Florida Shipper articles from February 2008

Florida Shipper archives from February 2008

Amen to better transportation funding.
February 25, 2008... Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters is the Cabinet member who voted against the blue-ribbon report from the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission that recommended radical changes in federal policy and funding...

Deadline sweepstakes.
February 25, 2008... More carriers offering more guarantees Florida East Coast Railway won the contract to carry UPS trucks bursting with time-sensitive parcels by offering a guarantee that the little railroad would never cause UPS to miss a deadline for...

An exporter's three-step guide to buying cargo insurance.
February 25, 2008... BYLINE: GREG J. KRITZ Conservative estimates say that the U.S. economy loses more than $10 billion annually because of cargo losses. Some put that estimate closer to $50 billion. Most shippers are well prepared for fires, office...

Crew member sues Carnival.
February 25, 2008... The law firm of Charles Lipcon is suing Carnival Corp. in federal court, accusing the company of "forced labor, slavery and/or human trafficking" of Reshma Harilal, a 33-year-old citizen of South Africa, and other crew members onboard...

DHL to cut 35 jobs at headquarters.
February 25, 2008... DHL Express USA announced plans on Feb. 13 to cut 600 jobs from its U.S. work force, including about 35 from its Plantation, Fla., headquarters. The company said the decision is part of a broader strategy to reduce general and...

DHL expands in Toronto.
February 25, 2008... On Feb. 13, DHL Global Forwarding announced a major expansion of its Canadian logistics network with the move to a new facility housing its Toronto regional operations and the freight forwarding unit's Canadian headquarters. The...

Fitch rates Puerto Rico's sales tax bonds negative.
February 25, 2008... Faced with a potential reduction in the Puerto Rico sales tax, Fitch Ratings has placed the Puerto Rico Sales Tax Financing Corp.'s approximately $4.5 billion in sales tax revenue bonds on Rating Watch Negative. In mid-February, Puerto...

Bahamas ratifies International Maritime Labour Convention.
February 25, 2008... On Feb. 11, the Bahamas became the first nation in the Western Hemisphere to ratify the International Maritime Labour Convention 2006. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Brent Symonette said the signing and ratification...

US wins EU banana case.
February 25, 2008... The World Trade Organization has ruled that the European Union's import tariff on bananas is illegal, handing the United States a win in the dispute. The ruling, issued on Feb. 8, could set a precedent for other WTO-related disputes...

Breaking the expedited barrier.
February 25, 2008... BYLINE: JOHN GALLAGHER Marketers of less-than-truckload freight may soon have to leave the term "expedited" at the loading dock as more competition and a sluggish freight economy are blurring the lines between fast and faster service....

Public-private deals could benefit highways: GAO.
February 25, 2008... While public-private partnerships can lead to improvements in highway infrastructure, the Government Accountability Office warns that there is no "free money" in the deals. In a report issued recently, the GAO recommended that the federal...

Peters under fire.
February 25, 2008... BYLINE: ARI NATTER DOT secretary is criticized by Congress and targeted by Teamsters It's been a rough couple of weeks for Mary E. Peters, secretary of the Department of Transportation. After she initially managed to stay clear...

Sea Star and Interline align Eastern Caribbean services.
February 25, 2008... Sea Star Line Caribbean LLC and Interline Connection NV announced that effective Feb. 15, their services between Puerto Rico and the Eastern Caribbean Islands of Tortola, St. Maarten, St. Kitts and Antigua are aligned with Interline as a...

Econocaribe expands west.
February 25, 2008... Econocaribe Consolidators announced the opening of its new West Coast office -- it's ninth office in the United States. "After working with agents in California for more than 25 years, we've decided to make a firm commitment to our...

Maruba Lines to withdraw from Usatlan Service.
February 25, 2008... Maruba Lines has given notice that the company will withdraw from the joint Usatlan Service by the middle of March. In a statement to customers, the carrier said that because of the impact of the sub-prime crisis in the U.S. housing...

COAC urges changes to 10+2 rule.
February 25, 2008... BYLINE: R.G. EDMONSON The trade advisory committee known as COAC at its meeting on Feb. 13 formally requested Customs and Border Protection to withdraw a proposed reinterpretation of valuation rules, and released a detailed list of...

