Pacific Shipper articles from March 2007

Pacific Shipper archives from March 2007

Finding What Works.
March 2, 2007... BYLINE: Stephanie Nall Haste makes waste. My grandfather used to say when he heard that phrase that he knew he was looking at someone who wanted the day off. In general, I think he was onto something. But it occurred to me during a...

Westbound Ag Rates Rising on Trans-Pacific.
March 2, 2007... Member shipping lines in the Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement plan to raise rates on dry agricultural cargoes. The 10-carrier group said the increases "are needed to address ongoing higher cargo-handling, equipment and other...

Steinke, Executive Director of the Port of Long Beach.
March 2, 2007... Ports taking divergent paths to reduce emissions All U.S. port authorities now emphasize the need to reduce pollution from operations, but their approach to pollution reduction is falling into two distinct patterns, according to port...

Last of Containers Removed from Deck of Msc Napoli.
March 2, 2007... All of the containers stored on the deck of the grounded MSC Napoli have been offloaded, Britain''s Maritime and Coastguard Agency said. Salvors are slated to begin the next phase of operations -- removing containers from the first of the...

Utu Ends Cn Walkout.
March 2, 2007... Striking conductors and yard workers last week returned to their jobs at Canadian National Railway, after the two sides reached a deal before Canada''s Parliament could vote on back-to-work legislation. The strike by 2,800 Union...

Diesel Soars 6 Cents.
March 2, 2007... The average retail price for a gallon of diesel fuel soared 6 cents during the week ending Feb. 17 to $2.551, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. During the week, the price of crude oil rose to more than $61 per barrel...

U.S. Lines Adds Oakland Call on Anzl Service.
March 2, 2007... U.S. Lines last week announced the introduction of a direct weekly call at Oakland on its service to Australia and New Zealand. The change is effective in mid-April with the sailing of the USL Kea, which leaves Oakland on April 24. ...

China Getting Too Expensive?
March 2, 2007... BYLINE: By Richard Knee With the cost of doing business in China rising, and with lingering distrust between Washington and Beijing about their geopolitical motives, Vietnam is becoming attractive to businesses looking to gain a foothold...

Top Foreign Direct Investment Projects in Vietnam in 2006.
March 2, 2007... Runckel & Associates, an international business consultancy in Portland, Ore., reported that foreign direct investment inflows in Vietnam reached a record $10.2 billion in 2006. Here are the top 10 projects: 1. Posco Steel Co. ($1.13...

Pilot Program Set for Mexican Trucks in Us.
March 2, 2007... BYLINE: By R.G. Edmonson The United States will begin a one-year pilot program that will allow a selected number of Mexican trucking companies to operate in the U.S. beyond 20- to 25-mile commercial zones along the Southwest border,...

Customs Expands Trucker E-Manifest Mandate.
March 2, 2007... Customs and Border Protection announced that truckers must use the Automated Commercial Environment Truck Manifest System at all land borders in Michigan and New York, effective May 24. The two states will join crossings in states on the...

Lawmakers Say Twic Ready to Roll Next Month.
March 2, 2007... BYLINE: By Bill Mongelluzzo A delegation of congressional security experts visited Southern California late last month to observe use of the latest devices that federal agencies deploy at seaports and border crossings in the war against...

Ata Calls for Tougher Driver Training Standards.
March 2, 2007... The American Trucking Associations is pushing for tougher driver training standards as part of a program to increase highway safety. The ATA''s board of directors adopted a new safety policy at its Winter Leadership meeting in February. The...

Lawmakers Put Priority on Rail Hos Rules, Safety.
March 2, 2007... BYLINE: By John D. Boyd Rail workers and safety groups have long complained the nation won''t get a handle on worker fatigue and related accidents without federal action. Suddenly, Congress and federal regulators are reaching for the...

Wto Head Sees ''good Signs'' for Doha Round Progress.
March 2, 2007... Pascal Lamy, director general of the World Trade Organization, sees "good signs" for calling a meeting to conclude the Doha Round of global trade talks, "but we''re not there yet." Lamy made the comments to Reuters during a trade conference in...

A.P. Moller-Maersk to Cut Shipyard Jobs.
March 2, 2007... A.P. Moller-Maersk will lay off around 140 employees at its Danish shipyard, which is building the world''s biggest container ships for its ocean unit, Maersk Line. Copenhagen-based A.P. Moller-Maersk said the layoffs among the 575 staff in the...

Rail Freight Declines for Week.
March 2, 2007... BYLINE: By John D. Boyd The triple punch of a strike on the main part of Canadian National Railway''s system, severe winter weather across North America and continuing economic weakness has cut rail freight activity, according to the...

