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'BDPSmart Tower controls global tank movements, increases productivity, reduces costs' | |
November 2, 2010 - KUALA LUMPUR, 2 NOVEMBER 2010 -- A new Malaysian solution that will manage core assets of chemical, and oil & gas companies will deliver significant cost savings, and increase productivity, according to logistics management firm BDP International.
"The solution, called BDPSmart Tower, managed one of the core assets of chemical and oil & gas companies - their ISO-tanks and multiple element gas containers (MEGCs) - and is believed to be the first of its kind," said BDP regional director, business development, Asia Pacific, Hoo Ching Dew.
"The new service addresses the long-standing problem of how to simplify and improve the management of the flotilla of industrial tanks used for shipping chemicals and other industrial liquids / gases around the world," said Hoo. "It is estimated that under-utilisation of these containers could be costing chemical and oil and gas companies more than US$1.5 billion a year in unrealised revenue."
"Under-utilisation of tank assets occurs because no single source in the supply chain has been responsible for tracking and controlling the tanks, particularly during their destination dwell time and the return leg," he said. "As a result, these assets often sit idle for weeks if not months awaiting their next move. In one case, an ISO tank was discovered sitting at a customer's site for 14 years."
BDPSmart Tower is a complete management service that improves visibility and optimises utilisation of tank assets. The service comprises four principal components: End-to-end freight forwarding including planning for the reverse logistics of empty tanks to ensure they are returned on schedule.
By AvantiKumar
MIS Asia
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Europe tightens air security after bomb plot | |
Yemen faults moves to suspend cargo, mail flights, seeks help in terror fight
November 3, 2010 - (LONDON) Countries including Britain and Germany have tightened air security measures amid fears about the safety of cargo after two US-bound parcel bombs were sent from Yemen in an alleged Al-Qaeda plot.
The move comes as the head of international airlines body Iata urged governments around the world to cooperate with airlines to improve aviation security.
'Over the weeks and months, as governments learn more about the threat, we must continue to work together to implement appropriate solutions,' said Giovanni Bisignani, director general of the International Air Transport Association (Iata).
London announced on Monday that it was suspending all unaccompanied air cargo from war-torn Somalia, extending a ban on freight from Yemen imposed after the devices were found on planes last week in England and Dubai.
Berlin extended a ban on air freight from Yemen to cover passenger flights originating in the Arabian peninsula country. The bomb discovered in England passed through Cologne, Germany.
The Netherlands on Monday suspended cargo and mail flights originating in Yemen as a 'precautionary measure' and France put in place a similar suspension at the weekend.
Yemen reacted with surprise, saying yesterday it needed help not punishment.
Its partners should help it 'reinforce its efforts to beat terrorism instead of resorting to decisions which can only be likened to collective punishment,' a government spokesman said, quoted by the official Saba news agency.
The official was particularly critical of Germany's move, saying it was 'illogical and penalises Yemen and its people who reject terrorism'.
'This type of hasty and exaggerated decision can only damage Yemen's efforts to fight terrorism ...,' the spokesman said.
Yemen announced earlier a crackdown on cargo shipments and a general tightening of security at Yemeni airports.
Germany is the first country to announce a ban on all flights from Yemen.
'All Yemeni air companies that fly to Germany have received a flight ban,' a German transport ministry spokesman said on Monday.
'The German air authorities have orders to turn back all direct and indirect flights from Yemen. That means that for the time being, there will be no flights to, or over German territory allowed.'
Berlin was weighing whether to ban freight from other countries amid a major security review, an official said.
British interior minister Theresa May announced, after a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee, the ban on freight from Somalia pending a full review of all aspects of air freight.
'From midnight tonight we will extend the suspension of unaccompanied air freight to this country not just from Yemen but also Somalia,' Ms May, the Home Secretary, told parliament on Monday.
She said the decision was 'based on possible contact between Al-Qaeda in Yemen and terrorist groups in Somalia, as well as concerns about airport security in Mogadishu.' Ms May said Britain would also ban passengers from carrying toner cartridges larger than 500 grammes in their hand luggage.
