Pacific Shipper articles from June 2005

Pacific Shipper archives from June 2005

Measuring Our 'steak' in Global Trade.
June 3, 2005... Last year, Brazil held a larger share of the world meat market than did the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, at the end of 2004, the scoreboard read Brazil: 28 percent; U.S.: 21 percent. Brazil, Chile and...

Demand to Test Peak-Season Capacity.
June 3, 2005... Demand for shipping services will outpace available capacity on the busiest Asia-U.S. trade lanes this summer, stretching the limits of the container supply-chain infrastructure, according to trans-Pacific carriers. Lines in the...

Cosco Eyes Stake in Rotterdam Terminal.
June 3, 2005... BYLINE: Bruce Barnard Cosco, China's biggest container shipping line, said it is interested in acquiring a stake in a massive container terminal in Rotterdam being jointly built by ECT, the port's leading stevedore, and P&O Nedlloyd, the...

Peace Bridge Reconstruction Continues.
June 3, 2005... BYLINE: Courtney Tower A US$33.6 million project to speed truck traffic on the third-busiest U.S.-Canada border crossing has moved into its second phase. The latest construction work at the Peace Bridge linking Buffalo and Fort Erie,...

Container Volume Increases at Nol.
June 3, 2005... Neptune Orient Lines said container volume increased 14 percent for the four weeks from April 9 to May 6. The Singapore company, parent of APL, reported 651,800 FEUs in the year to date, up 13 percent from 575,700 FEUs a year ago on...

Without the Beef, Reefer Traffic Moves South.
June 3, 2005... BYLINE: Stephanie Nall World trade in food items is expected to grow strongly this year to record levels, but changes on both sides of the sales formula mean global reefer trades continue to shift. The once-frenetic trans-Pacific trade...

Golden Arches Bear Fruit for Washington Apple Growers.
June 3, 2005... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto Washington state apple growers, the largest apple producers in the nation, have reason to be optimistic despite recent price declines and continuing problems with export and tariff restrictions. That's because...

Northwest Cherry Growers Feeling Cheery.
June 3, 2005... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto Cherry growers in the Pacific Northwest are poised to harvest an estimated 12 million 20-pound boxes of Bing and Rainier cherries this month, a total that would set a record. According to the Washington State...

Group Targets Damage During Cargo Handoff.
June 3, 2005... BYLINE: Ian Putzger The statistics are enough to make a shipper wilt: Supply chains for perishables shipments have only 65 percent reliability, according to Manuel Aragon, president of Miami-based Teqflor, a consulting firm specializing in...

Waterfront Coalition Lays Out Project Priorities.
June 3, 2005... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo As primary beneficiaries of the nation's freight-transportation network, large importers and big-box retailers have been reluctant to specify which proposed port, rail and highway projects would best serve their...

Carriers Use Immunity to Avoid Getting Burned.
June 3, 2005... BYLINE: Peter T. Leach CP Ships was in the middle of carrying several shipments for a relatively new customer this year when its credit analysts spotted a potential problem. The shipper owed about $1 million to other lines that had carried...

Waldron, Norton Lilly Form Agency in Hawaii.
June 3, 2005... A new shipping agency serving Hawaii has been formed by Waldron Steamship Co. of Honolulu and Norton Lilly International of Mobile, Ala. The joint venture, Waldron Norton Lilly International, officially opens for business July 1. Bill...

Oakland Is First Call for New Mol Service.
June 3, 2005... MOL has set a new trans-Pacific service called the Pacific Southwest Express, or PSX. The first U.S. port of call for the PSX service will be Oakland, Calif. The new service replaces the PSV service, which made its first call at Los Angeles....

Cosco Readies Ipo.
June 3, 2005... BYLINE: Peter T. Leach China Cosco Holdings, which won approval last week from the Hong Kong stock exchange for its initial public offering estimated at $1.5 billion to $2 billion, began pre-marketing of the share sale May 30, with full...

Amsterdam Terminal Gets Carrier Tenant.
June 3, 2005... BYLINE: Bruce Barnard Amsterdam's main container terminal has finally landed its first regular shipping services nearly four years after it opened, luring business from neighboring Rotterdam, Europe's biggest box hub. The Grand...

Teamsters Go Global with Truck Organizing Campaign.
June 3, 2005... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo The intermodal operations of global shipping companies transcend national boundaries, so the Teamsters union is taking its effort to organize harbor truck drivers in the U.S. international. "Multinational...

