Slower GDP could threaten box sector LOWER global economic growth than expected this year could slash demand for containerised goods, a box trades analyst has warned
Boskalis starts compulsory Dockwise purchase BOSKALIS Holding, a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Boskalis Westminster, has initiated a compulsory acquisition for all Dockwise shares it does not already hold, parent Royal Boskalis Westminster said today
Jefferies cuts tanker outlook TANKER earnings in 1Q13 were "even weaker than expected", said Jefferies analyst Doug Mavrinac, who pared his already bearish outlook on crude rates
Teekay Offshore raises $150M NYSE-listed Teekay Offshore today priced a preferred-units follow-on offering that could fund yet-to-be-determined acquisitions
BLG balances box unit losses GERMAN ports-to-logistics giant BLG Logistics recouped its box division's profits slide last year with gains in other units
TORM loses $5M in tanker sale to Oaktree TORM said today it has agreed to sell five MR product tankers to a company controlled by Oaktree Capital Management
Breakers race budget news BREAKERS in the Indian subcontinent are raising their bids for older ships, with budget announcements nearing in Bangladesh and Pakistan
11 ships seized in China SHENZHEN-listed Changhang Phoenix's 11 vessels have been seized by a Chinese court
China's orders rise 71% CHINA has received 9.57M dwt in newbuilding orders in 1Q13, up by 71.1% year on year, according to CANSI
Detained CIC cruise ship is released CLASSIC International Cruise's former ship Princess Danae has arrived in Lisbon after being released from detention in Marseilles, the port told Fairplay today
Keppel sets up new unit KEPPEL Corp has set up Ocean Mineral Singapore to explore seabed minerals beneath the ocean's surface
VLGC rates rise slowly RATES for Middle East/Far East LPG cargoes are climbing, but the increase has been too slow to return the sector to profitability
GARD's surplus rises GARD, Norway's P&I club, has reported a strong rise in surplus after tax and in free reserves for its underwriting year
Havila's losses mount HAVILA Shipping, the Oslo-listed offshore services group, has reported a sharp deterioration in interim results in 1Q13
CMES sank into red in 1Q SHANGHAI-listed CMES, a government-owned bulker and tanker operator, sank into the red in 1Q13, reversing the profits of a year ago
Three Airlines Settle Price-Fixing Case With New Zealand MASkargo, Cathay Pacific and Thai Airways International have settled with the New Zealand Commerce Commission for fixing air cargo prices between February 2000 and February 2006, paying AU$9.6 million (about US$9.9 million) total in penalties, Perth Now reports. MASkargo, the air cargo unit of Malaysia Airlines, paid NZ$2.6 million (about US$2.2...
Supply Chain Interests Address Disaster Planning When Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted in April 2010, airline flights across the Atlantic were disrupted for days, and global supply chains for fruits, fresh flowers and other products were interrupted severely. When an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown hit northern Japan in a year later, automakers and electronics manufacturers in Asia...
Singapore Changi Airport's 1Q Cargo Volume Down Singapore Changi Airport reported air freight volume in March rose 2.5 percent year-over-year to 167,200 metric tons of cargo. From January to March, the airport handled 434,000 metric tons, declining 2.2 percent compared with the same months in the previous year....
Norfolk Southern's Profit Rises 10 Percent Norfolk Southern today reported first quarter profit of $450 million, up 10 percent from $410 million in the first quarter of 2012. Net income in the first quarter included a gain from the sale of land to the Michigan Department of Transportation, which increased profit by $60 million. Quarterly railway operating revenue was...
Teamsters Approve YRC Freight Terminal Cuts, Network Changes The Teamsters union on Tuesday approved YRC Freight's plan to close 29 terminals and change how freight flows through the carrier's 266 remaining terminals. The network changes will reduce freight handling and improve lane density and is designed to drive profitability at the less-than-truckload carrier. The change of operations, projected to cost...
Maersk Line Enhances West Mediterranean Service Maersk Line has announced several upcoming service changes. The container carrier will enhance its trade from the West Mediterranean to North America with the addition of port calls at Charleston, S.C., and Miami on the U.S. East Coast, and La Spezia, Italy. The last round trip voyage for the current WestMed service...
Maersk Line to Modify India-US Loops Maersk Line is upgrading its MECL1 and MECL2 services, which connect the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent and the U.S. East Coast. The changes include new port calls at Algeciras and Savannah on the MECL1. In addition, the MECL2 is discontinuing its existing call at Norfolk, to be replaced with Miami. The...
