Florida Shipper articles from December 2008

Florida Shipper archives from December 2008

Foreign ownership.
December 1, 2008... Late last month a DP World executive said the global financial crisis could and probably should convince port authorities in the United States to rethink their current model that limits marine terminal development to shipping lines and...

From Russia, China and Taiwan, with love.
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: RICK EYERDAM  Rivals increase their courting of Latin America and the Caribbean China's president, Hu Jintao, flanked by hundreds of Chinese deal makers, swept through Latin America and the Caribbean at the end of last...

Commodities save the day.
December 1, 2008... Increase predicted for Latin American and Caribbean Basin exports Despite the global recession and the limitations imposed by high freight fees and poor logistics, exports from the Caribbean Basin and Latin America - primarily commodities -...

What is ECLAC?
December 1, 2008... ECLAC, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, is one of five regional commissions of the United Nations, each of which is concerned with assisting and promoting economic and social development in a major region of the...

Member states of ECLAC:.
December 1, 2008... Antigua and BarbudaArgentinaBahamasBarbadosBelizeBoliviaBrazilCanadaChileColombiaCosta RicaCubaDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEl...

Caribbean and Central America, the Russian view.
December 1, 2008... Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov on Russian relations with the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean Basin Prepared by the Russian Federation information and press department Question: What is the reason behind...

Barack Obama, a Caribbean view.
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: Robert Buddan Prime Minister W. Baldwin Spencer of Antigua and Barbuda wrote a letter to President-elect Barack Obama the day after the election congratulating him on his victory. To show that he meant it, Spencer said he would...

Bahamas goes on offense Caribbean resorts see desperate times.
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: RICK EYERDAM Hotel bookings in the Caribbean are sagging as working families save their money by staying home and the rich seem to arrive with smaller entourages. The cruise lines are also predicting a slowdown in bookings from...

US plans for China trade.
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: JOHN FRISBIE The US-China Business Council developed these principles as a guide to President-elect Obama's transition team for advancing the United States' economic relationship with China. The council - www.uschina.org -...

Customs trade panel weighs expansion of account management.
December 1, 2008... Members of a Customs trade advisory panel agree that account management should play a greater role in daily trade activities in the future, but exactly how is a matter to be worked out in the coming months. The 10th Departmental Advisory...

How to stop parallel foreign litigation - via a US anti-suit injunction.
December 1, 2008... BYLINE: NEIL KLEIN For companies in the U.S., contracts with businesses in Central America, the Caribbean or China are both important and potentially risky. Chief executives spend thousands of dollars in legal fees to ensure they are...

US issues final rule covering import product safety.
December 1, 2008... The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued final rules requiring importers and U.S. manufacturers to certify their products conform with laws governing all consumer hazards regulated by the agency. The rule takes effect immediately...

Hanjin Shipping reports loss.(Financial report)
December 1, 2008... Hanjin Shipping posted a third-quarter loss because of a weaker won, higher fuel costs and waning demand. South Korea's largest shipping line said in a regulatory filing it lost 283.7 billion won ($214 million), compared with a profit of...

MOL may mothball ships.
December 1, 2008... Japanese carrier MOL may mothball some of its largest vessels amid the collapse of charter rates in the dry bulk market. The company is considering scrapping seven of its Capesize dry bulk ships from its fleet of 100 vessels, said Masafumi...

Antigua Authority explains dollar-barrel process.
December 1, 2008... The Antigua Port Authority has released guidelines for clearing dollar barrels. The initiative allows each household to import into the country a standard-sized shipping barrel of selected goods, free of all duties and taxes for $1 just in...

Horizon Lines unveils reefer-monitoring service.
December 1, 2008... Horizon Lines recently introduced ReeferPlusGPS, a container-tracking and shipment-monitoring solution for refrigerated ocean containers moving between the continental United States and Puerto Rico. Horizon said ReeferPlusGPS had been in...

Sea Star Line begins paperless document workflow.
December 1, 2008... Esker, a provider of document process automation solutions, recently announced that Sea Star Line - a provider of cargo transportation services between the U.S. and the Caribbean - has implemented Esker DeliveryWare to automate processing of...

Scrambling for scraps.
December 8, 2008... I read the article in the Jacksonville, Fla., newspaper, "Duval Delegation listens to Jacksonville," and became angrier with each paragraph. "More than 65 representatives from a wide range of organizations spoke to the Duval County Legislative...

