Baltic Dry Index falls to 11-month low The Baltic Dry Index, a measure of costs to transport dry-bulk commodities, fell to an 11-month low as a worsening glut of ships pulled rents below operating costs in the Pacific Ocean.
Peak booking season swells Carnival's loss The timing of Carnival Corp's Costa Concordia cruise ship's grounding off the coast of Italy, at the start of the peak booking season, may exacerbate the company's losses.
Switzerland a European leader for the intermodal shift Switzerland leads European statistics for the intermodal shift of freight from the roads to the railways, with transalpine railfreight operations accounting for a market share of m...
Toll increases on Scandinavian bridges The tolls for the use of the Great Belt bridge in Denmark and the Öresund bridge between Denmark and Sweden have been increased with immediate effect. Vehicles weighing more than 3...
Florida rail operator to increase business with trucking partners The Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) plans to expand the reach of its intermodal business in 2012 by strengthening its partnerships with large US truckload carriers. A new relay st...
Logwin opens Foshan office as expansion in China continues Logwin, a global leader in air and ocean freight and logistics services, has opened a sales office in Foshan, in China's Guangdong province. Foshan has a thriving manufacturing sec...
Contrans Group acquires Archer Trucking in Canada The Contrans Group in Canada has acquired Wilburn Archer Trucking, a dry-bulk trucking business based in Norwood, Ontario. Since 1994 the business has provided specialised transpor...
Man Capital acquires OTS Logistics Group OTS Logistics Group (OTS), a global provider of logistics services, and funds advised by Man Capital, a private equity group, have announced that Man Capital has acquired OTS, the ...
Air Partner introduces door-to-door freight service to Europe Air Partner, a leading global airline charter broker, has extended its door-to-door time-definite worldwide freight service, which incorporates its unique so-called red track real-...
AMI's US online option a success The US arm of Air Menzies International (AMI), one of the world's largest trade-only airfreight and express wholesalers, has celebrated the successful first six months of its new C...
Weiss Röhlig acquires JHB Express in Japan Weiss Röhlig, a leading provider of logistics services and a JV between Gebrüder Weiss and Röhlig, is continuing to expand its presence in Asia and has acquired JHB Express in Japa...
Corpus Christi appoints new port commissioners Al Jones, American Bank chairman and CEO, and Charles Zahn jr, a lawyer, have replaced Robert Gonzalez jr. and Francis Gandy jr. on the commission of the port of Corpus Christi TX ...
Liebherr delivers 100th harbour crane to Africa Liebherr is due to carry out an order soon which will bring it to a major milestone in its history. It will celebrate the delivery of its one hundredth mobile harbour crane to Afri...
Lloyd Fonds restructured and free of obligations Lloyd Fonds, a leading German closed fund issuing house, has paid a EUR 10 million outstanding loan back to banks, completed its restructuring measures and thus freed itself of all...
Boeing and AF-KLM finalise large B787 order Boeing and the Air France-KLM Group have finalised an order for 25 Boeing B787-9 Dreamliners, with options. The order was signed in December. The Air France-KLM Group is a long-tim...
