Pacific Shipper articles from February 2008

Pacific Shipper archives from February 2008

Hall of Famer.
February 4, 2008... Pete Banaszak recalls his first day at Crowley Maritime Corp. Dick Simpson, the company's vice president of sales and marketing, sat him down and addressed him in a serious tone. "He said, 'Pete, I'm going to show you how to fill out an...

Panel finds flaws in Cosco Busan spill response.
February 4, 2008... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto An independent review panel found flaws in preparedness and response, especially in the initial estimate of the amount of oil spilled, when the Cosco Busan sideswiped the San Francisco Bay Bridge last November. ...

A.P. Moller-Maersk takes stake in Hoegh.
February 4, 2008... BYLINE: Peter T. Leach A.P. Moller-Maersk, parent of Maersk Line, has acquired a 37.5 percent stake in Norwegian vehicle carrier Hoegh Autoliners under an agreement announced by the two companies last week. No financial terms were...

Small manufacturers press Congress for help.
February 4, 2008... Small and midsize manufacturing companies have asked Congress to ensure that any legislation to strengthen U.S. trade laws would help them compete in the global marketplace. In a letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus,...

Fuel costs take toll on BNSF profit.(Financial report)
February 4, 2008... Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. said its fourth-quarter operating income increased to $950 million from $943 million in the year-ago quarter, as freight revenue rose 9 percent to a quarterly record of $4.12 billion. Net income for the...

Mexico: Future US-Asia trade gateway.
February 4, 2008... BYLINE: Richard Knee    A good chunk of the cargo crossing into Mexico from the U.S. originates in Asia. And it's likely that a lot of Asian imports will one day -- who knows how soon -- enter the United States through...

'Amicable' talks foreseen in labor contract.
February 4, 2008... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo As the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association prepare to begin contract talks in March, one fact is evident. The negotiating environment today is more amicable than it was...

EU ambassador calls for common sense on food safety issues.
February 4, 2008...    The European Union and the U.S. should pool resources as much as possible to ensure that consumers in both markets get the safest and highest-quality food and that taxpayer dollars and euros are used cost-effectively, said...

Seattle port establishes fraud panel.
February 4, 2008... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto   A state audit report found serious problems with the port's capital construction programs. The Port of Seattle Commission has created a special committee to investigate the port's vulnerability to...

China surpasses US as Japan's top trade partner.
February 4, 2008... China surpassed the U.S. as Japan's largest trading partner for the first time on a calendar-year basis in 2007, with bilateral trade reaching nearly 28 trillion yen, according to preliminary figures released by the Finance Ministry on Jan. 24....

Small shipments find freezer room on OOCL's vessels.
February 4, 2008... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo   OOCL is offering a less-then-containerload consolidation service for frozen and chilled products. As the dollar shrinks in value, overseas consumers are discovering that U.S.-produced specialty...

Trans-Pacific vessel utilization stays strong, carriers say.
February 4, 2008... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo Vessel utilization rates remain strong in the eastbound Pacific as U.S. imports from Asia pick up during the pre-lunar New Year rush, the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement reported. According to the TSA, a...

CMA CGM acquires stake in Busan container terminal.
February 4, 2008... French carrier CMA CGM acquired a 12 percent stake in a container terminal project at the Port of Busan, South Korea, effective Dec. 31. Known as Busan 2-3, the new terminal is expected to become operational in 2011. It will be operated in...

Ports in Panama post 33 percent growth in cargo.
February 4, 2008... Containerized cargo moved through Panamanian ports grew 32.2 percent in 2007 to 4,003,731 TEUs, from 3,027,562 TEUs in 2006, according to data released by the Panama Maritime Authority. It was the first time that cargo volume passed the 4...

Savannah container volume rose 20.6 percent in 2007.
February 4, 2008... Container volume through the Port of Savannah increased 20.6 percent in 2007 to more than 2.6 million TEUs, the Georgia Ports Authority announced last week. Much of the increase was in all-water service from Asia. Total tonnage handled by...

Panama Canal Authority to boost handling fees.
February 4, 2008... Rising fuel costs led the Panama Canal Authority to revise fees for tug, locomotive and line-handling services, effective March 1. Rates for tug services will increase 8 percent; rates for line-handling services will rise 7 percent....

