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Columbus Region Logistics Council director named
Thursday, February 09, 2012
     The Columbus Chamber in Ohio appointed Jeff Zimmerman to director of the Columbus Region Logistics Council (CRLC), an initiative to promote the region’s freight logistics activities.     Zimmerman will serve as the regional industry’s chief advocate and focus on infrastructure, workforce and education, technology and business environment. He has held executive positions at Boise Cascade and Office Max.    Presently, more than 80 firms are council members, inc...
U.S. shippers prepare for Libya visit
Wednesday, February 08, 2012
     The U.S.-Libya Business Association (USLBA) on Monday announced plans to organize a U.S. business delegation to Libya from April 20-28.     During the visit, the delegation will meet with senior Libyan and U.S. government officials and emerging Libyan private sector representatives to discuss the country’s priorities for reconstruction and economic development. The delegation will visit both Tripoli and Benghazi.     USLBA members represen...
AAFA holds emerging market seminar
Friday, January 27, 2012
     The American Apparel & Footwear Association will host a seminar Jan. 31 in New York to discuss overseas retail growth.    The seminar, Retail Hotspots: Developing a Strategy to Globalize, will focus on market entry, operation models, and consumer demographics in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) nations.    Speakers include Dr. Harry Broadman, PriceWaterhouseCoopers' chief economist and emerging markets practice leader, and former White House trade ne...
American produce transporters get guidelines
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
   The North American Produce Transportation Working Group (NAPTWG) on Tuesday released its new North American Produce Transportation Guidelines.    The document integrates multiple existing transportation guidelines into a single set of best practices which can be used throughout North America by the carrier industry. These best practice guidelines were also agreed to by various stakeholders in the produce supply chain and were endorsed by the Blue Book and the Dispute Resolution Cor...
Pharmaceuticals seek supply chain standards
Thursday, January 05, 2012
     Being hit by counterfeit medicines, patent violations, security issues, and improper handling of medicines, the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) is beginning a campaign to develop supply chain visibility best practices for that industry. The main goal for the USP is to ensure that medicines can be traced back to their original manufacturer and ensure they arrive at their intended destination without tampering or damage, all while verifying that they are not adulterated or cou...
European shippers fear air cargo 'chaos'
Monday, December 19, 2011
   The European Shippers Council (ESC) said it's becoming increasingly concerned about the impact on supply chains from European Commission regulation 185/2010 which will amend the air cargo security regime after April 29, 2013.    On that date, known consignors will need their security procedures and measures validated by an officially approved inspector. Otherwise the air freight must be made secure by a regulated agent or a carrier by scanning.   &nbs...
Office Depot exec to chair NRF panel
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
     Dennis Cohen, senior director of direct import/own brand supply chain at Office Depot, and Larry Bergman, director of supply chain and operations for Boscov's Department Stores LLC, were named chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Retail Federation's Strategic Supply Chain Council.      The SSCC provides guidance and technical expertise on supply chain management and security. It focuses on public policy issues and sharing best practi...
Johns given Connie Award
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
   R. Kenneth Johns, whose 54 year career in the shipping industry includes serving as president and chief operating officer of Sea-Land Service from 1979-1987, was presented with the Containerization and Intermodal Institute's "Connie Award" Monday.    Today Johns heads Hampshire Management Group--a firm that includes the NVOCC Network America Lines, the consulting business R.K. Johns & Associates, and Oiltest, a firm that provides inspection and testing services for the ma...
Global Shippers Forum looks at help with contracts
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
   The Global Shippers Forum, which held its first annual meeting last week in Atlanta, is developing an advisory service for shippers trying to improve their contracts.    Chris Welsh, secretary-general of GSF, said the service will be based on one rolled out by the Freight Transport Association in the United Kingdom early this summer after a year and a half of development with a group of shippers and maritime lawyers.    The service provides shippers of containe...
