Traffic World articles from December 2008

Traffic World archives from December 2008

Postal Deregulation II.
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: Paul Page The U.S. Postal Service is taking its closer business focus modeled on the basics of private industry into the international arena. A law passed this fall deregulating service and rate-making for international mail...

December 1, 2008.(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Driven. The tough economy is hitting the automakers in new ways. Lamborghini sales were down 65 percent in the third quarter, but at the same time Rolls Royce sales were up 76 percent. We'd take either one if we can get the right trade-in for...

Filing Claims When the Wrong Party Pays.
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: Colin Barrett Q:This is probably a simple question with a simple answer, but I am going to ask it anyway. Our client, A, ships to a customer, B. The bill of lading says third party billing to party C. Our client mistakenly...

Capitalizing on Freight Weakness.
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: Duff H. Swain Despite the weak freight economy, there is some seemingly unlikely reporting by carriers about profits. Mostly, that profit growth is coming from the nonasset-based carriers. So what does it really mean for carriers...

Mind the Past.
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: John D. Boyd West Branch, Iowa -- From this little village emerged one of the leaders of the United States in the early 20th century, and perhaps a giant lesson for the 21st century. Herbert Hoover rose from modest beginnings...

TSA Rules on Hazmats.
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: Ari Natter Sen. Joseph Biden once accused the Department of Homeland Security of being either unaware of or "purposely ignoring a grave threat to our cities" - the shipment of highly hazardous materials that could be targeted by...

Managing in a Crisis.
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: William Hoffman Shippers scrambling to cope with a global credit market meltdown aren't tossing out terms such as financial crisis lightly. Increasingly concerned that they face unprecedented disruptions of supply chains as a...

Reconsidering FTZs.
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: William Hoffman Sometimes the old maxim about the three most important things in real estate being "location, location and location" applies more literally than you might think. Foreign-Trade Zones are getting a second look...

Pirates Lengthen Their Reach.
December 1, 2008... The seizure of a Saudi-owned oil tanker by Somali pirates is forcing shippers and carriers of all types to reevaluate the danger to their own personnel, cargoes and supply chains. As container shipping lines and other ocean carriers reroute...

People.
December 1, 2008... See story below: Wal-Mart to Replace CEO Scott Seabury Aviation & Aerospace Asia, Hong Kong, a subsidiary of Seabury Group, named David Turnbull chairman. Turnbull, is currently and will remain executive chairman of Pacific Basin Shipping....

STB's Check-Off List.(Surface Transportation Board)
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: John D. Boyd The Surface Transportation Board is moving to settle several long-running cases in the next several weeks with decisions that could affect the rail freight industry for years. Ranging from the outskirts of Chicago...

Canada's Growing Ideal.
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: Mark Wilson As the most diversified major marine gateway in North America, Port Metro Vancouver has enough depth and strength to withstand the continent's economic turbulence. True, the pace of container growth halved from the...

YRC Reopens NMFA.(YRC Worldwide Inc.)(International Brotherhood of Teamsters)
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: John Gallagher In a new sign that the nation's largest LTL company is trying to rebuild its financial structure, YRC Worldwide and the Teamsters union are back at the negotiating table as the potential for more job cuts pushes the...

Black Friday Sales Dive.(Survey)
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: Thomas L. Gallagher Total estimated spending over the 'Black Friday' weekend plummeted 20 percent, according to figures from an industry survey. Total spending reached an estimated $41 billion, compared with $51 billion last year....

Manufacturing Hits 60-Year Low.(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: Thomas L. Gallagher Manufacturers are seeing a slowdown worse than anything in almost 60 years, according to a monthly survey of supply executives. Prices fell for producers in November as new orders, production, employment and...

YRC, Teamsters Agree on Cuts.(YRC Worldwide Inc., Contract with International Brotherhood of Teamsters )
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: Thomas L. Gallagher YRC Worldwide reached a tentative agreement with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters that both say will provide relief for the company as it faces declining demand. Without releasing details of the...

Air Cargo Slides 7.9 Percent.(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... International air-cargo traffic tumbled 7.9 percent in October from a year ago, the biggest monthly decline since 2001, the International Air Transport Association reported. The fifth consecutive month of "increasingly severe drops" has...

Charter Rates Hit New Lows.
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: Bruce Barnard LONDON -- Container ship charter rates have fallen to new lows as demand by carriers for tonnage evaporates amid stagnant or declining cargo volumes on key routes. Charter rates, which have retreated by as much as...

