Topics

The ocean freight invoicing and payment process remains firmly rooted in a bygone era. Transactions are still overwhelmingly reliant on paper invoices and mailed checks, which can result in expensive inefficiencies, high dispute rates, and slow payment. What’s more, there’s little in the way of standardization across the two dozen or so major ocean carriers, meaning shippers and their intermediaries have to account for different formats with each of their lines. This 60-minute interactive discussion wil...

   HSH Nordbank, one of the world's leading shipping banks, said Wednesday it is has developed "an innovative financing solution for vessels, which are either in insolvency already or on the brink of filing for insolvency" together with the Navios shipping group.    Navios Group's shipping companies, with financing assistance by HSH Nordbank, will buy five tankers weighing between 30,000 dead-weight tons and 80,000 dead-weight tons as well as five container 2,000- to 3,400-TEU contain...

   The Norwegian ship investment company SinOceanic Shipping said Thursday that, on behalf of unnamed foreign interests, it has entered into a contract with Jinhai Heavy Industries in China to build 10 x 8,800 TEU "state-of-the art, super eco containerships."    The total transaction, consisting of the combined value of the vessels and the charter parties, has a total gross value of approximately $2.4 billion. The ships will start delivering in mid-2015. Upon delivery, all vessels wil...

   Loaded inbound volumes at seven West Coast ports will see a 0.9-percent, year over year, decline during the second quarter of the year, ending the period at 2.8 million TEUs, according to Global Port Tracker.    In the third quarter, though, volume will increase by 2 percent to 2.99 million TEUs, followed by a 6.6-percent jump, year over year, in the fourth quarter. During the first three months of 2014, volumes are expected to rise by 7.2 percent to 2.75 million TEUs.   ...

   The Port of Houston Authority's commission Tuesday awarded a contract worth nearly $50 million to Konecranes Finland Corp. for four electric wharf cranes at Barbours Cut Container Terminal.    The commission also amended a contract with Konecranes for eight diesel electric container yard cranes for Barbours Cut to include three additional diesel electric container yard cranes for the Bayport Terminal at a cost of $5.9 million.    Len Waterworth, the port's executive dire...

   Workforce Florida Inc., the statewide workforce investment board of business and government leaders, last week announced the availability of a $2 million Quick Response Training Challenge Grant for employers in Florida's logistics and trade industry.    The special grant is intended to help the state's logistics and trade sector become more competitive by improving the skills of existing and new employees hired during the next year.      Florida's economic developmen...

   The U.S. Transportation Department on Wednesday awarded a $10.9 million TIGER 2012 grant to the City of West Memphis, Ark., to expand the city’s port.    “Once the expansion is complete, the port will be able to handle increased freight rail capacity, helping businesses send more goods to markets across the country. It will also help position the port and the region as a freight transportation leader, attracting development and creating new jobs for those living in and around West ...

   The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission has received 10 ocean transportation intermediary license applications and changes for review.    The FMC received non-vessel-operating common carrier license applications from Dove Global Logistics, Torrance, Calif. (Chol Min Kim, president); ICargo Global Logistics, Huntington Station, N.Y. (Edwin J. Arriaga, president); and TGP Logistics, Houston (Myrian T. Morales, vice president).    The agency also received an NVO/ocean freight ...

   Hapag-Lloyd is launching a new service linking 10 ports in Italy, Turkey and Egypt.    The first sailing in the new Levante Express Service (LEX) will depart June 18 from Cagliari. Three vessels with approximate capacity of 1,400 TEU each will operate in this rotation: Cagliari, Alexandria, Damietta, Port Said, Mersin, Izmir, Cagliari, Genoa, Leghorn, Naples, Salerno and Cagliari again.    Calls to the hub ports of Cagliari, Damietta and Port Said offer connection to Hap...

   The Hamburg-based shipping investment company König & Cie said it has reached an agreement with creditors to settle outstanding debt and contingent liabilities.    “With the help of two U.S.-based financial investors, Delos Shipping LLC, Dallas, Texas, and Tennenbaum Capital Partners, LLC, Santa Monica, Calif., the restructuring process has been successfully concluded and enables König & Cie to continue to operate,” the company said.    Shareholders Tobias Kö...

