Egypt goes it alone over terminal EGYPT's ministry of transport has decided to go it alone in the construction of one of its largest port developments, ignoring at least two keen international port developer/operators.
Peacemaker Major heads honours list SHIPPING and the maritime industries feature strongly in today's New Year honours list, headed by confirmation that former UK prime minister John Major is to become a Companion of Honour for services to peace in Northern Ireland.
NOL to sell Singapore office block Neptune Orient Lines plans to sell an office building for S$185m (US$112m) to reduce borrowings, Reuters reports from Singapore.
Crowley set to make ro-ro history Crowley American Tran-sport will launch the first regular scheduled ro-ro service between Mexico and the US Gulf next month.
Sinport expanding into Leghorn Sinport, the Italian holding company controlled by Singapore's PSA Corporation, is to enlarge its port network by taking a 33% stake in Terminal Darsena Toscana, the largest container terminal in the port of Leghorn.
Argentina rail changes sought ARGENTINA'S railfreight companies are close to obtaining approval for a rewriting of their concession conditions as a result of poor earnings over the last five years.
Campo Duran is detained at Baltimore THE US Coast Guard has indefinitely detained at Baltimore the 30,555 dwt Argentine-flag tanker Campo Duran, which a key official insisted was "one of the most troubled foreign-flag ships ever boarded" at the large Maryland port.
Alabama Shipyard lands order for innovative tug-barge system CLOSELY following its completion of a milestone export chemical tanker contract from Denmark, Alabama Shipyard has reasserted itself on the US domestic market by landing a deal for an innovative new type of sea-going tug-barge system.
Le trafic du port d'Anvers à un souffle des 120 mio. de tonnes en 1998 Comme nous l'avions déjà annoncé ces derniers jours, le trafic du port d'Anvers se dirige tout droit sur un nouveau record historique en 1998. Malheureusement, le cap des 120 mio. de tonnes ne sera pas franchi. Néanmoins, l'administration portuaire est extrêmement satisfaite de l'évolution. Le trafic a augmenté de 7% par rapport à l'année précédente, soit la plus forte croissance exprimée en pourcentage depuis le franchissement du cap des 100 mio. de tonnes.
Zeebrugge: une année record avec 33,5 mio. de t (+3%) "Les années se suivent et ne se ressemblent pas. En 1997, nous avions une progression de 14%, mais ce rythme ne peut être soutenu constamment. Nous clôturons l'exercice 98 avec un trafic de 33,5 millions de tonnes, soit une progression de 3%, ce qui n'en constitue pas moins un nouveau record." C'est ce qu'a déclaré Fernand Traen, président de la MBZ, à l'occasion de la conférence de presse de fin d'année.
La morosité règne sur le marché américain du fret aérien Pour les directeurs fret des compagnies aériennes américaines, l'année 1998 n'aura pas été un grand cru. C'est du moins ce qu'annonce le Journal of Commerce, qui a sondé les plus importants acteurs du marché. Mais il y a également du positif.
St. Lawrence Seaway Closes "Busy" Season The St. Lawrence Seaway closed one of its busiest seasons in the last decade with passage of the final commercial vessel of the year through the waterway on December 27. The Seaway said that according to preliminary data the total combined cargo passing through the Welland Canal and the Montreal/Lake Ontario sections of the system was 50.5 million tons, up one percent on 1997. The number of vessels transiting the system's locks was 4,138 compared to 4,042 last year, while the number of ocean vessels transiting at 1,476 was up 33 percent on 1997 and the most since 1984. The Seaway said cargo moved included a 41 percent rise in general cargo, including steel slabs and steel products from Europe. Iron ore, coal and other bulk shipments rose 3 percent by volume, including setting a record of 7.2 million tons of iron and steel, up 67 percent on last year. U.S. grain shipments of 6.1 million tons was up 30 percent by volume and the largest since 1984. But shipments of Canadian grain by volume were down by 28 percent.
Halliburton Announces Another 2,750 Job Cuts Halliburton Co., the world's top oil services provider, is expected to earn between 14 and 16 cents a share in the fourth quarter, well below Wall Street expectations of 36 cents, and said it would cut about 2.7 percent of its work force due to the impact of low crude oil prices. The Dallas-based company said its lowered earnings expectations included a pretax charge of $35 million for 2,750 job cuts in its Energy Services group and a $60 million pretax provision for project losses. In 1997, Halliburton posted fourth-quarter earnings of 56 cents per diluted share.
Daewoo Wins LPG Tanker Order Daewoo Heavy Industries Co. reportedly won a $21 million order from Norway's Norsk Hydro ASA to build a liquefied petroleum gas tanker.
Vosper Buys TSS Ltd. For 11M Stg Vosper Thornycroft Holdings Plc reportedly bought TSS (U.K.) Ltd. for 11 million pounds in a deal which will be funded by issuing loan notes to private investors.
CFTC Issues Fraud Complaint Against Ex-Coastal Trader The Commodity Futures Trading Commission reportedly filed a three-count complaint alleging a former Coastal Corp. energy trader committed fraud by doctoring trading orders and misappropriating deals.
Hellenic Tenders For Crude Shipments Hellenic Petroleum reportedly called a tender for the shipment of 0.39 to 0.45 million tons of crude oil from Turkey's Ceyhan to its Megara, Greece facilities. The shipments are scheduled to be transported between Jan. 15 and March 31, 1999 in 0.13 to 0.15 million ton parcels.