Tacoma and Seattle Ports Top 1.2 Million Teus.
June 3, 2005... The Port of Seattle maintained a comfortable lead in total containers handled in the Pacific Northwest through April, according to statistics released by the port and the Port of Tacoma. At Seattle, the port moved 644,213 boxes through the...

Tacoma Dismantles First Container Crane.
June 3, 2005... Big Red, the Port of Tacoma's first container crane, has been dismantled and hauled away as scrap metal. The crane cost $1.2 million to build, and went into operational testing in 1970. When it went into service, it received international...

Los Angeles to Pay $22 Million to China Shipping.
June 3, 2005... The Port of Los Angeles will pay $22.2 million in a legal settlement to a Chinese carrier because it failed to open a new terminal on time. City harbor commissioners approved the settlement with China Shipping Holding Co. late last month....

Vancouver Usa Approves Tax Levy.
June 3, 2005... The board of commissioners of the Port of Vancouver, Wash., last month voted to implement an Industrial Development District tax levy in 2007 to provide funding for development of 600 acres of industrial property and marine facilities. The...

Virginia Port Authority to Implement Security Fee.
June 3, 2005... The Virginia Port Authority announced that it will assess a security surcharge on cargo moving through the Port of Virginia beginning July 1. In a statement, port officials said the surcharge rates will be $2 per container and 10 cents per...

Eastern Canada.
June 3, 2005... BYLINE: Richard Knee If you're bringing or sending cargo across the border with Canada, participating in cargo-security programs with the receiving country's customs agency can save you time and expense. But on both sides of the...

North Atlantic Ports See Rising Imports, Exports.
June 3, 2005... BYLINE: William Armbruster The year is not even half over, but it's already looking as though 2005 will be the busiest year ever for U.S. North Atlantic ports. Every port is expecting higher cargo volumes because of the increasing...

Fuel Prices Remain a Wild Card for Air Cargo.
June 3, 2005... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto Growth in the trans-Pacific airfreight market -- especially in China -- will continue to dominate the world air-cargo market despite signs that the global economy is cooling. Statistics compiled by the...

China Tries to Speed Up Air-Cargo Development.
June 3, 2005... In an effort to speed up the development of China's air-cargo business to meet increasing demand fueled by rapid economic growth, the nation's top civil aviation authority, the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China, or CAAC,...

Vietnam Airlines Delays Start of Us Service.
June 3, 2005... Vietnam Airlines will delay plans to begin flights to the U.S. until the middle of next year, the airline said. The carrier had been preparing to start flights to San Francisco by the end of 2005 or early next year, but its plans were...

Shanghai Upgrading Air-Cargo Handling Capacity.
June 3, 2005... With double-digit economic growth for 13 consecutive years, Shanghai is creating huge demands for express delivery of parts and components to factories and finished products to companies across the country. Such demand is reflected in the...

Tmca Elects Leaders.
June 3, 2005... The Transportation Marketing & Communications Association Corp. recently announced its new leadership team for 2005-06. TMCA members elected the following two key groups of leaders at the association's recent annual conference in Naples, Fla.,...

Redwood City Official Retires.
June 3, 2005... Guy Smith is stepping down from the Redwood City Port Commission after nearly 21 years of service. Facing increasing challenges from Parkinson's disease, Smith has decided to resign in order to focus his energies on his health and his...

Uss Names 2005 Aotos Recipients.
June 3, 2005... The United Seamen's Service 2005 Admiral of the Ocean Sea Awards will be presented to Ron Davis, president of the Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association, AFL-CIO; Gen. John W. Handy, U.S. Air Force, commander of the United States...

New Terms for Redwood City Commissioners.
June 3, 2005... Veteran Port of Redwood City Commissioners Richard Dodge and Larry Aikins have been reappointed to five-year terms by the Redwood City Council. Dodge, who currently services as commission chairman, is one of the longest-serving port...

Young Minds at Work.
June 10, 2005... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto It is often repeated that one in every three jobs in Washington state is related to international trade, especially the trans-Pacific market. The work force's sensitivity to global trade is beneficial but also...

No Phase-in for PierPass.
June 10, 2005... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo In yet another change of plans, PierPass announced that marine terminal operators will roll out the extended gate hours program in Los Angeles-Long Beach all at once, beginning on July 23, rather than phasing the...

'K' Line Opens Tacoma Terminal.
June 10, 2005... "K" Line said its newly reconfigured terminal in Tacoma, operated by Husky Terminal and Stevedoring, was ready to receive its first vessel last week. Verrazano Bridge, one of the five 4,000-TEU recently delivered container vessels that are...

