Lines triumph over ECT stake sale SHIPPING lines have scored a notable victory in their fight for a competitive European ports industry, leaving Hutchison Port Holdings with a minority stake in Europe Combined Terminals.
Spill tanker owner rules out sabotage The Italian owners of a tanker which leaked 80,000 litres of oil into Sydney Harbour ruled out sabotage yesterday, but investigators were not satisfied with the explanation of how oil leaked from manually-operated valves.
Shell shows there's still fuel in the tank OIL giant Royal Dutch Shell has beaten analysts' forecasts and leapfrogged its industry peers to post a 5% increase in adjusted current cost net second quarter earnings of $1.6bn.
French farmers stand near burning tyres . . . French farmers stand near burning tyres and vegetables during a demonstration in Perpignan in which some 200 fruit and vegetable growers protested the importation of fresh produce from European neighbours, falling farm gate prices and low prices in supermarket chain stores.
AESA drought ends with fast ferry order SPANISH shipbuilder Astilleros Espa'oles (AESA) has ended an order drought that had lasted almost 18 months.
British Marine sets out case Proposals to demutualise require the support of at least 75% of the British Marine Mutual membership who will be asked to vote on the plan at meetings to be held in Bermuda and London next month, writes Janet Porter.
'Black box' plea for smaller vessels VOYAGE data recorders - "black boxes" - should be compulsory on all new vessels of more than 100 grt, the head of Britain's Marine Accident Investigation Branch has argued.
Computer delays hit APL billing TOP officials at Neptune Orient Lines have conceded for the first time that problems combining computer systems created serious invoicing difficulties for the Singapore-owned line when it bought APL two years ago.
Le Transsibérien de Sea-Land va-t-il subsister? Il y a quelques années, en 1991 pour être précis, l'armement Sea-Land prenait l'initiative de lancer un pont terrestre ferroviaire entre l'Europe du Nord, donc de Rotterdam, vers les ports pacifiques de la Russie, notamment Nakhodka et Vostochny. Ce service est exploité sous le nom de Trans-Siberian Express Service (TSES) et Sea-Land en a le contrat de management. L'objectif de cette opération montée dans le cadre d'une joint-venture avec les chemins de fer soviétiques (à l'époque) visait à assurer des liaisons rapides par trains-blocs de et vers certaines régions d'Asie, en premier lieu le Japon. Aujourd'hui, le groupe AP Moller, maison-mère de Mærsk, étudie ce qu'il convient de faire avec ce pont terrestre qui semble être inclus dans la reprise des opérations internationales de Sea-Land.
TNT obtient la logistique Fiat dans quatre nouveaux pays Un contrat, qui entre en vigueur avec effet immédiat, vient d'être signé entre Fiat Auto Autriche et TNT Automotive Logistics. Il transfère à TNT les activités logistiques (stockage et distribution) portant sur les pièces de rechange de Fiat Auto. Les quatre pays concernés sont l'Autriche, la Hongrie, la République tchèque et la Slovaquie.
DHL va commander de nouveaux avions pour 1,1 mia. d'EUR Le conseil d'administration de DHL a approuvé l'acquisition d'une nouvelle flotte d'avions pour un montant de 1,3 mia. d'USD (1,1 mia. d'EUR). Le choix de la quarantaine d'appareils se fera d'ici deux mois. De plus, 234 mio. d'USD (200 mio. d'EUR) seront investis dans de nouvelles infrastructures.
VLCC sales deal to cut debts Norwegian shipowner John Fredriksen is set to sell four of his VLCCs in an unusual deal linked to Middle East defence contracts. The sale will help stocklisted Frontline reduce its debt burden and bring new investors into the VLCC market.
Surface Transportation Board Chairman Linda Morgan and her husband Michael E. Karam, a government tax attorney, contributed $8,000 last year to Sen. Fritz Hollings, D-S.C., whose support is crucial to Democrat Morgan gaining a second five-year term at the STB. The contributions, which included direct contributions and donations to the senator's political action committee, were made just as Morgan's first term expired, as organized labor indicated it would oppose her renomination and as she faced a one-year maximum holdover period pending White House renomination. Morgan has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Creation of a stand-alone National Motor Carrier Administration within the Department of Transportation leaped from possible to probable as the bipartisan leadership of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee raced its Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1999 toward a floor vote that may occur soon after Labor Day. The bill also would increase the number of roadside and border safety inspectors, mandate more compliance reviews, boost funding for state enforcement, toughen penalties for safety violations and require the new agency to establish impressive accident, injury and fatality-reduction goals.
Everybody wants a piece of the logistics business - even the country's largest commercial printer. R.R. Donnelley and Sons made what used to be its own internal traffic department into a full-fledged logistics business focused on printed matter. Business is booming for three-year-old Donnelley Logistics Services despite fears that the electronic age would override the need for paper. Actually the opposite has happened and the advent of the Internet is to blame, or in DLS's case, praise.
The fallout from the sudden closing of 67-year-old Preston Trucking Co. continues. Teamsters union President James P. "Jimmy" Hoffa says he's launching an investigation into the circumstances that caused nearly 5,500 rank-and-file union workers to lose their jobs. Approximately 11,000 Teamsters have lost their jobs in the LTL freight industry in the past nine months with Milwaukee-based ANR Advance closing last December and Denver-based NationsWay shutting its doors in May, in addition to Preston. Teamsters are angry that their final paychecks bounced at Preston. They also question why the new management team at the company chose to shutter the company only one year after it was purchased debt-free from Yellow Corp., which recently bought nonunion Jevic Transportation to fill out its East Coast regional lineup.
It looks like labor peace finally may be at hand for West Coast ports. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union was close to a deal last week that is expected to be ratified by the rank and file. A vote is slated for Aug. 26. If ratified, three years of labor peace will be very welcome after the past few months of unrest. Some issues are still unsettled, such as productivity improvements and employing new technology, both of which the ports and ILWU members can hammer out in further committee meetings.
Recently appointed CSX President Ron Conway plans to finish at CSX what he started at Conrail — increased focus on customer service through decentralized operations that bring responsibility and decision-making closer to the field. In an interview, Conway explains that despite startup problems in merging Conrail into its operations, service is back to premerger levels. And given the shaky start to the merger, despite a year of testing and preparing, Conway insists customers should not be concerned about Y2K.
It appears that Burbank/Glendale/ Pasadena Airport may finally get a new terminal. At what cost the new terminal will be approved by the city of Burbank is a question that has the aviation industry concerned. Burbank has been on a 20-plus-year quest to update its circa-1930 terminal building. The city of Burbank and a few very vocal anti-aircraft noise zealots have managed to curtail construction for decades for fear that a new terminal would mean more flights from noisy aircraft. The airport and the city are working on a compromise that would allow a new terminal contingent upon heavy flight restrictions, a first for a U.S. airport.
Communication services company Qualcomm, known for its satellite technology for the long-haul trucking industry, has decided to venture into the LTL trucking arena with a new product, Omni Express. Omni Express will combine both voice and data transmissions on a single network to and from the truck, Qualcomm says. Users will be able to dial the same telephone number into the cab for either a voice or terrestrial data connection. The service, which has not formally been announced by Qualcomm, will be available next March. Qualcomm is finalizing negotiations with the potential users and plans to go beta Nov. 1.
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