Pacific Shipper articles from June 2006

Pacific Shipper archives from June 2006

Schneider Launches Intermodal Service.
June 1, 2006... BYLINE: John Gallagher Schneider National has partnered with CSX Intermodal and Kansas City Southern to begin offering dedicated intermodal service for Ohio Valley shippers that is expected to shave a day off transit times to the West...

No Fluke.
June 1, 2006... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto When the Port of Seattle dominated container volumes in the Pacific Northwest last year, it was somewhat surprising and had some fluky aspects. Going into 2005, no one expected that Seattle would supplant...

Us and Vietnam Reach Trade Deal.
June 1, 2006... Representatives of the U.S. and Vietnam late last month signed a bilateral market-access agreement, a prerequisite for Vietnam to join the World Trade Organization. The agreement will be fully implemented when Vietnam joins the WTO, and is...

Panama Canal Makes New Slot Auction Permanent.
June 1, 2006... The Panama Canal Authority has added another transit booking slot to its permanent auction process. The additional slot was first made available on a 60-day test basis in April, primarily for tanker and bulk carriers. The new auctioned...

Diesel Price Slips.
June 1, 2006... The national average retail price of diesel slid 0.6 cents to $2.88 a gallon during the week ending May 28, according to a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The decline was widespread with only one region reporting a rise....

Eu Offers to Cut Tariffs on Farm Goods.
June 1, 2006... The European Union said it is willing to move toward market-access demands by developing countries by making bigger cuts to its import tariffs on farm goods. The announcement by the Brussels-based EU puts added pressure on the U.S. to...

Practicality Trumps High-Tech in Maersk's Push to Cut Pollution.
June 1, 2006... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo Environmental improvement projects continue to take center stage at Southern California ports, but the most recent focus was on a low-tech, relatively low-cost pollution reduction method. In recent months,...

Is Beef Back?
June 1, 2006... BYLINE: Stephanie Nall In June 7, Korean officials will release information long-sought by U.S. beef producers: a list of plants authorized to process beef for the Korean market. The news is welcome, but it doesn't seem to have started...

Cool Chain Gets Smarter with Rfid.
June 1, 2006... BYLINE: Jim Hynes Although most people may not know exactly what they are, radio-frequency identification tags can be found just about everywhere these days -- sewn into an item of clothing, pressed into the pages of a library book or...

Senate Confirms Basham for Top Customs Job.
June 1, 2006... The Senate on May 26 confirmed W. Ralph Basham as commissioner of Customs and Border Protection. Basham, a 29-year Secret Service veteran, was chief of staff of the Transportation Security Administration. He also worked as director of the...

Public-Private Deals Said No Panacea.
June 1, 2006... BYLINE: R.G. Edmonson The governors of Indiana and Virginia told members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee late last month that private investment in public transportation assets is a way to raise funds for states,...

Marad Says Competition Is Possible in Jones Act Trade.
June 1, 2006... Entry into the ocean transportation market between the U.S. mainland and Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico or Alaska is a challenge for a new carrier, but the barriers are not insurmountable, according to a Maritime Administration study. The...

Canada, Us Discuss Sunken Army Supply Ship.
June 1, 2006... BYLINE: Mark Wilson The Canadian government has opened formal talks with the U.S. government over a sunken Army supply ship and bombs littering the seafloor of British Columbia's Inside Passage. The ship, the U.S. Army's Brig. Gen. M.G....

Drewry: Survey Cites Late Vessel Calls.
June 1, 2006... BYLINE: Peter T. Leach Despite claims that most container ships operate on fixed-day weekly schedules, more than 43 percent of vessels operated in liner services arrive one or more days late, according to a new survey by Drewry Shipping...

Dp World Makes Management Changes.
June 1, 2006... Dubai's DP World announced management changes as it integrates the global port operations of P&O. Robert Woods, co-chief executive of DP World with Mohammad Sharaf, will leave the Dubai company by the end of this month, prior to his...

'K' Line Plans Ship Management, Training Upgrades.
June 1, 2006... Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. has unveiled a new corporate structure for ship management and crew training. The Japanese company said the structure is designed to sustain safety and quality while supporting expansion of business operations as part...

Ups Survey Sees Growth in Intra-Asia Trade.
June 1, 2006... Business leaders from Asia's small to midsize enterprises said they expect growth in trade this year between Asian nations to outpace even the robust trade still growing between Asia and the West, according to a new survey from UPS. Nearly...

