|
Summary for June 16 through June 20, 2014:
|
Monday, June 16, 2014 Top StoryLos Angeles harbor commissioners appoint Gene Seroka to lead port
Port of Virginia task force tackles port congestionMembers of the Motor Carrier Task Force met Wednesday about ways it could improve cargo movement and ease congestion at the Port of Virginia, as well as improving the port’s relationship with independent truckers and cargo carriers that have suffered as a result of the delays. Port Metro Vancouver trucking firms not complying with pay hike risk losing licensesCanadian and provincial transportation authorities announced today that trucking companies who aren’t paying their drivers a 12-per-cent mandatory increase in container trucking rates are being investigated and could lose their licenses. Firefighters hospitalized after cargo ship fireTwo firefighters were hospitalized after fighting a fire aboard a cargo ship in the Corpus Christi Ship Channel on Tuesday. Firefighters hospitalized after cargo ship fireTwo firefighters were hospitalized after fighting a fire aboard a cargo ship in the Corpus Christi Ship Channel on Tuesday.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014 Top StoryBig container lines exploit low charter rates on Intra-Asia trades
Drewry says big container lines such as Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd are finding profits in the intra-Asian trades because of the cheap charter rates and cargo growth, with new services being launched at the rate of at least one per month. Container Insight cites the Intra Asia Discussion Agreement, which said its 31 member lines alone shipped 7.2 million TEUs in 2013 on the following routes: China-ASEAN, Japan-Thailand, intra-ASEAN, Thailand-China, Indonesia-China. All carriers shipped another 6.2 million TEUs in 2013, it said, between China and South Korea, and between China and Japan. Regional shipping companies are forming alliances to compete against the giant shipping lines, Drewry said. Last month Sinotrans, Pan Asia Shipping (Coscon subsidiary), and Shanghai Puhai Shipping (CSCL subsidiary) formed an operating alliance on services run between China and Japan. And China's SITC Container Lines and Shanghai Hai Hua Shipping (Hasco) have agreed to work more closely together between China and Japan. Container Insight concludes that the large container lines will continue to become further entrenched in the intra-Asian market, and then use their own tonnage to squeeze out smaller competitors on routes where ships over 2,000 TEUs can be safely used. Although freight rates are strong at the moment, Drewry stats, the supply-demand balance remains delicate. U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer calls for black boxes in trucksFollowing a fatal accident on the New Jersey Turnpike that injured Tracy Morgan, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York) launched a campaign to keep sleep-deprived truckers off the road. Schumer urged the U.S. Department of Transportation to expedite up a mandate that truck firms and drivers use electronic devices to log hours driven, he said at a Manhattan news conference. He said most truckers log their hours manually. "We know that fatigue is a huge issue in terms of the number of crashes, and you can't rely on companies to set the rules themselves, because they're going to be competitive," he said, adding that long working hours can be driven by clients wanting cargo to arrive at a location faster. "So we need rules that set a level playing field." The senator also wants the DOT to launch a study and increase insurance coverage by trucking companies in the case of a serious accident. The current minimum liability for normal trucks is $750,000, and the minimum for trucks carrying hazardous materials is $5 million. Morgan and two others were critically injured and comedian James McNair was killed in the June 7 accident involving their limo bus and a Wal-Mart tractor-trailer. The truck driver admitted he had not slept for 24 hours, according to the criminal complaint. In 2010, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration advised that electronic devices be installed in trucks to help prevent falsified records, but the proposal has not been approved by the government. For more of the NBC New York story: nbcnewyork.com Trade association: India's apparel exports to top $17B in FY 2015India's clothing exports are set to rise to the $ 17 billion mark in fiscal year 2015, according to the head of a national apparel trade association there, even though the rupee is growing in value and Western markets are slowing, "India's total textile exports stood at $32 billion, of which apparel exports were $15 billion in FY14," said Premal Udani, chairman of the board for the Clothing Manufacturers' Association of India. "The industry is doing well and we expect apparel exports to touch $17 billion this year, a growth of 15 percent." India ships nearly 80 percent of its apparel exports to U.S. and European markets, but with those markets weakening, the industry is concentrating on new markets like Japan and Latin America, Udani said. CMAI President Rahul Mehta said the domestic apparel market is also expected to grow by 12 to 15 percent in the current fiscal year. For more of the Economic Times story: articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com Evergreen Marine expects improved