Pacific Shipper articles from July 2008

Pacific Shipper archives from July 2008

Port Hueneme: LA's backdoor?
July 2, 2008... BYLINE: Stephanie Nall Like port directors everywhere, Anthony J. Taormina is worried about air pollution. Taormina, executive director of the Port of Hueneme, says a California Air Resources Board study shows that 14 percent of emissions...

The eroding China price.
July 7, 2008... More than one U.S. retailer is reviewing the continued weakness of the U.S. dollar, combined with soaring bunker prices, and concluding there is a need to consider near-sourcing, a trend in which the manufacturing plant moves physically closer...

ILWU, employers talking at contract deadline.
July 7, 2008... Negotiations for a new West Coast waterfront contract continued last week between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association, and no work stoppage at the ports was expected. Talks were ongoing at press...

Unions plan India port strike.
July 7, 2008... Unionized port and dock workers employed at major ports in India are planning a nationwide strike on July 16 to press for wage improvements and other demands. The workers' main demands include a 13.5 percent interim wage hike, streamlined...

US signs customs pacts with Jordan, Canada.
July 7, 2008... Customs and Border Protection signed mutual recognition agreements with customs administrations in Jordan and Canada during the World Customs Organization's annual council meeting in Brussels. The agreements signify that the two countries'...

US a stumbling block to Russia's WTO move.
July 7, 2008... If Russia joins the World Trade Organization, as expected, it will face opposition in Congress, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said last week. Moscow hopes to complete its negotiations with the WTO soon, opening the way for...

April surface trade sets NAFTA record.
July 7, 2008... Surface trade between the United States and North American Free Trade Agreement partners Canada and Mexico totaled $74.3 billion in April, a new record, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics of the Department of Transportation announced. ...

Trade gap narrows between US, Japan.
July 7, 2008... Japan's merchandise trade surplus with the United States shrank for the ninth consecutive month in May on a year-on-year basis, on a continued decline in Japanese exports amid a slowdown in the U.S. economy, according to preliminary figures...

Matson reaches deal with three crew unions.
July 7, 2008... Matson Navigation has reached separate five-year labor agreements with three onboard unions, averting a threatened strike on the Jones Act carrier. Rank-and-file membership had earlier voted to give their negotiators authority to strike if...

Picking logistics partners.
July 7, 2008... BYLINE: William Eyerdam When Rob Lewin mentioned Flowserve might begin extending its U.S.-based LTL network for distributing pumps, valves and mechanical seals into Europe, his third-party logistics provider asked where they could meet him...

Dow enters surcharge game.
July 7, 2008... BYLINE: PENELOPE BROWN For Dow Chemical, the solution to skyrocketing transportation costs comes down to this: If you can't beat them, join them. The country's largest chemical manufacturer and a leading shipper of materials and...

House panel to study truck weight.
July 7, 2008... Truck size and weight will be the topic of a House hearing this week, according to a group that wants to increase the maximum allowable weight limits of trucks. Jake Jacoby, head of Americans for Safe and Efficient Transportation, said the...

Maersk suspends one Asia-Europe service.
July 7, 2008... Maersk Line will temporarily suspend one of its Asia-Europe services in a bid to control operating costs in the face of rising fuel bills. The world's largest ocean container carrier said the move to suspend the AE5 service, which would...

Forwarder Target takes on new name.
July 7, 2008... Target Logistic Services officially changed its name on July 1 to Mainfreight, reflecting the title of its new global parent. Mainfreight, one of the largest transportation companies in New Zealand with offices throughout Asia and the South...

EU reviewing ocean transport policy.
July 7, 2008... The European Union is conducting a strategic review of its maritime transport policy that will be released in October - just as the liner shipping industry's exemption from EU antitrust enforcement is repealed. Dimitrios Theologitis, head...

Intermodal slump could mark a sea change for distribution.
July 7, 2008... BYLINE: JOHN D. BOYD This is the time of year when intermodal container traffic from Asia to the West Coast normally ramps up toward the autumn peak season. But the 2008 summer rush is suffering from weak traffic flows and a darkening...

Vancouver Fraser ready for reefer trade.
July 7, 2008... BYLINE: Mark Wilson The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority's four container terminals are all well equipped to handle refrigerated boxes. But there is some question as to how appealing this traffic is to steamship lines. Chinese carrier...

