Florida Shipper articles from July 2007

Florida Shipper archives from July 2007

And statistics.
July 2, 2007... The fact that Global Insight and its Port Tracker don't include any of Florida's major ports in their monthly and annual calculations can be aggravating at times. But it's a lot like what Mark Twain said about statistics. On June 6, Port...

Mexico, the other China.
July 2, 2007... BYLINE: Rick Eyerdam More than 10 years ago as third-party candidate Ross Perot's giant sucking sounds subsided and NAFTA's potential was identified, China was not on the agenda of major manufacturers, nor was just-in-time logistics or the...

Mexico's Asia connection.
July 2, 2007... BYLINE: Alan M. Field The overland corridor between Mexico and the U.S. is not the only trade alternative at work in Mexico. For several years, there have been predictions that ports on Mexico's Pacific Coast could provide an...

Sidetracked, not derailed.
July 2, 2007... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo When Union Pacific Railroad said in May it wouldn't join Hutchison Port Holdings in developing a large container port and intermodal rail connection at Punta Colonet, Mexico, it threw a cloud over the project's...

New rule guarantees rates for Vancouver box truckers.
July 2, 2007... The Canadian government is moving to guarantee pay rates for container truckers at the Port of Vancouver in a bid to stabilize the work force by eliminating rate-cutting for independent owner-operator drivers. Transport Canada announced...

Turnover for truck drivers at two-year high.
July 2, 2007... The turnover rate for drivers at large truckload and less-than-truckload carriers in the first quarter increased to its highest level since 2005, according to the latest report by the American Trucking Associations. The group, which began...

Trade executives warn 10+2 to bring big changes.
July 2, 2007... Customs and Border Protection's new security-driven "10+2" program for advance collection of import data will produce bigger changes than many companies expect, trade industry executives warned. The 10+2 program was a hot topic at the 86th...

APL expands Central American service.
July 2, 2007... APL has added a third vessel string with fixed weekly sailings to complement its existing CAX and MCX services linking the U.S. East Coast and Central America. The first voyage of the Central America East Coast service (CAE) will commence...

Jamaican airport wants to challenge MIA.
July 2, 2007... The Airports Authority of Jamaica (AAJ) is seeking investors to complete its plans to transform Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) into a major air-cargo transshipment hub for the Central and South American region. Earl Richards,...

US to Caricom: Heal thyself.
July 2, 2007... As has been the case in the U.S. whenever complicated problems arise, President Bush turned his meeting with heads of the Caribbean Community, into a discussion on terrorists and threats to national boarders. According to reports in...

DHL opens international gateway in Mexico.
July 2, 2007... Express delivery and logistics services provider DHL recently opened a new international gateway in Hermosillo, Mexico, which will offer international next-day service and enable the company to meet the growing needs of companies shipping...

Truck plan draws dissent.
July 2, 2007... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo An ambitious but controversial plan of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to reduce pollution from trucks by 80 percent over the next five years is becoming more of a labor issue than a battle over...

A.P. Moller-Maersk in major management shake-up.
July 2, 2007... BYLINE: Bruce Barnard A.P. Moller-Maersk, owner of Maersk Line, is facing a major management shake-up after it hired an outsider to replace its chief executive who is stepping down early and two other top executives quit. In a surprise...

Resist all-out waterfront gentrification, ports told.
July 2, 2007... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo Development of residential facilities on prime waterfront property produces a much higher return on investment, but port executives gathered for a recent conference were warned to resist the temptation to forfeit...

Japan eyes trade pacts with US, EU.
July 2, 2007... The Japanese government later this month is expected to adopt policy guidelines for 2007 calling for economic partnership agreements that include free-trade accords with the U.S. and EU. Hiroko Ota, minister for economic and fiscal policy,...

Shippers beware.
July 9, 2007... Shippers and consignees need to have a conversation with their attorneys or their associations and give some thought to recent changes that have occurred and are proposed among members of the International Warehouse Logistics Association. ...

Winning at C-TPAT craps.
July 9, 2007... BYLINE: Lenny Feldman, Esq. The field is a sucker bet; play inside When former Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Robert Bonner launched the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism at the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit in...

Miami's $50 million for port tunnel in doubt.
July 9, 2007... The city of Miami and Miami-Dade County are under fire from the new owners of the Miami Herald after generations of graft, mismanagement and corruption went unreported and unindicted. The McClatchy paper recently won a Pulitzer Prize...

