Gulf Shipper articles from June 2008

Gulf Shipper archives from June 2008

Too many ports.
June 2, 2008... We the little people often have difficulty fathoming the reasoning behind our politicians' actions. Take the case of the Louisiana Airport Authority, which finally met a well-deserved end last month. The 27-member state commission failed to...

Gulf-Asia trade increases.
June 2, 2008... BYLINE: JANET NODAR Imports grow at slower pace than exports Trade between the Gulf of Mexico and Asia grew 14.81 percent during the 12 months ending on Feb. 29, 2008. Imports dominated the raw numbers but grew at a slower pace than...

Rise in exports catches carriers by surprise.
June 2, 2008... BYLINE: PETER T. LEACH U.S.-Asia unlikely to become head-haul The abrupt shift in momentum from imports to exports has caught the container shipping industry flat-footed. It has left carriers and shippers scrambling to drum up enough...

In the shadow of giants.
June 2, 2008... BYLINE: William Armbruster  Ignoring Southeast Asia may mean missed opportunities With China and India the focus of so much of the world's attention, Southeast Asia tends to be ignored. That may be justified when you look at the...

Making molehills out of mountains.
June 2, 2008... BYLINE: WILLIAM ARMBRUSTER Empty containers in short supply Exports are booming and exporters in the Midwest are facing a critical shortage of containers -- but try telling that to people driving along the highways outside many marine...

Where's the beef?
June 2, 2008... BYLINE: BILL MONGELLUZZO Demand rises, but container and space shortage hamper exporters U.S. beef exporters have waited for this for five years. South Korea, their third-largest export market until a 2003 outbreak of "mad cow"...

EU marketplace may reopen to US poultry this fall.
June 2, 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...

Bayou state rebuilds.
June 2, 2008... BYLINE: WILLIAM B. CASSIDY Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal  makes infrastructure a priority Long before hurricanes Katrina and Rita wreaked $1.5 billion in damage on its highways and bridges, Louisiana was infamous for its poor...

American Waterways Operators elects officers.
June 2, 2008... The American Waterways Operators, the national trade association for the U.S. tugboat, towboat and barge industry, has elected  H. Merritt Lane III chairman and Timothy J. Casey vice chairman. Lane is president and chief executive of Canal...

New steel scrap processor opens at Tampa.
June 2, 2008... OneSteel Recycling, formerly Smorgon Steel, has opened a new steel scrap-processing facility at the Port of Tampa. The new shredder cost $24 million and is expected to process 150,000 tons of scrap annually. OneSteel Ltd. is an Australian...

Nucor considers Mississippi River site for new plant.
June 2, 2008... Steelmaker Nucor Corp may build a $2 billion iron-making plant on the Mississippi River at the site considered but rejected by Thyssen-Krupp in 2007. Nucor has applied for a building permit for the 380-acre St. James Parish site, which is...

Coast Guard to rebuild New Orleans facility.
June 2, 2008... The Coast Guard has awarded a $76 million contract to rebuild the Integrated Support Command facility lost in Hurricane Katrina. Broadmoor/Boh Brothers Construction Co. of Metairie, La., will design and build the project. The new command...

Intermarine to add eight ships to heavy-lift fleet.
June 2, 2008... Intermarine, the managing agent of Industrial Maritime Carriers, announced that the carrier concluded agreements for the long-term charter of eight new vessels for heavy-lift cargo. ENVC in Portugal is building the new ships, the first of...

Global credit crunch sparks slowdown in ship orders.
June 2, 2008... The global credit crunch is raising questions about the ability of shipping lines to finance orders for new container and dry bulk vessels. Orders for new container ships are on the decline, especially in China. The slowdown in the forecast...

Big changes at DHL.
June 9, 2008... For travelers who spend a lot of time taking off from airports, the bright yellow DHL cargo jets are a common sight out the window as their passenger plane speeds down a runway past an air cargo center. Those yellow jets may soon be a thing...

Inland Distribution: Reaching the heartland.
June 9, 2008... BYLINE: JANET NODAR, STEPHANIE NALL AND WILLIAM HOFFMAN  Despite slowing economy, logistics hubs remain hot Gulf must expand capacity to get in the game Retailers have one main concern when they choose the location of a new...

Master-planning the inland port.
June 9, 2008... Inland ports add value by tying two pieces of the supply chain together in one facility. And as long as goods can be manufactured more cheaply overseas than in destination consumer countries such as the United States, real estate developers say...