NIT League presses rail issue, hooks into global forum
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
    The National Industrial Transportation League said it will continue to work toward getting its members more access to competitive rail service.     NIT League President Bruce Carlton said at a press conference at the league's annual meeting on Monday that he was disappointed with the decision by the Surface Transportation Board earlier this month to postpone making a decision on the league's petition to change the rules on reciprocal switching so that captive shippers s...
Battle lines drawn in new trade dispute with China
Thursday, November 10, 2011
   Two solar industry groups have taken sides over the U.S. government’s investigation into import dumping activities by Chinese manufacturers of photovoltaic solar panels.     The Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing (CASM), a group of seven U.S. domestic solar panel manufacturers, has thrown its support behind the antidumping and countervailing duty cases initiated by Hillsboro, Ore.-based SolarWorld Industries Americas on Oct. 19. The group wants government-sponsored Ch...
Battle lines drawn in new trade dispute with China
Thursday, November 10, 2011
   Two solar industry groups have taken sides over the U.S. government’s investigation into import dumping activities by Chinese manufacturers of photovoltaic solar panels.     The Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing (CASM), a group of seven U.S. domestic solar panel manufacturers, has thrown its support behind the antidumping and countervailing duty cases initiated by Hillsboro, Ore.-based SolarWorld Industries Americas on Oct. 19. The group wants government-sponsored Ch...
White named RILA general counsel
Wednesday, November 09, 2011
   The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) has named Deborah White as executive vice president and general counsel, the organization said Tuesday.    As RILA’s chief legal officer, White will oversee all association corporate governance and related legal activities and serve as the primary liaison to RILA member company general counsels and members of the RILA general counsel committee.    White will also serve as president of the Retail Litigation Center, which brin...
Exports keep electrical equipment makers alive
Tuesday, November 01, 2011
   Exports have played a critical role in the electrical manufacturing industry’s ability to weather the global downturn, Timothy J. Gill, director of economics for the National Electrical Manufacturers Association said at a recent economic forum in Washington.    The industry -- which produces motors, circuit breakers, transformers and other equipment for the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity – has become very globalized. Sixteen percent of factory shipments fo...
OOCL exec urges better pricing, innovation
Thursday, October 13, 2011
   Erxin Yao, president of OOCL (USA), urged the shipping industry to pay more attention to pricing services profitably and fostering innovation rather than trying to hold onto market share.     “Faced with the challenges of today, we forgot why we suffered yesterday and reverted back to the old ways: rate, rate, rate instead of service, service, service,” he said in a speech at the Foreign Commerce Club of New York’s annual Steamship Night dinner this week. “But think we must a...
GT Nexus adds social networking
Thursday, October 13, 2011
   GT Nexus has launched "G2," a social networking tool.    As an example, information technology applications developer said members of its GT Nexus Shipper Council – a group of shippers – are using G2 to collaborate on key initiatives.    “The shipper council has become a very active group,” said Patrick Halloran, director of trade and logistics at Cardinal Health and chairman of the council. “We have several subcommittees already collaborating on G2 in ways similar to th...
Coffee industry seeks trade stability
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
  Members of the International Coffee Organization (ICO) are meeting in London this week to convene the first-ever Consultative Forum on Coffee Sector Finance.    The forum was developed to address challenges faced by small and medium-sized farmers and traders in their efforts to manage risk and access credit specifically related to coffee trade. It primarily focuses on risk-management tools for green coffee price volatility and how they can be improved to better serve the needs of s...
U.S. treasury secretary visits UPS hub
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Geithner    U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner visited UPS’s WorldPort hub in Louisville, Ky., as part of the Obama administration’s campaign to generate public support for its $447 billion American Jobs Act.   "One of the most important parts of the president's American Jobs Act is to put people to work right now rebuilding America's infrastructure," Geithner said, according to a UPS news release. "In order to be as productive and efficient as possible, American businesses need th...
