Traffic World articles from October 2006

Traffic World archives from October 2006

A Jumbo Delay.(issue about Airbus aircraft industry)
October 2, 2006... BYLINE: John D. Boyd The latest in a string of delays in Airbus's "superjumbo" A380 program is prompting concern among the manufacturer's freighter customers, including UPS and FedEx. Previous delays have been isolated to the passenger...

October 2, 2006.(Mary Peter's appointment as Transportation Secretary)(Customs and Border Protection's press release)(air freight charges to be increased)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Biker. During his six years as transportation secretary, Norman Mineta embarked on two week-long trips by bus to promote various transportation messages. The next transportation secretary, Mary Peters, is more of a motorcycle type. In fact, she...

Quotation v. Tariff.(Interview)
October 2, 2006... BYLINE: Colin Barrett Q: We have a special tariff with a motor carrier that specifies a particular level of rates and discounts. Last September we arranged to have this carrier move a shipment for us. They were unable to do so, and...

Planting Seeds.(Growth of intermodal transport)
October 2, 2006... BYLINE: Paul Page The grain elevators of the Midwest might be the last place you'd look for evidence of the country's ongoing shift toward intermodalism, but the transportation tilt of those amber waves may tell a lot about where the...

Going Mobile.(Merges)
October 2, 2006... BYLINE: William Hoffman The day when logistics managers will use cell phones to track freight en route from China while barreling down a Manhattan avenue in the back of a taxi cab came closer with Motorola's $3.9 billion purchase of Symbol...

Senate Sizes Up Peters.(Mary Peters' confirmation hearing for Secretary of Transportation)
October 2, 2006... BYLINE: Angela Greiling Keane Mary Peters pledged to oppose changes in size and weight restrictions for trucks, one of the array of transportation issues thrown at her during her confirmation hearing before the Senate to become secretary...

Tangle Over Tariffs.(Harmonized Tariff System)
October 2, 2006... BYLINE: William Hoffman International shippers risk delayed shipments and higher duties if they and their customs brokers aren't ready for perhaps the biggest revision to the Harmonized Tariff System since the HTS was implemented almost 20...

'Chockablock' Ships, Lower Rates.
October 2, 2006... BYLINE: Peter T. Leach Despite steadily rising cargo volume, shipping line profits are sinking, declining as much as 50 percent at some carriers. Rates also are dropping even as expenses skyrocket. It's an indicator that the tight...

Conducting a United Front.(engineers and train conductors)
October 2, 2006... BYLINE: John Gallagher Train conductors and engineers accustomed to fighting over technology that promises to increase railroad productivity at the expense of jobs are joining forces in what has become one of the most hostile labor...

Expanding Intermodal's Footprint.
October 2, 2006... BYLINE: John Gallagher Shrink-wrapped bags of chick peas probably weren't on the bill of lading when the first J.B. Hunt trailer was lifted onto an Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe flat car in 1990, but producers of such specialty crops...

NEMF Goes West, South.(New England Motor Freight)
October 2, 2006... BYLINE: Bill Carey A carrier whose name and history are grounded in the Northeast is expanding west and south, opening new terminals at a time when some carriers are reporting an overall decline in freight. Elizabeth, N.J.-based New...

Container Fees Terminated.
October 2, 2006... BYLINE: Angela Greiling Keane Shippers around the country are praising California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's veto of a bill that would have imposed a new fee on containers entering California's ports. Schwarzenegger last month vetoed...

U.S., Kuwait Open Skies.(aviation agreement)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Kuwait is the latest country to sign an open skies aviation agreement with the United States. The agreement, signed Aug. 30 in Kuwait, includes seventh freedom rights for all-cargo flights. That means that cargo carriers can fly...

TSA Shuffles Managers.(Transportation Security Administration)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... The Transportation Security Administration shuffled more of its general managers who are in charge of specific transportation modes. The agency named general managers for airlines, maritime and rail. David Bernier is heading airlines,...

Coalition Seeks Freight Fund.
October 2, 2006... BYLINE: Angela Greiling Keane A coalition of freight transportation groups is calling for a new federal trust fund to provide investment in freight projects that aren't getting enough attention from the existing highway trust fund. ...

More Money For DHS.(Department of Homeland Security)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... The federal homeland security spending bill for 2007 increases the Department of Homeland Security's budget over what President Bush had requested. And it focuses more on cargo than in years past, before port security became an A-list issue....

Shopping for Competition.
October 2, 2006... BYLINE: WILLIAM HOFFMAN Logistics providers may insist shippers want a one-stop shop for all their supply chain management needs, but The Pep Boys' David K. Schneider isn't buying it. The reason is simple: using multiple 3PLs means "I...

