Industry News
From The Cargo Letter

 


THE CARGO LETTER [298]
Air & Ocean Freight Forwarder - Customs Broker News
8 April 1996


Good Monday Morning From World Port L.A. ! We are proud that even the international wire services took note as our Warren Levine filed his daily "China vs. Taiwan" reports via internet from deep within the PRC last month. You may still enjoy the insights of Warren's "China Chronicles", a feature at our WWW site.........http://www.interpool.com/welcome.htm Today Mr. Levine turns our attention to gathering storm clouds over Korea.

McD

INDEX to The Cargo Letter:

  1. Our Top Story
  2. CHINAS COOL WHILE KOREAS STEAM OUR "A" Section: FF World Trade, Financial & Inland News
  3. Cargo Letter's Freight Forwarder STOCK WATCH
  4. Freight Forwarder Trade Briefs
    OUR "B" Section: FF World Air News
  5. ICC Termination Act May Reregulate Air Forwarders
  6. FF World Air Briefs
    OUR "C" Section: FF World Ocean News
  7. New York CFS & Terminal Price Fixing?
  8. FF World Ocean Briefs
    OUR "D" Section: FFs in Cyberspace
  9. FF U-Freight America Books & Tracks On WWW
  10. The Cargo Letter WWW Sites of The Week

 


Our Top Story


1. CHINAS COOL WHILE KOREAS STEAM

-- by Warren S. Levine for The Cargo Letter

Just when a conflict had been averted between China and Taiwan, the propaganda is beginning to fly again. Beijing's Liberation Army Daily announced yesterday that "China now faces a serious challenge," referring to Taiwan, and that they must step up their air defense capabilities.

Just a week ago, Taiwan's President Lee was proposing liberalization of the shipping regulations regarding vessels calling directly between Mainland and Taiwan ports, which would indeed be a welcome gift to the shipping industry.

But the Korean Demilitarized Zone could be the latest hot-pot in the region. Last Thursday, North Korea announced that they would cease to recognize the agreement that governed the DMZ. South Korea responded by raising their defense alert status a notch.

Over the past few nights, North Korea has sent between 300 and 400 heavily armed troops into the Demilitarized Zone. Under the terms of the 1953 armistice agreement, each side can have no more than 35 military policemen in the area.

The South Korean Army has ordered their front line commanders to "stay ready and on duty for an emergency," and raised their defense preparedness to an even higher level. The United States, which has over 35,000 troops stationed in South Korea, has put their forces on alert as well.

The United Nations Command in Seoul has stated that there is no cause for alarm, and that he does not expect an attack from the North, but that the North's action was "a serious violation" of the armistice.

[Ed note: At press time the S. Korea military upgraded to its "Defense Condition: 2"....for the first time since 1953.]

 


OUR "A" Section: FF World Trade, Financial & Inland News


2. Cargo Letter's Freight Forwarder STOCK WATCH

Here are today's Stock Watch Report AND progress on our "Cargo Letter 10" portfolio. [portfolio represents $l000 purchase of each stock at close on 3 Nov 1995]

[INDEX: 1st number is the last price............2nd & 3rd Numbers represent how our $1000 investment in each stock is doing and our win/loss to date.]

Our "Cargo Letter 10" winner again this week is Air Express Int'l!.......with Delta Air, Mercury & Interpool being the others in plus territory. Intercargo continues in the rear.

Cargo Letter 10

Name Sym Price P/L Value
Airborne Express ABF 25 1/4 -117.82 881.47
Air Express Int'l AEI 26 1/4 220.92 1,220.88
Am. Pres. Lines APS 23 7/8 -25.51 974.33
Delta Air DALpC 64 115.28 1,113.60
FedEx FDX 74 1/4 -125.16 874.66
Fritz Companies FRTZ 37 1/2 -19.61 980.25
Circle Int'l/Harper HARG 17 7/8 0.00 999.21
Intercargo Ins. ICAR 8 3/4 -222.20 777.70
Interpool IPX 17 3/4 59.70 1,059.67
Mercury Air Cargo MAX 10 3/8 64.10 1,064.06

And in other financial news..........

The FF Leader Moves Forward.........as Fritz Companies reports revenues & earnings for the 3rd quarter/February 29, 1996, up 16% to US$274.3M from US$237.0M and net revenue (less direct transportation costs) increased 21% to US$118.7M from US$97.8M in the comparable 1995 period. Net income rose 16% to US$10.3M from US$8.9M in the comparable1995 period. Fully diluted earnings per share for the 3rd quarter of 1996 was $0.29 on 36.0 million average shares outstanding compared to $0.27 per share on 33.0 million average shares outstanding in 1995. For 9 months ended February 29, 1996, FCI posted net income of US$35.6M, up 41% from 1995. Revenue was up 29% to US$816.7M. FCI attributes growth to new customers and margin expansion through its continued acquisitions.

3. Freight Forwarder Trade Briefs

 


OUR "B" Section: FF World Air News


4. ICC Termination Act May Reregulate Air Forwarders

LOS ANGELES - After 108 years of continuous operation, the U.S. Interstate Commerce Commission was legislated out of business by the "ICC Termination Act of 1995" which became effective on 1 January 1996. While this move is generally viewed as one of deregulation by the shipping public, the exact opposite may be true where U.S. freight forwarders are concerned.

Experts seem in initial agreement that the ICC Termination Act requires U.S. domestic freight forwarders to be registered with the U.S. Secretary of Transportation (49 U.S.C. x13903) and will need to carry bodily injury, property damage and cargo insurance in amounts to be prescribed by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation [49 U.S.C. x13906(c)].

