Pentagon "will block GD take-over of NNS" Today's Wall Street Journal reports that the Pentagon is expected to block General Dynamics Corp's $1.4-billion bid for Newport News Shipbuilding Inc.
American Classic gets Title XI commitment for cruise ships American Classic Voyages Co. today announced it has received a commitment from the Maritime Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation for up to $1.1 billion in financing guarantees in relation to the two 1,900 passenger U.S.-flag cruise ships it has ordered from Ingalls Shipbuilding.
Aker Maritime seeks buyer or merger partner Aker Maritime and Aker RGI have notified the Oslo Stock Exchange that they have "decided to initiate a dialogue with other participants in the oil and gas industry to evaluate options for a possible sale or merger of Aker Maritime."
Chamber of Shipping mired in red BRITAIN'S Chamber of Shipping - which yesterday published its annual review without any accounts - is clocking up operating losses of more than '1m a year, Lloyd's List can reveal.
Kosovo war risk talks LONDON underwriters met yesterday to discuss growing worries over the impact of the continuing Balkan crisis, writes Andrea Felsted.
Scandlines must better two rivals in Lisco bid WARNEM'NDE-based Scandlines, the joint Danish-German Baltic ferry operator, has made one of three rival bids for Lithuanian Shipping Company (Lisco) as part of the Lithuanian government's policy of selective privatisation. Scandlines' offer covers Lisco's entire operations, which are based on a fleet of about 40 ships, mainly dry cargo vessels, but including six ro-ro ferries and associated terminal activities.
Kühne & Nagel and Viag in talks SWISS-based international transport group Kühne & Nagel said it is negotiating with Viag over the possible repurchase of 30% of K'hne & Nagel shares held by the diversified German concern.
Ship scrapping row erupts in Norway A conflict is brewing in Norway over ship scrapping in third world countries. As the country's major owners start scrapping some of their oldest tankers, the environmental lobby is crying foul over its view that ship scrapping amounts to the export of hazardous waste and worker exploitation.
Atlantic carriers threaten to quit SOME liner operators may soon withdraw from the transatlantic trades unless European demand is strong enough to absorb much of the surplus cargo space, a US analyst is warning.
Conferences lobby to halt new Thai laws CONFERENCE shipping lines are mounting an urgent lobbying campaign to dissuade Thailand from introducing new competition laws that could ban collective pricing by freight conferences.
Bid for more Censa members THE Council of European & Japanese National Shipowners' Associations hopes to widen its membership, writes Janet Porter.
Kühne & Nagel réalise un bénéfice record de plus de 2 mia. de BEF Kühne & Nagel a enregistré des résultats record en 1998, en particulier un chiffre d'affaires brut de 6,62 mia. de CHF et un bénéfice brut de 1,216 mia. de CHF. Les marchés en recul, tels que l'exportation vers la région Asie/Pacifique et le marché russe, ont donc largement été compensés par des opérations dans d'autres régions. Les résultats des activités d'entreposage et de distribution sont nettement inférieurs à ceux de l'expédition et du transport.
Restriction du trafic de poids lourds au tunnel du Fréjus De nouvelles mesures de sécurité sont entrées en vigueur hier lundi au tunnel alpin du Fréjus. Elles vont avoir une influence restrictive sur le trafic, à l'heure où, justement, le trafic du Mont-Blanc est massivement détourné vers le Fréjus. Tout en faisant preuve de compréhension pour ces mesures, les transporteurs appellent à une réflexion, entre autres sur l'origine de la croissance du trafic routier entre la France et l'Italie. L'AFTRI et la FNTR soulignent l'influence de la politique anti-routière en Suisse et en Autriche.
BASF Anvers assure son approvisionnement en électricité à long terme Sur le terrain de BASF Anvers on va construire une centrale TGV (installation de turbine à gaz pour la production d'électricité et de vapeur) qui devra couvrir les besoins énergétiques du géant chimique à long terme et à des conditions avantageuses. La centrale sera construite en deux phases par une nouvelle joint-venture d'Electrabel et de l'entreprise allemande RWE Energie. L'exploitation de l'installation sera également assurée par la joint-venture.