Out of reach: Getting letters of credit is a difficult stretch for U.S. exporters and foreign buyers.
December 8, 2008... BYLINE: PETER T. LEACH Exports to China are particularly vulnerable The credit crunch is starting to hit U.S. exporters, especially smaller ones. Already squeezed by their bankers' reluctance to provide trade finance for shipments...

New editions of Official Export Guide, U.S. Custom House Guide are available.
December 8, 2008... The 2009 editions of the three-volume annual Official Export Guide and the two-volume U.S. Custom House Guide are now available from the International Trade Group of Commonwealth Business Media (http://www.cbizmedia.com/directories.asp). ...

Credit insurance is becoming more essential for exporters.
December 8, 2008... BYLINE: WILLIAM ARMBRUSTER Euler Hermes ACI, the world's largest credit insurer, is gaining more business as sellers turn to it to provide insurance against the risk that their buyers won't pay, especially for goods sold on open account -...

Ex-Im Bank expands access for small business exporters.
December 8, 2008... The Export-Import Bank of the United States announced that it has enhanced several of its trade finance products to help counter the tightening of credit and the lack of liquidity in the export marketplace. The goal is to help U.S. exporters,...

Commerce guide focuses on export fundamentals.
December 8, 2008... BYLINE: DOUG BARRY The U.S. Department of Commerce has just published an updated edition of a book that seeks to help U.S. exporters, whether they are new to the business or experienced exporters. "A Basic Guide to Exporting" is a...

Ex-Im Bank services underutilized.
December 8, 2008... The Export-Import Bank of the United States provided support for 2,900 export transactions in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2007, of which 2,400 supported exports by small businesses. The recipients included 369 small businesses that were...

Port Everglades greets its largest cruise liner.
December 8, 2008... Beginning last month, Royal Caribbean International's Independence of the Seas became the largest cruise ship ever to homeport at Port Everglades. It displaces 160,000 tons and carries more than 3,630 passengers and almost that many crew. ...

Port Canaveral approves Disney terminal.
December 8, 2008... The Canaveral Port Authority welcomed a familiar face to its membership recently when it issued the oath of office to newly elected District 5 Commissioner Malcolm "Mac" McLouth, a pioneer among Florida's port planners and the former port...

Port of Miami renews MOU with Panama Canal.
December 8, 2008... In a tradition that sustains both sides, Panama Canal Authority Administrator and Chief Executive Alberto Alem[sz]n Zubieta and Port of Miami Seaport Director Bill Johnson renewed a memorandum of understanding between the two institutions to...

Tampa hosts regional seminar.
December 8, 2008... The Port of Tampa, Fla., recently co-hosted a second annual seminar on the Tampa region's potential as a container distribution center hub for Florida and the Southeast. Nearly 100 professionals from import and export companies active at the...

Eller bankruptcy debate continues.
December 8, 2008... A U.S. bankruptcy court judge has permitted Eller Maritime Services, a unit of Port Everglades' Eller & Co., to continue delaying the efforts of creditors to force the company into bankruptcy. Eller's attorney convinced the judge that it is...

Central America ports advance.
December 8, 2008... Work to expand and upgrade ports in Central America is coming in fits and starts as port authorities and national governments grapple with governance and social issues."All of the Central American ports have some expansion in mind, some more...

Battle over billing.
December 8, 2008... BYLINE: WILLIAM B. HOFFMAN Economic woes prompt shippers to search for freight payment alternatives As freight shipments get scarcer, one mainstay of the shipping industry that may be gaining ground in a weaker economy is the...

Customs publishes 10+2.
December 8, 2008... Customs and Border Protection published its much-anticipated Importer Security Filing rule in the Federal Register. The interim rule will take effect on Jan. 25, 2009, with enforcement to begin one year later. The interim rule includes an...

Idled container fleet estimated at 150,000 TEUs.
December 8, 2008... A dozen container ships in the 5,000- to 8,500-TEU range are currently believed to be idle at the ports of Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai, according to AXS-Alphaliner, a Paris ship broker. "Idle ships of 3,500 to 5,000 TEUs are expected...

