American Shipper articles from November 1996

American Shipper archives from November 1996

CSX, Conrail to redraw rail map. (CSX Corp.; Consolidated Rail Corp.)
November 1, 1996... Propose merger into second-largest U.S. railroad. Norfolk Southern to seek concessions. The proposed merger of CSX and Conrail promises to reshape the U.S. railroad map in ways that won't become clear for a while to come. CSX and...

TSA wants return to capacity limits. (Transpacific Stabilization Agreement)
November 1, 1996... Would keep half of surplus slots open and would suspend program within three years. FMC seeks shipper reactions. The Transpacific Stabilization Agreement wants to restore a modified version of the capacity set-aside program that the...

TWRA plans bill-of-lading surcharge. (Transpacific Westbound Rate Agreement)
November 1, 1996... Fee of $15 per B/L to take effect Dec.1. Shippers don't like it. The Transpacific Westbound Rate Agreement says its new $15 charge for preparing a bill of lading is needed to cover carriers' rising documentation costs. Shippers don't...

Carriers line up for new subsidy.
November 1, 1996... MarAd must decide who gets money. Sea-Land, APL have most ships to offer, but APL wants union concessions. Sea-Land Service and American President Lines, the two largest U.S.-flag containership operators, are likely to get the biggest...

ILA bids to regain breakbulk work. (International Longshoremen's Association)
November 1, 1996... Union matched ILWU gains in container pay, but agreed to sizable cost reductions, especially for breakbulk cargo. With its new five-year contract, the International Longshoremen's Association is bidding to halt or even reverse the union's...

Industry needs guidance from EC. (shipping industry)(includes related article on E.C. competition law)
November 1, 1996... Editor's Note: This article was prepared by Philip Ruttley, partner of the European law firm Watson, Farley and Williams. The views in this article are strictly personal. Only a few large consortia and alliances can benefit from exemption...

Scroggins floats trial balloons. (Federal Maritime Commission member Joe Scroggins)
November 1, 1996... Revives suggestions that FMC be allowed to see non-U.S. portions of carrier agreements. Others are skeptical. A Federal Maritime Commission member, Joe Scroggins, has suggested that conferences be required to file the foreign components of...

Unique, arbitrary and discriminatory. (freight surcharges in liner shipping)
November 1, 1996... Freight surcharges in liner shipping aren't just an anachronism; they are a source of irritation and unpredictably for shippers. Surcharges -- the more or less sudden, but rarely temporary, freight increases -- are an irritating anomaly...

A crazy, Neanderthal system. (ocean transportation pricing)
November 1, 1996... Ocean transportation pricing is a complex mess off luctuating surcharges. Everyone focuses on the symptoms, but the problem goes much deeper. Many ocean carriers have made great strides in their efforts to become more customer-focused....

Shippers' unfulfilled dreams. (European and Asian shippers)
November 1, 1996... Survey of U.S., European and Asian shippers shows they're demanding non-standard conditions in contracts and agreements with ocean carriers. But not every shipper gets them. International shippers have some simple requirements from ocean...

Troika of third parties. (Case Corp. hires logistics providers for global coverage)
November 1, 1996... Case Corp. hires three logistics providers for global coverage: Schneider, Fritz, and GATX work in harness. When Case Corp. decided to overhaul its supply chain, it went looking for a company that could handle all of the company's global...

ICI's logistics 'symphony.' (Imperial Chemical Industries PLC)
November 1, 1996... U.K.-based chemical company refines global purchasing for shipping, logistics and other services. Music isn't usually associated with international chemical companies, but don't tell it to logistics executives at U.K.-based ICI. The...

Hub Group's logistics strategy. (Hub Group Inc.)
November 1, 1996... Yeager sees growth coming from `total logistics management services on a global basis.' When Penn Central Railroad went bankrupt 25 years ago. Philip C. Yeager was forced to find a new line of work. So he and his wife, Joyce, moved to a...

Sea-Land subsidiary offers air freight. (Buyers Air Cargo of Buyers Consolidators)
November 1, 1996... Buyers Consolidators says it is responding to customer demand for total logistics services. Sea-Land Service's ocean consolidator has begun offering air freight services. "Air freight logistics was the missing piece at Buyers for...

Soaking up excess inventory. (James River Corp.'s sales channels)
November 1, 1996... James River Corp. uses many sales channels, but has benefited from the grocery industry's ECR effort. What do Quilted Northern bathroom tissue, Brawny paper towels, and Dixie cups have in common? They are called "dry groceries'...