TBS and RBS agree terms on transfer of tweendeckers No comment on charterback rumours
Open the box, or buy bulk? Containership deals will continue to hold lustre for Greek owners but more are likely to have bulkers on their wish list in 2012
Greek owners tipped to lean towards bulkers in 2012 Bulk carriers may be on the wish list of more Greek owners, but the ability of owners to actually do deals will again hinge heavily on financing issues
Preparing for the inevitable A mega box ship casualty could bring a disaster to rival Deepwater Horizon
Training needs to go beyond the minimum standards One key issue is the manner in which training is conducted
Inquiry sparks criticism of US maintenance tax Senators have questioned whether US-bound containers are being routed via Canada and Mexico to avoid HMT, but the shipping industry has made a firm response
Eurotunnel reveals surprise interest in SeaFrance fleet Fixed link operator says it has written to the commercial court in Paris about the vessels, expressing an interest in 'two or three' of the four ships
Nigerian oil strike threatens West Africa suezmax earnings rally Brokers report not being able to lift subjects on tanker fixtures and delays cause disruption in chartering markets
Golar sets new rate high for medium-term LNG charter Golar Arctic lands $140,000 per day for three-year deal
CMA CGM to step up checks for contaminated reefer gases Three workers died last year repairing reefer boxes that exploded
Nordic Tankers seeks investor Stake in the company would be sold to raise cash for vessel acquisitions
US ports sanctions pose hollow threat Few vessels heading to US have called in Iran, Syria or North Korea in previous 180 days
Japan imports record monthly LNG cargoes Winter and reduced nuclear power capacity drives Japanese liquefied natural gas imports
Minister hails "constructive" talks on Dover Harbour Board sell-off Plan faces fierce opposition across Kent community
SocGen joins banks' queue to exit shipping But there are few likely buyers for its portfolio, say specialists
Australian LNG project gets go-ahead Ichthys wins final investment decision as Australia seeks to dominate liquefied natural gas supplies
Somali pirates build telecoms mast Structure visible on satellite images
IG freezes retention rates Rates for all vessel types reduced 4%-8.5%
Six captured after pirates attack Spanish naval vessel Skiff fired on ESPS Patino outside the port of Mogadishu
German-flagged fleet falls despite calls for more EU-registered vessels Number of 100 gt vessels falls from 572 to 530
Drewry tells shippers to prepare for capacity squeeze in late 2012 Box lines' coffers will leach cash in first half
Sleeping giant's nightmare Nigeria is beset by tensions between the Muslim north and Christian south, corruption and mismanagement, rampant piracy and now a damaging port strike
P&O postpones plan to lay up Pride of Calais Retains capacity on the cross-Channel route
Holding out for better prospects With capesize rates falling dramatically, owners are holding back and eyeing a post-lunar new year rally
Banking with Chinese characteristics China's banks are moving more slowly than predicted into international shipfinance. This is not a bad thing
London market bites back over former MP's piracy claims Criminalising ransom payments will not work, says maritime industry
General Maritime staff win belated Christmas bonuses Chapter 11 restructuring plan due next week
Atlantic VLCCs outperform SEVERAL tanker stocks have popped this month because of stronger Atlantic Basin demand, Credit Suisse analyst Gregory Lewis said today
Relief ships reach Nome A RUSSIAN tanker escorted by the US Coast Guard today reached frozen Nome in Alaska with emergency fuel supplies
Cable ships begin work CABLE-laying ships have begun deploying the Loukkos undersea cable connecting Asilah in Morocco with Rota in Spain, IHS Global Insight reported today
Charter extension rates sink EVANGELOS Marinakis-chaired Capital Products Partners today announced two charter extensions, at rates sharply lower than previous levels
Brittany Ferries reported victimised FRANCE'S Brittany Ferries said today it is involved in legal proceedings in connection with reports it was defrauded in a €1M ($1.28M) scam
India plans huge LNG push DELHI plans to increase capacity for receiving cargoes from LNG carriers to 30M tonnes per year by 2015, from today's from 13M t/y, IHS World Markets Energy reported today
US box forecast raised RETAILERS bumped up their forecast today for January's US box imports, based on signs of a more resurgent economy
Supramaxes, Handymaxes scuttled by weak demand WEAK DEMAND in China for iron ore and coal has dashed hopes for a Supramax and Handymax fixture surge before the Lunar New Year holidays
Suezmax rates gaining SUEZMAX tanker rates have staged gains this week as activity has picked up after the year's quiet start
Soggy Queensland finally snaps back SHIPMENTS from Queensland coal terminals have finally regained the levels achieved before widespread flooding more than a year ago, IHS McCloskey reported
Product tankers hobbled PRODUCT tankers are handicapped by a tonnage build-up, with more newbuildings entering, brokers told Fairplay today
Golar LNG seals charter GOLAR LNG has agreed to charter its LNG tanker Golar Arctic to a Japanese trading firm for three years
China's yards raise output BEIJING said today its yards delivered tonnage aggregating 76.7M dwt during 2011, a 16.9% increase over 2010
Bourbon sets up Dubai drydocking hub FRENCH offshore vessel operator Bourbon has set up a new structure in Dubai to manage the drydocking programme of its fast-growing global fleet
Box rate rally predicted SHIPPING consultancy Drewry expects freight rates to rise sharply in 2H2012, with the untenable rate war forcing carriers to slash capacity
Teamsters Call Off Pipeline Strike Teamster pipeline workers are heading back to the job after the union and the Pipe Line Contractors Association struck a...
Obama Proposes Creation of Single Trade Agency President Obama on Friday announced major changes in the government's business services agencies aimed at making it easier for small...