profits on cost cutting, higher ratesTaiwan container carrier Evergreen Marine Corp expects profits to improve in 2014 on cost cutting and higher freight rates on the Far East-Europe trades. Evergreen Group vice chairman Bronson Hsieh said he could almost see "the light at the end of the tunnel," and that he expects the container shipping business to strengthen in the third quarter, driving up sales and profitability for the year. The company does not plan to distribute dividends this year, after posting a net loss of $49.9 million last year. Europe's stronger-than-expected recovery has bolstered demand on Far East-Europe routes, Hsieh asserts, which accounts for about 20 percent of Evergreen Marine's sales. Anchor Chang, Evergreen Marine's chairman, said the company plans to upgrade its fleet by adding 17 new vessels this year, adding between 8,500 and 14,000 TEUs of capacity to the fleet. He said the shipping line plans to retire 12 smaller ships, which will help save on costs, and that becoming a member of the CKYH alliance also improved the bottom line for 2014. For more of the Taipei Times story: .taipeitimes.com Body found in main shipping channel of Port of NY/NJPolice officials say a sport fisherman found a body Monday morning floating in the Ambrose Channel, a deep-water shipping route for vessels that call at the Port of New York and New Jersey. The Coast Guard brought the body to the station at Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and N.J. state police are investigating. For more of the Staten Island Live story: silive.com
Wednesday, June 18, 2014 Top StoryChina rejects P3 and Maersk says it’s over
UPS to start charging by package size in U.S.Package delivery giant United Parcel Service announced it would start charging by size of packages for all ground services in the U.S. to offset increasing fuel costs. Container volume at ports of LA, Long Beach up in MayContainer volume at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach rose in May year-over-year, according to information posted by the ports. Port officials say the increase is due to a rebounding economy, as well as retailers who are importing holiday and back-to school goods early in case port labor negotiations fail on the West Coast. Manhattan to add 9 million square feet of office space by 2015Manhattan, the largest U.S. office market, will add 9 million square feet of office space by 2015, as projects at Hudson Yards and the World Trade Center site are completed, according to the New York Building Congress. Port of Los Angeles worker takes bad fall into ship’s cargo holdA worker who fell 25 feet into the hold of a cargo ship yesterday at the Port of Los Angeles was hospitalized with leg and back injuries.
Thursday, June 19, 2014 Top StoryChina's rejection of P3 Alliance triggers protectionist concerns
Shielding domestic shippers from bigger rivals, the ministry announced Tuesday it would not approve the so-called P3 Alliance on competition concerns. The three shipping lines had planned to pool 250 vessels on three major trades. Analysts mark the rejection as the first time China has nixed a deal proposed by foreign firms since its anti-monopoly regulator was given greater powers six years ago, and say it shows a strong desire to protect local shipping interests even though consolidation could have been better for the global shipping industry. "China's rejection of the P3 is likely more an effort to insulate Chinese domestic shipping companies...from competing with a more effective rival than it is an effort to maintain industry fair play, in our view," said Barclays analyst Jon Windham. "The best hope for improved industry earnings in the long-term was from consolidation. China's rejection of the P3 is not a positive step in that direction." China's shipping industry has been fighting the industry-wide capacity glut that has pushed down freight rates, resulting in deep losses for COSCO and CSCL. Local groups such as the China Shippers' Association lobbied against approving the alliance, because it would give the container lines too much market power and stifle competition. "This is about an industry which is very important for China, which is the manufacturing powerhouse of the world. It is very important that shipping remains competitive and shipping rates remain low to allow Chinese producers to export their goods," said Marc Waha, an anti-trust lawyer at Norton Rose Fulbright. "It is a very strong signal to the shipping industry that they need to be careful because China is adopting a more stringent approach." For more of the Reuters story: uk.reuters.com Matson shipping heir dies at 97Matson shipping heir and lifelong public servant William Matson Roth died May 29 in a Petaluma, California hospital. Roth was born in San Francisco in 1916, a year before his grandfather Captain William Matson died at 67. The captain, who immigrated from Sweden as an orphan teen, founded the Matson Navigation Company, started some of the first regular tourist cruises to the Hawaiian islands and pioneered nautical innovations like cold storage and electric lights. Captain Matson also built hotels on the islands, including the Royal Hawaiian. Roth's father—William P. Roth—succeeded the captain as company president. By the 1950s, the younger Roth was also a top company executive and helped introduce containerization to the industry. Not