International Business Spurs Intermodal Volume Gain.
March 2, 2007... Intermodal volume increased 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006, capping the fifth consecutive year of record traffic, according to the Intermodal Association of North America. The fourth-quarter results included a 4.3 percent...

Dhl Restructures Network in India, South Asia.
March 2, 2007... DHL Express has restructured its business in India and southern Asia. Under the restructuring, DHL is creating a new region, the South Asia Area, covering India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, the Maldives, Bangladesh and Bhutan. It will be based...

India Plans Triple-Stack Trains.
March 2, 2007... After successfully operating double-stack container trains on specific routes in the country, Indian Railways last month announced plans to introduce triple-stack trains on a trial basis. "Such containers will be useful to carry motor...

Taca to Boost Panama Canal Transit Fee.
March 2, 2007... The Trans-Atlantic Conference Agreement last month said it will increase its Panama Canal transit fee on May 1. The move will compensate for the final tier of the Panama Canal Authority''s current three-tier toll increase, which will take...

Suez Canal Offers Discounts to Lure Traffic from Panama.
March 2, 2007... The Suez Canal plans to offer discounts on its transit fee to lure all-water traffic from Asia to the U.S. away from the Panama Canal during the eight to 10 years it will take the Panama Canal Authority to complete the planned construction of...

India Gives Green Light to Rail Project.
March 2, 2007... India''s Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved a $6.1 billion rail project that will connect the country''s major ports on the east and west coasts. The $2.5 billion eastern corridor will run between the northern city of...

Nehru Dredging Work Hits Snag.
March 2, 2007... A proposed $180 million dredging project at the Port of Jawaharlal Nehru has hit a roadblock over the security clearances of the three project finalists. The delay in security clearance checks of the Netherlands'' Boskalis and Van Oord BV,...

Vietnam: Carrier Interest Is Growing.
March 2, 2007... BYLINE: By William Armbruster Vietnam''s formal entry into the World Trade Organization is offering opportunities for U.S. companies located there and bodes well for future growth in U.S. exports. Ocean carriers are also on the list of...

India''s Logistics Market Is Growing with Economy.
March 2, 2007... BYLINE: By Bill DiBenedetto India''s economy is growing, and the logistics industry is growing along with it. A new study predicts that the nation''s logistics market is growing at a double-digit rate and will total $125 billion by 2010....

Ecuador Mounts Challenge to Eu Banana Rules.
March 2, 2007... Ecuador is asking the World Trade Organization to review European restrictions on banana imports, the latest challenge in the decade-old dispute. Latin American countries and the U.S. have long contended that European Union tariffs on bananas...

Us Pork Exports Rose in 2006.
March 2, 2007... Exports of U.S. pork and pork variety meats increased 9 percent in 2006, according to the U.S. Meat Export Federation. The USMEF said that while most attention continues to be focused on U.S. beef markets, demand for pork is increasing...

Alaska Resolution Hits Proposed Washington State Box Fee.
March 2, 2007... The Alaska House on Feb. 21 unanimously passed a resolution opposing the adoption of a container fee that''s under consideration in the Washington state legislature. The container fee measure, introduced in January, would impose a...

Seattle Port, King County, Bnsf Agree on Land Deal.
March 2, 2007... Officials in King County, Wash., the Port of Seattle and BNSF Railway have moved closer to saving a rail corridor for public use and making transportation improvements to aid freight mobility in the region. King County Executive Ron Sims,...

West Coast Ports Cruise Through Slow Season.
March 2, 2007... BYLINE: By Bill Mongelluzzo West Coast ports reported modest gains in cargo volume in January, with container volumes in February expected to be even lower as factories in Asia shut down for the annual lunar New Year celebration. The...

Port of Seattle Bond Ratings Get High Marks.
March 2, 2007... Standard and Poor''s last month raised the ratings on more than $1 billion of outstanding Port of Seattle revenue bonds following a review of the port in connection with an upcoming issuance of revenue bonds, the port said. The ratings...

Fmc Upholds Ruling in Port Trucking Case.
March 2, 2007... BYLINE: By Bill Mongelluzzo A dispute over a $165 charge for damaged equipment led to a Federal Maritime Commission ruling that a Southern California marine terminal must provide access to the trucking company involved in the dispute. ...

Brad Mulholland, Former President of Matson, Dies.
March 2, 2007... C. Bradley Mulholland, former president and chief executive of Matson, died on Feb. 20 at the age of 65 from complications of cancer. Mr. Mulholland''s 38-year career with Matson spanned from 1965 to 2003 and included 10 years as its president...

