Italian yard quits ResidenSea project A new setback has hit the long-standing plans to build the world's first cruiseship comprising privately-owned flats.
Newbuildings threaten to flood passengership market THE cruise industry runs the risk of serious over capacity if the pace and scale of present orders for new ships is continued, according to a major new study.
Depressed box rates reduce ACL earnings DEPRESSED container rates drove Atlantic Container Line's earnings sharply lower in the April-June period, with net profit a quarter of the level a year earlier. However, there was a slight improvement over the first quarter result.
Chevron results weaker Chevron, the third largest US oil company, has posted quarterly earnings 22% weaker than last year, writes Alison Smith.
Sea-Land to retain ports role despite Maersk bid AP Møller's takeover of Sea-Land is unlikely to dent the latter's position as a leading operator of container terminals.
New Gothenburg terminal facilities put expansion plans into action The port of Gothenburg has kicked off its ambitious SKr1bn ($117m) 'Vision 2000+' with a $15m project to expand its ro-ro facilities, with two new berths scheduled to come into operation by 2001.
Stena order breakthrough for MAN B&W's smart power plant MARINE engineering has reached a milestone with the confirmation of an order for the world's first camshaftless, two-stroke diesels, to propel Stena's revolutionary new class of shallow-draught VLCC.
Green light for Kuwait oil accords KUWAITI government legal experts have ruled that state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corp has the right to forge controversial accords with foreign oil companies to produce oil locally.
It doesn't get much bigger than this. In an historic announcement last week, 92-year-old United Parcel Service said it is going public. The company will sell off 10 percent of its approximately 546 million shares in an initial public offering by the end of the year. The decision to go public is a dramatic shift for the closely held, very private UPS. Although the company is flush with cash, it's seeking new flexibility to make acquisitions on the global stage. The close to $3 billion that could be generated by the deal should help.
America's ports and customers are searching for a middle ground between two opposing legislative proposals. The Clinton administration wants to wring out about $1 billion annually in ocean-port user charges from vessel operators and ports object to that. More to the ports' liking is a proposal by Rep. Robert Borski, D-Pa., and Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., to tap general treasury funds for maintenance dredging of deep-water port channels. But that bill has no chance of success. Expect a compromise between the two sides to emerge.
The European Commission has launched a formal investigation into allegations lodged five years ago by United Parcel Service that the German post office, Deutsche Post AG, has benefited from illegal state aid. Specifically, the European Union's competition regulators will look into charges that DP unfairly used profits from its letter monopoly in Germany to cross-subsidize its commercial parcels business, which last year lost more than $200 million. The regulators also will investigate the source of funds used by DP to finance $3 billion-worth of acquisitions in the last two years, acquisitions that have dramatically changed the competitive landscape in Europe's parcels, freight transport and logistics industries.
Who knows where it began ' or where it will end. But one thing is for sure: supply-chain software vendors are hopping on the Internet bandwagon faster than you can say, "Yahoo!" Some of the latest entrants: Rockville, Md.-based Manugistics and Atlanta-based Logility. Manugistics showcased their new Internet application and services line, e-Chains, part of their Manugistics6 product suite, at their recent user conference. Logility announced a similar Internet initiative called i-Commerce. Both combine software and services for enabling collaborative trading communities over the Internet.
The Teamsters union is planning further disruptions at Overnite Transportation Co., Richmond, Va., the nation's fifth-largest stand-alone LTL carrier and biggest nonunion LTL carrier, despite what the company says was limited disruption during a recent four-day unfair labor practice strike at 11 Overnite locations. This time the union says it will try to stop freight flows at all 166 Overnite terminals. The union is buoyed by a recent National Labor Relations Board decision, which forced Overnite to negotiate with the Teamsters at seven more locations. Overnite says it will appeal the NLRB decision.
Delta Air Logistics, as Delta Air Cargo is now called, has a new leader with some new ideas. Rick Nixon, a 24-year veteran of FedEx, is trying to bring some of the service oriented, technology-driven know-how of his former employer to the Atlanta-based passenger carrier. Delta Air Logistics, like most combination carriers, struggles for recognition from upper management on the passenger side. Nixon reports to a vice president of customer service, not exactly a direct line to the man in charge. But Nixon is confident that Delta customers will like what they see.
Canadian Pacific Railway will cut 1,900 jobs in the next 17 months in an attempt by parent company Canadian Pacific Corp. to drive down costs and increase productivity across all its subsidiaries. One-third of the cuts will be from managerial positions with the remainder coming from labor. With nonlabor positions accounting for roughly 25% of all employees, management will take the biggest hit. Meanwhile, rival Canadian National, which went through its own round of cuts, showed steady financial improvement in the second quarter.
The millennium celebrations have already begun in some trade lanes. Carriers are raising rates and shippers are booking more cargo space. The surge in demand and associated rate increases have been caused by an unusual alignment of factors, said Pieter Bas Bredius, senior vice president, transatlantic trades, P&O Nedlloyd. The strength of the U.S. economy is a familiar influence, reinforced by European currencies devaluating against the U.S. dollar, Bredius said. Unique to this year are Y2K issues and turn-of-the-century celebrations, both of which are contributing to the rising demand for cargo space, he said.
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