Florida Shipper articles from August 2006

Florida Shipper archives from August 2006

Zim debuts Gulf-Asia calls.
August 7, 2006... BYLINE: Janet Nodar Direct container service is a first for Tampa Zim Integrated Shipping has begun a weekly Asia-Gulf Express liner service with calls at Tampa, Mobile and Houston. The Zim Adriatic was scheduled to make its first...

An issue of merit.
August 7, 2006... First of all, we want to remind you that there's only about a week left to submit your nomination for this year's Transportation Leaders of Florida rendition. Call, write or e-mail your nomination for that special someone who has provided years...

Customs proposes new rules for express shipments.
August 7, 2006... Customs and Border Protection is proposing new rules that would change how international express couriers pay customs fees. The change would require couriers to pay fees quarterly instead of annually. The revised rules also would increase...

Rail tax credits proposed.
August 7, 2006... Legislation was introduced in the Senate to establish a 25 percent tax credit that shippers and railroads could apply toward the cost of improving freight-rail infrastructure. Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., introduced the Freight Rail Infrastructure...

World Shipping Council challenges GE monopoly on container tags.
August 7, 2006... The International Container Standards Organization is an "unnecessary and counterproductive" initiative, according to the World Shipping Council. In a recent commentary, the liner industry group said that the recently created ICSO appears...

UK port group readies bid for DP World's US terminals.
August 7, 2006... BYLINE: Bruce Barnard A British ports group is preparing a bid for five U.S. container terminals for sale by Dubai's DP World. Simon Group, a port operations company listed on the London Stock Exchange, is being taken over by...

KAL to link Miami, Korea and the tropics.
August 7, 2006... Korean Air is launching twice-weekly scheduled cargo service between Miami and Seoul/Incheon beginning Aug. 22. The Tuesday and Friday flights are expected to save transport time for cargo heading to Central and South America, as well as...

Florida Maritime Leadership Conference set for Sept. 28.
August 7, 2006... Florida Maritime Leadership Conference, hosted by the Trade & Transport Council and sponsored by the Florida Ports Council, Seaboard Marine and Port of Miami Terminal Operating Co., is scheduled for Sept. 28 in Miami. According to...

Petroleum Fund to assist Haiti's development.
August 7, 2006... The Caribbean Community heads of government have agreed to provide funds to Haiti to assist in the recovery of the country's economic and social development, according to CARICOM's assistant secretary-general for foreign and community...

Caribbean business forum slated.
August 7, 2006... The Ministry of Trade and Industry, in conjunction with the Association of Caribbean States, or ACS, will be hosting the seventh Greater Caribbean Business Forum, Sept. 26 to 29, at the Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre, Port-of-Spain. ...

German firm eyes Costa Rica.
August 7, 2006... Cargo Connection Logistics Holding Inc. of Frankfurt has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Cargo Connection Logistics-International Inc., recently sent a contingent of representatives to San Jose, Costa Rica, with the purpose of...

Trade groups urge balance at Customs.
August 7, 2006... BYLINE: R.G. Edmonson Representatives of two major trade groups urged Congress to give Customs and Border Protection the resources to fully carry out its dual mission of security and trade facilitation. Mary Jo Muoio, president of the...

Shippers need diverse options.
August 7, 2006... BYLINE: William Armbruster Shippers and carriers need diverse options to handle the movement of cargo to the East Coast, according to speakers at The Journal of Commerce's Asia-East Coast Maritime Conference held recently in Norfolk, Va....

Baker completes Harvard program.
August 7, 2006... Ron Baker, deputy executive director and chief financial officer for the Jacksonville Port Authority, recently completed a three-week course at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. The program, offered through the John F. Kennedy School...

Jaxport promotes Cabrera.
August 7, 2006... The Jacksonville Port Authority has promoted Alberto Cabrera to the position of director of trade development and marketing, noncontainer cargo. In his new role, Cabrera will work with existing and potential customers in the ro-ro,...

Central America: Sweet success.
August 14, 2006... Central America savors fourth year of growth Central America's emerging economies will grow about 4 percent this year, according to the United Nation's Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, or ECLAC. This is the second...

Fact check.
August 14, 2006... I got a kind note from Ron Carver, a national organizer from the Teamsters, who said he really liked my recent editorial about the Port of Vancouver's success in court in its dispute over its authority to compel trucking companies to adequately...

Canada 'secretly' seeks free trade with Central America.
August 14, 2006... The U.S. Congress and its constituents have learned recently that making free-trade agreements is a lot like making sausage where the end product is far more appealing than the process. That seems to be the case in Canada as well, where the...

Senate fails to act on port security bill.
August 14, 2006... The U.S. Senate was too busy doing other things at the beginning of August and did not get around to discussing a port security bill. It was too busy to take up the GreenLane Maritime Cargo Security Act, S. 2459, which was introduced by Susan...

Galveston port: Bus operators must pay access fees.
August 14, 2006... For 17 months, the Port of Galveston has been in a standoff with hotel and parking lot bus operators who have refused to pay the port's fee for transporting passengers to and from port cruise terminals. Two questions remain: When, and how,...

