 | Talks underway to create global vetting system |
Januarry 31, 2011 - (LONDON) The United States is in talks with its allies, airlines and maritime groups about creating a global vetting system for international cargo, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has said.
The 'trusted shipper' programme is part of a wider effort to boost the safety of air cargo, whose vulnerability was exposed when militants in Yemen hid two powerful bombs inside printers and shipped them aboard cargo planes to addresses in Chicago late last year.
The plot was only narrowly thwarted when authorities, alerted by intelligence, discovered the bombs while they were still in transit.
The programme would create a list of pre-vetted cargo companies whose goods would be subject to fewer checks, while those outside the programme could expect 'much more intensive inspection', Ms Napolitano told reporters last Friday.
She gave few other details, but a similar programme already exists in the United States for travellers - frequent flyers who pay a flat fee, volunteer biometric information and agree to background checks in order to speed their way through airport security.
Ms Napolitano said that trusted shipper programmes already exist in some form at national levels, but that the US is seeking to standardise the vetting so that criteria are consistent across the world.
She spoke to reporters at the US Embassy in London following meetings with British Home Secretary Theresa May, Transport Secretary Philip Hammond and officials from the International Maritime Organization.
Those meetings covered the programme, airport security scanners and arrangements for the 2012 Olympics in London.
Ms Napolitano said that the talks also touched on the case of Steven Neal Greenoe, a North Carolina man alleged to have smuggled dozens of semi-automatic handguns into the UK by disassembling them and hiding them in his hold luggage.
News of his arrest barely caused a ripple in the US, but the case caused considerable consternation in Britain, where gun crime is rare, pistols are banned and few officers carry guns. Writing in The Times of London, which covered the story on its front page earlier this week, police counter-terrorism chief Andy Hayman called the case 'genuinely shocking', saying that it made 'a mockery of the stringent checks we all endure at US airports'.
Associated Press
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| Operations slow at Suez |
February 1, 2011 - Shipping operations in Egypt are carrying on as usual despite the unrest in the country but vessels at the port of Suez are unable to pick up military escorts for protection through the pirate-prone Gulf of Aden, a senior industry official said yesterday.
Ships have been travelling through the Suez Canal, the main passageway for Europe's crude oil and imported goods, with no reports of delays or cancellations.
Operations at the port have slowed, however, as anti-government protests sweeping the country and a military-imposed curfew have kept supplies and some staff from reaching the docks.
'No ships have been delayed, but there have been no immigration or customs officials to clear security teams for shipments for the past two days,' said a senior coordinator with a shipping firm operating in Suez, who wished not to be named.
'Crew changes for ships have also stopped and some provisions, like food and water, were not reaching the port,' he added.
Half of all vessels that travel through the Suez Canal stop at the port city to resupply, refuel, change crew and pick up security escorts, the company official said.
More than 34,000 vessels passed through the canal in 2009, of which nearly 2,700 were oil tankers carrying some 29 million tonnes of oil, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Ships were now docking at ports in nearby countries, such as Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, to obtain military escorts and supplies.
But Salah Hashim, a spokesman for the Egyptian government's Red Sea Ports Authority, said that his agency had not received cancellations from any ships heading for Egypt.
'All 10 of our ports on the Red Sea, including Suez, are operating normally and cargo loading has not been affected by the ongoing events,' he said by telephone.
The maritime industry has become increasingly reliant on military escorts for protection against Somali pirates when travelling through the Gulf of Aden via the Suez Canal
Reuters
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| US Winter Weather Advisory |
February 01, 2011 - Below is a winter weather advisory we received from MSC's NY division. Midwest US:
A major winter storm moving into the Midwest will impact a significant part of MSC Rail Network in the states of Missouri-Illinois-Indiana-Michigan and Ohio. Chicago is expected to be particularly hard-hit by the severe winter weather system. Snow is forecasted to begin this afternoon in Chicago. The weather service issued a blizzard watch for Tuesday night and Wednesday for southern Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana. Forecasters said snowfall totals could reach up to two feet in some areas. Snow and ice is expected in north Texas and southern Oklahoma where temperatures will fall below -20 degrees across central Montana and parts of Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota.
