CONTAINER shipping lines have idled five per cent, or 800,000 TEU, and more lay-ups are to come, says Maersk Line new CEO Soren Skou, who expects a million TEU to be laid up, a level not experienced since downturn year of 2009, said Reuters.

Mr Skou said growth would slow to five to eight per cent, a steep fall from the 10 to 11 per cent enjoyed since the mid-1980s because of faltering western economic activity bringing with it a slowdown in Asian production.

"Demand growth will be less than what it was in the past," Mr Skou said. We are not ruling out laying up ships over the summer if the market is growing less than expected."

Maersk has already removed 9.5 per cent of its Asia-Europe capacity and has decided against ordering 10 more 18,000-TEU (Triple-E) ships and says it will continue to retain 15.5 per cent market share despite cuts.

Maersk can withdraw another nine per cent as the contracts for 20 per cent of its chartered vessels are due to expire this year, Mr Skou said.

The container shipping industry, which lost an estimated US$5.2 billion last year, according to Drewry Shipping Consultants, is starting to lay-up ships to support increased rates.

In 2011, average freight rates were eight per cent lower than 2010 while bunker prices increased 35 per cent, said Maersk.

Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News

DOCKERS earning US$300,000 a year, and some $400,000, for supposedly 24/7 service when they hardly show up at all is angering both the port officials and New York Shipping Association member companies that must pay them.

Patrick Foye, executive director for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, is wading through cases of "low-show" jobs at shipping terminals. "Payment of certain select people for 24 hours of work seven days a week when in fact they only work a few hours is wrong," Mr Foye said.

"The port authority has invested billions in the transportation infrastructure in the region, including billions in the region's ports, and is being asked to invest billions more. But before the industry can, issues of low-show jobs where certain selected members are paid 24-7 for a few hours of work have to be addressed," Mr Foye said.

"If the container terminals are claiming that business is tough and that it is hard to remain competitive with other ports, it's hard to justify that in terms of certain select members are being paid 24-7 for a few hours of work - low-show jobs is what I call that," Mr Foye told American Shipper.

Responding Jim McNamara, a spokesman for the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA), said the port authority has nothing to do with the negotiations between the union and United States Maritime Alliance and the New York Shipping Association.

NYSA president Joe Curto, representing employers said: "Any of the work practices have been known to us for some time and we can no longer defend the indefensible."

The Waterfront Commission, which fights crime in the port, held hearings in 2010 to examine what it said were featherbedding practices where some longshoremen are paid around the clock even if they do not show up.

Waterfront Commission executive director Walter Arsenault protested that there are 285 longshoremen who make more than $300,000 a year and several that make more than $400,000 a year.

Mr Foye's demands come as management and the International Longshoremen's Association, which represents dock workers in New York and up and down the east and gulf coasts, are scheduled to begin negotiations on a new contract to replace the current agreement that expires on September 30.

Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News

ALREADY tense US east coast labour-management set to start formally in the next two weeks will stand as a model for North American dockers, says Vancouver-based International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) president Tom Dufresne.

In an interview with London's Containerisation International, Mr Dufresne said his ILWU Canada was postponing plans to see what transpires in the US east coast negotiations with the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and their employers group.

A harsh tone was set when ILA president Harold Daggett made it plain that a strike was not off the table and indicated that negotiations would be stormy over new technology and employers' efforts to cut the waterfront labour force by moving some work away from the docks.

Port of Vancouver CEO Robin Silvester is proud of last year's eight-year peace deal with the ILWU and feels certain the port would win cargo from shippers worried about east coast labour talks.

"We will win some cargo - some shippers switched away from us without a strike just while negotiations were going on here, in west coast Canada while we were negotiating the new contracts in 2010. Shippers now know we have stability here, while there is no stability in the US," he said.

But Mr Dufresne said: "If there's going to be greater automation, then we want to make sure that it is not going to be just a machine plus an outsourced job to someone other than a member of the ILWU. A lot is going to depend on east coast negotiations. This could set a pattern for North America. It could give us a blue print of what to do and what not to do."

Mr Dufresne said that the ILWU had started apprenticeship programmes along the west coast to help dockers learn new technology to keep their jobs, but the schemes have not been put into action, partly because the west coast union wants to see what happens in the east coast ILA talks.

Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News

GLOBAL third party logistics providers specialising in customised freight forwarding and supply chain solutions, Damco, has signed a three-year contract to serve as the Asia Pacific lead logistics service provider for Basel-based Syngenta, the world's largest agri-business.

Under the agreement, Maersk's standalone forwarder Damco will arrange and manage Syngenta's global shipments of raw materials and finished goods from factories throughout Asia, providing end-to-end visibility.

