Pacific Shipper articles from October 2007

Pacific Shipper archives from October 2007

Terminal dreams.
October 1, 2007... Details about the Port of Tacoma's terminal development plans on the east side of the Blair Waterway are trickling in, and they add up to a flood of some very big bucks. More than one-half billion of them. It's easy to become a bit blase...

Fatal accident creates Oakland backlog.
October 1, 2007... Terminal operators and trucking companies said it would take about a week to eliminate a backlog of containers at the Port of Oakland after the port was shut down for a day last week as the result of a fatal accident. Port terminals were...

Bay Area exports up.
October 1, 2007... Bay Area ports saw their export values increase in the second quarter, up 7.6 percent from second-quarter 2006 values, according to a study by the World Institute of Economic Research from U.S. Census state data. Research was conducted on the...

Truck crisis looms for Southern California ports.
October 1, 2007... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo The Clean Trucks Program proposed by the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, compounded by an expected loss of drivers because of new federal port security restrictions, could send harbor trucking in Southern...

Retailers prepare for slow peak.
October 1, 2007... The National Retail Federation predicts sales will rise 4 percent this year during the holiday season. The retail trade association forecasts volume of $474.5 billion in most traditional retail categories in November and December. The 2007...

China drives Asia's ports.
October 1, 2007... BYLINE: Richard Knee and Bill Mongelluzzo Singapore was the world's busiest container port in 2006, but Shanghai is fast approaching. In fact, according to one of Hanjin Shipping Co.'s terminal development specialists, Asia's 10...

Doha progress seen.
October 1, 2007... Optimism for a global trade agreement grew last week after the presidents of the U.S. and Brazil announced their flexibility on farm subsidies and import tariffs. "We had a good discussion on Doha, a shared commitment to a successful round...

Ahern says border delays require joint effort.
October 1, 2007... Traffic is increasingly backing up at U.S. land border crossings, but Customs and Border Protection shouldn't be blamed for causing the delays, Jay Ahern, Customs deputy commissioner, told members of the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders...

Import bill raises broker concerns.
October 1, 2007... A bill filed in the House would impose user fees on food and drug imports to bolster the Food and Drug Administration's flagging efforts to monitor import safety. The Food and Drug Import Safety Act of 2007 is sponsored by Rep. John...

Maersk Line expects 'satisfying' profit in 2009.
October 1, 2007... Maersk Line, the world's largest container carrier, will return to 'satisfying' profitability levels in 2009, division manager Eivind Kolding told Danish daily Berlingske Business. "We expect a small profit in 2007, further improvements in...

Maritime interests want Exxon Valdez decision overturned.
October 1, 2007... BYLINE: R.G. Edmonson Maritime interests including individual carriers and trade associations filed 12 friends-of-the-court briefs asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case that stems from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. According...

Security administration publishes specs for TWIC reader implementation.
October 1, 2007... The Transportation Security Administration and Coast Guard have published technical specifications for the electronic device that will read data encoded on the Transportation Worker Identification Credential. The readers of the biometric...

DHS gets failing grades.
October 1, 2007... A four-year report card on the Department of Homeland Security shows that the DHS has failed to complete major projects, programs and plans that are needed to protect the nation, said Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, D-Miss. "All in all, (the...

Rail service faulted.
October 1, 2007... BYLINE: John D. Boyd Survey: Insufficient investment the heart of the problem This is an exciting time for rail freight shippers who see potential help coming but still say they have plenty of concerns about service and capacity....

Concor forms logistics venture.
October 1, 2007... Reliance Logistics, part of India's leading private-sector conglomerate Reliance Group, announced it has formed a joint venture with state-owned Container Corp. of India to offer logistics solutions to its customers. The venture, Infinite...

APM to expand Suez terminal.
October 1, 2007... The marine terminal operating arm of A.P. Moller-Maersk, APM Terminals, announced it signed an agreement with the Egyptian government to build and operate Phase 2 of the Suez Canal Container Terminal. The project will double the terminal's...

NYK unit adds China flights.
October 1, 2007... Japan's Nippon Cargo Airlines Co. has added more regular flights to its Chinese routes to meet growing cargo demand. The airline is a subsidiary of Japan's largest shipping line, NYK, and the country's only all-freighter operator. On...

