Big4

   The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) this week voted a proposed reformation of the rules governing ocean transportation intermediaries (OTIs), both domestic and foreign.    Under the proposed rule, licensed OTIs, which include non-vessel-operating common carriers (NVOs) and freight forwarders, would have to renew their licenses every two years. Currently, OTIs have no requirement to renew once they have been granted a license. They only need a qualifying individual (QI) for the l...

   The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Wednesday awarded a $122 million contract to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corp. for deepening the entrance to the Port of Miami to 50 feet, the company said.    Excavation is expected to commence in August and be completed in time for the opening of the expanded Panama Canal in 2015, which will enable 14,000 TEU container vessels to reach the U.S. East Coast from Asia via the Pacific Ocean.     Miami would become the third port on...

   A group of investors and stakeholders from more than 115 organizations have banded together under the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility to ask global shippers to ensure the safety and welfare of their workers and to ferret out supply chain abuses.    The group has called on shippers around the world to implement International Labor Organization standards at all their facilities and to pay attention to the United Nation’s framework on human rights responsibilities in bus...

   The U.S. Export-Import Bank has authorized an approximately $500 million direct loan to finance the continued development of a Mongolian mine that, upon completion, will generate about 30 percent of the Mongolian GDP.    Additionally, Ex-Im Bank's financing will support about 2,000 U.S. jobs across the United States, according to bank estimates derived from Commerce and Labor department data.    The Oyu Tolgoi mine, which is located in the South Gobi region about 550 kil...

   Average global freight rates have fallen to a 15-month low, according to Drewry’s new online Container Freight Rate Insight which launched today.    Drewry said its global freight rate index fell 12 percent in April to reach its lowest level since February 2012, when container shipping was still recovering from the last ocean carrier price war. The index, which is a weighted average of freight rates across the 600 trade routes covered by Drewry’s Container Freight Rate Insight, rea...

   The White House on Wednesday welcomed growing exports for U.S. businesses, farmers, and ranchers on the first anniversary of the entry into force of the U.S.-Colombia trade agreement.    Via the U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement, U.S. manufacturers have substantially increased their exports to the South American country.    In specific, U.S. exports of transportation equipment, petroleum and coal products, processed food, and computer and electronic products have risen t...

   Hapag-Lloyd said the rotation of the U.S. Gulf - South America East Coast Loop 1 (GS1) service is being revised.    Starting with the voyage of the ship Suape Express (1316N), the GS1 will replace the northbound call of Caucedo, Dominican Republic with Cartagena, Colombia. The first call in Cartagena will be on June 10.    The southbound call of Caucedo will continue.    The revised GS1 port rotation will be Veracruz, Altamira, Houston, New Orleans, Cauced...

   The world's largest wholesale technology distributor Ingram Micro said this week it is opening a new facility in Costa Rica for its Ingram Micro Mobility mobile device lifecycle services and logistics solutions subsidiary.    The facility is designed to support Ingram Micro Mobility’s growing business in Latin America. Initially, the facility will be fully dedicated to supporting the company’s mobile device lifecycle services, specifically device recovery and technical repair. &nb...

   Hamburg Süd said revenues in 2012 were 4.8 billion euros ($6.17 billion), up 16 percent over 2011.    The German liner company said it handled 3.3 million TEUs last year, about 4 percent more than in 2011, which it said was “roughly in line with market growth.”    In a press release reviewing 2012, Hamburg Süd said “Europe-America and Far East services contributed in particular to this growth. Pleasing performance was seen, too, in some of the inter-Americ...

   Hapag-Lloyd had a net loss of 93.6 million euros ($120 million) in the first quarter 2013, an improvement over the net loss of 132.4 million euros recorded in the same period a year earlier.    “Liner shipping started 2013 on a higher level than in 2012. However, the competition remains extremely challenging. Rates have come under tangible pressure since April, especially on the important East-West routes, and competition is also becoming tougher on Latin America trades,” said Mic...

