Pacific Shipper articles from May 2005

Pacific Shipper archives from May 2005

Using Carrots As a Carrot.
May 6, 2005... Here's a statistic worthy of a moment's thought: For every container of refrigerated goods that enters the U.S. West Coast from Asia, there are four-and-a-half reefer containers going in the opposite direction on the trans-Pacific. Why do...

From Trans-Atlantic Maritime Conference:Shippers' Costs Increase As Service Declines.
May 6, 2005... BYLINE: Peter T. Leach Service by top-level ocean container carriers deteriorated in recent years even as shippers' costs have increased, the head of ocean transportation procurement for one of the largest global shippers said last week....

La-Long Beach Is Congestion-Free, So Far.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2005... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo With ship calls down in the first quarter this year and cargo volumes up slightly, the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex has been without congestion, according to the Marine Exchange of Southern California. ...

Royster to Head Port of Baltimore.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2005... Brooks Royster, recently chief executive and general manager for the Port of Miami Terminal Operating Co., was selected as executive director of the Maryland Port Administration, which runs the Port of Baltimore. Helen Delich Bentley,...

Gateway to China.
May 6, 2005... BYLINE: Stephanie Nall The logistics industry could be the key to putting the gold back into the Golden State, according to one Southern California economist. "I don't think people really appreciate the extra amount of blue-collar work...

Improving Trade Documentation.(influence of Modernization Act )
May 6, 2005... BYLINE: Rowena Gates U.S. importers operating in a new era of regulation and compliance face many documentation issues. More than 10 years ago, the Modernization Act made importers fully responsible for Customs compliance, although many...

White House Threatens Highway Bill Veto.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2005... BYLINE: Angela Greiling Keane President Bush threatened to veto the highway bill if Congress strays from his funding and financing guidelines. Bush said he would veto a bill that costs more than $284 billion over six years or one that...

Injunction on China Textile Safeguard Petitions Lifted.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2005... BYLINE: Angela Greiling Keane The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit lifted an injunction issued earlier by the U.S. Court of International Trade that prohibited the U.S. government from ruling on 12 threat-based China safeguard...

Panalpina Post-Beatson.
May 6, 2005... BYLINE: John Gallagher Panalpina's expansion drive in North America seems to have stalled, sending the company back to the basics. David Beatson, brought in less than two years ago to head the Switzerland-based logistics firm's North...

Customs Group Endorses Security and Trade Standards.(World Customs Organization)(standards for security and trade facilitation)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2005... A committee of senior customs administrators endorsed working documents that accompany the World Customs Organization's proposed standards for security and trade facilitation. The "high-level strategic group" that has been guiding the...

Oakland Container-Scanning System in Place.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2005... The Port of Oakland and Customs and Border Protection last month successfully demonstrated Custom's new container radiation-monitoring system at the port. The 25 portals at seven port terminals will screen all international container...

Dallas: a Portal for Asian Cargo?(Manzanillo port )
May 6, 2005... As shippers search for alternatives to shipping to and from the West Coast, Dallas has joined several cities in the South and Midwest that could become gateways for Asian cargo transshipped through Mexico and headed for the heartland and the...

Shanghai Joins Container Security Initiative.(Container Security Initiative (CSI))
May 6, 2005... The Chinese government has started to pre-screen cargo containers destined for U.S. ports before they leave Shanghai, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said. This step is part of the U.S.-led Container Security Initiative (CSI), which is...

Prince Rupert Port Project Gets Final Ok.
May 6, 2005... A new container port at Prince Rupert, British Columbia, received final approval April 29 from Maher Terminals Inc. and Canadian National Railway. The new 150-acre container terminal, with an initial capacity of 500,000 TEUs annually, will...

Cn Workers Ratify Contract.(Canadian National Railway)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2005... Canadian National Railway and its 2,600 conductors, yard-service workers and traffic coordinators have a three-year collective agreement retroactive to Jan.1, 2004, the company announced on April 29. CN said members of the United...

Cp Ships Has No Comment on Takeover Rumors.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2005... CP Ships Ltd. declined to comment on a report by a trade magazine that China Shipping Group is planning a hostile $1.2 billion takeover bid for the London-based container line. Shares in CP Ships Ltd. rose almost 5 percent on April 29 as...

Hanjin Profit Slides.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2005... Hanjin Shipping's first-quarter profit decreased 8.6 percent to 145.2 billion won ($145.6 million). Hanjin attributed the decline to the implementation of additional corporate tax that went into effect with the introduction of a Korean tonnage...