Trade opposes 'first sale' plan.
February 25, 2008... BYLINE: R.G. EDMONSON A coalition of nearly 100 trade groups and companies on Feb. 11 sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff objecting to Customs and Border Protection's proposal to do away with "first sale"...

BIS plans to implement deemed-export measures.
February 25, 2008... The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security has completed its review of the Deemed Export Advisory Committee's (DEAC) report, and BIS intends to implement some recommendations immediately. The department announced that it...

APHIS issues final rule on wood pallets.
February 25, 2008... The Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has adopted as a final rule, without change, an interim rule that amended the regulations for the importation of unmanufactured wood articles to bring the...

Missing Art Novacek.
February 18, 2008... BYLINE: Missing Art Novacek Art Novacek wrote a book about his place in the history of ocean cargo carriers called "One Step Ahead" that would have been bragging if it were not all true. Mr. Novacek found inspiration at Kings Point and...

Deep subject.
February 18, 2008... BYLINE: Rick Eyerdam Budget season dredges up discord In Charleston, S.C., where, according to local legend, the Ashley River and the Cooper River join to form the Atlantic Ocean, the tide swing this week will be about six feet. ...

Cruise organization opposes Miami port tunnels.
February 18, 2008... BYLINE: Cruise organization opposes Miami port tunnels Terry Dale, president of the Cruise Lines International Association in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has expressed the official opinion of his members against the Port of Miami's proposed...

Environmental groups threaten Long Beach suit.
February 18, 2008... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo Two environmental groups threatened to sue the Port of Long Beach within 90 days if the port does not take more aggressive action to enforce deadlines and reduce pollution under the Clean Air Action Plan. On...

Freeport sale rumors build.
February 18, 2008... British banker Roddie Fleming insists he will soon purchase the Grand Bahama Port Authority and has provided details of a strategic plan for Freeport if his group can convince the warring port authority partners to accept the deal. The...

Caribbean banana farmers benefit from Fairtrade.
February 18, 2008... The Fairtrade Towns movement that began in the U.K. as a grass roots project in 2000 has spread throughout the world. More than 400 towns worldwide declare themselves part of the Fairtrade market, including more than 3,000 Caribbean banana...

Trailer Bridge lands Costco's Puerto Rico business.
February 18, 2008... Costco Wholesale Corp. has awarded Trailer Bridge an exclusive contract for all shipments moving in dry containers to Puerto Rico, the Jacksonville, Fla.-based carrier announced recently. The contract represents new business for Trailer...

US air cargo weakens; Miami soars.
February 18, 2008... U.S. carriers increased airfreight volume 1.1 percent last year, the weakest figure for U.S. airlines since 2003, according to figures released by the Air Transport Association. Meanwhile, Miami International Airport cargo continued to...

Bush administration seeks to reform export controls.
February 18, 2008... BYLINE: Alan M. Field Plan calls for designation of validated end-users When the U.S. military went shopping recently for night-vision equipment for troops in Iraq, it wound up buying the equipment from China, the cheapest supplier....

Maersk's logistics unit breaks off.
February 18, 2008... BYLINE: William Hoffman Maersk Logistics is setting a new course in the wake of massive reorganization at Maersk Line and its parent company, A.P. Moller-Maersk. It's following a path plotted by the logistics subsidiaries of competitors...

10 steps for FMC licensing as an OTI.
February 18, 2008... BYLINE: James E. Devine Jr. To operate as a non-vessel-operating common carrier or ocean forwarder in the U.S. handling international ocean shipments, a company or individual must first obtain an ocean transportation intermediary, or...

Hall of Famer.
February 11, 2008... Pete Banaszak recalls his first day at Crowley Maritime Corp. Dick Simpson, the company's vice president of sales and marketing, sat him down and addressed him in a serious tone. "He said, 'Pete, I'm going to show you how to fill out an...

The tulip and the steer.
February 11, 2008... BYLINE: Rick Eyerdam Is Brazil coming down with Dutch disease? Some say Dutch disease was caused by tulips. Others say it was caused by oil deposits within Dutch ocean currents. Either way, economists believe Dutch disease is...

The power of remittances.
February 11, 2008... According to a 2005 major International Development Bank study, which is the latest available to calculate remittances and GDP, total remittances amounted to $53.6 billion ($40 billion from the U.S.). Most were destined for Mexico ($20...