Panama Canal seeks financing for expansion plans.
October 1, 2007... Panama Canal Authority officials hope to raise funds to finance the waterway's nearly $5.3 billion expansion program, visited by several world financial centers last week. Alberto Aleman Zubieta, administrator and chief executive of the...

Cathay nixes China air deal.
October 1, 2007... Cathay Pacific Airways said a prospective partnership with the parent of Air China to buy a stake in rival China Eastern will not go forward. Cathay, the third-largest Asia carrier, had hoped to team up with China National Aviation Holding...

Seattle sees August peak; box volume grows at Portland.
October 1, 2007... While other ports struggle to find peak-season volumes, the Port of Seattle's best month of the year arrived in August, right on schedule. The port moved 188,476 20-foot containers, nearly identical to the 188,217 TEUs it handled in August...

Breakbulk exports up at Port of Tacoma.
October 1, 2007...   Wire rod volumes through Tacoma have increased 50 percent this year. While containerized imports through the Port of Tacoma and other U.S. ports have generally declined this year, Tacoma officials say a steady stream of...

West Coast imports weaken.
October 1, 2007... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo Container volumes at most West Coast ports dropped inexplicably in August, casting doubt on earlier projections for a strong peak shipping season. Containerized imports in Los Angeles decreased 7.7 percent compared...

Tacoma port to issue bonds for terminal projects.
October 1, 2007... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto   Tacoma will spend about $411 million for the NYK terminal and to move and inlarge the TOTE terminal. The Port of Tacoma plans to issue $230 million in variable rate revenue bonds over the July 2010-13...

Refrigerated warehouses facing DHS ammonia controls.
October 1, 2007... BYLINE: R.G. Edmonson   Cold-Chain officials hope for changes to pending chemical safety and security rules. James Marrella, coordinator of OSHA and EPA compliance and training, is collecting the latitude and longitude for...

'Big Green' welcomed in LA.
October 1, 2007...   Bill Leahy, Mattel Inc., and Tonnie White, China Shipping aboard the Xin Ya Zhou. The Xin Ya Zhou, an 8,500-TEU vessel, was honored during its maiden voyage to the Port of Los Angeles last month. While a number of vessels in the...

Long Beach appoints Cottrill director of master planning.
October 1, 2007... The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners has named port planning veteran Larry Cottrill director of the newly created Division of Master Planning at the port. Cottrill, who has more than 20 years of experience in long-range...

Intermodal Institute names four new board members.
October 1, 2007... The Intermodal Transportation Institute (ITI) at the University of Denver has elected four new transportation industry leaders to its board of directors. All will serve three-year terms. Elected to the ITI board, which consists of more than...

Green theater.
October 8, 2007... Political theater is one of my favorite forms of entertainment, and I just spent an enjoyable hour on a call-in press conference.  The state of California and environmental groups Oceana, Friends of the Earth and the Center for Biological...

Port users fear slowing of port terminal upgrades.
October 8, 2007... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo     The three-year buying  binge of U.S. port facilities appears to be winding down, but now the companies that paid substantial premiums to purchase marine terminals must make these...

Chertoff criticized over TWIC delays.
October 8, 2007... The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee last week blasted Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff for chronic delays in the Transportation Worker Identification Credential program. "Your department's failure to implement...

Panama Canal sets ship transit records.
October 8, 2007... The Panama Canal set several records in September, including transit by the most Panamax ships in one day, passage by the most tonnage in one year and in one day. The waterway tied its record for the transit of "super" vessels, or ships...

Weber Distribution acquires refrigerated trailers.
October 8, 2007... Weber Distribution has acquired 150 new refrigerated trailers to support its growing temperature-controlled less-than-truckload business on the West Coast. The Los Angeles-based provider said the acquisition includes 53-foot Great Dane...

TOTE, Tacoma revise port terminal lease.
October 8, 2007... The Port of Tacoma Commission has approved a restated lease with Totem Ocean Trailer Express Inc. that calls for a redeveloped Blair Waterway terminal for TOTE's Alaska cargo business. Under the lease, which runs through 2034, the port will...

Squeeze play.
October 8, 2007...     The downturn in the U.S. economy has been well-documented, consumer demand has softened, and, after seemingly endless growth, the major West Coast ports saw cargo volume decline in August. So why are some shippers...

