Florida Shipper articles from May 2008

Florida Shipper archives from May 2008

Contact your legislator.
May 5, 2008... Florida ports are about to lose their competitive edge at a time when we can least afford it, unless the Florida Legislature acts to stop the implementation of duplicative and burdensome security regulations at our ports. The security clearance...

Elbow room.
May 5, 2008... BYLINE: RICK EYERDAM  Perception and reality in the court of public opinion Popularity and the inevitable need to expand have led to some tensions at the Port of Miami and the Port of Jacksonville while diligent plans for growth...

Jaxport, Hamburg Sud in expansion talks.
May 5, 2008... BYLINE: RICK EYERDAM Hamburg Sud and the Port of Jacksonville have completed negotiations on a memorandum of understanding aimed at expanding the carrier's presence at the port. Hamburg Sud is currently limited to a 35-acre lease at...

Building the ports of the future.(Company overview)
May 5, 2008... BYLINE: RICK FERRIN, Executive Director, Jacksonville Port Authority I have a recurring dream, a dream that's been with me since I arrived in Jacksonville more than a decade ago and one that's now shared by my staff, the citizens of Duval...

Bill would license AES users.
May 5, 2008... Bipartisan legislation that would require electronic filing of export declarations and the licensing of exporters who use the Census Bureau's Automated Export System was filed in the House late last week. The Securing Exports Through...

SXXXXXXXX.
May 5, 2008... Marine terminal operators, trucking companies and distribution warehouses are improving their internal productivity, but the future of intermodal transportation lies in systems integration, or "connecting the docks." "These companies don't...

China reportedly down to 12 days of coal stocks.
May 5, 2008... The New Scientists is reporting that China's booming economy could be running out of steam -- literally. "At the end of a cold and stormy winter, the country has just 12 days of coal reserves at most power stations," the online science...

Tropical Shipping to purchase Caribtrans.(Company overview)
May 5, 2008... Nicor Inc. has announced that its subsidiary, Tropical Shipping, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of Miami-based Caribtrans Inc. Terms of the agreement were not announced. Caribtrans is a leading...

Bush keeps sock tariff promise.
May 5, 2008... The Bush administration has decided to keep its promise to the Southern congressmen from sock manufacturing districts that voted for the Central America Free Trade Agreement and will impose a 5 percent tariff on Honduran socks later this year,...

Horizon Lines cuts 2008 forecast.
May 5, 2008... Shipping and logistics company Horizon Lines Inc. has reduced its earnings prediction for the full-year, anticipating weaker-than-expected traffic to Puerto Rico and surging fuel prices but not counting the potential impact of the ongoing...

Former Eller Stevedoring chief, Capt. Arthur Erb, dies.
May 5, 2008... Capt. Arthur E. Erb, a veteran of South Florida marine industry who concluded his career in 1984 as president of Eller Stevedoring, passed away on April 19 following a long illness. He was 86. A graduate of the Merchant Marine Academy at...

Evergreen promotes Buckley and Yu.
May 5, 2008... Evergreen Shipping Agency (America), the North America general agent for Evergreen Line, announced two new appointments at its U.S. head office in Jersey City, N.J. Jay Buckley was named executive vice president of business, and Louise Yu,...

CMA CGM hires Dianora.
May 5, 2008... CMA CGM (America) LLC hired Christopher J. Dianora as director of inbound trans-Pacific services. Dianora has spent more than 25 years in the shipping industry. Most recently, he served as general manager, Pacific services, for Maersk...

Propeller Club heralds Southeast Region standouts.
May 5, 2008... The Southeast Region of the International Propeller Club of the United States announced its highest honors during ceremonies held on Friday, April 11, at the 2008 Southeast Region Conference held in Sarasota, Fla. Capt. Magnus B. Lindeback...

Rick Miller fills post at CMA CGM.
May 5, 2008... CMA CGM (America) LLC appointed Rick Miller director, export trades. He will be responsible for overseeing the pricing and allocation management functions for all North American exports, and will supervise the export trade management group. ...

Colleen O'Keefe promoted to PIERS product marketing manager.
May 5, 2008... Colleen O'Keefe has been promoted to PIERS Global Intelligence Solutions product marketing manager and will oversee the ongoing development, enhancement and extension of PIERS Trade Profiles and PIERS TI trade intelligence product lines. She...

Customs issues new rules for automated in-bond filings.
May 5, 2008... Customs and Boarder Protection has issued a notice for all carriers including truckers that immediately change the Automated Commercial Environment e-manifest guidelines for in-bond cargo movements. The new guidelines were provided by Chris...

