Gulf Shipper articles from August 2006

Gulf Shipper archives from August 2006

At odds with the national trend.
August 7, 2006... The U.S. economy has slowed in recent months from its rapid growth rate during the first quarter of this year. Second-quarter growth was only 2.3 percent, compared to twice that rate during the first quarter. Forecast economic growth this...

Gulf-Mediterranean: Carriers changing places.
August 7, 2006... BYLINE: Janet Nodar Gulf-western Mediterranean trade lane downshifts Container traffic between the Gulf of Mexico and the western Mediterranean (including Spain, Italy, southern France and Greece) fell sharply from 2004 to 2005 but...

CAFTA boosts Caribbean trade.
August 7, 2006... A year ago shortly before the U.S. agreed to join a free-trade agreement with five Central American nations and the Dominican Republic, many freight executives believed the action could be a shot in the arm for U.S. trade with the Caribbean....

Federal hurricane relief questioned.
August 7, 2006... Despite federal allocations totaling $107.8 billion and $8 billion in relief for hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, the question of how much and where money has been spent is uncertain, according to the Brookings Institution. Brookings...

Top supply-chain partners named.
August 7, 2006... Blue Sky Logistics, a supply-chain visibility software company, has been named in the list of 100 Great Supply Chain Partners for 2006 by the editors and publishers of Global Logistics & Supply Chain Strategies. The program is the result...

Clearing the tracks.
August 7, 2006... BYLINE: John Gallagher A new industrial development strategy by CSX to keep freight moving may provide a model for rail-focused industry looking to develop along the railroad's mainlines. CSX says it is evaluating on a case-by-case...

Intermarine expands fleet.
August 7, 2006... The Intermarine group recently added two multipurpose, heavy-lift vessels to the four on order from Estaleiros Navais de Viana do Castelo in Portugal. Intermarine's operating divisions will take delivery of the six ships during the next...

Evergreen enters new agreement.
August 7, 2006... Evergreen Marine Corp. has entered a slot-charter agreement with Hanjin Shipping Co. on the trade lane between the east coasts of North and South America and another encompassing Asia, South Africa and South America. The U.S.-South America...

SC&RA joins drug-free alliance.
August 7, 2006... The Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association was among five contractor associations and four unions recently added by the Department of Labor to its Drug-Free Workplace Alliance, bringing the total number of participating organizations to 13....

Dallas' logistics gamble.
August 14, 2006... BYLINE: David Biederman UP plans depend on help from Houston, NAFTA highway Dallas and Houston clash over everything from business to sports to which city has better restaurants. Now add to the mix which has the better distribution and...

Weakened waterways.
August 14, 2006... BYLINE: David Biederman Katrina's wrath revealed weakness of system 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...

Waterways Council applauds action.
August 14, 2006... The Senate Appropriations Committee voted this summer to provide $5.14 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers' Civil Works Program for the 2007 fiscal year, including $394 million to advance critical Inland Waterway Trust Fund financed...

Dawn of inland ports.
August 14, 2006... When Hanjin Shipping named one of its mega-container ships after the second-largest city in Texas - Dallas - last year, it wasn't to pay tribute to a 1980s TV drama The South Korean shipping company believes it can ship cargo faster by rail...

Corpus Christi handles Cuba shipments.
August 14, 2006... Poultry and beans have been arriving at Corpus Christi for the first Havana-bound shipment the port will handle this year. The cargo is being held at the Port of Corpus Christi's cold storage warehouse, said Michael Perez, port business...

2006 Texas Ports & Waterways Conference.
August 14, 2006... More than 100 representatives of ports, academic institutions, inland waterways, engineering firms and government agencies attended the 11th Annual Texas Ports & Waterways Conference last month at the MCM Elegante Hotel in Beaumont, Texas. ...

Pilot program planned for Mexican trucks.
August 14, 2006... More than six years after Mexican trucking companies had expected full access to U.S. roads, the acting transportation secretary says change is coming. Maria Cino said that by the end of the year, the Department of Transportation expects...

Juice train solves backhaul dilemma.
August 14, 2006... BYLINE: John Gallagher Tropicana may be synonymous with orange juice, but offering premium freight space is fast becoming another way the company is making money and cutting costs for shippers and its rail partners. The company, part...

ISC reports second-quarter results.
August 14, 2006... International Shipholding Corp. reported a net loss of $4.38 million for the first six months of this year, compared to net income of $8.07 million for the same period in 2005. The financial hit stemmed from a $6.46 million net operations...

Crowley promotes Shettig.
August 14, 2006... Crowley Maritime Corp. has promoted Jim Shettig to vice president of East Coast and Gulf contract services, the company announced. Shettig, an 18-year Crowley veteran, began his career as a mate on a Seattle-based tugboat, and has held...

Sea grass expert sues Fla.
August 14, 2006... One of Florida's leading sea grass experts is suing the state for allowing Port Manatee to use new berths before it has finished restoring sea grass beds. Robin Lewis, a marine biologist, and local environmental group ManaSota-88 filed a...

Thai steel arrives in Shreveport.
August 14, 2006... A tenant at the Port of Shreveport-Bossier received its first of four barge shipments of steel coils from Thailand in late July. The 9,000 tons of steel coils were brought from Mexico to the Gulf of Mexico and up the Red River from the Port...

Ethanol plant stalled.
August 14, 2006... Plans to build Florida's first ethanol plant at Port Manatee have stalled because of sub-leasing troubles with a tenant at the port, the builder reported. Construction is stalled until a sublease agreement is reached between Tampa-based...

