RATES from Asia to Europe softened again this week, slipping 2.1 per cent to US$1,708 per TEU, according to the Shanghai Containerised Freight Index (SCFI).
Asia-Mediterranean rates were also down, dipping 0.9 per cent to $1,747 per TEU.
But rates from Asia to the US west coast increased 5.7 per cent to $2,415 per FEU, and by 1.1 per cent to $3,556 per FEU on the Asia-US east coast route.
Across all trades covered by the index, the SCFI was up 0.6 per cent to 1,426.23 points.
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American exports in February rose 9.6 per cent year on year, driven by strong gains in paper and paperboard, building materials and reefer, according to PIERS data.
Northeast Asia led US containerised exports, showing a 12 per cent gain to 459,713 TEU year on year and represented 45.3 per cent of total export volume. Shipments to north Europe increased 19 per cent to 135,384 TEU.
February's total of 1,014,176 TEU represented a four per cent increase from January volume.
Shipments of paper and paperboard, including paper waste, was the largest export up 18 per cent to 154,271 TEU. Animal feed came in second, up 12 per cent to 48,227 TEU.
Scrap metal increased 28 per cent to 13,139 TEU as poultry soared 62 per cent to 22,267 TEU and frozen fish shot up 157 per cent to 10,524 TEU and building materials skyrocketed nearly 300 per cent to 13,788 TEU.
But raw cotton and fabric exports fell 15 per cent to 37,692 TEU. Logs and lumber were off seven per cent to 27,425 TEU and synthetic resins dropped 21 per cent to 16,488 TEU.
Strong gains also were posted in exports to the Caribbean, up 49 per cent to 55,813 TEU, and the west coast of South America, where exports increased 16 per cent to 35,621 TEU, boosted by increased shipments of paper and paperboard, PVC resins and auto parts.
Exports to the Mediterranean fell 18 per cent to 40,841 TEU while southeast Asia volumes fell nine per cent to 73,973 TEU.
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DURING the first three months this year, port of Chongqing handled 179,200 TEU, 21.2 per cent more than in the same period one year ago, Xinhua reports.
In the same period, the port recorded a throughput tonnage of 27.83 million tonnes, up 13.4 per cent. Foreign trade cargo throughput grew 25 per cent to 942,000 tonnes.
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CONTAINER volumes through Puget Sound ports were up and down in the first quarter with Tacoma traffic up 3.1 per cent while Seattle's throughput fell five per cent.
Results were better in March with Tacoma gaining 14.6 per cent in imports while exports were up 10.4 per cent year on year, and Seattle volume increased five per cent with exports leading with a separate 8.3 per cent increase.
First quarter breakbulk results did well in Tacoma where volumes increased 93 per cent year on year, resulting from a robust demand for machinery and construction equipment.
Seattle March grain also increased 20 per cent, and intermodal lifts were up 15 per cent. Seattle's total international container volume in March increased 6.5 per cent year on year. The port's total of containers handled, including empties and the coastal trade with Alaska, was up 5.8 per cent.
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HAPAG-LLOYD is launching a new express connection from Germany through the Baltic region called the Russia Express Service (REX) linking Hamburg and Bremerhaven, its two European hubs, to Russia, Finland and Poland.
Two vessels each with a capacity of 1,400 TEU that meet the highest standard for ice-class ships will be used to operate the REX service.
From the beginning of May the service will call weekly at the ports of Bremerhaven, Hamburg, St Petersburg, Helsinki, Gdynia and back to Bremerhaven.
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DUBAI's DP World has welcomed the 6,606-TEU PIL Kota Carum, one of the largest ships to call at Aden Container Terminal (ACT), reports TradeArabia News Service.
The vessel, owned by Singapore's Pacific International Lines (PIL), came alongside for 21 hours and 14 minutes, a "premium turnaround time" for loading and discharge of cargo, said the report.
"We congratulate Pacific International Lines and its new vessel on her maiden visit to Aden and the Red Sea, the busiest sea trade transit route in the world," said Faisal Al Qahtani, vice president and managing director of DP World, Middle East.
"This port call once again demonstrates the efficient gateway and transshipment role played by DP World Aden and its importance to Yemen's domestic economy. We commend DP World Aden's team for the meticulous ability with which they safely and efficiently discharged and loaded a ship of this size."
Said DP World Aden general manager Arthur Flynn: "PIL Kota Carum is among the largest ships to visit us and we thank PIL for their confidence in DP World Aden's service capabilities. DP World Aden's natural deepwater harbour and proven operational efficiencies has made it possible for us to handle this mega liner. We are proud that our operations team was able to safely achieve an excellent turnaround time."