House panel calls for national freight transportation policy.
May 5, 2008... BYLINE: R.G. EDMONSON Congressional leaders in transportation policy and industry executives agreed last month that the U.S. needs a national freight transportation policy. In a hearing called by the House Transportation Subcommittee on...

Senate bill would reduce diesel taxes.
May 5, 2008... Legislation introduced in the Senate could decrease the tax on diesel fuel from 24 cents per gallon to 18 cents a gallon. Introduced on April 21 by Sen. Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine, the Diesel Tax Parity Act would lower the tax on diesel to the...

Terminals seen ill-equipped for giant ships.
May 5, 2008... Shipping lines are deploying 10,000- to 14,000-TEU vessels, but terminal operators are not ready for the mega-vessels, according to a European industry analyst. "Marine terminal performance today is not in line with what shipping lines...

MIA's 2007 soaring statistics.
May 5, 2008... Annual trade data from the U.S. Department of Commerce has demonstrated another strong year for Miami International Airport cargo movement during 2007. MIA's final statistics are expected to show MIA maintaining its No. 1 rank in the U.S. and...

Back room futility.
May 12, 2008... I keep reminding the Florida Ports Council that the Legislature and the governor think so little of the importance of our ports and trade that there is not even one legislative subcommittee on ports' issues or trade. There are no Florida...

Follow the money.
May 12, 2008... BYLINE: DAVID BIEDERMAN Sustained economic growth and a rapidly developing consumer market add up to one thing for industrial real estate developers: Opportunity. In South America, developers and related third-party logistics providers are...

Tangle over trade: Dispute between Democrats and Bush thwarts congressional action on Colombia free-trade agreement.
May 12, 2008... BYLINE: WILLIAM ARMBRUSTER Deal would lower tariffs on U.S. exports and boost an important ally The clock is ticking down as the Bush administration enters its final months in office, but U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab said...

Colombia is frustrated by US delays on trade deal.
May 12, 2008... Colombia has waited patiently since the signing of a free-trade agreement with the U.S. on Nov. 22, 2006, and it doesn't want to wait much longer.   "We don't know what will happen in the future," Francisco Santos, the nation's...

Chamber of Commerce seeks small business support.
May 12, 2008... TradeRoots, a division of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that tries to encourage small businesses in grassroots areas of the country to export, is working hard to bolster support for the Colombia free-trade agreement.   A booklet...

Southern exposure.
May 12, 2008... BYLINE: MIKE SEEMUTH Latin American exporters of perishable products are feeling the squeeze as higher jet fuel costs drive up the price of the expedited service prized for their goods so much that exporters of fresh flowers, fish, fruits...

FBI examines Jaxport documents.
May 12, 2008... The Federal Bureau of Investigation has given the Jacksonville Port Authority until the end of this month to produce a wide range of documents concerning the business interest of appointed board member Tony Nelson.   Recent FBI...

TWIC deadline extended.
May 12, 2008... BYLINE: R.G. EDMONSON The Department of Homeland Security has delayed the date for all port workers to have a Transportation Worker Identification Credential in hand from Sept. 25, 2008, to April 15, 2009.   The deadline...

Teamsters ratify DHL pact.
May 12, 2008... Teamsters working at DHL Express ratified their first national agreement on May 1. The labor contract was approved by 82 percent of the more than 7,000 union members who voted. It is the union's second new national agreement in the past 30 days...

Lines in Puerto Rico trade face class-action suit.
May 12, 2008... A class-action civil lawsuit is seeking treble damages for alleged antitrust violations by four carriers in the Puerto Rico trade. They already are the subjects of a Justice Department antitrust investigation into pricing practices.  ...

NCBFAA to fight tariff requirement.
May 12, 2008... The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America will again challenge the Federal Maritime Commission regulation requiring non-vessel-operating common carriers to maintain tariffs, according to Edward Greenberg, the...

Trailer Bridge suspends possible sale.
May 12, 2008... Trailer Bridge, nearly five months after forming a committee to "explore strategic alternatives," including the possibility of an outright sale, announced that it is suspending its active review in light of a Justice Department's antitrust...

Taking less stock.
May 12, 2008... BYLINE: WILLIAM HOFFMAN Inventory reductions will help shippers weather recessionary storms If the U.S. economy is slipping into recession, experts say a couple of decades worth of improvements in inventory management strategies and...

Canadian prime minister opposes NAFTA changes.
May 12, 2008... Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper warned U.S. presidential candidates who have threatened to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement that Canada would be able to drive a tougher bargain in any revised treaty because of its...