one to rest on his family's laurels, Roth dedicated his life to public service. He served as a regent of the University of California for 16 years and ran for governor of California. He was responsible for preserving historic Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco, his hometown. Perhaps most notable was his role as head negotiator for the U.S. in a groundbreaking international trade agreement that reduced global tariffs in 1967. Historians say the deal symbolizes the dawn of an era of increasingly freer global trade. The final agreement, signed on June 30, 1967, included the most comprehensive reduction in tariffs since Western nations began trade-liberalization talks after World War II. For more of the New York Times story: nytimes.com Port Metro Vancouver truckers say some firms not honoring wage dealBritish Columbia has launched a whistleblower site for truckers who transport cargo loads to and from Port Metro Vancouver terminals, who say they are not being paid the rate they were promised in a March deal made to end a 28-day strike. "There are some trucking companies that just don't want to live up to the spirit of the joint action plan," said Gavin McGarrigle, area director for Unifor, a union that represents some of the truckers. Union and independent truckers went on strike throughout March, protesting low per-trip rates and long waiting times at the port's shipping terminals. The B.C. and Canadian governments came up with a plan to address the drivers' issues that included increased trip rates, a waiting time surcharge to be paid directly to trucking companies who are then to pay that fee to truckers, and extended terminal hours. Port Metro Vancouver and the B.C. Ministry of Transportation operate the whistleblower service, where truckers can file complaints by phone (1-877-713-5109), mail, fax or online. McGarrigle said the first waiting time checks were issued on June 13, and totaled approximately $214,000. "That just gives you an idea of the amount of money these truckers would have been out in the past," he said, adding that while a strike is a possibility, the truckers would "give both levels of government the opportunity to get it resolved. Right now the promises set out in the joint action plan haven't been 100% fulfilled." Some trucking companies have filed suit challenging the government's power to regulate rates. For more of the Business Vancouver story: biv.com Britain and China in trade deals worth $24BBritain and China inked trade agreements on Tuesday worth more than $24 billion during a London visit by Premier Li Keqiang aimed at revisiting economic ties between the two nations. "Today we have signed deals worth more than 14 billion pounds, securing jobs and long-term economic growth for the British and Chinese people," Cameron told a joint press conference. The biggest deal was a $20.3 billion deal between British energy giant BP and Chinese state-owned peer CNOOC to provide China with 1.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas annually over 20 years, starting in 2019. Private sector investment group China Minsheng Investment Corporation will open its EU headquarters in London, with an investment of around $2.5 billion in an array of sectors. In 2013, British exports to China averaged more than $1.7 billion per month. Chinese exports to Britain topped $13.5 billion in 2013 to 2014. Britain and China have been strained since British Prime Minister David Cameron met with exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, in 2012. For more of the Channel News Asia story: channelnewsasia.com 8 dead, 28 missing after boat carrying Indonesian workers sinksAn overcrowded wooden boat taking Indonesians home from their Malaysian jobs sank in a storm off Malaysia's west coast Wednesday, leaving 28 people missing and eight dead, Malaysian officials said. At least 61 people survived. A maritime agency official said the boat capsized just after midnight about 2 nautical miles from Kuala Lumpur, while trying to leave Malaysia illegally for Aceh province in Indonesia. Tens of thousands of Indonesians work without legal permits on plantations and in other industries in Malaysia, traveling between countries by crossing the narrow Strait of Malacca, often in poorly maintained boats. The boat's capacity was 50-60, but it was believed to be carrying 97 people. For more of the US News and World Report story: usnews.com
Submit Your Press |
Gene Seroka, head of the commercial division of American President Lines, was officially appointed as executive director of the Port of Los Angeles last week, receiving unanimous approval from the Harbor Board of Commissioners, according to a port statement. 
Shipping lines are reaping the rewards of higher cargo volumes and less expensive charter rates for services between Asian countries and regional carriers are allying to defend their territory, according the latest issue of Container Insight by Drewry Maritime Research.
China shocked the shipping industry Tuesday by rejecting the alliance of the three largest global container lines, after U.S. and EU regulators had approved it. 
This week after China's Ministry of Commerce rejected the vessel-sharing plan of container shipping giants Maersk Line, CMA CGM and MSC, analysts say the nation is signaling the global shipping industry that it is adopting a stricter, more protectionist stance.