On October 9 Mike Cathcart, Memphis, TN office, was named 3rd Quarter Quality Winner for his outstanding work.  Congratulations Mike! 

 

Mike is now eligible, along with other quarterly winners (Heather McPherson of Portsmouth, VA,  Joe Pessen of Prairie Village, KS, and the pending 4th Quarter Winner), for the 2008 Cornerstone Employee of the Year Award which will be presented early next Spring during Cornerstone's annual awards banquet.                               

  

As many as 80% of Americans are stressed about their personal finances and the economy according to the annual survey conducted by the American Psychological Association.  In previous years the top sources of stress were personal finances, work, and issues related to raising children.  This year the top sources of stress are money and the economy.  Counselors are seeing the shift from discussions on relationships, marriage, and children to discussions  focusing on the economy and finances...which are now being viewed as significantly more stressful by more than 8 out of 10 Americans. 

 

Survey respondents reported experiencing physical signs and symptoms of stress such as feeling angry and irritable, fatigued, experiencing headaches, chest pain, muscle tension and having difficulty falling asleep.  Many cope by overeating or eating the wrong foods. 

 

So, how do you handle stress?  Check out the following ideas found in a recent CNN article.  It's amazing how your gift of assistance can be a gift of health to you as well.  

 

1.  Do volunteer work.

2.  Help a friend with a loathsome task.

3.  Give away some money - even when it hurts.

4.  Help a co-worker on a project.

5.  Join a community organization.

6.  Perform small acts of random kindness towards strangers.

7.  Rescue an animal from a shelter.

8.  Take your next holiday locally to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions and give something back to the planet.

9.  Don't dwell on what is impacting you negatively; think of how you can positively help others.

10.  Buy a gift for a friend that doesn't expect it. 

 

 

Analysts are still projecting the freight markets to weaken even further through the rest of 2008 and throughout 2009. Last week Bob Costello, ATA senior economist, stated "You have to be prepared for the cycle to get worse before it gets better".  Mark Vitner, senior economist for Wachovia Corp, said that as the U.S. economy flounders, business is also slowing in China, India and Russia, which had been three of the worlds fastest growing economies. The October Port Tracker forecast, published by the National Retail Federation and the economic forecasting firm Global Insight, seems to agree projecting a slump in containerized imports to continue for at least the next six months.  Looking for good news?  Lower cargo volumes mean less congestion at ports and also fewer capacity constraints in the rail and trucking sectors.  Also, gas and diesel prices continue to drop providing some much needed relief to all.

 

The ATA filed a brief on October 8 to secure an injunction against the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach's concession plans that became effective on October 1.  ATA supports the ports clean truck program and the replacement of older trucks, but does not support the concession plans re-regulation of the the trucking industry.  A decision could be issued as early as late November.   So far the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are reporting that the clean-trucks program that began on October 1 is seeing fluid gate moves, a very high compliance rate, and sufficient truck capacity to handle cargo volumes.  The next important date will be around November 1 when the ports hope to turn on an electronic truck registry and a related program to process fees associated with the clean-trucks program. 

    

Looks like the notion of a national container fee targeted to fund infrastructure projects may be inevitable. Another bill is proposing a national container fee but this one targets containerized imports ($25 per TEU) under legislation introduced by Rep. Laura Richardson, D-California.  Earlier this year, Rep. Ken Calvert, R-California proposed a similar national fee, however his legislation targeted both imports and exports, and would cover all forms of shipments including containerized, bulk and breakbulk..  Looks like both sides are favorable to the overall concept, but differ as to who exactly to target. 

 

A different piece of legislation, this one targeting cargo moving through the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland, was rejected by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger when he refused to sign the $30 per TEU bill proposed by Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach.  The governor rejected the bill, also to fund and assist freight infrastructure, because California voters already approved a $3 billion bond measure two year ago, and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach already levied new container fees...both actions that will generate revenue for many of the same purposes. 

 

The final votes are in and the ILWU and PMA negotiators have finally agreed on a new 6-year contract. The contract addressed ILWU wage increases, pension benefit improvements, jurisdiction over maintenance and repair work, and adding a fourth position under each crane.  In the event of work stoppages, employers received a guarantee that arbitration would take place much quicker, expediting a resolution.