Midwest flooding to cut GDP.
July 7, 2008... BYLINE: THOMAS L. GALLAGHER Roads, bridges and rails are washed out and impassable in the Midwest. Even riverborne barge traffic can't get through normal channels because of torrential rains and consequent flooding throughout the Midwest....

Congress gets serious about infrastructure bank.
July 7, 2008... BYLINE: ARI NATTER Proposals for a national infrastructure funding bank may be barely off the ground, but communities along the nation's infrastructure fault lines are already lining up at the teller's window. Mayors from some of the...

Port Hueneme facts and figures.
July 7, 2008... Political structure: The Port of Hueneme is operated by the Oxnard Harbor District.  Geographically, it includes the city of Port Hueneme and the greater Oxnard area. Five commissioners are elected to fill staggered terms. Longshore...

Harbor truck fleet gets new look.
July 7, 2008... BYLINE: BILL MONGELLUZZO   The older trucks at many ports are being replaced with new, cleaner models. The stereotypical harbor drayage truck - an end-of-the-line vehicle that is too old and too dirty for over-the-road work -...

Tacoma drops plan for logistics center.
July 7, 2008... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto The Port of Tacoma has put a 745-acre tract south of the port on the sale block, thus abandoning a plan to build an inland rail-truck logistics and distribution complex at the site. A down economy and lack of...

FedEx opens new gateways for ocean moves.
July 7, 2008... In a move meant to better position FedEx Corp. for the shifting cargo movement modes, subsidiary FedEx Trade Networks opened two new gateways to support its Ocean-Ground Distribution service. "There's a tremendous movement of the lower...

Three more TWIC sites open.
July 7, 2008... The Transportation Security Administration has opened an additional enrollment site for the Transportation Worker Identification Credential for the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, at Berth 206 on Terminal Island, near the boundary between...

Tacoma port overpass aids freight mobility.
July 7, 2008...   The newly completed grade separation will reduce port-area street congestion. Freight mobility at the Port of Tacoma got a boost with the opening last month of the East D Street overpass that separates commercial truck and...

Canpotex, the export marketing consortium for three Saskatchewan potash producers, said it will build a new potash terminal at the Port of Prince Rupert, British Columbia.
July 7, 2008... The $300 million to $500 million project will be located on Ridley Island, a 1,000-acre port-owned and managed industrial property with deep-water access. Canadian National Railway provides rail access that also serves Prince Rupert Grain and...

Batts joins board of James Brown Contracting.
July 7, 2008... Navigation Capital Partners said Lana Batts has joined the board of directors of James Brown Contracting, a Navigation unit that operates in the southeastern U.S. Batts has nearly three decades of trucking industry experience and currently...

Pacer retools intermodal.
July 7, 2008...   Don Orris Intermodal specialty firm Pacer International revamped how it structures a key part of its business, creating new positions for both its retail and wholesale customer operations. That new organizational structure...

Port Hueneme: LA's backdoor?
July 7, 2008... BYLINE: Stephanie Nall Like port directors everywhere, Anthony J. Taormina is worried about air pollution. Taormina, executive director of the Port of Hueneme, says a California Air Resources Board study shows that 14 percent of emissions...

Cannpotex picks Prince Rupert for potash terminal.
July 7, 2008... Canpotex, the export marketing consortium for three Saskatchewan potash producers, said it will build a new potash terminal at the Port of Prince Rupert, British Columbia. The $300 million to $500 million project will be located on Ridley...

Intermodal rail declines.
July 10, 2008... Intermodal rail traffic declined 4.5 percent to 229,676 units in the week ending on June 28 as Midwest flooding caused major delays. Total estimated ton-miles were down nearly 1 percent to 34 billion as carloads and intermodal shipments...

Long Beach buys 300 clean trucks.
July 10, 2008... The Port of Long Beach last week announced that it has placed a $35 million order for 300 heavy-duty trucks as part of its clean-trucks program to replace existing port drayage vehicles later this year. Beginning on Oct. 1, the clean-trucks...

Calm after the storm.
July 10, 2008... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto Once dominant by any measure in the Pacific Northwest, the Port of Seattle could be excused if it feels a bit punchy and paranoid lately. It is battling a host of uncomfortable perceptions in a world where...

