $700 to $3,000. The batteries also were sold separately as replacements for $100 to $160. Sony’s corporate Web sites acknowledged the recall on Friday.

On October 29, 2008, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure held a hearing on "Investing in Infrastructure: The Road to Recovery." Testimony was heard from government, transportation, and public witnesses. (Congressional Record dated 10/30/08, available at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/B?r110:@FIELD(FLD003d)@FIELD(DDATE20081030).)

National Association of Manufacturers President Engler has called for in-depth study of a "Transatlantic Free Trade Area" between either the European Union and the U.S. or the EU and the North American Free Trade Agreement nations. (NAM press release, dated 10/21/08, available at http://www.nam.org/NewsFromtheNAM/EnglerPosesTransatlanticFreeTradeAgreement.aspx)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a general notice announcing the expansion of the Importer Self-Assessment Program (ISA) to include the Importer Self-Assessment-Product Safety Pilot (ISA-PS).

The Port of Long Beach has made available a webcast of its October 22, 2008 Clean Trucks Program workshop which addressed topics including what cargo owners need to know about the new Clean Trucks Program, such as PortCheck, the system for cargo owners to claim their cargo and for the Port to collect the Clean Trucks. (Webcast available at http://longbeach.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=465; PowerPoint presentation available at http://www.polb.com/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=5771)

The Department of Homeland Security has announced that the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) Web site has been enhanced to better facilitate travel by nationals of Visa Waiver Program countries to the U.S. Instructions on how to obtain an electronic travel authorization are now available in 13 additional languages. (DHS press release, dated 10/15/08, available at http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1224103683923.shtm)