Sustainability

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

     The number of Industry Integration Centers for Excellence and Expertise within U.S. Customs devoted to centralizing the import process for trusted shippers could double to four this fiscal year, Acting Deputy Commissioner Thomas Winkowski recently said.    Customs and Border Protection last fall established two Centers of Excellence and Expertise (CEE) - one in New York that deals with the pharmaceutical industry and one in Los Angeles responsible for electronics - as ...

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

     The U.S. Export-Import Bank will provide small exporters with revolving credit through a new product called Global Credit Express (GCE).    "This new product will provide additional liquidity for eligible American exporters and access to financing at a reasonable cost," said Bank Chairman Fred P. Hochberg, in a statement.    Through GCE, small business exporters may be eligible for a revolving line of credit of up to $500,000 for 6 to 12 months. During t...

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

     Phoenix-based Banner Health said it saved $41.5 million in a single year through a partnership that focused on reducing supply chain costs, eliminating clinical variations and improving the overall quality of care delivery.    Banner said by partnering with Premier, a performance improvement alliance of more than 2,500 U.S. hospitals and 81,000-plus "other" healthcare sites, it gained access to a range of new practices and tools for its logistics management, including ...

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

     MercuryGate International, a transportation management solutions (TMS) service provider, has announced a partnership with JFE Pfe Ltd., a supply chain services provider, to create MercuryGate Asia Pacific.    MercuryGate has operated in the Pacific Rim region for some time, but said the move was to add a global face forits  TMS in the region, as well as to better support existing customers there.    Based in Singapore, MercuryGate Asia Pacific ...

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

     Government logistics services provider LMI will establish a southeast region office via its recent acquisiton of Belzon Inc., a government consultancy in Huntsville, Ala.    LMI, which focuses on defense and intelligence, health care, homeland security, energy and environment, and civil government work, said the purchase was finalized, but did not disclose financial terms.    Belzon has done work in logistics planning, readiness management, program ...

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

     Spyros M. Polemis, chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping, is calling for a moratorium on new ship construction.    Speaking at the a shipping conference in Athens, which was sponsored by the Financial Times of London, Polemis said "until the crisis is over we do need a moratorium on new orders for ships that have no economic purpose.    “Current markets would appear to be demonstrating just how seriously damaging the oversupply of s...

Monday, February 20, 2012

     Last week, SAP launched its first consumer app, Recalls Plus.       Recalls Plus addresses the often cumbersome process of tracking consumer goods recalls via a new engagement system with share options and social networking. It also allows consumers to track recalls on individual products, product categories, and food allergens on mobiles.    While doing this, SAP brings this information to consumers directly, bypassing all manufacturers a...

Monday, February 20, 2012

      SourceProcureDeliver.com (SPD), based in Mumbai, India, has launched a new supply chain and distribution platform.    The service is initially aimed at suppliers looking to enter the Indian market. SPD said companies currently face a risky choice of either shipping stock against confirmed advance paid orders or entering the market on their own without an existing order base.    SPD’s platform introduces a supplier to its target segment and tak...

Friday, February 17, 2012

     A study by Pike Research, a market research and consulting firm, found that intelligent transportation systems (ITS) will continue to see increased investment worldwide despite tightening purse strings.    Pike estimates global investments in smart transport technology will reach $13.1 billion from 2011 through 2017.    ITS, also called smart transportation systems, includes electric vehicles, vehicles with advanced telematics systems, new and ...

Friday, February 17, 2012

     Central Freight Lines, a less-than-truckload carrier based in Waco, Texas, announced Thursday it will test 15 compressed natural gas tractors with the help of a grant from the Houston-Galveston Area Council.    If the Peterbilt tractors perform well under operational conditions, the company said it may buy another 200 of these low-emission trucks for use in South Texas.    The regional coordination agency is using $17.5 million in federal funds to subsidize f...