FMC to Meet Dec. 3.(Federal Maritime Commission)(Conference news)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Discussion agreements and disputes between terminal operators and landlord ports are on the agenda for the next meeting of the Federal Maritime Commission. The commission will meet Dec. 3 at 10 a.m. at 800 N. Capitol St., Wash. In the...

Israel Corp. to Aid Zim.
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: Bruce Barnard Israel Corp. said it is prepared to inject $150 million into Zim Integrated Shipping Services if needed after the container carrier swung to a third-quarter loss and readied a restructuring program to respond to...

Governors Call for Infrastructure Funding.(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: Ari Natter Increased investment in infrastructure funding should be among the ways congressional leaders and the next administration stabilizes the economy, the National Governors Association told House leaders in meeting Monday....

NAFTA Trade Climbs.(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: Thomas L. Gallagher U.S. trade with Canada and Mexico using surface transportation increased 7.5 percent in Sept., according to a monthly government report. Surface trade among North American Free Trade Agreement partners...

Napolitano to Lead Homeland Security.(appointment of Barack Obama )(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: R. G. Edmonson President-elect Barack Obama today named Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as his candidate for Secretary of Homeland Security. According to several news sources Obama tabbed Napolitano, 51, for her credentials in...

Construction Slump Deepens.(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: Thomas L. Gallagher With construction spending down 1.2 percent in Oct., the outlook for the near term is grim, according to Patrick Newport, an economist with IHS Global Insight. Although spending levels for Aug. and Sept....

Agility Breaks Ground in Shanghai.(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: Thomas L. Gallagher Agility and plastics manufacturer Borouge broke ground on Nov. 28 for a logistics hub and compound manufacturing facility in Shanghai. The hub will receive over 600,000 tonnes of plastics annually. Borouge...

John Fontanella Dies.(death of John Fontanella)(Obituary)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... John Fontanella, AMR Research vice president of research, died of heart failure in Boston on Nov. 30. Born in 1948, Fontanella had more than 25 years experience in supply chain management. He left AMR in 2004 after six years to take senior...

Diesel Slips 4.9 Cents to $2.615.(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: Thomas L. Gallagher Retail prices for diesel slipped an average of 4.9 cents during the Thanksgiving holiday week. The nationwide average on Dec. 1 was $2.615 per gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. ...

DHL expands partnership with UNICEF.
December 1, 2008... DHL expands partnership with UNICEF to India and Peru in the fight against child mortality -- India: DHL supports project to reduce malnutrition and infant mortality in 1,000 villages through a USD 650,000 DHL grant -- Peru: Board...

Wolseley Expands Use of Descartes Routing Solutions to North America.(Descartes Systems Group Inc.)
December 1, 2008... WATERLOO, Ontario, Dec. 1, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Descartes Systems Group (Nasdaq:DSGX) (TSX:DSG), a global on-demand software-as-a-service (SaaS) logistics solutions provider, announced that Wolseley's North America Division, a division of...

Stimulus Momentum.
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: Ari Natter An economic stimulus package that makes "rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges" one of its main components will be at the top of the agenda when President-elect Obama is sworn in Jan. 20. "These aren''t just...

Manufacturers Welcome ''10+2'' Changes.(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Changes Customs and Border Protection made in its proposed import security filing rule, popularly known as "10+2," will make the rule much easier to implement and less costly to importers and the shipping industy, said the National Association...

Appetite for Opportunities.
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: William Hoffman Multiplying signs of a global economic slowdown and declines in worldwide shipping may not dampen shippers'' appetite for transportation management systems. The September credit crunch and accelerating decline...

HighJump Buys Delivery Software Provider.
December 1, 2008... HighJump Software bought BelTek Systems Design, a Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada-based provider of direct store delivery software, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition strengthens HighJump''s position in direct store delivery following...

RedPrairie to Help Build Technology Park.(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... RedPrairie will help develop a new technology park near its Waukesha, Wis., headquarters. RP Technology Development Group - no relation to RedPrairie - will build four facilities in Delafield, Wis., the largest of which, at 120,000 square...

Canada''s Growing Ideal By Mark Wilson.
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: Vancouver port looks beyond economic slump to a future of freight expansion As the most diversified major marine gateway in North America, Port Metro Vancouver has enough depth and strength to withstand the continent''s economic...

An Expansion Boom in Quebec.
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: Mark Caldwell Exactly how busy has it been at the Port of Quebec? Apparently, so busy that when asphalt was laid in a newly developed storage area, it didn''t even have a chance to cool off completely before trucks were rolling...