Tropical's profit dips.
August 14, 2006... Tropical Shipping's operating income declined 15.5 percent to $8.7 million in the second quarter, compared with $10.3 million in the same period last year, parent company Nicor Inc. reported. The U.S.-Caribbean carrier's second-quarter revenue...

GAO presses for standardization of travel documents.
August 14, 2006... Despite increases in border security personnel and regulations, foreign travelers can still enter the U.S. with fake identification documents, according to Senate testimony by agents of the Government Accountability Office. "The...

Uruguay port approved.
August 14, 2006... Uruguay's President Tabare Vazquez has approved the construction of a $300 million port at Puntas del Chileno in Maldonado. "This is a $300 million project proposed by the private sector as part of the program to reactivate Uruguay's...

Dominican Republic moves to implement CAFTA.
August 14, 2006... Leaders of the Dominican Republic government have announced plans to submit a set of new laws to the National Congress designed to implement the Central American Free Trade Agreement with the United States and Central America signatories....

DP World to invest $200 million in Dominican Republic port.
August 14, 2006... DP World has announced plans to invest $200 million in its container port of Caucedo in the Dominican Republic to attract more shipping lines, the Gulf News reported recently. DP World purchased a 35 percent stake in Caucedo when it acquired...

Port of Miami gets broader Med service.
August 14, 2006... CMA CGM, Italia Marittima SpA and Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. will add calls to Turkey and increase the size and number of ships on their joint weekly U.S. East Coast-Mediterranean Amerigo Express service. Six vessels with...

CAFTA's work in progress.
August 14, 2006... Those importers dealing with apparel manufacturers in Central America are finding that the rules continue to change despite the implementation of the terms of the Central American Free Trade Agreement by five of seven signatories. As...

Big bank bets on Central America.
August 14, 2006... Although damaged by growing debt in its home country of England, HSBC, Europe's biggest bank by market value, reported first-half net income climbed to $8.7 billion from $7.6 billion. And its chief executive predicted future growth would come...

Customs official: Container seals not ready for prime time.
August 14, 2006... The trade should rethink the processes for supply-chain security before it settles on a means of sealing containers or using technology for container security, a senior Customs official told the Departmental Advisory Committee on Commercial...

Back-up plan: Downtown Miami truck corridor championed.
August 21, 2006... BYLINE: Rick Eyerdam Port of Miami tariff increase floated Acting Port Director Bill Johnson plans to ask each Dante B. Fascell Port of Miami tenant and concessionaire to consent to a 1 percent tariff increase to back a $350 million...

Unspoken truths.
August 21, 2006... At the gate at the Port of Miami when it is time to change shifts, the cash box is removed from its slot and the employee who is taking off must count the money in front of the employee who is taking his or her place. This transfer of a...

Miami Free Zone acquired by Cargo Ventures.
August 21, 2006... Miami Free Zone owners Ralph Gazitua, Gary Goldfarb and partners Pantheon Properties and the Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund have sold the property they purchased in June 2004 from Armando Codina to New York's Cargo Ventures LLC for an undisclosed...

Fuel company drops tank request.
August 21, 2006... Officials for Coastal Fuels of Cape Canaveral have postponed their planned appearance before the local planning and zoning board and have withdrawn their request for a special exception to build two large fuel tanks near a residential area...

Domestic airfreight revenue grew, but volume fell in 2005.
August 21, 2006... Domestic airfreight and express revenue reached a record $31.3 billion last year, but traffic volume was lower than in 2000, according to a recent release by the Air Cargo Management Group. Revenue in 2005 increased 4.7 percent over 2004,...

FedEx, pilots face crucial talks.
August 21, 2006... BYLINE: John D. Boyd FedEx Express and its pilots face a crucial period in their long-running contract negotiations, a company spokesman said, as the two sides press to settle their differences. Maury Lane, spokesman for the...

Seaboard earnings rise despite lower revenue.
August 21, 2006... Increased operating income at Seaboard Marine plus commodity and foreign exchange derivative gains, along with higher operating income in its commodity trading and milling divisions, helped Seaboard Corp. post increased second-quarter earnings...

Bahamas joins CSI.
August 21, 2006... The Hutchison Wampoa-operated Freeport Container Port at Grand Bahama is the latest Caribbean terminal to sign up for the Container Security Initiative. Customs and Border Protection and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas recently formalized...

Puerto Rico completes bond sale.
August 21, 2006... Deeply in debt but struggling to emerge, Puerto Rico has sold $838 million of general obligation bonds to refinance its debt and fund capital improvements, according to a recent release from the island's Government Development Bank. The...

Caribbean carriers plan rate hike.
August 21, 2006... Members of the Caribbean Shipowners Association have announced a general rate hike beginning in September to cover their increased equipment and insurance costs. The increase will affect shipments between the U.S. and ports on Barbados,...