MSC adds direct Houston call to South America service.
June 9, 2008... Mediterranean Shipping Co. has upgraded its west coast of South America service with the addition of a direct Houston port call that commenced with the sailing of the MSC Peru from New Orleans in late May. The rotation will be New Orleans;...

Canal wrestles with delays, pilot protests.
June 9, 2008... The Panama Canal Authority announced a series of measures aimed at reducing delays during peak season, including cutting the number of reservation slots and suspending routine maintenance on locks. In mid-May, the port authority said it was...

Maersk Line Ltd. hosts US cadets.
June 9, 2008... Maersk Line Ltd. will host cadets from every U.S. maritime academy aboard its ships during 2008 and 2009. Cadets from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, California Maritime Academy, Maine Maritime Academy, New York Maritime Academy,...

Seaboard extends lease at Miami.
June 9, 2008... The Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners has approved a 20-year lease extension with Seaboard Marine that guarantees improvements at the carrier's 80-acre Port of Miami terminal and settles long-standing disputes between the port and...

BBC Chartering has new logo.
June 9, 2008... BBC Chartering, a global provider of flexible shipping solutions for heavy-lift and project cargoes, introduced a new logo and graphic identity last month. The company said the new design is a reflection of its dedication to finding simple and...

New chassis pool to serve Gulf region.
June 9, 2008... Consolidated Chassis Management LLC is forming a new chassis pool at ports and rail ramps in Texas and Louisiana. The Gulf Consolidated Chassis Pool will serve rail ramps operated by BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad in Dallas/Fort...

New commissioners tapped for Tampa Port Authority.
June 9, 2008... Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has filled two seats on the Tampa Port Authority board of commissioners, according to the Tampa Bay Business Journal. William "Hoe" Brown will succeed Lance Ringhaver. His term began in mid-May and will end in 2011....

Brownsville Navigation District installs new board.
June 9, 2008... The Brownsville Navigation District seated a new board in May, according to the Brownsille Herald. Commissioner Martin C. Arambula passed the chairmanship to Commissioner Carlos Masso. New board commissioners Ralph Cowen, John Reed and Sergio...

Port of Corpus Christi names new chief of police and security.
June 9, 2008... The Port of Corpus Christi Authority has selected Hubert "Arch" Archambo Jr. as its new chief of police and security. He joined the port authority staff as assistant chief of police and security in March 2006 and has been acting chief since...

Oses takes the helm of Florida forwarders association.
June 9, 2008... Albert Oses, regional sales manager for Ozburn-Hessey Logistics, was elected president of the 600-plus member Florida Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association Inc. in May. He has been an active member of the organization for 25 years. ...

Port of Panama City, Fla., opens new multibulk warehouse.
June 9, 2008... The Port of Panama City, Fla., opened and dedicated a new 80,000-square-foot multibulk warehouse last month. Green Circle Bioenergy, a manufacturer of wood pellets, will be using the facility and was the impetus for its construction. SSA Marine...

Freeport installs new security system.
June 9, 2008... Port Freeport, Texas, has installed a port perimeter security system that integrates security and management systems into a single command and control mechanism, according to Government Security News. The project, which cost $2.3 million, was...

Letters to the editor.(Letter to the editor)
June 9, 2008... In our May 12 issue, Gulf Shipper ran a guest editorial, "Booking nightmares," written by Bill Armbruster, editor of Gulf Shipper's sister publication Shipping Digest. Armbruster's editorial triggered many responses, some of which are printed...

Shipping goes green.
June 16, 2008... The automobile industry has its hybrids, but as much as Americans cry for more fuel-efficient cars, the commitment just doesn't seem to exist at the level with which the maritime industry has embraced the responsibility of going green. ...

Today's most important infrastructure project.
June 16, 2008... BYLINE: PETER T. LEACH Higher fuel costs make Panama Canal more competitive In the two years since the Panama Canal Authority announced plans to build a third set of locks, many industry observers have wondered whether the authority...

Reformation comes to CFIUS.
June 16, 2008... BYLINE: ALAN M. FIELD Two years ago, there were two schools of thought on CFIUS, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States: It was either an abject failure or the victim of politics and xenophobia. CFIUS, the committee...

Anderson resigns from FMC.
June 16, 2008... BYLINE: R.G. EDMONSON Three may be better than five Then there were three. The recent resignation of A. Paul Anderson from the Federal Maritime Commission leaves two vacancies on the panel. That's the way it will likely remain, at...

