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The Cargo Letter
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THE CARGO LETTER [333]
Air & Ocean Freight Forwarder - Customs Broker News
30 October 1998
Good Friday Morning from our Observation Deck...... overlooking the
officially designated "Cargo City" area and....... Runway 25-Right, at
Los Angeles International Airport, voted ``Best Cargo Airport in North
America''.
Happy 50th Birthday John F. Kennedy Int'l Airport! There's BIG NEWS for our
industry in The Cargo Letter with passage of U.S. Ocean Shipping Reform, U.S.
ratification of Montreal Protocol 4, and the FIATA 1998 World Congress. We've
brought it all to you this month, and more!
Looking for a job with U,S. Customs? ....... see our story "Customs Top
Cops" !
Contribute your knowledge, stories & company information ........ by e-
mail to The Cargo Letter. We strive to
bring you useful information which is timely & topical. Be sure to visit our
web site .......... https://cargolaw.com.
To post comments or discuss articles, go to ....... http://www.interpool.com/tcl/disc1_frm.htm.
Michael S. McDaniel, Editor & Publisher, Countryman & McDaniel,
forwarder/broker attorneys at LAX.
INDEX to The Cargo Letter:
OUR Top Story
1. U.S. Ocean Shipping Reform Act Of 1998
* To Become Law May 1999
2. U.S. Senate Passes Montreal Protocol 4
* Int'l Air Cargo Law Takes A Leap
3. FIATA 1998 World Congress Takes Sydney
* Focus On The Future
OUR "A" Section: Trade, Financial & Inland News
4. Freight Forwarder Trade Briefs
5. The Cargo Letter Financial Page
OUR "B" Section: FF World Air News
6. Freight Forwarder World Air Briefs
OUR "C" Section: FF World Ocean News
7. FF World Ocean Briefs
8. The Cargo Letter Cargo Damage Dispatches
OUR "D" Section: FF in Cyberspace
9. The Cargo Letter "Cyber Ports Of Call"
* Featuring: The Cargo Letter Software Center
OUR "E" Section: The Forwarder/Broker World
10. New U.S. Transport Related Legal Cases
11. Creating Universal AWBs On The Personal PC
OUR "F" Section: Editorials From Our Warren Levine
12. Violence Spreads In Indonesia
* Teenaged Rape Counselor Murdered;
Witch Hunts Prompt Cries For Intervention
13. China, Taiwan On Speaking Terms;
Historically Rocky Road May Be Smoothing
14. New Cargo Airport For Southern California?
* Doings In The Mojave Desert
-- by Cameron W. Roberts for The Cargo Letter
LAX - 28 Oct. - President Clinton has signed the Ocean Shipping Reform Act
1998 (OSRA) into law. In anticipation of the signing, The Journal of Commerce
sponsored a symposium entitled "NVOCC's: The Next Wave" at the New
York's World Trade Center this month to discuss the key provisions of OSRA with
an eye toward industry change. Among the speakers was Michael S. McDaniel, Esq.
of The Cargo Letter.
Much remains familiar about the new law, but experts expect certain
provisions to alter the industry & regulatory landscape. The new law will
take effect in May 1999, after the Federal Maritime Commission issues
regulations for implementation.
Key provisions of the OSRA are as follows:
1.] Confidential service contracts. Vessel Operating Carriers (VOC), not
NVOCC’s will now be able to keep key parts of the contracts confidential, such
as rates, service commitments, intermodal origin and damages for non-
performance. Service contracts may only be between shippers and VOC’s or
shippers associations and VOC’s. NVOCC’s may not enter into service
agreements with shippers.
Winners: VOC’s gain a competitive advantage while retaining anti-trust
exemption. Shippers Associations will gain importance as shippers and NVOCC
band together in an attempt to keep the contracts secret.
Losers: Small shippers & NVOCC’s will not be able to request a
"me to" approach to pricing, etc. may effectively end common
carriage as private contracts dominate the industry. Conferences may become
less importance as members look to confidential contracts that deviate from
conference interests.
2.] Tariffs will no longer be filed with the FMC.
Winners: VOC’s & NVOCC’s will reduce costs of filing.