An antidote for Dutch disease.
February 11, 2008... Brazil might not be coming down with Dutch disease, according to some experts. And if it is, the government might have already devised an antidote with positive implications for Florida shippers. At least two economists, Sidney Nakahodo...

Sustainability: Brazilian agriculture's new frontier.
February 11, 2008... BYLINE: Andre Meloni Nassar Brazil is one of the few countries with an abundance of water and land available for agricultural purposes. In an era of global anxieties over food shortages, this places Brazil in a unique position. But today,...

Port of Miami names Honig security chief.
February 11, 2008... Capt. Harvey Honig, who has led the Miami-Dade County security unit at the Port of Miami, was recently promoted to assistant port director for safety and security. Honig succeeds retired Coast Guard Capt. James Maes who left to seek...

Ports America's Tilden predicts cargo diversion.
February 11, 2008... Impediments to development of infrastructure in the United States make it almost inevitable that some of the projected surge in Asian cargo volume over the next decade will flow through Mexico or Canada instead of West Coast ports, said Doug...

Panama Canal transits off.
February 11, 2008... The number of ships and total tonnage passing through the Panama Canal decreased in the first fiscal quarter ending on Dec. 31, the Panama Canal Authority announced. Vessel transits declined 1.4 percent to 3,518 from 3,568 in the...

Costa Rica to miss CAFTA deadline.
February 11, 2008... Costa Rica will miss the deadline for implementing a free-trade agreement with the United States, President Oscar Arias told local reporters at the end of January. In a speech attacking the national legislature, Arias said he will ask...

Panama Canal Authority raises marine service fees.
February 11, 2008... Rising fuel costs have led the Panama Canal Authority to announce revised fees for tug, locomotive and line-handling services, effective March 1. Rates for tug services will increase 8 percent; rates for line-handling services will...

Gildan profit climbs 76 percent.(Financial report)
February 11, 2008... Gildan Activewear Inc., North America's biggest T-shirt maker and a major client at the Port of Miami, reported that quarterly profit jumped 76 percent on higher sales after the company raised prices. Net income during the first quarter...

Hanjin to begin China-India loop.
February 11, 2008... Hanjin Shipping announced it will start a new joint container service, China-India Service (CIS), with Korea Marine Transport Co. and Cheng Lie Navigation Co., effective Feb. 18. The service, linking China, South Korea, Southeast Asia and...

'K' Line profits rocket.(Financial report)
February 11, 2008... On Jan. 31, "K" Line reported consolidated operating income surged to nearly 100.7 billion yen ($950 million) in the April-December 2007 period, up 153.5 percent from the year-earlier period. Japan's third-largest shipping line by sales...

Bulk powers MOL profit.
February 11, 2008... Japanese carrier MOL on Jan. 31 credited the booming dry bulk market for helping it to increase consolidated operating income to 219.9 billion yen ($2.07 billion) in the nine-month period ending on Dec. 31, 2007. This marked an 82.8 percent...

A.P. Moller-Maersk takes stake in Hoegh Autoliners.
February 11, 2008... BYLINE: Peter T. Leach A.P. Moller-Maersk, parent of Maersk Line, has acquired a 37.5 percent stake in Norwegian vehicle carrier Hoegh Autoliners under an agreement recently announced by the two companies. No financial terms were...

Rewrapping shipping costs.
February 11, 2008... BYLINE: William Hoffman Shippers are thinking inside, outside and all around the box as they try to cut shipping costs. In particular, Wal-Mart's packaging reduction initiative and the introduction of dimensional pricing by parcel...

'Amicable' talks foreseen in labor contract.
February 11, 2008... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo As the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association prepare to begin contract talks in March, one fact is evident. The negotiating environment today is more amicable than it...

Seafarers' House announces 2008 board of directors.
February 11, 2008... Seafarers' House at Port Everglades has elected its 2008 board of directors. Ronald G. Perkins, chairman of American Document Management, was elected board president for 2008. Jane Toney, vice president of National Maritime Services...

Corallo named president of PIERS.
February 11, 2008... Commonwealth Business Media promoted Lenny Corallo to the position of president and chief operating officer of PIERS Global Intelligence Solutions. Corallo has served since 1995 as executive vice president of PIERS, where he has overseen...

