Summary for January 12 - January 16, 2009:
Monday, January 12, 2009Top Story MOL president announces “New Deal” strategyBorrowing phrases from a U.S. president past, and one to be, MOL Group President Akimitsu Ashida announced the “MOL New Deal,” along with the rally cry: “Yes, we can do” in his New Year’s message to the company. The company’s short-term strategy is to include cuts to charters, scrapping aged ships and laying up excess vessel tonnage, he said. As for MOL’s mid-term and long-term strategies, Akimitsu said the company’s “basic strategy remains unchanged” and will “fulfill our fleet plan to enhance and expand our competitive advantage.” The MOL president said his shipping company has experienced a strong four and a half years with approximately $10 billion aggregated profit to show for it. "These movements will reasonably and favorably contribute to adjust demand and supply balance of world tonnage. What's more, we will have more possibility in reducing overall costs especially in maintenance and repairs, bunkers and lubricants, the price of which went up sharply due to the hike of material and crude oil prices for some years. We can also expect other issues such as shortage of seafarers and repair docks to be eased in line with the adjustment of shipping market," he said.
Liner MOL consolidates West Coast Latin America serviceJapanese shipping company MOL announced a consolidation of its Asia-Mexico/West Coast South America service that it operates with NYK. The revision will integrate two loops, the WL1 and WL2, into a single service called WL1.
Industrial Real Estate ProLogis to sell China business for $1.3 billionProLogis, the Denver-based industrial real estate firm, has announced it has signed an agreement to sell its China business unit for $1.3 billion to GIC Real Estate (GIC RE), the real estate arm of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation.
Industrial Real Estate Survey: Foreign investment in U.S. real estate
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NAME |
COMPANY |
HOME CITY / STATE |
Gerald Charron |
Con-way Freight |
Danville, VT |
Tim Dean |
Werner Enterprises |
Griswold, IA |
Rich Ewing |
Yellow Transportation |
Bellingham, WA |
John Foran |
United Parcel Service |
Saint Albans, VT |
James Gallagher |
Roadway |
Williamsville, NY |
Paul Gattin |
ABF Freight System |
Benton, AR |
Ronald Hawkins, Jr. |
K-Limited Carrier Ltd. |
Perrysburg, OH |
Mark Hassemer |
Yellow Transportation |
Whitelaw, WI |
Barry Holland |
UPS Freight |
Hurlock, MD |
Edward Hosegood |
Publix Super Markets, Inc. |
Lakeland, FL |
Keith Johnson |
Roadway |
Eatonville, WA |
Gary Leu |
Wal-Mart Transportation |
Shelbina, MO |
Greg Nauertz |
Roadway |
Peoria, AZ |
Kurt Pedersen |
Con-way Freight |
Surprise, AZ |
Ben Saiz |
ABF Freight System |
Estancia, NM |
Frank Silio |
Covenant Transport |
Miami, FL |
Jeffrey Thompson |
FedEx Freight |
Olathe, KS |
Ron Van Bibber |
Roadway |
South Jordan, UT |
The American Trucking Associations says it is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of other trucking groups, industry-related conferences, and its 50 affiliated state trucking associations, ATA represents more than 37,000 members covering every type of motor carrier in the United States.
Technology
Savi lands U.S. Army contract
Savi, a Lockheed Martin company, announced it has gone live with an automated asset and inventory tracking system at the Sierra Army Depot in northern California. The depot is a 59-square-mile complex of approximately 1,200 buildings and is an expeditionary logistics center for the storage, maintenance, assembly and containerization of operational stocks and other items.
Savi says its Depot Total Asset Visibility and Inventory Management System enables personnel to reduce hours spent searching for containers, major supplies and asset inventory as they move on, through, and off the facilities. Savi’s total asset management solution also offers automated alerts.
Incidents
US Coast Guard rescues drifting Maersk ship
in Santa Barbara
The U.S. Coast Guard reported it responded to a distress call from a drifting Maersk containership that had lost its propulsion power in the Santa Barbara Channel, Calif. The Maersk Kawasaki was heading north through the channel when it lost propulsion "due to an unknown cause." The Coast Guard Cutter Blacktip and harbor tugboats were dispatched and on scene.
