Pacific Shipper articles from September 2005

Pacific Shipper archives from September 2005

The Need to Rebuild.
September 2, 2005... One of the things I like best about my job is the expertise of the people I work with. I don't need to pretend to be an expert on every topic, because we have people in the company I can turn to for help. If I need to know anything about...

Wto Says Us Duties on Canada Lumber Can Stay.
September 2, 2005... The World Trade Organization has ruled that U.S. duties on Canadian softwood lumber are legal, according to U.S. industry representatives. The WTO ruling contradicts findings from a North American Free Trade Agreement panel. "This is...

Containers Up 5.4 Percent at Vancouver, British Columbia.
September 2, 2005... The Port of Vancouver, British Columbia, reported modest gains in container volume through the first six months of the year. Containers moving through the port increased 5.4 percent to 853,238 TEUs, compared to the same period in 2004....

Tacoma Rail to Receive $2.4 Million for Rail Upgrade.
September 2, 2005... The short-line railroad Tacoma Rail will receive $2.4 million in federal grants to improve its railroad tracks, enabling manufacturing companies to move heavier loads and get them to market faster. The Federal Railroad Administration...

Yang Ming, Evergreen to Launch New Asia Box Service.
September 2, 2005... Yang Ming and Evergreen will begin a new container service this month in Asia, linking Japan, Taiwan and Vietnam. Yang Ming officials said the company decided to launch the latest joint service, known as "JHX," to provide customers with...

Down from the Peak: Supply and Demand Roil Steel and Forest Products Markets.
September 2, 2005... BYLINE: Alan M. Field and Bill DiBenedetto Although steeped in ancient tradition, breakbulk trade is subject to the same vagaries of modern global trade patterns and fluctuations as that of containerized cargo. Possibly even more so if...

Critics Say New Rules Will End Ship Loans.
September 2, 2005... BYLINE: R.G. Edmonson The U.S. shipping industry has blistered the Maritime Administration for proposed rule changes that many believe will finally kill the ailing Title XI vessel loan-guarantee program. The proposal for Title XI...

Eu May Scrap 'self-Handling' Cargo Provision.
September 2, 2005... BYLINE: Bruce Barnard The European Union is under renewed pressure to scrap radical proposals to allow ships' crews to load and unload cargoes, including containers, to win lawmakers' support for a controversial plan to reform port...

China, Eu Begin Textile Talks.
September 2, 2005... The European Union and China opened talks in Beijing on Aug. 25 to resolve a trade dispute that has blocked Chinese-made apparel shipments that have surpassed import quotas. Retailers eyeing the coming winter retail season have pressured...

PierPass Survey Says off-Peak Shifts As Efficient As Daytime Shifts.
September 2, 2005... Operations within terminals during new off-peak shifts at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are as efficient as daytime shifts, a recent survey by PierPass Inc. showed. Trucks arriving to pick up or drop off containers during off-peak...

Hub in New $45 Million Stock Buy-Back Program.
September 2, 2005... Hub Group, a non-asset-based transportation and logistics company, announced last month that its board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to $45 million of its Class A common stock. The authorization expires on Dec. 31, 2006, Hub...

Canada May Impose Tariffs on Us Goods.
September 2, 2005... Canada may impose retaliatory tariffs on some U.S. goods because of Washington's decision to ignore a recent North American Free Trade Agreement ruling in the long-running softwood trade dispute, said David Emerson, industry minister. ...

Us Wins Ruling on Mexican Sugar Tax.
September 2, 2005... In a decision that could cost Mexico jobs and spark political turmoil, the World Trade Organization has ruled against a Mexican tax designed to protect Mexican sugar producers against imports of cheap U.S. corn sweeteners. Although the WTO...

Union Pacific Opens New Terminal in Dallas.
September 2, 2005... Union Pacific Railroad opened a $100 million international intermodal terminal last week that is expected to significantly boost Asian imports through the Dallas area. The Dallas Intermodal Terminal could eventually handle 365,000...

Soaring Diesel Price Idles California Truckers.
September 2, 2005... Diesel prices hitting $3.15 per gallon in San Francisco are forcing California truckers off the highway because they cannot compete with out-of-state truckers using less-expensive fuel, according to the California Trucking Association. ...

Short-Line Rails' Freight Up 9.2 Percent in Second Quarter.
September 2, 2005... Freight moving on U.S. short-line railroads increased 9.2 percent in the second quarter compared to the same period last year, an indication that the nation's smaller railroads are providing strong service. "Our data underlines the fact...