Toner cartridges would also be banned from air cargo unless they come from a 'regular shipper'.
The two bombs contained 300 (11 ounces) and 400 grammes of the high explosive PETN hidden inside toner cartridges, a German official said.
Qatar Airways said on Sunday that a package containing explosives was flown from Sanaa to Doha and then on to Dubai on one of its aircraft. A source said on condition of anonymity that the plane was a passenger flight.
It also emerged on Monday that US authorities intercepted parcels from Yemen bound for Chicago in mid-September suspected of being a dry run for last week's foiled bomb plot, according to a US official.
Despite the security sanctions, British development minister Alan Duncan said London would seek to help Yemen tackle militancy through aid.
'The lesson from other countries is that if we sit around and analyse a country on the edge of collapse for too long, by the time we decide to do anything about it, it's already too late,' he said in a speech to the Chatham House think tank in London.
AFP, Reuters
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Australia-M'sia FTA by 2011 | |
November 1, 2010 - KUALA LUMPUR - AUSTRALIAN Prime Minister Julia Gillard said on a visit to Malaysia on Monday that the two countries hope to strike a free trade agreement by next year.
'We discussed the prospects for concluding the Malaysian-Australia free trade agreement. We have indicated we have a shared commitment to doing that and that we will be continuing with a view to that free trade agreement being concluded next year,' Ms Gillard told a press conference.
'Our relationship is in good shape in part because of economic ties,' she added. Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, standing in for Prime Minister Najib Razak who is ill with chickenpox, said the two nations had held eight rounds of talks on the deal.
'We hope to move it forward next year and hope to sign as soon as possible,' he told the press conference, adding that Ms Gillard's visit will 'take our relationship to a new level.' Ms Gillard, accompanied to Malaysia by her partner Tim Mathieson, is on her first regional tour after becoming Australia's first female prime minister earlier this year.
Ms Gillard began her regional tour with the 16-nation East Asia Summit in Vietnam which took place last Saturday, and will travel on to Indonesia later on Monday.
Mr Muhyiddin said that between January to August this year, trade volume between Malaysia and Australia reached US$7 billion (S$9 billion) compared to US$5.4 billion for the same period last year, an increase of 20.5 per cent.
AFP
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| Strike stalls port, airport activities |
November 1, 2010 - Asia-Europe trade freight service providers face further significant operational disruption in France and other European countries over the next few months as workers continue to protest against various issues.
To date, the situation has been worst in France where recent widespread industrial action and street protests organised by trade unions and others in a battle against plans to raise the national retirement age from 60 to 62 have already hit port, airport, rail and road freight transport activities.
Elsewhere in Europe, public sector workers in many countries are threatening to take industrial action, in some cases including national general strikes, in a fight against job losses and other cutbacks resulting from recently-announced government economic austerity measures.
Those workers include several national air traffic control groups, leading to fears about potential new disruption to air cargo activities.
More immediately, just as Cargonews Asia went to press, French union leaders called for two further days of nationwide strikes and street protests, on October 28 and November 6, as part of their campaign against the planned change to the national retirement age and related pension issues.
However, some French political observers were by that point beginning to speculate whether the now apparently imminent passing of the government bill designed to implement the pension reform involved might weaken the scale of the future opposition against it.
Meanwhile, as at October 25, operations at the two key French deep-sea ports of Marseille in the south and Le Havre in the north were continuing to experience varying degrees of disruption due to industrial action by dock and other port workers.
In the case of Marseille, the worst disruption up to that date had been at the port's Fos and Lavera oil, gas and liquid chemical terminals where a separate dispute over plans to transfer workers from the port authority payroll to a new company set up to run those facilities, as required under French port reform law passed in 2008, had seen operations at a standstill since the end of September.
By late October, nearly 70 vessels were reportedly queuing up to get into those terminals. Coinciding with that particular local dispute, port worker protests against the French national government's planned retirement/pension changes had resulted in the Marseilles-Fos container terminals being closed through strike action on five days during October, as well as for two hours per shift on every other day.
At the time of going to press, that industrial action looked set to continue. The scale of the resulting disruption to container and other liner shipping operations at Marseille-Fos changed day by day during October.
