Florida Shipper articles from September 2006

Florida Shipper archives from September 2006

It's a viaduct.
September 4, 2006... BYLINE: Mike Seemuth Airport shows port how to deal with trucks A four-year road project promises to make more room for truck traffic near the cargo side of Miami International Airport, widening a stretch of Northwest 25th Street...

Port or peanuts?
September 4, 2006... My friend Jorge Rovirosa called a while back, hot about an article in the local paper that claimed that Major League Baseball was considering construction of a Marlins stadium right on the already-crowded route to the Port of Miami. Here's what...

Check the clauses.
September 4, 2006... BYLINE: Daniel W. Raab Packers Provision Company of Florida Inc. v. Dole Ocean Cargo Express Inc. 2005 WL3990508 (M.D. Fla.), 2006 A.M.C. 370. This is a case that was heard in the Middle District of Florida related to cargo damage by an...

Bill calling for container fee still before California Legislature.
September 4, 2006... California State Sen. Alan Lowenthal is attempting to resurrect a bill that would levy a $30 per-TEU charge on all containers passing through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The proceeds would be split evenly among infrastructure...

Gemini Air Cargo emerges from Chapter 11.
September 4, 2006... Gemini Air Cargo Inc. has successfully emerged from Chapter 11 after having its Plan of Reorganization confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court on July 20, 2006. Under the terms of the restructuring, Gemini's largest pre-petition lender, Bayside...

APHIS extends comment period on fruit, vegetable import rules.
September 4, 2006... The Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has extended the comment period following its April notice in the Federal Register proposing to revise and reorganize the import regulations for fruits and vegetables....

FedEx, UPS hike fuel fees.
September 4, 2006... FedEx Express and UPS, the two biggest players in the U.S. express package market, raised their fuel surcharges for overnight air parcels to 17 percent for September from 16 percent. The carriers listed the new fuel fees in Web site...

CMA CGM opens direct Asia-Caribbean link.
September 4, 2006... CMA CGM is upgrading its Pacific East Coast Express 2 service, known as PEX2. It links the Far East with Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. With its first sailing on Aug. 29, CMA CGM began the modified PEX 2 weekly service with eight...

British Virgin Islands hires new director of ports.
September 4, 2006... The British Virgin Islands recently appointed Vincent O'Neal managing director of the port authority. O'Neal was appointed managing director on Aug. 1 for a two-year period. He has held numerous managerial and supervisory positions in...

United Shipping adds partner in El Salvador.
September 4, 2006... United Shipping has added Panamerican Logistics Group De El Salvador to its network of independent freight forwarders. The San Salvador-based forwarder was formed in 2000 and has 30 employees. United Shipping's membership covers more...

Jamaica looks to China's growth.
September 4, 2006... Jamaican corporate executives believe that the robust growth forecast for China's economy in 2006 and beyond is bound to have positive implications for Jamaica in areas such as trade, tourism and manufacturing, according to recent reports in...

G&G Shipping celebrates 10th vessel.
September 4, 2006... Cabinet members from the Bahaman government and local shippers joined with G&G Shipping on Aug. 25 for the christening of the Sea Express II, the 10th vessel added to the unique fleet that is key to the building boom in the Bahamas. The...

Trade experts join Florida firms.
September 4, 2006... Two of Florida's most prestigious trade practices - Becker & Poliakoff and Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg - have added new legal talent with broad experience as federal trade officials. Before joining Becker & Poliakoff, Deborah Stern...

Ogle joins Trans-Net.
September 4, 2006... Charles M. Ogle has joined Trans-Net Inc. as senior operations executive. In this position, he will lead the operations and customer service functions at the company. Ogle most recently served as vice president of ocean services at DHL...

New Caribbean tune: Transshipment, no problem!
September 11, 2006... BYLINE: Peter T. Leach Competition for transshipment cargoes among Caribbean container ports is heating up as they strive to outdo each other by expanding their facilities and adding new logistics and distribution services. They are...

Consider China this Sept. 11.
September 11, 2006... U.S. Trade Chief Susan Schwab officially spent her Labor Day holiday talking up trade in China to help restart stalled World Trade Organization talks. Actually, she was hot on the heel of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez who had been in Beijing...

Survey finds improved rail service.
September 11, 2006... Service on U.S. railroads improved markedly from a year ago, according to a recent survey of shippers by Bear Stearns. "Our second-quarter survey results indicate that rail service levels improved on both a sequential and year-over-year...

