Gulf Shipper articles from April 2006

Gulf Shipper archives from April 2006

Rail service on the line.
April 3, 2006... BYLINE: John Gallagher Railroad-shipper relationships are testy Record railroad profit is prompting shippers to pound their drums louder than ever against shoddy service they say will cost them - and eventually consumers - billions of...

Mergers won't help.
April 3, 2006... However much shippers complain about rates and service, more rail mergers would not lead to more reliable service, according to Charles "Wick" Moorman, Norfolk Southern's chairman, president and chief executive. Moorman headed information...

Gulf-Asia: US-China tension rising.
April 3, 2006... BYLINE: Janet Plume Rising trade tensions between the U.S. and China could escalate this month as Congress debates a proposed bill to levy a 27.5 percent tariff on all U.S. imports from China. At issue are what U.S. critics call...

Osprey Line: A short-sea reality.
April 10, 2006... BYLINE: Janet Nodar Containers on barge move on brown water and blue While the debate over the viability of short-sea shipping in the U.S. continues unabated, Osprey Line has maintained a steady growth rate since its inception just...

What is short-sea shipping?
April 10, 2006... Osprey Lines President Christian O'Neil views short-sea shipping as a complement to rail and truck transportation rather than as a replacement. "A true intermodal move often has a truck piece, a railroad piece, a water piece," O'Neil said....

Capt. Mike Lorino receives C. Alvin Bertel Award.
April 17, 2006... BYLINE: Janet Nodar Work and service have always shared the same level of high importance in the life of Capt. Mike Lorino, president of the Associated Branch Pilots and recipient of this year's C. Alvin Bertel Award by prominent New...

SPECIAL REPORT: BREAKBULK - Less PL-480, more wood: Port of Lake Charles diversifies breakbulk cargo.
April 21, 2006... BYLINE: Janet Nodar The Liberty Sun recently loaded a record-breaking 54,000 tons of rice - nearly 1 million bags - at the Port of Lake Charles. The rice, destined for the Philippines, came from Louisiana millers and was USDA PL-480 cargo,...

Wal-Mart's pain - Inventory correction hurts shippers, carriers.
April 21, 2006... BYLINE: William B. Cassidy A multibillion-dollar inventory correction at the world's biggest retailer is rattling shippers and carriers by cutting into shipments and earnings in the first months of 2006. Wal-Mart's latest attempt to...

BREAKBULK: Less PL-480, more wood.
April 24, 2006... BYLINE: Janet Nodar Port of Lake Charles diversifies breakbulk cargo The Liberty Sun recently loaded a record-breaking 54,000 tons of rice - nearly 1 million bags - at the Port of Lake Charles. The rice, destined for the Philippines,...

Food for Peace: Breakbulk shifts to containers.
April 24, 2006... BYLINE: Janet Nodar Gulf Coast ports have long handled the majority of PL-480, or Food for Peace, cargo that the U.S. donates to the rest of the world. Relief organizations such as CARE, Catholic Relief Services and UNICEF request food aid...

Building Boom.
April 24, 2006... BYLINE: Janet Plume and Laura L. Myers Softwood lumber imports climb steadily amid shifting trade patterns, recovery from hurricanes U.S. imports of softwood lumber, including plywood, continued a steady climb last year, rising about 6...

OSB mill to be world's largest.
April 24, 2006... BYLINE: Laura L. Myers The world's largest oriented strand board facility, a $185 million plant in southwest Louisiana near Oakdale, is scheduled to open this year. The plant, being built by the Martco LP unit of Roy O. Martin Lumber Co.,...

China still drives breakbulk trades.
April 24, 2006... BYLINE: Peter T. Leach Liner services rule, but capacity constraints loom The roaring flames of China's breakbulk trades have dulled slightly. The trade is still hot, but it just isn't sizzling the way it was a few years back....

Strong demand boosts LNG shipping projects.
April 24, 2006... BYLINE: Bill DiBenedetto Strong global demand for liquefied natural gas is attracting big investments for the construction and operation of LNG liquefaction plants, LNG ships and LNG regasification terminals, a report this month from...

Wal-Mart's pain.
April 24, 2006... BYLINE: William B. Cassidy Inventory correction hurts shippers, carriers A multibillion-dollar inventory correction at the world's biggest retailer is rattling shippers and carriers by cutting into shipments and earnings in the first...

Con-Way raises rates.
April 24, 2006... Freight rates may be increasing more slowly in some quarters as big-box retailers slash inventories - but not at Con-Way Transportation. The $2.8 billion carrier raised rates for regional less-than-truckload services an average of 5.5 percent...

Changing horses - Gulf-Europe services streamlined.
April 28, 2006... BYLINE: Janet Nodar A virtual flood of seismic waves swells up when major shipping companies change their relationships with consortiums such as the Grand Alliance. Those waves swept over much of the globe in March when the Grand Alliance...

SPECIAL REPORT: MEXICO - Mexico-US trade rising: U.S. imports up despite maquila downturn.
April 28, 2006... BYLINE: Leticia Lozano After sluggish output at Mexico's auto plants in recent years, production has jumped on assembly lines at major car and truck manufacturers' plants in the United States' closest southern neighbor, sparking a rise in...