Pacific Shipper articles from January 2007

Pacific Shipper archives from January 2007

As the Pendulum Swings.
January 5, 2007... BYLINE: Stephanie Nall The new executive producers of the long-running soap opera "Capitol Hill" have promised viewers new, better-looking characters, with more palatable plot lines and a faster-paced show in its new season. Instead...

Rail Volumes Set Records.
January 5, 2007... Rail volume increased just 2.6 percent during the first 51 weeks of 2006, but the slight improvement set a nine-year record. Total volume for the year-to-date on Dec. 23 was 1.7 trillion ton-miles. For the week ending Dec. 23, the...

None.
January 5, 2007... Long-time port industry veteran Tay Yoshitani will take over as the Port of Seattle's new chief executive in March, following a unanimous vote by the Port of Seattle Commission last week on Mic Dinsmore's successor. Yoshitani has led the...

Port of Seattle Names Yoshitani Chief Executive.
January 5, 2007... Long-time port industry veteran Tay Yoshitani will take over as the Port of Seattle's new chief executive in March, following a unanimous vote by the Port of Seattle Commission last week on Mic Dinsmore's successor. Yoshitani has led the...

Bnsf Logistics Acquires Pro-Am Transportation Services.
January 5, 2007... BNSF Logistics has acquired 3PL Pro-Am Transportation Services for an undisclosed sum. The newly acquired company will operate within BNSF Logistics' Transportation Execution Services (TES) unit. Pro-Am, based in Jamestown, N.D.,...

Grimaldi Acquires Finnlines.
January 5, 2007... Italian liner company Grimaldi Compagnia di Navigazione SpA has acquired a 50.1 percent stake in Finnlines for $25.5 million euros (US$33.9 million). Grimaldi, based in Naples, said it purchased 1.5 million shares at 17 euros per share on...

White House Approves Twic.
January 5, 2007... The White House Office of Management and Budget last week approved the Transportation Workers Identification Credential, clearing the way for publication of the rule by the Transportation Security Administration. The TSA proposed the rule...

Waterfront Land a Hot Property As Imports Keep Coming.
January 5, 2007... BYLINE: By William B. Cassidy Those who say the real-estate boom is dead don't live near the docks. Around the world, wherever there's available waterfront property, there's development. In Texas, a 1,200-acre container terminal is...

Will 2007 Be Just More Water under the Bridge for Wrda?
January 5, 2007... BYLINE: By R.G. Edmonson For those who hoped the 109th Congress would pass a new Water Resources Development Act, watching the 2006 version of the bill die in the final legislative days was an exercise in frustration. The House and Senate...

Feds Hand Chassis Inspections to Ocean Carriers, Railroads.
January 5, 2007... BYLINE: By Peter T. Leach Ocean carriers and railroads will soon be required to perform the same safety inspections and maintenance on the chassis they own as the truckers hauling them perform on their trucks. Those requirements are...

Container Ship Orders Decline.
January 5, 2007... BYLINE: By Bruce Barnard Orders for container ships have almost dried up, ending a three-year bonanza during which ocean carriers and charter shipowners spent nearly $70 billion on new vessels to keep pace with the sizzling growth in...

Mundra Welcomes New Norasia Service.
January 5, 2007... The first vessel in the recently launched IMEX service, connecting India, the Middle East and Europe, called at India's western port of Mundra last month. The fixed-weekly service, operated by CSAV Norasia, deploys six 2,800-TEU vessels....

Suez Canal Fees to Rise.
January 5, 2007... The Suez Canal Authority said it will raise fees for ships transiting the canal by an average 2.84 percent, effective April 1. Ahmed Ali Fadel, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority, told reporters recently that the increase would range from...

Maersk to Increase Europe-Oceania Rates.
January 5, 2007... Maersk Line will raise container rates in April on the southbound leg of its Europe-Oceania service. The company attributed the increases to the "rate erosions" that occurred in 2006. "We intend to restore the rates to a level where we can...

Goldman Sachs Raises $6.5 Billion for Infrastructure Fund.
January 5, 2007... Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the largest U.S. securities firm by market value, raised $6.5 billion for its first fund to invest in toll roads, airports and other infrastructure projects. GS Infrastructure Partners will focus on "larger...

Dhl Develops Rfid Tag for Pharmaceutical Industry.
January 5, 2007... DHL Innovation Initiative, a partnership between DHL, IBM, Intel, Philips and SAP, has developed a radio-frequency identification sensor tag for the pharmaceutical industry. A combination of temperature sensor and RFID radio chip, this new...

