American Shipper articles from December 1993

American Shipper archives from December 1993

Doubt cast on TAA. (Trans-Atlantic Agreement)
December 1, 1993... Key EC staff official sees approval as 'unlikely' without modifications. FMC's Ivancie and P&O's Sterling respond. Everyone waits for decision. How much are both sides willing to give in a legal compromise over the Trans-Atlantic Agreement?...

Global shippers organize. (General Electric Co. and other big shippers propose setting up of new shippers' commission)
December 1, 1993... GE, other big shippers try to turn tables on conferences. They plan to pool cargo volumes and negotiate global contracts. General Electric Co. and several other big shippers have joined to form a shippers' association that will try to deal...

NAM joins the brawl. (National Association of Manufacturers)
December 1, 1993... National Association of Manufacturers may seek to ban all shipping conferences. U.S. Chamber may join in. For the first time in its history, the powerful National Association of Manufacturers has actively joined a lobbying battle over...

Secondary market in contract rates. (rates offered by European forwarders)
December 1, 1993... How European forwarders offer better rates than the ocean carriers they use. U.S. freight forwarders are finding it increasingly difficult to compete with the largest European forwarding organizations, largely as an unintended result of the...

Hazards of being a shipper. (regulations on the shipping of hazardous materials)
December 1, 1993... 'I hate to think how much hazardous cargo is traveling around the world undeclared simply because following the rules involves too much trouble and expense, and no effort is being made by those who impose the rules to help people obey them.'...

Truck-air textile shipments from Turkey. (freight forwarders' increasing use of truck-air routes in exporting cotton clothing to the US)
December 1, 1993... Forwarders are taking advantage of rock-bottom rates for westbound freight out of Europe. Turkey's freight forwarders this year are making extensive use of new truck-air routes to export the country's cotton clothing to the U.S. Demand...

Clinton approves reduced subsidy. (Pres. Bill Clinton)(includes related article)
December 1, 1993... House goes along with $1.2 billion over 10 years, but lines hope Senate will be more generous. After President Clinton indicated he will go along with a U.S.-flag subsidy program costing "approximately" $1 billion, the House approved a...

Financing for new U.S.-built ships. (Congress approves extension of ship-mortgage guarantee program)
December 1, 1993... Government ship mortgage guarantee program is opened to foreign buyers of U.S.-built ships. U.S. shipbuilders have won final congressional approval of legislation extending the government's Title XI ship-mortgage guarantee program to foreign...

Can U.S. shipyards compete? (shipbuilders bid for liquefied natural gas carriers for Qatar)
December 1, 1993... Arab emirate of Qatar will give the answer when it awards contract for 3 LNG tankers. Some leaders of the U.S. shipbuilding industry have been saying recently that the future of the business lies in conversion from U.S. Navy work to...

FMC rejects multi-shipper contracts. (Federal Maritime Commission)
December 1, 1993... Proposal would have allowed two or more shippers to 'pool' their cargo to win better service contract deals. Against a backdrop of opposition from ocean liner conferences, shippers associations, and transportation middlemen, the Federal...

Yang Ming looks to its own future. (Yang Ming Line)
December 1, 1993... Quits Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement in effort to land cotton business. "Yang ming" means "bright future" in Mandarin Chinese. That probably seems quite ironic to executives with a number of shipping lines active in the...

Inter-American lines plan 5% increase. (Inter-American Freight Conference)
December 1, 1993... IAFC hopes independents will follow suit. Seeks Oct. 31 expiration date for all service contracts. Conference carriers between the U.S. and East Coast of South America plan a 5 percent rate increase in 1994 and hope independent operators...

Transroll plans 3,000-TEU ships. (Transroll Navegacao; twenty-foot equivalent unit)
December 1, 1993... Brazilian carrier expects to use them in routes between South America and North Europe, North America. Transroll is on a roll. The Brazilian carrier, which operates in joint services between South America and North Europe and the U.S., is...

NYK, NOL form consortium. (Nippon Yusen KK; Neptune Orient Lines Ltd.)
December 1, 1993... NYK gets more space on Asia/U.S. East Coast service. Neptune Orient Lines and Nippon Yusen Kaisha have strengthened their relationship on the lines' two-year-old service between South Asia and the U.S. East Coast. What began as a...

APL, TMM in Mexico/Far East slot charter. (American President Lines Inc.; Transportacion Maritima Mexicana S.A.)
December 1, 1993... American President Lines and Transportacion Maritima Mexicana plan a partnership that would boost TMM's service capabilities in the Mexico-Far East trade while extending APL's operational presence southward to Central America. The carriers...

No rush to sell ACL, Cool Carriers. (Atlantic Container Lines Inc.; Cool Carriers AB)
December 1, 1993... Bilspedition reschedules debt. Floats $74 million new share issue. Peace and quite for ACL? After trying unsuccessfully for more than a year to dispose of its largest ocean shipping properties, Bilspedition AB is under less pressure to sell....