Record for NAFTA cargo.
December 8, 2008... Despite the economic slowdown affecting trade in North America, U.S. freight shipments with Canada and Mexico increased 4.9 percent from $866 million to a record $909 billion in 2007 and, as the problems deepened, have risen further this year,...

Econocaribe offers direct weekly service to Chennai, India.
December 8, 2008... Econocaribe recently expanded its coverage of India with weekly freight-all-kinds service direct from New York to Chennai, India. According to Tradelane Manager Romain Maunand, "This direct (less-than-containerload) service improves our...

Royal Caribbean signs Jamaica port deal.
December 8, 2008... The Jamaican government and Royal Caribbean Cruise Line have signed a $122 million contract for the development of a new cruise ship terminal in Falmouth with the intent of a significant increase in stopover visits to the north coast. ...

Horizon Lines to reduce work force by 10 percent, reduce debt.
December 8, 2008... Horizon Lines has announced plans to reduce its work force by at least 10 percent, or approximately 70 of its 700-plus non-union employees, by Jan. 31. The company said it will offer voluntary severance to certain eligible employees, and...

Governor-elect calls for council.
December 8, 2008... Confronted with a two-year-long recession, Luis Fortuno, Puerto Rico's governor-elect, has announced a new special council to recommend effective policy for the fiscal and economic reconstruction of the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. ...

Air cargo volume falls 7.9 percent.
December 8, 2008... International air cargo traffic tumbled 7.9 percent in October from a year ago, the biggest monthly decline since 2001, the International Air Transport Association reported.           ...

Treasure hunt.
December 15, 2008... I propose another millionaire-based reality TV show, this one for the corporate executives at the stratosphere of compensation. Let’s call it “Treasure Hunt.” Here is the premise: The very rich have a different...

OUTLOOK 2009: Alpha bets.
December 15, 2008... BYLINE: Rick Eyerdam Our annual list of actual forecasts A lot of economists and business analysts will speculate about almost anything where aggregate data is available. But they have one absolute rule: Never get caught...

A world of worries.
December 15, 2008... BYLINE: ROSALIND MCLYMONT Financial turmoil and weakening economies take a toll on trade On Nov. 12, Pascal Lamy, director-general of the World Trade Organization, issued a warning to trade ministers from the ...

Latin America outlook for 2009:.
December 15, 2008... BYLINE: JOHN PRICE Taking stock of the financial crisis and adjusting plans The recent financial crisis has shaken business confidence across the globe. Emerging markets are victim to a financial meltdown that is largely not...

Port of Tampa reports positive bottom line.
December 15, 2008... The Port of Tampa is outdistancing its rivals in sustained growth because of is diversity and frugal operations, Richard Wainio, Tampa’s port director, told luncheon guests recently during his annual State of the Port...

Seaport association gathers at Port Canaveral.
December 15, 2008... Seaport industry executive members of the North Atlantic Ports Association met at Port Canaveral during the first week of December to discuss the critical challenges facing ocean shipping worldwide. The discussions included the...

Jacksonville's Payton calls for port support roads.
December 15, 2008... Jacksonville, Fla., Mayor John Peyton has unveiled a stimulus package that would invest $100 million in local tax revenue into new roadway construction projects, many which will improve the efficiency of the Port of Jacksonville....

Tampa deploys new crane.
December 15, 2008... The Tampa Port Authority has taken delivery of a new $4.6 million mobile harbor crane that will be deployed at the terminal operated by Ports America. The new Generation-5, Model-6 Gottwald crane can handle a variety of cargoes,...

TWIC compliance deadline drawing near for South Florida ports.
December 15, 2008... The Coast Guard urges maritime workers who have not yet applied for a Transportation Worker Identification Credential to apply as soon as possible before unescorted access to U.S.-regulated waterfront terminals in South Florida...

No bids for NY-NJ port bonds.
December 15, 2008... Despite the highest rating from Moody’s and Fitch, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey attracted no bids from investment banks when it offered a packet of taxable but unsecured bonds totaling $300 million. ...

UPS identifies global supply-chain risks.
December 15, 2008... Nearly half of companies with global supply chains said they fear major disruptions in their ability to source, produce and ship goods around the world, and aren’t doing much to prevent them. In a new survey sponsored by...