Reefer Carriers Form Association.
January 5, 2007... Six specialized reefer-shipping companies have formed the 360 Quality Association, aimed at developing quality standards for transporting perishable goods. Great White Fleet Ltd., Green Reefers ASA, NYKLauritzenCool AB, Seatrade Group NV, STAR...

Frozen Food Express to Sell Investment.
January 5, 2007... Frozen Food Express Industries Inc. announced last month that it will sell its remaining interest in one of its life insurance investments. As a result, FFEX will book an approximate $5 million after-tax gain for the fourth quarter of 2006. ...

Seattle's Peaks and Valleys.
January 5, 2007... BYLINE: By Bill DiBenedetto What a difference a year makes. The Port of Seattle was riding high and highly confident at the close of 2005 after posting a record year in container traffic and becoming the top box-handling port in the Pacific...

Truck Shipments Take a Dive.
January 5, 2007... In a potentially worrisome sign for the U.S. economy, trucking shipments declined nearly 9 percent in November -- the largest year-over-year decrease in almost six years, the American Trucking Associations said. The ATA said in a monthly...

For Barge Operators, Mighty Mo Is Mighty Low.
January 5, 2007... The 2006 shipping season on the Missouri River was the weakest in 55 years as low water levels forced companies to find other avenues for freight. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates that less than 200,000 tons of cargo went down...

Management Makes Surprise Buyout Bid for Egl.
January 5, 2007... Logistics services provider EGL Inc. said on Jan. 2 that James Crane, chief executive, and private equity firm General Atlantic LLC have offered to buy the company for $36 per share in cash. The offer price represents a 21 percent premium to...

Wan Hai Lines Denies Takeover Bid by Cma Cgm.
January 5, 2007... French shipping line CMA CGM is not making a bid to acquire Wan Hai Lines of Taiwan, according to the Taiwanese carrier. A statement late last month from Wan Hai Lines said that "Seatrade Asia Online has made a wrong inference regarding CMA...

Nol Establishes Subsidiary in Vietnam.
January 5, 2007... NOL won approval from Vietnam's Ministry of Planning and Investment to set up a wholly owned company to provide container transportation and logistics services in Vietnam. The new company, APL-NOL (Vietnam) Ltd., replaced the existing...

India Trade Deficit Widens.
January 5, 2007... India's trade deficit soared to $6.2 billion in November from $3.9 billion a year earlier, as demand for imports outstripped exports. Exports in November rose 34 percent from a year earlier to $9.7 billion, while imports grew 43 percent to...

Hefei to Build New Box Terminal.
January 5, 2007... Construction of the Hefei Xingang Container Terminal is expected to begin in June, Xinhua News Agency reported. The facility is intended to allow containerized cargo from Hefei to be transported directly to Shanghai on an all-water route...

Dp World Sells Shekou Shares.
January 5, 2007... DP World and China Merchants Holdings Inter-national recently reached an agreement for DP World to sell its minority holding in two of the Shekou Container Terminals in Shenzhen for $228.5 million. DP World acquired the holdings in the...

Evergreen, Cosco Upgrade Far East-Red Sea Service.
January 5, 2007... Evergreen Marine Corp. announced that, together with Cosco Container Lines, it is upgrading its Far East-Red Sea service. As a result, the service will be operated by seven vessels of about 2,700 TEUs each, with Evergreen providing five and...

Gammon India Wins Mumbai Terminal Bid.
January 5, 2007... Gammon India, India's largest engineering and construction company, has emerged as the highest bidder for a $250 million offshore container terminal project at the Port of Mumbai. The only other bidder was Larsen & Toubro, another domestic...

Oecd Hits Screening Process for Foreign Mergers in China.
January 5, 2007... BYLINE: by Bill DiBenedetto The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development recently urged China to reconsider parts of regulations and policies governing cross-border mergers and acquisitions that were introduced in November by...

Western Europe.
January 5, 2007... BYLINE: By Richard Knee While the European Union strives for a homogeneous business environment, companies operating in western Europe -- the area stretching from Poland to Ireland -- are still finding wide market and regulatory variances...

Software Analyzes Intermodal Yard Capacity.
January 5, 2007... The Port of Tacoma says a new software simulation package will help it better use land it has set aside for rail operations. The new software simplifies the ability of terminal operators to determine the capacity and analyze the operations...

Star Java Makes First Calls at Longview and Vancouver, Wash.
January 5, 2007... The ports of Longview and Vancouver, Wash., on the Columbia River last month welcomed the Star Java on its maiden voyage from Pohang, Korea. The vessel is owned and operated by Star Shipping of Bergen, Norway, and represented by General...

