American Shipper articles from February 1996

American Shipper archives from February 1996

Rates drop in Asia-Europe trade. (shipping)
February 1, 1996... Conference carriers, under growing market and financial pressure, have broken ranks in an increasingly unstable Asia/Europe trade. The lines in this trade have expressed growing concerns about uncontrolled price discounts both inside and...

TWRA turnabout on service contracts. (Transpacific Westbound Rate Agreement)
February 1, 1996... The Transpacific Westbound Rate Agreement has come almost 180 degrees from just a year ago, when it staunchly resisted signing service contracts with shippers. Before last year, the conference had just two service contracts -- one with...

TSA aims for rate stabilization. (Transpacific Stabilization Agreement)
February 1, 1996... A rate-stabilization effort is under way by a group of conference and independent shipping lines in the eastbound transpacific. But considering the increasing capacity in the trade, shippers believe the carriers could be in for a rough...

TACA yields on contract rates. (Trans-Atlantic Conference Agreement)
February 1, 1996... The annual service-contract negotiating marathon between shippers and the TransAtlantic Conference Agreement apparently produced mixed results. TACA locked in rate increases, but shippers were able to get the conference to back off from...

Sea-Land, Maersk add Suez route.
February 1, 1996... The new world of shipping consortia is beginning to take shape. Two of the largest of the new multicarrier alliances opened 1996 by announcing details of new services that begin operation this year. Maersk and Sea-Land will add an...

Lott sidetracks shipping-reform bill. (Senator Trent Lott)
February 1, 1996... Large shippers and others who want to revise the 1984 Shipping Act and close the Federal Maritime Commission may have to wait till next year. Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., the Senate majority whip, said he would delay action on the...

FMC survives, but loses domestic oversight. (Federal Maritime Commission)
February 1, 1996... The Federal Maritime Commission will continue to function on its own and with five members--at least for now--under legislation passed by Congress and sent to the White House. Instead of combining a trimmed-down FMC with the remnants of...

U.S., China sign bilateral pact.
February 1, 1996... Encouraged by a new bilateral air agreement, U.S. and Chinese transportation officials have agreed to meet again to discuss further liberalization of air transportation between the nations. The Dec. 23 agreement broadened a restrictive...

Shipping reform compromise: a resurrected Carper bill?
February 1, 1996... Shipping reform is under congressional scrutiny. Senators John Breaux, D-La., and Trent Lott, R-Miss., have misgivings about the current House version of the shipping reform bill. One of their key complaints is that there was little debate of...

Old problems for a new currency. (single European currency)
February 1, 1996... In three years the majority of European Union member states will substitute their national currencies for the Euro, the newly revealed name of the EU's newly revealed single currency. One notable exception is the United Kingdom, which as it...

Curtain falls on FACS. (Federation of American Controlled Shipping)
February 1, 1996... A decision by the board of the Federation Of American Controlled Shipping to close FACS's New York headquarters has sent tremors through the international shipping community, not least because it means the departure of Philip J. Loree, FACS's...

Conference ringmaster. (Associated Conferences Secretariat)
February 1, 1996... The phone rings. "There's trouble," says a worried executive. "They've arrested one of our ships, and we can't get the cargo off Can you fly down and deal with it?" Another ring. "Our credit people are taking a beating. Can you schedule...

Car carriers roll with change.
February 1, 1996... Structural changes in the world's automotive industry have forced adjustments by operators of car-carrying ships, according to a new report by London-based Drewry Shipping Consultants. As automobile manufacturing has dispersed, traffic on...

Wilson's logistics game plan. (Wilson Sporting Goods)
February 1, 1996... Pare down your service providers. Keep the ones you retain on a short leash. Make all of your management decisions in-house. These maxims comprise the working credo of John Wade, Simpsonville, S.C.-based director of global transportation...

Georgia-Pacific's logistics overhaul. (includes related article)
February 1, 1996... A two-by-four is a two-by-four, manufactured to uniform dimensions. But in logistics, Georgia-Pacific Corp. has found that one size doesn't fit all. The forest-products giant has tightened its supply chain and reduced its annual...

The hazards of hazmat. (hazardous materials)
February 1, 1996... Shippers, carriers share liability for labeling, handling of hazardous goods. Mistakes are easy, fines can be costly. Normal acts taken to move goods from point A to point B in an intermodal journey, so routine on the surface, can have...

Legal awareness: 'a core competency.'
February 1, 1996... Attorney says America's lawsuit-happy environment gives U.S. firms an edge in international trade. U.S. shippers who want to trade outside the U. S. are finding that the world economy is changing so quickly that basic precepts taught in...

Starting from scratch in Albania.
February 1, 1996... Long-isolated nation has a long list of transport needs, and little money or know-how to get started. After decades of self-imposed isolation, Albania is starting on the road to developing a transportation infrastructure. But first it has...

Comparing apples with apples. (US Department of Agriculture's Ocean Rate Bulletin)
February 1, 1996... USDA's Ocean Rate Bulletin is free service that provides comparisons of rates for U.S. agricultural exports. Shippers and forwarders spend countless hours--and spend large sums of money--contacting ocean carriers to compare freight rates....

Automated letters of credit.
February 1, 1996... Most shippers will tell you that one of the most loathed aspects of trade finance is the letter of credit. A mistake in preparing a letter of credit or accompanying documents can delay the payment and delivery of goods and services and...

Underwriters differ on open-top containerships.
February 1, 1996... Hull and machinery underwriters see few problems. But marine cargo underwriters have reservations about the design. Hatchless container ships are here to stay, popular for the ease and speed in which their cargo can be loaded and unloaded,...

More fallout from OPA 90. (Oil Pollution Act of 1990)
February 1, 1996... The specter of soaring insurance premiums is spurring companies to take a closer look at revised regulations stemming from the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. "American marine insurers are gravely concerned about the implications," said...

Malaysia Airlines builds business. (Malaysian Airline System)
February 1, 1996... Acquires freighters, expands through joint services, purchase of stakes in World Airways, Shreiner Airways. Since a corporate restructuring two years ago. Malaysia Airlines has been adding capacity and routes to its worldwide cargo...

SAS adds cargo capacity. (Scandinavian Airlines System)
February 1, 1996... Increases capacity 20 percent by leasing 747 freighter. Seeks growth through alliances. Scandinavian Airlines Systems has increased its cargo capacity by leasing a Boeing 747-200 freighter for use in the trinational European airline's...

Airborne adds 12 wide-body aircraft. (Airborne Freight Corp.)
February 1, 1996... Airborne Freight Corp., which operates Airbome Express, has leased 12 Boeing 767-200 wide-body jets for use on its growing domestic routes. The decision to boost Airborne's lift capacity came after a year-long study of the carrier's...

US Customs starts to act like a business.
February 1, 1996... The U.S. Customs Service is moving toward a business-like approach to document and cargo release, and the effort appears to be paying off. Customs has established Process Improvement Teams, with seven of the agency's ports involved in the...

No certificates needed for most pallets.
February 1, 1996... USDA will require them only for wooden pallets, crates and dunnage used with USDA-regulated shipments. Though federal officials now require wooden packing materials for import cargoes to be free of bark and pests, certificates soon will not...