   The upward trend in cargo volumes at the Port of Virginia continued as the number of TEUs handled in April grew 5.7 percent when compared with the same month last year.    In April, the port handled 179,370 TEUs, an increase of 9,726 units compared with April 2012. Export TEUs tallied 96,261 and import TEUs were 83,109, an increase of 6.1 and 5.3 percent, respectively.    Year-to-date TEU volume is up 6.1 percent, an increase of almost 40,000 TEUs. Rail containers in Apr...

   FedEx Trade Networks has broken ground on an 83,000-square-foot facility at the Riverview Solar Technology Park in Tonawanda, N.Y.    The first wave of employees is set to move in near the end of this year.    FedEx is paying $5.2 million to build the 22-acre facility, which will include 55,000 square feet of office space. New York State has committed $2.56 million in tax credits to the project, and FedEx will receive another $1.9 million in tax relief from Erie County. ...

   The Port of Long Beach is recirculating a draft environmental impact statement for a proposed grain export facility at Pier T on Terminal Island.    The public is being encouraged to comment on the EIR in writing or at a public hearing scheduled for June 5.    The grain transload facility proposed by Total Terminals International would receive railcars with 53-foot domestic containers full of grain and dried distillers grain with solubles, a byproduct of ethanol pro...

   The U.S. Surface Transportation Board has adopted a new arbitration program for disputes between shippers and railroads with clear liability limits.    Effective June 12, the rule change establishes when the parties would be ordered to participate in mediation.    Initially, Class I and II railroads were to be automatically enrolled in the arbitration program unless they specifically opted out of the program by application to the board. Class III rail...

   NOL, the Singapore-based parent of liner carrier APL, said Tuesday its first quarter operating losses fell 64 percent to $85 million, compared to the same period in 2012.    Operating losses for APL alone fell 59 percent to $101 million, while operating profits from APL Logistics grew 27 percent to $16 million.    The NOL Group had a $76 million net profit in the first quarter, a huge improvement over the $254 million it lost in the first quarter of 2012.    Li...

   The Port of Virginia set a record Saturday for handling the heaviest containership on the U.S. East Coast when the MSC Chicago sailed through the 50-foot channel with export cargo at a draft of 49 feet, according to the port authority.    Export cargo often consists of grains, waste paper, machinery and other heavy products that typically weigh more than imports of consumer goods, making it difficult for ocean carriers to fully load vessels with full containers in many ports....

   YRC's proposal to acquire ABF in the middle of union negotiations is "unconscionable," according to James P. Hoffa, general president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.    The two parties reached a tentative, five-year contract agreement earlier this month after negotiating since early January, but no firm details of the contract have been officially released. According to the Teamsters for a Democratic Union, ABF was looking for a 6.5-percent wage cut and reductions i...

   A third runway at London Heathrow Airport is the only way to prevent a cargo capacity crisis, according to Larry Coyne, CEO of Coyne Airways.    In a speech last week in London, Coyne said U.K. logistics firms are vulnerable to losing out on business to companies in mainland Europe if the capacity crunch is not addressed.    His speech came in reaction to the push for an airport on Thames Island in London, a proposal that calls for a two-runway airport with rail and seapo...

   The U.S. Department of Transportation made it official Friday that the Federal Aviation Administration will not furlough air traffic controllers or close 149 low-activity control towers at small airports to meet new budget requirements following recent congressional action.    The Reducing Flight Delays Act allowed the FAA flexibility to move money from its Airport Improvement Program to the personnel account to cover $637 million in planned cuts that would have required cont...

   Maritime industry officials in Virginia remain actively involved in efforts to promote the development of offshore wind farms and say the Port of Virginia represents an ideal staging area for the massive equipment and infrastructure necessary to produce energy from wind.    The port has lay-down space for wind towers, blades, cable and other hardware and equipment at its 285-acre Portsmouth Marine Terminal, which recently was converted to a breakbulk and roll-on/roll-off cargo...