Port of Seattle Names Yoshitani Chief Executive.
January 5, 2007... Long-time port industry veteran Tay Yoshitani will take over as the Port of Seattle''s new chief executive in March, following a unanimous vote by the Port of Seattle Commission last week on Mic Dinsmore''s successor. Yoshitani has led the...

Bnsf Logistics Acquires Pro-Am Transportation Services.
January 5, 2007... BNSF Logistics has acquired 3PL Pro-Am Transportation Services for an undisclosed sum. The newly acquired company will operate within BNSF Logistics'' Transportation Execution Services (TES) unit. Pro-Am, based in Jamestown, N.D.,...

Waterfront Land a Hot Property As Imports Keep Coming.
January 5, 2007... BYLINE: By William B. Cassidy Those who say the real-estate boom is dead don''t live near the docks. Around the world, wherever there''s available waterfront property, there''s development. In Texas, a 1,200-acre container terminal is...

Will 2007 Be Just More Water under the Bridge for Wrda?
January 5, 2007... BYLINE: By R.G. Edmonson For those who hoped the 109th Congress would pass a new Water Resources Development Act, watching the 2006 version of the bill die in the final legislative days was an exercise in frustration. The House and Senate...

Container Ship Orders Decline.
January 5, 2007... BYLINE: By Bruce Barnard Orders for container ships have almost dried up, ending a three-year bonanza during which ocean carriers and charter shipowners spent nearly $70 billion on new vessels to keep pace with the sizzling growth in...

Goldman Sachs Raises $6.5 Billion for Infrastructure Fund.
January 5, 2007... Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the largest U.S. securities firm by market value, raised $6.5 billion for its first fund to invest in toll roads, airports and other infrastructure projects. GS Infrastructure Partners will focus on "larger...

Seattle''s Peaks and Valleys.
January 5, 2007... BYLINE: By Bill DiBenedetto What a difference a year makes. The Port of Seattle was riding high and highly confident at the close of 2005 after posting a record year in container traffic and becoming the top box-handling port in the Pacific...

Truck Shipments Take a Dive.
January 5, 2007... In a potentially worrisome sign for the U.S. economy, trucking shipments declined nearly 9 percent in November -- the largest year-over-year decrease in almost six years, the American Trucking Associations said. The ATA said in a monthly...

For Barge Operators, Mighty Mo Is Mighty Low.
January 5, 2007... The 2006 shipping season on the Missouri River was the weakest in 55 years as low water levels forced companies to find other avenues for freight. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates that less than 200,000 tons of cargo went down...

Management Makes Surprise Buyout Bid for Egl.
January 5, 2007... Logistics services provider EGL Inc. said on Jan. 2 that James Crane, chief executive, and private equity firm General Atlantic LLC have offered to buy the company for $36 per share in cash. The offer price represents a 21 percent premium to...

Nol Establishes Subsidiary in Vietnam.
January 5, 2007... NOL won approval from Vietnam''s Ministry of Planning and Investment to set up a wholly owned company to provide container transportation and logistics services in Vietnam. The new company, APL-NOL (Vietnam) Ltd., replaced the existing...

India Trade Deficit Widens.
January 5, 2007... India''s trade deficit soared to $6.2 billion in November from $3.9 billion a year earlier, as demand for imports outstripped exports. Exports in November rose 34 percent from a year earlier to $9.7 billion, while imports grew 43 percent...

Gammon India Wins Mumbai Terminal Bid.
January 5, 2007... Gammon India, India''s largest engineering and construction company, has emerged as the highest bidder for a $250 million offshore container terminal project at the Port of Mumbai. The only other bidder was Larsen & Toubro, another domestic...

Western Europe.
January 5, 2007... BYLINE: By Richard Knee While the European Union strives for a homogeneous business environment, companies operating in western Europe -- the area stretching from Poland to Ireland -- are still finding wide market and regulatory variances...

None.
January 5, 2007... Long-time port industry veteran Tay Yoshitani will take over as the Port of Seattle''s new chief executive in March, following a unanimous vote by the Port of Seattle Commission last week on Mic Dinsmore''s successor. Yoshitani has led the...

Feds Hand Chassis Inspections to Ocean Carriers, Railroads.
January 5, 2007... BYLINE: By Peter T. Leach Ocean carriers and railroads will soon be required to perform the same safety inspections and maintenance on the chassis they own as the truckers hauling them perform on their trucks. Those requirements are...

Mundra Welcomes New Norasia Service.
January 5, 2007... The first vessel in the recently launched IMEX service, connecting India, the Middle East and Europe, called at India''s western port of Mundra last month. The fixed-weekly service, operated by CSAV Norasia, deploys six 2,800-TEU vessels....