Progress in ILWU talks.
July 11, 2008... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo Negotiators for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association entered contract bargaining Friday morning with a renewed sense of urgency. "They will knuckle down and work...

Trade enabled.
July 14, 2008... The days of the U.S. being the "greatest trading nation on earth" would appear to be officially over when it comes to making trade access smooth, or at least smoother. Two East Asian economies - Hong Kong and Singapore -occupy the top two...

Iran threatens to attack US ships.
July 14, 2008... Iran threatens to attack US ships Iran promised to strike U.S. shipping in the Persian Gulf and American interests around the world if it is attacked over its disputed nuclear activities. "The first bullet fired by America at Iran will...

House passes ship pollution bill.
July 14, 2008... A bill to reduce air pollution from ships in port or sailing close to shore has passed Congress, and will be go to President Bush for his signature. The House last week passed the Maritime Pollution Prevention Act of 2008. Members passed...

West Coast dockworker talks continue.
July 14, 2008... After taking a three-day break to observe the July 4 holiday, negotiators for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association resumed work last week on a new waterfront contract. On Monday and Tuesday,...

New plan for Everett.
July 14, 2008... Community concerns and the vagaries of the marketplace have prompted the Port of Everett, Wash., to scale down a plan to build a 1 million TEU-capacity container terminal. "We're backing off from the 'mega-port' approach we had originally...

Port reports reform progress.
July 14, 2008... The Port of Seattle earlier this month reported to the Washington state auditor that it has made significant progress in implementing recommendations for changing its management procedures. Officials say the port has already implemented 24...

Tugboat race to aid Seafarers Center.
July 14, 2008... The 8th Annual Great Tug Boat Race of San Pedro Bay has been set for Sept. 18 by the Maritime Industry Salute Committee and the Propeller Club of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The race is part of a gala evening with cocktails served on the deck...

This Bud's for you, Ho Chi Minh City.
July 14, 2008... BYLINE: WILLIAM ARMBRUSTER Anheuser-Busch has heard the call. Starting this month, thirsty residents of Ho Chi Minh City and other cities in Vietnam can order a Budweiser at upscale bars and restaurants. The world-famous brew will also be...

Intermodal rail declines.
July 14, 2008... Intermodal rail traffic declined 4.5 percent to 229,676 units in the week ending on June 28 as Midwest flooding caused major delays. Total estimated ton-miles were down nearly 1 percent to 34 billion as carloads and intermodal shipments...

Long Beach buys 300 clean trucks.
July 14, 2008... The Port of Long Beach last week announced that it has placed a $35 million order for 300 heavy-duty trucks as part of its clean-trucks program to replace existing port drayage vehicles later this year. Beginning on Oct. 1, the clean-trucks...

Calm after the storm.
July 14, 2008... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto Once dominant by any measure in the Pacific Northwest, the Port of Seattle could be excused if it feels a bit punchy and paranoid lately. It is battling a host of uncomfortable perceptions in a world where...

Japan, US to screen for nukes at Yokohama.
July 14, 2008... Japan and the United States have announced a joint project to screen cargo on ships for nuclear and other radioactive materials as a means to prevent nuclear terrorism. The agreement, a pilot project under the U.S.-led Megaports...

TSA, WTSA to raise surcharges.
July 14, 2008... Bunker fuel surcharges are going up substantially in the eastbound and westbound trans-Pacific container trades. The 15-member Transpacific Stabilization Agreement disclosed that effective Aug. 1, container fuel surcharges will increase...

Reports say CSCL may buy parent's port unit.
July 14, 2008... China Shipping Container Lines is emerging as the most likely buyer of the port-development group that is being sold by its state-owned parent, China Shipping (Group) Co. The China Shipping group plans to auction its port development arm...

G-8 calls for curbs on shipping emissions.
July 14, 2008... Leaders of the Group of Eight developed nations have called for "expeditious" discussions to curb greenhouse gas emissions from international aviation and shipping. The statement on climate change was issued by leaders of Britain, Canada,...

Widdows named new head of NOL.
July 14, 2008...    Ron Widdows Ron Widdows, president and chief executive of APL, has been appointed group president and chief executive of its parent, Neptune Orient Lines. He replaces Thomas Held in that post. Widdows, a prominent...