"The Maersk Kawasaki is maintaining its current position with the use of thrusters located at the bow and stern of the vessel. There is no immediate threat to oil platforms or the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. The Coast Guard is monitoring the vessel's position through the Vessel Traffic Service and Marine Exchange," the coast guard said.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Top Story
Nobel economist: Improving U.S. freight rail system one of “long term benefits”
The Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman said the government should go much bigger in its economic stimulus package – as much as $5 trillion – and upgrading the freight rail network should be part of that.
"Freight rail is a success which is hindered by small but extreme bottlenecks. So that's an example of a kind of project that would spend money but also provide a lot of long term benefits to the economy,” he told ABC News.
Krugman is a professor of economics and international affairs at Princeton University and a noted New York Times columnist.
Krugman said he doesn’t think the U.S. is in a depression but that “the normal tools don't work and we're back to a 1930s-type environment."
Krugman said the administration needs "to move fast and massively”
"My great fear is not that we're going to fall into a Great Depression in the next year…My fear is that we're going to have a lingering, major slump for two, three years."
In addition to rail improvements, he advocated supporting lenders to renogiate with home owners who are trying to deal with balooned mortgages, and to “build an economy on more solid stuff: actual exports, producing stuff, not just moving assets back and forth."
Infrastructure
Gov. Schwarzenegger responds to
infrastructure
funds delay
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger responded on Wednesday to the California Transportation Commission (CTC)’s decision to delay the allocation of $293.5 million in funding for transportation infrastructure projects, and the State Allocation Board’s special meeting to discuss emergency regulatory amendments for $2.4 billion in funding delayed from public school construction projects.
“Today’s actions further illustrate why the legislature needs to come together on a compromise for solving California’s state budget crisis – and why we are working around the clock on the issue,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “Infrastructure investment not only improves the quality of life here in California, but it stimulates the economy and creates jobs right when our economy needs it the most.”
In December, as a result of the state’s budget crisis, billions in state infrastructure financing was halted by the state Pooled Money Investment Board (PMIB).
Freight
DOT's November freight index falls to five-year low
The Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) fell 1.4 percent to 107.6 in November from October, and at its lowest November level since 2003,
the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported on Wednesday.
November’s decline was the third monthly decrease in four months, putting the freight TSI at its lowest level since January 2004 when it was 106.5, and down 4.9 percent from the historic peak of 113.1 in November 2005.
For the first 11 months of 2008, the index fell 0.7 percent. The index rose 1.3 percent in the first 11 months of 2007 before dropping in December to finish the year down by 0.1 percent.
The freight TSI measures month-to-month changes in the output of services provided by the for-hire freight transportation industries, including trucking, rail, inland waterways, pipelines and air freight.
Freight
Former UPS Supply Chain president
named
CEO at UTi
UTi Worldwide, a global multi-modal forwarder based in California, announced the appointment of new chief executive Eric W Kirchner, who was previously president of freight forwarding for UPS Supply Chain Solutions. Kircher will replace the retiring CEO, Roger MacFarlane.
MacFarlane will remain as a director at UTi and replace 'Tiger' Wessels as non-Executive Chairman. Wessels will remain as a director.
Green
Port of Seattle and truckers meet
in public emissions forum
In 2010, the Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy will require stricter emission standards on port trucks in that region, and the Port of Seattle invited the trucking community to learn more, and respond to this initiative Wednesday evening at a local community college.
There are as many as 2,000 trucks serving the Port of Seattle built before 1994, and the clear air plan calls for truckers to meet the emission standards of trucks built in 1994 and later. By 2015, the port wants to require 80 percent of trucks calling its cargo facilities to have emission standards from no earlier than 2007, and all trucks on this standard by 2017.
In the packed meeting at South Seattle Community College, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported truckers were mostly concerned with new truck or retrofit costs driving them out of business, and port officials admitting the clean air plan was conceived before the economic downturn created a cargo slump.
"Two years ago we handled 2 million TEUs, but this year, we'll be lucky to handle 1.65 million TEUs," said Charlie Sheldon, Seattle’s seaport director. One trucker asked the port to approach the shipping lines and beneficial cargo owners to pay for the plan, and Sheldon said “if we do that, we'll drive the business right out of here.”