   The Virginia Port Authority has an aggressive timetable for making structural changes designed to improve the competitiveness of the Port of Virginia and justify the recent rejection of private bids offering guaranteed income to operate the port for up to 48 years, officials said at Thursday's Virginia Maritime Association conference in Norfolk.    The VPA Board of Commissioners expects to announce how it will reorganize the VPA and Virginia International Terminals (VIT), the...

   Crowley Maritime said its petroleum services group is entering the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market by acquiring Carib Energy, a Coral Springs, Fla.-based company that was founded in 2011 to export LNG to industrial facilities in the Caribbean and Latin America.    Carib Energy plans to export LNG in 40-foot tank containers, which it says allows it to serve markets that do not justify or cannot receive large tanker ships of LNG.    Crowley said its acquisition is ...

   During the first quarter, IAG Cargo experienced a 7.2-percent hit to commercial revenue, ending the period at 270 million euros ($351.1 million).    Cargo volume declined by 8 percent, year over year, to 1.36 billion tons on a 1.7-percent decrease in capacity. Yield, however, rose by 0.8 percent, year over year.    Officials blamed weak market conditions, especially on IAG’s sluggish North American trade lane, and industrial action at Iberia earlier in the year for the p...

   UPS will add winglets to its 54-plane Boeing 767 fleet, including the five 767s currently on order, by the end of 2014.    The integrator has already installed winglets on its 747s and MD-11s; UPS’ Airbus A300-600s have similar devices attached to their wings.    The move will save each plane 4 percent of its current fuel expenditure by reducing drag during flight. The winglets also reduce noise emissions and improve performance during take off, according to a compa...

   While the International Brotherhood of Teamsters has put what a local union calls “a tight lid” on information about a proposed five-year contract deal with ABF, analysts are trying to figure out what a new agreement would look like.    ABF and the Teamsters started negotiations for a new contract in January and finally reached an agreement early this month. Local unions had said during the negotiations that ABF was looking for a 6.5-percent wage cut, among other concessions. The a...

   Hutchison Port Holdings Management said a wage increase proposal put forth by the external contractors at its Hongkong International Terminals, providing a 9.8 percent pay rise, has been accepted by their workers and the external contractor workers have voted to return to work.    HIT said it's now working quickly to return its operations back to normal capacity.    A report posted on the Sea News Turkey Website indicated there may still be tension between worke...

   EXL Service, a business processs solutions company, has released Rev-Lift, a solution that identifies weaknesses and errors in backoffice processes that lose carriers money.    Though only introduced recently, the program has been in place with a North American less-than-truckload carrier for the past few years, and EXL has saved the firm $80 million in revenue by improving its data capture processes.     Pradeep Vachani, EXL's vice president, said even though ...

   The U.S. Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration has released a Spanish language version of its Trade Finance Guide: A Quick Reference for U.S. Exporters .    The guide was created specifically to help U.S. small and midsized businesses overcome one of their major export challenges, how to get paid from export sales, thereby helping turn their export opportunities into actual sales, the department said.    “Since the publication of its first edition in 20...

   Kenji Hashimoto, American Airline’s president of cargo, expressed confidence this week in the carrier’s previously announced timeline for its $11 billion merger with US Airways.    While American hasn’t commented publicly on how stringent the approval process may be, Hashimoto alluded that the carrier is confident approval will come within the stated timeframe.    “I think it’s telling that we said in February, we’re going to aim for the third quarter, and we’re still say...

   It’s been a little more than two years since the formation of International Airlines Group — a full merger of British Airways World Cargo and Iberia Cargo under a single umbrella — and Steve Gunning, head of the cargo side of the business, predicts that most of the big tasks will be accomplished by 2014.    “It’s gone really well,” he told American Shipper during a break at the CNS Partnership 2013 conference in Phoenix. “Our approach was not to announce this with a great big fanf...