J.B. Hunt Begins $500 Million Share Buy-Back Program.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2005... J.B. Hunt Transport Services' board of directors has authorized a stock repurchase program of up to $500 million over five years. The company said the specific timing and the amount of each repurchase would vary "based on market...

Taiwan Ends Ban on Us Apples.
May 6, 2005... Taiwan's Council of Agriculture late last month ended a four-month ban on the import of U.S. apples that was imposed after coddling moth larvae were found in several shipments in 2004. The larvae were found in U.S. apple shipments from...

Up First-Quarter Revenue Is Up, But Profit Drops.
May 6, 2005... Union Pacific Corp., despite a nearly 9 percent increase in first-quarter revenue to $3.2 billion, saw its net income slide 22.4 percent during the period to $128 million. One factor in the drop was a 10.1 percent increase in operating...

Profit Increases at Norfolk Southern.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2005... BYLINE: Courtney Tower Norfolk Southern Corp. said first-quarter earnings increased 23 percent from the first quarter of 2004 on robust volume and strong revenue growth. Net income rose to $194 million from $158 million a year earlier....

C.H. Robinson Reports 44 Percent Growth in Profit.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2005... Logistics provider C.H. Robinson Worldwide soared past the billion-dollar mark in revenue in the first quarter, and posted a reported a 44 percent jump in net income to $41.7 million on strong demand across all of its business lines. The...

Bnsf Profit Jumps 66 Percent.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2005... Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. said its first-quarter profit rose sharply, aided by strong gains in revenue across all of its divisions. The nation's second-largest railroad company said quarterly income jumped 66.3 percent to $321...

Boeing Profit Declines 14 Percent.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2005... Boeing Co. reported a 14 percent drop in its first-quarter profit to $535 million as higher spending on deferred compensation and pension expenses offset gains in its military contracting and airplane manufacturing businesses. Despite a 17...

Cp Rail Has Record First Quarter.(Canadian Pacific Railway)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2005... BYLINE: Courtney Tower Canadian Pacific Railway reported its best first-quarter financial performance in its history, with net income of C$81 million ($65.5 million) and record freight volume. First-quarter net income of C$81 million...

India-Europe Rates Set to Rise Again.(The India Pakistan Bangladesh Ceylon Conference)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2005... BYLINE: N. Vasuki Rao A carrier group serving the India-Europe trade route will raise rates on east and westbound cargo, effective June 1. The India-Pakistan-Bangladesh-Ceylon Conference, or the IPBCC, said eastbound rates will...

Malaysia.(shipping industry)
May 6, 2005... BYLINE: Richard Knee The nation's trade deficit with Malaysia for January and February widened from the year-earlier gap, but the good news is that moving cargo to and from that country is getting faster and easier. Port development...

Bullish Growth Forecast for Trans-Atlantic.
May 6, 2005... BYLINE: Peter T. Leach Often dismissed as a mature market with flat-to-declining volume growth, the trans-Atlantic container trade is looking uncharacteristically perky lately. Although growth projections vary, the outlook is trending...

Eu Firm on Cargo Self-Handling.
May 6, 2005... BYLINE: Bruce Barnard The European Union will press ahead with controversial plans to allow ships' crews and nonunionized workers to load and unload cargoes despite the threat of mass strikes by longshoremen at the biggest ports handling...

Wto Rules Eu Sugar Subsidies Are Illegal.(World Trade Organization; European Union)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2005... The World Trade Organization on April 28 ruled that the European Union's subsidies to sugar producers are illegal. A WTO appeals body upheld a 2004 decision by a WTO panel that European sugar exporters are getting more in government...

Rails' Exit from Trailer Market Could Boost Shippers' Costs.
May 6, 2005... BYLINE: John Gallagher The rail industry's decision to exit the trailer market could leave thousands of trailers stranded, scaling back shippers' options during a busy period that could top last year's peak season. With capacity...

Border Delays Cost Billions.(Border delays )(planning of Canadian Pacific Railway)
May 6, 2005... BYLINE: Angela Greiling Keane Trucks idling at the Canadian border while waiting to cross Detroit's Ambassador Bridge aren't just wasting diesel -- they're burning dollars that could help fuel the U.S. economy. Border delays cost the...

FedEx Freight to Increase Rates.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2005... FedEx Freight will implement a 5.6 percent general rate increase, effective May 16. It will apply to interstate and intrastate traffic, and selected shipments between the U.S. and Mexico and Canada. Rates for other subsidiaries of FedEx Corp....