Losers: Small shippers will have a harder time determining rates.
3.] NVOCC’s & Forwarders will be known as "Ocean
Intermediaries". NVOCC’s will now be required to be licensed by the FMC,
Forwarders will continue to be licensed. The bonding requirement will continue
as will carrier compensation for Forwarder bookings.
4.] Conferences will not be allowed to interfere with VOC negotiation of
service contracts and can not require VOC’s to disclose terms of service
agreements.
5.] VOC’s may collectively negotiate rates with inland carriers, subject to
antitrust regulation and oversight.
6.] Assembled motor vehicles will be exempted from filing requirements for
tariffs and service agreements. FMC will expand authority of tariff exemptions
of other commodities.
For the time being, the big winners may be the VOC’s, large shippers
&organized maritime labor. However, NVOCC’s have already announced plans
to request the FMC under its expanded authority to allow NVOCC’s to enter into
confidential service contracts. Only time will tell how if the playing field is
level.
Read the entire act at The Cargo Letter's "Law Navigator" feature: https://cargolaw.com/navigator.html
- Int'l Air Cargo Law Takes A Leap?
-- By Michael S. McDaniel for The Cargo Letter
LAX - 29 Oct. - After 23 of occasional discussion and debate, on 28 September
the U.S. Senate finally ratified Montreal Protocol 4 to the Warsaw Convention
(Congressional Record pages S11059). This amendment to the original 1929 Warsaw
Convention has been pending since 1975. Despite the dramatic effect this act
will have on the law of Int'l air cargo law, so little has been said about
passage of Montreal Protocol 4 that most in our industry are unaware and
literally nothing has been available in the trade press, although posted to The
Cargo Letter web site days ago. Many will report the story, but we were 1st with
this important information to the industry. Next Month The Cargo Letter will
provide you with full details and practical tips for dealing with the new
changes.
We are proud to bring you the official IATA Press Release, just issued:
"Pierre Jeanniot, Director General of IATA said that the IATA airlines
are "delighted" by the news of the U.S. Senate's ratification of
Montreal Protocol No. 4 on 28 September.
"This protocol updates the Warsaw Convention by allowing airlines
registered in signatory states to replace paper air waybills with electronic
records for air cargo - thus improving customer service, saving time
&reducing costs by up to US$7 per shipment. Open for signature since 1975,
the protocol came into force only on 14 June this year, when the necessary 30
states had signed it.
"The United States now joins the growing list of countries that have
signed onto this updating of the Warsaw Convention. We expect the U.S.
ratification will trigger other signatures. IATA welcomes the U.S. as a major
partner in demonstrating the cost savings to be achieved by the air freight
industry using the electronic tools now permitted," said Jeanniot.
"At IATA's Annual General Meeting in June 1998 Fred Smith, Chairman of
IATA's Board of Governors and FEDEX President, urged the U.S. to ratify the
protocol as soon as possible - so it is with great delight that we welcome the
news of the vote by the US Senate. "
Under the terms of the official resolution, Montreal Protocol 4 becomes
effective to/from the United States 90 days following the U.S. deposit of its
instrument of ratification at the Foreign Ministry in Warsaw, Poland - a step
which normally takes 5-10 days.
Jeanniot urged those states that haven't yet ratified "to reconsider the
importance of Montreal Protocol 4 to the development of their air freight
industries - allowing them to enter the 21st century using electronic records
instead of paper and gaining tremendous time and resource savings." from
.... Bernard Dubroca, Director, IATA Distribution Services - Cargo
NOTE: Montreal Protocol 4 and its effect on our airfreight industry will be a
major topic of the "Air Cargo Internet Symposium 3", an electronic
commerce and air logistics event sponsored by IATA and The Journal of Commerce
at New Orleans from 17 through 19 January 1999. The Cargo Letter will be
participating in this major industry event. For full details visit our "Air
Cargo Central" web page at https://cargolaw.com/d2.airports.html.
Read the entire Montreal Protocol 4 at The Cargo Letter's "Law
Navigator" feature: https://cargolaw.com/navigator.html.