Under the Act, a domestic freight forwarder must issue a receipt or bill of lading in connection with all property/freight received for transportation and will be liable for the full actual value of lost or damaged shipments [49 U.S.C. 14706(a)] in the absence of a proper release rate or declared value rate. "I don't know why an airfreight forwarder's airbill wouldn't serve as such a receipt," said Fritz R. Kahn, prominent Washington, D.C. transportation lawyer and former General Counsel of the ICC.

According to Kahn, "neither motor carriers nor domestic freight forwarders need to publish their rates; neither motor carriers nor domestic freight forwarders need to file tariffs with the SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD, successor to the ICC. Therefore, so long as a domestic freight forwarder has a price list setting forth its released rates or declared value rates and gives notice of their applicability on the face of the bill of lading or receipt, I know of no reason why the freight forwarder cannot limit its liability accordingly." "To the contrary," Kahn notes, "Section 49 U.S.C. x14706(c) specifically empowers domestic freight forwarders to establish release rates or declared value rates."

While experts continue to debate ultimate interpretations under the Act, this new law seems to continue to observe prior ICC exemptions under the old law, as follows:

Passage of the new Act has not been well received by U.S. freight forwarders who have been free of most governmental oversight since the Surface Forwarders Deregulation Act of 1986. Still, the new registration requirements for surface forwarders seemingly require that airforwarders also apply for and receive surface forwarder certification in order to continue the freedom of routing they have been practicing over the past nine years.

5. FF World Air Briefs

 


OUR "C" Section: FF World Ocean News


6. New York CFS & Terminal Price Fixing?

Port of New York - Ten New York area warehouse/CFS/terminals took the disquieting step last week of forming what they refer to as an "association" to set uniform rates, prices and conditions of service (i.e. limitations of damage). While NVOCC/freight forwarders must contend with ocean conferences which are exempt from U.S. antitrust regulations, it was not anticipated that the same might ever be said for a CFS/warehouse. When asked in which direction these uniform prices might trend, a source close to the new association supplied the "suprise" suggestion of "UP".

Signatories to the American CFR and Transportation Agreement, include major service providers Railhead CFS, AZ Container Freight Station, Sumo Cargo Services, Cargo Marx, St. George Warehouse Inc., Tritom Distribution Services, GTS Terminals Inc., Nationwide C.F.S., and Van Brunt Port Jersey Warehouse Inc. Is this type of "association" coming to a port near you? [Note: a "CFS" is a container freight station where LCL freight is stripped from a container for individual delivery.]

7. FF World Ocean Briefs

 


OUR "D" Section: FFs in Cyberspace


8. FF U-Freight WWW Site Books & Tracks Freight

San Francisco- 4 April- U-Freight America has just opened what it claims is the first interactive Internet site, allowing shippers to book space and then track shipments to destination through the World Wide Web. We will follow this site.

WARNING>>>>>Trojan Horse Virus........There are widespread reports on the Internet of a new & destructive virus on the net. Do NOT download or expand file called ................. PKZ300B.EXE or PKZ300B.ZIP.......if reports are true, it will erase your hard disk. According to a post sent by Fridrik Skulason to VIRUS-L list on 4 March, PKZ300B.EXE IS a known trojan horse (not a hoax). Skulason is a well known expert in computer viruses, and author of the antivirus software: F-PROT.

Our Featured WWW Site

The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America.......the parent of all of us as established in 1897...... has a new web page for its members. Access is currently free. After May 1 the cost to NCBFAA members will be $50.00 per month plus $10.00 per additional password. http://www.tradecompass.com/ncbfaa/fabnet/

9. The Cargo Letter WWW Sites of The Week

Air Forwarding

Aerolog Express (EU)
http://members.aol.com/AerologExp/index.htm

Ocean Forwarding & Inland Transport

Consolidated Freightways,Inc. (NYSE: CNF)
http://www.freight.com
http://www.cnf.com [for investors]

Karl Schroff & Associates, Inc
http://www.karlschroff.com

EDI Resources.......

Commission of the EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
http://www.rsm.eur.nl/EBSC/EDI/welcome.html

UN/EDIFACT
http://www.premenos.com

EDI Issues/Peter Jones
http://www.webcom.com/~pjones/

World Chartering......

MONSTED CHARTERING - Denmark
http://www.cybercity.dk/users/ccc2457

World Trade Resources......

Brazilian Business Directory
http://www.domino.com/brazil/en/news.html

International Trade Show Calendar
http://www.zdnet.com/zdi/calendar/calendar.html

IRF Geneva Web Site
http://www.eunet.ch/Customers/irf

Railroads, Ships and Aircraft Homepage
http://www.wpi.edu/~elmer/

Singapore Economic Development Board
http://www.sedb.com

Taiwan/America Society
http://www.serve.com/SOTA-NY/

World Government Sites
http://www.partal.com/gent/frigola.html

For Your Business

Big Book Yellow Pages (U.S. Business & Residential) [a search engine for phone numbers]
http://www.bigbook.com/

Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) Index
http://www.wave.net/upg/immigration/dot_index.html

Japanese To English Translation (FREE)
http://www-jmt.jicst.go.jp/index-E.html

Linguistic-Related Links (translators)
http://www.worldnet.net/~xmd/Resources_Linguistiques.html

Maps in the News
http://www-map.lib.umn.edu/news.html

Morse Code Translator
http://www.soton.ac.uk/~scp93ch/refer/morseform.html

Tracking How The U.S. Congress Votes
http://pathfinder.com/CQ

World Population Figures
http://www1.tip.nl/users/t865190/index.html [an error occurred while processing this directive]