The Port of Seattle is looking at an Oregon-based nonprofit, Cascade Sierra Solutions, to retrofit diesel trucks that had been donated by the California Air Resources Board because they did not meet emission requirements for that state’s ports, according to the P-I report.
The trucks would be leased local drivers in Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia and Portland at at fees between $250 and $350 per month.
The Washington State Department of Ecology has also reportedly set aside $500,000 to help pay for diesel truck retrofits, the report said. The Port of Seattle said it has given the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency $200,000 to help fund the program.
The Port of Seattle Commission meets on the Clean Air Program onFeb. 3.
Green
Transport directors discuss emission
reductions in Tokyo
Transportation directors from 21 countries met in Tokyo Thursday to discuss measures aimed at cutting carbon dioxide emissions in the transportation industries.
During the two-day meeting, the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Maritime Organization are scheduled to reveal their respective plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector.
Green
Port of Long Beach emissions declined
in 2007
The Port of Long Beach released a report on air quality that revealed its multi-modes of port transport and equipment emitted less pollution in 2007 in the first year of the Clean Air Action Plan.
The port reported that despite a 9 percent increase in the amount of cargo moved, many major pollutants including diesel particulates were significantly reduced in 2007 compared to 2005, due to the use of cleaner fuels and the replacement of older equipment. However, two pollutants, smog-forming nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide, saw slight increases.
The findings are part of a detailed, annual "emissions inventory" produced by the port as part of the Clean Air Action Plan, which was approved by the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners in November 2006, after the Board enacted its landmark environmental protection Green Port Policy in January 2005. Inventories compiled for 2005 and 2006 had shown increases in emissions compared to earlier years. The latest report for 2007 is the first to reflect a decline in pollutants, the port said.
"These are good results, showing that pollution levels in many categories had dropped to 2004 and earlier levels," said Nick Sramek, vice president of the Long Beach board of harbor commissioners. "But we can do better, and in coming inventories, with the implementation of additional Clean Air Action Plan measures, we expect to see bigger, across-the-board improvements in air quality.
"We can thank our partners -- the operators of the terminals, vessels, trains and trucks here at the Port -- for the progress in improving air quality," he said.
Among the findings of the 2007 emissions inventory:
- Pollution from ships, including particulate matter and sulfur oxides, declined because vessel operators complied with a California Air Resources Board regulation on the use of low-sulfur fuels in auxiliary engines. Also, they participated in Port of Long Beach air quality efforts such as the Green Flag Vessel Speed Reduction Program, where ships slow down voluntarily to cut pollutants.
- For harbor craft, locomotives and heavy-duty trucks, the enormous reduction in sulfur oxides -- 32 percent -- is due to the introduction of ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel.
- The PierPASS program to shift truck traffic to off-peak hours at the ports has greatly reduced heavy-duty truck idling time, down from about 3.8 million idling hours in 2005 to 2.5 million in 2007.
The executive summary and the complete 2007 Emissions Inventory is available at www.polb.com/emissions.
Technology
U.S. DOT signs technology agreement with Washington State to improve border efficiency
Freight carriers traveling in and out of Canada will experience less frustration through the use of new technologies, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced today.
The DOT has signed an agreement with Washington State that it says will provide more accurate and reliable travel information on border wait times.
The Cascade Gateway Project is to provide border-crossing wait time and travel condition information to drivers and freight carriers. The project would use a variety of technologies, including sensors, to provide pre-trip and en-route wait times on crossing the border to reduce congestion at four Washington state ports of entry, Peace Arch, Pacific Highway, Lynden and Sumas.
"Providing accurate travel information is an essential tool for fighting congestion. With accurate information, travelers and freight carriers will be able to choose the time and route that is most efficient and best meets their needs,” said outgoing DOT Secretary Mary Peters.
“With our economy faltering, it’s critical that goods and products are moving efficiently through our Northern Border crossings,” said Senator Patty Murray, chairman of the senate transportation appropriations committee. “This agreement takes innovative steps that will allow freight carriers and drivers to make informed decisions that will reduce congestion along the northern border,” she said.
