Gulf Shipper articles from January 2006

Gulf Shipper archives from January 2006

Breakbulk takes a breather - Despite soaring demands, bulk trades level off.
January 30, 2006... BYLINE: Peter T. Leach The breakbulk trades aren't peaking yet - far from it - but they are taking a bit of a breather after a frantic three years in which booming demand and tight vessel supply lifted charter and cargo rates 50 percent....

SPECIAL REPORT: STEEL - Steel imports expected to rebound. Absence of quotas reopens floodgates for steel imports.
January 30, 2006... BYLINE: Janet Plume The removal of quotas and tariffs has reopened the floodgates for U.S. steel imports, which are also riding a wave of production from Mexico's booming mini-mills and a rising swell of exports from China and...

Should MR-GO stay gone? - Port, Industrial Canal tenants see bleak future without bailout.
January 23, 2006... BYLINE: Janet Plume When the Army Corps of Engineers suspended its 2006 dredging schedule for the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, thousands of flood-ravaged New Orleans residents breathed a collective sigh of relief. But the closure of...

SPECIAL REPORT: CENTRAL AMERICA - Gulf-Central America trade ramps up.
January 23, 2006... BYLINE: Laura L. Myers As farmland becomes a more precious commodity in the U.S., Central America is certain to play an increasingly prominent role as a source of fresh fruit, including bananas and melons, winter vegetables and coffee....

Longtime bulk ports branch out - Bulk ports diversify as growth plans are realized.
January 16, 2006... BYLINE: Laura L. Myers Ports with a history of handling mostly bulk cargoes tend to operate beneath the public radar. Their low-profile image stems partly from the less volatile nature of bulk transportation compared to their container...

Consolidating choices - Mega-mergers may continue as logistics world restructures.
January 9, 2006... BYLINE: William Hoffman At the end of 2004, many logistics observers imagined that year's merger mania - which wedded FedEx to Kinko's, Exel to Tibbett & Britten, and UPS to Menlo Worldwide - was finished and would give way to a...

Shipowner pleads guilty in Mobile mishap.
January 8, 2006... The owner of a container ship involved in a fatal accident last year at the port in Mobile, Ala., recently paid a $375,000 fine after pleading guilty to federal criminal charges. Rickmers Reederei owns the Zim Mexico III, which struck a...

Rail resurgence on track in 2006 - Analysts: Strong but slower rail growth, intermodal gains fueled by China trade.
January 3, 2006... BYLINE: John Gallagher Railroads may have a tough time getting the volume and price increases in 2006 that they saw in 2005, but that doesn't mean 2006 will not be another strong year for an old-school industry continuing its...