Northeast US:
Two separate storms will impact the region through Wednesday night with snow, ice and some rain. The two systems combined could bring widespread snow accumulations of 1 to 2 feet across Upstate New York, Northern Pennsylvania and central and southern New England.
New York metropolitan anticipates 3-6 inches of snow and sleet accumulations through Wednesday night.
Rail Delays of 48-72 hours are expected throughout the impacted regions and there may be ramp closures.
Customers with critical shipments or potential storage free time issues should be addressed to the undersigned and we will assist on a case by case basis..
Mediterranean Shipping Company Inc. (New York)
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| Malaysian logistics growth to head north |
January 28, 2011 - (Malaysia) The country's logistics industry is likely to grow 11.5% to RM 121 billion (US$40 billion) this year due to strong external trade and a stable economy forecast. The industry has also been forecasted to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 12.6% to RM 196.5 billion in 2015 due to high technology and capital intensive projects under the 10th Malaysia Plan and the Economic Transformation Programme.
"The likely flow of foreign direct investments into electronics and electrical, solar-related, oil and gas as well as healthcare products industries will intensify the growth of the transportation and logistics market," Gopal R, vice president of transportation and logistics practice for Asia Pacific and Frost & Sullivan country head for Malaysia said.
External trade is likely to increase 10% to RM 1.28 trillion this year from RM 1.16 trillion a year before, Bernama reported.
Sub-sectors such as import-export forwarding, shipping and air freight businesses are also likely to pick up due to growing investors' confidence in Malaysia.
However, Gopal pointed out that the industry's growth may be hindered by the lack of professionals, fragmentation of the sector, and a lack of value-added services from service providers.
Cargonews Asia
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Pollution tax on European hauliers one step closer |
Parliament agrees controversial Eurovignette, but more discussion is needed January 28, 2010 - The European Parliament's Transport and Tourism Committee has begun debating changes to the controversial Eurovignette Directive.
After discussions ranging over some two years, in October, member state transport ministers agreed rules which would see European hauliers having to pay additional road tolls for air and noise pollution.
This week, European Parliament Rapporteur Said El Khadraoui said: "After two years of waiting, it is finally good news that member states have issued a common position, albeit with a narrow majority."
"Now we have four or five months to see whether we can achieve a Second Reading consensus and avoid conciliation."
But El Khadraoui said issues relating to congestion charging, earmarking of revenues, discounts in charging for clean (Euro V and/or VI) and small vehicles (3.5-12 tonne) as well as future steps to improve the system still need to be debated.
He explained that congestion charging had not been included in the proposed directive, so he suggested lorries travelling during off-peak times were offered a Eurovignette discount in heavy traffic areas.
As a result, he suggested, countries could push up tolls by 175% during peak rush hours, but they must be reduced by the same amount during off-peak hours.
The obligation to invest all national toll revenues into transport infrastructure - known as earmarking - was unacceptable to most member states, so El Khadraoui suggested partial earmarking and strong reporting obligations on toll revenues are used.
While the European Parliament has agreed on the principle of higher costs for more polluting lorries, a total derogation for cleaner vehicles until 2018 was said to be too far-reaching.
Shipper and road freight associations have been critical of the Eurovignette proposals.
In October, Nicolette van der Jagt, Secretary General of the European Shippers' Council said its impact could be substantial, particularly in regions where there was no viable or practical alternative to road freight transport.
Alexander Sakkers, of the International Road Transport Union (IRU), branded the proposal "unacceptable" and said ministers had ignored all the taxes, charges and duties already paid by the road freight industry.
At least two years are expected to pass before the new Eurovignette is implemented.
The amendments will initially only affect the 11 EU member states that apply tolls: Portugal, Spain, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Greece, with Poland and Hungary expected to join the scheme later.