Preparing for life after ODS. (Operating Differential Subsidy)(includes related article)
December 1, 1993... Lykes trims staff, reorganizes into three divisions -- customer acquisition and service, operations, and administration. Lykes Lines continues to prepare for the end of the government's Operating Differential Subsidy program. After...

Lykes plans four new containerships. (Lykes Lines)
December 1, 1993... Would be used in transatlantic service. MarAd says Lykes can put them under U.S. flag, switch to foreign if needed. Lykes Lines has laid the groundwork to acquire up to four new containerships for its North Atlantic services. The company...

Con-Way, Nedlloyd form alliance. (Con-Way Transportation Services Inc.; Nedlloyd Road Cargo)
December 1, 1993... Service will link Con-Way's LTL, truckload, NVOCC services with Nedlloyd's European road network. Con-Way Transportation Services and Nedlloyd Road Cargo have formed the latest transatlantic alliance between a U.S.-based trucking company and...

Powder River dreams tantalize Great Lakes interests. (Canadian ports compete with Gulf Coast ports)
December 1, 1993... Canadians believe they can compete with Gulf Coast ports. Montana coal exporters and Great Lakes maritime interests are looking forward to the end of the recession in Western Europe to create the right conditions for pumping new life into an...

Effective use of middlemen. (Baxter World Trade Corp. reduces the number of air and ocean freight forwarders handling its exports)
December 1, 1993... Hospital, medical equipment manufacturing giant prescribes new remedies for export problems. Baxter World Trade Corp. is looking for more than just the best price from its transportation companies. The world's leading manufacturer and...

Silicon Valley becomes more rate-conscious. (high-technology firms puts emphasis on price when choosing airlines and air freight forwarders)
December 1, 1993... Traffic departments price-shop when picking carriers and forwarders. Shippers of high-technology products still want better service, but they're putting more emphasis on price when picking airlines and air freight forwarders, a pair of...

N.C. exporters certified for tax break. (North Carolina)
December 1, 1993... The gates are opening for North Carolina exporters looking to take advantage of state income tax credits earned from cargo shipped through the ports of Wilmington and Morehead City. Companies have been eligible to apply for the tax break...

Logistics of catalog retailing. (specialty catalog company Lillian Vernon's traffic systems)
December 1, 1993... Lillian Vernon must juggle plans when catalog items go boom, or bust. The success of Lillian Vernon, a popular specialty catalog company in New Rochelle, N.Y., hinges in large part on its intricate and flexible traffic systems. Its traffic...

Traffic by committee at Rockwell. (Rockwell International Corp.)
December 1, 1993... 36 division traffic managers make their own decisions, but they meet. How do you coordinate traffic operations if your company has 36 divisions? At Rockwell International Corp., it's posed no problem; the divisions manage their own traffic...

Customs seeks to put 'teeth' into user fees. (US Customs Service)
December 1, 1993... 'Anyone who pays now can pay only the amount owed. If they wait, they'll have to pay the amount owed, plus interest, plus penalties.' The Customs Service plans to seek laws and regulations next year to enable the agency to crack down on...

Cargo charters make a rebound. (increase in bookings of charter cargo flights) (Air Freight News)
December 1, 1993... Despite excess air freight capacity on commercial carriers throughout the world, bookings of charter cargo flights have risen steadily during the last 18 months. The increase has been fueled partly by cutbacks of the integrated carriers'...

Open skies may close in Latin America. (Latin American countries reconsider liberalized air-cargo policies in the wake of competition posed by US airlines)
December 1, 1993... Growing U.S. competition leads some Latin nations to reconsider their liberalized air-cargo policies. Growing competition from U.S. airlines is causing some Latin American nations to have second thoughts about open-skies policies, says Bill...

Air industry NVO. (Consolidators International Inc. Pres. Julian Keeling)
December 1, 1993... Julian Keeling avoids low-margin trades. Julian Keeling believes his company can avoid joining the list of airfreight wholesalers gone belly-up. With nearly 30 years' industry experience, Keeling began his own business for the first time...

Faster delivery of cargo. (Shippers Council of New York and New Jersey seeks changes in Customs Service and FDA inspection processes)
December 1, 1993... NY/NJ shipper council seeks changes in Customs and FDA inspection process. Seeking an end to costly cargo tie-ups, the newly-formed Shippers Council of New York and New Jersey will press for several local reforms in Customs and Food and Drug...

Forwarder franchising. (franchising of air-freight forwarders in the US)
December 1, 1993... At least three major groups are engaged in franchising of U.S. air-freight forwarders. Some air freight forwarders are taking a tip from the fast-food business and setting up franchises. At its best, the arrangement allows a forwarder who...

J.B. Hunt, Tower joint service. (J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc.; Tower Group International Inc.)
December 1, 1993... To offer each other's services in Canada and Mexico. Many trucking customers of J.B. Hunt Transport Services also need customs clearance services. Many customs brokerage customers of Tower Group International also need trucking services....