With its 16-metre alongside, DP World Aden occupies a strategic position as a gateway port to meet the needs of Yemen's importers and exporters, the statement said.
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THE Port of Savannah posted an 8.3 per cent increase in container volume to 759,000 TEU in March year on year, beating the previous record set in April last year, reported the Georgia Ports Authority.
For fiscal year 2012 through March, the GPA has handled 19.5 million tons of cargo, an increase of 280,035 tons over the same period in FY2011. Of that total, container traffic accounted for 16.5 million tons or 2.2 million TEU, with an export to import ratio of 53.71 per cent to 46.29 per cent.
"We are cautiously optimistic about continued market recovery that will spur additional manufacturing and distribution opportunities," said GPA executive director Curtis Foltz.
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THE Port of Marseilles-Fos has posted a 26 per cent increase in first quarter container volume to 260,000 TEU based on a poor performance last year and only six per cent better than in the first quarter in 2010, say port authorities.
Overall cargo throughput was only up one per cent year on year to 22 million tonnes in the first quarter with boxes leading gains, and general cargo up 23 per cent to 4.2 million tonnes on the back of revitalised container volumes, reported London's International Freighting Weekly, adding that gains were attributed to a "manifest improvement in reliability" following last year's national port reforms.
Ro-ro services contributed 980,000 tonnes, a five per cent increase, resulting from increased trade with Corsica, while conventional cargo was up 27 per cent to 690,000 tonnes rising on increased demand for steel.
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INTTRA, an e-commerce provider for ocean shipping and founder of the Ocean Freight Advisory Board representing the major carriers and forwarders, announced it will expand membership by 25 per cent.
The Ocean Freight Industry EIPP Standards Advisory Board mission is to lead the ocean freight industry towards greater efficiency through automated electronic invoicing and payment.
Member organisations encompasses ocean carriers, 3PL providers, forwarders and NVOCC, Companies that recently joined the advisory board include: Leschaco, Sinotrans, Damco, Ecu Line, Geodis Wilson.
Said Maersk Line's Steen Larsen, a board member: "Our diverse membership is certainly an important and welcome quality that is essential to creating industry solutions that address the needs of the various segments."
Ecu Line CEO Marc Stoffelen said its membership this year supports future electronic presentment and payment standardisation which will benefit his niche market.
"By adopting automated bill presentment and payment, the process will be more accurate, transparent and settlements will be faster and uniform. It provides a better way to analyse payment behaviour and incorrect billing," said Mr Stoffelen.
INTTRA's efforts received a boost last week at the Containerisation International Global Liner Shipping Conference in London when Maersk's chief commercial officer Lucas Vos told delegates of the need to cut administrative costs.
"Invoicing is a complete nightmare" because of all the different charges and surcharges, he said. "We need simple rate structures. Let's rely on companies like INTTRA."
Global ocean freight organisations from North America, Europe, and Asia gather twice a year for general advisory board meetings in addition to working teams that focus on developing specific standards and processes for the industry. The next meeting will be in Copenhagen this week.
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POLISH home improvement retailer, OBI, has signed a two-year warehousing and distribution contract with Kuehne + Nagel to manage its import sea freight for its stores nationwide.
The new contract will oversee the entire OBI supply chain beginning at the container terminal in Asia, including the intermodal pre-haulage and warehousing services in Poland and finishing with the final delivery to the OBI stores. Data exchange with the suppliers is processed via the OBI supplier integration platform.
OBI Poland board member Adam Rosinski said in a company statement: "Combining the international with the domestic shipment flows gives us the opportunities to lever the information across the whole process, which is important in our business which has a strong seasonal focus."
The hub operation is managed in a facility located at the intersection of A1 and S8 in Piotrkow Trybunalski, 130 kilometres south of Warsaw.
In order to provide transparent and reliable distribution services to over 40 OBI stores across Poland, Kuehne + Nagel has developed a booking application which allows all OBI stores to view the central stock in order to avoid shortages. Value-added-services such as labelling and cross docking pallets for some suppliers complement the service portfolio.
The project was implemented within three months following Kuehne + Nagel's proven CTI (Customer Transition & Integration) methodology. The process ensures a smooth transition an integration of the customer's business using experienced project specialists, standardised tools and systematic knowledge transfer.