International Freighting Weekly
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South Africa Port tariff still too high, say shippers |
January 26, 2011 - The South African Shippers Council said that despite the Ports Regulator of SA restricting the National Port Authority's tariff hike to 4.49 percent in the 2011-12 financial year, it still regarded it as too high a charge for cargo dues, reported Business Day. company was still studying the report from the ports regulator. "The company is disappointed as this will negatively impact our ability to maintain our debt service ratios,'' he said. "We are disappointed by the percentage as we would have preferred a zero increase, but it is a win for all the people who have appealed against this astronomical tariff increase,'' said Fanie Pretorius, chairman of the South African Shippers Council. Council members are not impressed by the low productivity and poor infrastructure at SA's port terminals, he said. The Ports Regulator of SA last week rejected the authority's application for a double-digit 11.91 percent tariff increase.
Tshediso Disenyana, senior manager for maritime industry development at the South African Maritime Safety Authority, also came out strongly against the tariff increase. "There's no justification for the tariff increase when you look at the service provision offered at these ports,'' Disenyana said. He said the increase would affect consumers adversely as cargo owners will now shift the costs to goods and services coming through this channel. Mboniso Sigonyela, spokesman for rail, freight and cargo utility Transnet, said the was still studying the report from the ports regulator. "The company is disappointed as this will negatively impact our ability to maintain our debt service ratios,'' he said.
A global study last year of 12 international port terminals found the Durban port, the busiest in Southern African, to be the most expensive. It charged container ships US$182,151 per docking vessel, which forced SA's vessel owners to register their vessels elsewhere, Disenyana said.
The South African Maritime Authority is lobbying the Department of Transport and others on the high tariffs.
Cargonews Asia
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French Port Strike Stalls Activity for Fourth Day | |
January 31, 2011 - French ports were at a standstill for the fourth successive day Jan. 31 as dock unions and port employers prepared for negotiations Tuesday to end a dispute over pensions that threatens to escalate into an unlimited strike. The Union of French Ports, which represents the major ports including Marseille and Le Havre, in which the government is the sole shareholder, called for talks between the Communist-led CGT union and private employers following the third successive four-day nationwide strike, which is due to end at midnight.
They will be the first substantive talks between the two sides since mid-November, when the CGT warned of widespread industrial action to protest the withdrawal of an agreement in principle on early retirement for up to 6,000 dockworkers with arduous jobs.
The union is demanding four years early retirement, but the government, which raised the minimum retirement age for all French workers in November by two years to 62, is insisting dockworkers can only retire two years early.
The government says two years early retirement, instead of four years, will save nearly $200 million in pension payments at the seven state-owned ports of Le Havre, Marseille, Dunkirk, La Rochelle, Bordeaux, Nantes-St Nazaire and Rouen.
The government is under intense pressure to broker an agreement as strike-bound French ports are losing increasing volumes of traffic to foreign ports, particularly Rotterdam and Antwerp, and there are fears some of the cargoes may not return.
"We have not seen such a situation since the reform of dock labor in 1992," said Christian Leroux, chairman of the Maritime and Port Union which represents around 600 waterfront companies.
Le Havre, France's biggest container port, lost 50 of around 120 container ship calls scheduled for January.
The government, which pushed through its 2008 port reform program in the face of prolonged strikes and overtime and weekend work bans is, however, taking a tough line in the latest dispute.
The government "is firm on the question of two years (early retirement). It's a question of fairness vis a vis the French people," said Transport Secretary Thierry Mariani. Journal of Commerce
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Maersk delays EU manifest fee for Greek Shipments
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January 24, 2011 - China - More than 50% of buyers polled in a global survey say they have the intention of moving away from China due to high purchasing costs and start sourcing for materials from India and Vietnam.
About 68% of procurement professionals polled in a Global Sources survey reported their purchasing strategy being affected by the yuan appreciation, Purcon reported.
Additionally, one third of buyers expected the yuan to strengthen further to 6.5 against the dollar within half a year.
"Given the changing price point of China products, China exporters must work harder to market themselves and justify their higher prices in terms of service, product quality or production volume," Craig Pepples, president of corporate affairs at Global Sources.
The increases in commodity prices are making procurement professionals re-evaluate their sourcing options.
American Shipper
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| Asia's top five container ports recorded healthy growth |
January 31, 2011 - The world's five largest container ports, all in Asia, recorded healthy growth rates in 2010 as their combined volumes increased by 15.4 per cent, Alphaliner reported.