   Crowley Maritime Corp.’s liner services group is adding more than 3,000 pieces of cargo handling equipment to its fleet.    The additional equipment will be used to serve shippers in its Puerto Rico, Caribbean and Latin America services, the Jacksonville, Fla.-based company said.    The equipment includes 200 53-foot dry containers, 200 45-foot dry containers, 500 20-foot dry containers, 1,000 40-foot dry high-cube containers, 337 40-foot refrigerated high-cube container...

   Third-party logistics providers will see 2013 revenues of $148.4 million, an increase of 4.6 percent, according to a recently released report by Armstrong & Associates.    Revenues of third-party logistics providers in the United States increased by 6 percent, year over year, in 2012 to $141.8 billion.    According to Armstrong & Associates, the compound annual growth rate for the 3PL industry fell by 0.3 percent from 1996 to 2012. The company expects this d...

   Based on data gathered by the American Trucking Associations' members, domestic tonnage fell in April after seeing a rise in March.    The ATA’s seasonally adjusted tonnage index ended last month, down 0.2 percent after being up 0.9 percent in March.    Compared to last April, the tonnage index rose 4.3 percent, the largest year-over-year gain since January’s 4.7 percent result. In the first four months of the year, truck tonnage is up 4 percent.     ...

   Non-vessel-operating common carrier Shipco Transport will start a joint venture with its longtime partner and agent Profreight in Auckland, New Zealand.    Shipco New Zealand will take over all activities currently handled by Profreight in Auckland and will be staffed with the current Profreight employees. Gary Sayles will serve as managing director of the office.     “We are looking forward to expanding our local relationships and developing new services,” Say...

   Non-vessel-operating common carrier Ecu-Line has made several changes to its Far East management.    “This step has been taken as part of the long-term development strategy for the region,” the company said.    Already in February, Uday Shetty was appointed the new chief operating officer for the Asia-Pacific region. Today, Ecu-Line said Mike Dye, currently regional chief executive officer for Asia-Pacific, will leave the company.    Dye, who has headed the reg...

   Acting Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank last week wrapped up a seven-day trip to Latin America to help drum up business for U.S. companies engaged in infrastructure planning and construction with a speech at the American Chamber of Commerce Panama where she highlighted the importance of trade relations with the Central American nation.    Twenty companies specializing in project management, transportation, energy and water resource infrastructure accompanied Blank on her ...

   Challenges facing the U.S. Merchant Marine, including the loss of potential food aid cargo because of changes planned by the Obama administration to food aid programs, were highlighted during a hearing by the U.S. House's Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Tuesday.    Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., said “unfortunately, over the last 35 years, the number of U.S.-flagged vessels sailing in the international trade has dropped from 850 to less th...

   The United States and Burma have signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) on Tuesday, establishing a platform for ongoing dialogue and cooperation on trade and investment issues between the two governments.    “The United States supports reforms that lay the foundation for a peaceful and prosperous future,” said Acting U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis in a statement. “Economic reforms and trade are mutually supportive. Stronger institutions, transparency...

   Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics will manage vehicle processing for the 78,000-square-foot Subaru facility at the Port of Brunswick, Ga., starting in July.    With the agreement, WWL becomes the automaker’s supplier for the Southeast United States.    The contract includes import processing, accessory installation, transportation preparations and pre-delivery inspections.    The company also manages Subaru holdings in Lafayette, Ind., and Baltimore.  &n...

   MOL said it will open its own office in Canada and operate as MOL (Canada) on July 31, ending 53 years of representation of its liner business by the agency Montship.    All other agent agreements between MOL’s non-liner divisions and Montship will continue without interruption.    "Montship has been a fantastic partner for MOL for a long time and we have had an extremely satisfying relationship,” said Tsuyoshi Yoshida, president and chief executive officer of ...

   DHL Supply Chain announced that it will invest INR 650 million ($11.7 million) in its new 320,000-square-foot warehouse in Luhari, Delhi, anchored by Proctor & Gamble.    The company is planning additional facilities in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Chennai in 2013.    The new facility, and the forthcoming construction, is part of the INR 6.85 billion DHL pledged to invest in India last year to strengthen the logistics market. DHL has already built 350,000 square feet of ...