World Air Buys North American.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2005... World Air Holdings, the holding company that owns World Airways, bolstered its commercial and military businesses with the recent acquisition of North American Airlines for $35 million in cash. North American, a privately held airline based...

Cnf Names Stotlar Chief Executive.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2005... CNF named company veteran Douglas W. Stotlar president and chief executive, filling a long-vacant gap in its senior management by restructuring its leadership. Stotlar has been president and chief executive of Con-Way Transportation Services...

Hurst to Manage Tnt Logistics' Business Development.(TNT Logistics North America Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2005... TNT Logistics North America has appointed Cecil "Skip" Hurst manager of business development. He will be responsible for developing consumer-goods business for the third-party logistics provider and forwarder. With more than 20 years'...

San Diego Honors Officer.(Officer of the Year)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2005... San Diego Harbor Police Officer Randy Benton was presented with the San Diego Harbor Police "Officer of the Year" award. The award was presented to Benton on April 15 at a dinner sponsored by the San Diego Police Officers Association. Officer...

Amyuni to Head Carrier Transicold.(Brief Article)
May 6, 2005... Carrier Corp. has appointed Ted Amyuni president of Carrier Transicold, effective May 1. Amyuni will be based in Farmington, Conn. He succeeds Dick Laubenstein, who has decided to retire after more than 32 years of dedicated service with...

Mtc Employees Give to Tsunami Relief.(MTC Holdings )(Brief Article)
May 6, 2005... Employees of MTC Holdings contributed thousands of dollars to aid in the relief efforts for victims of the tsunami in Southeast Asia, and MTC Holdings matched the contributions. Although the disaster has faded from daily headlines, the...

Fraser River Port Elects Officers.(Fraser River Port Authority)(Brief Article)
May 6, 2005... At a regular meeting of the board of directors of the Fraser River Port Authority held on April 13, Malkiat Dhami was re-elected chairman and Kim Husband was elected vice chairman. Dhami is a real-estate agent with Regent Park Realty Inc....

Trolley Dodging and Tall Ships.
May 12, 2005... Here in Seattle where the summer nights remain light until upward of 10 p.m. and the salmon of choice is wild king, Maritime Day is a big deal. A city that grew up around a logging port about 150 years ago, Seattle's roots are firmly...

P&O Nedlloyd Oks Maersk Bid.
May 12, 2005... BYLINE: Bruce Barnard P&O Nedlloyd, the Anglo-Dutch ocean container shipping line, urged its shareholders May 10 to accept a $3 billion takeover offer by its larger Danish rival, Maersk Sealand, that will create a mega-carrier controlling...

PierPass Hires Executive.
May 12, 2005... PierPASS, the nonprofit company formed to manage the off-peak gate hours program for terminal operators at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach, named Thomas E. Stephenson as chief financial officer. PierPass in July will launch...

Ups Hub Plan Targets Heavy Freight.
May 12, 2005... United Parcel Service will spend $24 million to build five regional U.S. freight hubs and a large main hub in Louisville, Ky., as part of the expansion of its domestic airfreight business. The facilities, to open in 2006, will help form an...

Stonepath Logistics Moving to Seattle.
May 12, 2005... Stonepath Logistics International Services, a third-party logistics services provider, is moving its headquarters from Philadelphia to the Port of Seattle's World Trade Center. The company negotiated a seven-year lease with the port's...

Panama Canal Hikes Could Deter Traffic.
May 12, 2005... The Panama Canal could be in danger of solving its own congestion problems; its most recent rate hikes have prompted several liner operators to begin planning alternate all-water services between the United States and Asia. Peter Zantal,...

'Let's Talk!'.
May 12, 2005... BYLINE: Richard Knee It's said that having too many cooks spoils the broth. In California's seemingly eternal quest for a recipe to speed the flow of cargo containers, the cooks number in the scores, and the result is that the broth is...

The Solutions Are There, But the Money Is Not.
May 12, 2005... BYLINE: Richard Knee As suggestion after suggestion for fixing California's cargo-transportation system pours forth, there's a major piece of the equation that forever vexes everyone with a stake in the issue: finding the money. "We...

Southern California Container Volume Expected to Grow 9.9 Percent.
May 12, 2005... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo Container volume through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will increase 9.9 percent in 2005, further straining the physical capacity of the ports and the inland infrastructure, according to a report released...

First Us Beef Shipments to Taiwan Arrive Following End of Ban.
May 12, 2005... The first shipments of U.S. beef to reach Taiwan since late 2003 arrived in the belly of an Eva Air flight that touched down at Taipei's Chiang Kai Shek airport on last month. The beef, which quickly cleared customs and quarantine, was...