Peak-season box volume to last through October.
August 21, 2006... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo Retailers in the U.S. expect container volume to surge this month and maintain peak levels through October. "The ports are now in peak season, with August volumes expected to be near the peak level projected...

ILA, Evergreen agree on clerical contract.
August 21, 2006... BYLINE: Joseph Bonney The International Longshoremen's Association and Evergreen America Corp. have tentatively agreed on a three-year labor contract covering approximately 115 clerical workers at Evergreen's North American headquarters in...

Senate confirms five.
August 21, 2006... The Senate this month confirmed five appointees to transportation-related positions in the Bush administration. Several of the nominees had been under a "hold" reportedly placed by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. Sean T. Connaughton was...

Crowley promotes Shettig.
August 21, 2006... Crowley Maritime Corp. has promoted Jim Shettig to vice president of East Coast and Gulf contract services, the company announced. Shettig, an 18-year Crowley veteran, began his career as a mate on a Seattle-based tugboat, and has held...

Port Manatee's saga continues.
August 21, 2006... The staff of Port Manatee, Florida's port with the most potential and the worst luck, is mired in another saga beyond its control as the port's Mexican cargo connection misses as many sailings as it makes, a lawsuit over sea grass stalls a...

Transportation Leaders in Florida 2005-2006: Florida Shipper recognizes six for excellence in leadership.
August 28, 2006... Each year the trade, transportation and logistics market in Florida becomes more complex and competitive. In such an environment, leaders rise to the top. Where change can be rapid and sometimes daunting, individuals with experience,...

The tradition continues.
August 28, 2006... This week we continue the awakening tradition of publishing a special section in praise of the Florida Shipper transportation leaders for 2005-2006. This is something our grandmother, the Journal of Commerce, does each year. They pick one in...

Dominican textile exports fall 17 percent.
August 28, 2006... Adozona - the Dominican Association of Duty Free Zones - has reported that the Dominican Republic has seen a 17 percent drop in textile exports in 2006 as the country struggled to meet U.S. standards for participation in the Central American...

Congressman seeks some baggage inspection.
August 28, 2006... Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., has requested that Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff immediately issue an order requiring all air cargo shipped on passenger planes to be scanned for explosives before being loaded onboard. Markey...

Governor ignores Panhandle, Dade and Broward on port security panel.
August 28, 2006... Gov. Jeb Bush has named the members of the new Seaport Security Standards Advisory Council that was created to stand between the ports and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in matters of the state's muddled maritime security laws. ...

Atlas Air Worldwide rebounds from first-quarter loss.
August 28, 2006... BYLINE: John D. Boyd Atlas Air Worldwide, the parent of the freighter leasing airline Atlas Air and the scheduled freight line Polar Air Cargo, earned $10.7 million in the second quarter, and said it is preparing to buy new equipment. ...

Sea Star raises fuel surcharge.
August 28, 2006... Sea Star Line has announced plans to adjust its intermodal fuel charge in September to offset increasing fuel costs. The company said it reviewed diesel oil prices for a six-week period ending Aug. 7 and the corresponding payments made to...

Chiquita's bananas slip.
August 28, 2006... All is not sweet in the former banana republics as Chiquita Brands reported lower banana volume in Europe and North America, causing a $30 million decline in operating income to $45 million, compared to $75 million in the year-ago period. The...

Chinese trading gains foothold in Jamaica.
August 28, 2006... Jamaican papers are reporting that Mayor Noel Donaldson of Montego Bay returned from a mission to China with news that an arm of China's trading center Yiwu City will be set up under the name Yiwu Western Regional Trade Centre. "This will...

Equity group to sell stock in Horizon Lines.
August 28, 2006... Castle Harlan Partners IV, the private equity investment firm that owned Horizon Lines outright prior to an initial public offering last fall, plans to sell much of its remaining stake in the largest U.S. container carrier. The total...

Mathis appointed director of the Port of Pensacola.
August 28, 2006... Clyde Mathis, a 25-year veteran, has been selected as director of the Port of Pensacola. Mathis comes from the Port of New Orleans where he served as executive assistant, overseeing marketing and business development. After Hurricane...

Novacek departs Eller; lobbyist Muldoon an interim replacement.
August 28, 2006... Art Novacek, a 60-year veteran of the maritime industry, has resigned as president of Eller & Co., effective Aug. 17, saying it was simply "about time." Joseph Muldoon, the Washington attorney and lobbyist who sparked the furor earlier...

Former NY captain of the port hired at Port Everglades.
August 28, 2006... Coast Guard veteran Glenn A. Wiltshire has been appointed deputy director for the Broward County Port Everglades Department, reporting to Port Director Phillip C. Allen. Wiltshire, a 30-year veteran of the Coast Guard, will begin his...

Zielinski to head finance at Palm Beach.
August 28, 2006... Paul J. Zielinski joined the staff of the Port of Palm Beach District this summer as the newly appointed director of finance. "Paul's comprehensive executive background and knowledge has enabled him to step right into his new role and...