   Canadian retail sales stayed flat in March at $39.5 billion, according to Statistics Canada.    Retail volume rose 0.7 percent over February when price-change effects were removed from the equation.    Clothing sales bumped up 3.1 percent, while motor vehicle and parts sales rose 0.7 percent, seeing an increase in activity for the third month in a row. Furniture and home furnishings were up 0.3 percent. Building material sales were basically flat compared to February...

   Con-way Freight is planning to break ground on an $8 million, 47,000-square-foot service center in Fond du Lac, Wis., in June.    The facility, which will replace a current 27-year-old facility, is expected to deliver by March 2014.    The 21-acre property in the city’s Fox Ridge Business Park will feature 96 dock doors, a vast expansion over the 25 in its current Fond du Lac facility. When needed, the development can expand to 120 dock doors.    While Con-way’...

   Maritime services provider Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS) has appointed Les Morris to the new role of senior vice president of global sales.    Morris has 30 years’ experience in sales and business development in the logistics and supply chain sector. He has held senior positions with Kuehne + Nagel and P&O. ISS said he has a track record in expanding global sales, making operational improvements and improving customer service.    U.K.-based freight forwarder SBS Wo...

   The European Union will contribute 37 million euros ($47.6 million) to the Program to Promote Regional Maritime Security, which will boost the fight against piracy in Eastern and Southern Africa.    The money will be used to develop the legal system in the affected countries, strengthen financial oversight systems that could prevent the flow of money to pirates, share expertise and training, and provide security support. Anti-piracy awareness campaigns will also be set up in Somal...

   A 7 percent wage reduction, but no major cuts to health or pension benefits are amid the details of the tentative contract between less-than-truckload carrier ABF and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters released in anticipation of a union-wide vote on the proposal.    The IBT negotiating committee has approved the deal, but union members will receive contract ballots on June 3.    The two parties reached a five-year agreement in early May after two, month-long con...

   The COSCO Group of Chinese shipping companies plans to shuffle its holdings in China International Marine Containers (Group) Co. Ltd. (CIMC), the world's largest maker of shipping containers.    COSCO Pacific has entered into a conditional agreement to sell its 21.8 percent indirect interest in CIMC for $1.2 billion to Long Honor Investments Ltd., which today has a small 0.95 percent stake in the company.    CIMC said the equity interests and percentage of shar...

   Third party logistics provider CEVA’s revenue dropped 6 percent, year over year, in the first quarter to 1.6 billion euros ($2.06 billion), and adjusted earnings dropped from 66 million euros to 31 million euros.    Officials attribute the lackluster revenue performance to the challenging market and said the earnings drop came primarily because of the divestiture of some of CEVA’s holdings. Air freight volume was down due to modal shift leading to a 6.8-percent revenue drop in the...

   Mediterranean Shipping Co. said it will start a new service connecting Port Everglades, Fla., with Caucedo and Rio Haina in the Dominican Republic, beginning in mid-June.    The service will offer transit times of 3-4 days. - Chris Dupin

   Evergreen Line, Pacific International Lines, Sinotrans and Yang Ming have announced they will cooperate on a new service between China, Taiwan, and Australia.    The China-Australia-Taiwan (CAT) service will be operated with six vessels of 4,250 TEUs. Evergreen Line and Yang Ming will contribute two vessels each while Pacific International Lines and Sinotrans will provide one each.    Commencing on June 7, the vessels will call on a weekly basis Ningbo, Shanghai, She...

   Polar Air Cargo Worldwide is adding two weekly flights between Hong Kong and Cincinnati in June.    The airline will also add two Boeing 767-300 freighter services between Asia and Australia starting next month.    The first 767-300 all-cargo flight will operate via Tokyo, Sydney and Incheon, with the second providing service to Taipei, Nagoya and Incheon.    “We are continuing to enhance our network to ensure that we meet our customers' demand for capacit...

   The Truckload Carriers Association and Truckers Against Trafficking have teamed up to educate and train truckers on how to recognize and report sex trafficking, a crime that has been reported in every U.S. state.     TCA will now start giving tests to truckers around the country so they can become a Certified Trucker Against Trafficking. The test is being given without any costs to the trucker and is based on a video viewable here .    The organization will also pro...

Va. Gov. McDonnell signs landmark transportation bill.    Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell last week signed the breakthrough transportation funding bill passed by the General Assembly in March.    The "Virginia's Road to the Future" bill, the first comprehensive transportation funding plan in 27 years, provides an additional $3.5 billion in funding by 2018 for new road and bridge construction, mass transit, rail and other needs, along with several reforms to improve project development. &...