Business groups oppose currency bill
Friday, September 23, 2011
  A coalition of 51 trade associations in a letter to Senate leaders Wednesday opposed efforts to advance a bill pressuring China to speed up appreciation of its currency, which critics say makes the dollar more expensive by comparison and hurts U.S. exports.   While acknowledging that China needs to do more to move to a market-oriented exchange rate for the yuan, the coalition said unilateral legislation would be “counterproductive” in terms of getting China to reform its currency p...
Canadian brokers name Bedard chairman
Friday, September 23, 2011
  The Canadian Society of Customs Brokers (CSCB) has elected Melanie Bedard as its new board chairman.   Bedard has worked in the broker industry for almost 30 years. Since 2008, she has been vice president for Canadian customs operations at Milgram & Co. Ltd. in Montreal. Previously, she worked for a large international freight forwarder and broker where she was responsible for eastern Canadian customs and consulting operations and land transportation.   Bedard has serv...
TMSA adds Connections Events
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
   The Transportation Marketing and Sales Association, a networking and education group, has expanded its Connections Events this year to include three locations.    The events will be held on:    • Oct. 4 in Jacksonville, Fla.    • Oct. 20 in Fayetteville, Ark., and in Los Angeles.    During these events, attendees will be able to learn from the industry’s leading sales, marketing and communications professionals, the association said.    At th...
Senate acts on GSP, TAA program
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
   The U.S. Senate on Monday evening gave a favorable vote on the motion to invoke cloture on legislation to retroactively renew the Generalized System of Preferences and the Trade Adjustment Assistance program.       GSP, which allows for duty-free treatment of certain goods from developing countries, was allowed to expire by Congress on Dec. 31. Since GSP’s expiration, it’s estimated that U.S. importers pay as much as $2 million a day in duties, according to the Coalition...
ESC: Maersk thinks like customers
Friday, September 16, 2011
   The European Shippers’ Council welcomed Maersk Line’s announcement earlier this week of a daily time-definite service between Asia and northern Europe , as well as a scale of penalties applying to shippers in case of a container "no-show" and to the carrier in case of cargo is rolled over.    "This new service is in sync with the themes developed in the manifesto on the future business of shipping produced by Maersk Line in June this year,” said Jean-Louis Cambon, chairman of the ...
Industry wants Hirschhorn’s Senate confirmation
Friday, September 16, 2011
  A group of industry associations urged the Senate in a letter Thursday to promptly confirm Eric L. Hirschhorn as the Commerce Department’s undersecretary for export administration. Hirschhorn    Hirschhorn has been serving in this role through a recess appointment since March 2010, even though his nomination has twice been approved unanimously by the Senate Banking Committee.    “In that time, he has established an impressive record of accomplishment, taking a leading role in ...
van der Jagt joins Forwarder Group
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
van der Jagt    Nicolette van der Jagt, the long-time secretary general of the European Shippers’ Council, will become director general of CLECAT, the European association for forwarding, transport, logistics and custom services.    She will succeed Marco Sorgetti, who is leaving CLECAT to become the director general of FIATA in Zurich, effective Jan 1.    “Nicolette is a very high profile personality with proven experience in communication and a very distinctive Brussels p...
U.S. promotes medicines trade
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
    On Monday at Round 8 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations in Chicago, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a white paper outlining a new USTR strategic initiative, Trade Enhancing Access to Medicines (TEAM).     TEAM offers trade policy tools to promote trade and reduce obstacles to access to both new and generic medicines, while supporting innovation for developing new medicines, USTR said.     The white paper describes how, under t...
Industry backs FDA produce tracking pilots
Monday, September 12, 2011
    Washington-based United Fresh Produce Association has put its support behind two pilot programs designed to enhance the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s ability to trace products responsible for food-borne illness outbreaks.    FDA announced last week the pilots, required under the Food Safety Modernization Act, will be carried out by the nonprofit Institute for Food Technologists, and will explore and demonstrate methods for rapid and effective tracking and tracing of fo...