Going green: Consumer goods giant SC Johnson emphasizes environment and social investment.
February 4, 2008... BYLINE: William Armbruster     Environmental protection and corporate responsibility are top priorities for many companies these days, but few if any give it as much prominence on their Web sites as S.C. Johnson & Son...

Shipping green truckloads.
February 4, 2008... The Racine, Wis.-based home cleaning products manufacturer created a system last year that combines multiple customer orders to maximize truckload shipments and cut air pollution at the same time. After the first year of the initiative, the...

A different route to clean air.
February 4, 2008... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto The Pacific Northwest's three top ports, which collectively move more than 6 million containers a year, are trying to implement a clean-air strategy that would be voluntary and cross an international boundary. But...

Longtime Crowley employee Dick Simpson dies.
February 4, 2008...   Richard A. "Dick" Simpson  "Dick" Simpson, 71, a longtime transportation executive and former vice president of Crowley Maritime Corp., died on Jan. 27 in Jacksonville, Fla., following a long illness. Mr. Simpson...

New officers take seats on San Diego Port Commission.
February 4, 2008... Michael B. Bixler, representative for the city of Imperial Beach on the San Diego Port Commission, was sworn in as chairman of the port commission for 2008. Bixler delivered an inauguration speech highlighting his vision and goals for the...

British Columbia ports speed through merger.
February 4, 2008... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto   Gordon Houston The merger of three western Canada ports into a single operating authority -- or amalgamation, as Canadians refer to it -- has been completed, and in remarkably short time.  ...

Sea change.
February 11, 2008... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto When you've been doing something one way for 30 years, it's a pretty big deal to decide to change, and then actually do it. That is what is happening at the Port of Portland, which has decided to find someone other...

Bush pegs $36 million for Columbia River dredging.
February 11, 2008... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto The $36 million that the White House included in the fiscal 2009 budget released last week means that the Columbia River channel-deepening project will be substantially completed by 2010. Deepening the river's...

Hawaii to spend $842 million on ports.
February 11, 2008... Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle recently unveiled a plan to modernize the state's commercial ports. Covered by the plan are Kahului harbor on Maui, Honolulu harbor and Kalaeloa Barbers Point harbor on Oahu, Hilo and Kawaihae harbors on the "Big...

CCNI launches new service.
February 11, 2008... Chilean ocean carrier CCNI (Compania Chilena de Navegacion Interoceanica) has launched a new Pacific Caribbean (PACAR) service connecting the West Coast of North America -- through calls at the ports of Oakland, Seattle, Vancouver, British...

Oberstar blasts Bush budget.
February 11, 2008... The chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure criticized the Bush administration's $3.1 trillion budget proposal for its deep cuts in funding for transportation projects. Rep. James L. Oberstar, D-Minn., said the...

Matson reports growth in revenue and profit.(Financial report)
February 11, 2008...   Matson Navigation Co. increased fourth-quarter profit by 5 percent to $30.1 million from $28.7 million in the same quarter in 2006 on improved yields and cargo mix. Parent company Alexander & Baldwin reported last week that...

Store-door contracts.
February 11, 2008... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo When ocean carriers approach Southern California harbor trucking companies for rate quotes, the truckers have a stock answer: "We don't know what our rates are going to be this year." The truckers aren't being...

Ports America chief predicts cargo diversions.
February 11, 2008... Impediments to development of infrastructure in the United States make it almost inevitable that some of the projected surge in Asian cargo volume over the next decade will flow through Mexico or Canada instead of West Coast ports, said Doug...

Desperately seeking service.
February 11, 2008... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto Wanted: Investor with deep pockets and very long-term outlook to run under-used container terminal. For information, contact Port of Portland, Ore. The Columbia River port, a comparatively small player in the...

Seattle reports little change in box traffic.
February 11, 2008... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto   Photo: Don Wilson/Port of Seattle The Port of Seattle closed out 2007 with December container volume up 6 percent, but that was not quite enough to put its box performance for the year into the...

Seattle puts new controls on construction projects.
February 11, 2008... The Port of Seattle has imposed a moratorium on new projects until it begins to implement recommendations to tighten control of its capital construction programs. The announcement by Tay Yoshitani, the port's chief executive, follows the...

Poultry exporter agrees to stay at Port of New Orleans.
February 11, 2008... The Port of New Orleans Dock Board has approved an engineering contract covering development of a new facility for longtime tenant New Orleans Cold Storage.   Keeping New Orleans Cold Storage after the closing of the industrial...