US presses China to help revive Doha trade talks.
September 11, 2006... U.S. trade negotiators have appealed to their Chinese counterparts for help in restarting the suspended Doha Round of global trade talks. While visiting Beijing, U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab also appealed to Commerce Minister Bo...

Suez Canal sets daily income record.
September 11, 2006... The Suez Canal set a record in August for daily income, which reached $14.3 million. According to the Suez Canal Authority, the record was set on Aug. 21 when 60 ships carrying a total of 2.9 million tons of cargo passed through the canal. The...

Pilots ratify UPS contract.
September 11, 2006... Union pilots on Aug. 24 ratified a new labor contract with UPS that runs through 2011. The 2,623 members who voted approved the contract in a ratio of 56.5 percent to 43.5 percent, UPS said in a statement. The contract covers 2,775...

Trinidad workers protest port conditions.
September 11, 2006... Following protests by its employees, the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago has agreed to fix facilities at the Port of Spain container terminal. Michael Annisette, president of the Seamen and Waterfront Workers Trade Union, told local...

Transshipments increase in Jamaica.
September 11, 2006... Transshipment activity at the island's ports of entry increased in the first quarter of 2006, with 4,937,748 tons of cargo handled, compared with 4,698,768 tons during the same period last year, according to the Planning Institute of Jamaica's...

Panama Canal maintenance creates ship traffic jam.
September 11, 2006... Work on the Gatun Locks at the Panama Canal in late August created a 90-ship backlog for vessels using the waterway and prompted one fuel tanker to pay more than $200,000 to cut in line rather than wait its turn. Vessels without slot...

Chiquita veteran named director of Wilmington port operations.
September 11, 2006... The Diamond State Port Corp., operator of the Port of Wilmington, Del., announced that Frank Vignuli has accepted the position of director of operations, effective Aug. 28. He reports to Gene R. Bailey, executive director. For more than...

Jaxport promotes Alfonso director of container cargo.
September 11, 2006... The Jacksonville Port Authority has promoted Raul Alfonso to director of container cargo. He will work with existing and potential customers to increase containerized cargoes and associated business through the port, as well as to oversee sales...

Guthridge is administrative judge at Federal Maritime Commission.
September 11, 2006... Clay G. Guthridge has joined the staff of administrative judges at the Federal Maritime Commission, Chairman Steven R. Blust announced. Guthridge received his law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law. He most recently...

De Jong to lead Air France-KLM cargo marketing.
September 11, 2006... Arend de Jong has been appointed senior vice president of marketing network for the joint operations of Air France-KLM Cargo, effective Sept. 1. De Jong succeeds Bram Graber, who will be taking over the position of senior vice president of...

Arend de Jong has been appointed senior vice president of marketing network for the joint operations of Air France-KLM Cargo, effective Sept. 1.
September 11, 2006... The Governing Board of the Jacksonville Port Authority has elected Tony D. Nelson board chairman for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1. Nelson served as vice chairman for fiscal year 2005-2006. He is also the president of the First Coast...

Kansas City Southern appoints Reeves.
September 11, 2006... Kansas City Southern has appointed David C. Reeves associate general counsel. Reeves joins KCS from Baker & Miller PLLC of Washington, D.C., a firm specializing in antitrust and the transportation industry. Reeves represented KCS as...

Waterway woes: Katrina's destructive wrath demonstrated weakness of system.
September 11, 2006... BYLINE: David Biederman The nation's waterways infrastructure was in dire condition long before last summer. But when Hurricane Katrina blew through the Gulf Coast - causing the tragic collapse of New Orleans' levee system - it drove the...

Post-Katrina efforts could resuscitate transport, supply chain.
September 14, 2006... BYLINE: R.G. Edmonson Reaction to Hurricane Katrina has caused the federal government to focus on an overlooked aspect of supply-chain security, and that could have a positive effect: how transportation infrastructure and the supply chain...

Drawback program allows exporters to get refunds on import duties for raw materials and components.
September 18, 2006... BYLINE: Rosalind McLymont Many companies don't bother to file claims because the process is so complicated A duty refund program that has long been a source of frustration for importers, exporters, manufacturers and customs brokers may...

