American Shipper articles from December 1997

American Shipper archives from December 1997

NOL completes purchase of APL. (Neptune Orient Lines Ltd.; APL Ltd.)
December 1, 1997... To keep APL name on container operations, which will have total of 76 ships. Ship-management company to collect U.S.-flag subsidies. Neptune Orient Lines, which completed its $825-million purchase of U.S.-based APL Ltd. on Nov. 12, promises...

NOL/APL deal scrambles alliances. (ramifications of Neptune Orient Lines Ltd.'s acquisition of APL Ltd. on the container industry)
December 1, 1997... Global Alliance to break up. NOL to leave Grand Alliance to join APL, MOL, Hyundai. OOCL's future status uncertain. Neptune Orient Lines' purchase of APL Ltd. will reshuffle the two biggest alliances of containership operators. The Global...

Ocean shipping reform act of 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998? (legislation to reform the Shipping Act of 1984)(includes related articles on laws related to shipping legislation)
December 1, 1997... Latest compromise, allowing widespread confidential contracting, does little to overcome opposition. Backers will try again after start of the year. Wait till next year. That's what supporters of legislation to reform the 1984 Shipping...

Japan yields to FMC pressure. (Federal Maritime Commission; US/Japan shipping relations)
December 1, 1997... Japanese lines to pay $1.5 million in fines. Japan to overhaul port rules, allow non-Japanese carriers to manage own terminals. A tense U.S./Japan standoff appears to have forced major changes in Japan's complicated web of port rules....

U.S. urged to hold firm in Japan air talks. (air transport negotiations with Japan)
December 1, 1997... Northwest, political allies say Clinton Administration should accept nothing less than an open-skies agreement. WASHINGTON The Clinton Administration has signaled that in its air-transport negotiations with Japan, the U.S. may be willing...

Carriers reconsider capacity caps. (proposed restrictions on capacity by carriers)
December 1, 1997... Some have given up on the idea, but a few carriers say joint efforts to restrict capacity may be the only way to prevent a bloodbath on rates. Opposition by regulators has ended joint efforts by carriers to restrict capacity in all major...

EC prepares to fine TACA members. (EU European Commission; Trans-Atlantic Conference Agreement)
December 1, 1997... Van Miert says EC tired of waiting for lines to quit inland rate-fixing. Threatens to 'teach them a lesson.' The European Commission's competition directorate has warned lines of the Trans-Atlantic Conference Agreement that it is ready to...

Europe's rail freeways operational early in 1998. (includes related article on recommendations for rail freeways)
December 1, 1997... EC encourages liberalization of allocation of train routes within Europe. Shipper groups welcome development. After more than a year on the drawing board, rail freight freeways in Europe could be operational by the start of 1998. But...

Shippers declare war on inefficiencies. (international shipping sector's cost-cutting efforts)(includes related article on what international maritime shippers desire)(Cover Story)
December 1, 1997... Survey of international shippers shows that they plan to slash transport costs by targeting numerous inefficient practices. In the vocabulary of the average executive, the words "cost control" probably rank at the bottom of the list of...

Big money in duty drawback. (Customs Service's duty drawback program for shippers)(includes related article on the drawback business)
December 1, 1997... More than $2 billion in duty drawback goes unclaimed each year; many shippers unaware of opportunities. Many shippers are unaware of money due back to them through U.S. Customs' duty drawback program. "It's mostly ignorance," said Michael...

Dawn of the euro. (effect of single European currency on shippers doing business in Europe)(includes related article on euro bills)
December 1, 1997... Shift to single European currency will require adjustments by companies doing business on continent. Dollar-based tariffs won't change. The euro is looming. In January 1999, at least 10 nations in the European Monetary Union will begin to...

Unisys takes its own advice. (Unisys Corp.)
December 1, 1997... Computer giant's logistics re-engineering features centralized control, outsourcing of warehousing and transportation management. When the air-cargo industry talks about information systems for logistics, one name frequently heard is Unisys....

Lego prefers forwarders. (Lego A/S)
December 1, 1997... Prefers to use forwarders in three-way relationship with airlines. Says airlines 'are not geared to handle the business themselves.' Lego, the Danish toy manufacturer best known for its plastic building blocks, says air freight forwarders...

No one system does it all. (Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s logistics management)
December 1, 1997... Bristol-Myers Squibb is building a global supply-chain information network by "bolting on" systems from several sources. Computers can do many wonderful things, but few can do it all. That's what Bristol-Myers Squibb discovered when it...

Contracting? Get it all in writing. (contracts between shippers and logistics providers)
December 1, 1997... Smooth relations between shippers and logistics providers depend on clear understanding - and you can't always get that in a handshake. The relationship between shipper and service providers can be a simple as requiring equipment pickup and...

Miami's NVO battlefield. (non-vessel-operating common carriers in Florida)
December 1, 1997... Competition between neutral and forwarder-owned freight consolidators heats up in South Florida. Miami is still the place to be if you're a non-vessel-operating common carrier interested in handling exports to Latin America and the...

Picking up the pieces. (Airgroup Express services)
December 1, 1997... Airgroup specializes in handling shipments for companies whose regular arrangements have gone haywire. BELLEVUE, Wash. William H. Moultrie says his company specializes in helping shippers in distress by "moving cargo that no one else wants...

Murrell seizes the moment. (Tropical Shipping and Construction Co. Ltd. CEO Rick Murrell informs Pres. Bill Clinton that tax policy is damaging US-owned controlled ocean shipping)
December 1, 1997... Clinton, promoting fast-track authority, hears a pitch for U.S.-owned shipping from Tropical CEO. RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. It's not every day that you have President Clinton in your container yard. Rick Murrell decided to make the most of...

Tons, not pounds. (Air Foyle Ltd.'s freight forwarding business)
December 1, 1997... Air Foyle's AN124-100 freighters can airlift awkward cargoes weighing more than 100 tons. LONDON Most air-cargo carriers think in pounds, not tons. Air Foyle is different. The U.K.-based company, using Antonov AN124-100 Ruslan...

TIACA wants to work with shippers. (The International Air Cargo Association)
December 1, 1997... Competition from integrators forces change in approach from "operator-driven" to "customer-driven." LONDON The air-cargo industry has often been accused of paying more attention to its own problems than to those of customers. But now...