Frozen Food Express to Sell Investment.
January 5, 2007... Frozen Food Express Industries Inc. announced last month that it will sell its remaining interest in one of its life insurance investments. As a result, FFEX will book an approximate $5 million after-tax gain for the fourth quarter of 2006. ...

None.
January 5, 2007... Long-time port industry veteran Tay Yoshitani will take over as the Port of Seattle''s new chief executive in March, following a unanimous vote by the Port of Seattle Commission last week on Mic Dinsmore''s successor. Yoshitani has led the...

Port of Seattle Names Yoshitani Chief Executive.
January 5, 2007... Long-time port industry veteran Tay Yoshitani will take over as the Port of Seattle''s new chief executive in March, following a unanimous vote by the Port of Seattle Commission last week on Mic Dinsmore''s successor. Yoshitani has led the...

Bnsf Logistics Acquires Pro-Am Transportation Services.
January 5, 2007... BNSF Logistics has acquired 3PL Pro-Am Transportation Services for an undisclosed sum. The newly acquired company will operate within BNSF Logistics'' Transportation Execution Services (TES) unit. Pro-Am, based in Jamestown, N.D.,...

Waterfront Land a Hot Property As Imports Keep Coming.
January 5, 2007... BYLINE: By William B. Cassidy Those who say the real-estate boom is dead don''t live near the docks. Around the world, wherever there''s available waterfront property, there''s development. In Texas, a 1,200-acre container terminal is...

Will 2007 Be Just More Water under the Bridge for Wrda?
January 5, 2007... BYLINE: By R.G. Edmonson For those who hoped the 109th Congress would pass a new Water Resources Development Act, watching the 2006 version of the bill die in the final legislative days was an exercise in frustration. The House and Senate...

Feds Hand Chassis Inspections to Ocean Carriers, Railroads.
January 5, 2007... BYLINE: By Peter T. Leach Ocean carriers and railroads will soon be required to perform the same safety inspections and maintenance on the chassis they own as the truckers hauling them perform on their trucks. Those requirements are...

Container Ship Orders Decline.
January 5, 2007... BYLINE: By Bruce Barnard Orders for container ships have almost dried up, ending a three-year bonanza during which ocean carriers and charter shipowners spent nearly $70 billion on new vessels to keep pace with the sizzling growth in...

Mundra Welcomes New Norasia Service.
January 5, 2007... The first vessel in the recently launched IMEX service, connecting India, the Middle East and Europe, called at India''s western port of Mundra last month. The fixed-weekly service, operated by CSAV Norasia, deploys six 2,800-TEU vessels....

Goldman Sachs Raises $6.5 Billion for Infrastructure Fund.
January 5, 2007... Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the largest U.S. securities firm by market value, raised $6.5 billion for its first fund to invest in toll roads, airports and other infrastructure projects. GS Infrastructure Partners will focus on "larger...

Frozen Food Express to Sell Investment.
January 5, 2007... Frozen Food Express Industries Inc. announced last month that it will sell its remaining interest in one of its life insurance investments. As a result, FFEX will book an approximate $5 million after-tax gain for the fourth quarter of 2006. ...

Truck Shipments Take a Dive.
January 5, 2007... In a potentially worrisome sign for the U.S. economy, trucking shipments declined nearly 9 percent in November -- the largest year-over-year decrease in almost six years, the American Trucking Associations said. The ATA said in a monthly...

For Barge Operators, Mighty Mo Is Mighty Low.
January 5, 2007... The 2006 shipping season on the Missouri River was the weakest in 55 years as low water levels forced companies to find other avenues for freight. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates that less than 200,000 tons of cargo went down...

Management Makes Surprise Buyout Bid for Egl.
January 5, 2007... Logistics services provider EGL Inc. said on Jan. 2 that James Crane, chief executive, and private equity firm General Atlantic LLC have offered to buy the company for $36 per share in cash. The offer price represents a 21 percent premium to...

Nol Establishes Subsidiary in Vietnam.
January 5, 2007... NOL won approval from Vietnam''s Ministry of Planning and Investment to set up a wholly owned company to provide container transportation and logistics services in Vietnam. The new company, APL-NOL (Vietnam) Ltd., replaced the existing...

India Trade Deficit Widens.
January 5, 2007... India''s trade deficit soared to $6.2 billion in November from $3.9 billion a year earlier, as demand for imports outstripped exports. Exports in November rose 34 percent from a year earlier to $9.7 billion, while imports grew 43 percent...

Gammon India Wins Mumbai Terminal Bid.
January 5, 2007... Gammon India, India''s largest engineering and construction company, has emerged as the highest bidder for a $250 million offshore container terminal project at the Port of Mumbai. The only other bidder was Larsen & Toubro, another domestic...