China Shippers Told To Buy Domestic Vessels China's State Council has reportedly ordered domestic shipping companies to purchase indigenously built vessels to help the nation's struggling shipbuilders.
London Port Fears 1999 Computer Bug May Hit Ships The Port of London has reportedly instructed vessels not to move or discharge liquid cargoes for one hour either side of midnight on New Year's Eve if there is any possibility that 1999 dates could cause their computers to malfunction.
Australia Launches Ocean Protection Policy Australia reportedly launched its pioneering "Oceans Policy," promising A$50 million over three years to protect a marine environment almost the size of Russia and covering three oceans.
Lisnave In Line To Buy Senegal Shipyard Lisnave is reportedly in the running to take a controlling stake in Senegal's Dakar-Marine shipyard.
Overnite Transportation, Richmond, Va., the nation's largest nonunion and fifth-largest standalone LTL carrier, is going back to its roots. Formed as a Southeast regional carrier in 1935, Overnite this week begins a three-phase program to greatly increase its presence in the one-and two-day regional trucking markets. Largely tearing a page from Con-Way Transportation Services' highly successful regional playbook, Overnite plans to offer full state coverage to 35 states east of the Rockies to capture market share in the fast-growing regional trucking arena.
With the recess appointment of William Clyburn to the Surface Transportation Board, rail users anticipate a more shipper-friendly agency. Since the STB was created in 1996, complain many shippers, railroads have been permitted to accumulate and use vastly increased market power. Even with Clyburn's appointment, it is unlikely that captive shippers will abandon efforts to achieve by legislation what they have failed to accomplish before the STB. Clyburn joins Chairman Linda Morgan on the three-member STB, filling a seat vacant since Jake Simmons departed Dec. 31, 1996. The Republican seat, meanwhile, became vacant last week when Gus Owen departed. Mississippi highway commissioner Wayne Burkes remains the front-runner for that seat.
Whirlpool Corp. has tapped Penske Logistics to become its lead logistics provider for its regional distribution of outbound finished goods. The demanding, multi-year contract will require Penske to deliver finished goods throughout the United States to builders, homeowners and retailers, manage warehousing and transportation and help to redesign Whirlpool's Quality Express distribution network. The deal puts Penske on the same turf as its largest rival, Ryder Integrated Logistics, which already manages Whirlpool's inbound business from manufacturing plants to regional centers. Although each third-party provider works under a separate Whirlpool contract, they will be collaborating on Whirlpool's backhaul lanes.
It was the talk of the trucking industry for awhile: Yellow Corp. would buy Consolidated Freightways for as much as $650 million. Only problem was it wasn't true. CF scotched the takeover rumors. But the end of the year saw a handful of other smaller mergers and acquisitions as carriers sought alliances to better and more efficiently serve shippers.
Law enforcement officials are praising BAX Global for its part in a three-year investigation that has resulted in the indictment of 56 individuals and eight corporations for stealing millions of dollars worth of cargo from warehouses in and around John F. Kennedy International Airport. Three freight forwarders and five retailers are accused of taking part in the operation. More than $5 million in cash and stolen property was recovered by investigators. The case falls under New York State's Organized Crime Control Act, which means if convicted the defendants could face up to 25 years in prison.
The departure of Surface Transportation Board commissioner Gus Owen helped create a small outpouring of decisions from the agency over the last two weeks, including decisions in some closely-watched cases related to competition and service issues. In Ex Parte 627, the Board ruled that product and geographic competition could not be considered when reviewing rail rate cases involving market dominance. In Ex Parte 628, the STB established procedures to provide relief for shippers during rail service disruptions. Shippers were happy for the attention but wondered how much practical impact the decisions would have.
With the euro officially the common currency of most of Europe, shippers and carriers are hoping for a unified approach that will make it easier getting goods to, through and from the region. Streamlined invoicing, bills of lading and transportation administration in general are anticipated by all players in the industry, particularly freight forwarders and other third-party companies. Companies such as Germany's Hamburg-Sud and Hapag-Lloyd, along with Oakland, Calif.-based APL, have already started the transition. But whether the euro makes it easier for carriers to work out the inland logistics more easily remains to be seen.
Red-ink hemorrhaging Manugistics, a supply-chain software provider, may seek a merger partner as part of its restructuring. Where Manugistics once expected to corner up to 50 percent of its targeted market by 2000, heightened competition and internal problems have the company struggling to get back in the black. "We have been in or are in preliminary discussions" with potential merger partners, said Nate Wallace, manager of investor relations for Manugistics. A merger would shakeup the supply-chain software market.
Despite stiff competition from truckers and short distances, rail markets in Central Canada and the U.S. Northeast will offer plenty of business for Canadian Pacific Railway, according CP CEO Rob Ritchie. In a speech to the Canadian Railway Club in Montreal, Ritchie said that CP hopes to gain marketshare in the New York market as a result of the new rail landscape brought about by the Conrail acquisition. New on-time customer service programs and a new Y2K-compliant computer system are being touted by the railroad as well. But Ritchie says that it is through subsidiary St. Lawrence & Hudson that shippers will see the most significant improvements in service next year.
The Suez Canal Authority has announced that it will introduce surcharges on transit tariffs through the Egyptian canal for most major cargo vessels, effective July 15.
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