Rotterdam, stevedores sign fruit-handling agreement.
February 11, 2008... The Port of Rotterdam Authority has signed a letter of intent with stevedores Seabrex and Kloosterboer to expand and develop the handling of containerized fruit shipments. The authority said the agreement will help to guide investment,...

Corallo named president of PIERS.
February 11, 2008...   Lenny Corallo Commonwealth Business Media promoted Lenny Corallo to the position of president and chief operating officer of PIERS Global Intelligence Solutions. Corallo has served since 1995 as executive vice president of...

McWilliams to head new Port of Seattle real estate division.
February 11, 2008... The Port of Seattle named Joe McWilliams managing director, Real Estate and Property Management, a newly created unit. He will join the port on Feb. 28. McWilliams has more than 15 years of experience in the Seattle real estate market....

Southeast Asia becomes fertile field for 3PLs.
February 11, 2008... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto   Singapore has captured the role of leading logistics hub in the region. Photo: Port of Singapore Logistics activity in Southeast Asia still lives in the shadow of the huge attention and resources devoted...

Vancouver not expecting extra business from Southern California box fees.
February 11, 2008... BYLINE: MARK WILSON   Officials in British Columbia aren't expecting traffic diversion from Southern California. Photo: Port of Vancouver, BC The Port of Vancouver, British Columbia, is not expecting any windfall gain from...

Homeland Security gets budget increase from Bush.
February 11, 2008... BYLINE: R.G. EDMONSON The Department of Homeland Security will receive an overall budget increase of 6.8 percent, to $50.5 billion, if Congress approves a $3.1 trillion budget request for fiscal 2009 that the Bush administration released...

'K' Line profit rockets.(Financial report)
February 11, 2008... K Line reported consolidated operating income surged to 100.69 billion yen (US$950 million) in April-December 2007, up 153.5 percent from the previous year. Japan's third-largest shipping line by sales credited the robust results to...

Defense Department extends RFID pact.
February 11, 2008... The U.S. Department of Defense has extended the time and increased the value of its Radio Frequency Identification II contract with Savi, a unit of Lockheed Martin. The contract now runs to Jan. 31, 2009, and its ceiling increased by about...

China growth seen slowing.
February 11, 2008... The World Bank revised its growth forecast for the Chinese economy in 2008 to 9.6 percent, down from an earlier forecast of 10.8 percent, as a result of the downturn in the global economy. This is the first time in six years that the...

Trans-Pacific carrier groups cut fuel surcharges.
February 11, 2008... The two groups representing container lines in the trans-Pacific trades have reduced their bunker fuel surcharges, effective Feb. 1. The Transpacific Stabilization Agreement, composed of lines in the eastbound trade from Asia to the United...

Hanjin to start China-India loop.
February 11, 2008... Hanjin Shipping announced it will start a new joint container service, China-India Service (CIS), with Korea Marine Transport Co. and Cheng Lie Navigation Co., effective Feb. 18. The service, linking China, South Korea, Southeast Asia and...

Japanese probe safety of food imports from China.
February 11, 2008... A day after Japanese food companies recalled pesticide-contaminated dumplings from China that sickened 10 people, dozens more Japanese consumers became sick after eating food imported from China, according to Reuters. The food scare has...

Agents protest Nehru fee.
February 11, 2008... Local agents of container lines serving India's Port of Jawaharlal Nehru are protesting a move by the port to levy an additional fee for inter-terminal handling of transshipment boxes between its own terminal and the private terminal operated...

Maersk Line, Evergreen share Asia-Europe slots.
February 11, 2008... Maersk Line last Monday said it has entered into a slot-sharing agreement with Evergreen Marine Corp. on two of their Asia-Europe services, the Maersk Line AE2 service and Evergreen's CEM service. The services have the following rotations:...

Maersk expands Intra-Asia services.
February 11, 2008... Maersk Line has introduced a new Intra-Asia service, the IA-3, connecting the ports of Kaohsiung, Xiamen and Hong Kong with the carrier's Southeast Asian hub Port of Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia and Singapore. Maersk will deploy two...

KCS gains in Mexico.
February 11, 2008...   Strong business growth in Mexico helped KCS weather a U.S. downturn. Photo: Kansas City Southern Kansas City Southern reported a 4 percent increase for fourth-quarter revenue. KCS operates the smallest of North America's...