Air boon for Jaxport.
July 9, 2007... The Port of Jacksonville's growing cruise ship operation got a boost at the end of June when Frontier Airlines, a Denver-based carrier, launched a daily nonstop service from Denver International Airport to Jacksonville International Airport,...

Trade deals come down to the wire.
July 9, 2007... Congressional negotiators agreed on June 26 to extend special trade preferences for Ecuador, Colombia, Peru and Bolivia another eight months. They were originally set to expire on July 1. The Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act...

Bahamas Customs upgrades.
July 9, 2007... The Bahama Journal reported that because the Bahamas Customs Department is continually subjected to fraud, it is taking steps to become more efficient. David Beneby, superintendent of Bahamas Customs, announced this at a conference on money...

INTTRA opens Florida office.
July 9, 2007... Because virtually all of its 24 ocean carrier customers and a growing number of exporters and importers operate in this hemisphere, INTTRA created an expanded base of operations near Miami, the cargo management software company said. The...

CMA CGM Herodote christened.
July 9, 2007... CMA CGM unveiled what may become the ship of the future for the Caribbean and coastal commerce recently when it christened its new vessel, the CMA CGM Herodote, at Southampton City Cruise Terminal in England. The CMA CGM Herodote is the...

Airgroup adds Latin America gateway in Miami.
July 9, 2007... Radiant Logistics Inc. announced that its unit, Airgroup Corp., has opened a new operations base in Miami. The new Airgroup-MIA office will provide a wide range of domestic and international freight forwarding and logistics services. The...

Freight a safety-zone in new SAFETEA measure?
July 9, 2007... BYLINE: R.G. Edmonson When Congress was putting together the final version of the SAFETEA-LU legislation, freight transportation advocates had high hopes that the issues of deteriorating infrastructure and growing congestion would get...

US-Mexico trucking plan attacked.
July 9, 2007... The Department of Transportation may have been hoping to quell a controversy with the publication last month of new details about its new cross-border trucking program, but the new information only brought a new round of criticism. "The...

POMTOC prepares for 750,000 TEUs.
July 9, 2007... Recent technology improvements have prepared the Port of Miami Terminal Operating Co. terminal at the Dante B. Fascell Port of Miami to achieve a 750,000-TEU annual throughput. "We have seen steady growth in the past 10 years, despite some...

China slashes export rebates.
July 9, 2007... BYLINE: William Armbruster China announced a series of measures designed to reduce the nation's burgeoning trade surplus by reducing subsidies for Chinese exports and by temporarily reducing tariffs on certain imported goods. The most...

China vows to strengthen food safety rules.
July 9, 2007... China's top regulatory standards official pledged to strengthen enforcement of food safety rules following discoveries of tainted foods. Several countries from Latin America to Asia have rejected exports of toothpaste, and Chinese wheat gluten...

White to replace Royster at Baltimore.
July 9, 2007... F. Brooks Royster, previously a leader of the Port of Miami Terminal Operating Co., announced on June 14 he'll step down on July 31 with three years left on his five-year contract as executive director of the Maryland Port Administration. ...

Customs technology czar MacDonald joins Sandler & Travis.
July 9, 2007... Sandler & Travis Trade Advisory Services has attracted Rod MacDonald to join the firm's Washington, D.C., office as a senior vice president. MacDonald recently retired after 34 years of federal service, 25 of which were with U.S. Customs...

Collar to head Crowley's new division.
July 9, 2007... Crowley Maritime Corp. promoted Steve Collar, a 30-year veteran of the company, to senior vice president and general manager of a new technical services division that was created last month. The new division combines various Crowley...

Bohnsack joins pilot commission.
July 9, 2007... Fran Bohnsack, executive director of the Miami River Commission, has been appointed Florida's Board of Pilot Commissioners. Bohnsack organized the terminals along the Miami River and its maritime business to perform as a port and meet U.S....

Trade partners.
July 16, 2007... The era of business-driven trade agreements has passed along with President Bush's fast-track trade authority and the ascendance of the slim Democratic majority. Those Democrats must mend fences with organized labor and small business to expand...