-- by Michael S. McDaniel, Esq. for The Cargo Letter
LAX - 29 Oct. -- Some 1,000 freight forwarders from 94 countries gathered for
opening ceremonies of the 1998 FIATA World Congress at Sydney Australia on 19
September, with keynote remarks by Australia's Deputy Prime Minister. Staged at
historic and dramatic Darling Harbour, hosting this year's world global event
was the Australian Federation of International Forwarders, and its hosting
officers Barry Vining and Geoff Rout.
A wide variety of working sessions for the four day conference were conducted
under the theme "The Forwarder - Logistics Solutions Through
Technologies". True to its theme, Australia had just adopted Montreal
Protocol 4 to the Warsaw Convention which represents the next great leap forward
in legal allowance of new air forwarder technologies. The exhibit hall in the
Australian National Convention Center showcased an impressive grouping of
technology, software & services from around the world. Indeed, over 100
custodial carriers, vendors, national agencies & service providers from
around the world had gathered to address our industry, which is embodied in
FIATA [The International Federation of Forwarding Associations].
Hailed by some as "the biggest change since containerization", star
of the show was "Project Bolero", a developing program which is seen
to allow the secure transmission of electronic bills of lading, letters of
credit & other freight documents. A more controversial topic of continuing
interest at the FIATA Congress was the U.S. Carriage of Goods By Sea Act of 1998
(COGSA 1998) which remains pending before the U.S. Congress. Intercargo
Insurance Company's revolutionary "Project Intercept" program of loss
prevention and world wide cargo recovery, presented by industry expert Alan
Spear, was so well received that it will likely come center stage at the FIATA
1999 World Congress at Dubai next October. Noted transportation attorney Peter
Jones, Esq. of Toronto, Canada was elected to the post of Chairman, FIATA
Advisory Board Legal Matters.
Delegates to FIATA were treated to a galaxy of speakers, including George
Hsu, president of Evergreen Marine, Australian Minister of Transport Mark Vaile,
Robert Cooper for Project Bolero, Douglas Tweddle, Director of Compliance for
the World Cargo Organization, the TT Club's David Martin Clark, and Michael S.
McDaniel, speaking on the issue of COGSA 1998 as an educational program of
Intercargo Insurance Company. In typical FIATA fashion, the presentations and
workshops met the highest standards of our industry and were never dull. It was
four days of hard work which will take our industry into the next century.
When night fell, however, the Australian Federation of Int'l Forwarders hosts
made an art of entertaining visiting forwarders ....... to the max. FIATA
Delegates enjoyed evenings under the Sydney stars, always ending with fireworks
over Darling Harbour. An initial presentation of Australian cultural delights
was exceeded the next evening by "Australia Night" as Delegates were
ferried under Sydney Bridge to the national cruise ship terminal where actors in
historic Australian costumes awaited. With Delegates and spouses numbering near
2,000, FIATA was transformed into the entire country of Australia, with historic
convicts, British soldiers & settlers, wombats, Kangaroos and whip cracking
sheep shearers present to represent each region and historic period of the
country. We suspect you have not lately witnessed an "Out Back" cowboy
riding his horse boldly through a fine buffet of shrimp on ice & caviar!!!
Still, the best was yet to come as FIATA's Australian forwarder hosts converted
an abandoned train locomotive barn into the most elegant "Italian
Villa" looking site for a black tie event ever seen, as the "Gala
Night" began. The special effects were superb as hundreds of ten light
candelabras welcomed all of us to "THE MAIN EVENT" for our global
industry in 1998. Thanks Barry & Geoff!
Join with the FIATA effort to conserve and promote our international
forwarding industry for the 21st Century!! http://www.fiata.com/.
......In Remembrance for U.S. Border Patrol Agent Walter Scott Panchison, 53,
whose Border Patrol plane crashed on 23 Oct. in remote terrain in northwestern
Washington State. The agency's Cessna 182 was responding to motion sensors
tripped in the Columbia Valley Canyon. The canyon, East of Bellingham, WA., is a
known drug & alien smuggling area. The important work continues.