Customs can't collect anti-dumping duties.
May 12, 2008...   Importers owe more than $600 million in anti-dumping and countervailing duties, but Customs and Border Protection can't collect the largest share because the importers have disappeared, have no assets or have declared bankruptcy,...

Researchers predict growing demand for air freighters.
May 12, 2008... Two respected research organizations released long-term forecasts for the freighter aircraft market. U.K.-based OAG calculates the current worldwide freighter fleet at 1,879 aircraft. Half of them are widebodies. Counting orders for an...

Twists of fact.
May 19, 2008... 1. Last week in this space I declared the $650 million, backroom deal for Florida to buy 61 miles of CSX track as dead -- and said that adversely affects plans for a much-need connector in northern Jacksonville. This week's Florida Shipper...

POMTOC-Ceres dispute raises old Japan issues.
May 19, 2008... BYLINE: JOSEPH BONNEY From the people who brought you the DP World controversy, here's another port dispute that threatens to explode into an international issue. A seemingly routine case involving stevedoring rights at Miami has suddenly...

Jones Act probe to include Alaska, Hawaii, Guam.
May 19, 2008... The investigation by the Department of Justice into the pricing practices of Jones Act carriers operating in the Puerto Rico trades is being extended to include all domestic trades, including Alaska, Hawaii and Guam. The news about the...

Feds seek more time in ILA RICO case.
May 19, 2008... Federal lawyers have again requested more time to submit replies to defense motions to dismiss the government's civil racketeering lawsuit against the International Longshoremen's Association and its benefit funds. The lawsuit, filed in...

WSC's Koch to join McCain campaign.
May 19, 2008... Chris Koch, president and chief executive of the World Shipping Council, has taken a temporary leave of absence to become policy coordinator for Sen. John McCain's Republican presidential campaign. Koch, who has headed the WSC since its...

TUI repels dissident stockholders.
May 19, 2008... John Fredriksen, the Norwegian shipping tycoon, failed to oust the chairman of Hapag-Lloyd parent TUI but vowed to continue his assault on the German company as it prepares to divest its ocean container shipping business. TUI, Europe's...

Tourism increased 6 percent in Caribbean last year.
May 19, 2008... According to KPMG's Fourth Annual Regional Banking Survey, and statistics released by the Caribbean Tourism Organization and the World Travel and Tourism Council at the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference (CHTIC) in Trinidad,...

Congress expected to boost Haitian textile industry.
May 19, 2008... Recent food riots in Haiti have been leveraged by congressional allies to move forward on tariff concessions for the nation's textile industry. On May 8, congressional negotiators agreed to permit the use of fabrics imported or...

DHL opens hub in Panama.
May 19, 2008... DHL has opened a new cargo-handling facility in Panama and increased its capacity 250 percent to 5,000 packages an hour, the company announced. The 83,000-square-foot facility is located at Tocumen International Airport in Panama. The $4.5...

Shipping through bankruptcy.
May 19, 2008... BYLINE: WILLIAM HOFFMAN With retailers struggling, financial risks are growing for transport and logistics providers When Sharper Image filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February, the upscale electronics retailer's filings...

Miami and Jaxport hear from the courts.
May 19, 2008... Court action in Jacksonville and Miami in early July could have a major impact on development plans for the Port of Miami and the Port of Jacksonville. In Miami wealthy gadfly Norman Braman is suing to stop a $3 billion redevelopment plan...

Customs turns to trade strategy.
May 19, 2008... Customs and Border Protection will enlist the Departmental Advisory Committee for the Commercial Operation of Customs and Border Protection and Related Agencies, or COAC, to flesh out its trade strategy. Commissioner W. Ralph Basham told...

USTDA awards grants for Air Jamaica privatization.
May 19, 2008... The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) in collaboration with the International Finance Corp. awarded two grants on May 5, totaling $820,180, to the Jamaican Ministry of Finance and the Public Service to facilitate the privatization of...

US accounts drag down DHL earnings.
May 26, 2008... Deutsche Post, the German global express and logistics group and parent of DHL, on May 14 reported express division revenue increased 1 percent in the first quarter to 3.4 billion euros ($5.3 billion) but earnings declined 32 percent to $32.5...

Panama Canal wrestling with delays, pilot protests.
May 26, 2008... The Panama Canal Authority announced a series of measures aimed at reducing delays during peak season, including reducing the number of reservation slots and suspending routine maintenance on locks. On May 15, the port authority said it has...