San Diego approves $151 million budget.
July 14, 2008... San Diego's Board of Port Commissioners has approved a 2008-09 budget that allocates funds for infrastructure maintenance, several environmental initiatives that are designed to protect and improve environmental conditions in San Diego Bay and...

Exports power growth at West Coast ports.
July 14, 2008... Buoyed by a 17 percent increase in containerized exports in May, West Coast ports turned the corner and are showing a slight gain in cargo volume for the year. West Coast ports in the first five months of the year handled 6,407,956 TEUs,...

Industry inspection.
July 14, 2008... BYLINE: WILLIAM HOFFMAN The worldwide logistics business continues to grow at a rate that would make other industries jealous, but analysts said storm clouds are gathering at an accelerating pace.  Transportation costs generally,...

Shippers taking stock.
July 14, 2008... BYLINE: WILLIAM HOFFMAN Shippers are keeping a hawk's eye on their inventory levels as soaring fuel prices and a faltering U.S. economy challenge established distribution networks and supply-chain management practices. By just about...

Maersk orders 16 ships for South American trades.
July 14, 2008... Maersk Line has ordered 16 new container ships with extensive reefer capacity that will be deployed in the trades with the east coast of South America when they are delivered in 2010-12. A.P. Moller-Maersk signed a contract for the ships with...

Lee calls for end to US beef dispute.
July 14, 2008... South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has called for an end to the continued dispute over Korean imports of U.S. beef. The president said it was time for Korea to concentrate on addressing domestic and economic difficulties. President Lee...

DHL expands Envirotainer network.
July 14, 2008... DHL Global Forwarding is expanding its temperature-controlled services for the life science and health-care industries. The company, a unit of DHL's U.S.-based operations, is expanding its network of Envirotainer-certified sites to more than 22...

EU, India want Doha to add deregulation of services.
July 14, 2008... The European Union and India said last week that they are now committed to the Doha Round trade deal that includes deregulation of services as well as agriculture and industrial goods. Their joint statement, made after Indian Trade Minister...

New report cites reforms of Japan-US regulations.
July 14, 2008... Japan has made some progress in improving efficiency in its customs processing, according to an annual report to Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and President George W. Bush. The Japanese and U.S. governments released a joint report on...

Cosco parent sees profit growth of 90 percent.
July 14, 2008... China Cosco Holdings Co., parent of Cosco Container Lines, projects net profit growth of more than 90 percent for the first half of 2008 compared to the same period a year ago. It said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that the...

Central America, Caribbean shipping lanes flourish.
July 14, 2008... BYLINE: Richard Knee Hauling cargo from Central America or the Caribbean is relatively easy, but ship space is tight in the U.S. outbound trade to the region, and moving goods through many of the ports in the region can be challenging. ...

Harbor crane arrives at Port of Longview.
July 14, 2008...   The new mobile crane will allow the port to handle larger project cargoes. A new mobile harbor cranewas delivered to the Port of Longview, Calif., earlier this month. The port's first crane of this size and capacity, a Liebherr...

Ensenada to boost capacity for post-Panamax vessels.
July 14, 2008...   Port officials in Ensenada hope that dredging to a lower depth will attract more container business along with related logistics companies. The Port of Ensenada, Mexico, is poised to dredge its turning basin, access channel and...

Crowley vessel begins year-round emergency work.
July 14, 2008...   The Gladiator will be stationed year-round in Neah Bay. A Crowley emergency response tug began its first day of year-round service earlier this month in Neah Bay, Wash. The emergency response tug will provide assistance to...

Marzano is Tacoma's new Master Mariner.
July 14, 2008...   Tacoma Propellelr Club President Rockney Nigretto presents the Master Mariner award to Dick Marzano. The Propeller Club of Tacoma recently recognized Richard Marzano as its Master Mariner and Pierce County's Maritime Person of...

CMA CGM (America) appoints account executives.
July 14, 2008... Bassem Abousaif has joined CMA CGM (America) as account executive for Northern California. The company, which has its U.S. headquarters in Norfolk, Va., said Abousaif will be based at the company's Alameda, Calif., office and report to Sara...

Ports America promotes two.
July 14, 2008... Ports America Group has promoted Douglas A. Tilden from chief executive to chairman and Stephen Edwards from president to chief executive and president.   Douglas A. Tilden Earlier this year, Tilden was promoted to chief...