Abp Sells Us Amports Unit.
June 1, 2006... Associated British Ports Holdings last month sold its U.S. operations to an affiliate of U.S. private equity firm Lincolnshire Equity Fund for $107.8 million in cash. The sale of Amports Inc. also comprises $7.8 million relating to finance...

St Lawrence Seaway Posts Early Gains.
June 1, 2006... Saint Lawrence Seaway traffic through April totaled 6,460 tons, up 30 percent from 5,024 tons a year ago, according to waterway's Canadian manager. The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. cited gains in shipments of steel, grain, iron ore...

Defendants Seek Ila Racketeering Case Dismissal.
June 1, 2006... BYLINE: Joseph Bonney Defendants last month asked a federal judge to dismiss a civil racketeering lawsuit that seeks to oust top officials of the International Longshore-men's Association and put the union and its benefit programs under...

No Plans to Reopen Ila Contract.
June 1, 2006... The International Longshore-men's Association and management have no plans to reopen their contract, which covers Atlantic and Gulf dockworkers, an ILA spokesman said late last month. Kenneth Riley, president of Charleston Local 1422, had...

Greenbrier Companies' $85 Million Note Rated 'B-Plus'.
June 1, 2006... Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned its "B-plus" rating to the Greenbrier Companies Inc.'s proposed $85 million convertible note offering, which will mature in 2026. At the same time, S&P affirmed its ratings on the Lake Oswego,...

Intermarine Adds Capacity.
June 1, 2006... Intermarine has chartered two heavy-lift vessels to meet increasing demand for project cargo capacity. The Atlant Frauke and the Atlant Trina are 7,800-deadweight-ton vessels each with twin 275-ton cranes and more than 13,000 cubic yards of...

Anchorage International Airport Ranks Third in World for Air Cargo.
June 1, 2006... Alaska's Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is the second-largest U.S. cargo airport - behind Memphis - and ranks third in the world behind Memphis and Hong Kong. Anchorage supports 25 international all-cargo operators, with the...

Air Cargo at Inchon Airport Sets Record.
June 1, 2006... Air-cargo imports and exports through Korea's Inchon International Airport reached record levels during the first quarter. According to Inchon customs office, the airport handled more than $41 billion worth of air-cargo shipments during the...

April Truck Tonnage Index Up.
June 1, 2006... The American Trucking Associations' Truck Tonnage Index increased 2 percent in April, following a revised 2.9 percent drop in March. The Alexandria, Va.-based group said the increase was the first since January and the strongest...

Csx Considers Midwest Intermodal Hub.
June 1, 2006... Rail carrier CSX is considering building a major intermodal facility in the Mid-west, according to a published report. A spokesman for the railroad, headquartered in Jacksonville, said an increase in imports from East and West Coast ports...

Bnsf Units Set Record.
June 1, 2006... BNSF Railway Co. said that during the week ending May 20 it handled 211,120 freight cars, trailers and containers, topping the previous record of 210,030 units set during the week of Oct. 22, 2005. The data includes traffic that originated on...

Japan's Economy Improves, Trade Volumes Increase.
June 1, 2006... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo Japan's two-way trade with the U.S. is growing again, and that's good news for ocean carriers in the trans-Pacific trade. The economic powerhouse of Asia in the 1970s and 1980s, Japan went into a long slumber...

Dhl Opens India Center, Plans Russian Expansion.
June 1, 2006... DHL late last month opened its new service center in Tirupur in Tamil Nadu, southern India. The express unit of Germany's Deutsche Post World Net expects consistent monthly growth of around 20 to 25 percent from the center. Tirupur is...

After Fire, Lufthansa Relocates Istanbul Warehouse.
June 1, 2006... Lufthansa Cargo has relocated its warehouse activities after a fire in late May destroyed the cargo terminal at Istanbul's airport. The German airline in an e-mail said its handling offices have been partly damaged and cannot be used, so...

ProLogis Signs Leases in Uk.
June 1, 2006... ProLogis, a U.S.-based provider of distribution facilities and services, announced that it has signed new lease agreements that total approximately 900,000 square feet of space in the United Kingdom. The five leases vary in size from 55,000...

Domestic Container Chassis Pools Face Gray Horizon.
June 1, 2006... BYLINE: John Gallagher The intermodal industry may be at a crisis point when it comes to managing the nation's domestic container chassis pool. Continue with the status quo, according to some, and the industry could end up with an...

Real Domestic Container Chassis Pools Face Gray Horizon.
June 1, 2006... BYLINE: John Gallagher The intermodal industry may be at a crisis point when it comes to managing the nation's domestic container chassis pool. Continue with the status quo, according to some, and the industry could end up with an...