Do the Right Thing.
March 8, 2007... A veritable swat team of oil spill responders descended upon the Port of Seattle waterfront this month when a Chinese bulk grain ship, the Songa Hua, "burped" somewhere around 100 to 200 gallons of fuel oil into the Puget Sound near the port''s...

Oakland Posts Records, Loses Express Service.
March 8, 2007... BYLINE: By Stephanie Nall It was a week of ups and downs for the Port of Oakland as officials announced business records set in 2006, saw a potential new customer drift away and had its maritime director resign. Oakland moved a record...

New Effort for Box Scan-All Legislation.
March 8, 2007... Scanning all containers before they depart foreign ports for the U.S. is an idea that refuses to die. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., was expected to offer another proposal last week calling for 100 percent scanning, according to trade groups that...

Canada''s Port of Vancouver Struggles with Container Backlog.
March 8, 2007... BYLINE: By Courtney Tower It is expected to take four to six weeks to clear a backlog of 13,250 containers from two terminals at the Port of Vancouver, British Columbia. But Chris Badger, vice president of the Vancouver Port Authority,...

Chinese Checkers.
March 8, 2007... BYLINE: By David Biederman The Frisbee may be an American cultural icon but like the Hula-Hoop and Boogie Board, it''s made in China these days. Until last year, Wham-O, which first tossed the famed plastic disc into the market in the...

West Coast Employers May Opt for Shorter Contract with Ilwu.
March 8, 2007... BYLINE: By Peter T. Leach The Pacific Maritime Association, representing West Coast waterfront employers, may opt for a shorter contract in its upcoming negotiations with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Jim McKenna, PMA...

Exporters Face Challenges in Westbound Trade.
March 8, 2007... BYLINE: By Stephanie Nall By the end of 2007, China could overtake Canada as the top importer of U.S. goods, according to Robert Shepard, director of transportation and logistics for The Kraft Group. But even with U.S. exports rising,...

Tsa Meeting with Shippers on Rate Hikes.
March 8, 2007... BYLINE: By Peter T. Leach The 12 carriers of the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement are meeting this month with 30 of their largest customers to make their case for rate increases to offset increasing fuel and inland delivery costs, said...

Pacer Chief Executive Says Rail Rate Increases Are Coming.
March 8, 2007... BYLINE: By Peter T. Leach Intermodal rail rates will continue to increase as railroads seek to generate the kinds of returns they need to invest in intermodal infrastructure, Michael Uremovich, chief executive of Pacer International, told...

Epa Seeks ''greening'' of Locomotives, Tugboats.
March 8, 2007... BYLINE: By Joseph Bonney The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing more stringent air-pollution standards for locomotives and diesel engines on tugboats and other smaller vessels. When fully implemented, the new rules will...

Los Angeles Port to Help Fund Development of Hybrid Tug.
March 8, 2007... The Port of Los Angeles will contribute $850,000 to co-fund development of a hybrid tugboat. The tug, proposed by Seattle-based Foss Maritime Co., would be substantially less polluting, more fuel efficient and quieter than modern tugs currently...

New California Container Fee Measure Planned.
March 8, 2007... BYLINE: By Bill Mongelluzzo An activist politician plans to introduce a new bill calling for a $30-per-container fee to help pay for pollution-reducing measures in California. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last year vetoed a similar bill...

Horizon Lines Posts Fourth-Quarter Profit.(Financial report)
March 8, 2007... Horizon Lines this month reported a quarterly profit as revenue gains from rate increases and other factors more than offset some weakness in volume. The largest U.S.-flag carrier said net income totaled $10.6 million for the fourth...

Profit Declines at Nol.(Financial report)
March 8, 2007... BYLINE: By Peter T. Leach Neptune Orient Lines last month reported net profit of $364 million for 2006, which included a one-time gain of $20 million. The Singapore-based parent of APL said net profit before nonrecurring items was $344...

Tnt Reports Gains for Quarter and Year.(Financial report)
March 8, 2007... BYLINE: By Bruce Barnard The Dutch global mail and transport group TNT said fourth-quarter profit surged 11.3 percent compared to the same period a year earlier as its express unit delivered double-digit revenue growth and record operating...

South Atlantic Chassis Pool Expands.
March 8, 2007... BYLINE: By Peter T. Leach Consolidated Chassis Management LLC, which last September created the South Atlantic Consolidated Chassis Pool covering the ports of Charleston and Savannah and major inland hubs in Atlanta and Charlotte, said the...

Railroads, Unions Reach Tentative Pact.
March 8, 2007... U.S. railroads have reached a tentative labor agreement with seven rail unions, the first such deal in the current round of bargaining. The accord includes two of the largest unions -- the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen...