LAN plans Colombian cargo airline.
June 16, 2008... Chile's LAN Airlines has submitted a formal proposal to Colombian authorities to create a new cargo airline. LAN said Colombia is the largest air cargo market in Latin America in terms of exports to the U.S., with an estimated volume of 200,000...

UPS to relocate intra-Asia air hub.
June 16, 2008... UPS is moving its intra-Asia air hub from the Philippines to Shenzhen in China's thriving Pearl River Delta to reduce transit times across Asia.UPS will base the new intra-Asia hub at the Shenzhen Airport in southern China, near Hong Kong. The...

Fighting supply-chain fraud.
June 16, 2008... BYLINE: WILLIAM HOFFMAN Data-driven supply chains may be more vulnerable to insider fraud; experts suggest 'holistic' security The same information technologies that help shippers manage global supply chains could make them more...

Cargo theft on the rise.
June 16, 2008... BYLINE: WILLIAM B. CASSIDY Cargo cops urge shippers to upgrade security Few people have the work ethic of cargo thieves. They work nights. They work weekends. They're on the job when you're not. They'll even travel halfway across the...

Supply-chain fraud rising; pharmaceuticals at risk.
June 16, 2008... A report by the New York risk consulting firm Kroll says supply-chain fraud risks are on the rise because of global growth and increased outsourcing. Kroll said the pharmaceutical industry is one sector that has encountered significant problems...

Banana split.
June 16, 2008... BYLINE: ALAN M. FIELD Imports expected to remain flat Few fruits are more familiar - yet more mysterious - than the lowly banana. Bananas are the world's fourth-most-important staple crop, produced in more than 85 countries....

Cotton pickin'.
June 16, 2008... BYLINE: BILL MONGELLUZZO  Record yields - but containers and space are hard to find Cotton exporters are learning how to survive in a new shipping environment where demand for their product is strong but containers and vessel...

Forest products industry continues to suffer.
June 16, 2008... BYLINE: BILL DIBENEDETTO Instead of sawdust on the floor, it's red ink, and the bleeding in the forest products industry has continued for several years with no end in sight. An array of factors has combined to pin this industry to the...

Campbell takes lead role on New Orleans board of commissioners.
June 16, 2008... The board of commissioners of the Port of New Orleans elected James O. Campbell as its chairman last month, succeeding Danny Hughes, whose term as chairman expired. Hughes will continue to serve as a commissioner. Campbell, who is...

CMA CGM (America) announces appointments.
June 16, 2008... Lynn Carden Fitzgerald has been named corporate controller for CMA CGM (America) LLC. She will manage general accounting, tax, accounts payable, financial systems, cash management and facilities management. In addition, Diane Mendez has...

Don't fault the port.
June 23, 2008... The federal government this month released $1.8 million in highway funds, half of which is for an environmental study and design of nearly 30 miles of highway, extending the state of Mississippi's proposed Gulfport-to-Interstate 10 highway by...

Challenges ahead for Gulf rail cargo.
June 23, 2008... BYLINE: DAVID BIEDERMAN Region must improve intermodal, entice railroads Ports on the Gulf Coast are building facilities, buying equipment and expanding terminals to capture a bigger share of domestic and international container...

Houston-Galveston safety panel wins award.
June 23, 2008... The Houston-Galveston Navigational Safety Advisory Committee recently received the "2007 Harbor Safety Committee of the Year" award for its partnership efforts and work in improving marine safety on the Houston Ship Channel. The award was...

The end of paper filing.
June 23, 2008... BYLINE: R.G. EDMONSON On July 1, AES becomes only legal means for filing export data Scofflaws in Miami, your days of obfuscation are over: Jerry Greenwell is on your trail. Greenwell, trade ombudsman for the Census Bureau's Foreign...

BBC expands Persian Gulf service.
June 23, 2008... BBC Chartering and Logistics has expanded its liner services to include two monthly sailings from the Gulf of Mexico to the Persian Gulf. Port rotation will be Veracruz, Houston, Mobile, Damman, Doha, Dubai, Jebel Ali, Muscat and Shuwaikh. ...

Maersk sets export rate hikes.
June 23, 2008... BYLINE: PETER T. LEACH Maersk Line announced it has filed general rate in-creases that will take effect on July 1 on exports of containerized and reefer cargo from North America to northern Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East....

Peruvian Amazon Line to begin calls at Tampa.
June 23, 2008... Peruvian Amazon Line will add the Port of Tampa to its regular liner service between U.S. Gulf ports and Mexico to Colombia, Brazil and Peru in July. Vessel rotation will be Tampico, Mexico; Houston; Tampa, Florida; Cartagena, Colombia; Manaos,...