Airfreight demand slows.
February 11, 2008... Weakening growth in 2007 presages a slowdown in 2008 for the global air-cargo business, an industry association warned. Traffic increased just 4.3 percent last year, against 4.6 percent in 2006 and 7 to 8 percent in the preceding years,...

UP to spend $3.1 billion in 2008.
February 11, 2008... Union Pacific plans to invest $3.1 billion in capital projects this year, the company said last week. More than half of the money, $1.6 billion, is earmarked for projects to maintain and strengthen track infrastructure. Another $840...

Life after bankruptcy.
February 11, 2008... BYLINE: WILLIAM HOFFMAN Summit Global Logistics filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in late January, but its senior secured creditors and executive management feel confident enough to give the company another go as a private...

Need a ship? It'll cost you.
February 11, 2008... BYLINE: RICHARD KNEE Finding vessel space for breakbulk cargoes is by some accounts no mean feat, and people active in that sector say it isn't likely to get any easier unless there's a major dip in the global economy. Tom Solomon,...

Middle East construction fuels 'crazy' demand.
February 11, 2008... BYLINE: PETER T. LEACH Ask carrier executives about the state of the project cargo market these days, and many describe it simply as "crazy." That's what they call the amount of demand, and how they describe the scarcity of capacity they...

How vulnerable?
February 11, 2008... BYLINE: R.G. EDMONSON There's a saying among marine insurers that every day, somewhere in the world, a vessel sinks. That's a grim piece of insurance lore, but not so implausible when "vessel" includes everything from small craft, barges...

Project cargo will defy recession.
February 11, 2008... BYLINE: Ike Ortiz-Luis An increasing number of economists are predicting a recession in the U.S. this year with damaging spillover to much of the rest of the world. This anticipated slowdown in global economic activity is expected to...

Breakbulk cargo increases at Portland.
February 11, 2008... Breakbulk volume at the Port of Portland increased 6.5 percent in 2007 compared to levels handled in 2006. The Columbia River hub reported total breakbulk tonnage of 1.02 million metric tons in 2007, up from 9.6 million metric tons in 2006....

Port of Vancouver, Wash., completes land swap.
February 11, 2008... The Port of Vancouver, Wash., has completed a three-way land swap with BNSF Railway and Boise Cascade. The port says the deal will free up rail right-of-way for the port's West Vancouver Freight Access Rail Project. Under terms of the...

US steel imports decline.
February 11, 2008... Imports of steel declined in December by 14.9 percent compared to November and by 34.3 percent compared to December 2006, according to the American Institute for International Steel. December imports totaled 1.97 million tons. Total...

Intermarine takes delivery of sixth new vessel.
February 11, 2008...   The Industrial Dart, built in Portugal, has dual cranes that can lift 500 metric tons. Photo: Intermarine Intermarine's sixth new heavy-lift ship, the Industrial Dart, was delivered from ENVC shipyard in Portugal last month. The...

Swinging for the fences.
February 18, 2008... Sports cliches don't normally fall from my fingers onto the keyboard. But, hey, I like baseball, and have been waiting anxiously throughout a rainy winter for Feb. 14 when pitchers and catchers report to camp. Besides my impatience for...

Tacoma port clarifies management roles.
February 18, 2008... The Port of Tacoma last week announced a shift of management responsibilities in what the port described as an internal clarification and streamlining of its decision-making process. "As the Port of Tacoma grows, our success will be based...

US wins EU banana case.
February 18, 2008... The World Trade Organization has ruled that the European Union's import tariff on bananas is illegal, handing the U.S. a victory in the trade dispute. The ruling could set a precedent for other WTO-related disputes about trade in...

Russia expects WTO membership.
February 18, 2008... Russia could join the World Trade Organization on Jan. 1, 2009, a Russian Economic Development and Trade Ministry official said. "We're hoping that accession talks will be wrapped up by May and, allowing for the administrative, legal and...

Intermodal a bright spot for Pacer quarter.
February 18, 2008... Pacer International, the non-asset logistics and transportation provider, reported fourth-quarter gains in revenue, paced by growth in its intermodal and logistics segments. For the quarter that ended on Dec. 28, revenue increased 7.6...