On October 25, for example, the Marseille port authority confirmed that several container ships and ro-ro vessels were still waiting at berths or to get onto a berth.
Just prior to that announcement, German liner shipping operator Hapag-Lloyd notified customers that due to further strikes planned by Fos port workers and crane drivers, three vessels deployed on two of its Mediterranean-Americas deep-sea services would omit calls at the French port.
Exports would be transferred to "the next available vessel", it stated, and imports would be discharged at other Mediterranean ports and transferred to Fos, again on the next available vessel.
Hapag-Lloyd also advised customers: "Considering the uncertain situation at the port of Fos in the near future, we strongly recommend you to direct your shipments to either Barcelona or Genoa."
A day earlier, the same line had also warned its customers about problems in the port of Le Havre.
"The present situation does not allow us to keep with our original schedules for positioning or delivering your container in time. We would like to inform you that due to the ongoing strike situation in Le Havre we need to revise the current vessel status."
According to port figures, of the 19 scheduled container ship sailings to/from the port of Le Havre in the period October 20-22 period, one export sailing was cancelled, three import sailings were set to discharge in other European ports and a number of others were likely to be delayed by up to a couple of days. By Phil Hastings
Cargonews Asia
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Massachusetts Rep. Markey preps to roll out legislation for all-cargo plane screening | |
November 2, 2010 - Following the recent attempt by terrorists to send explosives to the United States on cargo and passenger planes, Massachusetts Representative Edward J. Markey (D) said he plans to introduce legislation requiring 100 percent screening of all cargo on cargo planes.
Markey has been active on the air cargo security front over the years and played an integral role in H.R. 1, Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007, which required the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a system to enable airline security to establish a system to screen 100 percent of cargo transported on passenger aircraft commensurate with the level of security used for checked baggage.
This measure, which went live on August 1, requires all air cargo to be screened at the piece level prior to transport on a passenger aircraft for flights originating in the United States, according to the Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration. Included in this endeavor is TSA's Certified Cargo Screening Program, which enables Indirect Air Carriers (IAC's), shippers, and Independent Cargo Screening Facilities (ICSF's) to screen cargo for flights originating in the U.S. According to TSA, most shippers involved in CCSP have readily incorporated physical search into their packing/shipping operation at minimal cost without needing to invest in screening equipment.
"In 2007, my amendment on air cargo screening was enacted into law, closing a cargo security gap on passenger planes," Markey said in a statement. "At the time, strong opposition from the shipping industry, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and other business interests prevented the inclusion of a screening mandate for all-cargo planes. Following this recent foiled cargo bombing plot from Yemen, now is the time to finish the job."
Markey added that while 100 percent of air cargo being transported on domestic passenger planes is now being screened, coupled with a reported more than 80 percent of incoming cargo on international passenger planes, all freight on all-cargo carrier planes is not being screened.
Last week's events, coupled with Markey's pending legislation create, in some respects, urgency for heightened security on all-cargo carrier planes.
An example of this is the fact that with the 100 percent cargo screening rule required for cargo flying on passenger airlines, there are some freight forwarders who may elect to not even bothering and, instead, move air freight on cargo-only airlines, said Albert Saphir, principal of ABS Consulting in Weston, Fla., in a recent interview.
"Some forwarders won't put anything on passenger aircraft, because in the lanes passenger airlines promote their business or services, 90 percent of those lanes are served by cargo-only carriers," explained Saphir. "And some forwarders don't want to have to worry about 100 percent scanning and if they have a shipment that needs to go a passenger-only aircraft destination, they may give it to a friendly competitor if they are not active in that particular lane."
But that premise is likely to change, considering that Transportation Security Administration Acting Administration told members of Congress in March that it could be a "couple of more years" before all inbound cargo is screened for bombs," according to a USA Today report.
What's more, the report also cited how the U.S. Government Accountability Office said in a June report that TSA has yet to determine when or how all inbound cargo will be screened.