Cutting drayage costs. (railroads, ocean carriers and third parties continue to buy drayage services on basis of price)
December 1, 1993... Despite fashionable talk about partnerships, many railroads, ocean carriers and third parties still buy drayage services on the basis of price alone. Intermodal drayage costs more than it should, largely because various parties try to cut...

New role for intermodal marketers. (third-party marketers of intermodal services takes charge of carriers' equipment)
December 1, 1993... They're taking more responsibility for return loads, repositioning of carriers' boxes, trailers. Third-party marketers of intermodal services are beginning to take more responsibility for managing carriers' equipment. In the past, most...

NY/NJ to double on-dock rail. (Port Authority of New York and New Jersey proposes doubling the capacity of the ExpressRail on-dock intermodal terminal)
December 1, 1993... ExpressRail to handle 100,000 boxes a year. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey plans to spend $7 million to double the capacity of its ExpressRail on-dock intermodal terminal at Port Elizabeth, N.J. ExpressRail handled just 100...

CSX plans Mexico terminals. (CSX Transportation Inc.)
December 1, 1993... Intermodal terminals in Altamira, Veracruz will serve as focal points for rail/trailer-barge service. CSX Transportation Inc. (CSXT) plans to open intermodal terminals in Altamira and Veracruz late next year for a high-frequency, rail car-...

East coast feeders. (Columbia Coastal Transport Inc. expands feeder barge service)
December 1, 1993... Columbia Coastal improves New York-Boston barge feeder service to weekly, adds Charleston to South Atlantic service. Columbia Coastal Transport Inc. has expanded its feeder barge service between the Port of New York/New Jersey and Boston to...

Panama Canal forecast: smaller ships. (smaller shipments of bulk cargoes predicted by economist Richard Wainio)
December 1, 1993... Economist predicts smaller shipments of bulk cargoes. Container traffic will be largely north-south. The Panama Canal isn't threatened by its physical ability to handle a future generation of ships, according to the canal's chief economist....

Hapag-Lloyd makeover. (Hapag-Lloyd AG)
December 1, 1993... "We are businessmen. We are not shipowners or aircraft captains." After six months at the helm of Germany's largest transportation group, Hapag-Lloyd AG, that's how Bernd Wrede sees things... and things are very different these days at...

DSR/Senator merger expected Jan. 1. (DSR Shipping Co.; Senator Linie GmbH)
December 1, 1993... DSR, Senator to become one liner operator. Hamburg Sud may cooperate on landside operations. By the first of the year two German shipping companies should accomplish what they've been expected to produce for years: a merger. "I'm 90...

It's a new ball game. (choice of ocean carriers by shippers affected by the Trans-Atlantic Agreement)
December 1, 1993... TAA has forced shippers to develop new skills in dealing with ocean carriers. Whether the Trans-Atlantic Agreement survives its legal struggles or not, one thing is certain: the carrier pact has changed forever the way shippers choose their...

5-year checkup. (accuracy of predictions on happenings in the shipping industry from 1988 to 1992)
December 1, 1993... EDITOR'S NOTE: Five years ago this month we asked Hans Jakob Kruse to forecast what would happen in the shipping industry over the next five years. This is a follow on that Cover story. "It's surprisingly swift that the Commission agreed on...

What makes Bob Delaney nervous? (Cass Logistics Inc. Exec. VP)
December 1, 1993... Cass Logistics executive vice president says that when third parties offer everything in a neat package, they may be promising more than they can deliver. Too many companies offer these services only through loose alliances with other vendors....

Fujitsu uses UPS as hub in Europe. (Fujitsu Personal Systems Inc.; United Parcel Service of America Inc.)
December 1, 1993... Says outsourcing has improved reliability of deliveries. Outsourcing and use of a single distribution hub made a big difference for Fujitsu Personal Systems, Inc., when it comes to intra-European logistics. Fujitsu has consolidated import...

Bouncing back ... one more time. (doing business in West and Central Africa)
December 1, 1993... Want to do business in West and Central Africa? First, get yourself a political scorecard. Second, keep it up to date. Midway through a business appointment, Paul J. Page, marketing and public relations manager for London-based OT Africa...

Next place to reduce expenses. (sharing of containers by shipping companies)
December 1, 1993... Shippers have always asked why containers cannot be interchanged as freely as rail cars. It's not all that simple. "If shipping companies can share vessels, surely they can share containers." A logical conclusion? Yes. A statement that...

Russian rails feel winds of competition. (Russian railroads faced competition from Polish and Russian trucking companies)
December 1, 1993... Norfolk Southern delegation examined railroad; plenty of room for improvement. When Communism reigned and Russia's market was closed to outside competition, the country's railroads could get away with bad service. But now that the winds...

Will there ever be a Euros flag? (the EC's proposed ship registry)
December 1, 1993... EC Parliament declares 'a matter of urgency.' Spells out conditions for cabotage liberalization. The European Parliament is trying to light a fire under Euros, the European Community's yet-to-be realized ship registry. On Sept. 16,...