China's first cross-border multimodal transportation service operating under a single bill of lading officially launched Tuesday morning with the departure of freight train X80442 from Yantai Port in east China's Shandong province, integrating sea, rail and road logistics.
The cross-border freight train was loaded with 53 containers of commercial vehicles and auto parts.
The containers were shipped from the Republic of Korea's Incheon Port, arriving at Yantai Port in Shandong after a 14-hour sea voyage. They were then transported by rail to road ports in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, before being delivered by road to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Thanks to the seamless intermodal connectivity enabled by the "single bill of lading" system, the entire journey took only 12 days, five days shorter than traditional transport routes.
China officially launches first single-waybill cross-border multimodal transport system
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened an investigation into Tesla's certification that its new Cybercab meets all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS).
The probe, formally designated as an Audit Query, was opened on Sept. 3 and covers an estimated 1,000 Cybercab vehicles, according to an NHTSA investigation document made public on Friday. It will examine the process and technical data Tesla relied upon when certifying the Cybercab, as well as related issues. Tesla began commercial deployment of a small number of Cybercab vehicles in Austin, Texas, on Thursday and notified the agency that it had certified the vehicles as compliant with all applicable FMVSS. Tesla also told the NHTSA that it plans to gradually expand commercial deployment of the Cybercab to include additional vehicles and locations.
The vehicles lack permanently attached conventional manual controls, such as a brake pedal, gas pedal, steering wheel and mirrors, according to the NHTSA.
The agency said the inquiry will examine, among other issues, the extent to which Tesla's certification depended on determinations that certain FMVSS are inapplicable to the Cybercab.
In the United States, the NHTSA establishes vehicle performance requirements, while automakers must certify that their vehicles meet applicable standards before entering the U.S. market, subject to agency oversight to confirm compliance. The NHTSA said it conducts investigations when certified vehicles appear not to adhere to those requirements.
U.S. regulator opens probe into Tesla Cybercab self-certification