Deadline Is Extended for Hong Kong Box-Security Test.
September 2, 2005... BYLINE: R.G. Edmonson A closely watched private venture in supply-chain security will continue at two Hong Kong container terminals for at least another month. The Intermodal Container Inspection System, developed by San Diego-based...

'K' Line Offers New Supply-Chain System.
September 2, 2005... 'K' Line introduced a new supply-chain management system that will provide shippers with visibility for their shipments from containers down to the product code (SKU) level. Known as Visibility Management System, the Web-based program will...

Security Test Conducted at Baltimore.
September 2, 2005... The Transportation Security Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard planned a port-security exercise last week in Baltimore to evaluate preparedness, prevention and the ability to respond to and recover from a terrorist-related incident. ...

Oakland to Test Extended Gate Hours.
September 2, 2005... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo The Port of Oakland is testing extended gate hours at one of the eight international container terminals in the harbor. The trial project will run for two to three months beginning on Sept. 6. The terminal...

Vancouver Adds Intermodal Capacity.
September 2, 2005... BYLINE: Courtney Tower Marine terminals and railroads serving the Port of Vancouver are revising plans to add even more intermodal capacity for the upcoming peak shipping season. Canadian National Railway was scheduled to begin adding...

Wal-Mart Plans California Distribution Center.
September 2, 2005... Wal-Mart expects to break ground on a new regional distribution center employing 600 people at Merced, Calif., in 2007 with service to stores beginning in 2008. The planned facility will be served by Wal-Mart's truck fleet, which is...

Cleaner-Burning Locomotives Coming to Southern California.
September 2, 2005... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have reached a tentative agreement with Pacific Harbor Line to replace the harbor railroad's locomotives with 18 low-emission diesel and alternative-fuel locomotives. Union...

There's Lots of Trade with The Mideast.
September 2, 2005... BYLINE: Richard Knee If you have the capital and the business and cultural savvy, the Middle East offers plenty of export and import opportunities. The region is hungry for fresh and frozen foods, raw materials, machinery, building...

Project Cargo: Blowing in the Wind.
September 2, 2005... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto The development and construction of two major wind farms in the Northwest region has given two Columbia River ports a big boost this year. The heavy-lift cargo, which comes in huge sections -- including...

Breakbulk Sets Sail from Prince Rupert.
September 2, 2005... Breakbulk shipments from the Port of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, rose to 75,705 metric tons during the second quarter of this year, a 58 percent increase over the same three-month period in 2004. Breakbulk commodities handled in 2005...

Breakbulk Snapshots at West Coast Ports:.
September 2, 2005... San Diego -- Breakbulk volumes handled at the Port of San Diego in July almost quadrupled from July 2004. In July, the port moved a total of 43,575 metric tons of breakbulk cargo, up 395 percent from the 11,028 tons recorded in July 2004....

Steel Shipments Continue to Fuel San Francisco.
September 2, 2005... During the last week of August, a steel shipment that was shipped through the Port of San Francisco had an unusual destination -- the Port of Oakland, its neighbor across the bay. The steel sheet piling was brought in by Skyline Steel LLC,...

Breakbulk a Bright Spot for Port of Portland.
September 2, 2005... Except for three cargo categories -- breakbulk, mineral bulk and autos -- the Port of Portland's downward spiral this year continued unabated through July, according to statistics released by the port. The most glaring negative number for...

Shapiro Celebrates 90th Anniversary.
September 2, 2005... Samuel Shapiro & Co. celebrated its 90th birthday on Aug. 10 in the call room of the Customs House in Baltimore, the same room where Samuel Shapiro started the international freight-forwarding business with a $5 roll-top desk and a quill pen....

Shaq Stumps for Port Police Recruits.
September 2, 2005... With the help of its largest supporter (literally), the Port of Los Angeles last month initiated a new public service announcement campaign encouraging capable men and women to consider a career in law enforcement with the Los Angeles Port...

Thailand Invites Intermodal Expert.
September 2, 2005... The National Economic and Social Development Board of Thailand has asked Gil Carmichael, senior chairman of the Intermodal Transportation Institute at the University of Denver, to visit Bangkok to address a group of economic leaders on the...

Airlines Join Air-Cargo Project.
September 2, 2005... Air New Zealand Cargo, Gulf Air and South African Airways Cargo have formed a working group helping to develop a new air-cargo and logistics-management system. iCargo is a multimillion-dollar initiative set up in 2002 by IBS Software...