The company will also provide integrated supply chain management services, including control tower, carrier management, and land-side services for all Syngenta shipments from China, India, Japan, Singapore, Korea, Thailand and Indonesia.

"This contract is a testament to Damco's position as a leading supply chain management provider in retail, technology and chemical industries," said Damco CEO Rolf Habben Jansen.

"We have a global footprint, with more than half of our staff in emerging markets. Together with our dedicated team of supply chain development specialists, this gives us the hands-on knowledge to optimise our customers' supply chains," he said.

Said Syngenta logistics chief Roger Herzog: "We are very pleased to have reached this agreement with Damco, one of the logistics industry's leading experts. This agreement, appointing them as our lead logistics service provider in Asia Pacific, is a critical element of our logistics strategy and also demonstrates our commitment to build a long-term relationship with them."

Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News

SWISS forwarding giant Panalpina has launched four less-than-container load (LCL) services for Latin America through its in-house carrier Pantainer Express Line and connecting to important ports of Santos; Port of Veracruz, Mexico City; Port of Guayaquil, Ecuador and Port of La Guaira, Venezuela.

The new guaranteed weekly services will connect Buenaventura (Colombia) with Guayaquil (Ecuador) and Colon (Panama) as well as Santos (Brazil) with Colon and Veracruz (Mexico) with La Guaira (Venezuela). Transit time from Mexico to Venezuela is reduced by 15 days.

The new LCL services will provide weekly pickup and deliveries to Buenaventura to Guayaquil and Santos to Colon; Buenaventura to Colon and Veracruz to La Guaira. The new direct service from Veracruz to La Guaira allows for a 12-day transit time, a reduction of 15 days from the previous routing. Direct transit from Buenaventura to Colon takes four days and six days to Guayaquil. Transit time for Santos to Colon is 17 days.

The service to Panama will allow customers access to Central America and Caribbean and existing services that Panalpina operates out of Colon to Central America and the Caribbean.

"The service from Santos to Colon is a great example," said Panalpina's country manager for Panama Markus Jornot in a statement of Colon as a natural transshipment port from Panama Canal. "It connects Brazil's booming economy with Central America."

Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News

GLOBAL supply chain provider CEVA Logistics has started three less than container load (LCL) services from Shanghai and Singapore to three locations in Australia: Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle, the company said.

Transit time from Shanghai to Sydney is 16 days, serving the Brisbane area. With expedited cargo clearance at CEVA's container freight station (CFS) upon arrival, delivery to final destinations in Sydney happens just three to five days after the vessel arrives in port and to Brisbane within a further two days.

The Shanghai-Melbourne transit, also serving Adelaide, is 19 days and also benefits from faster freight availability through CEVA's CFS in Melbourne. The company is delivering locally in Melbourne within three to five days of vessel arrival, with guaranteed overnight transit to Adelaide. Both the Brisbane and Adelaide moves are managed by CEVA Ground, CEVA's specialist organisation which provides full transport management services through its integrated road linehaul service.

The Singapore to Fremantle transit time is seven days, with faster freight availability at CEVA's Perth CFS.

Shanghai and Singapore's strategic locations make them ideal regional hubs to connect Asia with the rest of the world, and CEVA's integrated network offers direct access to over 100 transshipment destinations throughout southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent.

Said CEVA's LCL chief Greg Scott: "With Shanghai and Singapore recognised as two of the world's busiest ports, these new routes provide much needed services into Australia. Goods are safely in CEVA's control from start to finish."

Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News

GLOBAL provider of e-commerce solutions to the ocean freight industry, INTTRA, and Tradeshift, an online electronic invoice network, have devised a method to enable carriers to manage invoices and resolve billing disputes on common electronic platform.

"Tradeshift brings affordable e-invoicing to companies by consolidating all their suppliers onto a single network in the cloud," said Tradeshift CEO Christian Lanng.

"Our alliance with INTTRA brings an integrated electronic invoicing solution to ocean freight carriers, forwarders, and shippers that enables them to implement effective and efficient electronic invoicing across their entire organisation. It provides for the complex ocean-specific invoicing and electronic dispute management that they require."

Said INTTRA chief executive Ken Bloom: "INTTRA eInvoice provides ocean carriers and their customers with electronic invoice presentation, automated matching of carrier invoices to estimates, and automated dispute management capabilities that can be implemented in concert with any electronic invoicing and payment system."

Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News

THE untamed world economy, propelled by unsustainable lifestyles and the uncontrolled exploitation of natural resources, carries the seeds of its own destruction, as massive climate change inches closer, natural disasters occur more often and frequently disrupt supply chains.

This is the dark world view espoused by Deutsche Post DHL as outlined in its new study: "Delivering Tomorrow - Logistics 2050."

It said that from the perspective of the logistics industry the possible scenario outlined above would lead to a massive increase in demand for logistics and transport services, with companies even outsourcing their production processes to logistics companies.

