Dozens killed in ferry bomb blasts Police are investigating two bomb blasts which killed at least 45 people and injured 35 more on board an inter-island ferry in the Philippines.
Lorentzon to take key Frontline role John Fredriksen's Frontline accompanied the disclosure of a thumping $87m loss for 1999 with news that Ola Lorentzon, its fierce opponent in the two-year battle for control of Swedish rival ICB Shipping, is joining the group in a senior management position.
LNG order casts shadow over CMB An upbeat view of prospects in the current year from Belgium's leading shipping group CMB has been overshadowed by its confirmation of a speculative order for a large liquefied natural (LNG) gas carrier.
Carnival is over for Fairfield Communities CARNIVAL Corporation's $775m takeover of Fairfield Communities, the US holiday ownership firm, has become a casualty of the collapse of the world's largest cruise company's share price.
Creditors in Morline probe call ANGRY creditors are calling for a full investigation by liquidators of the relationship between Morline, the agent for Bolt Canada Line, and its parent company.
Door slams on home delivery FAST ferry operator Hoverspeed is locked in battle with UK Customs over a scheme to deliver French-bought goods to passengers' homes in the United Kingdom.
Taca has second go at raising rates MAJOR transatlantic carriers are having another attempt at lifting freight rates after failing to obtain as much as they had been seeking at the start of the year.
Fifth cruise off after Caribbean accident CAROUSEL, one of four cruiseships owned by Airtours, has lost a fifth cruise after an accident in the Caribbean.
Merger mania continued in the logistics industry with the surprise marriage of Ocean Group plc and NFC plc. The $4.4 billion deal will bring together the complementary skills of freight forwarder MSAS Global Logistics and Exel Logistics, primarily a ground-based supply-chain manager. Ocean Group CEO John Allan will be CEO of the new company, Exel plc. Exel CEO Gerry Murphy, who plans to resign after completion of the merger, said the deal was more customer than competitor driven because customers are looking for integrated global supply-chain services.
Duopoly may signify twice the number of railroads as monopoly but as a two-railroad North America begins to emerge, Deputy Transportation Secretary Mort Downey knows economic behavior of duopolists is hard to predict. This is uppermost in his mind as he testifies before the Surface Transportation Board at its review of its policy toward rail merger applications.
Large truckload carriers are becoming more aggressive in asking shippers for fuel surcharges. In fact, some truckload executives are saying they want to modernize their rate structure to "take fuel out of the equation." Meanwhile, approximately 300 independent truckers rolled a convoy of trucks into the nation's capital to protest the $30-per-barrel price of crude oil, which has basically doubled their fuel costs in the past 10 months.
As e-commerce traffic volumes increase, the efficiency of payment systems becomes more important, particularly for the international movement of goods. Although delivery pipelines are not yet jammed with unpaid bills, financial institutions are trying to figure out what payment mechanisms e-traders will need and how organizations such as banks fit into the picture.
The shortline industry agrees with shipper groups that the Canadian National Railway-Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway combination is a bad idea at an inopportune time. And the two railroads so far have not addressed the shortlines' basic concerns. In late January, the American Shortline and Regional Railroad Association was first lobbied by merger opponents Union Pacific Railroad, Norfolk Southern and CSX as to why the merger was a bad idea. Later presentations by BNSF President Matt Rose and CN Executive Vice President, Operations, Jack McBain did little to alter that perception.
Everyone agrees customs modernization is a good idea but no one wants to pay for it. That's why the U.S. Customs Service's Automated Commercial Environment, an electronic entry system agreed upon by industry and government to speed customs processing, continues to sit on the shelf as do many smaller initiatives to bring speed and efficiency to one of the transportation industry's biggest sources of red tape. While everyone from industry groups to shippers to government workers complains that much needs to be done to improve customs, the funding problem keeps any progress stuck in time.
Emery Worldwide suffered its first fatal aircraft accident in its 50-year history. A DC-8 freighter bound for Dayton, Ohio, crashed just after takeoff in an abandoned auto yard near Mather Airport in Sacramento, Calif. All three crewmembers died. The accident, eerily like the DC-8 Fine Air crash of August 1997, is under investigation but early signs are pointing to shifting cargo that sent the plane into an uncontrollable dive. Emery, like Fine, used a subcontractor to load the ill-fated flight.
International trade logistics software company Syntra announced its move to a hosted, Internet-based software model. Its software will reside on a server in New York accessible to all its clients, rather than on computers at users' sites, said Steve Cole, vice president of marketing at Syntra. In addition the company plans to focus on "behind-the-scenes" integration of its software with other applications.
- Via Raffaele Paolucci 17r/19r - 16129 Genoa - ITALY
phone: +39.010.2462122, fax: +39.010.2516768, e-mail
VAT number: 03532950106
Press Reg.: nr 33/96 Genoa Court
Editor in chief: Bruno Bellio No part may be reproduced without the express permission of the publisher
- Via Raffaele Paolucci 17r/19r - 16129 Genoa - ITALY