Intermodal Traffic Suggests Strong Restocking Intermodal volume for major U.S. railroads fell 9.3 percent year-over-year in the week ending Jan. 7 but rose 17.9 percent...
Oil Sends US Trade Deficit to Five-Month High The U.S. trade deficit widened 10.4 percent to $47.8 billion in November from October, driven by higher prices and volumes...
Trucking Pioneer Don Schneider Dies at 76 Donald J. Schneider, the former president, CEO and chairman of Schneider National, died Friday after a long battle with Alzheimer's...
Virginia Retailers Push State to Collect Taxes From Amazon The Virginia Retail Merchants Association says it will urge state legislators this year to require Amazon.com, which will receive $4.3...
Genesee & Wyoming Traffic Rises 7.9 Percent Short-line rail operator Genesee & Wyoming increased carloads 7.9 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter, although traffic in December was...
Executives Expect More Asian Air Cargo Capacity to Exit More Asian air cargo carriers will remove capacity this week year as export traffic remains week, said industry executives. ...
When the US Sneezes, Canada Catches Cold Shippers looking for improvement in Canada's beleaguered trade and economy might need to wait another year, or even two, as...
Risk for Shippers? A sudden sharp upward turn in ocean container shipping freight rates that started late in 2011 is catching the industry's...
Fact Finding The Federal Maritime Commission calls its investigation into the movement of U.S. containerized ocean imports through Canadian imports a "fact-finding,"...
Trade Winds Shift at Canadian Ports Canadian ports are coming off a modestly good year underscored by changing trade patterns, and expect better or similar results...
Canada, in a Rout When the Federal Maritime Commission last fall launched an inquiry into containerized cargo moving inland through Canadian and Mexican ports,...
Electrolux Says More Shippers Will Buy Capacity Collectively Multinational shippers will become more attracted to book shipping capacity collectively using centralized freight procurement systems when ocean rates begin...
DB Schenker Buys Finnish Trucking Company DB Schenker's recent acquisition of Suomen Kiitoautot, a Finnish trucking company, consolidates the German company's market dominance in the Nordic...
Air France-KLM Cargo Faces Cuts in Turnaround Plan Air France-KLM's cargo business faces further cutbacks after Europe's largest airline unveiled a radical three-year restructuring to secure long-term profitability....
AirBridge Cargo Launches New Europe- China Route AirBridge Cargo Airlines is defying the broad cutback in Asia-focused air freight capacity with new service between Europe and Chengdu...
Chamber's Donohue Advocates Domestic Energy Expansion Chamber of Commerce President Thomas J. Donohue said this week the expansion of oil and natural gas production will put...
Frankfurt Airport Freight Falls 6.5 Percent Frankfurt's air freight volume is falling faster than business at other European airports as the ban on night flights at...
Unions suspend Nigeria strike Talks between representatives of the two union groups and the Nigerian Government are at a delicate stage but appear to be moving in the right direction, given ...
Shipping heading towards 'deepwater horizon' The container industry will be in deep trouble should a super post-Panamax container vessel start sinking today according to a presentation given at a recent Maritime ...
Transnet to buy more locos and build new line Transnet SOC, South Africa's state-controlled rail, ports and pipelines company, is investigating new fund-raising instruments for what the government's public ...
NITL demands more competitive rail for shippers US shipper organisation National Industrial Transportation League (NITL) has requested this week that railroad regulatory agency Surface Transportation Board (STB) ...
Japanese Iranian oil embargo in doubt Despite US treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, receiving an assurance from Japan's finance minister yesterday that it would reduce its dependence on Iran for ...
US volumes heading for sustained level of growth says Global Tracker January US import cargo volumes might currently be flat compared to last year but 'significant' volumes increases are expected in the US trades this spring according ...
Portuguese dockers to end strike A five-day strike by Portugal's dockers - scheduled to end tomorrow - has thought to have resulted in the delay or diversion of up to 100 ships and caused disruptions ...
India's factory output rebounds Suggesting its resilience to withstand the European debt crisis, India's industrial production bounced back in November growing by a year-on-year 5.9% versus the ...
African economies to advance strongly in 2012 The latest economic forecasts published by the Washington (DC)-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) make for encouraging reading when it comes to the sub-Saharan ...