Gov. Scott    The budget signed Monday by Florida Gov. Rick Scott includes a record $278 million for development of the the state's 15 seaports.    Port directors applauded Scott for making ports and trade a priority of his economic agenda. Florida is providing $112 million toward the $181 million cost of dredging the Port of Miami's main channel from 42 to 50 feet, including $77 million for the federal share of the project at Scott's direction. The governor has also committed t...

   Ocean carrier Sea Star Line has appointed Tim Nolan to executive vice president.    Nolan has an extensive background in liner shipping, including management experience in Chile, as well as the Latin America and Caribbean trades. He has also been involved in business development and international logistics. Most recently he was senior vice president and general manager for a large logistics firm.

   The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday it had forwarded to the U.S. Coast Guard a new report about 36 sunken vessels scattered across the U.S. seafloor that could pose an oil pollution threat .    Seventeen of the ships were recommended for further assessment and potential removal of both fuel oil and oil cargo by the agency.    NOAA said "the sunken vessels are a legacy of more than a century of U.S. commerce and warfare. They include a bar...

   Officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development have launched an initiative with Tunisia to establish trade in the region and internationally, and encourage the local growth of small and midsized businesses.    The Office of the United States Trade Representative helped develop the initiative, which is part of the U.S-Tunisia Trade and Investment Framework. Work between the countries will be achieved through online platforms and partnerships, according to a news release....

  Air freight rates out of Asia are slowly inching back up to February’s yearly high of $3.32 per kilogram, ending April at $3.21 per kilogram, a rise of $0.06 over March’s figure, according to the Drewry East-West Air Freight Price Index .    The index measures the average per-kilogram price paid by forwarders to airlines on 21 major East-West routes. Each result factors in the base rate plus any security and fuel surcharges.    February’s high-water mark came in $0.32 per kilo...

   Maersk Line said it will raise rates by $750 per TEU on containerized cargo moving from Far East Asia (excluding Japan) to North Europe on July 1 .    Maersk also announced a $150-per-container increase on dry and refrigerated cargo moving from the Mediterranean to the Far East, effective June 1. From Syria, the increase will be $115 per container. - Chris Dupin

   Drewry is predicting an increase in slow steaming by container carriers.    "Although slow steaming continues to be a contentious issue with shippers, more is on the way as fuel prices remain stubbornly high and ocean carriers can no longer absorb the bill due to the parlous nature of their finances," the London-based consultant says in the latest edition of its Container Insight Weekly .    "Drewry believes that ocean carriers are losing money at present due to the frei...

   "Blank sailings," which occur when liner companies decide to omit a scheduled voyage are "becoming a regular feature in particularly the Asia-Europe trade," said this week's edition of SeaIntel Sunday Spotlight .    "It has always been the norm that a significant amount of sailings are blanked following Chinese New Year. This is prudent capacity management by the carriers in response to the widespread factory closures during this time of the year. However, if we only look at the l...

   Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) moved 2.4 million tons of cargo in April, a 4.7 percent increase -- or 108,532 tons –- over the same month a year ago.    “Our total tonnage makes April the highest volume month on record,” said GPA Executive Director Curtis Foltz    The GPA handled 258,951 TEU, 10,040 TEUs more than April 2012. The port also handled 57,709 auto and machinery units in April, its third highest month for roll-on, roll-off cargo.    Foltz said four ne...

   The state of Virginia will open an international trade office in Canada this year to further promote exports of agriculture and forestry products, which hit an all-time high last year, Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Todd Haymore recently reiterated.     During remarks May 9 at the Virginia Maritime Association's annual banquet in Norfolk, Haymore noted that Gov. Bob McDonnell is the first governor in modern Virginia history to include agriculture and forestry i...

   March tonnage numbers for four airports spanning the United States paint a mixed picture of the health of U.S. airports, but the general trend is one of cargo activity decline.    Los Angeles International Airport handled 171,798 total tons of cargo in March, seeing 7,992 tons of mail and more than 163,000 tons of freight. While the mail result showed a 4.57 percent uptick, year over year, freight declined by 2.83 percent, leading to an overall decline of 2.51 percent. In the first...