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CEVA Logistics has renewed Ecuadorian state-owned oil company Petroamazonas contract under which it will provide import and export services, expand breakbulk, ocean freight and air freight for drilling operations.
The contract renewal comes as Petroamazonas has opened a new drilling block and taken over fields from another government drilling entity, Petroproduccion.
Said Petroamazonas supply chain chief Augusto Gortaire Cordovez: "We need a partner that can support our expansion opportunities while still maintaining our current operations without letting anything slip."
CEVA has been working for Petroamazonas for nearly three years, providing logistics support for drilling operations as well as services, arranging pickup at origin and managing the freight through to final destination.
Said CEVA account executive Geary Evans: "This renewal signifies our commitment to Petroamazonas and the oil and gas industry."
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LOGISTICS company, Gefco Romania, has announced its revenue was up 30 per cent to EUR43.3 million (US$56.6 million), reports the newsportal romania-insider.com .
"We continued to conclude successful partnerships, to make investments on the Romanian market, and despite the unstable economic situation, we managed to exceed the objectives set at the beginning of the year," said Christophe De Korver, managing director Gefco Romania.
In 2011 Gefco Romania operated over 20,000 trucks, up from 8,600 trucks in 2010, according to the company. About 1,760 TEU were transported by sea last year, while 545 containers were transported by air.
Last year, the company increased the number of employees by 12, reaching a total of 94.
Gefco Group, which posted a turnover of EUR 3.7 billion in 2011, currently operates in 150 countries around the world with more than 10,000 employees.
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HONG KONG's premier cargo handler, Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) has set up the first IATA-Authorised Training Centre (ATC) for cargo in Hong Kong to increase the level of competence and the qualification of air cargo workers.
The IATA Training and Development Institute (ITDI), a leading source of international training and professional development programmes serving all sectors of the aviation industry, has developed the IATA International Cargo Training Programme which incorporates distance learning for students wishing to upgrade their professional competence or start a career in the industry. These courses are delivered in hundreds of classrooms worldwide leading to internationally recognised certificates or diplomas through IATA's network of ATCs.
The ATC operators abide by a comprehensive procedure manual, training staff must meet strict criteria regarding experience and qualifications, and the ATC premises and instructors are regularly audited to maintain consistent teaching quality.
The Hactl ATC will start in the second half of 2012 and will provide a wide range of IATA training courses covering subjects such as dangerous goods, live animals, infectious substances and perishables. The centre will use Hactl's large existing training centre which has recently been used to train Hactl staff and its customers in the use of the new COSAC+ IT system introduced by Hactl in late 2011.
The ATC centre will be headed by Simon Yap, in his new position as manager of operation training services.
"Hactl has a long and solid reputation for training. We have trained thousands of airline and forwarding staff in the use of the community IT system which we introduced in the late 70s, and have also conducted airline staff training at various customer locations around the world," said Mr Yap.
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EUROPE seeks a single comprehensive air cargo security standards with the United States to streamline the flow of trade in the first step of accepting Europe's robust standards "as equal to their own", said the Association of European Airlines (AEA).
The adoption of an EU-wide deal will "simplify the process for airlines and remove unnecessary duplication" on both sides of the Atlantic, said AEA secretary-general Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus, of its network of 34 carriers.
A number of bilateral agreements with the US and Finland, France, the Netherlands, Ireland and the United Kingdom are a "concrete foundation" towards a wider agreement and "highest possible security levels."
"Once we have a critical build-up of US approvals, an EU-wide deal will be a simple next step. These audits should give the US confirmation, if it is really needed, that European regulators take air cargo security extremely seriously," said Mr Schulte-Strathaus.
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LUFTHANSA Cargo Charter Agency has extended the contract it signed almost a year ago with general sales agent, Platinum Air Cargo, to cover additionally California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, according to Heavy Lift magazine.
The initial agreement covered Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma and mainly dealt with the oil and gas industry. Now a further focus will be put on aerospace, high-tech and other industries on the US west coast, said a statement by the air charter services company.
"Platinum Air Cargo was our first try with the GSA model," said Andrew Morch, general manager the Americas for Lufthansa Cargo Charter Agency, "and it has proven to be a success. It brings additional business without having to take the risk of taking on own staff. So whatever the economical ups and downs, you stay flexible."
Timothy Pfeil, vice president sales and airline relations, Platinum Air Cargo, said: "Adding our know-how and customer relations to the Lufthansa Cargo Charter expertise makes us a great team. We've done some very good jobs together and will do a lot more now with the extended reach."
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