Wal-Mart Packaging Cuts Will Save $3.4 Billion.(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Wal-Mart is telling its suppliers to lighten up. The world's largest retailer wants its 60,000 suppliers to cut the amount of product packaging they use throughout the supply chain by 5 percent starting in 2008. The effort would save...

Food Supply Chain Fears.
October 2, 2006... BYLINE: WILLIAM HOFFMAN The outbreak of E. coli bacteria poisoning the U.S. spinach crop is bound to have food shippers of all types reexamining the safety and security of their supply chains. By the last week of September, the...

Greatwide Buys Broker.(Gallop Logistics)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Dallas-based Greatwide Logistics bought privately held Canadian freight broker Gallop Logistics for an undisclosed sum. Toronto-based Gallop will be integrated into Greatwide's truckload brokerage unit, one of four primary lines that also...

ProLogis Leases German DC.(distribution center)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Commercial real estate developer ProLogis leased 199,000 square feet of a distribution center it is building in Munich, Germany, to Hellmann Worldwide Logistics. "This lease underscores the importance of Munich as a distribution hub in...

UP Expands in West.(Union Pacific Railroad Co.)
October 2, 2006... BYLINE: By John Gallagher Union Pacific Railroad is tripling intermodal capacity in the Salt Lake City area to take advantage of an import market that remains hot despite signs of a cooling economy. Last month, UP opened its $83...

Landslide Disrupts NS.(Norfolk Southern Corp.)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... A massive landslide on Sept. 21 outside Pittsburgh along one of Norfolk Southern's busiest corridors disrupted operations for several days while maintenance crews worked to clear debris. Two of three mainline tracks at the site of the...

Washington Adds Rail Capacity.(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... The state of Washington is adding a new train to its fleet of railcars in an effort to provide more capacity for shippers. The Washington Department of Transportation is leasing 50 refrigerated rail cars from Rail Logistics, a rail leasing...

What's a Surcharge Worth?(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Diesel prices are dropping fast, dragging down the fuel surcharges carriers collect from shippers. But Shevell Group CEO Michael Bare says fuel prices and surcharge levels shouldn't be so tightly linked. Fuel surcharges cover more than a...

No Slowdown at Dynamex.
October 2, 2006... BYLINE: BY BILL CAREY The softening economy noted in the truckload and LTL sectors, for now at least, hasn't showed up in the same-day delivery market. That's helped Dallas-based Dynamex. "We're not seeing any weakness in any industry...

OBRs Make for Happier Drivers?(on-board recorders)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Trucking companies that expected drivers to greet onboard recorders with baseball bats were wrong, a trucking research group says. The American Transportation Research Institute says electronic OBRs can actually lift driver morale when used to...

'Team UPS' Pursues DTCI.(Defense Transportation Coordination Initiative)
October 2, 2006... Landstar System, YRC Worldwide, UPS Freight and Norfolk Southern have been named to a carrier-heavy team assembled by UPS to compete for the $750 million Defense Transportation Coordination Initiative. "Team UPS," including the truckload,...

Fuel-saving Tire Introduced.(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... New tire technology will improve the fuel economy of big trucks by up to 4 percent, says Goodyear Tire & Rubber. Goodyear's "Fuel Max Technology," using innovative tread designs and advanced compound and manufacturing technologies, was...

FedEx to Replace 727s.(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... In a major overhaul of its domestic airline fleet, FedEx Express will spend $2.6 billion over eight years to buy and refit nearly 90 medium-haul 757-200s, and use them to replace the older and smaller 727s that now carry much of its U.S....

DHL Parent DPWN Restructures.
October 2, 2006... BYLINE: JOHN D. BOYD Deutsche Post World Net, the German parent of package carrier DHL Express and forwarder Exel, is reorganizing to put its express operations under a single top executive and is shifting its road cargo forwarding from...

USPS Taps Airlines for Mail.(United States Postal Service)
October 2, 2006... The U.S. Postal Service, in the midst of a service-focused overhaul of its airmail operations, awarded five-year domestic mail service contracts to seven airlines. American Airlines said its piece could be worth up to $500 million and...

FedEx's Domestic Bliss.
October 2, 2006... BYLINE: JOHN D. BOYD FedEx says its third straight quarterly decline in domestic air express package volume is the result of the company's attempts to push lower-yielding ground business. The company reported a $475 million net profit...