Trading with Canada.
June 1, 2006... BYLINE: Richard Knee When U.S. Customs and Border Protection began embracing information technology in a serious way in the mid-1980s, William von Raab, the agency's commissioner at the time, strongly advised that exporters, importers and...

Filling the Skies.
June 1, 2006... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto With volumes increasing, a new generation of larger, long-range freighters poised to enter the market within the next few years, and terminals throughout Asia operating at or near capacity, the present and future...

First-Quarter Backlogs Could Signal Peak-Season Congestion.
June 1, 2006... BYLINE: Ian Putzger Air-cargo importers may face heavy backlogs during the peak fall season if the bottlenecks seen at several Asian airports earlier this year are any indication of what's to come. Airlines reported stronger traffic in...

Vancouver, British Columbia, Maintains Teu Lead in Pacific Northwest.
June 1, 2006... Container volume totals through April in the Pacific Northwest held to recent form with the surprising Port of Vancouver, British Columbia, widening its TEU lead over the Port of Tacoma, while the Port of Seattle's totals continued to decline...

China Shipping Hires Butler.
June 1, 2006... China Shipping (North America) Agency Co. hired Mark C. Butler as national sales manager for exports. Butler has more than 25 years of experience in container shipping and has held positions of increasing managerial responsibility domestically...

Hellmann Appoints Goldstein Senior Vp.
June 1, 2006... Hellmann Worldwide Logistics named Arnold Goldstein senior vice president of sales, Hellmann USA. Goldstein previously served as president of the Southwest region for Pacer Global Logistics. Prior to joining Pacer, he spent more than 20 years...

John S. Connor Hires Two for Shanghai Office.
June 1, 2006... Third-party logistics firm John S. Connor Inc. has hired two employees for its new Shanghai, China, office. Hil-lary Ye has been added as China business development manager. In addition to developing new business for the company, she will...

Richardson, Veitch Chosen for Aotos Awards.
June 1, 2006... The United Seamen's Service 2006 Admiral of the Ocean Sea Awards will be presented to Paul F. Richardson, president of Paul F. Richardson Associates Inc., and Colin Veitch, president and chief executive of Norwegian Cruise Line. The honors...

Boeing Names McKenna Vp of Commercial Airplanes Fabrication.
June 1, 2006... Boeing named Pat McKenna vice president and general manager of its Commercial Airplanes Fabrication business unit in Auburn, Wash., reporting to Carolyn Corvi, vice president and general manager of Airplane Production. McKenna will be...

Former Matson Executive John Kelley Dies.
June 1, 2006... John Kelley, vice president of investors relations with Alexander & Baldwin Inc., died Wednesday. He was 60. Kelley died at his home on Waialae Nui, Hawaii, from a brain tumor, according to published reports. After earning degrees in...

Unplugging the Debate.
June 9, 2006... In early 2001, I traveled from Baltimore to Southern California for a job interview at a daily newspaper. Newsrooms at a daily are always a bit surreal, but this time the scene extended past eccentric all the way to weird and eerie. The only...

House Approves $32 Billion Security Spending Measure.
June 9, 2006... The House of Representatives last week approved a Department of Homeland Security spending bill that does not include 100 percent screening requirements for either maritime or air cargo. The subject of an intense lobbying effort by...

Trans-Pacific Carriers to Boost Peak Surcharge.
June 9, 2006... BYLINE: Peter T. Leach The Transpacific Stabilization Agreement's 11 member carriers will raise the planned peak-season surcharge to cover increased costs. The planned surcharge will rise from $400 per FEU from Asia to the U.S. East...

Yangtze River Express to Start Service to Lax.
June 9, 2006... BYLINE: Stephanie Nall Air-cargo carrier Yangtze River Express will begin trans-Pacific services between Shanghai and Los Angeles on June 25, according to Herman Liu, president and chief executive of the carrier. Liu announced the...

Container Terminals Face Capacity Problems in Vancouver.
June 9, 2006... BYLINE: Courtney Tower Canada's Port of Vancouver is struggling with container-capacity problems and raising costs to shippers amid rising Asian trade. Operating capacity of the two terminals that handle the bulk of the traffic at...

Panama Canal Transit Time, Number of Ships Increase.
June 9, 2006... The number of vessels passing through the Panama Canal increased during the second quarter of its fiscal year, as did total tonnage, but many ships had to wait longer to transit the waterway, the Panama Canal Authority said last week. ...