P&O Nedlloyd merger: now the work begins. (P and O Nedlloyd Container Line)(includes related article on CEO Tim Harris)
November 1, 1996... Senior executives appointed, committees begin meeting. But Harris says there's no rush to choose between alliances. Tim Harris, newly appointed chief executive officer of what will become P&O Nedlloyd Container Line, aims to complete the...

Big ... bigger ... super-post-Panamax. (containership)
November 1, 1996... Report shows definite trend toward giant post-Panamax containerships, although the savings don't seem huge. A 6,000-TEU "super-post-Panamax" with a modern ship design has a 21 percent lower voyage cost per slot per year than a 4,000-TEU...

CMA to put own ship in U.S. trade. (Compagnie Maritime d'Affretement)
November 1, 1996... Compagnie Maritime d'Affretement plans expansion, bids to buy CGM from French government. Compagnie Maritime d'Affretement expects to increase volume on its U.S.-Mediterranean route "by more than 15 percent" next year, according to...

Privatized Freightliner predicts profit.
November 1, 1996... Money-losing U.K. intermodal operator begins sweeping reorganization. Works to cut costs, reassure customers. The new owners of Freightliner, the former U.K. domestic intermodal arm of British Rail, aim to return the company to...

Hutchison's global strategy. (Hutchison Port Holdings)
November 1, 1996... Hong Kong-based terminal operator has invested in more than 15 ports around the word. Hutchison Port Holdings is riding high on a global wave of port privatization. The Hong Kong-based port operator has been active in pursuing...

When a seaman designs ships. (C.R. Cushing owner naval architect Charles Cushing)
November 1, 1996... Charles Cushing, who helped redefine the containerships, still approaches naval architecture with the eye of a man who's been to sea. Naval architect Charles Cushing tries to design ships the way a seaman would. "I always think of...

Two planes in one. (convertible cargo-passenger planes)
November 1, 1996... Convertible cargo-passenger planes have their proponents, but remain a novelty in the airline industry. Plans by United Parcel Service to use cargo planes for passenger charters have given new visibility to an old idea-"convertible"...

Air France prepares for privatization.
November 1, 1996... Spins off cargo division into separate profit center. Restructures routes, reduces staff, invests in terminals. Air France has learned some hard lessons in the freight business during the past three years, and the airline's management is...

Turkish Airlines builds new fleet. (Turkish Airlines Inc.)
November 1, 1996... Istanbul-based airline begins to see results from new planes. Turkish Airlines is putting the finishing touches on a fleet renewer program that has boosted the carrier's capacity for cargo. The new planes started entering the fleet in...

UPS takes wing in Asia, Europe. (United Parcel Service of America Inc.)
November 1, 1996... Plans investments, develops route networks. Says international express service growing 20% a year. United Parcel Service, planning to invest $1.1 million in its European operation in the next five years, sees rapid growth in cross-border...

Sabena plans to add freighters. (Sabena Belgian World Airlines)
November 1, 1996... Brussels-based air carrier, now 49.5 percent owned by Swissair, says North American cargo justifies move. With its finances improved and an international alliance in the works, Sabena Belgian World Airlines is preparing to bolster its...

Asiana - Korea's 'other' airline. (Asiana Airlines)
November 1, 1996... Korea's second largest carrier quickly becomes a world contender for air freight business. Less than a decade after starting as a domestic carrier in the shadow of Korean Airlines, South Korea's Asiana Airlines has become one of the top...

Spanish conquest. (Iberia Airline)
November 1, 1996... Iberia Airlines cargo division continues to prosper in Latin American trades. While many air carriers are just starting to increase their Latin American cargo presence, Spain's Iberia Airlines has been in the market for years. ...

More air-cargo service contracts.
November 1, 1996... Fritz predicts they'll become more popular as shippers focus on supply chains and demand better service. Lynn Fritz, chief executive of the Fritz Cos., predicts that service contracts will become as common in air cargo as they are in...

Brokers, forwarders & NVOs. (multiple articles on customs brokers, the Customs Service and non-vessel operations)
November 1, 1996... Forwarders' Achilles heel Some freight forwarders, especially small ones, have an Achilles heel: their liability insurance coverage. "It's a misconception that a forwarder can pass his claims to the carrier," said Desiree M....

Reasonable deviation upheld. (carrier loss protection lawsuit)
November 1, 1996... Reasonable deviation upheld In 1994, a cargo consignment consisting of a Caterpillar tractor was loaded in good order and condition aboard the CSAV Romeral in New Orleans, for shipment to Valparaiso, Chile. The tractor had been put on...