Fuel Charge Unchanged for Ussec.
September 2, 2005... The United States South Europe Conference will extend its bunker adjustment factor, unchanged, through October. The charges are $323 per 20-foot and $646 per 40-foot container. All other cargo is charged at 27 percent. The lines'...

Shenzhen Gets Equipment.
September 2, 2005... Shenzhen's Yantian International Container Terminal Ltd. has received 15 Fantuzzi empty container handlers, part of a larger order that will bring the Chinese port's fleet to 99 machines. The delivery is the first of an order for 24...

Pittsburgh Port to Host Inlandwaterways Conference.
September 2, 2005... Pittsburgh in October will host the first SmartRiver 21 International Symposium, a global conference examining best practices in inland waterway navigation. According to James McCarville, executive director of the Port of Pittsburgh...

Counterfeit Apparel Sent to Storm Refugees.
September 9, 2005... Customs and Border Protection rounded up a convoy of trucks to deliver about 100,000 pieces of seized clothing to the Astrodome as part of the agency's effort to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The children's, women's and men's...

Diesel Prices Skyrocket.
September 9, 2005... Diesel prices soared to new highs, as the impact of Hurricane Katrina reverberates throughout the transportation industry and the overall economy. For the week ending Sept. 5, the Energy Information Administration said prices soared to...

Schneider Makes 'atypical' Fuel Deliveries.
September 9, 2005... BYLINE: Bill Carey Truckload carrier Schneider National said it has been asked by federal agencies to make "atypical" bulk fuel deliveries as part of the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. Three Schneider bulk tanker trucks were part of...

Boeing Freezes Production During Work Stoppage.
September 9, 2005... Airbus could grab a larger chunk of the commercial aircraft market after rival Boeing shut down production lines in Seattle shortly after machinists and aerospace workers went on strike at assembly plants in Portland, Ore., and Wichita, Kan....

Bnsf Gives $1 Million to Hurricane Victims.
September 9, 2005... BNSF Railway has donated $1 million to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina, and the cash gift was accompanied by an offer to the governors of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama to provide railroad transportation in support of hurricane relief and...

Horizon Files Ipo Registration.
September 9, 2005... BYLINE: Peter T. Leach Horizon Lines on Sept. 7 filed the registration for its initial public offering of 50.6 percent of its outstanding stock with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The IPO, which is expected to be completed by...

Hong Kong Tries to Bridge the Gap with Growing Rivals.
September 9, 2005... BYLINE: Allison Bate It's never easy when competition comes snapping at your heels. Just ask the Port of Hong Kong. Singapore is likely to overtake Hong Kong as the world's busiest container port this year, Shanghai is booming while...

Hong Kong 2004 Trade with the World.
September 9, 2005... * Domestic exports: $16.2 billion * Re-exports: $243 billion * Total imports: $271 billion * Total trade: $530 billion * Major export markets: mainland China, the U.S., the EU and Japan *All $ are U.S. Sources: Trade...

Hong Kong Trade with China, 2004.
September 9, 2005... * Hong Kong is mainland China's third-largest trading partner, after the U.S. and Japan, accounting for 9.8 percent of its total trade. * If re-exports to and from mainland China are included, about 22 percent of the mainland's foreign...

Hong Kong Trade with the U.S., 2004.
September 9, 2005... * The U.S. is the largest market for Hong Kong's domestic exports, accounting for US$5 billion or 31 percent of the total value in 2004. * Main exports to the U.S. include clothes, telecommunications equipment, electrical machinery,...

Federal Rules Eased in Katrina Aftermath.
September 9, 2005... In response to Hurricane Katrina, a handful of federal regulations have been temporarily lifted to speed recovery efforts. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration temporarily lifted hours-of-service restrictions on drivers providing...

Fmc Asks Shippers About Nvo Contracts.
September 9, 2005... BYLINE: Angela Greiling Keane The Federal Maritime Commission wants insight from shippers as it rewrites rules on non-vessel-operating common carrier confidential service contracting. The FMC published a list of 15 questions in the Federal...

Truckers Warm to PierPass But Some Problems Persist.
September 9, 2005... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo The PierPass extended-gates program in Los Angeles-Long Beach is gaining increasing favor with harbor truck drivers, but further improvements are needed if PierPass is to win widespread acceptance in the trucker...

Customs' Atlanta Office Oversees Cargo Clearance at Gulf Ports.
September 9, 2005... While the ports of New Orleans, Mobile, Gulfport, Pascagoula and Gramercy remain closed because of Hurricane Katrina, Customs and Border Protection has designated its Atlanta Field office to oversee all cargo clearance and import-related...