Few free-trade agreements; lots of opportunities.
July 16, 2007... BYLINE: Rosalind McLymont A&K Railroad Materials Inc. has been conducting business in Peru for 25 years, selling rail and track materials for railroad, mine and crane applications. Exports from the Salt Lake City, Utah, company to Peru and...

South America at a glance.
July 16, 2007... (Unless otherwise noted, statistics as of 2003, most current available.) Number of countries: 13. Population: 364.2 million. GDP: $2.7 trillion. Per Capita Income: projected to reach $7,300 by 2020. Unemployment: 10.8...

Brazil: Intelligent Cargo and Intelligent Network Port Logistics Chain.
July 16, 2007... Below is a list of trade capacity enhancement projects in South America that are supported by the U.S. Trade Development Agency. The TDA's support paves the way for U.S. companies to provide goods and services for these projects. Brazil:...

Trade partners.
July 16, 2007... Dancing with the ones that bought us President Bush has lost his power to seal "fast-track" trade agreements without intervention from Congress. Despite pleas from the National Association of Manufacturers and other business...

The Panama conundrum.
July 16, 2007... BYLINE: Rose Horowitz It's early in the game for U.S. and international companies to claim success in the $5.25 billion expansion of the Panama Canal, but business executives are hustling to gain a foothold in this huge construction...

Smaller importers, NVOs face trans-Pacific capacity crunch.
July 16, 2007... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo If you're an importer or non-vessel-operating common carrier and you haven't secured vessel space for this year's peak season of trade with Asia, beware. What you see now in Asia-to-U.S. capacity is all that will...

Dispute threatens LA-LongBeach.
July 16, 2007... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo While the main West Coast longshore contract expires next year, labor trouble could come to the docks much sooner. More than 900 members of a union that represents office workers in Southern California have voted...

Supply-chain insiders in $700 million counterfeit ring.
July 16, 2007... The federal government has charged 29 individuals with smuggling $700 million worth of counterfeit consumer products into the United States. Among the defendants arraigned in the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn were importers, truckers,...

Chiquita completes fleet sale.
July 16, 2007... Chiquita Brands International has completed the sale of its 12 refrigerated cargo vessels for $227 million. The ships have been chartered back from an alliance formed by Eastwind Maritime Inc. and NYKLauritzenCool AB. The parties also...

US seeks WTO review of EU banana tariffs.
July 16, 2007... The U.S. wants the World Trade Organization to review whether tariffs set by the European Union for importing bananas breaches EU obligations to the WTO, the U.S. Trade Representative said. The move relates to the EU's apparent failure to...

British Airways to return to Port of Spain.
July 16, 2007... After an absence of 33 years, British Airways has scheduled service between London and Port of Spain. Robert Boyle, commercial director for the airline, told local papers that BA is responding to demand from the oil and gas industry but...

Functional cooperation for Caricom.
July 16, 2007... The leaders of the Caribbean Community met earlier this month and drafted an eight-page document that popular Caribbean columnist Rickey Singh described as a way "to give substance to their new outlook on functional cooperation." The...

Fyffe's Atlantic Shipping links Ireland and the Americas.
July 16, 2007... Fyffe's Atlantic Shipping and Europe West Indies Lines on July 6 officially launched its new weekly linear service directly linking Ireland with Canada, the U.S., South America and the Caribbean, at the offices of the Dublin Port Co. This is...

Caribbean Basin ship services often late.
July 16, 2007... When it comes to container ships sticking to a schedule, Drewry Shipping Consultants says it happens less than half the time and is even worse than that in the trade lanes of the Caribbean Basin. Oceangoing container ships arrived on...

Canal expansion gives boost to Panama's thriving economy.
July 16, 2007... BYLINE: Rose Horowitz Panama's economy is booming and ranks as one of the fastest growing in Latin America. The Panama economy expanded 8 percent last year and is expected to grow 8 percent this year, said Robert Jones, senior commercial...

The Canada connection.
July 16, 2007... BYLINE: Rosalind McLymont Ask most Americans which country is the biggest U.S. trade partner and they would probably say China. That's understandable, given all the publicity about Chinese imports and the visibility of the "Made in China"...

Canada: Just the facts.
July 16, 2007... Economic overview: As an affluent, high-tech industrial society in the trillion-dollar class, Canada resembles the U.S. in its market-oriented economic system, pattern of production and affluent living standards. Since World War II, the...

