DHL Global Forwarding is building a new logistics centre at Brussels Airport that will involve a EUR27 million (US$34.25 million) investment.
The new facility will occupy 54,000-square metres, including 23,000 square metres of warehouse space to unite the company's air freight activities under one roof at Brucargo West, the airport's freight zone.
According to Jean-Claude Delen, CEO DHL Global Forwarding BeNeLux and France, the company's new logistics platform will reinforce its strategy to focus on the specific logistics needs of its various key industry sectors.
"DHL Global Forwarding's choice for Brucargo strengthens the status of the cargo area and Brussels Airport as a key employment platform in Belgium. Brussels Airport is our country's second economic driver, providing 20,000 direct and 40,000 indirect jobs," Mr Delen said in a statement.
The new building will feature a 1,750 square metres temperature-controlled area to meet the needs of the company's life science customers. It will also be equipped with environmental technologies including solar panel installations and water recovery systems.
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All the major trades saw declines last week as Asia-Europe rates experienced the biggest plunge, down 4.2 per cent to US$1,742 per TEU from the previous week, according to the latest Shanghai Containerised Freight Index (SCFI).
Asia-Mediterranean spot rates contracted 3.2 per cent to $1,872 per TEU for the week.
On the Asia-US trades, east coast rates were down 1.4 per cent week to week to $3,490 per FEU, while rates to the US west coast declined 2.6 per cent to $2,330 per FEU.
Across all trades covered by the index the SCFI was down 2.7 per cent to 1,426 points.
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FOLLOWING its 90 per cent decline in 2011 net profit, Hong Kong's Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) announced that it plans to raise rates again for container shipments transported from north Europe to Asia, beginning June 15 to boost profitability.
OOCL plans to increase freight rates by US$200 per container (TEU and FEU) for all shipments carried on this trade route, the Dow Jones reports.
The latest rate increase comes after OOCL raised its freight rate for the same route by US$200 per box on May 15.
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TIANJIN Port Group (TPG) and Singapore's PSA International (PSA) has signed a "strategic cooperation framework agreement" to further strengthen the collaboration between the companies for the development of Tianjin port.
So far, PSA has invested in two of the port's container terminals, namely Tianjin Port Pacific International Container Terminal (TPCT) and Tianjin Port Alliance International Container Terminal (TACT).
These two facilities have a total of 10 berths that can handle the biggest containerships. This makes "Tianjin Port one of the preferred ports of call for mega containerships in the northeast Asia region," said the joint statement.
Said TPG president Tian Chang Song: "Both organisations recognise the tremendous potential of Tianjin Port as a major container hub in the Bohai Rim to support the further development of industries and hinterland investments in northeast China. Together, TPG and PSA aim to ensure that Tianjin Port will be a world class facility for global container shipping."
Said PSA chief executive Tan Chong Meng: "PSA is committed to give its best expertise and resources to help develop Tianjin Port into a resounding success."
The agreement was signed on May 18 by TPG group president Tian Chang Song and PSA group CEO Tan Chong Meng in the presence of TPG chairman Yu Ru Min and PSA group chairman Fock Siew Wah.
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THE Port of Hamburg, Europe's second largest container port after Rotterdam, reported a 5.2 per cent increase in first quarter volume to 2.2 million TEU, driven by improved trade with the Baltic region and North America.
This compensated for a five per cent decline in container traffic from Asia, mostly attributed to reductions in the cessation of some liner services since the beginning of the year.
"Downturns in the Asia trade are a momentary phenomenon caused by restructuring of various liner services. But we are expecting new east Asia container liner services in the Port of Hamburg in the course of the first half year," said Port of Hamburg Marketing CEO Claudia Roller.
The trend in container throughput with the Baltic area in the first quarter of 2012 was strong. Increases were also achieved in the Europe and America trades. Container traffic with the Baltic region achieved a hike of 19.6 per cent and reached 531,000 TEU.