The project is part of the Department’s Transportation Border Congestion Relief Program, which it says is designed to facilitate and accelerate transportation-related capacity and operational improvements at border crossings. Washington State’s Cascade program is one of the three projects included in the federal initiative.
“This project is a great example of how technology can be used to relieve congestion,” said Federal Highway Administrator Tom Madison.
Secretary Peters added that as part of the congestion relief program, the project would receive priority access, consistent with current law, to many of the Department’s assistance programs, including loans and other innovative financing mechanisms.
Pirates
Senior U.S official bullish on anti-piracy in 2009
Pirates might start to meet more resistance in 2009, according to U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Mark Kimmitt to a gathering of media after the first U.N. meeting of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia.
“We believe that 2009 will be a year where we can turn this problem around if we come together as a group of nations working not simply the military aspect but the judicial aspect, the financial aspect, the industry aspect," he said.
The increased piracy problem in 2008, in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, has been costly, with dozens of ships hijacked and many millions of dollars paid in ransom demands.
Assistant Sec. Kimmitt said that even though the probability of being hijacked was quite low for most vessels transiting the region, that “it’s not good enough."
The group of 24 nations jointly announced agreement on increasing surveillance assets, apprehending and prosecuting suspected pirates, and exploring options that would strengthen the ability of countries willing to detain and prosecute them. The group also called on international bodies that track illegal flows of funds to investigate if pirates are recipients of such funds.
"Piracy is a symptom of a wider lack of security and rule of law in Somalia and continues to constitute a threat to regional stability," the group said in a statement.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Top Story
Global downturn reflected in Long Beach port’s 2008 cargo decline
Container cargo shipments through the Port of Long Beach in 2008 reflected the depth of the global economic recession, dropping 11 percent compared to 2007, the port reported this week.
The decline in shipping business was the biggest single-year decline in more
than 20 years for one of the top two seaports in the Americas.
Year-end totals showed the number of containers shipped in and out of the port fell to 6.5 million TEUs in 2008 - the lowest level in Long Beach since 2004. The year ended in a weak December, as the monthly total tumbled 25.3 percent to 429,946 TEUs - the lowest monthly total since February 2005.
"Despite the weak global economy, Port of Long Beach remains fiscally strong and competitive," said Port Executive Director Richard D. Steinke. "While 2008 was a difficult year for the maritime industry, the port is firmly committed to investing in improvements that will provide new, local jobs, stimulate the local economy, protect the environment and improve security."
The port said: “…long-planned projects will generate thousands of temporary local jobs through private construction and contracting firms, plus tens of thousands permanent jobs throughout Long Beach and Southern California.”
According to the port, its proposed projects are viable in a down market due to “solid financial and business planning.”
Mid-September is when the port said the global economic crisis was felt, as cargo business slowed down sharply, including exports, which had experienced a steady climb over the previous two years. Exports dropped 23.6 percent in November 2008, compared to the same month in 2007, and fell another 34.2 percent slide in December 2008. Imports declined 26.9 percent in December, the 14th time in the last 15 months container volumes fell at the port.
Trade
China displaced Germany as third largest economy
The Washington Post reported this week that China passed Germany to become the world’s third largest economy in 2007. Earlier estimates had shown China’s GDP growth at 11.9 percent, but those figures have been revised to 13 percent by the government statistics bureau at $3.38 trillion, according to the Post report. Germany, by contrast, reported a 2007 GDP of $3.32 trillion.
China is estimated to continue to its growth, albeit at a slower rate, and as low as 5 percent, while the other top economies in the world experience a more serious slowdown due to the global recession.
Air
Regular China-Taiwan cargo and passenger flights
expected by July
China and Taiwan are expected to launch regular passenger and cargo flights in July. The move would end Taiwan’s six-decade ban on cross-strait air links with the mainland, The Commercial Times reported.
Talks between the two governments are planned for May where a pact could be signed, which would include the opportunity for each country’s airlines to fly on to other countries such as the Americas for China, and Central Asia and Europe for Taiwan, the report said.