Logistics Management
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Asia Pacific cargo uplift growth continues |
Association of Asia Pacific Airlines says demand is robust
October 28, 2010 - Asia Pacific airlines continued to rack up high levels of air cargo uplift growth through to the end of the third quarter.
The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) said demand remained "robust" in September with preliminary figures for international air cargo demand, as measured in freight tonne kilometres (FTK), revealing year-on-year growth of 18.5%.
And freight capacity expanded by 19.3% last month, compared to a year earlier.
This resulted in a 0.5 percentage point decline in the average international cargo load factor to 67%.
Andrew Herdman, AAPA Director General, said: "Asian economies have been leading the way out of the global downturn, and this has resulted in a tremendous boost to the fortunes of carriers across the region."
He added: "Over the past nine months, we have seen a 14.6% increase in international passenger numbers, and an even more dramatic 30.2% growth in international air cargo traffic, compared to the same period last year.
"Looking ahead, the overall outlook for Asian carriers remains very positive over the next 12 months, with prospects for further sustained growth in demand in line with established long term trends." International Freighting Weekly |
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FMC seeks input for EU liner regulation study | |
November 2, 2010 - The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission is seeking input for its inquiry into the European Union's decision in 2008 to end antitrust protection for liner shipping companies.
The FMC asked for public comments on the effects on international liner shipping of the EU's repeal to be submitted by Jan. 18. It said the comments would be incorporated into its Analysis of the EU Repeal of the Liner Conference Block Exemption, which is scheduled to be completed in late 2011.
The study fulfills the FMC's responsibility to "keep abreast of changes in foreign laws and regulations that may impact liner activities in U.S. trades," and to determine whether commission action was warranted due to any effect the EU repeal may have on U.S. trades, the commission said.
The FMC said it was aware that in 2006 the National Industrial Transportation League, the country's largest organization for shippers, recommended to the Antitrust Modernization Commission that the U.S. government review of U.S. antitrust immunity in the wake of EU's repeal of the block exemption. The NIT League stated, in particular, that such a review should include an analysis of the impact that the changes adopted in Europe would have on the shipment of goods in U.S. trades.
The adoption by the European Union of Regulation 1419/2006, on Sept. 25, 2006, removed the previous block exemption from EU competition laws as of Oct. 18, 2008. Under European Commission Regulation No. 906/2009, liner shipping consortia with market shares up to 30 percent retain an exemption for certain activities, such as sharing space on ships, which is generally seen as helping shippers by providing them access to a greater range of services, more frequent services, and access to larger, more efficient ships.
Last November, FMC Chairman Richard A. Lidinsky Jr. announced the commission's intention to undertake the study, saying it would cover from January 2006 through December 2010, and that it would include an analysis of changes in liner market structure, competition, services offered, vessel capacity, rates and surcharges.
The FMC noted that Europe/U.S. trades include service to both countries on the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Noting there has been no conference in the U.S./Mediterranean trade since February 2006, the study, to be conducted by the FMC's Bureau of Trade Analysis, will be focused on the North Atlantic trade
American Shipper
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Output Rises in Germany TH | |
November 3, 2010 - Production of chemicals soared 10% in Germany in the third quarter of 2010 compared with the same period of 2009, industry association VCI (Frankfurt) says. Rising output volumes were driven largely by exports, VCI says.
However, output increased by just 0.5% in the third quarter compared with the previous quarter. Slower sequential production growth reflects stagnating demand in the domestic market, VCI says. Prices also stagnated, increasing 0.6% compared with the second quarter but 4% on a year-on-year basis.
VCI expects growth to remain slow during the rest of 2010 but it maintained its full-year output growth forecast for the German chemical industry at 11% due to the industry's strong performance in
the first half.
Chemical Week
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Trucking remains dogged by slow freight growth | |
November 3, 2010 - Freight volumes continue to slow in the face of a still-sluggish economy, according to fleets and trucking experts alike. And this trend line should hold for the remainder of the year.
"Freight demand was relatively consistent throughout the third quarter, [but] demand, however, did not outpace available capacity to the same degree as [in] the second quarter," stated Kevin Knight, chairman & CEO of Knight Transportation in the truckload carrier's most recent earnings report.