Execs named to U.S.-Brazil CEO Forum
Friday, September 09, 2011
   The White House on Thursday announced the U.S. private-sector participants for the 2011-2013 sessions of the U.S.-Brazil CEO Forum.    The forum includes up to 24 chief executive officers from the United States and Brazil and meets twice a year to provide joint recommendations to the two governments on ways to strengthen the U.S.-Brazil economic relationship. The U.S. CEOs serve two-year terms and are selected from respondents of a joint Commerce Department-White House Federal Reg...
Wildcat strike shuts down Northwest ports
Friday, September 09, 2011
   Wildcat strikes disrupted operations in several ports in the Pacific Northwest on Wednesday and Thursday, sparked by a battle over which workers are entitled to jobs at a new, $200 million EGT grain terminal in the Port of Longview in Washington.    Operations on Thursday were disrupted at the ports of Seattle, Tacoma and Everett, Wash. when members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union failed to show up at work. Josh Thomas, a spokesman for the Port of Portland, said...
Protesters arrested at Longview terminal
Thursday, September 08, 2011
   An International Longshore and Warehouse Union protest at a new grain terminal at the Port of Longview in Washington turned violent Wednesday according to press accounts, with police using clubs and pepper spray against demonstrators.    Members of the union and their supporters blocked a train
Ports try to avoid deficit ax
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
   Ports should be spared from federal spending cuts because they are engines of economic development and job creation that can help lift the country from the brink of another recession, the trade association representing U.S. port interests told a panel tasked with reducing the U.S. deficit.    &#
Port of New Orleans resumes operations
Tuesday, September 06, 2011
   Operations within the Port of New Orleans returned to normal, after the Associated Branch Pilots' decided to reopen the Mississippi River at Southwest Pass Monday morning.    The pilots closed the channel at 5 p.m. Friday due to weather conditions associated with Tropical Storm Lee.    'Port of New Orleans officials worked closely with the Coast Guard and River Pilots throughout this event and we always err on the side of caution for the safety of all involved,' said Gar...
NOAA surveys Block Island Sound shipping lane
Friday, September 02, 2011
   The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's vessel Thomas Jefferson will conduct a three-month survey of the sea floor off the coast of New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island.    The survey is part of a multiyear effort to update nautical charts for Block Island Sound and ke
Correction: Port chief downplays transshipment impact
Friday, September 02, 2011
   Thursday's story about the South Carolina State Ports Authority should have said the Port of Charleston has a 50-foot depth at high tide, around which it can handle ships with a 48-foot draft.
S.C. port chief downplays transshipment impact
Thursday, September 01, 2011
   Get ready, U.S. East Coast ports, the big ships are coming, warns James Newsome, head of the South Carolina State Ports Authority.    Terminals with the right infrastructure and market attributes need to prepare for the arrival of super-sized containerships, because the Panama Canal's expansion in 2014 will not lead, as many port experts predict, to the proliferation of transshipment hubs in the Caribbean, Newsome said Monday.    A widespread belief amo
APMT sells share of Xiamen terminal
Thursday, September 01, 2011
   APM Terminals, the terminal-operating arm of the A.P. Moller - Maersk Group, said Thursday it has sold a partial stake in a terminal it jointly owns in the Chinese port of Xiamen.    The operator has sold a 25 percent stake in the Xiamen Songyu Container Terminal, half its share of the f
APM Terminals signs Costa Rica deal
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
   APM Terminals said Tuesday it has signed a $992 million, 33-year concession contract with the government of Costa Rica to design, finance, construct, operate and maintain a container terminal in Moin on the Caribbean Coast.    About 80 percent of the country's commerce is handled in
Ports get $235 million in DHS grants
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
   Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano last week announced final allocations for 12 preparedness grant programs totaling more than $2.1 billion to "prevent, protect, respond to, recover from and mitigate terrorist attacks, major disasters and other emergencies."    The Port Security Grant Program provides $235 million to help protect critical port infrastructure from terrorism, enhance maritime domain awareness and strengthen risk management capabilities in order t
OOCL expanded Kaohsiung terminal
Monday, August 29, 2011
   OOCL said Monday it has ordered two super-post-Panamax gantry cranes for its Kaohsiung Container Terminal (KAOCT) in the Port of Kaohsiung.    The crane purchases are part of a project to expand capacity at KAOCT, which already has six post-Panamax cranes in operation. Two will be replaced by th
New MTSNAC members picked
Monday, August 29, 2011
   The U.S. Transportation Department has appointed 29 members to the new Marine Transportation System National Advisory Council (MTSNAC), established to advise the department on marine transportation issues.    The department has asked MTSNAC to develop recommendations on establishing new marine highway services and port infrastructure development, among other issues.