The Bigger They Come a.
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: John Gallagher Trucking is undergoing the kind of capacity shakeout that typically would send truck rates soaring. But falling demand for trucks is keeping the pricing pendulum stuck on the shipper''s side. That means more...

Averitt Express Expands Asia-Memphis Service.(Averitt Express Inc.)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Averitt Express expanded the origin points in its Asia-Memphis Express less-than-container load service to Hong Kong and South China. "This next phase of expansion shows the continued demand for consistent, reliable LCL service from Asia,"...

Falling ATA Freight Index Points to Contraction.(American Trucking Associations)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... The American Trucking Associations'' freight index fell 3 percent in October, the fourth consecutive monthly decline and another sign the economy is mired in a recession. "The cumulative drop in truck tonnage over the last four months...

ODFL Relocates, Enlarges Terminal in Missouri.(Old Dominion Freight Line Inc.)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Old Dominion Freight Line, Thomasville, N.C., is relocating and expanding its service center in Columbia, Mo., in response to increased demand. The 34-door facility is located on a 10-acre site and will continue operating with a 20-person...

STB''s Check-Off List.(Surface Transportation Board)
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: John D. Boyd The Surface Transportation Board is moving to settle several long-running cases in the next several weeks with decisions that could affect the rail freight industry for years. Ranging from the outskirts of Chicago...

Rail Shipping''s Hard Fall.
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: John D. Boyd Several rail cargoes that are important both to the industry and for what they say about the rest of the economy are down sharply this month from the same point in 2007. That suggests the bad news now coming in...

NS Rides the Wind.(Norfolk Southern Corp.)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Windmills and new-era power generators usually aren''t the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of rail yards, but Norfolk Southern Railway just put in its second wind-powered turbine to generate electricity. NS said the...

Less Cargo, More Profit.(Financial report)
December 1, 2008... Cargo operations at Air France-KLM, Europe''s biggest airline, swung to a profit in the fiscal second quarter from a loss a year ago as better operating margins offset lower freight volume. The carrier''s cargo unit booked operating income...

LAN Sets Cargo Charge.(LAN Airlines S.A. financial news)(Financial report)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Cargo business gave LAN Airlines a big boost in the third quarter, with revenue and traffic growing at a strong pace, but also hit the Chilean airlines'' earnings as costs from investigations into cargo cut into profits. LAN earned an...

NY-NJ Air Freight Falls.(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Air cargo trade through the New York Customs District declined 1.2 percent to 810,000 metric tons in the first seven months of the year, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The decline came as air cargo through all...

FedEx Waits For Guangzho.(FedEx Corp.)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... FedEx Express is pushing back the planned opening of its intra-Asia hub in Southern China until early next year, saying it will use the time to test systems at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport. FedEx had hoped to open the hub, a key...

Forwarder Nippon Express Downbeat.(Nippon Express Company Ltd.)(Financial report)(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Nippon Express, Japan''s largest freight forwarder, saw fuel costs and other tough market conditions drag down profit in the first half of its fiscal year despite growing sales. Group sales totaled $9.6 billion in the six months ending...

FMC Takes Clean Trucks to Court.(Federal Maritime Commission)
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo For the past six months, Los Angeles and Long Beach begrudgingly answering the Federal Maritime Commission''s questions about their clean-trucks program and challenged the agency''s authority over such matters. ...

Carrier Alliances to Merge Asia-U.S. Services.(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... The New World Alliance and the Grand Alliance will temporarily merge two of their services from Asia to the U.S. East Coast as of Dec. 3. The alliances will jointly operate the loop for a period of 18 weeks as a seasonal arrangement to...

Wal-Mart to Replace CEO Scott.
December 1, 2008... Logistics is an important rung on the corporate ladder at Wal-Mart Stores. The nation''s largest retailer will replace its current CEO and former logistics chief, H. Lee Scott Jr., with Michael T. Duke, president of Wal-Mart International...

The Back Page.(Brief article)
December 1, 2008... Driven. The tough economy is hitting the automakers in new ways. Lamborghini sales were down 65 percent in the third quarter, but at the same time Rolls Royce sales were up 76 percent. We''d take either one if we can get the right trade-in for...

Cathay Cuts Cargo Operations.(Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd.)(Brief article)
December 2, 2008... Cathay Pacific Airways is scaling back its cargo business as part of a broad effort to cut costs at the airline amid declining demand. The airline, the fifth-largest freight carrier in the world, will park two 747-400 converted freighters...