In the first three months, the Americas trade amounted to 279,000 TEU, achieving growth of 33.3 per cent because of new and extended liner services from Canada via the US and on to South America.
Bulk cargo throughput in the first quarter of 2012 stood at 9.5 million tonnes, 4.8 per cent down from the previous year.
In the first quarter total cargo throughput at Hamburg port reached a volume of 32.6 million tonnes, an increase of 3.8 per cent over the same period last year. General cargo throughput achieved a 7.9 per cent growth to 23.1 million tonnes, primarily powered by the strong trend in exports of containerised general cargo.
"We are delighted that with a 5.2 per cent rise in container throughput in the first quarter. Hamburg is ahead of the 2.4 per cent average growth for the four major ports in the North Range," said Ms Roller, "The excellent result in this segment is what triggered Hamburg's overall growth in the first quarter of 2012. For the remainder of the year we are reckoning on a further increase in total throughput."
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THE Port of Xiamen, in Fujian opposite Taiwan, lifted 2.06 million TEU from January to April this year, an increase of 11.82 per cent year on year, Xinhua reports.
Overall cargo tonnage of the port grew 5.86 per cent to 52.33 million tonnes.
In April, Xiamen handled 573,200 TEU, up 18.06 per cent year on year. The overall monthly tonnage increased 16.77 per cent to 15.48 million tonnes.
During the first four months, Fujian's main seaport handled a total of 3.11 million TEU of containers, up 10 per cent. Cargo tonnage increased 16.7 per cent to 15.48 million tonnes.
In the same period, another major port of Fujian, Fuzhou port, handled 538,400 TEU, up five per cent. Its throughput tonnage increased 13.2 per cent to 33.02 million tonnes.
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GUANGZHOU Railway Huizhou section posted a revenue of CNY1.05 billion (US$166 million) last year, CNY8.9 million more than its annual target, Xinhua reports.
Last year, Guangzhou Railway Huizhou section enhanced its efficiency and optimised its operations, and handled 704,211 tonnes of sea-rail intermodal cargo, a sharp increase of 573 per cent over 2010's volume.
This year, Huizhou section aims to achieve a year-on-year growth of 23 per cent in its cargo movement. To meet the target, the railway is seeking to sign transportation agreements with a number of steel plants and reduce transport charges.
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CHARLESTON, South Carolina, has handled its first project cargo shipment for Toshiba's Westinghouse Electric Company, part of a series of deliveries to the state's nuclear plant over the next few years.
The high, wide and heavy cargo arrived at Charleston's Columbus Street Terminal, and is being shipped to the South Carolina Electric & Gas Company's (SCE&G) nuclear plant expansion 30 miles from the state capital of Columbia.
Crews offloaded a large amount of specialty cargo from the 10,500-ton HR Recommendation, operated by BBC Chartering. From there, the cargo moved by rail and truck to SCE&G's project site.
A US$23-million improvement project completed last year at the 135-acre Columbus Street Terminal to enhance the facility's mix of on-dock rail, storage and heavylift capabilities. The terminal handles a variety of non-container freight, including vehicles, other rolling stock, breakbulk, heavylift and project cargo, including power generation equipment.
"This is a project that will boost port volume and maritime jobs over the course of several years," said Jim Newsome, president and CEO of the South Carolina Ports Authority. "We are very pleased that Westinghouse selected the Port of Charleston for this project, which further establishes our port as the premiere east coast port for power generation moves."
In 2011, the Port of Charleston held a full half of the US south Atlantic ports' market share in the non-containerised power generation segment.
The project, which is scheduled for completion in 2018, involves handling about 24,000 tons of equipment that will be deployed at VC Summer Units 2 and 3 in Jenkinsville, SC.
Thirty ships will deliver machinery and equipment - some pieces weighing up to 700 tons apiece - for onward passage by rail and truck to the site.