Types of drawback.
September 18, 2006... Section 1313 of Title 19 of the U.S. Code, the Customs statute for duty drawback, authorizes more than a dozen types of drawback. Key among them are: * Substitution drawback. A refund of duties paid on designated imported merchandise upon...

Locations of drawback centers.
September 18, 2006... Chicago U.S. Customs and Border Protection 610 S. Canal St., Room 602 Chicago, Ill. 60607-4523   Houston U.S. Customs and Border Protection 2350 N. Sam Houston Parkway East Suite 1000 Houston, Texas 77032 Los Angeles-Long Beach U.S....

Proposed changes in drawback rules.
September 18, 2006... In September 2002, the Trade Support Network's Revenue Committee established a drawback subcommittee, comprising members of the trade community, Customs and Border Protection and the e-Customs Partnership (companies helping to write a new...

Reefer recovery: Florida and Gulf ports chilling out.
September 18, 2006... BYLINE: Janet Nodar Ports along the Gulf of Mexico that export and import refrigerated and frozen foods have nearly returned to pre-Katrina levels, proving that persistent demand can overcome even the most catastrophic events. Imports...

Dutch test long-and-heavy trucks.
September 18, 2006... The papers in Europe are talking about the Netherlands, the sunken state surrounded by huge dikes. They share with the U.S. the burden of too many trucks and too few roads and have taken a major step toward the nationwide introduction of...

Council created to preserve seaport security.
September 18, 2006... Gov. Bush recently formed the Seaport Security Standards Advisory Council. Ken Hern, the Port of Palm Beach's director of security and port facility security officer, is one of two security directors from the state's 14 ports selected to serve...

Training video for longshoremen ensures less vehicle damage.
September 18, 2006... Jacksonville's port ranks No. 2 for handling U.S. vehicles. Moving more than half-a-million passenger cars, trucks and other vehicles each year, Jaxport trails only the Port of New York-New Jersey. Jaxport has the lowest incidence of...

Grimaldi adds US-Africa roll-on, roll-off service.
September 18, 2006... The Grimaldi Group has added a twice-monthly direct roll-on, roll-off and container service between the U.S. East Coast and West Africa commencing in October. The addition is an enhancement of Grimaldi's existing monthly ro-ro service...

Cost and congestion lead ships to Caucedo over Kingston.
September 18, 2006... Container ships are skipping calls at the Port of Kingston in favor of delivering cargo in the Dominican Republic for feeder shipment to Kingston, according to detailed reports in the local papers. Jamaican shippers complain they are losing out...

Caribbean carriers boost bunker fee.
September 18, 2006... Member carriers of the Caribbean Shipowners Association announced increases in their bunker surcharges. Effective Oct. 1, the surcharge will increase to $180 from $144 for a 20-foot container and to $344 from $272 for a 40-footer. Equipment...

World Bank: Trade tasks getting easier.
September 18, 2006... BYLINE: Alan Field Doing business throughout the world became easier in 2005-06, according to a new report by the World Bank and the International Finance Corp., the private-sector arm of the World Bank Group. The report found that 213...

Tampa port expenses rise.
September 18, 2006... The Port of Tampa will post strong cargo volumes when its fiscal year ends on Sept. 30, but the port's biggest challenge in fiscal 2007 will be ballooning operating expenses, a port official said. Port officials said during a budget...

TACA holds fuel bill.
September 18, 2006... The fuel charge of the Trans-Atlantic Conference Agreement won't change at least through Nov. 15. The discussion agreement announced that the fuel charge for traffic to, from and via Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports will remain at $467 per...

Pentamaran ro-pax design reduces US coastal congestion.
September 18, 2006... BMT Nigel Gee and Associates Ltd., designer of high-speed and innovative ships and boats for commercial, military and yachting purposes, has completed the design of a large, high-speed ro-pax vessel for SeaBridge USA Inc. The operator of fast,...

US screening eight out of 10 boxes, Chertoff says.
September 18, 2006... The Bush administration has provided for nearly $10 billion in material and operational support for port security since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. "These actions have not...

Recent drawback improvements.
September 18, 2006... The Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004, H.R. 1047, signed into law by President Bush on Dec. 3 as Public Law 108-429 and effective 15 days later, improved drawback procedures by providing for: * A shorter time limit...

