Gulf Shipper articles from September 2006

Gulf Shipper archives from September 2006

Carriers' Catch-22: Falling freight rates, rising costs eat at profitability.
September 4, 2006... BYLINE: Peter T. Leach The slew of earnings reports disgorged by publicly listed ocean container lines in recent weeks had three things in common: Profit declined as much as 50 percent in the latest reporting periods; freight rates dipped...

ACE is coming.
September 4, 2006... Before Sept. 11, 2001, Customs wasn't concerned with a container until its arrival at a U.S. port along with a manifest of contents and port of origin. Since Sept. 11, Customs has been developing a two-pronged strategy to monitor imports. ...

Supply-chain evolution helps Sara Lee spinoff.
September 4, 2006... BYLINE: William Hoffman To paraphrase a U.S. government official, shippers don't get to work with the supply chains they want, they work with the supply chains they have. Many factors determine how a company's particular history influences...

CMA CGM upgrades PEX2.
September 4, 2006... CMA CGM has upgraded its Asia-Central America operation, adding three port calls and discontinuing the stop in Houston. The revamped Pacific East Coast Express 2 service began last week after making its last call at the Port of Houston. ...

New Orleans regains cargo.
September 4, 2006... The Port of New Orleans handled more cargo during the first five months of 2006 than it did during the same period last year, despite severe damage from Hurricane Katrina. Between January and May, the port moved some 4.1 million tons of general...

Louisiana economy rebounds.
September 4, 2006... One year after hurricanes Katrina and Rita disrupted commerce, Louisiana's economy is now moving forward. To date, more than 60,000 businesses have returned to operation across south Louisiana. Louisiana's best-known economic drivers -...

BP shelves LNG plan.
September 4, 2006... BP has halted plans to build a $650 million liquefied natural gas plant on Pelican Island, which is owned by the Port of Galveston, Texas. The decision was based on an assessment of the project's economics, not local politics, the company...

Chicago Bridge & Iron lands LNG contract.
September 4, 2006... Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. was awarded a $1 billion contract from Golden Pass LLC to build a liquefied natural gas import terminal near Sabine Pass, Texas. CB&I will be responsible for engineering, procurement and construction of the Golden...

The evolution of intermodal imports.(Company overview)
September 4, 2006... BYLINE: Ted Prince At the end of the movie "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," newspaper editor Maxwell Scott tells Ransom Stoddard, "This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." As we face growing import...

Special Report Sidebar; Trade.
September 7, 2006... BYLINE: Gordon Feller US lends support to Mexico's intermodal plan The U.S. is aiding Mexico's plan to develop an intermodal corridor to move shipments from its ports to U.S. markets. Following a request by Mexico for support, the U.S....

Special Report: Mexico Trade & Logistics.
September 11, 2006... BYLINE: Angela Greiling Keane Room for improvement: Pilot program to simplify border crossings garners opposition Independent truckers are marshalling opposition to the Department of Transportation's latest plans to give Mexican trucks...

Keep 'sur' in surcharges.
September 11, 2006... This month, the Surface Transportation Board is accepting public and industry comment on tighter rules it proposes for the way railroads calculate fuel surcharges. Rail customers including members of the National Industrial Transportation...

Customs' precarious New Orleans service port.
September 11, 2006... BYLINE: John T. Hyatt Long before Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, the local trade community invested itself in certain hot-button issues. While Louis Armstrong Inter-national Airport fought to secure more international flights,...

Deliver it now, and make it fast.
September 11, 2006... BYLINE: Chris Barnett Shippers that depend on express services - including medical products, pharmaceuticals, aviation and entertainment companies - won't accept any excuse for late delivery. Pray hard that you never have a customer...

Westfeldt joins port board.
September 11, 2006... Thomas D. Westfeldt was recently sworn in as a member of the board of commissioners of the Port of New Orleans. Replacing Angus Cooper, Westfeldt will serve a five-year term. He is president of Westfeldt Brothers, which was founded in 1851...

Seko taps Abboud.
September 11, 2006... Joseph Abboud has been named director of ocean services for Seko Global Logistics. Based at Seko's corporate headquarters in Itasca, Ill., Abboud will oversee product development, operations enhancements, ocean procurement,...