Port of Long Beach delays infrastructure project fee.
December 15, 2008... The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners has decided to delay for at least six months the collection of a cargo-container fee intended to help fund road, rail and bridge improvements in the harbor area. The fee, known as the...

'Soft landing'.
December 15, 2008... BYLINE: R.G. EDMONSON Trade has six months to comment on Importer Security Filing Well, it’s here. Customs and Border Protection published its Importer Security Filing rule last month. After all the speculation, ...

CCAA and CSA to rate Caribbean ports.
December 15, 2008... The Caribbean & Central American Action organization and a group of Caribbean ocean cargo carriers have begun discussions to collaborate on identifying logistical problems at Caribbean ports and securing the resources from...

Jamaica to import rice from Guyana.
December 15, 2008... Guyana and Jamaica have signed a one-year Memorandum of Understanding wherein the Jamaican government promised to purchase 60,000 tons of rice for 2009. The MOU, signed by Guyana’s Minister of Foreign Trade Henry Jeffrey...

BAWC could challenge Miami for perishables.
December 15, 2008... British Airways World Cargo has launched a weekly freighter service between Bogota and Bridgetown, Barbados, which it intends to use as a perishables hub for the region. Operated by Intercargo Logistics Corp., the launch of the...

Destination Mayport.
December 22, 2008... In Miami, the cruise terminals are sterile, isolated and devoid of the tropical ambiance that beckons from across Government Cut at South Beach. At Port Everglades, the cruise terminals are equally bland, generating little...

Holly go lightly.
December 22, 2008... As they head into what most expect to be a year to forget, container ship lines are redrawing their service maps by trimming capacity and forming operating alliances with competitors to provide market coverage at reduced cost....

Jaxport's Ferrin earns raise and bonus.
December 22, 2008... The board of directors of the Jacksonville Port Authority had one more thing to do after they signed a historic 30-year lease with Korean shipper Hanjin for its first east coast terminal at the booming port. The board unanimously...

Port of Miami cargo lags, finances improve.
December 22, 2008... BYLINE: THOMAS L. GALLAGHER Even as cargo declined during the last two years, the financial situation at the Port of Miami improved, said Port Director Bill Johnson. Recent terminal agreements based on rent rather than volume...

Florida drops Miami's port tunnel.
December 22, 2008... The Florida Department of Transportation has concluded that there is no chance to finance the proposed $2 billion Port of Miami truck access tunnel in the current financial climate and has removed the project from its plans. ...

Supply-chain risk mitigation in an economic downturn.
December 22, 2008... BYLINE: BERNIE HART In times of economic downturn, leading companies will focus on restructuring supply chain operations to better position themselves to grab additional market share and profits as economies worldwide start down...

Napolitano brings border-state views to DHS.
December 22, 2008... BYLINE: ARI NATTER The city of Nogales, Arizona’s busiest international border crossing, holds an important clue to Janet Napolitano’s views on the balance between trade and security. Nearly 300,000 trucks crossed...

Collapsible container could transform cargo trade.
December 22, 2008... BYLINE: KATHLYN HORIBE Ocean carriers spend $16 billion annually on repositioning empties A collapsible container designed by two professors from the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi, India, could revolutionize the marine...

Gallon of gas to average $2 in 2009.
December 22, 2008... U.S. gasoline prices are likely to average $2 a gallon in 2009 according to government analysts at the Energy Information Administration. The EIA, which is where the Energy Department crunches the numbers, estimated regular...

American industry shipped 13 billion tons of goods in 2007.
December 22, 2008... American industry shipped 13 billion tons of goods valued at nearly $12 trillion in 2007, according to preliminary numbers from the 2007 Commodity Flow Survey released by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of ...

Another challenger for MIA perishables.
December 22, 2008... Seventy percent of all cut flowers sold in the U.S. are grown in Colombia and Ecuador, according to the Wholesale Florist & Florist Supplier Association. And until recently, virtually all were shipped into the U.S. through Miami...

Global lenders offer $2.3 billion for Panama Canal.
December 22, 2008... Senior officials from development agencies in Asia, Latin America, Europe and the U.S. signed off on $2.3 billion in financing for the Panama Canal’s expansion project. The meeting of five multilateral and development...

70 stormy days predicted for Atlantic Basin.
December 22, 2008... The statistical analysis provided each year by Colorado State University predicts an active hurricane season for 2009, featuring 14 named storms and a total of 70 days when tropical storm force winds will impact the Atlantic...

