Andy Long, Cornerstone's Chief Financial Officer and member of our "Senior Staff", along with 32,000 of his closest friends, ran the 9th Annual Country Music Marathon in Nashville, TN on April 26. 

 

Andy trained for 4 months and finished running the 26.2 mile marathon with an impressive time of 4 hours and 9 minutes.  And you just thought he was good with numbers...way to go Andy!      

 

Chinese government officials are looking at the option of closing factories within a 200 kilometer radius (almost 125 miles) of Beijing during the 9 weeks from July 17 to September 20, along with possible plans of factory closings in Shanghai, Heibei, Inner Mongolia, Shandong, Shanxi and Tianjin.  It is all part of a major effort to reduce air pollution for the 2008 Summer Olympics, protect the athletes and showcase China in a favorable light.  Beijing's polluted air regularly exceeds the limits set by the World Health Organization. 

 

Regretfully these temporary closings will occur when Chinese factories are historically pushing out goods for the peak shipping season.  But the good news is that shippers and carriers are monitoring the situation and preparing for any possible disruptions in production and shipping.  Many details are still being sorted out but you may want to keep your eye on these developments just in case the closings affect you and your freight.

 

Work stoppages and demonstrations continue to show up on the radar screen across the country.  The Suncoast News is reporting that a protest is being planned in the Tampa, FL area on Saturday, May 10.  They are also reporting that a rally in the Washington, D.C. area is being organized to take place sometime next week with approximately 5,000 trucks circling the Capitol.  On May 6 Owner Operators in Northern California held a trucker demonstration causing the UP railroad to place an embargo on all freight destined for both Oakland & Lathrop ramps.  This embargo will remain in effect as long as the dray carrier/driver work stoppage continues.    Independent truckers in that area also lined up their cars and truck cabs on May 5 fender-to-fender outside rail terminals protesting insufficient support for diesel fuel costs.  Many truckers across the country are spreading  the word to strike through Internet blogs and over CB radios in order to send a message to both oil companies and the U.S. government protesting record diesel fuel prices.  The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has not called for organized strikes but will support their members if they do.  The American Trucking Association states that independent truckers, who constitute 90% of the nation's trucking fleet, are being hit especially hard by both soaring diesel prices and also compensation that lags far behind rising costs.  Declining freight volumes have also contributed to their frustration.  Some good news on the horizon...many analysts are predicting that supply and demand will be back on track by the end of 3rd Quarter 2008.  

 

On May 1 over 25,000 members of the ILWU conducted an 8-hour work stoppage to protest the war in Iraq and call for the safe return of American troops.  Their current contract allows them to take one stop-work meeting each month, but it must be held during the second shift when cargo operations are lighter.  29 West Coast ports were affected however cargo backlogs did not appear to be a problem.  Some carriers slowed vessels so they wouldn't arrive in port that day and others built in an 8-hour work-stoppage "window" into their schedule.  Those efforts helped along with the fact that cargo volumes are currently lighter due to the weakened U.S. economy.  The work-stoppage did not affect talks between the ILWU and PMA.  Both parties continue with formal negotiations exchanging documents and questions.  The current contract expiring July 1 covers 25,000 ILWU longshore workers (at 29 ports in California, Oregon and Washington).  The PMA represents cargo carriers, terminal operators and stevedores operating on the West Coast.

 

The Department of Homeland Security has extended the deadline for TWIC compliance to April 15, 2009.  By that date, all ports have to be in compliance with the TWIC rules and all workers must have their cards or they will not be permitted unescorted access to secured areas at any facility in the U.S. covered by the Maritime Transportation Security Act and the SAFE Port Act.  The first enrollment center opened October 2007 in Wilmington, Delaware and as of today, over 300,000 port and maritime workers have signed up for the TWIC (Transportation Worker Identification Credential).  TWIC is part of the government's layered approach to building more security into the international supply chain.