Asian economies weathering US housing downturn.
October 8, 2007... BYLINE: Alan M. Field     Although financial markets trembled at last summer's subprime mortgage crisis, East Asia's economies emerged largely unscathed. Only in the case of Japan have economic growth forecasts been lowered,...

Steel imports up 29 percent.
October 8, 2007...    Steel imports increased 29 percent in August to 2.98 million metric tons, up from 2.32 million metric tons in July, according to Department of Commerce preliminary data. Imports of hot-rolled steel -- used most frequently...

Court stays decision on truckers' driving hours.
October 8, 2007... The Department of Transportation has until Dec. 27 to revise its truck driver hours-of-service regulations under a 90-day stay granted by a federal appeals court. The court's stay delays implementation of its earlier decision striking the...

Rails speed westbound intermodal.
October 8, 2007... Union Pacific Railroad and Norfolk Southern have announced new westbound intermodal train service that will shorten by a day the trip for standard intermodal freight from the Southeast to Los Angeles. The eastbound service was launched in...

Logistics assets set sail.(Company overview)
October 8, 2007... BYLINE: Paul Page   Horizon is expanding into logistics services. When Horizon Lines recently carved out its nascent logistics operation into a separate business division, the ocean container line set sail into waters that...

Cold chain snag.
October 8, 2007... BYLINE: R.G. Edmonson     Was this a crackdown or not? A few weeks ago, refrigerated warehouses began noticing that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service was less willing to cut corners on...

Nehru port to simplify container documentation.
October 8, 2007... India's Ministry of Commerce, under pressure from the trade, has formed a committee to formulate more simplified documentation procedures for import and export traffic moving through the Port of Jawaharlal Nehru, the country's busiest container...

DP World seeks cut in free time at Nehru.
October 8, 2007... DP World, the private terminal operator at India's busiest Port of Jawaharlal Nehru, is seeking to reduce free storage time for inland and transshipment containers in a bid to ease congestion at its terminal. The move comes after the...

India's trade deficit widens.
October 8, 2007... India's trade deficit expanded to nearly $6.9 billion in August, compared with about $4.1 billion a year ago, the Ministry of Commerce said in a provisional report. In the April-August period, the first five months of the current fiscal...

India ship lines set westbound rate hike.
October 8, 2007... Member lines of the India-Pakistan-Bangladesh-Ceylon Conferences plan to implement a rate increase in the westbound trade. Effective Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, cargo shipped from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the U.K., North...

NYK opens China warehouse for Yamaha car parts.
October 8, 2007... NYK Line, Japan's largest shipping line, has opened a new warehouse in a Shanghai suburb exclusively to store spare parts for Japanese automobile and motorcycle maker Yamaha Motor Co. Shanghai Northwest Logistics Center, operated by NYK...

China Shipping enters Japanese logistics joint venture.
October 8, 2007... Nippon Express Co., Japan's largest forwarder, has set up a joint venture logistics company with China Shipping Japan Co., China Shipping's Japanese subsidiary. The 50-50 venture, CNJWorld Logistics Co., is based in Tokyo and capitalized...

Japan trade surplus with US widens in August.
October 8, 2007... Japan's merchandise trade surplus with the U.S. was 719.2 billion yen ($6.2 billion) in August, a 15 percent increase over the same month in 2006, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report. Exports to the U.S. increased 4.6...

Panama Canal seeks bids.
October 8, 2007... The Panama Canal Authority issued a request for proposals for the second dry excavation project for its expansion program. The contract is for the second of five excavation projects to create the new Pacific locks access channel. The...

APM opens Guangzhou hub.
October 8, 2007... The terminal operating unit of A.P. Moller-Maersk, APM Terminals, opened a new container terminal at China's Port of Guangzhou. The Guangzhou South China Oceangate Container Terminal is located at Nansha Phase 2 at the mouth of the Pearl...

US approves new China flights.
October 8, 2007... The Department of Transportation has approved six new flights between the U.S. and China, under an aviation agreement signed earlier this year. Delta Airlines was awarded a direct route from Atlanta to Shanghai, making it the first carrier...