San Diego names Helmer to land planning job.
July 14, 2008...   John Helmer The Port of San Diego recently appointed John Helmer as director of its Land Use Planning Department. As director, he is responsible for overseeing all land use planning, environmental review and coastal...

Employers charge ILWU.
July 16, 2008... BYLINE: Stephanie Nall Waterfront tensions continued to rise this week as employers accused union employees of slowdown tactics that they say lowered productivity by 20 percent to 30 percent at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. ...

Ports pledge to cut greenhouse gases.
July 18, 2008... Officials from the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles recently traveled to Rotterdam, Netherlands, for a World Ports Climate Conference. Port of Long Beach Executive Director Richard D. Steinke and Port of Los Angeles Executive Director...

A study of contrasts.
July 18, 2008... BYLINE: Peter Tirschwell Recent news out of the West Coast shows why some container gateways are in decline while others are inexorably on the rise. From a freight transport perspective, the news out of California was thoroughly bleak:...

Machinist union threatens action over ILWU proposal.
July 18, 2008... BYLINE: Stephanie Nall A longstanding jurisdictional dispute with the machinists' union has surfaced as a complication in negotiation of a new International Longshore and Warehouse Union contract. As the ILWU and Pacific Maritime...

Make mine rose-colored.
July 21, 2008... Sometimes, when things aren't going smoothly, you just don't want to focus on the problems. In fact, some people would rather just close their eyes and ignore the approaching bumps in the road. If you are one of those people, then Jack...

Employers charge ILWU with slowdown tactics.
July 21, 2008... Waterfront tensions continued to rise last week as employers accused union employees of slowdown tactics that they say lowered productivity by 20 percent to 30 percent at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. A six-year labor contract...

India averts port strike.
July 21, 2008... Unionized port and dock workers in India called off their nationwide strike scheduled for July 16 that threatened to cripple operations at the country's major ports. The strike threat was earlier issued by five major labor federations,...

California legislators pass Lowenthal container fee.
July 21, 2008... The California state Assembly last Tuesday voted 45-23 in favor of a $30-per-TEU charge on containers moving through ports to pay for transportation infrastructure and air quality improvement projects. Introduced by state Sen. Alan...

Blurring the borders.
July 21, 2008... BYLINE: Richard Knee Remember Canada and Mexico? Amid China's emergence as the world's premier supplier of manufactured goods, the U.S.'s immediate neighbors remain important trade partners; during the first five months of this year, they...

And the survey says: North America ready for expansion.
July 21, 2008... North American manufacturing executives responding to a recent Deloitte LLP survey responded with surprising support for expansion of sale, research and manufacturing in the North American Free Trade Agreement countries, especially in the U.S....

Customs to modernize NAFTA crossings.
July 21, 2008... U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced on June 23 that it is planning construction work to improve 39 major entry points along the U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico over the coming months. This includes implementation of radio-frequency...

Mexico trade and logistics hand off at the border.
July 21, 2008... When Arab terrorists attacked the U.S., one of the most long-term victims was the Mexican and U.S. trucking industry, which had been promised easy access to the U.S. market across the nations of the North American Free Trade Agreement. ...

Distance matters.
July 21, 2008... BYLINE: BILL MONGELLUZZO For the first time since the oil shocks of the 1970s, manufacturers and importers are retooling their supply chains in response to rising transportation costs. Their goal is to source product closer to consumers in...

Jones Act carriers face shipper lawsuits.
July 21, 2008... BYLINE: Joseph Bonney Three months after raiding offices of U.S. offshore domestic carriers, the Justice Department has shed no light on its antitrust investigation of the lines' pricing practices. But that hasn't stopped lawyers from...

Faking it.
July 21, 2008... BYLINE: ALAN M. FIELD   Pirated CDs and DVDs are a major trading problelm around the world. Remember when counterfeiting was all about a few shaggy street peddlers pushing fake Rolexes? These days, counterfeiters have a much...

Maersk plans Kaohsiung cuts.
July 21, 2008... The parent of Maersk Line, A.P. Moller-Maersk, plans to cut its container-handling capacity at Taiwan's Port of Kaohsiung by about 50 percent. Kaohsiung's largest foreign operator intends to give up Berths 118 and 119, two of the four it...