Fuel Charges Down, Up.(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... With fuel prices in a steep slide downward, Cargolux and Northwest Airlines launched an airline push to lower fuel surcharges, cutting the basic rate to $0.55 per kilogram. Meanwhile, the three main U.S. package carriers took their fuel...

Saving Whales, Slowing Ships.
October 2, 2006... BYLINE: R.G. EDMONSON could affect East Coast service, prove costly to shippers Copyright 2006, Traffic World, Inc. Ocean shipping and an endangered species are on a collision course off the U.S. East Coast. The National...

FastShip Seeks Faster Track.
October 2, 2006... BYLINE: PETER T. LEACH FastShip refuses to let the fact that it doesn't have any ships slow it down. The Philadelphia-based company, which has been trying to launch its trans-Atlantic service for more than a decade, plans to issue a...

Port Creates 'Virtual' Yard.(Port Authority of New York and New Jersey creates an online container clearinghouse)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is creating an online container clearinghouse designed to save harbor truckers time and money, while reducing truck traffic and its impact on local communities. The system, which the port agency...

L.A.-Long Beach Boxes Jump.(Port of Long Beach, Port of Los Angeles set container handling records)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach handled a record 753,132 loaded import TEUs in August as U.S. containerized imports from Asia began to build rapidly toward the October peak. The LA-Long Beach port complex, which handles more than 40...

People.(various appointments)
October 2, 2006... Cross Match Technologies, a provider of biometric identity applications and solutions, named Elaine Dezenski senior vice president of global government affairs, based in Washington. Dezenski previously served as the acting assistant secretary...

The Back Page.(new appointments and humor)
October 2, 2006... Biker. During his six years as transportation secretary, Norman Mineta embarked on two week-long trips by bus to promote various transportation messages. The next transportation secretary, Mary Peters, is more of a motorcycle type. In fact, she...

ISM Shows Slower Growth.(The Institute of Supply Management)(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... BYLINE: Emily Rehring Feliz Manufacturing activity slowed in September, as a weaker housing market and higher interest rates took their toll on the sector. The Institute of Supply Management said its PMI manufacturing index fell 1.6...

Senate Confirms Peters.(Mary Peters)(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... BYLINE: Angela Greiling Keane The Senate on Friday confirmed Mary Peters to be the next transportation secretary. The chamber gave the former Federal Highway Administration head unanimous approval. Peters, who is also a former...

Vitran Buys PJAX.
October 3, 2006... BYLINE: Bill Carey Toronto-based LTL carrier Vitran expanded its holdings in the United States by acquiring PJAX Freight System of Pittsburgh for $132 million. Vitran acquired Chris Truck Line, of Wichita, Kan., in 2005, and Sierra...

Airgroup Expands in Long Beach.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... BYLINE: Emily Rehring Feliz Airgroup, a subsidiary of Radiant Logistics, expanded its operations in Long Beach, Calif., to provide logistics support for the U.S. Navy. Airgroup-LGB, the new operation to be led by Victor Leigh and Frank...

Bush Gets Port Security Bill.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... BYLINE: Angela Greiling Keane A comprehensive port security bill is awaiting a signature from President Bush, having won approval from Congress. The bill is the product of attention drawn to port security earlier this year when...

SAIC Launches New Screening System.(Science Applications International Corp.)(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... BYLINE: Emily Rehring Feliz Science Applications International Corp. unveiled the next generation of its a new cargo screening system, a compact system designed to scan 150 cargo containers per hour. SAIC said the VACIS(R) P 7500...

U.S.-EU Talks to Resume.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... BYLINE: Angela Greiling Keane U.S. and European Union aviation negotiators will resume open skies talks this month, EU Business reported. But progress, which has long been stalled, is expected to be elusive. A sticking point is...

Sea Containers May Lose Listing.(Sea Containers America Inc.)(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... Sea Containers, a container lessor and operator of ferry lines and high-speed train services, on Monday said it expects to lose its listing the New York Stock Exchange prior to the opening bell on Tuesday. The Hamilton, Bermuda-based...

Ministry OKs Vancouver Project.(The British Columbia Ministry of Environment)
October 3, 2006... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto The British Columbia Ministry of Environment approved development of the Vancouver Port Authority's Third Berth container terminal project, bringing the port's major expansion plan for its Deltaport facility at...

Europe Air Freight Falls.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... Freight traffic for European airlines slipped 0.4 percent in August, including a 1.6 percent decline in Asia-Pacific trade. The decline over August last year pushed a lackluster year for the carriers into negative territory for the first...