   The World Trade Organization on Tuesday finalized its selection for the next director general to replace Pascal Lamy, whose term ends Aug. 31.    Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo of Brazil was picked, making him the first diplomat from Latin America to lead the WTO, which was set up in 1995.    Nine countries presented candidates for the post in December 2012, and it had recently come down to Azevêdo and Mexico’s Herminio Blanco.    Azevêdo, a Brazilian career diplo...

   National Retail Systems is adding transloading to the suite of logistics services it performs for Pep Boys, a large automotive aftermarket service and retail parts chain.    NRS said Tuesday it will deconsolidate ocean containers at its Pooler cross-dock facility four miles from the Port of Savannah and repack them into larger, 53-foot containers for the trip to Pep Boys' distribution center in Atlanta.    The third-party logistics provider currently handles domesti...

   Matson, a container carrier offering services between the U.S. mainland and Hawaii and Guam, as well as an eastbound service from China, said it had a profit of $9.1 million in the first quarter, ending March 31, compared to a profit of $3.8 million in the same 2012 period.    Revenue for the first quarter of this year was $394.7 million, compared with $366.1 million in the same 2012 period.    Revenue from the company's ocean transportation services was $299.9 mill...

   Container carriers might actually be better off if freight rates crashed suddenly rather than gradually erode for months, contends SeaIntel Maritime Analysis.    In the current issue of its SeaIntel Sunday Spotlight , the firm analyzed the prospects for carriers' profitability in 2013 seen in the light of current rate declines.    “This leads to the, somewhat counter-intuitive, conclusion that carriers should potentially lower rates drastically in order to become pro...

   The international consortium responsible for building the $1 billion underwater tunnel connecting the Port of Miami to local highways has completed boring the twin tubes that will carry cruise passengers and container trucks, according to port officials and the Miami Herald .    The tunnel is on schedule to be completed one year from now, well before the Panama Canal Authority finishes adding new locks and wider channels that will enable much larger ships from Asia to deliver...

   The former Steel Shipping Container Institute on Monday announced it has adopted a new name, the Industrial Steel Drum Institute (ISDI), along with a new logo and Website.    The new Website  provides purchasers of industrial packaging, warehouse and corporate risk managers, fire protection professionals, and others with information about the benefits of steel drums, how steel drums are made, and resources available to the industry.    “Industrial packaging has evol...

   Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) said five ships it will build for China Shipping Container Lines will be capable of carrying 18,400 TEUs.    The ships would appear to be even larger than the 20 "Triple E" ships being built by DSME shipyard for Maersk Line, which Maersk has said will have a capacity of 18,000 TEUs.    Hyundai said the order from China Shipping is valued at $700 million.    China Shipping's ships will feature an electronically-controlled main ...

   Zim said last week that it's revising port rotations to better serve customers in the United States.    Speaking during a reception for customers held at Maher Terminals in Elizabeth, N.J., Lea Bogatch-Genossar, president of Zim America, said the company’s Zim Container Service Pacific (ZCP) is adding the Port of Norfolk in Virginia to its rotation.    The ship Zim Mediterranean is scheduled to arrive in Norfolk on June 15. The new rotation will be Savanna...

   Atlantic Cartier, one of the combination container-roll-on/roll-off ships operated by Atlantic Container Line in its transatlantic liner service, was damaged last week during a fire in Hamburg.    The Website for the television station Hamburg 1  said Sunday that 200 firefighters helped extinguish the fire and that thermal imaging cameras were being used to see if there were any other hot spots on the ships. The fire reportedly broke out on the car decks of the ship, and ...

   During a White House news conference last week, President Obama said Congress' temporary fix of the government-wide sequester cuts to end flight delays is symptomatic of the nation's deferral of infrastructure maintenance writ large that is undermining long-term economic growth.    Obama signed legislation giving the Federal Aviation Administration the flexibility to move money from the Airport Improvement Program, which provides airport authorities with grants for infrastruct...

