Defence giant in $1.35bn bid for Newport News GIANT US defence contractor General Dynamics has rocked the shipbuilding and repair industry with an unsolicited cash offer to acquire New York Stock Exchange-listed Newport News Shipbuilding for $38.50 a share, or some $1.35bn.
Profits fall at Statoil to cost 1,500 jobs UP to 1,500 jobs are to go at Norway's Statoil over the next two years after the oil major yesterday revealed a 94% downturn in net profits.
Double blow leads to a slide at Brostroms Van Ommeren Weak rates for product tankers and a substantial Russian loss contributed to a 63% decline in annual pre-tax profit at the Stockholm-listed Brostroms Van Ommeren Shipping group.
BMT plans to continue acquisitions programme BRITISH Maritime Technology, which has transformed itself into a 'stakeholder' company on the lines favoured by UK prime minister Tony Blair, is on the acquisitions trail.
Landmark year on St Lawrence Seaway THE Great Lakes-St Lawrence Seaway System recorded a series of landmark achievements during its "truly exceptional" 1998 navigation-season, US St Lawrence Seaway Development Corp administrator Albert Jacquez has told Congress.
US congressmen demand action to end EU canned peach subsidies NINE members of the United States House of Representatives have demanded that the Clinton administration promptly takes "all necessary corrective action" to force the European Union to scupper its canned peach subsidy regime, writes Joel Glass Washington Correspondent.
US shipyard to build fastest passenger cat A NEW York shipyard is set to build the world's fastest passenger-only catamaran ferry for the South American operator Buquebus.
High-speed services spur New York ferry sector PASSENGER carryings on New York harbour ferry services have continuously increased since 1986, and ongoing growth is promised by new, high-speed initiatives and major infrastructural projects, writes David Tinsley.
Trucking lobbyists fired an artillery shell over the heads of railroads, threatening to join captive shippers in the railroads' competitive-access debate. The American Trucking Associations' board has authorized the move in the wake of the railroads' intransigence in the truck size and weight issue. ATA wants the Association of American Railroads to step aside and allow Congress, shippers and the trucking industry to decide what longer-combination vehicles should be permitted - or else ATA is threatening to help Congress decide if railroads should be forced to open their tracks to more competition. AAR President Ed Hamberger says his position hasn't changed in the face of ATA's threats.
If the American railroad industry doesn't stop resisting satellite-assisted train and shipment tracking, the government will issue regulations forcing them. Jolene Molitoris, Federal Railroad Administrator, says that unless positive train control timetables are reached this year voluntarily, the FRA may impose its own schedule. She is pressing the National Transportation Safety Board for more extensive use of positive train control, among other safety initiatives. A rash of rail fatalities has not helped the rails' argument for the government to stay out of this issue.
Nike wants you to just do it on the Internet. And it isn't the only shoe company whose soul is on the 'Net. New Balance is adding tracking capability over the Internet through an APL Ltd. subsidiary, ACS Logistics. Nike's sales director Mark Duggan says it still wants customers in its stores but increasingly is expanding its e-commerce initiatives. New Balance is hoping to take advantage of a new customs clearance function to know when its goods have cleared U.S. Customs.
American Freightways is making a huge operations change in shaving transit times off 2 million ZIP code pairs by a day or two. Called American Flyer, the new service will be offered at traditional LTL rates. But AF officials admit the shorter transit times translate into increased value, which it hopes to recoup at contract renewal time. Also, while AF will still remain in control with a man named Garrison at the top, founder Sheridan Garrison has begun the management transfer process to his two sons, Will and Tom.
How far intermodal transportation has come in recovering from its two-year slump in the eyes of its customers and the opportunities ahead for the carriers was the topic of a panel discussion at BT Alex. Brown's annual transportation conference. The panel featured representatives from the carriers, their customers, and third-party logistics companies. While intermodal customers agreed that there still lingered a perception that the railroads can't handle the freight, Norfolk Southern, CSX and their logistics partners were optimistic about the opportunities once the two railroads begin competing for new freight in the Northeast.
Combine warehouse management with supply-chain management, throw in some java programming and an Internet connection and what do you get? e-Wmsscm, of course. Renaissance, a supply-chain management software company has released a java-based warehouse management software system - the first java-based WMS package on the market, according to Steve Christensen, vice president of sales. e-Wmsscm is one of several recently released products headed your way, including a tiny new modem from Novatel Wireless and new software from Teletrac, RPS and HK Systems.
A new feeder service is scheduled to start April 1 between this country and Freeport, Bahamas. With ships getting bigger and ports getting fewer, the need for feederships is growing. Columbia Coastal Transport LLC, Clark, N.J., plans to deploy two 400-TEU container feederships in a service that will link Freeport with the ports of Wilmington, Del., Charleston, S.C., Savannah, Ga., and the Florida ports of Jacksonville, Cape Canaveral, Port Everglades and Miami.
There's a major U.S.-European trade dispute brewing - and it's a noisy one. The European Union has approved a draft resolution prohibiting aircraft equipped with hushkits or with bypass ratios of less than three from operating in Europe. This goes beyond the standard used by the International Civil Aviation Organization. The regulations are expected to go into effect in March. Reaction from this country has been vociferously against the move. U.S. officials say it's a dangerous precedent set unilaterally by the EU in a sector of trade that is fully dependent on uniform standards and multilateral cooperation.
Major League Baseball apparently has struck out in its attempt to play a home-and-home exhibition series between the Cuba national team and the Baltimore Orioles. For baseball-crazy Cubans, it shows the level of distrust that has stymied U.S.-Cuba trade for 40 years. The U.S. embargo on Cuban trade has been disastrous for American interests, according to John Howard, foreign policy director at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He estimates that if the blockade were lifted, Cuban imports to this country might rise to as much as $6 billion annually. But U.S. trade policy toward Cuba remains mired in mistrust and suspicion.
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