FMCSA Streamlines CDL Records.(Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administ)(Brief article)
December 2, 2008... BYLINE: Thomas L. Gallagher States will be required to keep medical certificate records on file electronically along with commercial drivers' licenses, according to a new rule from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. FMCSA...

Boeing Engineers Ratify Contracts.(Brief article)
December 2, 2008... BYLINE: Thomas L. Gallagher Boeing engineers and technical workers ratified two agreements covering nearly 21,000 employees in Washington, Oregon, California and Utah. The pact comes one month after an earlier agreement covering...

Cargo Flights Resume in Bangkok.(Brief article)
December 2, 2008... BYLINE: Thomas L. Gallagher Cargo flights resumed Dec. 2 from Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, after a week-long protest had blocked all air traffic and succeeded in toppling the Thai government. The first flight out was a...

ABF Eyes Wage Cuts.(Brief article)
December 2, 2008... BYLINE: John Gallagher ABF Freight Systems is warning its workers it may seek the same kind of concessions that competitor YRC Worldwide recently negotiated with its unionized employees. In an internal memo to employees, ABF President...

BA, Qantas Talk Merger.
December 2, 2008... BYLINE: Bruce Barnard LONDON -- British Airways said it is exploring a potential merger with Qantas, Australia's flag carrier, but Europe's third-largest carrier warned there is "no guarantee any transaction will be forthcoming."...

Maersk Shifts from Tacoma to Seattle.(Maersk Line)(Brief article)
December 2, 2008... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo Maersk Line next year will move one of its Pacific Northwest services from the Port of Tacoma to neighboring Seattle, but the world's largest container carrier is not abandoning Tacoma altogether. Maersk,...

Maersk to Cut Taiwan-Australia Surcharges.(Maersk Line)(Brief article)
December 2, 2008... Maersk Line announced plans to further lower bunker surcharges imposed earlier on cargo moving to and from Taiwan, Australia and the Pacific Ocean Islands, effective Dec. 21. In an advisory to the trade, the carrier said the revised...

Obama Touts Infrastructure Spending.(Barack Obama )(Brief article)
December 2, 2008... President-elect Barack Obama told the nation's governors on Tuesday that infrastructure spending, including work on roads and bridges, should be central to any plan to jump-start the country's ailing economy. Speaking at the National...

Crewman Injured at Tampa.(Brief article)
December 2, 2008... A crew member working on the deck of a freighter dry-docked in the Port of Tampa was seriously injured Monday afternoon when he fell 40 feet into the hold of the vessel. Local media reported Tampa Fire Rescue used a crane to lift the...

China Boosts Export Rebates.(Brief article)
December 2, 2008... BYLINE: William Armbruster China has restored or increased tax rebates to its exporters on 3,770 items, including labor-intensive, mechanical and electrical products, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The rebate changes,...

Crowley Names Logistics Chief.(appointment of Steve Collar and Todd Busch)(Brief article)
December 2, 2008... Crowley announced that Rinus Schepen, senior vice president and general manager of logistics, will retire effective in June, 2009. Schepen , a 20-year Crowley veteran, in retirement will continue to work on special assignments. ...

Trade Weakens at Osaka.(Brief article)
December 2, 2008... BYLINE: Hisane Masaki Shipments of foreign-trade containers handled by the Port of Osaka in western Japan declined for the fifth month in a row in August on-year, falling 5 percent to 153,138 TEUs, according to preliminary figures released...

Yusen Adds Europe Offices.(Yusen Air & Sea Service Co., Ltd.,)(Brief article)
December 2, 2008... Yusen Air & Sea Service Co., Ltd., the logistics arm of Japan's NYK group, said that it has opened two new offices in Europe, in Birmingham, England and Florence, Italy, to strengthen its local services. The Birmingham branch office is...

Evans Network Adds CTW.(Brief article)
December 2, 2008... The Evans Network of Companies, an intermodal trucking group, added CTW Transportation as an agent partner in Kansas City, Mo. CTW, a warehousing and intermodal trucking company founded in 1948, brings new customers, drivers and equipment...

S&P Puts Air Canada on CreditWatch.
December 2, 2008... BYLINE: Thomas L. Gallagher Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Dec. 2 placed its 'B' long-term corporate credit rating on Air Canada on CreditWatch with negative implications.  The placement "reflects the increased short-term...

Trailer Associations Unite for the New Trailer Industry.
December 2, 2008... ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Dec. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- It's a new dawn in the trailer industry today as the North American Trailer Dealers Association (NATDA) announced the launch of the NATM Affiliate Program which will bring safety and regulatory...