The strong growth has more than made up for the negative growth seen in 2009, when total volumes fell by 13 per cent.
But the growth in 2010 was largely due to the surge in cargo volumes in the first three quarters, when gains at the top five ports went up by 18.1 per cent. After that volume growth slowed at these ports in the fourth quarter, dropping to 8.2 per cent as the impact of inventory restocking eased.
Apart from Shanghai's rise to the number one position, overtaking Singapore, the other ports maintained their positions. Hong Kong maintained its number three spot despite a strong challenge from Shenzhen at number four.
Hong Kong handled 23.5 million TEUs last year, up by 11.8 per cent, while Shenzhen handled 22.5 million TEUs with a growth rate of 23.3 per cent.
Busan recorded a 18.4 per cent growth to handle 14.18 million TEUs and kept its place at number five, with the port of Los Angeles-Long Beach following closely behind at around 14.1 million TEUs.
Transport Weekly
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Imports hit by delays at Bangalore |
January 28, 2010 - Reports suggest some importers are re-routing cargo via Chennai Airport to avoid the extra costs of using Bengaluru, which has been struggling to migrate to a new Indian Customs clearance software system.
Technical glitches as well as customs officer shortages were blamed by shippers. However, B Bhattacharya, the Commissioner of Customs in Bangalore, blamed importers and their agents for taking up to three days to file bills of entry. "Another two to three days goes in paying the customs duty," he added. "Why can't they pay the duty online? There is also a provision to file advance bills of entry, which they don't use." International Freighting Weekly
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| Malaysian logistics growth to head north |
January 28, 2011 - (Malaysia) The country's logistics industry is likely to grow 11.5% to RM 121 billion (US$40 billion) this year due to strong external trade and a stable economy forecast. The industry has also been forecasted to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 12.6% to RM 196.5 billion in 2015 due to high technology and capital intensive projects under the 10th Malaysia Plan and the Economic Transformation Programme.
"The likely flow of foreign direct investments into electronics and electrical, solar-related, oil and gas as well as healthcare products industries will intensify the growth of the transportation and logistics market," Gopal R, vice president of transportation and logistics practice for Asia Pacific and Frost & Sullivan country head for Malaysia said.
External trade is likely to increase 10% to RM 1.28 trillion this year from RM 1.16 trillion a year before, Bernama reported.
Sub-sectors such as import-export forwarding, shipping and air freight businesses are also likely to pick up due to growing investors' confidence in Malaysia.
However, Gopal pointed out that the industry's growth may be hindered by the lack of professionals, fragmentation of the sector, and a lack of value-added services from service providers.
Cargonews Asia
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Asian air cargo volumes back to pre-recession levels |
And international cargo load factor hit record high last year January 27, 2010 - Asian carriers saw air cargo volumes last year rebound to pre-recession levels, according to the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA).
Volumes surged to 5 billion freight tonne kilometres (ftk) in 2010, up 24.2% compared with a year earlier, when they had declined by 10%, year on year, and 2008 when they fell 7% on the previous year.
And despite a 15.5% expansion in capacity last year, the average international cargo load factor gained 4.9 percentage points to reach 70% - a record high.
AAPA Director General Andrew Herdman said the strong rebound in international trade last year had been led by dynamic growth in the Asia-Pacific region.
"Reported monthly growth rates naturally moderated as the recovery phase was completed, but cargo traffic volumes have now surpassed their pre-recession peaks," he added.
"Given expectations of further sustained growth in demand, the outlook for the new year remains broadly positive.
"Indeed, the prevailing shift of political influence and commercial dynamism towards Asia should result in players from the region playing an increasingly important role in shaping the future of the air transport industry."
International Freighting Weekly
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Only China is immune to global shortfall in funding for projects, new report says January 31, 2010 - U.S. infrastructure in rough shape, you say? Bridges collapsing and highways congested? Financing and investment lacking? We're not alone.