   Members of the International Longshoremen’s Association's Local 1804-1 and Local 1814 have overwhelmingly voted to approve a new contract with employers represented by the Metropolitan Marine Maintenance Contractors Association.    Members voted in favor of a new six-year contract by a vote of 632-18, according to an announcement by Dennis A. Daggett, the president of Local 1804-1 and the chief negotiator for the maintenance locals. The ratification vote was held on Tuesday, April...

   A port strike at one of Hong Kong’s container terminals has dragged into its second month, as more dockworkers join the protest over what they deem inadequate pay increases.    The dockworkers have directed strikes against contractors doing work at the Hongkong International Terminals (HIT), which is part of Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH).    In the latest development, the Union of Hong Kong Dockers (UHKD) said that employees of Comcheung Ltd. at another of Hong Kong’s ter...

   YRC Worldwide reported a $58.7 million increase in operating income during the first quarter, with income rising from a $48.8 million loss to a gain of $9.9 million.    The result marks YRC’s first positive operating income in six years.    Operating revenue dropped 2.7 percent to $1.62 billion, year over year, but adjusted before-tax earnings increased by $45.4 million to $60.7 million.    "These results are due to a rational pricing environment for both YRC F...

   The Basel Action Network (BAN), a group opposed to the international dumping of toxic waste in developing countries, has condemned recent lobbying efforts by computer and other electronic equipment manufacturers for trade exemptions to export e-waste.    “The proposed exemptions would allow untested or non-functional electronic waste, often containing toxic lead, cadmium, mercury and brominated flame retardants, to be considered a non-waste and subject to free-trade in many circum...

   President Obama on Thursday nominated long-time campaign contributor and Chicago businesswoman Penny Pritzker to be secretary of commerce and Michael Froman to lead the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Froman    Froman is currently the deputy national security adviser for international affairs. He played a key role in negotiations on free trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama. He takes over from Ron Kirk, who recently resigned, and has represented the ...

   Hanjin Shipping said it had a loss of 34.7 billion South Korea won (KRW), or $31.5 million, in the first quarter of 2013, compared to a loss of 338.4 billion KRW in the same 2012 billion.    Sales amounted to 2.5 trillion KRW ($2.3 billion) in the first quarter of 2013, 10.2 percent more than sales in the same 2012 period. The operating loss was 59.9 billion KRW in the first quarter, smaller than the operating loss of 217.3 billion KRW in the same 2012 period.    Hanjin ...

   IAG Cargo is planning to order 18 Airbus A350-1000 planes, which will enter service starting in 2018 given shareholder approval.    The carrier also holds options for an additional 18 planes.    The Airbus aircraft, combined with the carrier’s recent order of 24 Boeing 787s and the possibility of an additional 18 planes, will form the backbone of IAG’s modernized fleet. The carrier has also made plans to add 12 new A380s into the mix. The B787s and A380s will start enter...

   Freight and shipping interests in California are decrying plans by ports in the state to adopt general rate increases in accordance with California Association of Port Authorities (CAPA) recommendations.    CAPA recommended the 11 ports in the state raise tariffs by 1.7 percent by July 1 as part of its annual rate increase guidelines. Recent or pending hearings on the increase are occurring in Oakland, Los Angeles and Long Beach, the three biggest container ports in California. &nb...

   The Chilean liner shipping company CSAV said shareholders meeting in Valparaiso this week approved a plan to increase capital by $500 million that will be used to purchase seven 9,300-TEU ships and prepay a loan from American Family Life Assurance Company (AFLAC) at a 46 percent discount.    The company said it will raise the funds through the issue of 6.75 billion shares.    (The company has about 8.7 billion shares outstanding. They were selling at around 42 Chilean pe...

   Iron ore exports are moving through Southern California's Port of Long Beach for the first time in 40 years.    The port said SA Recycling, a long-time exporter of scrap metal through the port, is working with CML Metals Corp. to send iron ore from mines in Utah, California, Arizona and Nevada to Asian steel makers. ( However, the U.S. Geological Service notes that in 2012, mines in Michigan and Minnesota shipped 97 percent of the usable ore produced in the Unit...