Teamsters sets its sights on FedEx.
September 11, 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 this summer's Teamsters convention in Las Vegas involved UPS, already...

Tampa port expenses rise.
September 11, 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...

Corpus Christi seeks improved transportation links.
September 11, 2006... Corpus Christi business leaders want the Texas Legislature to upgrade rail and highway links between their port and nearby Naval Station Ingleside, one of dozens of bases nationwide scheduled for closure by the military. The base is scheduled...

Ports mull insurer lawsuits.
September 11, 2006... The Port of New Orleans has threatened to lodge a complaint against its insurer unless its claim is settled soon, according to port officials. The dock board decided at its recent monthly meeting to file a complaint with the Louisiana Insurance...

IPSCO explores sites for steel pipe mill.
September 11, 2006... Officials of steelmaker IPSCO recently met with a Louisiana state environmental agency and business leaders from Shreveport, La., to discuss the Port of Shreveport-Bossier's candidacy for a proposed $250 million steel pipe plant. Darin...

Judge backs truck bridge proposal.
September 11, 2006... Cameron County, Texas, Judge Gilberto Hinojosa has given his backing to an all-truck bridge proposed by the Port of Brownsville's Navigation District. The proposed commercial truck bridge adjacent to the West Rail Bridge project under way...

FEMA to give Port Fourchon $3.8 million.
September 11, 2006... Port Fourchon will receive $3.8 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to dredge silt and sediment piled up by Hurricane Katrina. "Boats have grounded in the waterway, and the port has been clogged. But the tide is turning...

M-I Swaco adds foreign trade subzone.
September 11, 2006... M-I Swaco has received approval to operate a foreign trade subzone at its facility in Amelia, La. The Port of South Louisiana Commission unanimously approved the resolution. The designation will enable M-I Swaco to retain and expand local jobs...

Katrina changed ag exporting in Gulf.
September 11, 2006... Hurricane Katrina changed the way Mississippi crops leave the state, and a year later some producers are still dealing with the change. Mississippi's ports of Gulfport and Pascagoula and ports in the New Orleans area have historically...

Peters picked for DOT: Veteran administrator brings wealth of experience to agency.
September 18, 2006... BYLINE: Angela Greiling Keane President Bush didn't go far in making his choice for the next secretary of transportation, naming a regulatory veteran with long experience in transport issues, strong admiration across the political spectrum...

Peters will focus on congestion.
September 18, 2006... Mary Peters faced the problem of growing congestion on the nation's roads as head of the Federal Highway Administration. She and President Bush said highway capacity remains a major challenge. "She will take this new post during a time of...

Too many bridges.
September 18, 2006... During much of his tenure at the Port of Brownsville, Chief Executive Raul Bestiero worked to build a $200 million commercial transportation bridge between the most southern U.S. port and Matamoras, Mexico. Conceived in the 1960s, the...

E-commerce: Does anyone care?
September 18, 2006... BYLINE: Capt. Emad Samwel More than five years have passed since several ocean carriers formed three Internet portals and other lines established their own portals, yet shipper acceptance of the technology has been limited at best. ...

UPS pilots sign contract: Agreement boosts pay and benefits, improves work rules.
September 18, 2006... BYLINE: John D. Boyd The Independent Pilots Association put the finishing touches on their five-year UPS contract, getting the U.S. airfreight industry past its biggest labor hurdles in a year full of often testy negotiations. The IPA...

Houston region brews trade, job opportunities.
September 18, 2006... The Port of Houston Authority, the Economic Alliance Houston Port Region and the Greater Houston Coffee Association will host the Second Annual Houston Port Region Coffee Symposium. Themed "Java and Jobs: Creating Economic Stimulus in the...

TMCA announces bootcamp seminar.
September 18, 2006... The Transportation Marketing & Communications Association has announced a learning forum for marketers with 10 or fewer years of experience in marketing or the transportation industry. The Marketing Bootcamp seminar will take place at the...

Mallory Alexander to manage center.
September 18, 2006... The Northern Plains Commerce Centre has agreed to build a global agricultural processing facility near the Bismarck Municipal Airport in North Dakota. The decision stemmed from an agreement between the international investor group Saskcan Pulse...