Transportation sector girds for Irene
Friday, August 26, 2011
   Ports and freight railroads are among those bracing for Hurricane Irene, which forecasters expect to do widespread damage as it hugs the coast all the way from North Carolina to New York and beyond.    The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is advising tenants to take necessary p
Aussie sale boosts DP World profit
Thursday, August 25, 2011
   Dubai-based marine terminal operator DP World said it had net profit of $741 million in the first six months of the year, compared to $219 million earned in the same 2010 period.    The big profit boost resulted from a deal in March when DP World sold a 75 percent interest in its five contai
Ports prepare for Hurricane Irene
Thursday, August 25, 2011
   Ports along the East Coast are preparing for the onset of Hurricane Irene, which is barreling across the Caribbean and forecast to hit North Carolina this weekend.    The storm is expected to disrupt air, highway, ocean and even rail traffic, causing delays in deliveries of freight ship
Redwood City port names officers
Thursday, August 25, 2011
   The Port of Redwood City elected officers for the next year at its Wednesday meeting.    Dick Claire, appointed to the port commission in 2007, succeeds Ralph Garcia as chairman. He is a finance and accounting professor emeritus at Canada College in Redwood City and served 21 years on the city council, including four as mayor.    Dick Dodge, who has been a member of the port commission since 1980, was elected vice chairman.    Tom Cronin, a
COSCO Pacific first half profit rises
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
   Terminal operator COSCO Pacific said Wednesday its first half gross profit rose 71 percent to $119.3 million, helped by a turnaround in profitability from the company's new terminal in the Greek port of Piraeus.    Revenue increased 25.2 percent to $278.7 million in the first half. Throughput at terminals in which COSCO Pacific maintains a stake rose 198.7 percent to 24.2 million TEUs. Gross profit from the terminals business rose 144.3 percent to $96.7 million. &
Port Everglades, FEC to develop intermodal yard
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
   Most international cargo that enters Florida comes via ports outside the state, including those in California, but the state is laying the foundation to change that dynamic and even compete as a gateway for inland markets by investing in on-dock intermodal and harbor deepening projects.    The la
Report: APL to switch N.Y.-N.J. terminals
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
   The liner carrier APL is set to leave the New York Container Terminal next summer, according to a report Friday in the Staten Island Advance and confirmed by the carrier to American Shipper Monday.    NYCT chief executive Jim Devine said in the report that APL is not renewing i
Customs officials thwart pest at L.A. port
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
   U.S. Customs and Border Protection ordered to international waters a vessel arriving from Japan at the Port of Los Angeles-Long Beach after officers discovered 24 Asian gypsy moths and egg masses.    CBP agriculture specialists and officers boarded the vessel two weeks ago and found one egg mass
N.Y.-N.J. Port Authority hikes tolls
Monday, August 22, 2011
   The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's Board of Commissioners on Friday approved plans to hike tolls at its bridges and tunnels.    Rates vary according to vehicle size, but a five-axle truck equipped with an EZ-Pass radio frequency identification tag, for example will see its tolls at peak hours climb from $40 to $50. The fare will jump another $10 to $60 on Dec. 2, 2012, and $10 more each year so that by December 2015, the fare will be $90.    If
Expanding Teesport gets new RTGs
Monday, August 22, 2011