Freight market trends continued to be positive in the third quarter and were better than those in third quarter '09, echoed Werner Enterprises in its most recent earnings statement. Yet the truckload carrier said they were not as strong as in the second quarter-- and through October softened further from volumes experienced in the third quarter.
"We believe the larger shippers in our network may be shifting freight shipment volumes to large carriers in an effort to secure capacity going into 2011, Werner noted. "The softening seems to be driven more by smaller company shippers being more cautious with their inventory and overall volume projections."
The slowing of freight is also reflected in slippage recorded by the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) latest inventories index. It registered 53.9% in October-- 1.7 percentage points lower than the 55.6% reported in September.
Yet the ISM data also indicates manufacturing continued to grow in October and at an accelerated rate, Its purchasing managers index (PMI) metric registered 56.9% last month; an increase of 2.5 percentage points over September's reading of 54.4%, Any reading above 50% indicaing that the U.S. manufacturing economic sector is generally expanding, said Norbert Ore, chairman of the ISM manufacturing business survey committee.
"The manufacturing sector grew during October, with both new orders and production making significant gains," Ore added. "Since hitting a peak in April, the trend for manufacturing has been toward slower growth. However, this month's report signals a continuation of the recovery that began 15 months ago, and its strength raises expectations for growth in the balance of the [fourth] quarter."
Jon Langenfeld, senior transportation analyst with investment firm Robert W. Baird & Co., noted in his recent "Freight Flow" brief that while trucking's "peak season" for freight demand isn't turning out to be as strong as expected, current freight levels may be sustainable through November.
"An early peak in late summer [should] prevent a spike in fourth quarter freight demand," he explained. "However, lean inventories and a healthier economy may support freight activity deeper into the fourth quarter than normal."
As trucking transitions into the fourth quarter and then into 2011, Langenfeld indicates three key trends will bear watching:
Industrial demand trends in recent months have been more favorable than retail/consumer related trends. The 2010 peak season demand clearly occurred much earlier this year, but questions remain as to how long the current demand trends will be sustained into the fourth quarter. Despite the weaker peak season, domestic pricing momentum - particularly in the truckload sector - continues to gain steam.
Langenfeld added that Baird's Domestic Freight Index dropped to 4.3% year-over-year in September. That's compared to 4.8% year-over-year in August and 4.8% year-over-year for the third quarter of 2010 compared to the same period of 2009. He stressed that all is consistent with a slowing demand in growth that will occur as inventory replenishment subsides and shippers align themselves for a slow-growth economy.
Chris Kuehl, economic advisor for the National Association of Credit Management (NACM), also pointed out the general economic outlook boils down to an economy stuck in slow gear.
"In the overall U.S. economy, there is evidence some progress is being made, but the pace has been excruciatingly slow," Kuehl explained. "The latest data on jobs show that layoffs have slowed, but there is still not much evidence that hiring is underway.
"Durable goods orders were up, but only because there was another surge in orders for aircraft," he continued. "The latest results from the PMI show only modest gains; this pattern is the same in almost every current survey or study."
Kuehl said that while the good news is evidence of economic progress, the bad news is that it is far too slow to make a big impact on the issue of greatest public concern for Americans: Lack of new jobs
"It will take a growth rate above 5% to erode the unemployment numbers," he noted. "But the Commerce Department's recent numbers show that the economy grew at only 2% in the third quarter."
Fleet Owner
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| Refinery and Port Workers in France Vote to End Strike |
November 2, 2010 - Workers at France's 12 refineries, and at the Fos-Lavéra oil terminal in the port of Marseille, have voted to return to work after more than one month of strike action. Refinery workers had been protesting plans by the French government to increase the retirement age in France from 60, to 62 and workers at Fos-Lavéra, as well as in the port of Le Havre, had been blockading oil terminals in protest at government plans to reform port legislation. The resulting refinery shutdowns, together with widespread transport disruption, caused cuts in production at chemical plants throughout France and hampered producers' ability to export chemicals.
Total estimates that shutdowns at its six refineries in France cost the company €5 million-€6 million/day, and that the final cost to the company of the strikes will be about €100 million.