Western Europe.
January 5, 2007... BYLINE: By Richard Knee While the European Union strives for a homogeneous business environment, companies operating in western Europe -- the area stretching from Poland to Ireland -- are still finding wide market and regulatory variances...

Twic Or Treat.
January 15, 2007... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto Starting in March, more than 750,000 port workers and commercial drivers must obtain a "tamperproof" identity card under the Transportation Security Administration''s rule establishing the Transportation Worker...

Fra Gives Green Light to Remote-Control Trains.
January 15, 2007... The Federal Railroad Administration last week approved a plan to allow BNSF Railway to implement the Electronic Train Management System on portions of its network. The railroad will begin installing and using the computerized safety...

Seattle Port Commission Elects New Officers.
January 15, 2007... Seattle''s port commission this month unanimously elected John Creighton chairman and president of the five-member panel for 2007. Creighton, a lawyer, was elected to the port commission in 2005. He succeeds Patricia Davis, who was chair...

Kcs Expanding Business at ''alternate'' Mexican Port.
January 15, 2007... BYLINE: By Bill Mongelluzzo U.S. importers are looking for gateways to supplement traditional West and East Coast ports, and the Mexican port of Lazaro Cardenas provides a cost-effective alternative, according to a Kansas City Southern...

Teamsters to Congress: Change.
January 15, 2007... BYLINE: By Thomas L. Gallagher The International Brotherhood of Teamsters last week set out a comprehensive legislative agenda for the 110th Congress, including wages, health care and work standards. Relying on the new Democratic...

Penny (a Gallon) Wise, Pound Foolish?
January 15, 2007... BYLINE: By Paul Page A funny thing happened to shippers that went into negotiations with carriers standing tough on fuel surcharges. With transportation and logistics costs more prominent than ever as businesses seek to manage...

Industry Views Rule-Making on Transport Worker Ids As a Move in the Right Direction.
January 15, 2007... BYLINE: By R.G. Edmonson The one sure thing is that the federal government is publishing final rules for the Transportation Worker Identification Credential. Members of the port and maritime community may see the TWIC rules as the end of a...

Canada Challenges Us Farm Aid.
January 15, 2007... BYLINE: By Courtney Tower Canada began the first step in a double-challenge before the World Trade Organization to U.S. farm support programs, which it claims distort world agricultural trade. Ottawa issued a request on Jan. 8 with the...

Mexico Drops Sweetener Tax, Ending Trade Dispute.
January 15, 2007... BYLINE: By Alan Field U.S. Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab earlier this month applauded Mexico''s repeal of the 20 percent tax on soft drinks made with nonsugar sweeteners, ending a long-running trade dispute between Washington and...

Maersk Plans Rate Hikes.
January 15, 2007... Maersk Line announced it will seek rate increases in the northbound trade from the east coast of South America to Europe and in the Asia-to-South Africa trade. The world''s largest container carrier will seek a minimum $200-per-TEU...

Retailers Expect Little Port Congestion in 2007.
January 15, 2007... BYLINE: By Bill Mongelluzzo Container ports in the U.S. will experience steady but modest growth this year, and, as in 2006, congestion will not be an issue, according to the January Port Tracker published by the National Retail Federation...

China Lifts Limited Citrus Ban.
January 15, 2007... China has lifted its ban on citrus from Fresno County, Calif., which was imposed after an infestation of the peach fruit fly last summer. "This decision comes as Fresno''s citrus producers are approaching the height of their shipping...

Cold Storage Stocks Up: Usda.
January 15, 2007... Frozen food stocks in refrigerated warehouses on Nov. 30 were greater than year-earlier levels for butter, beef, cheese and pork, according to a new cold storage report issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Total red meat supplies...

Wal-Mart Picks C.R. England for Refrigerated Dc.
January 15, 2007... C.R. England Inc. says it has been selected to be the primary carrier for Wal-Mart Stores'' new distribution center in Cheyenne, Wyo. Scheduled to open in April 2007, Wal-Mart''s refrigerated distribution center will serve stores in...

C.H. Robinson, Growers Sign Transport Pact.
January 15, 2007... A group of produce growers has joined forces with C.H. Robinson Worldwide for individualized logistics services. The agreement between C.H. Robinson and the Western Growers Association is designed to lower costs while improving service and...

Domestic Volume Slows Air-Cargo Growth.
January 15, 2007... BYLINE: By Thomas L. Gallagher U.S. airlines flew 24.1 billion revenue-ton miles of freight, express and mail in the first 11 months of 2006, a 4.8 percent improvement on the same period in 2005, according to the Air Transport Association....