UPS Plans LNG Vehicle Purchases, Refueling Stations A UPS LNG vehicle being fueled.UPS has plans to purchase about 700 liquefied natural gas vehicles and build four refueling stations by the end of 2014. "LNG will be a viable alternative transportation fuel for UPS in the next decade as a bridge between traditional fossil fuels and emerging renewable alternative...
Hapag-Lloyd to Hike Latin America Rates in May Hapag-Lloyd will hike rates for all cargoes on its trade from Mexico to Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Dominican Republic and Venezuela, starting May 22. The increase will be $150 per 20-foot container and $300 per 40-foot container, the container carrier said....
Port Jersey Logistics Completes Warehouse Expansion Port Jersey Logistics' facility expansion.Port Jersey Logistics has completed a 50,000 square foot expansion of its warehouse facility in Dayton, N.J. The added Dayton facility space will house several value-added services for the supply chain company's customers, including product packaging and kitting, labeling, banding, bar coding, shipper display assembly and reverse...
CMA CGM Announces Asia-West Africa Rate Hike CMA CGM will increase rates for dry shipments on its trade from Asia to West Africa, beginning May 1. The hike will be $250 per 20-foot-equivalent unit, the container carrier said....
U.S. Lines to Raise Asia-North America Rates U.S. Lines will increase rates for shipments from Asia to North America, effective May 21: To the U.S. West Coast and Canada's west coast ports, the hike will be $320 per 20-foot standard container, open top and flat rack; $400 per 40-foot standard container, open top and flat rack; $450 per 40-foot...
Index Shows Increasingly Difficult Conditions for Shippers FTR Associates' Shippers Conditions Index for February fell more than two points month-over-month to a reading of negative 9.5, following a similar decline in January, reflecting increasingly difficult conditions for shippers as 2013 progresses. The index is forecast to be "choppy" over the next few months, with further deterioration occurring in...
Top 40 Container Lines: Who's Up and Who's Down on US Imports? Regardless of the trade route, the container shipping industry revolves around a pretty basic concept: What comes in usually goes out. Sure, some countries cope with significant trade imbalances, but for the carriers calling at the world's ports, the goal is to be in sync, to pick up containers from the...
As May 1 Nears, Pacific Carriers Fight for Higher Rates As container lines in the eastbound trans-Pacific make their annual sprint to the May 1 finish line to sign service contracts with their customers, victory is within reach. The question is who will declare it and how will it be measured? For carriers, victory will be declared only if they're able...
Genesee & Wyoming Rail Traffic on the Rise Genesee & Wyoming traffic Full-size image Genesee & Wyoming Inc., a major owner of short line and regional railroads in North America with significant operations in Australia as well, showed growth in its March 2013 and first quarter numbers. Its 2013 numbers, when compared to 2012, show extremely large increases due to...
Flooding, Barge Crashes Hold Up US Inland Shipping Significant River Flood Outlook (Source: National Weather Service).Barge shipping on the Illinois River and north of St. Louis on the Mississippi River remains at a standstill today as flooding has forced about a dozen river locks to close following torrential rains last week, The Gazette reports. The National Weather Service expects...
New Jersey-LA Intermodal Rate Skyrockets U.S. East-West spot rates, week of April 22, 2013 Full-size image U.S. intermodal rates experienced a 1.2 percent or $24 overall increase in the week of April 22 to $2,052 despite lackluster results in three of the four regional indexes, according to data on all-inclusive 53-foot door-to-door spot pricing quoted by railroads and provided...
US DOT Allocates $474 Million for 2013 TIGER Grants The U.S. Department of Transportation has been authorized to award $474 million for the fifth round of the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER Discretionary Grants, in accordance with the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013, for investments in road, rail, transit and port projects that promise to achieve national...
UTi Worldwide Names Paulson to Board of Directors UTi Worldwide has increased the size of its board from seven to nine members and has appointed Josh Paulson to the board for a term that expires in 2015. A second director with operational experience will be appointed at the conclusion of the logistics company's ongoing search process, with a completion...
Heidmar goes long Two long-range-one (LR1) product tankers controlled by the Schulte Group of Germany have enrolled in a pool managed by Heidmar.
HLNG defies downturn Hoegh LNG has secured a time charter contract for one of its oldest LNG carriers.
EXM offshoot under fire Excel Maritime Carriers' shipmanagement subsidiary has emerged as the target of a lawsuit that stems from a bunker dispute with Chimbusco Europe.
TransAtlantic deteriorates Sweden's Rederi AB TransAtlantic's (RABT) is seeking shareholder approval for a fundraiser to plug a gaping hole in its finances.
Wrist records profit rise Danish tanker and bunker group Wrist has pushed up 2012 profit as revenue rose.