   The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America has come out against a U.S. Customs proposal to improve due process procedures for suspending a broker's entry-filer code, saying that going after the code is a back-door way of trying to take away a broker's license and is unconstitutional.    Customs and Border Protection has been frustrated for years with the amount of time it takes to deactivate filer codes for problematic brokers.  In a Notice of Pro...

   The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America said it strongly supports extending exemptions pertaining to non-vessel-operating common carrier negotiated rate arrangements (NRAs) to foreign-based, unlicensed NVOs as well as U.S.-licensed companies.    The association said the continued existence of NVO rate tariff publication no longer serves a useful purpose because shippers don't use them and they are able to conduct business with NVOs through the ...

   Japan’s three large container carriers, which operate with a fiscal year that runs from April 1 to March 31, on Tuesday reported their results for the 2012-2013 fiscal year ending March 31, 2013.    NYK and “K” Line reported a profit, while MOL reported a loss.  NYK    Japan’s largest shipping company had a profit of 18.9 billion yen ($230 million) in the year ending March 31, 2013, compared to a loss 72.8 billion yen the prior year. Revenue in the year ending March ...

   After showing relatively strong numbers toward the end of 2012, worldwide air cargo activity is down 1.1 percent for the first three months of 2013, according to recent data by the International Air Transport Association.    Last month, freight tons carried fell 2.3 percent worldwide, year over year, on a 0.3 percent capacity drop.    Net activity declined, when capacity additions were taken into account, in nearly every region of the world except for the Middle Eas...

   National Air Cargo confirmed on its Website that a cargo aircraft it operates on behalf of the U.S. military was involved in an accident departing Bagram air base outside Kabul, Afghanistan, on Monday, resulting in the death of all seven crew members.     The company offers charter services for cargo shippers, including the U.S. military.    National Air Cargo said the plane was bound to Dubai when it crashed on takeoff. The plane was carrying vehicles and...

   A federal appeals court will soon rule on whether an antitrust case against four railroads that allegedly engaged in price-fixing can be tried in the courts as a class action suit.    Dakota Granite Co., Zinifex Taylor Chemicals and 11 other shippers brought a suit against BNSF, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific in 2007. The plaintiffs alleged the carriers illegally imposed surcharges from 2003 to 2008. In that case, the judge allowed for a class-action su...

   The automotive supplier division of the U.S. conglomerate Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI) has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against its long-time freight payment and audit vendor, TransVantage Solutions.    The lawsuit, filed April 8 in New Jersey, alleges that TransVantage had failed to make $17 million in payments to Johnson Control’s transportation providers, and the company had been systematically hiding its misuse of the funds it handled on Johnson Controls’ behalf. &nbs...

   China Shipping Container Lines is reportedly planning to order five 18,000-TEU ships.    Both Lloyd’s List and Fox Business/Dow Jones reported the company’s intention to order the ships .    Only Maersk Line has ordered such large container vessels, which it has dubbed the “Triple-E” class for economy of scale, energy efficiency and environmentally improved. The first of the Maersk ships are expected to be delivered later this year.     Dow Jones ...

   Two South Florida ports, Miami and Port Everglades, are prime examples of the dysfunctional approach in the United States for improving the waterborne transportation system.    Projects undergo a series of congressional approvals and feasibility studies that easily can take longer than a decade to complete before dredging even starts.    Cargo interests worry the Army Corps of Engineers' slow bureaucracy and the paucity of congressional appropriations for increasing ...

   The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration suspended all employee furloughs and said air traffic control facilities returned to regular staffing levels by Sunday evening after Congress passed legislation Friday giving the agency flexibility to meet a mandatory budget cut in the face of public frustration with airport delays and flight cancellations.    Immediately upon providing relief for the airline industry, Democrats and Republicans took turns accusing each other for causin...