Ford selects Wallenius Wilhelmsen to handle vehicles at Jaxport.
September 18, 2006... Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, which specializes in the transportation and processing of finished vehicles, construction and agricultural machinery and challenging project cargo, has announced a contract with Ford Motor Co. to handle the...

Intermarine expands in South America.
September 18, 2006... Intermarine has opened a new management office in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and expanded its liner service to the east coast of South America. For six years, Intermarine has been making port calls at Buenos Aires, but with a rise in frequency of...

Rep. Edwards is named Port Person of the Year.
September 18, 2006... More than 30 guests attended a luncheon ceremony in Houston honoring Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Texas, as the 2006 Port Person of the Year. The Port of Houston Authority and the Texas Ports Association hosted the event. Edwards is the only Texan...

Intermarine expands Industrial Terminals.
September 18, 2006... Intermarine is adding more space to its Industrial Terminals facility on the Houston Ship Channel. Adjacent to Dock No. 1, which has two deep-water berths, the third heavy-lift berth will increase the capacity of the facility by 50...

KCS, Staubach sign real estate agreement.
September 18, 2006... Kansas City Southern, a transportation holding company with railroad investments in the U.S., Mexico and Panama, announced it has signed an agreement with The Staubach Co., a global real estate advisory firm. The later has experience in the...

Project Cargo: Big and booming.
September 25, 2006... BYLINE: Janet Nodar No slowdown in sight for project cargo High prices for fossil fuels and other commodities are triggering billions of dollars in infrastructure investments all over the globe. That, in turn, is driving a surge in...

Power planning: Baltimore finds space for project cargo.
September 25, 2006... BYLINE: William Armbruster It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it. That's often said in jest, such as when a person based in the frigid Northeast is assigned to a project requiring a month-long stay in Hawaii during the dead of...

Blowing away: U.S. becomes No. 1 wind energy market.
September 25, 2006... BYLINE: Janet Nodar Wind energy installations in the U.S. reached 10,000 megawatts of capacity in August. The towering windmills that dot rolling plains in several states can now produce enough electricity to power 2.5 million...

Wind energy spreads wings.
September 25, 2006... Wind energy has been a developing concept for so long that one wonders why it is just now coming into any prominence in the U.S., which is about to become the largest wind energy nation in the world. The fuel source is as clean as they...

Edmonds is Maritime Man of the Year.
September 25, 2006... The Greater Houston Port Bureau and Marine Ex-change of the West Gulf has selected Jim Edmonds as its 2006 Maritime Businessperson of the Year. As chairman of the Port of Houston Authority, Edmonds has been involved in the growth and...

Crowley plans fleet expansion.
September 25, 2006... Vessel Management Services, a subsidiary of Crowley Maritime Corp., plans to build four more articulated tug-barges. The 650-Class barges will be 27,000 deadweight tons with a draft of 30 feet. Crowley's subsidiary has signed a contract...

Sea Star releases online discharge tracking tool.
September 25, 2006... Sea Star Line has released a discharge sequence tracking application, an online tool that allows customers to determine when their shipments will be unloaded and available at U.S. ports where Sea Star calls. The online tool provides...

Sea Star welcomes newcomers, adjusts team.
September 25, 2006... Sea Star Line, which offers cargo transportation services from North America to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, recently announced some management changes. The Jacksonville, Fla.-based company has hired Edward (Ned) LaGoy as...

Hutchison plans to build $523 million terminal in Ecuador.
September 25, 2006... Hutchison Port Holdings, a unit of Hutchison Whampoa, said it plans to build a $523 million terminal at the Port of Manta in Ecuador. The new terminal will have a quay length of 4,125 feet for container handling, with a depth alongside of...

Funds sought to expand Sabine-Neches Waterway.
September 25, 2006... Four congressmen are seeking $900 million in funds to expand the Sabine-Neches Waterway. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Waterways Subcommittee, and committee member Rep. Charles...

Federal agency affirms freight brokerage requirements.
September 25, 2006... The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has turned down a chance to deregulate freight brokerage, and closed a regulatory loophole opened by last year's highway bill. The agency has reaffirmed current registration requirements for...