Air
Delta expected to lay off approximately 2,000
Delta Airlines is expected to lay off approximately 2,000 due to a capacity reduction of around 6-8 percent, Delta CEO Richard Anderson told the media in Tokyo on Thursday.
"We will know more towards the end of this month, because we gave employees a wide window so that they can make the right decision," he said.
Delta and its newly merged partner, Northwest, employ approximately 75,000. Delta cut 4,000 workers last year and Northwest laid off and 2,000.
Rail
BNSF announces express shipping out of PNW
The BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) announced Thursday it is offering an express international container service out of the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, Wash., to BNSF intermodal facilities in Memphis and Chicago.
"This express service can cut down transit time by almost a full day, making it one of the fastest intermodal cargo services from the Pacific Northwest to Chicago and Memphis," said Steve Branscum, BNSF's group vice president, consumer products marketing. "The new express service not only relies on the speed of the train and the route followed, but also the ability of the ports and the intermodal hubs to provide efficient and reliable service."
In Chicago and Memphis, BNSF said it offers two of the most advanced intermodal hub facilities in North America. BNSF is in the process of expanding capacity at its Memphis facility, which will soon load and unload containers using five of the largest wide-span cranes in North America, the rail carrier said. The hubs will also employ automated checkpoints and scalable capacity to create a faster, more reliable and environmentally friendly process for moving trailers and containers between rail and highway.
BNSF said it is initially offering one full train weekly from either port to either destination on a schedule that matches an ocean carrier's discharge and dray.
Green
Nations demand climate plans from
transportation industries
Transportation ministers and envoys from 20 nations, including the Group of Eight, concluded two days of talks in Tokyo and announced the goal of drafting a new climate change treaty by the end of this year, and called upon the air and maritime transport sectors to act on global warming by reducing carbon emissions.
"Urgent actions are required to address these issues while ensuring sustainable development," the group said in a joint statement.
The nations represented called on the International Maritime (IMO) and International Civil Aviation (ICAO) organizations come up with emission-reduction protocols by the end of 2009.
While transport is reportedly responsible for 23 percent of global carbon emissions, the air and maritime industries are experiencing financial hemorrhage due to the economic crunch. The ICAO director, Roberto Kobeh Gonzalez, told the media he did not see carbon taxes hitting the airlines anytime soon.
China, considered to be the world’s top polluter, was not represented at the summit.
Ports
New shipping service at Port Manatee
A new shipping line will call at Port Manatee, Florida every 10 days, the port announced.
Fort Lauderdale-based HySea Shipping will operate a container-breakbulk service between Manatee and Puerto Cortes, with autos, heavy equipment and trucks among the cargoes carried.
Education
Cal Maritime announces
2009 continuing ed courses
The California Maritime Academy has announced the 2009 lineup of continuing education via its Extended Learning Department. Courses aimed at professionals involved in the maritime industry include:
- Company, Facility and Vessel Security Officer Training.
- STCW – Basic Safety Training including firefighting, first aid/CPR and water survival training.
- First Responder – For public safety and other personnel who may respond to emergencies or significant events at maritime facilities within their jurisdiction such as vessels, ports and terminals.
- Radar Renewal and Exam – for personnel needing refresher certification.
- Bridge Resource Management
- Dangerous Liquids Management for Tanker Personnel.
Many of the courses are offered on the school’s Vallejo campus. Others may be provided off-site or via the Internet, enabling participants to take part at times and locations convenient to their own schedules, the school reported.
For more information go to: www.maritime-education.com
Technology
ShipServ reports record year
ShipServ, a maritime e-marketplace solution, announced today that 2008 was its most active year ever with record numbers of buyers and sellers of ship supplies.
The number of transactions on its trading platform, ShipServ TradeNet, grew by 69 percent with a gross merchandise value of $1 billion, the company said.
The number of ships signed up on the network increased by 50 percent and the number of suppliers also increased by 50 percent, ShipServ said.
In 2008, the company reported 31 new ship owners, managers and yards joined TradeNet, including A.P. Moller-Maersk, Bibby Ship Management, Companhia de Navegacao Norsul, Crowley, Far East Ship Management, Malaysia International Shipping Corporation Berhad and MSC Ship Services.