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| China's port cargo throughput up 15.6% in Jan-Sep |
October 29, 2010 - China's cargo throughput of ports above designated size amounted to 5.94 billion tons in the first nine months of this year, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 15.6%, the Ministry of Transport said.
In the first three quarters, the cargo throughput of coastal ports reached 4.05 billion tons, 14.6% more than in the same period of last year, while that of inland ports rose 17.7% from a year ago to 1.89 billion tons.
In September, the cargo throughput of ports above designated size increased 6.3% year on year to 666.48 million tons.
Last month, the cargo throughput of coastal ports above designated size reached 446.84 million tons, while that of inland ports was 219.64 million tons.
Hong Kong Trade Development Council
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Most global container throughput handled in ports in emerging markets | |
November 1, 2010 - APM Terminals Vice President and CFO Christian Moller Laursen noted the "special opportunities" that exist for terminal operating companies in economically emerging markets, but cautioned the audience on risks also associated with such investments.
"The ports industry is very much an emerging market story. In terms of container throughput, two-thirds of the global container throughput is handled in ports in emerging markets. Global port and terminal operators have a lot of capabilities to offer in emerging markets, but these markets need to create an environment conducive to infrastructure investment on the part of operators," stated Mr. Laursen at the Second Annual Port Finance International Conference in London.
Areas such as South America, sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian sub-continent have been traditionally underserved by the modern container shipping industry, but are also among the economically emerging parts of the world where both economic and population growth are projected to significantly increase demands on transportation infrastructure, particularly modern port facilities and container handling capability in the decades ahead.
Speaking on the subject of "Investing In and Developing Ports in Developing and Emerging Markets", Mr. Laursen highlighted the anticipated high growth and utilisation rates for ports and terminals in emerging markets than in mature markets. He also cited the higher risk of changes in leadership, national priorities, currency risk and changes in regulations as potential impediments to project development and completion.
"Emerging markets offer good opportunities in the long term with potential for good returns, but they do have higher risk levels. While there is a level of risk in investing in emerging markets they need to be carefully considered and can be mitigated" said Laursen, adding "operators need to work together with authorities and other stakeholders to secure continuous alignment of goals and strategies".
APM Terminals has been very active in port and terminal development in emerging markets, with these areas representing approximately one third of the company's annual container throughput in 2009. New projects are currently under construction at the Port of Santos, Brazil; Monrovia, Liberia; Cai Mep, Vietnam and expansions in Luanda, Angola; Apapa, Nigeria; Port Said, Egypt and Aqaba, Jordan.
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Landslide devastates Brazilian Port of Manaus | |
November 1, 2010 - The security camera footage shows the torrential flows of mud that swept through the riverside container terminal in the late morning of Sunday 17 October as maintenance work was being carried out.
Two port workers - 31-year-old Pedro Paulo, and 63-year-old Sílvio Barbosa Silva - were confirmed as missing. However, Carlos Gonzaga, president of Sindicargas, the local stevedores union, said he believed at least 10 people could had been swept to their deaths.
A 300-metre crack occurred along the length of the privately owned river terminal as large areas of the terminal patio gave way and crumbled into the river during the disaster, with containers, chassis and port equipment also swept away.
José Ferreira de Oliveira, owner of the port, told local journalists that maintenance work was being carried out to create an embankment when the landslide occurred. It is understood that the work was intended to facilitate access to a floating pontoon, that served as a berth at the facility, after river levels dropped.
The river is at its lowest level since records began in 1902, following the Amazon's worst drought in decades. According to the government's geological service, the Rio Negro was measured at a depth of 13.63 metres, down from a high of nearly 30 metres last year.
Derricks and rafts have been used to recover containers and cargo handling equipment as the cleanup operation progresses and the search for bodies continues.
The area of the port affected measures 400 by 200 metres, totalling around 80,000 sq metres. Further large cracks are understood to have occurred in an area of pavement adjacent to the first landslide.
The port of the Chibatão is responsible for about 40% of cargo movements to and from the industrial centre around the city of Manaus, the Amazonian state capital.
CargoSystems
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