Diesel Prices Fall.(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... BYLINE: Emily Rehring Feliz The national average diesel price dropped for the seventh straight week last week, slipping nearly 5 cents per gallon in the latest Energy Information Administration report. For the week ending Oct. 2, the...

Target Buys Capitaland Assets.(Target Logistics)(Brief article)
October 3, 2006... BYLINE: Emily Rehring Feliz The logistics subsidiary of freight forwarder Target Logistics bought assets of Capitaland Express, an Albany, N.Y.-based freight forwarder. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Capitaland Express was...

Cosco Parent Sets Shares for Ships.(China Cosco Holdings)(Brief article)
October 4, 2006... China Cosco Holdings, which controls China's largest container carrier, will offer 1.5 billion shares to raise $759 million for building and buying ships. In a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange, the Beijing company said it would...

Record Quarter for RedPrairie.(Brief article)
October 4, 2006... Milwaukee-based supply chain technology provider RedPrairie said its booking revenue jumped 100 percent year-over-year in the latest quarter. The company said Wedneday it saw record bookings revenue for the quarter ending Sept. 30 of $14.7...

ProLogis in European IPO.(Brief article)
October 4, 2006... BYLINE: William Hoffman Commercial real estate developer ProLogis raised $3.43 billion in an initial public offering of its ProLogis European Properties that places the distribution facilities unit on the Eurolist public exchange in...

AmeriCold to Buy ConAgra Reefer Facilities.
October 4, 2006... A subsidiary of AmeriCold Realty Trust entered into a definitive agreement to acquire from ConAgra Foods four refrigerated warehouse facilities and the lease, with a purchase option, on a fifth facility for $190 million. The five...

Eukor Selects Canaveral.(EUKOR Car Carriers Inc)(Brief article)
October 4, 2006... Eukor Car Carriers said it will open an intra-Caribbean ro/ro shuttle service connecting the United States and Caribbean ports. The official launching of the new service is planned for the end of October with a call at Port Canaveral. ...

Happy Holidays for Retailers.(National Retail Federation )(Brief article)
October 4, 2006... BYLINE: Emily Rehring Feliz Despite a cooling economy, it's shaping up to be a happy holiday season for retail shippers this year. With fuel prices coming down off their highs, retail shippers are showing some of the confidence that...

NS Amends Board Guidelines.(Norfolk Southern)(Brief article)
October 4, 2006... BYLINE: John Gallagher Norfolk Southern amended its corporate governance guidelines to include majority voting for board members in uncontested elections. The amended guidelines provide that any nominee for director who receives a...

First Shipper for ITI.(Brief article)
October 4, 2006... BYLINE: John Gallagher A representative from MeadWestvaco, a paper and chemicals manufacturer, became the first shipper to enroll at the Intermodal Transportation Institute at the University of Denver. The MeadWestvaco student was part...

CP Names New CFO.(Canadian Pacific Railway)(Brief article)
October 4, 2006... Canadian Pacific Railway named Michael Lambert chief financial officer, the railroad said Wednesday. Lambert, which is currently executive vice president at Canadian Tire, will take over the post this month, CP said in a statement. CP...

Accellos Buys Headwater.(Brief article)
October 4, 2006... Accellos, a provider of software for mobile fleet management, bought logistics technology specialist Headwater Technology Solutions. The purchase pushes Colorado-based Accellos deeper into logistics services with Headwater's market for...

Industry Fights EU Box Ban.(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... BYLINE: Bruce Barnard Ocean carriers, shippers and ports are joining forces in a last-minute bid to persuade the European Union to scrap a controversial plan banning 45-foot containers. There are signs the European Commission, the EU's...

PWC Logistics buys Taos.(PWC Logistics Services purchases Taos Industries)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... PWC Logistics Services of Alexandria, Va., a defense and government logistics company, purchased Taos Industries of Huntsville, Ala. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Taos will become a subsidiary of PWC, a member of the PWC...

Dynamex Wins Canadian Deal.(Regional Clearing Association)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... Same-day delivery company Dynamex said its Canadian subsidiary won a contract from the Regional Clearing Association of British Columbia to service their branches in the interior of the British Columbia province. The contract has an initial...

ACL sells Venezuelan assets.(American Commercial Lines L.L.C.)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... American Commercial Lines, an integrated marine transportation and service company operating in the U.S. Jones Act trades, said it sold its interests in ACBL Venezuela and GMS Venezuela. The agreement, which is subject to certain closing...

Retail Reports Strong September.(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... BYLINE: Emily Rehring Feliz A range of retailers reported stronger-than-expected sales figures for September, a encouraging sign amid a rash of discouraging economic news. The robust retail environment bodes well for the holiday season...

