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US, South Korea complete FTA talks | |
Agreement seen to be reached on key outstanding issues
November 10, 2010 - (SEOUL) Top US and South Korean trade officials have completed talks yesterday on sealing a sweeping free trade agreement ahead of this week's Group of 20 (G-20) summit in Seoul, a report said.
Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon and US counterpart Ron Kirk are now waiting for approval from their presidents after wrapping up two days of talks in Seoul, Yonhap News Agency said.
South Korean officials declined to confirm the report.
Presidents Lee Myung-bak and Barack Obama agreed in a telephone conversation last week to strive for agreement before they meet on the sidelines of the G-20 summit which runs from Thursday to Friday.
The United States has pressed South Korea for greater access for US automobiles and beef under the trade deal, which was negotiated in 2007 but has not been ratified by either country's legislature.
Yonhap said the two sides might have reached an agreement on key outstanding issues.
Seoul appeared to have made concessions in the car sector, although it remained firm in its policy of importing beef only from cattle less than 30 months old for fear of mad cow disease, it said.
Their meeting in Seoul covered US car industry complaints about South Korean tax and regulatory policies.
Mr Kim said on Monday that he was trying to find a 'balanced' deal on a demand by Washington that Seoul ease tough standards on fuel economy and gas emissions.
He said US negotiators had expressed concern about South Korea's strict safety and other standards aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
From 2015, South Korea will ask all manufacturers to produce cars that average at least 16.7 kilometres per litre of gasoline.
The United States also wants South Korea to scrap or limit duty drawbacks, which allow refunds for tariffs levied on imported parts used by carmakers.
Two-way trade was worth US$66.7 billion in 2009, down sharply from US$84.7 billion in 2008 because of the economic downturn.
AFP
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BDP introduces tank asset management tool | |
November 9, 2010 - BDP International has introduced a new solution to help operators of tank containers and MEGCs keep track of their assets. "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," explains Andrew Piazza, director of BDP's Centrx supply chain consulting unit. "As a result, these assets often sit idle for weeks if not months awaiting their next move." BDPSmart Tower, believed to be the first of its kind, addresses the long-standing problem of how to simplify and improve the management of the tank fleet.
Hazardous Cargo Bulletin
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Mexico container throughput up 33% in 2010 | |
November 5, 2010 - Container ports in Mexico handled 2.7 million TEUs in the first nine months of 2010, a 33 percent increase from the same period in 2009, according to research by maritime consultant Dynamar.
An overwhelming majority of the country's throughput is handled at four ports -- Manzanillo and Lazaro Cardenas on the country's West Coast and Veracruz and Altamira on the East Coast. Those four ports handled 93.6 percent of the country's throughput in the first three quarters of the year. That's almost exactly equal with their collective share of the country's throughput in the last two years.
Nearly two-thirds of Mexico's throughput is handled at Manzanillo and Lazaro Cardenas, which have a joint 62 percent share. Much of the country's growth is occurring at these two ports, with Manzanillo's volume growing 40.9 percent so far this year, and Lazaro Cardenas 39.2 percent.
In comparison, volume at Veracruz has grown 21.7 percent and at Altamira 25.9 percent.
American Shipper+
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| Chinese port Tianjin plans $1.95 billion expansion |
September 30, 2010 - The Chairman of Tianjin Port (Group) Co Ltd., Yu Rumin, told audiences at a Davos Forum in Tianjin that Tianjin port in northeastern China is planning a $1.95 billion expansion.
"The [Tianjin] port should be built into one like Rotterdam or Antwerp, with a port hinterland, a large stock of goods for transportation, plenty of ships passing through it and a great many shipping enterprises registered there," he said in remarks quoted by the Chinese newspaper China daily.
In his speech, Yu said the Tianjin government, which has already crafted a blueprint to develop the Tianjin Binhai New Area into an international shipping hub, is committed to the expansion.