Freight Rates Hiked for Hay Exports to Asia.
September 9, 2005... Shipping lines belonging to the Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement say they will raise hay tariff and contract rates via all West Coast ports. The increase will be $100 per 40-foot container for shipments where base rates...

Katrina Damage Could Slow Other Ports.
September 9, 2005... The devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans could lead to slowdowns in rail operations in moving retail goods out of other ports, according to the monthly Port Tracker report released last week by the National Retail Federation...

Textile Talks Break Down.
September 9, 2005... U.S.-Chinese talks on a dispute over American efforts to restrain surging imports of Chinese underwear and other textiles broke down on Sept. 1, the chief U.S. negotiator said. A brief written statement issuedby U.S. envoy David Spooner...

Japan Ends Restrictions on U.S. Apple Exports.
September 9, 2005... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto In a major victory for the U.S. and Washington state apple producers who have tried for years to enter Japan's restricted apple market, Japan has agreed to lift its restrictions on imports of apples from the U.S....

Crowley Acquires Alaska Fuel-Distribution Businesses.
September 9, 2005... Crowley has acquired the Alaska-based fuel-distribution business of Northland Fuel LLC. The purchase consists of the assets of Yukon Fuel Co., Northland Vessel Leasing and the stock of Service Oil and Gas Inc. Crowley has also acquired the...

Cma Cgm Buys Delmas.
September 9, 2005... BYLINE: Bruce Barnard CMA CGM, France's leading container shipping line, has completed the acquisition of its smaller domestic rival Delmas from Bollore Group in a $600 million deal that makes it the world's third-largest ocean carrier....

Target Logistics Opens Warehouse in Shenzhen.
September 9, 2005... Target Logistic Services, an international freight forwarder with extensive cargo operations in China, has opened its first bonded warehouse in the industrial city of Shenzhen. The new facility, supervised by Chinese customs officials, allows...

Shippers Greet Security Programs with a Yawn.
September 9, 2005... BYLINE: William Hoffman Companies promising technology that will help shippers make supply chains more secure are becoming as common as used car salesmen, and, in many cases, about as popular. Shippers still want to kick the tires...

Fast Plan Remains Slow.
September 9, 2005... BYLINE: Angela Greiling Keane When then-Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge unveiled the Free and Secure Trade Lanes Program with great fanfare in Detroit in June 2002, the program was heralded as a way to speed freight across U.S....

Coast Guard to Assess Lng Tanker Plan on Columbia River.
September 9, 2005... The U.S. Coast Guard's Portland Sector last week said it would evaluate the suitability of the Columbia River for liquefied natural gas vessel traffic. Earlier this year, Northern Star Natural Gas LLC of Portland announced plans to build...

Baltimore Auto-Processing Terminal Expands.
September 9, 2005... A recently completed expansion program will enable a Baltimore auto-processing terminal to accommodate 1,600 additional vehicles, an increase of 35 percent over its previous capacity. The terminal, operated by ATC Logistics of Maryland...

Virginia Box Traffic Increased by 8 Percent in July.
September 9, 2005... Container traffic at the Virginia Port Authority's three container terminals totaled 137,259 TEUs in July, an increase of 8 percent from the same month in 2004. The agency said its rolling 12-month average jumped 19.9 percent at its...

Eastern Car Liner Moves to Everett.
September 9, 2005... Eastern Car Liner will move its Pacific Northwest operations in early October from the ports of Tacoma and Seattle to the Port of Everett. It is the second carrier to call Everett home in the last two months. ECL, which is based in Japan,...

Houston Expedites Channel Dredging.
September 9, 2005... Dredging of the Houston Ship Channel has been accelerated ahead of expected ship traffic diverting from the Port of New Orleans and other Gulf ports stricken by Hurricane Katrina. The project, which will allow larger and more vessels...

Hong Kong.
September 9, 2005... BYLINE: Richard Knee Various transport-related difficulties in China could, in the long term, bring a resurgence of manufacturing activity and cargo traffic to Hong Kong, according to Bob Erwin, who oversees import operations at Robert E....

Hong Kong Remains Logistics Hub for China.
September 9, 2005... Hong Kong-to-mainland China cargo movement is accounting for the largest share of Hong Kong's port cargo throughput, with the share growing from 32 percent in 1999 to 37 percent last year, according to statistics released recently by Hong Kong...

Pan-Pearl River Coastal Region Plans Specialized Ports.
September 9, 2005... China plans to build a group of large-scale specialized ports in Pan-Pearl River regions by 2010, People's Daily reported recently. This will further expand the handling capacity in the region, the official news organ quoted Huang Xianyao,...