- China Faces Y2K, Perhaps ............ as this month the
PRC has set up a central command body and ordered ministries to draft plans
for industries under their supervision. The Central Bank is to provide loans
for reprogramming & testing must be completed by October 1999, with
officials wielding vague threats to hold organizations that fail
``criminally responsible'' for any failures when Jan. 1, 2000, rolls around.
Still, a dearth of technical know-how, reliance on a mishmash of software
and dubious financial commitment are raising serious questions about whether
China will be anywhere near ready. At the present time China is seen as
hopelessly unprepared. The outside world could feel the effects of a Chinese
computer crisis in foreign trade, most likely through difficulties in
billing &shipping. Air travel could be disrupted and ripple effects from
chaos in China's economy could affect much of the region. The China
situation is only a mirror of all the many other world nations which have
either been slow to face Y2K, or simply continue to ignore it.
- HKG Trade Continues Down .......... as Hong Kong's
re-exports, domestic exports & imports continued to fall in August this
year against the corresponding period in 1997, but the overall pace of
decline was less than in July, as reported by the Census & Statistics
Department of the SAR. The value of total exports fell by 8% in August over
a year earlier to HK$119.1B. The value of re-exports declined by 7.6% to
HK$101.6B, while the value of domestic exports fell by 10.3% to HK$17.5B.
The value of imports was down by 14.2% in August 1998 against last year's
results to HK$119.9B.
- Interpool Postpones XTRA Merger ......... as XTRA
reported last week that in view of current market conditions, it does not
believe it would be able to obtain the financing necessary to consummate the
deal. Interpool agrees that, in light of current circumstances, the
prospects are not favorable for obtaining the financing necessary to
consummate. The merger had been proposed for XTRA Corp. with Wheels MergerCo
LLC, a company newly formed by Apollo Management IV, L.P. & Interpool
(through its affiliate Atlas Capital Partners). Interpool is one of the
world's largest lessors of cargo containers Int'l trade and is the 2nd
largest lessor of intermodal container chassis in the United States. Founded
in 1968, Interpool leases its containers & chassis to over 200 customers
on a worldwide basis. On word of the news, XTRA stock crashed this week.
Earlier this year, Interpool acquired a 50% interest in Container
Applications Int'l, one of the world's leading managers of container assets.
Interpool is corporate sponsor of The Cargo Letter Library & Search
Engine.
- Amsterdam & Frankfurt Forge Air-Ground Link
............ as an intermodal rail shuttle has been launched between these
airports. by Intercontainer-Interfrigo, the European intermodal company,
freight forwarder Balkenende Air cargo Handling and P&O TransEuropean.
Initially, the shuttle will operate twice weekly in each direction, with a
transit time of 10 hours. The service is expected to be expanded to daily
next March. The shuttle will use special intermodal railcars supplied by
Intercontainer-Interfrigo. The shuttle trains will be 1800 feet long and
will carry up to 1,200 tons. In addition to air cargo, the shuttle will be
able to handle maritime and continental containers and swap-body equipment.
- Alameda Corridor Sets Rail Rates ........... as the
Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority, a joint powers authority of the
cities & ports of Los Angeles & Long Beach, has approved pacts with
Union Pacific & Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway for use of the
proposed 20-mile-long railroad freight expressway linking the ports of Long
Beach & Los Angeles to the transcontinental rail yards just east of
downtown L.A.. The project will speed the shipment of cargo by consolidating
rail lines & improving the flow of rail & vehicle traffic through
elimination of more than 200 street-level railroad crossings. The agreements
set fees for use of the Alameda Corridor and guarantee uninterrupted service
during construction. The railroads will pay US$30 per 40 foot shipping
container, US$8 per empty container & US$8 for other types of railroad
cars, such as tankers & coal carriers. Over a 30-year period, the cost
will increase between 1.5% and 3% per year, depending on inflation. The
agency has just issued a US$712M contract for the project's biggest and most
critical element, a 10-mile-long trench that is key to the goal. Preliminary
work on the project is expected to begin later this year, with actual
excavation of the trench to commence in June 1999.