Short-sea service will link Houston, Brownsville.
June 23, 2008... Richardson Marine, in conjunction with Schaefer Stevedoring, announced the scheduled launch of its Houston-Brownsville Barge Express Service, which will begin in early July. The dedicated short-sea service will call at Houston and...

IFFCBANO holds annual seminar.
June 23, 2008... The International Freight Forwarders and Customs Brokers Association of New Orleans held its 13th annual conference at Point Clear, Ala., last month. The conference theme was "Plotting a course for security, efficiency and success."...

Earthquake could delay improvements to China's inland infrastructure.
June 23, 2008... BYLINE: BILL DIBENEDETTO  Logistics sector is growing rapidly Logistics sector is growing rapidly    Tom Escott saw buildings sway in Shanghai last month. The president of Schneider Logistics arrived in that city on...

Where's the value?
June 30, 2008... Port costs are spiraling with security requirements and other layers of bureaucracy coming down the government tubes. So it's not surprising that ports are looking for innovative measures to bring in fresh revenue. Ports can be innovative...

No letup: Gulf-Mideast exports booming.
June 30, 2008... BYLINE: JANET NODAR Capacity tight for project cargo and containers The Middle East is richer than ever, as a result of stratospheric oil prices, and Middle Eastern nations such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates continue to...

BBC Chartering begins new Gulf-Middle East service.
June 30, 2008... BYLINE: JANET NODAR Project cargo market still 'red hot' Oil well supplies, drilling equipment, yachts and boats, pipes and drilling pipe, anything and everything seems to be moving in the direction of the Arabian gulf," said Robert...

TSA officials lag on developing TWIC readers.
June 30, 2008... BYLINE: R.G. EDMONSON Delay frustrates port officials and manufacturers Sometime between now and the end of the year, maybe, a few ports may or may not begin testing the technology that will admit people carrying a Transportation...

GAO report criticizes C-TPAT.
June 30, 2008... The Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program isn't tough enough on shippers, the Government Accountability Office said in a new report released last month. That conclusion has drawn the ire of some powerful congressional...

Experts explain barrier islands' erosion.
June 30, 2008... The Army Corps of Engineers dredges sand from the ship channels for the ports of Mobile, Ala., and Pascagoula and Gulfport, Miss., and places it far out in the Gulf. This might be the cause of erosion to a string of five barrier islands along...

Miami port votes to expand multiuser terminals.
June 30, 2008... Over the strong objections of the Port of Miami Terminal Operating Co., a subcommittee of the Miami port authority has voted unanimously to allow rival APM Terminals to provide berthing and stevedoring services for ocean cargo carriers other...

Port of New Orleans renews accord with Panama Canal.
June 30, 2008... The Panama Canal Authority and the Port of New Orleans renewed their strategic alliance to promote all-water shipping from Asia to the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts. The memorandum of understanding was renewed on for three years during a...

Port Manatee Propeller Club elects board and officers.
June 30, 2008... Gregory Porges was elected president of the Port Manatee Propeller Club this month. Porges, who is managing principal for the law firm of Porges, Hamlin, Knowles, Prouty, Thompson and Najmy, P.A., served as the club's first vice president...

Edmonds reappointed.
June 30, 2008... The Harris County Commissioners Court and the Houston City Council have jointly reappointed Jim Edmonds as chairman of the Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority. He was initially appointed to the port commission in October 1996...

Airfreight revival forecast.
June 30, 2008... The current slowdown in the U.S. economy and the global airfreight industry could last another three years before a return to annual growth above 5 percent, according to a new forecast. The global airfreight market should return to an...

Widening the window.
June 30, 2008... BYLINE: ALAN M. FIELD Online portals make it easier to view shipments It's been nearly a decade since CargoSmart, GT Nexus and Inttra unveiled online portals that provide shippers, forwarders and other supply-chain partners with an...

Patriot Rail acquires new railroad.
June 30, 2008... Patriot Rail Corp., a short-line and regional freight railroad holding company based in Boca Raton, Fla., recently bought the Louisiana & North West Railroad, a short-line freight railroad headquartered in Homer, La. The LNW, which...

Change of route for Trans-Texas Corridor.
June 30, 2008... Rural areas north and west of Houston will be spared the proposed Interstate 69/Trans-Texas Corridor, originally considered as a way to ease truck and traffic congestion. According to the Houston Chronicle, the Texas Department of...