Charter Rates Drop, Orders Stop.
June 10, 2005... Container ship charter rates dipped, and ocean carriers called a halt to a frenzied vessel-ordering binge, casting doubts over the staying power of the three-year run that has transformed the industry's finances. Charter rates, which have...

California Measure Proposes $30 Box Fee.
June 10, 2005... A bill is progressing in the California Legislature that would address project funding in three areas of intermodal transportation -- rail infrastructure, port security and environmental mitigation. The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Alan...

Development Along the Yangtze.
June 10, 2005... BYLINE: William Armbruster If you plan to set up shop in China or expand existing operations there, pay attention to the central government's plan for infrastructure development, especially in the nation's interior. That's the advice...

Shanghai Emerges.
June 10, 2005... The Port of Shanghai vaulted into third place among global container ports last year, thanks to a 29 percent increase in box traffic to 14.6 million TEUs. Hong Kong, the world's biggest box port, handled 21.9 million TEUs, almost all of...

China's Western Giant.
June 10, 2005... BYLINE: William Armbruster With a population of 31 million, Chongqing is the world's largest city. Previously called Chungking, it was well-known to the outside world when it served as China's wartime capital and suffered massive...

Final Few Innings for Highway Bill.
June 10, 2005... BYLINE: R.G. Edmonson House and Senate negotiators began meetings this month to play the final inning of the latest transportation-funding game. Observers are optimistic that they will be going home soon with a six-year program to...

Ilwu Braces for Labor-Saving Technology.
June 10, 2005... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo The International Longshore and Warehouse Union is bracing for a flood of letters from employers informing the union of plans to introduce more labor-saving technology at West Coast ports. During the next few...

'K' Line Gets Upgrade from S&P.
June 10, 2005... Standard & Poor's this month upgraded the credit rating of Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd.'s ("K" Line) long-term corporate credit and senior unsecured bond ratings from BB-plus to BBB-minus. The action took effect on June 2. The credit-rating...

Trans-Atlantic Group Increases Tariff.
June 10, 2005... The Trans-Atlantic Conference Agreement this month reaffirmed plans to raise tariffs as part of its 2005 business plan. Effective July 1, eastbound rates will be $160 per 20-foot and $200 per 40- and 45-foot container. The same levels...

Kirby Places $200 Million in Notes.
June 10, 2005... Kirby Corp., the nation's largest inland barge operator, said on June 1 that it privately placed $200 million of senior notes, and used the proceeds to repay its $200 million senior notes due in February 2013. As a result of the early debt...

Bdp International Acquires Elite Group.
June 10, 2005... BDP International, a provider of global logistics and transportation services, said it has acquired Elite Group. Terms of the deal were not revealed. Elite, a privately owned international logistics service provider based in Houston,...

Airbus-Boeing Aircraft Subsidy Fight Heads to Wto.
June 10, 2005... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto After failing to reach agreement to curb or eliminate government subsidies that the world's two largest aircraft manufacturers, Boeing and Airbus, receive, the United States and the European Union are taking their...

Boeing Signs Contracts with China Firms Valued at $600 Million.
June 10, 2005... Boeing Co. this month entered into agreements worth an estimated $600 million with Chinese suppliers who will produce aircraft parts and components. The accords include the first firm contract with China suppliers to build parts for the new...

Few Pats on the Back for C-Tpat.
June 10, 2005... BYLINE: Angela Greiling Keane Shippers who believe they are not getting real benefits from the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program actually may look back fondly on these days. With criticism coming from several...

Virginia Ports Plan Security Surcharge.
June 10, 2005... The Virginia Port Authority will begin assessing a security surcharge on cargo moving through the Port of Virginia, effective July 1. In a statement, port officials said the surcharge rates will be $2 per container and 10 cents per short...

Terror Drill Conducted at Port Newark.
June 10, 2005... The New Jersey State Police and nine bomb squads throughout New Jersey, known as the Detect and Render Safe Task Force, recently conducted a mock threat-training exercise at Port Newark Container Terminal. The terminal said teams practiced...

Ports Eager for Services Via the Suez Canal.
June 10, 2005... BYLINE: William Armbruster East Coast ports are salivating over the prospect of luring new ocean carrier services via the Suez Canal as the lines and shippers look for alternatives to West Coast and Panama Canal routes. "We're ready...

