Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Top Story
Israeli PM denies meeting with Putin in wake of Artic Sea incident
Israeli media reports said on Wednesday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly visited Moscow on Monday in a bid to dissuade Russia from selling weapons to Iran.
In Moscow, a spokesman for Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin denied the reports.
Media reports over the weekend, citing military sources in Israel and Russia, said a cargo ship that went missing in the Atlantic for almost a month had been carrying Russian air defense S-300 missiles to Iran that were detected by Israel.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed those reports and said the circumstances of the Maltese-registered Arctic Sea's disappearance would become clear in due course.
The ship was officially carrying timber from Finland to Algeria when it was boarded on July 24 by a group of eight men. They were charged with kidnapping and piracy after it was intercepted by Russian warships off Cape Verde.
-Reuters
For the full story: www.reuters.com
Boeing air cargo exec predicts broad economic recovery in 2010
U.S. aerospace giant Boeing Co expects global air cargo traffic to return to growth next year amid a broad economic recovery, with the United States and China leading the way, a senior executive said on Wednesday.
Air cargo growth typically leads economic and passenger traffic growth by 3-6 months, Jim Edgar, Boeing's regional director, cargo marketing, said at the Asian Aerospace Expo in Hong Kong.
Generous stimulus packages from governments will prop up the global economy, Edgar said.
Airlines carried 11.3 percent less cargo in July than a year earlier, according to IATA data.
-Reuters
For the full story: www.reuters.com
Mississippi port seeks $20-$30 mil from stimulus for new intermodal terminal
A federal grant program could help the Jackson County Port Authority tap into a new line of business, leaders said Tuesday after hiring a company to prepare its funding application.
The Jackson County Port Authority is seeking $20 million to $30 million in federal stimulus funds to develop a marine terminal on the old grain elevator site in Pascagoula.
The terminal would be fully intermodal, with truck, rail and ship access, and would help the port open up business to new and different types of ships, said Port Director Mark McAndrews.
-The Mississippi Press
For the full story: www.gulflive.com
Montreal port nets half of $18 mil for infrastructure from Feds
The Port of Montreal is getting a federal infrastructure stimulus fund investment of up to $9 million, or half the estimated cost of building a common portal for entry and exit of trucks.
The $18-million project, with the balance met by the Montreal Port Authority, will improve port logistics and benefit haulage companies.
-The Gazette (Montreal)
For the full story: www.montrealgazette.com
Timex Group names new sr. vp of supply chain
Timex Group B.V. announced the appointment of Mike Wilson as senior vice president, supply chain. The company said Wilson would join the company effective September15th and report directly to Timex Group’s president and CEO, Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard.
Timex Group said Wilson brings more than two decades of engineering, manufacturing and logistics experience.
"We are pleased to welcome Mike and his wealth of knowledge and global experience within the manufacturing and logistics industries to Timex Group," said Hoejsgaard. "His hands-on experience running factories and being in front of customers, as well as his deep understanding of technology and sensitivity to asset-utilization strategies and product life cycle management, make him ideally suited to lead our organization’s transition from its historical focus on manufacturing to building a lean global supply chain."
Wilson’s last stop was with Deutsche Post DHL (formerly DHL/Deutsche Post World Net), where he served in both Amsterdam the United Kingdom as president, global supply chain outsourcing. Prior to that he was responsible for the technology industry at Exel, the logistics and freight-forwarding company.
Wilson will be based in Hong Kong.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Top Story
UP exec says freight volumes improving
Union Pacific executive Rob Knight told analysts Wednesday that freight volumes were slowly improving but to not expect a traditional Christmas peak because retailers were taking a cautious approach to consumer spending over the holidays.
Weekly carloadings in Union Pacific's 23-state network increased from an average of 142,000 in the April and May period to 163,000 in the week ending Aug. 29 but remained about 17 percent below year-ago levels, Knight said.
About 4,500 train crew members were furloughed by the end of August, compared with an average of 5,300 in April and May, he said.
-Omaha World-Herald
For the full story: www.omaha.com
Freight Index rose 1.6 percent in July
The Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) rose 1.6 percent in July from its June level, the first monthly increase since February and the largest increase since January 2008, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today.
The BTS reported that the Freight TSI declined in nine of the last 12 months, but has remained steady or increased in the last two.
The July Freight TSI of 95.5 is a 1.6 percent increase from the recent low of 94.0 reached in May and June, the BTS said. During those two months, the index was at its lowest level since June 1997. The Freight TSI is down 15.4 percent from its historic peak of 112.9 reached in May 2006, the BTS reported.
U.S. signing off on international piracy plan
The United States is signing on to an international plan to fight piracy off the coast of Somalia, committing itself to a leadership role to protect one of the world's busiest shipping routes.
The "New York Declaration" signed by U.S. Deputy Ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo and her counterparts from China, Britain, France, and other powers is an attempt to pool resources and agree on the best ways of deterring the Somalian pirates who prey on vessels passing between Europe and Asia.
Although it is a nonbinding political document, proponents say it will commit ship-registry nations to adopt "best management practices" for ship security such as increased lookouts, raised ladders, and emergency fire pumps readied to repel boarders.
-Philadelphia Inquirer
Story source: www.philly.com
Gulfport’s $50 mil post-Katrina dock rebuild complete
The state port at Gulfport has reached a milestone in its ongoing post-Hurricane Katrina rebuilding.
And, Chiquita has moved back to its preferred location at the west pier, which was destroyed by the storm in 2005. Chiquita brings in some 300 containers a week.
The company had been relocated and operations manager Tony Caranna says operations now will be more efficient.
The $50 million rebuilding and restoration of the port's berths one and two is finished, while work continues on berth three.
Port officials say the previous berths, built in the 1950s, could handle weights of just 400 to 500 pounds a square foot. The replacement docks can handle a thousand pounds per square foot.
-WLOX
Story source: /www.wreg.com
Columbia Customs seizes $11.3 mil in cash from container
Colombian customs agents say they seized $11.3 million in cash from a shipping container in the nation's largest cargo port.
National customs director Nestor Diaz says it is the most cash ever seized by police at a port in Colombia, which is a major source of cocaine trafficking. No arrests were reported.
Diaz said Wednesday the cash was hidden in a shipment of ammonium sulfate that arrived in the Pacific coast port of Buenaventura from Mexico. He didn't identify the company that shipped the container.
Ammonium sulfate is a chemical product with various commercial uses.
-AP
Story source: www.google.com
Friday, September 11, 2009
Top Story
President Obama’s 9/11 memorial speech
www.whitehouse.gov