Numbers game: Breakbulk ports log large, late numbers.
September 25, 2006... When Hurricane Katrina demolished the Corps of Engineers dikes at New Orleans amid that strange 2005 season of hurricanes, the disruption impacted every Corps function, including its annual calculation of domestic port performance. So at the...

What would Ike say?
September 25, 2006... The Transportation Intermediaries Association of third-party logistics companies is leading a protest against the Defense Transportation Coordination Initiative of the U.S. Department of Defense. The protest by nearly 100 current DOD...

Shippers vow lawsuit over new container fee.
September 25, 2006... Shippers using Southern California ports aren't happy with newly approved legislation to impose a $30-per-TEU fee on containers handled at Los Angeles and Long Beach. They say that if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signs the bill, it will be...

TSA invites TWIC bids.
September 25, 2006... The Transportation Security Administration has selected eight companies to tender bids for the system that will support the Transportation Workers Identification Credential. The winner will build and maintain the program's database,...

Key textile trade official retires.
September 25, 2006... James C. Leonard III is retiring this month. As deputy assistant secretary for textiles and apparel in the International Trade Administration of the Department of Commerce, Leonard was chairman of the Committee for the Implementation of Textile...

CASME launches export program.
September 25, 2006... The Caribbean Association of Small and Medium Enterprises Inc. has begun an export preparedness program designed for the small and medium enterprises, or SMEs, sector of the Caribbean. At a press conference held at the Sherbourne Conference...

Fitch warms to canal plans.
September 25, 2006... Influential debt rating agency Fitch Ratings said the potential economic rewards promised by the proposed $5.25 billion expansion of the Panama Canal outweigh the risks. Fitch Ratings analyst Erick Campos told a recent forum in Panama that, "If...

Hutchison to build, operate box facility at Ecuador's Port of Manta.
September 25, 2006... Hutchison Port Holdings, the world's largest terminal operator in terms of container throughput, was granted the concession to build and operate a new container terminal at the Port of Manta in Ecuador. The Hong Kong-based company, a...

ALE Cargo joins United Shipping.
September 25, 2006... Honduras-based ALE Cargo Ltd. has become a member of United Shipping Inc., a worldwide association of independent freight forwarders and customs brokers. Denver-based United Shipping has more than 100 member companies and 250 offices in 67...

Latin America economies expand.
September 25, 2006... Latin American and Caribbean economies will expand more rapidly this year than previously forecast because domestic spending is ahead of predictions and the demand for commodities exports has also increased, according to the International...

10 percent annual growth seen for cold chain market.
September 25, 2006... BYLINE: Thomas L. Gallagher The volume of temperature-sensitive airfreight is likely to grow at an annual rate of 10 percent a year over the next five years, according to a recent survey of health-care industry and logistics providers. ...

TSA promotes general managers.
September 25, 2006... The Transportation Security Administration shuffled more of its general managers in charge of specific transportation modes. The agency named general managers for airlines, maritime and rail. David Bernier is heading airline operations...

List leaves Port of Brownsville.
September 25, 2006... Bernard List was fired as chief executive and director at the Port of Brownsville, Texas, this month. List had been under a probationary contract, which was set to expire on Sept. 11. The Brownsville Navigation District Board voted to...

Marad's Connaughton gets sworn in.
September 25, 2006... Sean T. Connaughton took the oath of office as maritime administrator this month. Acting Secretary of Transportation Maria Cino conducted the ceremony at the U.S. Department of Transportation headquarters. Prior to his appointment,...

AAPA selects delegations.
September 25, 2006... The American Association of Port Authorities is an alliance of public port authorities in the Western Hemisphere. At its membership meeting as part of its 95th Annual Convention in New Orleans, the AAPA installed Capt. Allen O. Domaas,...

In other personnel moves...
September 25, 2006... The Massachusetts Port Authority promoted Thomas J. Kinton Jr. to the position of executive director and chief executive. Kinton has been with Massport for 30 years and served as aviation director from 1993 until the present. He also filled the...

Committee to solve port security issues.
September 25, 2006... The Senate passed the Port Security Improvement Act of 2006 by a unanimous vote of 98-0 on Sept. 14, then sent it to a conference committee to reconcile differences with the House Security and Accountability For Every (SAFE) Port Act. The...

New C-TPAT rules in effect.
September 25, 2006... BYLINE: Courtney Tower Foreign manufacturers in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism will be required to verify annually that their supply-chain partners are following U.S.-approved security measures, according to new minimum...