Friday, February 17, 2012

     Old Dominion Freight Line's warehouse in Thomasville, N.C., will be able to offset more than 90 percent of its energy costs with the help of recently installed rooftop solar panels, the company said.     The 1.8 megawatt system is the first foray into solar energy for the less-than-truckload carrier, which has an extensive network of cross-docks around the country. It can produce more than 2.2 kilowatt hours of electricity a year.    The project is the t...

Friday, February 17, 2012

   The Johannesburg, South Africa-based Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) and Imperial Logistics, a logistics services provider, have launched a Supply Chain and Logistics Program to provide teaching and research in the fields of logistics, supply chain management, and transportation management.    The goal of the program is to raise awareness of supply chain management systems for firms in the Southern and greater Africa regions, and also create supply chain ...

Thursday, February 16, 2012

     The United States and European Union on Wednesday announced that starting June 1 organic products certified in Europe or the United States may be sold as “organic” in either region.    The United States and Europe are considered the world’s largest producers of organic crops, with a collective value of $52 billion (40 billion euros).    The agreement’s signing took place at the BioFach World Organic Fair, the largest trade show for organic products in the world. &...

Thursday, February 16, 2012

   Elemica, a supplier of supply chain integration and optimization services, has introduced its new Elemica Transportation Management solution (ETM) that’s based on Oracle’s transportation management service.    The service is available as a subscription offering and promises to optimize logistics and transportation processes. The ETM provides visibility over the logistics order lifecycle and anticipates the needs of its customers, largely the chemical industry.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

     A2b Fulfillment will now provide Kigo Footwear with inventory management and fulfillment support.     An existing agreement required third-party logistics provider A2b to provide Kigo with warehousing, storage, and shipping services.    Kristin Serrano, Kigo's chief operating officer, said the company’s recent growth necessitated outsourcing. She said the footwear manufacturer was “forced …to decide which tasks are the most important for us to do an...

Thursday, February 16, 2012

     Florida-based Sylectus, a unit of Qualcomm Enterprise Services, has reached agreement with MacroPoint to offer an “intuitive" fleet tracking application for trucking companies.    Sylectus said the offering will allow 3PLs, fleet owners and managers, freight brokers, and carriers to track loads and drivers without requiring any new hardware or long-term contracts. The application will offer a “pay-for-play” model that can add location tracking to any existing transportation...

Monday, February 13, 2012

   U.S. import and Peruvian export advocates last week sent a letter to Peruvian Foreign Trade Minister Jose Luis Silva and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk urging elimination of a “yarn forward” rule of origin on apparel as part of the ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations.    The Peruvian Associación de Exportadores (ADEX) and members associations of the U.S. Trans-Pacific Partnership Apparel Coalition sent a joint letter on behalf of U.S. and Peru apparel producers, reta...

Friday, February 10, 2012

     Intelligent Global Pooling Systems (iGPS), a provider of plastic pallets with embedded radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, appointed Meredith Neizer to chief operating officer.    She brings more than 30 years of experience in the supply industry to iGPS.    Neizer joins iGPS from US Foods where she was senior vice president of operations. She has also held senior positions at Martin-Brower, a foodservice distribution company, and at liner carrier Maersk L...

Thursday, February 09, 2012

     Owens Corning has an active policy to transport as much of its building materials and supplies as possible on trucks powered by liquefied natural gas engines to save fuel costs, Wayne Johnson, the company's manager of global carrier relations, said Jan. 24 at the Transportation Research Board's annual meeting in Washington.    The Toledo, Ohio-based manufacturer has a contract with Dillon Transport for 25 dedicated LNG tank trucks to haul sand and asphalt to plants in ...

Tuesday, February 07, 2012

     FuelQuest. an on-demand software company for the energy industry, announced a five-year contract with J.B. Hunt Transport Services, a large North American trucking company.    FuelQuest’s Fuel Center will be responsible for managing J.B. Hunt’s bulk fuel purchases within its terminal network.    Fuel Center forecasts fuel use for the customer. It also takes on varied responsibilities around fuel management like orders and tax reconciliation.