Truck Tonnage Weakens.
March 8, 2007... The American Trucking Associations'' advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased by 3.6 percent in January. The decline comes after a 6.2 percent increase in December. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the tonnage...

Jade Receives New Boeing Freighter.
March 8, 2007... Jade Cargo International last month took delivery of its third freighter and added services to four new destinations. The Chinese all-cargo carrier took delivery of the new Boeing 747-400 Extended Range freighter on Feb. 26 from Amentum...

Matson, J.B. Hunt Link Up on Inland Movements.
March 8, 2007... BYLINE: By John Gallagher Matson Navigation Co. and J.B. Hunt Transport Services have joined forces on a guaranteed service from China that is expected to provide a new transportation option to hundreds of U.S. truckload and intermodal...

Australia to Invest $1.6 Million in Logistics Sector.
March 8, 2007... The Australian government has committed US$11.7 million to the country''s freight and logistics sector as part of Phase 2 of its AusLink transport program from 2009-14. It is making this investment to support the freight and logistics...

Chennai Sees Increase in Containers.
March 8, 2007... Chennai Container Terminal at India''s southern Port of Chennai handled 829,000 TEUs in 2006, up 18.5 percent from 700,000 TEUs a year earlier. The terminal was handling an average volume of about 350,000 TEUs when DP World took it over in...

Cma Cgm in Offer for Taiwan Carrier.
March 8, 2007... BYLINE: By Peter T. Leach French carrier CMA CGM has offered to buy Cheng Lie Navigation Co., a Taiwanese intra-Asia line, for as much as NT$5.25 billion (US$159 million). CMA CGM offered roughly 66 cents a share for each of...

Hamburg Sud Upgrades Australasia to Weekly Service.
March 8, 2007... Hamburg Sud doubled the number of ships in its year-old Trident Service, which links northern Europe with Australia-New Zealand, and upgraded it to a weekly frequency on March 9. It is adding six ships to the new weekly fixed-day service,...

Box Terminal Planned for India''s East Coast.
March 8, 2007... Tata Steel and Larsen & Toubro, two of India''s leading private sector enterprises, plan to develop one or two container berths at the Port of Dhamra in the country''s eastern state of Orissa. Dhamra will eventually have 13 berths, including...

Taiwan: The Welcome Mat Is Out for Investors.
March 8, 2007... BYLINE: By Richard Knee There are plenty of logistics gateways into China. Perhaps Hong Kong and Shanghai come most immediately to mind. But Taiwan''s Department of Investment Services argues that the island nation also is a viable...

Taiwan''s Logistics Giants.
March 8, 2007... DHL Danzas, FedEx and UPS have found Taiwan to their liking, according to information the companies have posted on the Web site of the country''s Department of Investment Services. Here''s what they report: * DHL Express has been in Taiwan...

The 3 Ps.
March 8, 2007... BYLINE: By Stephanie Nall Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns says agricultural exports are expected to reach a record $78 billion in fiscal 2007. "This year''s story is not just about bulk grains and oilseeds because we are also...

Washington State Shelves Container Fee Proposal.
March 8, 2007... Washington state legislators have ended a controversial proposal to impose a $50-per-TEU fee on all containers moving through state ports. After weeks of shipping industry opposition and a growing spat between Washington and Alaska,...

Port of Vancouver, WASH., Touts Creation of Jobs.
March 8, 2007... Larry Paulson, Port of Vancouver, Wash., executive director, is a man on a mission, and that mission is for the port to create jobs for the Columbia River region. Providing new opportunities for local employment, and the economic benefits...

Anl Adds Weekly Call at Oakland.
March 8, 2007... ANL is offering service from the Port of Oakland to New Zealand and Australia. The new fixed-day weekly service -- operated with U.S. Lines -- also offers importers the option of bringing cargoes into Northern California from New Zealand,...

Usg Corp. to Construct Plant at Stockton.
March 8, 2007... USG Corp. has announced plans to build a new gypsum panel manufacturing plant at the Port of Stockton. The plant will position the company competitively to meet long-term West Coast demand for wallboard. The $220 million facility is expected to...

Seattle to Renegotiate Lease with Odyssey Maritime Museum.
March 8, 2007... The Port of Seattle said it would negotiate a new 10-year lease with Odyssey -- the Maritime Discovery Center, which has operated at Pier 66 since 1998. The new lease would establish fundraising goals that would improve the museum''s long-term...

Million-Ton Milestone Set in Stockton.
March 8, 2007... The Port of Stockton announced that the 1-millionth metric ton of bagged California rice exported in the new millennium was loaded aboard the Blue Ocean on Feb. 24. Destined for delivery to Japan, the bagged rice was provided by Connell...