   A container terminal in northern England has received four new rubber-tired gantry cranes as part of a '16.7 million ($27.5 million) expansion, operator PD Ports said Friday.    Annual capacity at the terminal in Teesport is being expanded from 235,000 TEUs to 450,000 TEUs, with an ultimate goal of expanding to 650,000 TEUs per year.    'By switching from the current handling system using reach-stackers to these RTGs we can store many more boxes on
Bowers, past ILA president, dies
Monday, August 22, 2011
Bowers    John M. Bowers, 88, who spent a lifetime working on behalf of unionized dockworkers through the International Longshoremen's Association, died on Sunday at his
Port of L.A. touts pollution reduction
Friday, August 19, 2011
   The Port of Los Angeles said it has seen significant reductions in pollution even as cargo volumes have risen.    The port's 2010 Air Emissions Inventory shows that from 2005 to 2010 port-wide emission
Brownsville port property tax drops again
Friday, August 19, 2011
   Property taxes at the Port of Brownsville in Texas have decreased for the 18th consecutive year, according to the port authority.    During the regularly scheduled monthly board meeting on Aug. 17, the port's board of commissioners set the Brownsville Navigation District's tax rate at 0.04683 per $100 of taxable valuation. The approximate 2.09 percent tax rate decrease will go into effect on Oct. 1.    'Taxpayers will actually be paying less tax
U.S. files suit against Bollinger Shipyards
Thursday, August 18, 2011
   The United States has filed suit in U.S. District Court in Washington against Bollinger Shipyards, Bollinger Shipyards Lockport, and Halter Bollinger Joint Venture, the Justice Department said on Wednesday.       The suit alleges Lockport, La.-based Bollinger made material false statement
Carriers complain to FMC about N.Y.-N.J. fee
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
   A group of nine shipping lines are asking the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission to find a new fee being charged by the Port Authority of New York illegal.    In a complaint filed earlier this month , carriers China Shipping, COSCO, Evergreen, Hanjin, Horizon Lines, 'K' Line, NYK, United Arab Shipping and Yang Ming say the $4.95-per-TEU cargo facility charge (CFC) is unlawful, and that they do not receive services com
CMA CGM plans expansion at Kingston hub
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
   The CMA CGM Group said Wednesday it plans to expand its use of a terminal in Kingston, timing improvements there with expansion of the Panama Canal.    CMA CGM said it signed a memorandum of understanding Aug. 4 "for the operation, equipment and expansion of the Gordon Cay Container Terminal
Port of Charleston containers up 8.3%
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
   The South Carolina State Ports Authority said volumes through its ports increased across all business segments in the fiscal year ending June 30.    The port of Charleston handled 1.38 million TEUs, 8.3 percent more than the prior fiscal year.    Charleston and Georgetown handl
Tampa port, Mosaic in dredge agreement
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
   The Tampa Port Authority Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved a joint project with Mosaic Co. that will result in the transfer of dredge materials from Mosaic's port berth along the Alafia River to one of the port authority's spoil islands.    The port said the deal will assist Mosaic and the Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with essential, ongoing maintenance dredging. About 350,000 cubic yards will be transported to the port authority's Spoil Island 2D in
Hamburg port sees healthy first half
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
   The Port of Hamburg's first half container volume rose 17.4 percent to about 4.3 million TEUs, thanks to new and expanded liners services, the German port said Monday.    'Among the factors generating additional throughput volumes were new or expanded liner services,' the port said
Maersk ships shift terminals in Vietnam
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
The Grete Maersk calls the Cai Mep International Terminal.    APM Terminals said ships from sister company Maersk Line's TP6 service have begun calling