The study paints five different scenarios of the potential state of the world in 2050 and explores the likely impact these scenarios would have on the logistics industry.

"All of us must realise that it is our responsibility today to set the direction for tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. The new study shows, in a particularly striking and, at times, even drastic way, just how strong the impact of these decisions can be," said group CEO Frank Appel.

"It is part of our responsibility to intensively explore social and business issues that will shape the future. We do not want to be caught off guard by developments and trends. Rather, we want to actively shape the future" by facilitating public debate, for example.

Another scenario is of climate change opening up shorter and more efficient trade routes through the Arctic ice. However, the authors of the report warn: "The increase of extreme weather events causes repeated disruptions to the supply chain and raises capital costs for logistics companies.

"Disaster response and contingency planning becomes more important as the number of natural disasters around the world continues to rise. The growing scarcity of energy resources, higher energy prices and costlier raw materials mean smaller profit margins. As a result, not only offshoring but also nearshoring are common business strategies."

In a further proposed scenario: "Robotics has revolutionised the world of production and services. Consumers have switched from product ownership to rent-and-use consumption. Highly efficient traffic concepts, including underground cargo transport and new solutions for public transport, have relieved congestion. Zero-emission automated plants have helped to cut carbon emissions. A global 'supergrid' transport network with mega transporters, including trucks, ships and aircraft, as well as space transporters, has opened important trade connections between the megacities of the world.

In this type of world, "the logistics industry is entrusted to run city logistics, utilities, as well as system services for airports, hospitals, shopping malls and construction sites, along with part of the public transport infrastructure. It also manages the complex logistics planning and operations for advanced manufacturing tasks," it said. "In response to 'dematerialisation' of consumption, logistics companies offer an array of renting and sharing services, as well as secure data transfer."

The report also offers a four scenario for the world in 2050, whereby, the logistics industry consists of an online and offline segment. "The offline segment integrates the transport of raw materials into manufacturing logistics and reverse logistics. The online segment ensures secure data transfer and secure data retail in online shops. Strong regional logistics capabilities and a high quality last-mile network become important success factors because of the decentralised organisation of production," it envisions.

Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News

CHINA's airlines have suspended purchases of 10 Airbus jets over a rift between Beijing and Brussels grows over the EU's aviation carbon emissions tax, Reuters reported.

Citing unidentified sources it was also reported Airbus confirmed China had blocked the purchase of 35 long-haul A330s and 10 Airbus A380 superjumbos worth US$12 billion.

Two sources familiar with the matter said China would delay 10 more A330 long-haul planes from the European aircraft maker, on top of the thirty-five A330s and ten A380 superjumbo jets blocked earlier last week.

In total, sales of 55 Airbus planes worth US$14 billion have now reportedly been put on hold - about 10 per cent of all Airbus planes ever delivered to China.

While Airbus did not say which airlines had delayed their purchases, insiders say it was Hong Kong Airlines, 46 per cent owned by the Hainan Group. China,the US and other countries, oppose the carbon tax based on CO2 emissions over whole flights rather than EU airspace alone, say the measure exceeds EU jurisdiction. But the European Commission says the tax is needed to fight climate change and the European court supports that view.

This comes as efforts are underway to find a solution to the dispute, which airlines say risks a trade war which would be injurious to all parties.

China has so far limited retaliation to wide-body jets capable of reaching Europe, not short-haul A320s assembled in China for domestic use.

While the A380 purchase is a done deal and a cancellation would involve the loss of a deposit, the threatened A330 deals await approval of the Chinese government.

Meanwhile, the US rival Boeing looks forward to mega sales for its 777 long-haul mini-jumbo, which has been selling well in China. "I think you're going to see both sales of narrow-bodies and wide-bodies [in China] continue to grow," said Boeing commercial chief James Albaugh.

"We sold thirty 777s over there last week and had a lot of discussions with other customers about more," Mr Albaugh said.

A Boeing spokesman said these included 10 jets already announced. Boeing is in "advanced discussions" for the other 20.

Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News

EMIRATES SkyCargo, the cargo division of Dubai's Emirates airline, is forecasting a challenging 2012 for cargo traffic from India despite an increase in outbound cargo traffic, representing 11.7 per cent of throughput to 1.8 million tonnes.

Emirates cargo vice-president Pradeep Kumar said "growth is going to be flat or even less", but expects improvement in the second half of the year. India contributes up to 30 per cent of Emirates SkyCargo's perishable goods with 20 per cent accounted for by pharmaceutical products and 11 per cent by auto parts.

India's civil aviation minister Ajit Singh said at the sidelines of the India Aviation Show that he hopes the formulation of an Air Cargo Promotion Policy will bring in international investment through better practices.