A Million Tons of Rice.
March 8, 2007... How much is a million tons of rice? Here are some comparisons. * If each bag of rice were stacked on top of each other, the top bag would be 376 miles in the air. This would equal 1,587 Empire State buildings stacked on top of each other....

Port of Tacoma Commission Elects Officers.
March 8, 2007... The Port of Tacoma Commission last month named Jack Fabulich chairman of the five-member panel. After 30 years on the commission, Fabulich announced that he will not seek re-election after his current term concludes on Dec. 31. Dick Marzano was...

Port of Vancouver, WASH., Welcomes Vessel on Maiden Voyage.
March 8, 2007... The Port of Vancouver, Wash., last month welcomed the African Blue Crane, captained by Master Edwin A. Singson of the Philippines, on the ship''s maiden call. The African Blue Crane is owned by Polestar Ship Line S.A., operated by Medmar Lines...

Unstacking the Deck.
March 16, 2007... BYLINE: Stephanie Nall For well over a decade, port truck drivers and small trucking companies have lobbied hard to have federal or state regulators take over the safety and enforcement aspects surrounding container chassis used over the...

Protesters Arrested at Tacoma Port.
March 16, 2007... BYLINE: By Bill DiBenedetto About two-dozen anti-war activists were arrested on March 12 at the Port of Tacoma, as protests against an Army shipment of 300 armored vehicles that began the previous week continued. Including Olympia,...

Senate Approves 9/11 Bill.
March 16, 2007... BYLINE: By R.G. Edmonson In a 60-38 vote on March 13, the Senate approved broad legislation to bolster efforts by state and local governments to fight terrorists within U.S. borders. Originally, the purpose of the bill was to implement...

Washington State Ports Move Ahead on Cooperation.
March 16, 2007... BYLINE: By Bill DiBenedetto The ports of Tacoma and Olympia, Wash., last week formalized a collaboration agreement, which includes joint efforts to increase market share and cargo movements through both hubs. The memo approved by the...

Shipper Groups Oppose Panama Canal Toll Hikes.
March 16, 2007... The International Chamber of Shipping and the International Shipping Federation in London said they are consulting with other national shipping associations to oppose the Panama Canal Authority''s proposed toll increases. In their online...

Oakland Adds Truck Rfid.
March 16, 2007... The Port of Oakland is beginning to implement a new truck radio-frequency identification system at one of its most active marine terminals. Drayage trucks serving the port at the Oakland International Container Terminal will have the...

More Delays for Vancouver.
March 16, 2007... BYLINE: By Courtney Tower Canadian National and Canadian Pacific rail lines have been hit by rockslides, mudslides and flooding in the mountain passes of British Columbia, delaying their efforts to clear the backlog of containers at the...

Msc: Big Fish in the Global Pond But Still a Minnow in the Trans-Pacific.
March 16, 2007... BYLINE: By Stephanie Nall On Oct. 15, 2004, the MSC Texas sailed into the Port of Long Beach with every slot of the 8,150-TEU vessel filled for its maiden voyage. At that time, Mediterranean Shipping Co. was the world''s second-largest...

House Passes Bill to Raise Tonnage Taxes.
March 16, 2007... BYLINE: By R.G. Edmonson The House of Representatives on March 9 passed by a 303-108 vote a bill that would double tonnage taxes on vessels arriving at U.S. ports as a way to pay for improvements in water-pollution control. The Water...

Customs Begins to Assess Fines for Wood Packaging Violations.
March 16, 2007... Customs and Border Protection this month began to assess fines or make liquidated damage claims against carriers, shippers or intermediaries that violate an international standard requiring all wood packaging materials to be chemically...

Truckers Seek Dispute-Resolution Process for Container Damage.
March 16, 2007... BYLINE: By Bill Mongelluzzo Brian Griley''s harbor trucking company has received invoices from shipping lines wanting to be paid for a hole in a container''s floor, and for an oily substance found in a container that was carrying dry...

July Container Volume Seen Topping 2006 Peak.
March 16, 2007... BYLINE: By Bill Mongelluzzo Cargo volumes are beginning to build again at U.S. container ports, and by July the monthly total should surpass volume that was handled during the height of the 2006 peak shipping season last October. ...

Weather Hinders Salvage of Msc Napoli.
March 16, 2007... Efforts to recover 1,350 below-deck containers from the grounded MSC Napoli have stopped because of poor weather conditions. Poor visibility in the waters off Devon, England, have left salvors unable to recover sunken containers. Reports...