Young's Goal: Turn Up Around.
June 10, 2005... BYLINE: John Gallagher James R. Young is bucking tradition. The president and chief operating officer of Union Pacific Railroad has a goal of turning what arguably has been the railroad most heavily criticized by customers over the last...

Long-Haul Trucker Shortage Could Hit 111,000 by 2014.
June 10, 2005... When National Retail Systems opened a station in Philadelphia this year, the company needed 35 drivers to get behind the wheel at its main operating units. It took just three weeks to fill the positions. For the diversified New Jersey-based...

A380 Freighter Deliveries Still on Schedule.
June 10, 2005... A delay in the production of the initial Airbus A380 passenger aircraft is not expected to hold up delivery of freighter versions of the airplane. There will be a delay of six months or less in the delivery of the first super-jumbo aircraft,...

Dhl Launches One-Stop Import Service.
June 10, 2005... DHL launched a new strategic initiative, DHL Import Express, an all-inclusive, door-to-door service for expediting shipments to the U.S. and between third countries. The company, a unit of Germany's Deutsche Post, said the new service...

Cargolux Begins Service to Petrolina, Brazil.
June 10, 2005... Cargolux recently launched 747-400 freighter services to and from the city of Petrolina, Brazil. The flight serving Petrolina departs Luxembourg, the airline's base, every Tuesday and departs from Petrolina on Wednesdays, returning to...

China Defends Bulge in Apparel Exports.
June 10, 2005... China's commerce minister defended the recent rapid rise in his country's textile exports, asserting that China has adequately compensated by opening up its domestic market. Surging exports of Chinese-made textiles are "the legitimate...

Moller Buys Stake in Brazil Port.
June 10, 2005... APM Terminals has acquired 50 percent of the shares in the Brazilian container terminal Teconvi at the Port of Itajai. Although A.P. Moller-Maersk's ports division, which is based in The Hague, Netherlands, made no official comment, Kim...

Small Trading Partner with a Global Vision: Chile.
June 10, 2005... BYLINE: Richard Knee Among U.S. trading partners, Chile produces barely a blip on the radar screen, but trade is an economic cornerstone for the southernmost country on the Americas' Pacific Coast. Exports accounted for 34 percent of...

P&G Dealing with China's Logistics Challenge.
June 10, 2005... BYLINE: William B. Cassidy Procter & Gamble isn't that concerned about the threat of West Coast port congestion as the peak-shipping season approaches. It's more concerned about whether trucks will be available at a Shanghai warehouse. ...

China Intrigues Yellow Roadway.
June 10, 2005... Yellow Roadway, the dominant U.S. less-than-truckload operator, is looking for business in another hot area for international cargo operators. Bill Zollars, chairman, president and chief executive of Yellow Roadway, confirmed that the...

China Looms As Logistics Competitor.
June 10, 2005... BYLINE: William Hoffman For Joel Hoiland, a Shanghai tobacco warehouse epitomized China's emerging role not only as a source of inexpensive, abundant goods but also as a looming logistics competitor. The president and chief executive...

Port of Everett Ready for Bids on Rail-Barge Facility.
June 10, 2005... Port of Everett, Wash., commissioners gave the go-ahead for the port to request bids for a new rail-barge facility that will be used in the transportation of large aerospace components, among other things. A media release from the port said...

Becker Trucking Buys Property at Portland's Swan Island.
June 10, 2005... The Port of Portland Commission last month approved the sale of eight acres at its Swan Island Industrial Park to Becker Trucking Inc. for nearly $2.3 million. Becker Trucking is a family owned, local, less-than-truckload and specialty...

Bottlenecks Loom As Threat to Smooth Cargo Flows.
June 10, 2005... BYLINE: William Armbruster Shippers hoping for smoother cargo flows during this year's peak-shipping season could be disappointed, despite efforts by ocean carriers, ports, terminal operators and railroads to avoid a repetition of the...

Port of Tacoma Names Wolfe Deputy Executive Director.
June 10, 2005... The Port of Tacoma named John Wolfe deputy executive director. Wolfe, 40, is currently the executive director at the Port of Olympia, Wash. Timothy J. Farrell, Tacoma's executive director, said Wolfe brings a collaborative leadership style...

Houston's Kornegay to Head Iaph.
June 10, 2005... The Port of Houston Authority announced that Executive Director H. Thomas Kornegay was unanimously elected president of the International Association of Ports and Harbors during the association's conference in Shanghai. Kornegay has been...