Monday, February 06, 2012

   Several environmental groups reported a shipment of 113 containers of toxic waste discovered last month at the Jakarta Tanjung Priok Port in Indonesia points up the continuing problem of hazardous waste being shipped to developing countries.    Indonesia Toxics-Free Network, the Basel Action Network, Ban Toxics, and BaliFokus urged all world governments to ratify the Basel Ban Amendment and enforce the Basel Convention  which seeks to control...

Monday, February 06, 2012

     OnAsset Intelligence, a provider of machine-to-machine asset monitoring systems, said its existing relationship with Sprint has produced a dual-mode CDMA/GSM asset tracking solution with global functionality.    The dual-mode system allows OnAsset’s tracking devices to work with the majority of wireless networks across North America and Europe.    OnAsset’s SENTRY service can be used to track the location, temperature, pressure, humidity, light, motion, shock...

Friday, February 03, 2012

     Dutch shipbuilder Damen Shipyards delivered three cutter suction dredgers to the Ministry of Emergency Situations in Azerbaijan.     The ministry ordered the three dredgers to clean-up, deepen and maintain the Kura River. Damen was able to build and deliver the dredgers within six months of signing the contract with the Azerbaijan government.    The dredgers will be moved to Nefchala, where the crews will be trained. Afterwards they start work at three d...

Thursday, February 02, 2012

     The U.S. Department of Transportation on Tuesday said it will make $500 million available this year in the fourth round of TIGER funding for surface transportation investment.     Infrastructure projects will be evaluated on how they advance the Obama administration's goals of safety, improving the nation's economic competitiveness, livable communities, environmental sustainability, keeping assets in a state of good repair and short-term job creation.    The ...

Thursday, February 02, 2012

     Several port executives called for passage of the so-called Realize America's Maritime Promise or RAMP Act (H.R. 104) during a joint hearing  of the House's Ways and Means oversight and select revenue measures subcommittees.      The oversight subcommittee is chaired by Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., who introduced the bill.    The bill would dedicate all proceeds of the Harbor Maintenance Tax to harbor maintenance projects such as dredging port...

Thursday, February 02, 2012

     The pharmaceutical company Roche has awarded logistics contracts in Greece to Swiss freight forwarder Kuehne + Nagel.    K+N transports temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical products for Roche, and usually these products are transported by air freight even over relatively short distances.    For its business in Greece, however, the drug company sought a more environmentally-friendly alternative that would reduce carbon dioxide emissions. No...

Wednesday, February 01, 2012

     Truckers serving the Port of Baltimore can now receive up to $20,000 towards disposal of their old, polluting rigs and purchase of newer model trucks under a program announced Tuesday to help reduce diesel emissions.       The "cash-for-clunkers" incentive is primarily aimed at individual operators who own their trucks and upgrade to tractors with 2007 or newer engines.    The Environmental Protection Agency set new emission standards...

Wednesday, February 01, 2012

     The Port of Oakland said a study by the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California at Berkeley found a 50 percent decline in diesel particulate matter emissions from drayage trucks and a 40 percent decline in nitrogen oxide emissions in the port area following implementation of the clean trucks component of the port’s comprehensive truck management program.    The UC Berkeley study measured ambient conditions directly above 7th Street in a...

Wednesday, February 01, 2012

     Liquefied natural gas "continues to make progress as a credible fuel alternative" for international transport carriers, Federal Maritime Commissioner Mario Cordero told  a conference in Houston last week.    Speaking at the World LNG Fuels Conference, Cordero referenced an annoucement from the classification society Det Norke Veritas last month that it had approved in principle a design by Kawasaki Heavy Industries of a 9,000-TEU containership fueled by LNG.  ...