Vard wins Mokster deal Vard Holdings has signed a pre-contract with Simon Mokster Shipping for a platform supply vessel (PSV) newbuilding.
Teekay MLP chases cash Teekay Offshore has targeted more than expected from its latest fundraising drive.
Concordia cool on products Concordia Maritime is not getting carried away with improvements in the product tanker market despite the sector enjoying its best quarter in half a decade.
Stealth funds buying spree Nasdaq-listed Stealthgas is selling 8m shares to help pay for five vessels joining the fleet this year and in 2014.
Odfjell back in action Odjfell has bought a tanker from Saito Shipping with five years to run on its charter of the ship.
Shipping weighs on Nord LB Norddeutsche Landesbank (Nord LB) has seen full year earnings curbed by its exposure to the troubled shipping sector but managed to beat its own expectations.
NYK forecast flies Japanese giant NYK has jacked up its full-year profit forecast thanks to a strong showing from its stock portfolio.
Creditors move on Phoenix Chinese banks are heading to court to freeze the assets of troubled state-owned bulker owner CSC Phoenix.
Cat to bite Wilhelmsen? Caterpillar's curtailed sales forecast has spread fear Wilh Wilhelmsen will post disappointing earnings in the first quarter.
Perdana inks double Perdana Petroleum's Petra Offshore is ordering two more accommodation ships at Nam Cheong.
Tanker King heads aristocrats Frontline 2012 is already paying off for John Fredriksen with returns on his flagship shipping project helping to propel him to sixth place in the latest Sunday Times rich list.
Seven for Coastal Norway's Vega Offshore is among the owners who have signed up for seven new vessels at Malaysia's Coastal Contracts shipyard group.
KDM grows again Ukraine's KDM Shipping has posted better revenue and cargo volumes in the first quarter after expanding its fleet.
Pemex eyes Barreras Mexican state oil company Pemex is planning to bid for Spanish shipyard Hijos de J Barreras.
CMES starts with loss VLCC owner China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES) has plunged to a first quarter loss as revenue fell.
Lloyds seeks loan sale Lloyds Banking Group is looking to shed a further £400m ($610m) from its shipping catalogue, it is claimed.
Slower start for Havila Havila Shipping has seen its first quarter numbers dragged down by reduced revenue and higher depreciation.
Samjin signs with KR Korea's Samjin Shipbuilding Industries has pledged to use the Korean Register of Shipping (KR) as its primary class society.
IHB big on bonds Bulgarian shipyard group sells $19m of convertible notes to boost finances.
$1.7bn for Korean owners The Korean government has decided to establish a huge new shipping fund to stop owners having to sell off ships.
Port set to ship crude The US Port of Vancouver could soon be used to ship crude to refiners on the west coast under a plan by Tesoro.
Noble gets bonds away Noble Group has successfully priced a Thai Baht denominated three year bond issue, according to reports.
FSL slashes OMNI rates First Ship lease Trust (FSL Trust) has been forced to take a 45% cut in charter rates on a pair of handymax bulkers.
BP extends Constructor BP has agreed to extend the charter of an Island Offshore well intervention vessel for two more years.
Oaktree seals MR raid Oaktree Capital has emerged victorious in a race to acquire five medium-range (MR) products tankers from Torm of Denmark.
Dockworkers urged to return to bargaining table Hong Kong's Labor Secretary, Matthew Cheung, met with striking dock workers on Monday and urged them to return to the negotiating table. The workers are employed by subcontractors at Hong Kong International Terminal (HIT).
Kuryla named new head at Jaxport
Logistics issues hamper Asia-Pacific e-commerce growth A key issue outlined by the Ti report is the limited access international logistics providers are permitted in domestic markets, if any at all. For example, UPS and FedEx were only granted limited licences to operate in China.
UPS increases natural gas fleet UPS CEO Scott Davis said LNG is a viable alternative-fuel solution for the company over the next decade. However, UPS officials have their eyes on other fuels and technologies that aren't quite ready for commercial rollouts, he said.
Evans, Osigna appointed to TIACA leadership posts
Delta sees largest quarter profits in a decade
Swift has solid first quarter
Old Dominion opens Birmingham drayage center
IMF nudges down global economic forecast
Inbound Cargo: Region by Region
Unions, shipowners say some governments not investigating casualties "The lack of investigation and accident reports hinders the development of appropriate measures by IMO to address the cause of serious incidents in which seafarers may have lost their lives." said ITF Acting General Secretary Stephen Cotton.
Washington Notebook: U.S.-Canada bridge in Detroit gets State Dept. approval
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