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Completely useless but fun...
2010 Color of the Year Is...
Answer:
Turquoise
"Turquoise evokes thoughts of soothing tropical waters and a languorous effective escape from the everyday troubles of the world, while at the same time, restoring our sense of wellbeing" said Pantone, the global leader in color forecasting. Pantone expects to see a lot of turquoise in stores next year.
Thanks to Frances Stuckey for submitting this months trivia.
Share your useless trivia
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Greetings!
Industry updates are important to all of us. If you would like to receive an update on a topic not listed in this issue or receive more information on Cornerstone Systems, please contact us at 800-278-7677 or visit our website at www.cornerstone-systems.com.
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TransPacific Upswing Includes Challenges Capacity Cut Back - Chinese New Year Volume Surging - Equipment Issues
 Ocean carriers are encouraged by stronger than normal growth in container trade during December and January, according to TSA executive Brian Conrad. Container volumes typically fall off in late November as the peak shipping season comes to an end, tick back up at the end of December and then go back down until Chinese New Year in February. But there has been no seasonal fall off this winter. Volumes remained steady at the beginning of December and have been steadily rising since the middle of that month to the point where the carriers are seeing quite a bit of growth over the same time last year. Conrad attributed the rebound in trade to improvement in the U.S. economy and the fact that retailers, who were cautious about building up inventories heading into the holiday season, need to rapidly replenish after relatively strong sales.
The Chinese New Year begins on February 14. Another positive sign for the liner industry is that many factories in China intend to quickly reopen following the Chinese New Year layoff. During a typical season factories will shut down for 10 days to 2 weeks so workers can celebrate the holiday and visit their families. Last year some plants closed for 3-4 weeks because of the global recession and lack of orders. Conrad stated that factories are asking workers to come back early because they have so many orders that they want to restart production quickly after the holiday. Some factories may only close for one week this year. Container lines anticipate a noticeable drop in volumes and load factors in the 2nd half of February due to the Chinese New Year, and a relatively quick volume recovery by the beginning of March.
Carriers have cut so much capacity out of the Transpacific trade that vessel space was in short supply in the weeks leading up to the Chinese New Year. And some members of the TSA report that the surge in eastbound volumes has put pressure on equipment availability in Asia, adding to costs for repositioning empty containers. Ahead of the Chinese New Year, all carriers are facing problems with a lack of equipment from all load ports in China. This is especially affecting 40ft and 40ft HC containers. The cause of this problem goes back to the bad weather in January, when vessel working time was limited to unloading import containers only, and due to fixed berthing schedules in Europe, had to cut and run. With carriers usually loading around 2500 TEU export containers per vessel, and with increased bookings ahead of Chinese New Year, this problem is likely to remain for the next 2-3 weeks.
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Transport Industry Seeing Fragile Recovery Signs Show Growth Yet Analysts Remain Cautious
Read about differing yet positive signs on the economic horizon...
The Global Port Tracker is stating that import cargo at the top North American container ports will grow 25 percent in the first half of 2010 compared to the same period last year, "demonstrating that a sustained trade recovery is underway". January's numbers are estimated at 17 percent over January 2009, February is projected at 30 percent higher...March 23 percent higher...April 27 percent higher...and May 26 percent higher.
A jump in the Conference Board's index of consumer confidence, strong growth in gross domestic product in the fourth quarter of 2009 and higher than expected growth in consumer spending indicates that the American consumer is returning to the stores. The National Retail Federation is stating that "retailers are clearly expecting to move more merchandise this year".
Manufacturing in China is reported as growing at its fastest pace on record, according to data collected for the HSBC China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index. HSBC's chief economist for China is stating that "Industrial activity continues to accelerate, implying strong GDP growth in the first quarter".
The Manufacturing ISM Report on Business is reporting that U.S. manufacturing expanded rapidly in January - nearly matching the pace of August 2004. "This month's report provides significant assurance that the manufacturing sector is in recovery".
These newsbites and more point to an economic recovery however many remain skeptical. Slow economic growth and uncertainty about oil prices will hobble U.S. Transportation companies recovering from the recession, Standard & Poor's says. Although many domestic transportation companies are reporting higher shipping volume, those improvements are fragile, S&P says, "particularly for the significant minority of companies with negative rating outlooks." The number of negative outlooks or CreditWatch reviews is concentrated in transportation segments hit hard by the recession - airlines, shipping and trucking, the RatingsDirect report said. |
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Transportation Industry News
Intermodal sets 4th QTR record, Truckload Demand Climbs, CSA 2010 New Safety Program, Cargo Theft Increases, Long Beach Port Launches Expansion
In 4th quarter of 2009, intermodal not only gained market share from trucks, but set a quarterly record in the process, according to transportation forecasting firm FTR Associates. "Intermodal has gained share for three consecutive quarters since the freight meltdown late last year," said Lawrence Gross, FTR's senior consultant. "This latest increase has been driven by improvement in the international intermodal sector, an indication that imports and exports are rebounding faster than domestic traffic.
Truckload demand climbed in the first week of February, with flatbed and refrigerated trucking showing the most strength, Morgan Stanley Research reports. The flatbed business has been hit hard by construction failures. Demand was strongest in the Northeast and West.
CSA 2010 (Comprehensive Safety Analysis Program), the new federal safety monitoring and rating system for motor carriers, is "at the top of the list" of federal policy issues that will affect the trucking industry in 2010, says ATA President Bill Graves. Unlike the current SafeStat program, which assigns safety ratings based on infrequent compliance reviews by federal auditors, the DOT's CSA 2010 program will base safety ratings on carriers' on-highway performance. The CSA ratings will be updated monthly and include driver violations. Electronic onboard recorders, which keep track of drivers hours of service, will be essential technology for the new safety initiative, because federal safety inspectors are now empowered to demand electronic records from carriers when conducting audits. CSA 2010 is currently being tested by fleets in nine states, with nationwide rollout slated to begin in July and ending by December 31.
Cargo theft from big trucking rigs jumped a whopping 67 percent last year, according to the Wall Street Journal. The FBI estimates cargo theft in the U.S. accounts for about $10 billion in direct merchandise losses annually. Typically, the tractor-trailer is found miles away with the crooks targeting the loads. The thieves target items such as electronics, food and beverages, clothing, pharmaceuticals and cigarettes. California, Florida, Texas, Georgia, Illinois and New Jersey are the top states for number of cargo thefts, according to FreightWatch.
Long Beach is launching a $3 billion port expansion aimed at protecting the port's share of shipping business in the face of competition from other ports. "The efforts include plans to enlarge marine terminals, build a taller, wider bridge (replacing the Gerald Desmond Bridge) and expand on-dock rail capacity", said LGB Port Executive Director Richard Steinke. |
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Current Fuel Facts The Energy Information Administration reports U.S. On-Highway Diesel Fuel Prices (dollars per gallon) as follows:
Pending Date Released
Pending Price
Pending Change From Week Ago
Pending Change From Year Ago
Due to the recent blast of winter weather hitting the Washington, DC area, the federal government in the Capital region remains closed . The Department of Energy is expected to release its weekly fuel prices by 5PM (EST) on Friday, February 12.
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