In fact, with the exception of China, the world is failing to keep up with the growing demand for freight and passenger infrastructure projects. The problem is most acute in emerging markets, where economic and population growth exceeds global averages, but also is a growing concern in the developed world, particularly the U.S. and Europe.
The world needs to fund and build infrastructure projects worth $42 trillion by 2030, according to a new report by CG/LA, a Washington, D.C.-based infrastructure consulting firm. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development puts the demand substantially higher, at $60 trillion.
But the world is unlikely to be able to finance and manage construction of even half that amount in that timeframe, CG/LA says in the report. "We won't be able to increase spending that fast," said Norman Anderson, president and CEO. "I think we will be able to invest about $24 million from now to 2030. There's no evidence we can satisfy the demand going forward unless we can increase the quality of the infrastructure pipeline."
The CG/LA report says three global regions have the capacity to sustain infrastructure investment: China, the EU 27 and "perhaps" the United States. Only China is moving ahead aggressively, while most other emerging markets have high growth rates but a weak project generation capacity, resulting in infrastructure investment that constantly lags projections.
The report, "The Global Infrastructure Marketplace: The Next 20 Years," says the lag in investment in emerging markets portends a crisis in numerous sectors, especially ports and logistics. Opportunities are greater, it says, for modernizing existing ports and infrastructure to increase throughput, rather than building new ports. The study sees serious bottlenecks in power generation as soon as 2015. Water and wastewater investment continues to lag, presenting the world with a business opportunity and a potential public health catastrophe. If the world cannot find ways to invest more than $24 trillion in needed projects in the next 20 years, "weaker emerging market countries will fall further and further behind as they struggle to create project pipelines, and as financial and engineering firms focus their efforts - and resources - on larger, more reliable markets," the report says. "It also means that underinvestment will persist in sectors serving marginal populations in emerging markets."
Anderson, who presented the report's findings at CG/LA's 4th Annual Global Infrastructure Leadership Forum in New York this month, said the investment shortfall results from a lack of effective public leadership in mobilizing the knowhow and funds to implement needed projects. "The private sector needs to help the public sector get up and running," he said.
Although the private sector has capable leadership and can participate in public-private partnerships where there is an identifiable revenue flow and return, however, it has little stomach for risk in projects where the return isn't clear.
The lack of public sector leadership is particularly acute in the United States. CG/LA asked infrastructure experts around the world to rate the leadership capabilities of their countries in infrastructure. "The U.S. does not rate well," Anderson said.
As a result, public sector infrastructure spending in the U.S. fell from 3 percent of GDP in 1980 to the 1.3 percent range by 2009. In 1980, approximately 70 percent of investment in infrastructure derived from the federal government, but by 2009, that figure had been reversed, with states funding the bulk of investment.
By 2010, 46 states were operating at a deficit, making it unlikely they can shoulder the burden. CG/LA questioned whether the Obama administration wants to facilitate infrastructure development or whether there is an ideological bias against investment. To remedy this, CG/LA called for creation of a National Infrastructure Bank.
Among the so-called BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China, Anderson said only China has a strong public investment sector. India and Brazil have weak public sectors but strong private sector leadership, although the Brazilian planning sector is getting better.
"It takes a long time to build up public sector leadership," he said. "Russia has huge potential, but very low performance."
Indonesia, he said, also is moving in the right direction. Among small countries, Singapore is one of the few making significant investments. The shortfall in infrastructure investment is occurring as global economies transition from those based on low-tech, cheap and plentiful liquids to that of high technology and innovation. The shift is significant because it requires the creation of new business and finance models; is raising the average technical component in infrastructure project costs from an average of 7 percent to about 30 percent; and is driving the emergence of dynamic new players.
The report illustrates the significance of the shift by comparing Brazil and China. Brazil is a land of abundant commodities - grains, minerals and petroleum - where inexpensive liquids such as ethanol are powering nearly a decade of economic growth. China, facing a decided lack of abundance, is throwing intellectual power behind an "electron revolution in infrastructure," including electric cars, batteries, wind power and new smart grid technology.
"China," the report says, "is combining manufacturing and brainpower, while Brazil is in danger of losing its place in the infrastructure revolution."
Journal of Commerce
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