American Shipper January 2003

Vol. 45, No. 1

January 2003

LOGISTICS ABX looks ahead WTO shipping talks face uphill struggle 24-hour rule tests banana shippers Detect, not detonate FORWARDING/NVOs Ecu-Line's inward-outward focus Drawback industry works scene Canada shippers seek exemption TRANSPORT/INTEGRATORS FedEx expands ocean business EC, U.S. may negotiate bilateral pact FedEx Express adds Asian services Deutsche Post finishes DHL takeover United maintains cargo operations Panlpina acquires stake in Luxair TRANSPORT/OCEAN IMO adopts security rules Privratsky joins CSX Lines' ranks OECD starts talks on subsidiaries End of 20-year LNG contracts? Alliances cut transpacific capacity Greenpeace, ITF, WWF urge reform TRANSPORT/INLAND N.Y.-N.J. truckers target terminals Nober becomes STB chairman PORTS Commerce urges hubs to boost security Customs deploys CSI team to LeHavre Hong Kong remains top container port MOL, Hong Kong terminal start pilot Felixstowe to boost container capacity SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS Montreal/Europe carriers cooperate... Pacific lines extend peak season charge again... Senator exits South America trade... DEPARTMENTS Comments & Letters Theodore Prince Shippers’ Case Law Corporate Appointments Service Announcements Editorial			Forecast 2003 Bob Dylan once sang "you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows." But following the tempestuous industry climate of 2002 -- with flurries of security issues, stormy financial seas for carriers and NVOs, and a West Coast port freezeout -- American Shipper's staff offers an extended forecast to weather what 2003 will bring.
			Managing with Manifests There's no doubt U.S. Customs' regulation requiring advance filing of cargo manifests has had a major impact on global trade and the management of U.S.-bound ocean freight. No piece of the supply chain feeding into the United States is immune. Yet while complaints and concerns about the regulation persist, shippers, intermediaries and carriers are getting down to the business of compliance.
			Peace at last for TACA, EC? For years, the Trans-Atlantic Conference Agreement and its predecessor, the Trans-Atlantic Agreement, have been controversial, precedent-setting cases to determine the rights and obligations of conferences in Europe. But an agreement between the European Commission and TACA may signal an end of the volatile environment, as the two sides agree on range of permissible activities within the conference.
			Nothing ventured, nothing lost Not so long ago, money from venture capitalists flooded the logistics marketplace, floating many a boat now scuttled in once-safe "niche" harbors that are almost bone-dry today. Yet small rivulets of capital still make their way to carefully targeted companies from sources that have morphed from venture to venture. Today, private equity firms take more time to assess suitors, looking past risky start-up ventures to mature, profitable matches.