Nordana Expands in Med-Americas Trade.
May 12, 2005... Nordana Line said it would dramatically increase its cargo capacity in the Mediterranean-Americas trade with the addition of two roll-on, roll-off multipurpose vessels. The vessels, Marienborg and Charlottenborg, will enter the service in...

Appeals Court Reverses Hazmat Ban.
May 12, 2005... The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit this month overturned the Council of the District of Columbia's ban that tried to prohibit temporarily hazardous materials shipments that move within two miles of the nation's...

Senate Measure Proposes Rail Re-Regulation.
May 12, 2005... A bill proposing to re-regulate the railroad industry is back in the Senate after a two-year hiatus. The Railroad Comp-etition Act of 2005, S. 919, picks up where the Railroad Competition Act of 2003 left off. The bill proposes to...

Controlled Carrier List Updated.
May 12, 2005... The Federal Maritime Commission issued an updated list of ocean carriers that are considered state-controlled enterprises. Under the Shipping Act of 1984, controlled carriers are owned by a foreign government, or the government has a...

Warehouse Group to Manage Irta.
May 12, 2005... BYLINE: Benjamin Milk Every once in a while the planets seem to line up just right and we enjoy a rare chance to observe a significant but unplanned event. Such an event occurred last month when the board of the International Refrigerated...

Can Devices Raise a Container's Iq?
May 12, 2005... BYLINE: R.G. Edmonson In January 2002, Customs Commissioner Robert C. Bonner showed a small gizmo to an audience at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. It was an electronic container seal, Bonner said. It would alert...

C-Tpat Issues Need Clarification.
May 12, 2005... BYLINE: R.G. Edmonson Validation, verification and benefits of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism are issues that Customs and Border Protection should clarify, members of the Departmental Advisory Committee for Commercial...

Shippers Hit Federal Hazmat Rules.
May 12, 2005... BYLINE: John Gallagher Shippers and carriers fear new federal rules on hazardous-materials transportation will unleash a frenzy of state and local rule-making when they take effect on June 1. The rules also may spell higher costs for...

Customs Compliance Brings Unexpected Returns.
May 12, 2005... BYLINE: William Hoffman Shippers launching customs compliance initiatives are reporting some unexpected returns. Besides fewer customs errors, they're seeing faster transit times, lower transportation costs and smoother supply chains. ...

Fixing Trade Deficit a Difficult Balancing Act.
May 12, 2005... BYLINE: William Armbruster U.S. exports will have to grow at a rate 50 percent higher than imports just to prevent the U.S. current account deficit from getting even worse than it already is, said Michael Andrews, senior trade analyst with...

Business Group Says Dollar Is Not Weak.
May 12, 2005... The dollar is not weak, according to a business group called the Coalition for a Sound Dollar. Rather, the greenback is continuing the correction from its peak overvaluation in 2002, although it still has further to go, the group said. ...

Us-India Bilateral Pact Boosts Air Cargo.
May 12, 2005... BYLINE: Ian Putzger For shippers moving goods by air between India and the U.S., the door is wide open. India's Cabinet last month approved a bilateral aviation agreement that permits direct commercial flights between any Indian and...

Russia in Wto Next Year?
May 12, 2005... Russia has a window of opportunity in the next few months to secure entry to the World Trade Organization but must improve government coordination to do so, a senior European Union official said on May 9. EU Trade Commissioner Peter...

Eu President Ends Antitrust Oversight.
May 12, 2005... BYLINE: Bruce Barnard The president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, ended his oversight of maritime antitrust cases following revelations that he took a vacation on the luxury yacht of a Greek shipping magnate. The...

New Rotterdam Box Terminal Planned.
May 12, 2005... BYLINE: Bruce Barnard The Port of Rotterdam and European Container Terminals, its biggest terminal operator, early this month signed an agreement to build a $190 million container terminal with annual capacity of 880,000 TEUs to help keep...

India Boycott Targets Maersk Sealand and Safmarine.
May 12, 2005... BYLINE: N. Vasuki Rao Indian freight industry associations announced they would withdraw cargo support for the A.P. Moller group in a dispute over brokerage payments. The Freight Interest Forum (FIF), an umbrella body of 29 freight...

Volumes Down at Halifax Terminal.
May 12, 2005... BYLINE: Courtney Tower Halterm, one of the two container terminals at the Port of Halifax, Nova Scotia, this month reported first-quarter volume of 25,064 containers, down 13 percent from 28,835 containers a year ago. Earnings, before...