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

     The World Trade Organization Appellate Body on Monday found China’s export restraints on several industrial raw materials used as key components in the steel, aluminum, and chemicals industries to be inconsistent with the country’s WTO obligations.    The Appellate Body affirmed a WTO dispute settlement panel’s July 2011 finding, agreeing with the United States and rejecting China’s attempts to portray its export restraints as conservation or environmental protection measur...

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

   The Urban Institute has established a multi-dimensional Infrastructure Initiative designed to inform the public and government officials about the important tradeoffs in developing, operating, maintaining and financing the nation's core systems that support society.    The research effort will examine the fiscal, social and environmental costs and benefits of policy choices at all levels of government related to transportation, electrical, water, sewer, wireless and broadband ...

Monday, January 30, 2012

     TNT Express said Monday it has started a service that will simplify and secure the international movements of pharmaceutical products requiring strict temperature control, such as such as vaccines and insulin.    The express carrier said its PharmaSafe service is "designed to tackle the main challenge facing pharmaceutical supply chains: the lack of control and visibility inherent in the involvement of too many parties (typically more than 20 for an air shipm...

Friday, January 27, 2012

     Maersk Line, the world's largest operator of container vessels, will become the first ocean carrier to take advantage of a new incentive program at the Port of Virginia designed to encourage transport companies to reduce air pollution from commercial vessels while at berth, both parties announced Thursday.    The new initiative expands the Virginia Port Authority's Green Operator program, originally focused on providing financial support to replace older (more pollutin...

Friday, January 27, 2012

     The Crescent River Port Pilots Association has decided to increase its maximum draft recommendation from 42 feet to 44 feet on the Lower Mississippi River.    Capt. A.J. Gibbs said he made the recommendation Thursday after "reviewing the most current survey in the Pilottown Cubit's Gap area, and due to the successful transit of the two 44 feet test vessels."    Sean M. Duffy Sr., executive director of the Big River Coalition, said the recommend...

Thursday, January 26, 2012

     The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday scaled back its forecast for world economic growth this year to 3.3 percent from 4 percent projected in September because of a mild recession expected in the Euro zone that will contribute to slow growth elsewhere.    The forecast is lower than the 3.8 percent growth expected for 2011 and the 5.2 percent global growth in 2010.    The IMF slashed its growth projections for advanced countries by three-quarters of a poi...

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

     Memphis, Tenn.-based FedEx has announced the expansion of its SenseAware product, which provides shippers with near real-time tracking and increased shipment visibility, to all of its customers.    The platform, launched in November 2009, was initially available only to healthcare and life sciences customers. FedEx has now expanded the product to anyone “who can benefit from this added level of visibility and monitoring."    SenseAware is a tracking service that p...

Monday, January 23, 2012

     The United States on Friday filed an appeal in the World Trade Organization dispute with Mexico challenging the United States’ dolphin-safe labeling measures for tuna products sold in America.    On Sept. 15, 2011, a WTO Panel report in this dispute was released, which found the objectives of the U.S. measures are legitimate; the measures do not treat Mexico’s tuna products any less favorably than tuna products from the United States or other WTO members; and any adverse ef...

Thursday, January 19, 2012

     Orium, which operates an e-fulfillment and multilingual contact center, has launched a new Website dedicated to helping U.S. e-commerce and multichannel retailers expand their Internet sales to European markets.     In particular, the new site helps facilitate exchanges with clients by streamlining inventory access, e-fulfillment, and shipping options.    The company said the biggest barriers it has found for U.S. retailers successfully expanding to EU market...

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

     Amber Road, formerly Management Dynamics, is building on its global trade management (GTM) offerings with the launch of TradeWizards.com, a free cloud-based portal for global trade operations.    The Website is a combination of nine research tools built around obtaining data related to cost and compliance risks around importing and exporting goods.    The modules available in the suite cover restricted party screening against 40 lists; product classification cover...