"We will construct a logistics network which could cover all the hinterlands, and, to that effect, we have built 16 dry ports," Yu said.
"In addition, our real estate projects are different from those of other companies. They will focus on providing support for port-related industries such as logistics and manufacturing."
According to Yu, Tianjin port will achieve 400 million metric tonnes of total cargo throughput, "so long as the overall economic situation does not worsen too much in the remainder of this year."
Tianjin port is believed to be the third largest port in China and the world's fifth largest.
Portworld
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OOCL announces rate increases on North East Asia-Australia services | |
October 1, 2010 - To ensure the continued provision of high quality services and sufficient capacity to cater for its customer requirements, OOCL is implementing the next phase of its revenue recovery programme with effect from October 15, 2010.
Freight rates for traffic from North East Asia (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea) to Australia, will be increased by USD 250 per TEU.
Transportweekly
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Logistics construction bustles in Nanning ahead of ASEAN trade |
October 28, 2010 - SINCE the establishment of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement, many new logistics facilities in Nanning, capital of southwestern Guangxi Autonomous Region, has been under construction, said Xinhua.
In Jiangnan district, a new wholesale and logistics centre for agricultural produce involving a CNY1.5 billion (US$223.1 million) investment is being built. The facility occupies 46.7 hectares with a floor area of 600,000 square metres, and will be able to generate a trade volume of more than 1.7 million tonnes.
Another facility for industrial-use raw materials is also under construction. The project will cost CNY1.2 billion.
The report said Nanning aims to develop itself into a regional logistics hub for trade between China and ASEAN countries.
XinHua |
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China Cargo to make Singapore debut | |
October 8, 2010 - A new all-cargo carrier, Shanghai-based China Cargo Airlines, will start operations at Changi Airport from October 9, according to the Straits Times.
A joint venture between China Eastern Airlines and China Ocean Shipping, the airline will be the third freighter carrier that Changi welcomes this year; the other two being Malaysia's Transmile Air and Indonesia's Tri-MG Airlines.
The new carrier will operate 12 weekly flights with Boeing 777-200F and MD-11F aircraft, linking Singapore with Bangkok and Shanghai, Changi Airport Group said.
With the arrival of China Cargo Airlines, there will be 16 such carriers operating at the airport. The new services commence as cargo traffic continues on its uptrend, the airport said.
For the first eight months of the year, total cargo throughput rose 15 per cent compared with the same period last year, with about 1.19 million tonnes moved.
In the same period, cargo carriage between Singapore and China has grown by 25 per cent year-on-year. China is one of Singapore's top three markets for cargo operations.
Cargonews Asia
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AirBridgeCargo extends all-cargo services from China | |
September 27, 2010 - Russia's AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC) has announced its extension of all-cargo services from China with a twice-weekly B747-400 freighter flight from Zhengzhou to Europe, according to the Shipping Gazette.
Flights from the capital of Henan province depart from Zhengzhou Wednesdays and Saturdays to ABC's hub in Moscow and then continue on to Frankfurt, connecting central China with Europe and Russia. AirBridgeCargo aims to increase frequencies to four B747F flights per week by the end of the year.
Following the accelerated development of inland regions prioritised by China Central government, Henan province - as the most populous province in China with a population of over 100 million - is attracting investment from major export-oriented manufacturers, said ABC.
"Companies investing in the region appreciate the advantages of the province's well developed land transportation network, favourable investment climate, and access to land, labour, and other resources at competitive cost," said a company statement.
"The link between Zhengzhou and global cargo markets will also benefit the development of neighbouring cities such as Wuhan, Chongqing, and Chengdu, that will have easier and better access to airfreight capacity," the statement continued.
Zhengzhou is ABC's its fourth destination in China, joining Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Since it started in 2004, ABC has been increasing its presence in China, offering double daily service to Shanghai, and daily flights to both Beijing and Hong Kong using its modern and growing fleet of B747-400F aircraft.