Hamburg Sud drops Costa Container brand.
December 22, 2008... As of Jan. 1, Hamburg Sud is replacing its Costa Container Lines brand with the Hamburg Sud name to unify its brand. The German parent took over the operations of Costa, the Italian liner specializing in the trades between the...

IATA expects $2.5 billion airline loss for 2009.
December 22, 2008... The International Air Transport Association is predicting a $2.5 billion loss for member passenger airlines next year as passenger traffic, revenue and yields decline. “The outlook is bleak,” said Giovanni Bisignani,...

Paraguay's problems.
December 29, 2008... At the recent gathering of the Caribbean Central American Action group in Miami, the topic of customs practices and tariff collection came up as central to improving the trade practices at Caribbean Basin ports. Corruption has probably...

Some special things in the air.
December 29, 2008... Tut flies AA Cargo first class to Dallas The logistical accomplishment of moving the 130-piece, priceless exhibit "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" from London to tour the U.S. was amplified last month when a robust,...

Export ABCs: Cargo insurance.
December 29, 2008... BYLINE: FRANK REYNOLDS Most people involved in international trade, with the exception of insurers themselves, have only a slight grasp of cargo-insurance basics. There are several reasons, and the main one is that most things work. Most...

Transportation's Obama factor.
December 29, 2008... BYLINE: ARI NATTER Business girds for the change it fears, while labor revs up for the change it wants When potential nominees for top regulatory agency posts with the incoming Obama administration started the time-honored process of...

Canadians consider shipbuilding as economic stimulus.
December 29, 2008... In Canada the current Conservative government is suggesting a stimulus for the Canadian economy by a massive program to build navy supply ships, patrol boats and icebreakers. Unlike the $3.3 billion bailout already in place for Canada's...

ILA rejects Maersk bid at Port of Charleston.
December 29, 2008... International Longshoremen's Association locals at Charleston have rejected a proposal to allow the port's biggest customer, Maersk Line, to switch from ILA labor to non-union terminal workers. Maersk, which accounts for one-fourth of...

California passes strictest rules for truckers.
December 29, 2008... California in 2011 will begin to phase in the nation's strictest emission rules for commercial trucks. Motor carriers, including those carrying freight into California from other states as well as from Mexico and Canada, will have to...

New lows for charter rates.
December 29, 2008... BYLINE: BRUCE BARNARD Container ship charter rates have fallen to new lows as demand by carriers for tonnage evaporates amid stagnant or declining cargo volumes on key routes. Charter rates, which have retreated by as much as 35...

Fewer Asia calls for Europe.
December 29, 2008... Mediterranean Shipping Co. and CMA CGM have suspended two services on the Asia-Europe trade. The event marks the latest capacity cuts by ocean carriers responding to tumbling cargo volumes and falling freight rates on one of the biggest liner...

New deep-water seaport planned for Port St. Joe.
December 29, 2008... The St. Joe Port Authority has entered into a long-term agreement with The St. Joe Co. to lease a 63-acre site on St. Joseph Bay that combined with contiguous port-owned property could lead to the redevelopment of the 14th independent,...

Report: Babcock & Brown will consider terminal sales.
December 29, 2008... Babcock & Brown Infrastructure Group (BBI.AU) told Dow Jones in Australia on Dec. 17 that it is investigating the sale of a stake in the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal in Queensland, Australia, and would consider other asset sales. According...

Everglades container cargo increases.
December 29, 2008... Containerized cargo volumes grew 3.8 percent to 985,095 TEUs at Port Everglades in fiscal 2008 ending on Sept. 30, while tonnage increased 8.7 percent to 6.6 million tons. Port officials said total operating revenue, which includes revenue...

Domestic steel producers feeling sore over soaring imports from China.
December 29, 2008... BYLINE: ALAN M. FIELD After more than four years of banner prices and profits, U.S. steel producers are hurting. Demand is slack and prices are low because sales of automobiles and appliances are down and residential construction is weak....

EU clears KLM takeover of Martinair.
December 29, 2008... European Union regulators have approved the takeover of Dutch charter and cargo airline Martinair by the Air France-KLM group, which already owns half of the airline. Once completed, KLM, the Dutch branch of the carrier, will assimilate...