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

   U.S. Ambassador Ertharin Cousin has been named executive director of the United Nations World Food Program.    She has served as the U.S. representative to the UN Agencies for Food and Agriculture in Rome for more than two years, helping to carry out President Obama's global food security policy and other matters related to the production of food and agriculture.    The U.S. Department of Agriculture works closely with the World Food Program, especially through the McGove...

Friday, January 13, 2012

     The United States can't afford for Congress and the White House to avoid addressing critical issues such as infrastructure and job creation because it is an election year, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donahue said in his annual State of Business speech Thursday.    Inaction would be particularly harmful at a time when the economy is still underperforming and unemployment is at 8.5 percent, he said.     The head of the world's largest business fed...

Thursday, January 12, 2012

     Bill Graves, president of the American Trucking Associations, expressed pessimism  again Tuesday that Congress will pass a surface transportation reauthorization in 2012 even though it is 2.5 years overdue.    A bill to pay for highway and transit infrastructure, and streamline programs, is pending in the Senate and House leaders have expressed interest in finding revenues to bridge the shortfall in highway tax receipts. Many political observers expect C...

Monday, December 19, 2011

By Eric Kulisch    If you don’t watch Fareed Zakharia’s “GPS” program Sunday mornings on CNN , you should. The journalist and foreign affairs analyst gets past the surface noise to provide provocative analysis about what’s really going on at the intersection of global economics and politics.   GPS stands for Global Public Square. It’s a forum for exchanging ideas about the critical issues of the day.    The show offers important lessons for freight executives at the domestic and ...

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

   The port of Le Havre will reward companies that operate clean ships in Le Havre beginning in 2012.    Starting on Jan. 1, 2012, the top ten companies with the cleanest container or Ro-Ro ships’ emissions will receive a reward allowing them to reduce port dues on ships by up to 10 percent. Ships are being judged on emitting fewer pollutants, such as NOx, SOx and particulates, and less CO2.    The Port of Le Havre was a signing party to the World Port Climate Initiative cha...

Tuesday, December 06, 2011

   The Port of Stockton said it has hired Savage Companies to operate a barge service to move containers between the Port of Stockton and Port of Oakland.    Salt Lake City-based Savage will provide management, marketing, logistics and operating services for the project. Operations are slated to begin during the first quarter of 2012.    In February 2010, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $30 million to the ports of Oakland, Stockton and West Sacramento...

Tuesday, December 06, 2011

     The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Navy announced on Monday that the Defense Logistics Agency signed a contract to buy 450,000 gallons of advanced drop-in biofuel, the single largest purchase of biofuel in government history.    While the Navy fleet alone uses more than 1.26 billion gallons of fuel annually, this biofuel purchase is significant because it accelerates the development homegrown fuels to reduce the military’s dependence on foreign oil, USDA said.  ...

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

   Belgium’s Port of Antwerp will step up efforts to prevent importers from using second-hand cars to bring illicit wastes into the country.    The Antwerp Port Authority board on Tuesday approved the new measures, effective Jan. 1. Sharper checks will be carried out not only on the vehicles themselves but also on accompanying freight. With these new regulations the port hopes to make clear what can and cannot be shipped.    Antwerp is one of Europe’s largest port...

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

   The International Chamber of Shipping, joined by OxFam and the World Wildlife Fund called on the delegates to the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa (COP 17) "to give the International Maritime Organization (IMO) clear guidance on continuing its work on reducing shipping emissions through the development of Market Based Measures."    In a statement issued on Tuesday, the three groups said "an effective regulatory framework for curbing emission of CO2 from in...

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

   Carrier Transicold said it debuted a refrigerated container that uses carbon dioxide as a refrigerant gas on Tuesday at the Intermodal Europe Show in Hamburg, Germany.    The company said the new "NaturaLINE" container is engineered to deliver efficiencies equal to its existing "best-in-class" refrigerated container PrimeLINE. It also noted that if the gas leaks, it would cause far less global warming than conventional refrigerants.    "We completed successful ...