Westinghouse Electric Company, now part of Japan's Toshiba group, is also a nuclear energy company and is a leading supplier of nuclear plant products and technologies.
Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
THE US Port of Charleston' s container throughput increased by 7.7 per cent in April compared to the same month the previous year to 123,439 TEU.
According to a statement issued by the South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA), the result marked the strongest April seen at the port since 2008.
Containerised traffic for the 10 months comprising the fiscal year to date (June through April) was up 2.7 per cent from the same period last year, while container volume for the calendar year to date (January through April) increased 7.3 per cent over 2011 levels.
The SCPA's non-container cargo continued its upwards trend, with breakbulk tonnage in the Port of Charleston up 57 per cent in April year on year and up nearly 24 per cent in the fiscal year to date.
Two new, weekly container services connecting the Port of Charleston to markets in Asia in June, including the first direct Vietnam call for the port, will help boost container volumes further.
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SIEMENS Drive Technologies Division is to supply propulsion and power generation systems on Maersk Line's 18,000-TEU Triple E class ships at a order value of millions from Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering.
The twin propulsion systems will include 3 MW shaft generator motors and power generation systems with waste heat recovery systems (WHR). The WHR allows exhaust gas from the engine to be captured and to run combined exhaust gas/steam turbine genset, which in turn generates electrical energy.
United States hits Chinese solar panel manufacturers with a 31pc tariff
The US Commerce Department has applied anti-dumping tariffs on 31 per cent of the US$3.1 billion in Chinese solar panel imports, half the American market by volume, reports the New York Times.
The antidumping decision is among the biggest in American history, covering one of the largest and fastest-growing categories of imports from China.
JinkoSolar, a Chinese solar manufacturer, said the firm might shift production to existing factories in Canada, but some analysts are sceptical that Chinese banks are ready for another round of lending to fund an industry-wide jump abroad.
Many solar panel installers in the United States have opposed tariffs on Chinese panels because the volume helps publicise solar panel use. The tariff is expected to mean price increases, they said.
Li Junfeng, an energy policy maker and regulator in the Chinese government who is also the president of the government-controlled Chinese Renewable Energy Industries Association, said: "This is really dangerous, " adding that Chinese companies would retaliate by filing a trade case at China's commerce ministry accusing big American chemical companies of dumping polysilicon, the main ingredient in solar panels, on the Chinese market.
Wiley Reing trade lawyer Alan Price said: "China sets forth industry-specific Five-Year Plans and then uses national and local subsidies. China's ability to ramp up and overwhelm an industry is unique and particularly devastating with new and emerging technologies."
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THE Estonian national railway, Eesti Raudtee (EVR) experienced a slowdown in cargo transport of 6.8 per cent in the first four months of 2012 to 10.37 million tonnes compared to same period 2011.
But container volumes increased 68 per cent to 17,113 TEU with April boasting of two-fold year-on-year increase at 4,386 TEU, reported Riga-based Baltic Course.
Overall tonnage in April was down year-on-year by 1.9 per cent to 2.49 million tonnes with oil products transport volume down 17.6 per cent to 1.49 million tonnes together with a decline of 13.6 per cent in the first four months at 6.6 million tonnes.
Transshipments fell 2.1 per cent to 8.19 million tonnes during the first four months of the year.
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UPS has shipped 375,000 doses of flu vaccines worth US$9 million half way around the world which involved complex, precise planning flying temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals on five flights from Louisville to Laos.
The vaccines, donated by Walgreens, were transported from the company's healthcare distribution centre in Louisville, Kentucky to Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, after routing through Anchorage, Alaska; Incheon, Seoul; and Shenzhen. They then took 20 hours to get to Vientiane by truck.
Mark Davis, product manager of UPS healthcare logistics, told Atlanta-area Air Cargo World that the big challenge was keeping the vaccines at five degrees Celsius throughout. To overcome this difficulty, the flu vaccines were enclosed in two PharmaPort 360 containers, which are capable of fitting on the smaller-bodied aircraft used in south east Asia.