- "Schenker-BTL" Is The New Brand Name
........... as Schenker Eurocargo & BTL (Scansped) have adopted the new
corporate image Schenker-BTL and will be responsible for all land transport
& logistic activities in Europe. In the Netherlands, Schenker-BTL offers
its services from branches at Ede, Oldenzaal, Tilburg & Venlo.
Schenker's activities in Nijmegen will be brought to an end. It is believed
the 2 companies have formed the largest haulage & logistics network in
Europe. The land transport division offers services in 30 European
countries, with an annual turnover of about US$3.5B.
- USFreightways Gets The Bird .......... as it has
announced an agreement to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares
of Golden Eagle Group, Inc. When the transaction is completed, the
operations of the company will be merged with those of USF Seko Worldwide, a
subsidiary of USFreightways. Golden Eagle provides logistics services and
Int'l air & ocean freight forwarding for shipments between the United
States & Europe, the Middle East &Far East and from the United
States to Central and South America and the Caribbean. The company also
provides logistics services including packing, crating & warehousing as
well as being U.S. Customs licensed brokers. Revenue for Golden Eagle for
the year ended December 31, 1997 amounted to US$84M.
- Dig Deep For ACE ......... as the U.S. Treasury
Department wants users to pay 50% of the cost of the Automated Commercial
Environment (ACE),the umbrella automation system being developed by U.S.
Customs. The new system will replace the Automated Commercial System, which
dates to the mid-1980s and is increasingly prone to breakdowns and delays.
Development of the new ACE system will cost nearly $1B during the next 7
years. But Customs failed to persuade Congress to appropriate US$50M for the
project in next year's budget. John Simpson, deputy asst. treasury
secretary, told an industry gathering in Washington that to get the new
system running, "government and the private sector will have to split
the costs." Cost-sharing is opposed shippers and customs brokers, who
say the government should finance all of the new Customs computer system.
- Customs Textile Warning On Macau ............ as
effective September 14, 1998, certain textile quota categories from Macau
will be placed on Customs "watch list" Customs because of
transshipment concerns. Customs has reason to believe that merchandise in
certain categories may be falsely claimed as country of origin Macau.
Importers are advised to use caution when importing from Macau textile and
textile products in categories 229, 239, 350, 359, 638, 639, 641, 840, 352
and 652 and claiming Macau as country of origin. Every effort should be made
to confirm that the merchandise in the above listed categories have been
produced in Macau and that the manufacturer has the productive capabilities
to manufacture the goods. Also, a textile production verification team
identified the following factories as closed: Cidade Nova, Fok Seng, Kai Fu,
Kong Lei, Luen Tai, Ming Tak, Ou Ion, Perfect Garments, Po Che, San Hoi
Seng, Tak Weng Heng, Tin Sin Overseas , Veng Fat Tak, Wai Dai Meng, Wai Wa.
U.S. Customs will detain shipments from these manufacturers until production
records are presented to substantiate production and a confirmation is made
as to the status of the factory.
- Customs Makes A
Federal Case Of It ......... as the U.S. Supreme Court has
agreed to review a claim by Customs, in the case U.S. v. Haggar Apparel Co.,
that U.S. courts do not grant it enough authority to set tariff regulations.
The case involves Haggar's attempt to recover customs duties paid on
imported slacks that had been assembled in Mexico from components
manufactured in the U.S. and that were subjected to a
"permapressing" operation in Mexico that involved the pressing and
oven baking of and application of a chemical resin to components to make
them wrinkle free. Customs ruled that the slacks were not eligible for HS
9802.00.80 duty benefits. Both the Court of Int'l Trade (CIT) and the Court
of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled in favor of Haggar. See OUR
"E" Section: The Forwarder/Broker World article "New
U.S. Transport Related Legal Cases" (in Part 2).
- Delivered To U.S. Customs On A Plate ........... as
Perceptics Corp., a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman, has been awarded a
contract worth US$45M from the U.S. Customs Service to provide automated
vehicle license plate recognition (LPR) systems for use at the nation's
northern & southern borders. The initial US$13.9M phase is for
automating the southwestern border. The system is designed to automatically
locate, read, process & transmit license plate information on vehicles
as they enter or leave border checkpoints, enabling the real-time
identification of stolen or potentially high-risk vehicles by Customs
Service officers during normal traffic flow. License plate data is sent
real-time from the border checkpoint to the U.S. Treasury Enforcement
Communications System (TECS) database in Washington, D.C. If a suspicious
vehicle is identified, Customs Service officers can be alerted in time to
examine the vehicle, its cargo or its occupants.