   China will assist its shipping companies to "escape recession" according to a report attributed to the Xinhua news agency .    Xinhua quoted He Jianzhong, China's vice minister of transportation, as saying the government would assist companies in several ways, including offering subsidies to encourage retirement of old ships to reduce supply and improve safety.    The government will also encourage carriers to sign long-term contracts and "strengthen interference into the...

   Port Logistics Group has added two new facilities spanning more than 1.1 million square feet to its retail distribution campus in City of Industry, Calif. The development now boasts more than 2.5 million square feet of space.    The first new building, a 350,000-square-foot facility, will house new and existing clients. A 775,000-square-foot development has also been built for three new clients.

   In its recently ended fiscal year, Virgin Atlantic Cargo boosted its market share on 30 routes, sometimes gaining up to 40 percent of the share of a given lane. That aggressiveness helped lead to cargo results that, despite a terrible cargo market, were basically flat when compared to the previous year.    Virgin Cargo carried 214,737 tons of cargo in the 2012-2013 fiscal year, a 0.91-percent decline over the previous year. Revenues ended the fiscal year at 230 million euros ($295...

   Port Corpus Christi says it has been a leading port for imports of wind energy turbine components since 2006, but last week handled components for export for the first time.    On Saturday, 35 Mitsubishi wind blades made in Ciudad Juarez in northern Mexico were loaded on a vessel carrier operated by NYK-Hinode.    The blades are destined for Japan.    “The Port anticipates additional wind cargo export opportunities within the upcoming months,” said John LaRue, ...

   Non-vessel-operating common carrier Vanguard Logistics Services has started new services from Batam, Indonesia to global destinations.    Many Indonesian and multinational manufacturers operate on the small island of Batam, which is located 20 kilometers southeast of Singapore.    All less-than-containerload cargo from Batam is traditionally moved via small barges to Singapore's Pasir Panjang Breakbulk port. It is then relayed by open truck to Keppel District Park at Tan...

   Maersk Line made a profit of $204 million in the first quarter of 2013 compared to a loss of $599 million in the first quarter of 2012. It said the turnaround in the financial performance was achieved through lower costs, as revenue was unchanged at $6.3 billion in both quarters, and came despite price aggressiveness.    Financial results for the world’s largest container shipping company were reported Friday morning by the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, a conglomerate whose operations...

   AES Logistics and Aljex Software said Thursday the two companies have integrated AES Logistics rates into Aljex hosted software for quick access by Aljex users.    AES is a provider of transportation services and supply chain logistics including truckload, less than truckload (LTL), ocean and air cargo service. Aljex is a provider of hosted transportation management software for brokers, carriers and other transportation providers.    "Integration with AES provides sourci...

   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...

   UPS today announced a new app for the iPad to let users easily track packages, find UPS shipping locations, and access UPS My Choice, all with enhanced mapping features.    The UPS app for iPad enables customers to track packages and find locations where they can send shipments. Additionally, the app allows users of UPS My Choice to access all of the features of the service including the ability to reroute or reschedule delivery. UPS My Choice Premium members can also view their d...

   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...

   Governments in Belize, Central America and the Dominican Republic should create an environment that embraces an integrated, intermodal sea-land network, according to a recent report by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).    A stronger supply-chain network would help push global trade forward and would also encourage trade exchanges between the countries in the region.    The two authors of the study, Amar Ramudhin and Don Ratliff, posit that a number of initiative...

   The Kahala Posts Group (KPG), an alliance of 10 postal administrations around the world, has signed a deal with the global trade management solutions provider Amber Road aimed at increasing their competitiveness in the international delivery market.    KPG member organizations include the Australian Postal Corp., China Post Group, Correos y Telégrafos SAE, Groupe La Poste, Hongkong Post, Japan Post Co., Ltd., Korea Post, Royal Mail Group, Ltd, Singapore Post Limited and the U.S. Po...

   The logistics information technology solutions providers Descartes Systems and Freightgate have both signed deals with NetSuite, a provider of cloud-based financials and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software suites.    Descartes said it has signed a SuiteCloud Developer Network agreement, with the integration of NetSuite's SuiteCloud and Descartes' Logistics Technology Platform intended to enable customers to more effectively collaborate with their trading partners and carrie...