UPS, Teamsters reach agreement.
October 8, 2007... The International Brotherhood of Teamsters and UPS have reached a tentative agreement on a five-year contract covering 240,000 parcel workers at the company. The pact came 10 months before the expiration of the existing contract and if...

Airfreight increased 6 percent in August.
October 8, 2007... Global airfreight traffic jumped 6 percent in August, the strongest growth in 16 months, with sharp gains in Asia and Europe leading an accelerating recovery in air shipping. International air cargo in the Asia-Pacific region grew 8.5...

Rail traffic improves.
October 8, 2007... Freight traffic on U.S. railroads increased in week 38 from the same week in 2006, the Association of American Railroads reported. In the week that ended on Sept. 22, the AAR estimated total volume at 35.5 billion ton-miles, up 1.4 percent from...

Northern Africa's gold: Oil.
October 8, 2007... BYLINE: Richard Knee    The United States has relatively little merchandise trade with Africa's northern-most countries, and veteran shipping executive Peter Schauer thinks that's a big mistake. The dollar's continuing...

Transportation industry, shippers seek FMC review of truck plan.
October 8, 2007... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo   The counterattack to the clean-truck program is rolling. The first legal shots in the war over the controversial clean-trucks program in Los Angeles-Long Beach were fired in late September, with the...

Inland jams prompt shippers to switch to all-water service.
October 8, 2007... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo   Container volume increased 30.1 percent during August at the Port of Savannah. As the nation's port and inland transportation infrastructure approaches capacity, shippers are making operational changes...

Hawkins appointed to Prince Rupert port board.
October 8, 2007... Kerry L. Hawkins, former president of Cargill Ltd., one of the owners of Prince Rupert Grain, has been appointed to the Prince Rupert Port Authority board of directors by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. ...

Cal-Asia group to honor Chen.
October 8, 2007... The nonprofit California-Asia Business Council (Cal-Asia) will present its 2007 New Silk Road Award to John S. Chen, chairman, chief executive and president of Dublin, Calif.-based Sybase Inc., at its annual "Asia Night" dinner and networking...

Long Beach promotes Cameron.
October 8, 2007... The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners has selected Rick Cameron, the port's manager of environmental planning, to head the newly created Division of Environmental Planning at the port. Cameron has more than 11 years of experience in...

This just in...
October 22, 2007... One good test of whether Pacific Shipper is covering timely news comes on Wednesday morning. If I hear about a development that affects one of the stories just carefully sent on its way to the printers, then I feel confident that we're on the...

CN opens intermodal yard in British Columbia.
October 22, 2007... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto Canadian National Railway last week began operations at its  intermodal and distribution terminal in Prince George, British Columbia. The facility is planned as a key cog for backhaul traffic destined for...

Double throughput or suffer, US ports told.
October 22, 2007... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo If the U.S. container trade continues to increase about 7.5 percent per year, three-quarters of the country's major ports will experience significant capacity problems by 2010, according to a marine architect who...

TWIC enrollment begins.
October 22, 2007... BYLINE: Joseph Bonney The Transportation Security Administration began enrolling workers at the Port of Wilmington, Del., in the Transportation Worker Identification Credential, the long-delayed biometric security card program that...

Circling the ports.
October 22, 2007... BYLINE: Paul T. Rosynsky     For the last decade, California's Inland Empire has been a gold mine for businesses that build and lease warehouse and distribution centers. With its vast tracts of open land, a ready...

ProLogis sees continued port-related growth.
October 22, 2007... BYLINE: Peter T. Leach ProLogis, the Denver-based developer of industrial real estate, believes the global market for its operations is growing so fast that the real estate assets under its management will more than double by 2010 to $60...

Distribution Center projects under way near the Southern California ports include:.
October 22, 2007... Allen Group:  * MidState 99 Distribution Center, Visalia. Majestic Realty: * Fairway Business Park, City of Industry. * Fontana Commerce Center, Fontana. * Majestic Freeway Business Center, Perris. Hillwood: * Alliance...

Trade wants Customs to answer 10+2 questions.
October 22, 2007... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo The trade community is prepared to comply with Customs and Border Protection's "10+2" security program, but wants the agency to answer some troubling questions as it prepares to release the final draft of the...