Growing Gulf Ports: Realizing potential.
August 21, 2006... BYLINE: Janet Nodar Gulf ports look beyond bulk cargo U.S. Gulf ports retain the lion's share of the bulk cargo market moving in and out of the U.S., but many traditionally bulk ports have expanded successfully into other sectors. ...

Castro turns 80.
August 21, 2006... Mark Twain was living in Europe in 1897 when several U.S. newspapers reported his death. Apparently one newspaper had obtained a letter about one of Twain's dying relatives, and the rest is history. Thanks to the newspaper's erroneous report,...

Group protests security rule's cost.
August 21, 2006... As the Transportation Security Administration closed the door on comments from those affected by its new air-cargo security rule, a key segment of the industry protested the rule's haste and its cost. The Cargo Airline Association charged...

Rail terminal planned near San Antonio.
August 21, 2006... After opening a large intermodal terminal near Dallas last fall, Union Pacific plans to break ground early next year on a second terminal in the San Antonio, Texas, area. Construction of the $90 million rail terminal is scheduled for...

Can't get satisfaction?
August 21, 2006... BYLINE: William Hoffman Outsourcing may need more 'holistic' strategies Is the bloom coming off the outsourcing rose? A couple of recent surveys suggest the rush to outsource information technology may be slowing, and that the deals...

Navitech maps Pensacola-Mexico service.
August 21, 2006... Navitech Enterprises has launched a new service between Pensacola, Fla., and Veracruz, Mexico. The multipurpose vessel CEC Dawn is scheduled to make its first call this week at the Port of Pensacola. Navitech is offering a fixed 10-day...

TACA keeps surcharges.
August 21, 2006... The Trans-Atlantic Conference Agreement announced that it will maintain its fuel surcharges at current levels through Sept. 15. The charge for traffic to, from and via Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports is $467 per 20-foot container and $933 per...

Beier Radio earns accreditation.
August 21, 2006... The Nautical Institute, an independent London-based organization that offers certification for dynamic positioning training to the maritime industry, has accredited Beier Radio's course. Established in 1945, Beier Radio supplies electronic...

Prince to join KCS.
August 21, 2006... Kansas City Southern has named Theodore Prince vice president of sales and marketing for its intermodal and international business unit, effective Sept. 1. Prince, who writes the "Moving Right Along" column for The Journal of Commerce, a...

Mathis takes reins at Pensacola.
August 21, 2006... Clyde Mathis has been named director of the Port of Pensacola, Fla., replacing Leon Walker, who resigned in April. The city of Pensacola, which owns the port, contracted with Slavin Management Consultants of Norcross, Ga., to conduct a...

Counties mull Manatee toll road.
August 21, 2006... A 60-mile tollway through four Florida counties would improve truck access to Port Manatee, Fla., according to the Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority, which presented a proposal for the limited-access road to the Hillsborough Board...

Teamsters aim for FedEx.
August 21, 2006... BYLINE: Bill Carey UPS and FedEx share a heated rivalry and if the International Brotherhood of Teamsters has its way, they may share a union. Major developments at the recent Teamsters convention in Las Vegas involved UPS, already the...

Katrina's damage: Gulf ports still toughing it out. One year later, Katrina recovery continues.
August 28, 2006... BYLINE: Janet Nodar Ports along the Gulf Coast continue to fight their way back from Aug. 29, 2005. In spite of extraordinary recovery efforts, the terrible breadth of Hurricane Katrina's damage shapes day-to-day reality along the central...

Hurricane Rita: Some ports bounced back quickly.
August 28, 2006... BYLINE: Janet Nodar When it came ashore on Sept. 24, Category 3 Hurricane Rita wiped away several small coastal towns on the Louisiana side of the Louisiana-Texas state line. As with Katrina, Rita destroyed buildings and measuring devices...

Katrina's lessons.
August 28, 2006... As we mark the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's devastation of the central Gulf Coast, most of us in the trenches will likely take a moment of silence to grieve for all that's been lost rather than reflect on what's been gained in...

Post-Katrina efforts could resuscitate transport, supply chain.
August 28, 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...

Lyondell buys out refinery partner.
August 28, 2006... Lyondell Chemical Co. has paid $2.1 billion for Citgo's 41.3 percent stake in the Houston-area Lyondell-Citgo Refining LP refinery. Lyondell has also negotiated a five-year, 230,000-barrel-per-day crude oil contract for the refinery with a...

KCS reports strong earnings.
August 28, 2006... Kansas City Southern has reported $413.1 million in revenue for the second quarter ending June 30, up from $381.1 million during the same period last year. The 8.4 percent increase in revenue was primarily driven by pricing and increased fuel...

Master planning begins for Lake Charles's industrial canal.
August 28, 2006... The Lake Charles Harbor and Terminal District has initiated a master planning process to develop the Port of Lake Charles's industrial canal tract. Port officials are planning to meet soon with engineering contractor CH2M Hill, the winning...

Construction resumes on seafarers center.
August 28, 2006... Work on the Port Arthur International Seafarers Center resumed earlier this month, nearly a year after work stopped for Hurricane Katrina. "The building's foundation was laid in June, and framing has begun," said Rev. Sinclair Oubre,...

New rules challenge Tampa port entry.
August 28, 2006... The Tampa Port Authority is taking flak over who is allowed to enter the port, the St. Petersburg Times said. Last month, port officials tightened the rules after Florida Department of Law Enforcement inspectors determined the port wasn't...