Motorola Delivers Innovative Wireless Technologies to Schools around the World.
December 2, 2008... 802.11n, Mesh, All-Wireless Enterprise and Mobile Messaging Solutions Significantly Reduce Networking Costs and Keep Staff Informed While on the Go Singapore - Dec. 3, 2008 - The Enterprise Mobility business of Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT)...

Coos Bay Port Taking Rail Line.(Brief article)
December 3, 2008... BYLINE: John D. Boyd The Oregon International Port of Coos Bay told federal rail regulators it wants to go ahead and acquire a closed rail line, so it can restore rail service for some shippers in the western part of that state. The...

BNSF Postpones New Fuel Surcharges.(BNSF Logistics L.L.C.)(Brief article)
December 3, 2008... BNSF will postpone a scheduled extension of its fuel surcharges. Due to the volatile fuel market, the railroad said it will not extend the mileage-based fuel surcharge program. An increase in the strike price on carload shipments from $1.25...

CSX to Cut Fuel Surcharges.(CSX Transportation Inc.)(Brief article)
December 3, 2008... CSX Transportation will cut its fuel surcharge from 40 cents per mile to 22 cents per mile, effective Jan. 1. As fuel prices descend rapidly, the railroad is reversing an increase that went into effect Dec. 1. The 22 cents per mile fuel...

Big Truck Orders Plummet.(Brief article)
December 3, 2008... BYLINE: John Gallagher Orders for new heavy duty trucks plummeted in November compared to a year ago as the recession continues to drag down demand for freight capacity, according a leading transportation consulting firm. A.C.T....

OOIL Sees Tough Box Outlook.(Orient Overseas Container Line Inc.)(Brief article)
December 3, 2008... BYLINE: Peter T. Leach The parent of Orient Overseas Container Line today said the container shipping industry faces difficult conditions in 2009 because of too much vessel capacity and weak demand, as the global financial crisis continues...

CMA CGM to Double Seafarers' Pay.
December 3, 2008... French carrier CMA CGM announced that it will pay officers and crews of its container vessels a high-risk bonus of 100 percent of their base salaries and wages while they are passing through the Gulf of Aden because of the danger posed by...

Indian Ports Tighten Security.(Brief article)
December 3, 2008... Indian Shipping Minister T.R. Baalu called on all major ports in the country to tighten security measures to mitigate the threat of terrorist attacks on vital installations. The directive came after the minister held a meeting with...

LA-LB Terminals Petition FMC.(Brief article)
December 3, 2008... BYLINE: R. G. Edmonson Terminal operators at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are asking the Federal Maritime Commission to review a staff decision that delays the start of the port services fee program until Dec. 17. The...

Tacoma Tests Rail GPS.(Brief article)
December 3, 2008... To enhance inland rail supply chain visibility, the Port of Tacoma is testing a satellite system that tracks intermodal containers from the time they leave waterfront terminals until they reach their destinations in the Midwest and Eastern...

DHL Global Forwarding Tops Million TEU.(Brief article)
December 3, 2008... BYLINE: Thomas L. Gallagher DHL Global Forwarding is on track to surpass one million twenty foot equivalent units of ocean freight by the end of the calendar year, the company said. The growth from just over 800,000 TEUs handled in...

N.J. Turnpike, Parkway Tolls Increase.(New Jersey Turnpike)(Brief article)
December 3, 2008... BYLINE: Ari Natter Truckers driving through New Jersey can expect to pay higher tolls on two of the state's major throughways: The New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway. The Turnpike increase, effective Dec. 1, increases the...

TSA to Screen Inbound Cargo.(Transportation Security Administration)(Brief article)
December 3, 2008... BYLINE: Ari Natter The Transportation Security Administration's cargo screening mandates will now apply to international cargo as well, the agency said. The requirements, that 50 percent of cargo shipped on passenger airlines be...

CN, Amtrak Agree on Access.(Amtrak Express Parcels Ltd. contract with Canadian National Railway Co.)
December 3, 2008... BYLINE: Thomas L. Gallagher CN and Amtrak reached an agreement that will allow the passenger line continued access to track near Chicago. The move clears a major hurdle in CN's quest for federal approval of its acquisition of the Elgin,...

Long Beach Delays Infrastructure Fee.(Brief article)
December 3, 2008... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners has decided to delay for at least six months the collection of a cargo-container fee intended to help fund road, rail and bridge improvements in the harbor area. The...