Tag: dairy shipping container

NMPF-Endorsed Supply Chain Security Bill Passes House

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

Following significant support and engagement by NMPF and the U.S. Dairy Export Council, the House of Representatives on May 13 approved the bipartisan Combatting Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA).

NMPF has been at the forefront of this effort, including staff meetings with members of Congress and the White House National Economic Council to underscore the considerable damage that organized cargo theft poses to dairy shippers. NMPF President & CEO Gregg Doud met with Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-IA, the lead sponsor of the bill, on April 30 to highlight dairy’s exposure to container break-ins and thank him for his leadership on this issue.

Dairy products are rarely the target of organized criminal activity, but increasingly have become collateral damage, which leads to costly shipment returns, limited insurance recourse, and real risks to food safety and U.S. dairy’s reputation as a dependable global supplier.

CORCA would establish a coordination center within the Department of Homeland Security to centralize investigation and prosecution efforts. NMPF worked directly to ensure food and agriculture remained included in the final legislation, which now advances to the Senate.

NMPF Highlights Supply Chain Security

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF Trade Policy Director Tony Rice spoke to the challenges affecting the U.S. dairy industry due to shipping container break-ins at a Dec. 18 U.S. Chamber of Commerce event on supply chain security.

Organized crime groups in 2024 increasingly broke into intermodal containers on railroads in search of high-value items, causing collateral damage to dairy and other agricultural exporters.

Rice during a panel discussion detailed the financial losses that dairy exporters and producers incur when they must return and dispose of product that has been broken into, without the ability to file insurance claims. These break-ins also create significant food safety issues and could damage a producer’s reputation as a reliable supplier.

Congressmen Brad Schneider, D-IL, and David Valadao, R-CA, also spoke at the conference to highlight their co-sponsored bill, the Safeguarding Our Supply Chains Act. Endorsed by NMPF and the U.S. Dairy Export Council, the bill would authorize $20 million to create a crime coordination center within Homeland Security Investigations, as well as a task force comprised of relevant agencies.