House panel OKs bill to reclassify FedEx workers.
July 16, 2007... The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has approved legislation that could change the ground rules for more than 100,000 FedEx Express employees. The committee passed an amendment to a funding bill for federal air traffic...

DHL completes Polar Air deal.
July 16, 2007... DHL Express has closed on its deal to acquire a 49 percent stake in Polar Air Cargo for $150 million in cash, according to Atlas Worldwide Holdings Inc., parent company of Polar Air. The deal includes a 20-year commercial arrangement and a...

Caribbean security.
July 16, 2007... Stabroek News, Guyana, Editorial, June 26, 2007 It was more than a coincidence that, almost exactly 10 years ago, U.S. President Clinton met Caribbean Community leaders in Bridgetown, Barbados. Attended by Samuel Hinds who was then Guyana's...

Fulmer Logistics names Stewart COO.
July 19, 2007... Fulmer Logistics Corp. has named Paul Stewart chief operating officer and general counsel. Orlando, Fla.-based Fulmer Logistics is the parent company of Fulmer Brothers Inc., Fleet Global Services Inc., and 4-E Logistics. Stewart formerly...

The July ritual.
July 23, 2007... Frequently, Florida Shipper and our sister publication, The Journal of Commerce, mention the names of Florida's transportation leaders who set the course for commerce at sea, in the air and on land with a flare and dedication that sets them...

Puzzle solution: The warehouse of the future.
July 23, 2007... BYLINE: Rick Eyerdam The idea of stowing away tons of supplies for an acid rainy day is passe, apparently, in this just-in-time world. Leaf Cay is a Bahamian islet ringed by white beaches and pristine water with a row of 15 warehouses...

Plastic fantastic Florida firm offers 'green' plastic pallets.
July 23, 2007... BYLINE: Rick Eyerdam Hy Elster and his partners have been collecting tons of plastic containers for the past 26 years and shipping them off to China where everything has a value. The primary substances for recycling are polyethylene...

Port Manatee expects rebound in forest product imports.
July 23, 2007... Port Manatee is showing some symptoms of the U.S. housing slump that has hurt ports focused on the shipment of forest products. But Port Manatee officials say the worst is in the past. The addition of new service, coupled with construction of a...

Terrorists blow Mexico pipelines.
July 23, 2007... More than 100 companies in Mexico, including automakers Nissan and Honda and cereal maker Kellogg Co. reduced or suspended production after a pipeline explosion in July interrupted natural gas supplies. The blast occurred in the industrial...

Extension for TWIC port secure area compliance.
July 23, 2007... The Coast Guard is extending to Sept. 4 the deadline for port facilities regulated by the Maritime Transportation Security Act to redefine secure areas to comply with the Transportation Worker Identification Credential rule. After the MTSA...

Seven signs of terrorist activity.
July 23, 2007... The Miami Police Department has promulgated seven signs of terrorism to educate the public about how to properly identify a potential threat. The seven signs of terrorism are: * Surveillance: Someone recording or monitoring activities....

FFTA seeking funds for International Transportation Tribute.
July 23, 2007... The Florida Foreign Trade Association (FFTA) is asking Florida's trade community to become part of local international transportation history. "The FFTA is leading an endeavor to honor those outstanding individuals who were instrumental in...

South Africa seeks ties with Cuba, Panama, Mexico and Spain.
July 23, 2007... The South African press is reporting a serious effort by South African leaders to extend ties with Cuba, Panama, Mexico and Spain. Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad and Deputy Finance Minister Jabu Moleketi visited Cuba in July to...

Miami budgets for security.
July 23, 2007... Miami Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez has submitted his budget for this austere fiscal year but spared the Dante B. Fascell Port of Miami from cuts. In fact, the budget expresses a desire, without specific funds, to support the proposed tunnel...

International airfreight rebounds.
July 23, 2007... International air cargo registered 5 percent growth in May, its strongest month since a 5.1 percent increase in May 2006, according to the International Air Transport Association. "The pickup in freight, led by Asia, could be the first sign...

Focus is on distribution centers to reduce supply-chain costs.
July 23, 2007... BYLINE: Bill Mongelluzzo Shippers can do little about record diesel fuel prices, escalating rail rates or port capacity constraints, so they are turning their attention to a segment of the supply chain that they can control -- the...