Longtime Crowley employee Dick Simpson dies.
February 11, 2008... Richard A. "Dick" Simpson, 71, a longtime transportation executive and former vice president of Crowley Maritime Corp., died on Jan. 27 in Jacksonville, Fla., following a long illness. Mr. Simpson joined Crowley in 1977, built the...

Importers fear higher costs from 10+2.
February 11, 2008... Bringing goods into the country could become more costly once the 10+2 rule proposed by Customs and Border Protection goes into effect. The proposed rule made its debut in the Federal Register on Jan. 2. It requires importers to provide 10...

Airfreight demand slows.
February 11, 2008... Weakening growth in 2007 presages a slowdown in 2008 for the global air-cargo business, an industry association warned. Traffic increased just 4.3 percent in 2007, according to a report released late last month by the International Air...

Worse than a market crash.
February 4, 2008... BYLINE: Worse than a market crash The recession, the shift from imports to exports, the high cost of security, the fallibility of technology, the desperate need for infrastructure improvements, all those things and more slipped into...

Blowing up the Holy Grail.
February 4, 2008... BYLINE: Rick Eyerdam The Holy Grail of maritime technology is a magical security device that costs less than $200 and can be installed on a container by an idiot in a few minutes, yet defeats every effort by thieves or terrorists to...

Terminal technology's happy ending.
February 4, 2008... On Jan. 22, one man's dream of installing a container gantry crane at a terminal on Tampa Bay was fulfilled in a heartwarming way. That was the day 460-ton, 1,200-horsepower, 130-foot-tall Gottwald HMK 6407 gantry crane was dedicated at Port...

Price of admission.
February 4, 2008... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto What was once a simple storage building or weigh station for supplies and inventory is taking on increasing importance in the drive to make the end-to-end supply-chain leaner and more efficient in 2008 and...

Customs does not vet foreign CSI systems.
February 4, 2008... Customs and Board Protection has not set minimum technical criteria for equipment or systematically collected information on the equipment, people and processes involved in Container Security Initiative, examinations of high-risk, U.S-bound...

DHL parent to take writedown on US unit.
February 4, 2008... Deutsche Post World Net said on Jan. 23 that it will take an $874 million writedown of the value of its DHL Express business in the Americas. The announcement was followed by rumors that Federal Express wants to purchase the struggling unit....

Ports, liner services need improvement.
February 4, 2008... Compton Bourne, president of the Caribbean Development Bank, identified needed improvements in maritime transportation during a news conference on the performance of the region's economies in 2007. Prices are high for food products imported...

Taiwan seeks coffee imports from El Salvador.
February 4, 2008... A Taiwan procurement delegation, organized by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) recently made a coffee trade inspection tour of El Salvador to study the feasibility of importing the product from the Central American...

Customs rule threatens US cruise ships.
February 4, 2008... Customs and Border Protection has recommended a rule that would require ships to spend at least half of each cruise itinerary in ports outside the U.S., and at least 48 hours at each stop, completely disrupting the nation's cruise industry,...

US sanctions bust Cuba cruise trips.
February 4, 2008... Cuba's cruise business has been been paralyzed by U.S. sanctions that deter cruise ships from visiting during their tours of the Caribbean, according to the director of Havana's passenger terminal. According to local reports, the cigar...

Panama Canal to challenge Gulf and Atlantic ports.
February 4, 2008... BYLINE: Rick Eyerdam Recently, Tampa Port Director and Chief Executive Richard Wainio gathered some old friends from his Panama Canal days along with a host of other experts to contemplate the consequences of a fleet of huge ships...

Recent south Florida trade numbers soaring.
February 4, 2008... International trade contributes $51 billion a year to Miami-Dade County's economy and accounts for 7.5 percent of the county's labor force, according to a new international trade study. Meanwhile, a newly revised federal study of the...

Caribbean Development Bank predicts economic downturn.
February 4, 2008... Last year was an active year for economic managers in the English-speaking Caribbean region where the Caribbean Development Bank is the principal financial authority. According to the recently released annual report from the Caribbean...

Gaffney appointed to Jaxport authority.
February 4, 2008... Gov. Charlie Crist has appointed Reginald Gaffney to the Jacksonville Port Authority. Gaffney, 49, is chief executive of the Community Rehabilitation Center. He will succeed Marilyn McAfee, who stepped down in October. Gaffney still...