Whales Won't Stop Terminal Project.(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... South Carolina can move ahead with its proposed $600 million container terminal project after federal authorities determined it doesn't pose an increased threat to endangered whales. The South Carolina State Ports Authority in September was...

Carload, Intermodal Jumps in September.(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... Carload and intermodal freight jumped in September, boosted by gains in coal, grain and metals, the Association of American Railroads said. The AAR said Thursday last three weeks of September were the three highest-volume intermodal weeks...

RMI upgrades service.(Railcart Management Inc.)(Brief article)
October 5, 2006... BYLINE: John Gallagher Transportation management company RMI upgraded its service to include a train performance report that helps rail managers plan for and schedule trains. The upgrade also automatically creates car orders based on...

Bush to Speak at FedEx Facility.(Brief article)
October 6, 2006... BYLINE: Angela Greiling Keane President Bush is scheduled to speak today at a FedEx Express facility at Washington's Reagan National Airport. According to the White House, Bush will speak about job growth and the economy before an...

MTC Won't Rule Out Sale.(Marine Terminals Corp)(Brief article)
October 6, 2006... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo The president of Marine Terminals Corp. says the company isn't talking with other terminal operators regarding the possible sale of an equity stake but did not rule out the possibility that some other entity could...

NLRB Rules for ILA in Evergreen Case.(National Labor Relations Board)(International Longshoremen's Association)(Brief article)
October 6, 2006... The National Labor Relations Board affirmed an NLRB administrative law judge's decision that Evergreen America violated labor laws in resisting unionization of its New Jersey clerical staff by the International Longshoremen's Association. ...

J.B. Hunt Acquires Trailers.
October 6, 2006... BYLINE: Bill Carey J.B. Hunt Transport Services said it has borrowed $101.5 million to purchase dry-van trailers it formerly had been leasing. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the truckload and intermodal...

UPS Cuts Jobs.(reorganization and restructuring of United Parcel Service of America Inc.)(Brief article)
October 6, 2006... UPS is reorganizing its Supply Chain Solutions division, which includes unspecified job losses, according to published reports this week. According to newspaper reports, the company is laying off workers as it digests recent acquisitions....

Airbus Delays A380, Freighter Included.(Brief article)
October 6, 2006... BYLINE: John D. Boyd Everyone knew Airbus was trying to pin down how long it would take to sort out problems in the passenger version of its A380 superjumbo, the world's largest passenger plane. What no one knew for sure until last week...

BA Cuts Fuel Surcharge.(British Airways)(Brief article)
October 6, 2006... British Airways World Cargo cut its fuel charge for the second time in as many weeks this week as jet fuel prices remained at their lowest levels since the first quarter. Following reductions earlier this month, BA became the first carrier...

Cat Logistics to Lay Off 70.
October 6, 2006... BYLINE: William Hoffman Cat Logistics will lay off 70 workers at its Jefferson Riverport International facility in Louisville, Ky., according to a report by Business First Louisville. The wholly owned subsidiary of construction...

ProLogis Leases U.K. Space.(contracts)(Brief article)
October 6, 2006... BYLINE: William Hoffman Commercial real estate developer ProLogis leased 545,000 square feet of distribution space in England to Screwfix, one of the United Kingdom's largest online suppliers of home improvement products. "This...

Strike Two for FedEx Ground.
October 6, 2006... BYLINE: John D. Boyd For the second time this year, a Boston-based National Labor Relations Board official has ruled that FedEx Home Delivery drivers at certain terminals are company employees, not independent contractors as the company...

Chiquita to Sell Fleet.
October 6, 2006... BYLINE: Stephanie Nall Stung by hurricane-related crop losses, new EU tariffs and quotas and the E. coli virus, Chiquita Brands put its 12-vessel Great White fleet on the auction block. Chiquita uses the eight breakbulk reefers and...

Short Lines Reject Fuel Proposal.
October 6, 2006... BYLINE: John Gallagher Short line railroads warn the Surface Transportation Board's backing of a mileage-based fuel surcharge system would unfairly target the nation's connecting railroads and lead to higher rates for shippers. Most...

Politics of CREATE.(Daniel Lipinski's transportation policy)
October 6, 2006... BYLINE: John Gallagher A  recent agreement setting aside public and private money for the first phase of the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency rail improvement program may have been less about new money than...

USA Truck Rejects Bid.
October 6, 2006... BYLINE: Bill Carey Liberate Technologies, after failing in its bid to develop software for the cable television industry, is trying to break into trucking. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company wants to buy truckload carrier USA Truck for...