Dhl Names Hickler to Lead Us Strategy.
June 10, 2005... DHL appointed Hans Hickler executive vice president of strategy and business implementation in the U.S. Hickler, who was chief executive of APL Logistics until he resigned in April, will be responsible for the development and implementation...

Portland Bulks Up.
June 16, 2005... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto The major bright spots in an otherwise forgettable year so far for the Port of Portland have been the strong surges of breakbulk and mineral bulk cargoes through the Columbia River port. Through the first four...

Ups Gets Ok to Buy Overnite.
June 16, 2005... U.S. regulators have approved UPS plans to buy less-than-truckload carrier Overnite Corp. Officials have completed their investigation of the $1.25 billion deal without taking any action, the Federal Trade Commission said in a notice. ...

No Peak Repeat Expected in Southern California.
June 16, 2005... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo Shippers should anticipate peak-season delays moving cargo through the Southern California ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, but the delays will not be as severe as they were last summer and fall. ...

Artificial Diversion.
June 16, 2005... BYLINE: Stephanie Nall A bill that would add a $30-per-TEU fee to containers moving through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach is moving through the state Legislature faster than some boxes worked their way through Southern California...

High-Tech Remains Ideal Cargo for Air Carriers.
June 16, 2005... It is a manufacturing sector that needs air cargo. High-technology components and goods meet all the key criteria for cargo that absolutely has to move by air: fragile, high value and requiring fast, time-definite delivery. Experts say trends...

Global Gadgets.
June 16, 2005... "A house in L.A. and a house in Bangkok may look very different on the outside, but on the inside they look very similar." -- Jill Brannon, vice president of international sales for FedEx. The global similarity, Brannon says, is based...

Mexico Temporarily Suspends Tariff on Us Apples.
June 16, 2005... Washington state apple growers received a boost after the Mexico government decided to suspend temporarily a 46.6 percent tariff on some varieties of U.S. apples while it reopens an investigation into dumping. The Mexican government...

Coast Guard Sails to the Rescue.
June 16, 2005... BYLINE: R.G. Edmonson No one wants to say that the Coast Guard is riding to the rescue of the TWIC, but after years in limbo, the Transportation Workers Identification Credential is showing new signs of life. The official line is that the...

Cosco Expects to Raise $1.65 Billion with Ipo.
June 16, 2005... A unit of China Ocean Shipping Co. is planning to raise up to US$1.65 billion in an initial public offering, according to a published report. China Cosco Holdings Ltd. set an indicative price range of HK$4.25 to HK$5.75 a share for its...

Space Constraints, Delays Squeeze Agricultural Experts in Westbound Trans-Pacific.
June 16, 2005... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo U.S. exporters are discovering that low ocean freight rates are a mixed blessing. Some trans-Pacific carriers are rejecting low-value cargo. They'd rather send the containers back to Asia empty so they can be...

Maersk Makes Formal P&O Bid.
June 16, 2005... A.P. Moller-Maersk said it has made a conditional public offer for the shares in Royal P&O Nedlloyd NV, offering a cash payment of 57 euros per share (US$69), for a total purchase price of $2.8 billion. The offer was first announced on May...

Psa Buys Stake in Hong Kong Terminal.
June 16, 2005... Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. is selling a stake in a Hong Kong container terminal to Singapore's PSA Corp, according to a newspaper report. PSA will pay almost US$800 million for 20 percent of Hongkong International Terminals, leaving Hutchison...

Freighter Fleet Expected to Double in Size over Next 20 Years.
June 16, 2005... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto Boeing Co., in its recently released market outlook, sees a $2.1 trillion market for new commercial airplanes over the next 20 years, with the total fleet reaching 35,300 airplanes in 2024, more than double its...

Bone to Lead Coast Guard Security.
June 16, 2005... Rear Adm. Craig E. Bone has been named to replace Rear Adm. Larry Hereth as Coast Guard port-security director. Bone was chief of staff of the Coast Guard district in Hawaii. Before that, Bone was Captain of the Port for the Port of New...

Matson Raises Fuel Charge.
June 16, 2005... Matson will increase its fuel surcharge for maritime services in Hawaii and the South Pacific by a full percentage point to 11.5 percent, effective July 3. The carrier increased the surcharge to 10.5 percent in March. But since then,...

Cpr Expands Capacity.
June 16, 2005... Canadian Pacific Railway earlier this month completed the first of 25 projects planned under a $160 million capacity-expansion program. The railroad built an 8,500-foot track at its Coquitlam yard near Vancouver, British Columbia, to...