Mr Singh is confident of continued strength, with the compound annual growth rate clocking up 10.9 per cent in the last five years.

Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News

AIRPORTS in southwestern China's Guangxi Autonomous Region handled 8,430 tonnes of cargo in February, 60 per cent more than the same month in 2011.

According to Xinhua, Nanning airport's throughput surged 68 per cent to 5,440 tonnes. Guilin airport handled 2,145 tonnes, up 40 per cent. Beihai airport handled 292 tonnes, up 57 per cent. Liuzhou airport recorded an increase of 72 per cent to 550 tonnes.

The surge of cargo throughput in February was affected by the Chinese New Year holiday in January, which usually comes in February. After removing this factor, Guangxi's air freight throughput achieved a double-digit increase.

From January to February, Guangxi airports handled 16,800 tonnes of cargo, up 9.4 per cent year on year. Nanning, Beihai and Liuzhou airport all recorded increases of more than 15 per cent during this period.

This year, Guangxi is aiming to develop Nanning into the largest trade and distribution centre for fruit and aqua products in China with hopes that Guilin can be developed into a cargo logistics hub between southwest China and Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta.

Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News

RUSSIA's Volga-Dnepr group plans to acquire Frankfurt Hahn-based Air Cargo Germany (GU) after its cargo airline AirBridgeCargo Airlines failed to gain fifth-freedom rights for flights from Frankfurt to Chicago.

According to industry experts, GU is not thought to be a profitable asset but its routes deployed by four 747-400s to China, South Africa, India and the United Arab Emirates is attractive to Volga-Dnepr keen to gain a foothold in services from Europe.

Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News

AIR INDIA's bail-out, paid as a capital infusion worth INR32 billion (US$616.5 million) was approved on the promise of improved performance and an efficient turnaround, said the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

"We will bail it out, but not indefinitely...[the carrier] has to improve its efficiency," said minister Ajit Singh on the sidelines of the Indian Aviation Show in Hyderabad, on a carrier struggling with debt of INR430 billion.

Boeing has agreed to pay half of Air India's compensation demand at US$500 million for its delayed delivery of 27 Dreamliners on order since 2006 for delivery start of 2008, reports the Press Trust of India. This was part of a larger order of 111 aircraft including those from Airbus worth $13 billion.

The government aims to push for more from the aircraft manufacturer to include discount in services and cash.

It is confident that India can weather a tough market of high jet fuel costs and decline based on a rise in demand for Asia-Pacific carriers. India itself is forecast to grow from a increase of compound annual growth rate (CAGR) 10.9 per cent in last five years, of which two-thirds was international volume.

Its passenger growth is the fastest set to rank in the first three markets of 420 million passengers by 2020 compared to 2010's figures of 140 million.

The state's focus on Public Private Partnership (PPP) in the airport sector has increased the number of Greenfield and modernisation projects is dependent on economic regulatory framework in an Air Cargo Promotion Policy it hopes to attract investment.

Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News

EMIRATES SkyCargo, the cargo division of Dubai's Emirates airline, is forecasting a challenging 2012 for cargo traffic from India despite an increase in outbound cargo traffic increase representing 11.7 per cent of its total throughput at 1.8 million tonnes.

The freight arm's senior vice-president Pradeep Kumar said "growth is going to be flat or even lesser" but expects improvement in the second half of the year. India contributes up to 30 per cent of Emirates SkyCargo's perishable goods, 20 per cent pharmaceutical products and 11 per cent automotive parts.

India's civil aviation minister Ajit Singh said at the sidelines of the India Aviation Show that it hopes its formulation of an Air Cargo Promotion Policy will bring in international investment through better practices as in Celebi, Cargo Service Centre and Menzies.

Mr Singh is confident of continued strength in annual growth rate, CAGR clocking up 10.9 per cent in the last five years.

Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News

TAC Industries, a nonprofit organisation, in Springfield has been awarded a US$6.5 million contract to provide the US Air Force with 35,000 air cargo nets during the next year, according the Department of Defence.

The contract calls for TAC to provide more than 13,000 tie down-top nets and nearly 24,000 tie down-side nets to the Support Equipment and Vehicle Division at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. The work is expected to be completed next March, the Dayton Daily News reported.

The work will help subsidise TAC Industries, which was formed to create for people with disabilities.

TAC is the primary supplier of air cargo nets to the USAF, according to the organisation's website. These cargo nets are used by the air force for load management on the 463L pallet used on C-5, C-17 and C-130 cargo aircraft.

Since 1984 TAC has performed a vital defence operational role by repairing damaged air cargo nets to like-new condition and manufacturing new nets to meet all of the demanding airlift requirements of the Air Force, officials said.

Source Shipping Gazette - Daily Shipping News
 

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The magazine JŪRA has been published since 1935.
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