Expeditors' Income Increases.
May 12, 2005... Expeditors International of Washington, a global logistics company based in Seattle, reported another quarter with double-digit increases in revenue and profit. For the first quarter, the company posted a 20.2 percent increase in revenue...

Abx Air Reports Gains in Revenue and Income.
May 12, 2005... ABX Air Inc., a cargo airline that operates a fleet of 114 aircraft, mainly under two commercial agreements with DHL Express, reported gains in first-quarter revenue and earnings. Revenue was up 25.3 percent to $346.6 million, and net earnings...

Airline Cargo Gains Fail to Offset Passenger Losses.
May 12, 2005... BYLINE: Ed McKenna U.S. airlines' cargo divisions posted another strong quarter, but it was not enough to overcome continued losses in the passenger business. The nation's airlines reported more than $2 billion in red ink, excluding...

Up Plans $295 Million in Upgrades.
May 12, 2005... Union Pacific plans to spend $295 million to increase capacity on its Sunset Route in Arizona and in North Platte, Neb. The new investment also includes laying eight new sets of tracks -- two each in Texas and Utah and one each in Oklahoma,...

Western Rails Brace for Peak Season.
May 12, 2005... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo The western railroads are gearing up for the summer-fall peak-shipping season with operational changes they say will prevent congestion on their cross-country networks and at their intermodal transfer yards in...

Hard Times in Germany.
May 12, 2005... BYLINE: Richard Knee Germany's economy remains in a slump, but there's some good news. The Deutsche Welle news service said recently that unemployment has been in steady decline since peaking at nearly 5.22 million in February, dipping...

Fast Facts for Germany.
May 12, 2005... -- Area: 357,021 square kilometers. -- Population: 82,431,390 (July 2004 estimate.) -- Economic rank: Fifth largest in the world. -- Economic growth rate: Slowest among countries using the euro. -- Gross domestic product: $2.362 trillion (2004...

Port of Hamburg Developing Facilities, Efficiencies.
May 12, 2005... BYLINE: Stephanie Nall One of the grand old river ports in Europe is seeing a dramatic upsurge in volumes as it caters to booming new business in China. In 2004, the Port of Hamburg posted record container traffic with 7,003,479 TEUs...

Seattle and Tacoma Post Big First-Quarter Totals.
May 12, 2005... The beat goes on this year for the ports of Seattle and Tacoma. Their first-quarter TEU totals place each port into position to shatter container-volume records they set just last year. And if they sustain those numbers for the rest of the...

Corps Awards $8.7 Million Contract to Begin Dredging of Columbia River.
May 12, 2005... The Columbia River channel-deepening project is set to begin this summer following the May 5 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers award of an $8.7 million contract to Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Co. Deepening the channel to 43 feet from 40 feet --...

Canadian Auto Record Set at Fraser River.
May 12, 2005... Fraser Wharves Ltd. set a new record at Fraser River Port for the greatest number of vehicles discharged from a single ship, when the Cougar Ace delivered 5,214 automobiles May 4. The cars -- Mazda, Toyota, Lexus and Mitsubishi automobiles...

Epa Honors Port of Long Beach.
May 12, 2005... The Port of Long Beach has been named by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as one of the region's outstanding environmental advocates. "The EPA applauds the outstanding achievements of these environmental heroes," said EPA Region 9...

Irta Honors Retamal.
May 12, 2005... The International Refrigerated Transportation Association recognized Sergio Retamal, international director of Cost Plus World Market, as its executive of the year. Retamal was given the award during IRTA's annual convention earlier this month....

Long Beach Hires Morris.
May 12, 2005... The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners has named Heather C. Morris, former city of Irvine public information officer, the Port of Long Beach's director of communications. She succeeds Yvonne Smith who retired in December. As...

Cp Ships to Appoint Rich Chairman.
May 12, 2005... The board of CP Ships Ltd. plans to appoint Nigel Rich as non-executive chairman. Ray Miles will continue to exercise overall executive responsibility as acting chief executive until the appointment of a new company head. Rich has been a...

Kayden Howard Joins Kansas City Southern.
May 12, 2005... Kansas City Southern appointed Kayden Howard associate general counsel with a focus on labor and employment. Howard joins the railroad from Shook, Hardy & Bacon, where she specialized in employment litigation for the past two years. She...

Hawley Tapped for Tsa Post.
May 12, 2005... President Bush intends to nominate Edmund "Kip" Hawley to be the next administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, according to a White House statement. The California businessman and former Reagan administration official...