- Thanks! U.S. Customs .......... as off came a
Russian-designed SS-1 Scud missile mounted atop its truck-like launch
vehicle, bound for a private weapons collection as a freighter docked at
California's Port Hueneme last month. ``There was a big Scud missile rolling
off a ship,'' U.S. Customs spokesman Pat Jones said. ``It was a fully
operable missile, as far as the experts could determine.'' But U.S. Customs
officials at Port Hueneme, Calif., about 60 miles north of Los Angeles,
recognized the ballistic missile had not been disabled, so the government
seized it. Import paperwork, approved March 11, falsely indicated the
missile's guidance system had been removed and that its rocket motor had
been cut with a torch to destroy it. ``The missile contained most of the
guidance system,'' said Jeff Roehm, a special agent for the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms. ``The rocket motor hadn't been destroyed by
torch cutting. With that, everything stops.'' The collector legally had
imported a disabled Scud missile earlier this summer, about one month before
the 2nd missile was seized Sept. 2. Roehm said it was unclear whether the
missile ultimately will be disabled and handed over to the collector. ``This
is very unusual,'' Roehm said. ``These are museum pieces, for a collection,
something that goes into a very extensive collection of military
memorabilia.'' The widely used Scud missile was designed by the Soviets
during the 1960s to carry a conventional warhead up to 2,000 pounds about
186 miles.
- Customs Top Cops Lead To New Jobs ......... as the
National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) announced that two U.S.
Customs Agents were Honorable Mention award winners of the 5th Annual TOP
COPS Awards. The TOP COPS Awards ceremony was held in Washington, D.C., on
October 8, 1998. Senior Special Agent Mario G. Bogran & Special Agent
David G. Bonnaffons were nominated for their success in dismantling a drug
smuggling & money laundering organization in Colombia and for assisting
other law enforcement agents in identifying & eliminating drug
distribution networks in numerous cities in the U.S. In a nationwide
recruitment drive starting October 1, the U.S. Customs Service will hire
several hundred entry-level inspectors & canine enforcement officers.
Most of the jobs will be located along the Southwest Border. College
graduates & others with at least 3 years of qualifying experience are
invited to apply. And Customs has made it easy. Candidates can apply by
Internet or by phone, until 31 Oct. Interested candidates may also call
1-800-944-7725 to obtain information.
http://www.customs.treas.gov
http://www.usajobs.opm.gov
- Flagship & Customs Do JFK .............. as Flagship
Customs Services Inc. & U.S. Customs, will participate in an upcoming
seminar that will review the latest developments in the U.S. Customs Service
Automated Export System (AES) & the Automated Targeting - Antiterrorism
System (ATS). Sponsored by the Kennedy Airport Airlines Management Council -
Cargo Operations Committee (KAAMCO), the seminar will take place at the
Holiday Inn at JFK Airport in New York on November 19, 1998 and will also
include a demonstration of the web based AES Filing Service developed by
FCS, "Export2000". The seminar schedule & all information is
available on the FCS web page: http://www.trade-2000.com/docs/kaamco/aes_seminar.shtml
- Circle Int'l Gets New Blood.......... as David I. Beatson
takes the post of CEO and Board Member. Prior to joining, Beatson was Pres,
& CEO of Emery Worldwide, a subsidiary of CNF Transportation Inc. He
joined Circle in July as Pres. & CEO, succeeding Peter Gibert, who
continues as board chairman. More, Gary N. Frantz has been appointed
Director of Corporate Communications. Cynthia A. Stoddard, who has 20 years
of experience managing corporate information technology systems, has been
appointed VP & chief information officer.
- Panalpina Goes Out For Danish .........as it has
inaugurated a branch in the Danish capital, Copenhagen headed by Flemming
Polvsen.