APL box revenue up 10 percent as volume grows.
October 22, 2007... Neptune Orient Lines said its average revenue per 40-foot container increased 10 percent in the four-week period from Aug. 25 to Sept. 21 compared to the same period in 2006, as liner volumes rose 15 percent. Year-to-date, average revenue...

Maersk to boost eastbound Mediterranean trade rates.
October 22, 2007... Maersk Line will implement a general rate increase next month in the eastbound Mediterranean trade from the East Coast and Gulf ports of North America to Mediterranean ports. The carrier will request increases of $400 per 20-foot container...

Driving into China.(Company overview)
October 22, 2007... BYLINE: John Gallagher A flurry of acquisitions in China over the last year is extending highways halfway around the world for trucking companies looking to capture more freight sooner and get a broader view of their customers' supply...

Surge in exports crunches capacity.
October 22, 2007... BYLINE: William Armbruster   The surge in exports coupled with tight vessel capacity is creating problems for shippers. A year ago, exporters could call an ocean carrier on a Tuesday to book a container for a Friday sailing....

Cargo security gets a new look.
October 22, 2007... BYLINE: Ari Natter   The trick is to fashion a cargo security system that does not unduly interfere with commmerce. Addressing a group of logistics managers, truck drivers and others whose work revolves around the Port of...

Congress mounts move to pry agriculture inspections from Customs.
October 22, 2007... BYLINE: R.G. Edmonson    In April 2004, a Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialist in the mail center at the San Francisco International Airport opened a package marked "books and chocolates" and found tree...

Agencies join to improve Southern California goods movement.
October 22, 2007... BYLINE: R.G. Edmonson Nineteen California, U.S., and local governmental agencies have signed an agreement establishing a cooperative council to improve transportation infrastructure and environmental quality in Southern California. ...

NOAA chooses Seattle to moor its ships.
October 22, 2007...   NOAA vessels will dock at Seattle's cruise terminal during the cruise off-season. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will moor vessels at the Port of Seattle this winter.  The ships will dock at the port's...

Shippers want changes in delayed truck program.
October 22, 2007... BYLINE: Stephanie Nall and Bill Mongelluzzo The Clean Trucks Plan is the biggest component in the plan of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to clean the air in terms of removing emissions and in terms of costs. It is also the most...

Tough call.
October 29, 2007... Voters in the urban areas of Washington's King, Pierce and Snohomish counties -- Seattle, Tacoma and Everett -- are being propositioned. Proposition 1 is a glorious hodgepodge mess of a transportation proposal that has split the community and...

Seattle port completes bridge linking two terminals.
October 29, 2007... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto The Port of Seattle has completed the construction of a concrete bridge that links Terminals 25 and 30, making the site a contiguous 70-acre container terminal. SSA Marine leases the facilities for Matson...

Maersk sticking with its intermodal service.
October 29, 2007... Maersk Line says reorganization of its inland intermodal network has worked well and that the company has no plans to reverse course. "At this point, there is no intention to reopen service to rail hubs closed earlier in the year," Maersk...

Federal mediators enter Canada port labor talks.
October 29, 2007... BYLINE: Courtney Tower Two Canadian government conciliation officers last week began attempting to break a stalemate in contract negotiations between dockworkers at Canada's west coast ports and the British Columbia Maritime Employers'...

DP World plots $3.5 billion IPO.
October 29, 2007... BYLINE: Bruce Barnard Dubai-based DP World, the global container terminal operator, has unveiled plans to sell 20 percent of its shares in November in the Middle East's biggest initial public offering. The sale, on the Dubai...

Southern California wildfires disrupt transport.
October 29, 2007... Wildfires throughout Southern California caused the intermittent closing of the BNSF Railway's main transcontinental line last week from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to the Midwest and East Coast. Two wildfires forced three line...

Industry 'steels' itself for protectionism.
October 29, 2007... BYLINE: David Biederman     As global steel trading patterns ebb and flow, steel is once again at the center of a heated debate about free trade. For U.S. manufacturers and ports that rely heavily on steel imports, the...

Lawmaker drafts national cargo fee.
October 29, 2007... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo Freight interests in California have grown used to warding off attempts by state politicians and port executives to tax cargo flowing through Los Angeles and Long Beach, but when a congressional representative...