Transportweekly
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All Nippon Airlines launches Jakarta and Manila services | |
October 7, 2010 - All Nippon Airways (ANA) - Japan's second largest carrier - will add two further international destinations to its network, commencing in 2011.
In March 2011, ANA will commence daily services form its Tokyo (Narita) hub to Manila, Philipines using B767-300ER aircraft.
Meanwhile, the airline will re-start daily services to Jakarta, Indonesia from January 2011, also using B767 aircraft, after a break of 3 years.
ANA is also increasing its freighter operations to China this month (October), with the addition of two flights to Shanghai Pudong, bringing the total to six per week.
ANA is a particularly important cargo carrier for the hi-tech and pharma sectors which make up a large proportion of airfreight exports.
The Irish air cargo industry's efforts to support this global trade are complicated by restricted capacity and the limited range of direct airline services available. ANA's cargo GSSA of more than ten years, IAM, overcomes these obstacles by operating dedicated express overnight road feeders to connect with ANA's 7 flights per week from London Heathrow, providing a virtual direct service for the Irish market.
Says IAM's MD Ian McCool: "Every extra frequency and new destination is invaluable to the Irish market. ANA's daily B777 service to its Tokyo hub already provides Irish freight agents with a high-quality service that has won strong support here. These extra destinations and additional capacity will be most welcome."
ANA already operates services to 50 destinations in Japan and 35 other international points. Its fleet comprises 168 passenger- and 7 cargo aircraft, with 86 further aircraft on order - including 50 Boeing 787 Dreamliners. ANA plans to launch a new low-cost airline with Hong Kong's First Eastern Investment group, which is expected to begin operations in the second half of 2011 on domestic and international routes from Osaka Kansai International Airport.
International Airline Marketing Limited (IAM) is Ireland's largest air cargo general sales and service agent (GSSA), responsible for over 20% of all airfreight traffic from Ireland. Working on behalf of leading carriers including American Airlines, Air Canada, South African Airlines and Jet Airways, IAM forms the core of an expanding group whose activities also include cargo trucking, cargo handling and aviation training.
IAM is the exclusive Irish member of EGSAC, the world's largest cargo GSSA network with 130+ stations in 30+ countries.
Transportweekly
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| American Airlines wants LA-Shanghai route |
October 7, 2010 - American Airlines wants a third non-stop China route between Los Angeles and Shanghai.
If approval comes through, a non-stop daily service on a Boeing 777 seating 247 passengers would begin April 5 next year. Los Angeles-Shanghai is the largest air travel market between the US and China, but currently it is served only by China Eastern Airlines.
There are currently 28 unused weekly frequencies available under the US- China Air Transport Agreement, and this new service would take up seven of them. American currently flies from Chicago to both Shanghai and Beijing.
The Street reports that American Airlines is offering to balance this by using Hong Kong - a hub for partner Cathay Pacific whose Dragonair subsidiary serves 15 Chinese cities - and Tokyo, where hub carrier Japan Airlines serves six Chinese cities. After all, as the airline's vice president of strategic alliances, Kenji Hashimoto, said: "There are a lot of airlines in China."
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| Changi, Munich airports ink pact |
November 8, 2010 - CHANGI Airport Group (CAG) has signed a cooperation agreement with Munich Airport to step collaboration between the two major air transportation hubs.
The pact, finalised at the 20th ACI World General Assembly, the annual conference of Airports Council International, reaffirmed plans for systematic expansion of contacts between the two airports.
Both sides pledged to learn from one another and continue improving processes for customers by exchanging experiences.
CAG CEO Lee Seow Hiang and Munich Airport CEO Michael Kerkloh also agreed to meet at least once a year to assess progress and coordinate further project stages.
The new partnership is significant in view of the above-average increases intraffic between Singapore and Europe.
Both airports have the opportunity to gain more detailed insights into each other's growth markets.
Singapore and Munich are connected by 28 weekly flights operated by Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines.
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