NZSC calls for focus on productivity in Auckland dispute The New Zealand Shippers Council [NZSC] has urged both parties in the Ports of Auckland [PoA] industrial dispute to 'ensure the need for continuing improvements ...
Saverys sells chunk of Clarksons stock Marc Saverys-led CMB cashes in shares worth over £8m in London-listed shipbroker.
Dry-bulk rates to keep on dropping Baltic Dry Index has further to fall and may touch last year's bottom, Jefferies says.
JP Morgan cuts Teekay Corp interest Investment bank has dumped shares worth over $45m in the New York-listed tanker owner.
Zim ready to swing jobs axe Israeli container line looking to shed 12% of staff and ask executives to take 10% pay cut.
P&I clubs confirm reinsurance cuts Ticket to trade a tanker to the US falls 30% with reinsurance tariff down by between 4% and 8.4%.
Hyundai Heavy investor sells down Compatriot chemical producer banks over $600m for 3.3% stake in Korean giant.
Neptune Orient Lines inks debt deal Singaporean containership owner finalises financing for bigger boxships under construction at Korean yards.
Mipo's solid gold easy action Korean yard lines up an expensive paint job, while Peter G might be eyeing a loft conversion.
Golar LNG deal another magic marker Period charter for Golar Arctic generates another wave of excitement in LNG sector.
Baltiysky under pressure over debts Sberbank and others file bankruptcy suits against Russian shipyard whose ownership is in limbo.
Three years' cheer for Golar John Fredriksen's gas carrier company fixes LNG ship to Japan for annual profit of $45m.
McQuilling in Asian dry move US shipbroker teams up with Singapore's Anglo Asian Shipping in bid to tap local dry bulk market.
Greatship tears up another contract Second of two support ships on order at Mumbai's Mazagon Dock is cancelled by Indian owner.
Sanctions slapped on Zhuhai Chinese state-controlled oil trader and major VLCC charterer caught in cross-fire of US-Iran spat.
Samsung tipped for profit growth Korean analyst says shipbuilder should prosper again as offshore plant orders roll in this year.
Kidnapped master tells of "torment" Freed captain of tanker Olib G reveals hell of 18 months in captivity, while Georgia denies ransom was paid to pirates.
Atwood prices bond issue Houston-based drilling contractor set to offer investors 6.5% coupon on planned $450m bond issue.
Canned tankers a tasty option Greek owner could be quids in if it completes the buy-back of two suezmaxes it had chopped.
US imports set to rise in 2012 Trade body says January container throughput to remain weak before "significant increases" in the spring.
Week ends with lower prices Futures settled at its lowest price since December 21.
Progress made on guidelines for mandatory GHG measures IMO working group considers correction to EEDI formula and looks to iron out further details at MEPC 63.
Meeting increasing bunkering demand in India Chennai Port looks to introduce a new barge facility.
Absence of LNG bunker standards could be a 'showstopper' Report calls for guidelines dedicated for LNG bunkering.
Rotterdam prices soften Mixed price movements in southern Europe.
Small gains in Fujairah No product in Durban.
Maersk says algae-derived fuel posed 'few problems' Shipping line trials new generation biofuel in container ship's auxiliary engines.
Early 2012 sulphur data shows surprising results DNVPS finds 6.5% of worldwide HSFO bunkered during the first week of 2012 exceeded 3.50% sulphur.
Chinese supplier reports climbing sales Source says Chimbusco's volumes are up 5.4% year-on-year.
New Fujairah terminal ready to start operations First cargo for Socar Aurora Fujairah Terminal 'expected within days'.
Do you expect counter party risk to become more critical in 2012?
Logistics firm invests $2.3 million into operations at Aberdeen Plans to build MGO fuel storage, and lease two additional berths at Aberdeen port.
Price movements in Asian ports lack direction Avails tight in Singapore and Hong Kong.
Indian refiner sells 380 cSt cargo at 'high' premium February cargo sold at more than double the premium of MRPL's January cargo.
US imposes sanctions on oil trading companies Kuo Oil, FAL Oil and Zhuhai Zhenrong barred from receiving loans of over $10 million from US financial institutions.
Bunker group seeks to increase security of Malaysian waters Partners local maritime authority to launch new initiative aimed at intensifying law enforcement at sea.
Global Risk Management expands head office Sees increasing demand for fuel hedging services, says managing director.
WFS arrests vessel over bunker claims Bunker supplier targets ship for outstanding amount due by the vessel charterer.
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