Trade Booms, But Infrastructure Lags in South America.
June 9, 2006... BYLINE: Leticia Lozano South America has its problems, including political instability, corruption and wealth inequalities, but growing trade with Asia and the U.S. is a sign the continent may be starting to fulfill its long-neglected...

Growth in Mining Sparks Demand for Machinery.
June 9, 2006... BYLINE: Leticia Lozano Record mineral prices have produced a mining boom in Latin America that is increasing demand for machinery. Companies ranging from Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton to little-known exploration companies are...

House Panel Works on Hazmat Rule Changes.
June 9, 2006... BYLINE: Angela Greiling Keane Hazardous materials shippers and carriers may get the major changes in regulations they've been fighting for since much-maligned rules on trucking hazmat goods took effect last year. The House Homeland...

Factory Orders Declined in April.
June 9, 2006... New orders for manufactured goods were down in April, but not quite as much as previously thought, according to a revised government report. New orders for manufactured durable goods in April decreased $9.6 billion, or 4.4 percent, to...

Nottingham Nominated to Chair Stb.
June 9, 2006... President Bush intends to nominate Charles D. Nottingham as a member of the Surface Transportation Board. The White House also said that if Nottingham is confirmed, he will be designated chairman, replacing Douglas Buttrey. Buttrey joined the...

Former Marad Chief Jamian to Head New Lakes Trade Group.
June 9, 2006... Former chief of the U.S. Maritime Administration, John Jamian, has been named president of the newly formed Seaway Great Lakes Trade Association. Jamian was acting administrator of Marad from February 2005 until he resigned on May 1. Before...

Dp World Interested in Buying More China Terminals.
June 9, 2006... DP World is interested in making additional investments in terminals located along China's southern coast, but is cautious about which projects it chooses, according to a recent Reuters report. "We don't blindly go in and say we want to...

China Targets 80 Percent Increase in Port Capacity by 2010.
June 9, 2006... China is aiming to increase its port capacity by 80 percent and raise its annual throughput to 7.2 billion tons by 2010, Xinhua News Agency reported, quoting a statement from Xu Zuyuan, China's vice minister of communications, at a recently...

'K' Line Upgrades China Service.
June 9, 2006... K Line this month announced plans to upgrade its fixed-day weekly China Straits Gulf service. The new service, which is jointly operated with Pacific International Lines, will be upgraded from the current six 1,200-TEU vessels to five...

Yrc Board Authorizes Stock Repurchase.
June 9, 2006... YRC Worldwide Inc. this month announced that its board of directors approved a stock repurchase program that authorizes the company to repurchase up to $100 million of its common stock. The company may repurchase its shares in the open...

Seaboard Marine Expands Service to Central America.
June 9, 2006... Seaboard Marine has added a third vessel to its service between New Orleans and Central America, enabling the carrier to double its frequency to twice weekly. The expanded service began on May 29 with the sailing of the Hafentor, which...

Mol to Expand Fleet.
June 9, 2006... MOL has announced plans to construct 43 new iron ore carriers to meet anticipated long-term growth in demand for ore transport. The company said it has invested aggressively in natural resources and energy transport as part of its strategy...

P&O Enters Vietnam Container Terminal Venture.
June 9, 2006... In anticipation of increased trade with the United States, the P&O ports group of DP World has agreed to a $224 million joint venture to operate a container terminal at Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. The joint venture with Tan Thuan...

Hutchison to Build, Operate Barcelona Terminal.
June 9, 2006... The Barcelona Port Authority has awarded the concession to build and operate the new Prat Pier Container Terminal at Spain's Port of Barcelona to Terminal Catalunya, a subsidiary of Hutchison Port Holdings, the Hong Kong-based company...

ConFlo Lines Resumes East Africa Service.
June 9, 2006... After a suspension of nearly two years, ConFlo Lines said it has resumed service to Nairobi, Kenya, and Kampala, Uganda, via a partnership agreement with the carrier's agent in Mombasa, Kenya's main port. The line said it offers weekly...

Con-Way Forwarding Operations Close.
June 9, 2006... Con-way has discontinued the operations of its domestic airfreight forwarding subsidiary, Con-way For-warding. The San Mateo, Calif., trucking and logistics company said it opted to close its forwarding unit after a "detailed review" of the...

Evergreen Holdings Report Profit.
June 9, 2006... Evergreen Holdings, which operates air-cargo operator Evergreen International Airlines, said it moved into the black for the fiscal year that ended Feb. 28, after posting losses the two years before. Evergreen, in a filing at the Securities...