Monday, November 28, 2011

   During the next four years, Swiss WorldCargo will introduce new “lightweight” containers to its fleet.     The company said the unit load devices (ULD) will significantly reduce weight and, by extension, lower fuel consumption, costs and CO2 emissions.     Starting in December, the cargo division of Swiss International Air Lines Ltd. will start deploying the containers in its ULD fleet by replacing 150 of its LD3 – AKE devices. By 2014, the whole AKE ...

Thursday, October 20, 2011

   One of the hard lessons resulting from the triple disaster in Japan last spring is that companies did not have as diverse a supply base for components as they thought, Jenny Lin, senior economist for Ford Motor Co., said Wednesday.    Car makers temporarily idled assembly plants in Japan, the United States and Europe when key components became scarce due to damage, power outages and transportation interruptions associated with the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis.  &nbs...

Friday, October 14, 2011

LoBiondo    The U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Thursday approved a bill that would establish a uniform standard for vessel ballast water treatment.    The 2011 Commercial Vessel Discharges Reform Act (H.R. 2840) was approved by voice vote.     The bill, introduced in the House by Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee Chairman Frank LoBiondo, R-N.J., amends the Clean Water Act to set a single nationwide performance standard, whi...

Wednesday, October 05, 2011

   The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control said it plans to deny a permit to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to deepen the Savannah River.    In a public notice, dated Sept. 30 , the department said "after reviewing the project plans, staff of the Division of Water Quality determined that there is a not a reasonable assurance that the project will be conducted in a manner consistent with the certification requirements of Section 401 of the Federal Clean Wate...

Friday, September 30, 2011

   The European Shippers’ Council has revised its customers’ charter to better reflect sustainability initiatives in the shipper-carrier relationship, it said Friday.    The ESC held a shipper forum dubbed “Greening the Maritime Supply Chain” this week in Brussels.    "The relationship should be a cooperative relationship, a pro-active relationship, in which both parties – shippers and carriers – share a responsibility for finding solutions and sticking to agreements,” said...

Thursday, September 29, 2011

   The Port of Los Angeles and California State University Long Beach Foundation said Wednesday they will develop and test a new $1.8 million seawater scrubber vessel system next spring that has the potential to reduce emissions by as much as 85 percent.    Seawater scrubbers feature advanced emission control technology in which seawater is used to remove contaminants from a ship’s auxiliary engines before exiting the exhaust stack of a ship. Once solid carbon contaminants have been ...

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

   Obama administration and U.S. industry officials are in Mexico this week to promote exports of renewable energy technologies to that country.    “Mexico offers tremendous potential for U.S. renewable energy and energy efficiency companies and the U.S. government is committed to helping our exporters meet this opportunity,” said U.S. Commerce Undersecretary for International Trade Francisco Sánchez in a statement Tuesday at U.S.-Mexico Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Policy ...

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

  Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL) has added the new ship, Parsifal , to its fleet.   A sister ship to Tonsberg , delivered in March, the 265-meter-long ship has a cargo volume of 138,000 cubic meters. Six fixed and three moveable decks mean the entire cargo hold can be arranged to carry high and heavy cargo such as excavators, bulldozers, and harvesters.   The ship is one of four being built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Nagasaki, Japan. It is WWL's most fuel effic...

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...

Monday, September 26, 2011

  The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and its sister organization, the International Shipping Federation, are urging for ratification and implementation of what they say are crucial maritime conventions.   "It is crucial that the same regulations governing matters such as safety, environmental protection, liability and seafarers’ working conditions apply to all ships in international trade and that the same laws apply to all parts of the voyage," said the chamber, whose member...

Monday, September 26, 2011

     Heads of some of the largest U.S. manufacturing and transportation companies last week sent a letter to the leaders of the U.S. House and Senate urging serious attention be given to passage of a long-term investment program aimed at repairing and upgrading the nation’s neglected surface transportation network.    “Our companies and employees are major users of the U.S. highway, bridge, rail, air, and public transportation systems. We depend on the ability to move produc...