China Proposes Logistics Reform.
September 9, 2005... Is it time for China to let a hundred distribution centers bloom? The Chinese government is looking to step up its efforts to modernize its logistics industry, welcome news for the many U.S. carriers looking to expand their supply chains into...

Gulfport Takes Direct Hit from Katrina.
September 9, 2005... BYLINE: Stephanie Nall When Hurricane Katrina swept in and demolished much of the infrastructure at Gulfport, it wasn't the first time Mother Nature had treated the port harshly. Other Gulf ports, especially New Orleans, sustained...

Louis Cooper Jr. Named Port of Tacoma Maintenance Director.
September 9, 2005... The Port of Tacoma this month hired Louis P. Cooper Jr. as director of maintenance. He will oversee all port maintenance activities, including facilities, cranes, straddle carriers and mobile equipment -- all under the care of more than 80...

Boyd Fills Post at Famous Pacific.
September 9, 2005... The New Zealand arm of Famous Pacific Shipping (FPS) appointed Mike Boyd as marketing manager. Boyd joins the company from DBM Asia Pacific, a global human capital management services firm, where he was involved in the development,...

Bowen Chosen for New Target Logistics Position.
September 9, 2005... Target Logistics, a domestic and international freight forwarder and logistics provider, announced last month that its operating subsidiary, Target Logistic Services Inc., named Charles E. Bowen Jr. director, Latin America, a new position in...

Apx Logistics Appoints Chief Marketing Officer.
September 9, 2005... APX Logistics, a provider of business-to-consumer shipping solutions, named Vasco F. Fernandes chief marketing officer. Fernandes will oversee strategy formulation, product management, marketing and pricing. He will also manage the firm's...

77230.
September 9, 2005... China's President Hu Jintao was scheduled to arrive in Seattle on Labor Day, the first leg of his first official state visit to the United States. Later last week, he would have met with President Bush in Washington, D.C. The visit was...

Coffee Stocks Destroyed in New Orleans after Katrina.
September 9, 2005... Hurricane Katrina may have destroyed about 1.5 million sacks of coffee stored at warehouses in New Orleans, raising the global price of coffee and benefiting coffee growers across the world, officials said. "There were about 750,000 sacks...

Appointments Made to Washington State Oil Spill Advisory Council.
September 9, 2005... Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire last month appointed the inaugural members of the state's new Oil Spill Advisory Council. "We cannot afford to be complacent," Gregoire said. "First and foremost, we must prevent spills; and when they...

Starting Over.
September 15, 2005... It's been three weeks since Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. Since those frightening, bewildering and agonizing days, too much time has been wasted trying to place blame and win the best political position. What's gone largely...

Bnsf Tests 'green' Locomotive for Southern California.
September 15, 2005... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo BNSF Railway is testing low-emission locomotives in Southern California, part of an environmental strategy aimed at winning approval for construction of a new intermodal container transfer facility serving the Los...

Customs Delays Wood Packaging Rules.
September 15, 2005... Customs last week said it will delay enforcement of new standards for treating wood packaging to help minimize the importation of potentially destructive insects until Feb. 1, 2006. The new requirements were supposed to go into effect on...

Dhs Announces Nearly $142 Million in Port Grants.
September 15, 2005... The Department of Homeland Security is providing $141.97 million in the fifth round of federal grants to help 36 U.S. port areas address physical security enhancements at their facilities. The DHS last week said the Port Security Grant...

Cosco, "K" Line and Hanjin to Launch Mideast Service.
September 15, 2005... Cosco Container Lines, "K" Line and Hanjin Shipping Co. will launch the South China Middle East Express Service, a fixed-day weekly express service linking South China with the Middle East, beginning in October. The port rotation is:...

Fowl Water.
September 15, 2005... BYLINE: Stephanie Nall The first post-Katrina container vessel steamed into the Port of New Orleans on Sept. 13 with commercial cargo, and other ports along the Gulf Coast and on the Mississippi River were open for business as well. ...

Hong Kong: The Path to China for Pnw Food Companies.
September 15, 2005... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto Two Pacific Northwest food wholesalers and distributors, China Pacific Group Inc. and SUPERVALU International, say Hong Kong remains the easiest and quickest route into the China mainland, especially for new...

Katrina Has Lessons for Shippers, Dhs.
September 15, 2005... BYLINE: Ezra Finkin Shippers moving freight through the nation's ports should learn a valuable lesson from Hurricane Katrina. Particularly, shippers should take careful note of the government's response to the massive destruction...