Intermodal decline slows.
February 18, 2008... Intermodal containers shipped by rail posted a modest gain for the week ending on Feb. 2, according to figures from the Association of American Railroads, although overall intermodal traffic continued its months-long slide. Containers...

Toxic Environment: Legal threats cloud the air in Southern California.
February 18, 2008... BYLINE: Stephanie Nall    A 13-page legal ultimatum from two environmental groups rattled port officials working to finalize the proposed Clean Trucks Program at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, but one official said...

Carriers seek green vessels.
February 18, 2008... BYLINE: DAVID BIEDERMAN   New hybrid tugs ordered by Foss will look like current vessels but will operate on battery power - not diesel fuel - 75 percent of the time. Green is the word, and breakbulk and project cargo carriers are...

Decline forecast for February imports.
February 18, 2008... As U.S. consumers continue to cut back on spending and retailers reduce their orders, February will probably be the seventh consecutive month to show a decline in containerized imports compared to the previous year, according to the Port...

GAO reviews criteria for public-private highways.
February 18, 2008... While public-private partnerships can lead to improvements in highway infrastructure, the Government Accountability Office warns that there is no "free money" in the deals. In a report issued this month, the GAO recommended that the federal...

CSX Transportation offers carbon calculator.
February 18, 2008... Rail carrier CSX Transportation is offering an online Carbon Calculator, enabling shippers to calculate the carbon dioxide emissions savings of specific rail shipments, providing comparative data among transportation choices. The...

OECD sees major economies heading for downturn.
February 18, 2008... Nearly all major global economies are heading for a slowdown in 2008, according to a report of leading indicators released earlier this month by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The composite leading indicator for the...

Slowing US demand cools Mexico's 2007 auto production.
February 18, 2008... Mexico's auto production increased by only 2.2 percent in 2007 as a result of slowing demand from the United States, its largest export market. Production rose 25.9 percent in January 2008, compared to the same month in 2007. Auto exports...

Wild or farmed?
February 18, 2008... BYLINE: BILL DIBENEDETTO     In just about any Seattle seafood restaurant, a typical conversation will include a crucial question: Is the salmon wild-caught or farmed? Answer the question wrong and the dinner party might...

India's ports grow 12 percent.
February 18, 2008... Throughput at major ports in India grew 12 percent in the April-to-January period, according to figures released by the Indian Ports Association. The country's 12 major ports, six each on the west and east coasts, handled 424 million...

Chinese car exports double.
February 18, 2008... China's automobile exports more than doubled to 188,600 units in 2007, according to figures from the General Administra-tion of Customs. The previous year, the country's overall auto imports and exports reached $66.9 billion, with car...

Kintetsu targeting China, US to boost revenue.(Financial report)
February 18, 2008... Kintetsu World Express, Japan's second-largest international airfreight forwarder, has announced a medium-term management plan that calls for aggressive business expansion, especially in China and North America, to boost its operating revenue...

PSA buys Kolkata terminal.
February 18, 2008... PSA India Pte Ltd., the local arm of PSA International, has acquired a 49 percent stake in ABG Kolkata Container Terminal, the private terminal at the country's eastern Port of Kolkata, operated by ABG Infralogistics Ltd. Mumbai-based ABG...

Crowley tug aids APL ship.
February 18, 2008... A Crowley tug assisted the 918-foot container vessel APL Australia part way through the Strait of Juan de Fuca earlier this month. The container ship lost its secondary hydraulic steering system, but its primary steering system is...

Long Beach honors OOCL for community partnerships.
February 18, 2008... OOCL was recognized by the Port of Long Beach Harbor Commission earlier this month for the carrier's recent donations to parks and educational causes in Long Beach. Last month, OOCL donated $100,000 to the Long Beach Department of Parks,...

Peters under fire.
February 18, 2008... BYLINE: ARI NATTER It's been a rough couple of weeks for Mary E. Peters, secretary of the Department of Transportation. After she initially managed to stay clear of Congress for the most part, a whirlwind of testimony this month...

Senators urge antitrust vote.
February 18, 2008... Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wisc., and six other senator have sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., urging him to bring the Railroad Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2007 to the Senate floor for full consideration. The bill would remove...

Australia, New Zealand strengthen Asia ties.
February 18, 2008... BYLINE: RICHARD KNEE     Australia's and New Zealand's currencies seemed to be on a modest rise against the U.S. dollar in mid-February, but the news came amid reports that the two countries are doing more trade with...