Union Pacific, Ferromex Agree on Mexico Crossing.
June 9, 2006... Union Pacific Railroad and Ferrocarril Mexicano S.A. de C.V. have agreed to interchange earlier in the day in Calexico, Mexico, to avoid blocking grade crossings during peak morning hours. The railroads also will construct two walkways at a...

Lng Terminal Projects Clear Review.
June 9, 2006... Two proposed liquefied natural gas import terminals at the Port of Pascagoula have met Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staff approval. That nod clears a hurdle for the two proposed $450 million projects to win final FERC approval on the...

Ups Teamsters Want Early Contract Talks.
June 9, 2006... In a recent survey of Teamsters members at UPS, 89 percent of those surveyed urged the union to pursue early contract negotiations so that members' pensions and health care will be protected in the future. "Our members at UPS want to know...

China's Air-Cargo Carriers Weigh Merger.
June 9, 2006... Air China confirmed that it is in talks regarding a possible tie-up between its freight division, Air China Cargo, and China Cargo Airlines, a step that could result in the largest merger in China's air-cargo industry. "We have been...

Dhl Named Primary Provider for Wild Flavors.
June 9, 2006... DHL has announced a new agreement with WILD Flavors, the largest privately held manufacturer of flavorings and ingredients for beverages and food products. DHL will serve as the company's primary express and ground parcel shipping provider. ...

Nafta Rail Trade Surges.
June 9, 2006... Surface transportation trade between the U.S., Canada and Mexico totaled a record $68.2 billion in March, up 15 percent from the same month a year ago. The previous record of $64 billion was set in October 2005, according to the Department...

Rail Volume Reaches Seven-Year High.
June 9, 2006... Carload freight on Class I railroads in the U.S. during the week ended May 27 was at its highest level since December 1998, the Association of American Railroads reported on June 1. Volume rose to 340,653 cars during week 21 of this year,...

Us Air Exports Set Record in 2005.
June 9, 2006... The U.S. shattered records for air exports in 2005. The Colography Group, in releasing two of its annual reports on the U.S. airfreight and expedited trucking markets, noted that domestic ground parcel traffic also set records last year. ...

Csxi Increases Fuel Surcharge.
June 9, 2006... CSX Intermodal is implementing a 21.5 percent fuel surcharge in June. The carrier previously implemented fuel surcharges of 21 percent in May, 17.5 percent in April, 16 percent in March, 16.5 percent in February and 16 percent in January. ...

Ups Selected to Operate Philips Medical Logistics Network.
June 9, 2006... Royal Philips Electronics announced late last month that it chose UPS to redesign and operate its global service parts logistics network in a move to significantly improve customer service at its Medical Systems division. UPS will ensure...

Nyk, Yamato Holdings Set Up Logistics Venture in Tokyo.
June 9, 2006... NYK and Yamato Holdings have established a joint venture in Tokyo known as Yamato NYK Global Solutions Co., which will serve as a "primary base for the strategic alliance between NYK and Yamato," a statement issued by the Japanese...

Motorola to Base Supply-Chain Operations in Singapore.
June 9, 2006... Motorola said it will invest $60 million over two years to consolidate management of its global supply chain in Singapore. The new investment will allow Motorola to manage supply-chain management activities across its businesses including...

China Has Big Plans for Infrastructure.
June 9, 2006... China's spending on infrastructure over the next five years could outpace U.S. infrastructure investment by as much as five to one, according to Pete Talbot, vice president for operations and information at China Shipping NA Agency Co. ...

U-Freight Relocates Incheon Freight Hub.
June 9, 2006... U-Freight recently relocated its freight hub at Incheon International Airport to a new 18,299-square-foot multi-user warehouse facility. The company also promoted Daniel Chung to president of U-Freight Korea Inc. U-Freight Korea,...

Trading with Chile Escalates.
June 9, 2006... BYLINE: Richard Knee U.S. trade with Chile is booming, and while many factors might be responsible, one stands out: the free-trade agreement the countries put into effect on Jan. 1, 2004. "There's been an increased demand for cargo in both...

Iran Threatens to Disrupt Tanker Traffic.
June 9, 2006... Iran last week threatened to disrupt oil tanker traffic from the Persian Gulf if the U.S. takes action against its nuclear facilities. The U.S. could "seriously endanger energy flow in the region" by acting against Iran, Ayatollah Ali...

Singapore Airport Terminal Lands Bangalore Deal.
June 9, 2006... Singapore Airport Terminal Services has secured a deal to run cargo operations at India's new Bangalore International Airport, Channel News Asia reported. The contract awarded to SATS and its project partner, Air India, is one of two...