"UPS Temperature True service with the PharmaPort 360 container was up to the task and performed flawlessly, delivering the vaccine on time, to the right location and in the right condition," he said.
In Laos the vaccines were administered to citizens by healthcare workers from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
Mr Davis expects pharma transport will become a bigger business for UPS. The company opened five pharmaceutical facilities last year in the Americas, Europe and Asia, as well as acquiring Italian pharmaceutical logistics company Pieffe at the end of 2011.
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FINNAIR has started a direct service from Helsinki to Chongqing's Jiangbei International Airport, marking the launch of the first direct flight service between western China and northern Europe, Xinhua reports.
This is the fourth line to China operated by Finnair, using Airbus 330, offering four flights a week, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, taking off at 0940 hrs, reaching Helsinki at 1405 hrs (local time) and returning from Helsinki every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at 1730 hrs (local time), arriving at Chongqing at 0710 hrs the next day.
Helsinki is one of the major air hubs in Europe; passengers can transit via Helsinki to more than 50 European cities.
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MAINLAND China's largest private carrier Hainan Airlines has inaugurated the first service from northern China's hinterland city Taiyuan via southern Hainan provincial capital of Haikou to Singapore, Xinhua reports.
The service uses Boeing 737-800 aircraft, offering two flights a week on Monday and Friday. Singapore-bound flight takes off at 0735 hrs from Taiyuan, reaches Haikou at 1120 hrs, takes off again at 1230 hrs and arrives at Singapore at 1540 hrs. Returning flight takes off from Singapore at 1640 hrs, arrives at Haikou at 2000 hrs, and leaves again at 2110 hrs, before arriving at Taiyuan at 0030 hrs (all local time).
Including the new service, Taiyuan airport is operating international lines to Taipei, Taichung, Hong Kong, Macau, Osaka, Shizuoka, Bangkok, Incheon and Singapore. By the end of the year, the airport's passenger throughput is expected to hit seven million.
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THE terminal operating unit of AP Moller-Maersk Group, APM Terminals posted a 66 per cent increase in first quarter net profit year on year to US$235 million.
First quarter results were positively affected by volume growth in West Africa and after-tax divestment gains of $73 million. The global container terminal market measured in TEU increased by 1.4 per cent from last year.
The number of containers handled by APM Terminals (measured in crane lifts weighted with APM Terminals' ownership interest) increased by 10 per cent from 7.8 million TEU in the first quarter of last year to 8.6 million TEU in the first three months of 2012. Excluding the impact of portfolio changes, volumes increased by five per cent.
"We are pleased with the stable progress - especially since this allows us to invest in locations where our customers need us to provide capacity," said APM Terminals CEO Kim Fejfer.
The quarter showed a varied regional performance, with West Africa and some terminals in Asia demonstrating very high growth rates, whereas volumes in most European terminals were below quarter 2011. Operations in some terminals in North Africa, Europe and the Middle East have been negatively affected by local political unrest or labour issues.
The inland activities continued to contribute positively to the financial performance. The Tariff Authority for Major Ports in India (TAMP) reduced the tariffs for Gateway Terminals India in Mumbai by 44 per cent in February 2012. The ruling is being contested in court due to the potential negative effect on the terminal's profitability.
Significant events during the first quarter include APM Terminals disposing of half of the 50 per cent interest stake in the Xiamen terminal in China with an after-tax gain of $21 million. Further to this, Maersk Equipment Service Company Inc USA, was divested in March 2012 with an after-tax gain of $48 million.
APM Terminals took control of the operations in the Skandia Container Terminal in Gothenburg, Sweden, effective January 4.
The concession agreement governing APM Terminals' Moin Container Terminal (TCM) has received final approval from the Costa Rican authorities. The 18-month implementation phase can now begin.
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