Six liner services to raise Guatemala terminal charge.
May 26, 2008... The six members of the ESPMC-WITASS conference lines will increase their terminal-handling charge in Guatemala by $110 per container southbound and $90 per container northbound, the conference has announced. The new THC rate is in response to...

Caricom gives Haiti $7 million.
May 26, 2008... The Caribbean Community has donated $7 million to its poorest member, the government of Haiti, in response to that nation's food crisis, according to statements during the 11th Meeting of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations...

CMA CGM to launch new South America service.
May 26, 2008... CMA CGM announced it will launch a new weekly service, ANDEX, that will be dedicated to the west coast of South America, effective this June. ANDEX will be 100 percent operated by CMA CGM. It will deploy three geared vessels with a...

Panel OKs bill delaying Customs 'first sale' changes.
May 26, 2008... The Senate has overwhelmingly agreed to the conference report for comprehensive agriculture legislation that includes a provision that would forestall action by Customs and Border Protection to re-interpret rules governing "first sale"...

Angel of death.
May 26, 2008... When a small barge filled with Miami River muck recently buckled, blocking the tiny, shallow channel to boat passage, a wag from pristine New Jersey sent me a note: "Barge blocks Miami River, cocaine costs expected to rise." I lived in the...

Missing the boat on exports: Lack of vessel capacity and containers undermines weak dollar impetus.
May 26, 2008... BYLINE: WILLIAM ARMBRUSTER Exporters fret that they may lose business because of delivery delays U.S. exporters may lose tens of millions of dollars in potential sales because of the shortages of vessel capacity and containers....

Higher freight and inventory costs pose threat to export growth.
May 26, 2008... BYLINE: WILLIAM ARMBRUSTER The weak dollar has given U.S. exporters a cost advantage in foreign markets where they never used to have a chance because their products were more expensive than goods produced locally or in other foreign...

Private label's misdelivery.
May 26, 2008... BYLINE: WILLIAM HOFFMAN Retailers are increasingly turning to private-label merchandise to bolster profit margins in fiercely competitive markets. But they're finding the gap between actual and expected transit times for freight is a...

Report: Crew shortages threaten global trade.(Report)
May 26, 2008... The shortage of global deck officers could number as high as 34,000 this year and could rise to 90,000 by 2012, according to a new report by Drewry Shipping Consultants. One of the consequences of the shortfall will be an increasing upward...

GAO challenges DHS service acquisition strategies.
May 26, 2008... The Department of Homeland Security spent $12.7 billion on service acquisitions to meet its expansive mission in fiscal 2006 with little idea how to quantify success, according to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office. ...

WTO calls on US to cut trade barriers.
May 26, 2008... The U.S. should cut barriers to its markets to help it tackle economic turmoil, and boost its exports to deal with its current trade deficit, the World Trade Organization said in a trade policy review. Further adjustment and reforms by the...

FCBF elects 2008-2009 board of directors.
May 26, 2008... The members of the Florida Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association have selected its leadership teams for 2008-2009. Chosen for the executive board are Albert Oses, president; Cari Cossio, first vice president, airfreight; Dante Versaci...

DHL parent names new chief for troubled US operation.
May 26, 2008... BYLINE: MICHAEL FABEY Frank Appel, the new chief executive of Deutsche Post World Net, is wasting little time in making good on his promise to address the dismal performance of the German giant's DHL U.S. operations. On May 6, Appel...

Ports America retrieves Lagaay.
May 26, 2008... Wim Lagaay has returned from Maersk to Ports America as its chief operating officer responsible for day-to-day operations and execution of the company's business plan. In a release, the company said Lagaay will work closely with chief...

Econocaribe promotes two in Miami.
May 26, 2008... Econocaribe announced that it has promoted two employees at its Miami headquarters.The non-vessel-operating common carrier named Suzanne Choo Quan manager of operations and customers for its full-containerload business. When she joined the...

West Coast dock stoppage worries industry and shippers.
May 26, 2008... BYLINE: BILL MONGELLUZZO The eight-hour work stoppage by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union on May 1 to protest the war in Iraq sent shivers down the spines of importers and exporters who ship through West Coast ports. ...

ILA chief confident on next contract.
May 26, 2008... The president of the International Longshoremen's Association said the ILA is "confident and optimistic" about negotiations for a new contract to replace the one that expires Sept. 30, 2010. Richard P. Hughes, who was elected president of...

EU marketplace may reopen this fall to US poultry.
May 26, 2008... BYLINE: PETER T. LEACH The huge European Union market for U.S. poultry products may open up by this fall after an 11-year ban that has closed off a market of 496 million consumers in 27 countries. Brussels has banned imports of fresh...