The conflict in Yugoslavia produced a logistical nightmare of how to clothe, feed, shelter and relocate a refugee population exceeding the census of all but 22 U.S. cities. The food, fresh water, tents, plastic sheeting, blankets, clothing, waste disposal and medical supplies required to keep the refugees many sick, injured and near starvation alive until they are relocated or returned home is equivalent to feeding and housing a population greater than that of Atlanta or St. Louis. The U.S. Transportation Command, whose primary responsibility is to assure every American soldier anywhere in the world has what's needed to perform and stay alive, now has been handed that challenge.
In his sophomore term 19 years ago, Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., came within a coal lump's distance of derailing the Staggers Rail Act, a law handing railroads those market freedoms captive shippers insist are being abused. Today, Rahall is the senior Democrat on the Ground Transportation Subcommittee who calls himself "a recovering reregulator." Rahall now walks arm in arm with railroads and the Republican leadership in opposing any weakening of Staggers Act freedoms.
Information technology had been the primary focus of Skyway Freight Systems Inc. under its parent company, the Union Pacific Corp. Now Skyway's technology is sharing equal billing with expedited transportation. The company's new owner, the venture capital firm Genstar Capital LLC, is cutting back Skyway's IT investment because the payback just wasn't there, according to Skyway President Charles B. Lounsbury. Skyway is still in the technology business but now it tempers the investment with more realistic market expectations, according to Lounsbury. "We're continuing to develop middleware but we've scaled back our level of investment. There was a tremendous amount of investment in information technology during the UP period - about $30 million - and we're just not seeing a return on that investment," he said.
Overnite Transportation CEO Leo Suggs ridiculed the Teamsters union's latest unfair labor practice filing at the National Labor Relations Board as "propaganda." Suggs said the Teamsters' organizing momentum has slowed at the nation's largest nonunion LTL company and the union was "grasping at straws" in order to gain attention. The Teamsters say the company is being unfair in its dealings at the 21 locations where it has gained representation but the company has won nine of the last 10 organizing votes.
People are doing business on the web for all sorts of reasons. APL and Yellow are two of the most recent transportation companies to jump into the fray. APL's HomePort, which went live on the web April 5, personalizes the web experience for its customers. Information is tailor-made for a particular individual, all with the idea of making the web page fast and user-friendly.
It's going to be slow, but it looks like the Asian economies are showing their first signs of life in two years. Airlines are starting to see volumes pick up, freight forwarders are seeing an increase in demand and ocean lines are finally starting to move U.S.-made goods again. The market fell so far so fast that the climb out most likely will be painfully slow, but at least it appears to have begun.
Florida East Coast Railway made key hires as part of its quest to bolster its bottom line: John McPherson, formerly president of Illinois Central, will become the St. Augustine, Fla.-based railroad's COO sometime before July 1. Heidi Eddins, former general counsel for Providence & Worcester Railroad, will fill the same post at FEC Railway. In addition to expanding on its relationships with Norfolk Southern and CSX, Eddins says the railroad may try to convince its connecting carriers to reopen intermodal service lanes that have been shut down.
Ribus Inc. makes the stuff that makes pasta, and business is booming in Europe. Sixty percent of the small St. Louis-based company's business is in Europe and its success overseas is attributed to help from a good consultant. After the consultant got the ball rolling, the transportation was handed off to a company now part of Union-Transport. Outside experts have helped fuel the company's growth by taking over aspects such as transportation and distribution that are not part of Ribus' core competencies.
Circle International believes the worst is over in Asia. The Asian economies are waking up and making the necessary changes to bring some stabilization to a region that has been tumultuous at best. The economic problems forced shippers to rethink their logistics strategies in the Pacific Rim, especially how inventory is managed. Circle has been there to provide a guiding hand through the storm.
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