Big things predicted for Central American and Caribbean ports.
July 23, 2007... BYLINE: Richard Knee and Rick Eyerdam Despite recent criticisms by a U.S. government agency of their ports and the collapse of a key railroad linking internal Guatemala with the sea at Puerto Barrios, the experts say the Caribbean Basin...

CEVA Logistics promotes three.
July 23, 2007... CEVA Logistics announced the promotions of three key managers in its North American operations. James Krepp has been promoted to vice president of procurement. Krepp started with the company in 1997 in the purchasing and finance area and...

Port Manatee Propeller Club re-elects Tyndal.
July 23, 2007... Steve Tyndal was re-elected as president of the Port Manatee Propeller Club during ceremonies at the Bradenton Yacht Club in June. Tyndal is Port Manatee's senior director of trade development and special projects and served as the club's...

Customs' Heffelfinger joins Sandler & Travis.
July 23, 2007... Sandler & Travis Trade Advisory Services continues its attraction of senior government officials with the hiring of William S. Heffelfinger III for the firm's Washington, D.C., office where he will serve as senior vice president, cargo and...

Evergreen shuffles US management.
July 23, 2007... Evergreen Group announced a series of promotions in its Americas group, effective July 1. S.Y. Kuo, who had served as vice group chairman overseeing all Evergreen Group business in the Americas, was promoted to second vice group chairman...

Hughes to succeed ILA's Bowers.
July 23, 2007... BYLINE: Joseph Bonney John Bowers, president of the International Longshoremen's Association for 20 years, plans to step down this month as the ILA's top leader and will be succeeded by Richard Hughes Jr., the union's executive vice...

ILWU office workers make demands.
July 23, 2007... International Longshore and Warehouse Union office workers in Southern California ILWU Local 63 threatened to shut down the nation's largest ports on July 16 if they did not secure a 13 percent increase in wages and benefits. On Friday,...

Japan seeks free-trade accords.
July 23, 2007... A new government report is urging Japan to lay plans for free-trade agreements with the U.S. and the European Union. Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in its annual report on international trade details Tokyo's policy of...

Canada, CARICOM in free-trade talks.
July 27, 2007... Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada has been touring the Caribbean seeking a stronger Canadian role in the Americas, including through free-trade negotiations with the 15-nation Caribbean Community (CARICOM). "Canada's relationships...

Fair is fair.
July 30, 2007... I tend to sympathize with the dilemma facing independent truck drivers. And I think it would be terrific if the ports found some way to hire truckers as casual employees, give them some limited benefits and help them learn to adapt to the...

Miami de-vice:.
July 30, 2007... BYLINE: Rick Eyerdam Pressure at the port's gates will ease soon Miami trade and logistics are about to get major relief in time for holiday-season imports and exports from some new devices. They are the long-delayed high-technology...

Shakeup at Maersk: No immediate impact in Miami.
July 30, 2007... BYLINE: Peter T. Leach As the shock waves from A.P. Moller-Maersk's management shakeup begin to subside, Maerskologists are poring over the seismic reports. Do the changes signal a disagreement over future strategy for Maersk Line, which...

Conferees set 2012 deadline for container scan-all.
July 30, 2007... BYLINE: R.G. Edmonson Congressional conferees on July 19 agreed that within five years, all cargo containers bound for the United States will be scanned before loading aboard ships at foreign ports. Senators and representatives meeting...

Proposal to ban some felons from port areas advances.
July 30, 2007... Congress has approved a proposal to ban "serious felons" from secure port areas. However, the felonies in question already are part of Transportation Security Administration rules. On July 18, the House voted 354-66 to instruct its members...

Taiwan's Lu urges Latin American investment.
July 30, 2007... Taiwan's Vice President Annette Lu recently urged Taiwanese companies to relocate some of their overseas investments from China to Latin America to "help reduce investment risks." Addressing a colloquium held at the Chunan office of the...

Mexico unveils $37 billion transport plan.
July 30, 2007... Mexico hopes to build three new airports serving beach resorts and construct thousands of miles of new roads as part of a $37 billion transport facelift announced by the government this month. The five-year public-private infrastructure...

Port Everglades set to debut radiation detectors.
July 30, 2007... Seven radiation portal monitors designed to detect nuclear weapons of mass destruction will be operational at Port Everglades by mid-August, the port announced. Meanwhile, the Port of Miami announced that its security gates would also be open...