- NCBFAA Sets Cyber Plan ........ as the National Customs
Brokers and Forwarders Association of America has entered into an Internet
website alliance with ProNetLink and will participate in the PNL webtool.
ProNetLink will build a module into the PNL website that will allow PNL
members to search for NCBFAA member customs brokers & freight forwarders
closest to them. Since ProNetLink already has on the site the Int'l forms
for all major trading countries, the alliance with the NCBFAA will make both
the shippers & brokers jobs faster and easier. NCBFAA members will also
have the right to act as resellers of the ProNetLink product. Through
ProNetLink's worldwide database of 2.75 million companies, members can
market themselves, locate manufacturers or buyers, find trade leads, send
immediate requests for quotes, generate international paperwork required to
carry out a transaction, produce inter- business communications and find
up-to-the-minute exchange rates. Free tour at: http://www.pronetlink.com/index.asp
- Breaking PAR With The DOT ......... as PAR Technology
Corp. has announced the signing of a US$9M, 6 year contract with the U.S.
Dept of Transportation, to adapt & deploy "Cargo*Mate". The
cargo I.D. & monitoring system will address requirements of the Nat'l
Intelligent Transportation System. The Cargo*Mate system provides for
interoperability with existing fleet communications & management
systems, real-time vehicle container &pallet cargo identification,
location & monitoring. This Cooperative Agreement, a public/private
partnership, will allow for the development and implementation of a
comprehensive Information Technology Solution for the Intermodal Freight
Industry (truck, rail, and ship). http://www.www.partech.com
- Cargo OnGuard ........ as ATX Technologies, Inc., has
created OnGuard TG as an alleged low cost locating solution for fleet
managers. TG uses Global Positioning System satellites & MicroBurst
technology to locate the trailer and track it. The TG unit can be contacted
on a daily basis, or programmed to "call in" at a pre-selected
time. The device keeps a data log on all of its trailers and their progress
as a matter of routine http://www.track.com
- CF Claims First Int'l LTL Carrier To Mexico ...........as
Consolidated Freightways has claimed rights as the only single-carrier LTL
link to Mexico. "CF Mexico".
- But Does It Stink? ......... as California Western
Railroad, operator of the famous "Skunk Train", has received
authority for its stock offering by the California Public Utilities
Commission. It can now broaden its market for share sales. Stock is
available at the Railroad's web site. Stockholders will receive an
attractive stock certificate, shareholder pin & discounts on train rides
& gift shop merchandise. A limited-issue, old-fashioned stock
certificate is also available. The "Skunk Train" began operations
in 1885 and became widely known for its excursion trips through the Redwoods
beginning in the 1920s. California Western operates excursion trains
year-round & also provides freight service. http://www.skunktrain.com
- Hyundai's Heart ........... as a South Korean civic group
with Hyundai help shipped 104 milk cows to hunger-stricken North Korea last
month. A 3,000-ton freighter arrived with supplies in the North's Nampo
port. The civic group "Iwutsaranghoi", meaning an association for
neighborly love, plans to send 96 more milk cows & 23 tons of stock feed
this month. In June, Hyundai founder Chung Ju-yung gave North Korea 500
cattle as a gift during his visit to the North. South Korea has given North
Korea US$35M in food aid since the communist country turned to the Int'l
community to feed its 22 million people in 1995. North Korea has suffered
dire food shortages after 3 years of disastrous weather that aggravated
problems caused by inefficient cooperative farming techniques. Conditions in
North Korea are far worse then you know.
- U.S. Ambassador To "Ragsland"? .......... as
President Clinton on September 24, 1998 sent to the Senate the nomination of
C. Donald Johnson, Jr., the U.S. Chief Textile Negotiator, for the rank of
Ambassador during his tenure of service in this position.
- Your Letter From Russia Could Be Late .......... as many
of Russia's railways have stopped carrying mail because the post office
isn't paying its bills, stranding hundreds of rail cars around the country
stuffed with letters & packages. The post office owes the railways about
US$13M said Valery Zudin, a spokesman for the Railways Ministry. Many of the
country's 17 railways are refusing to carry mail until the post office pays
up. Call UPS.
- Lufthansa Says Good Bye To It's Mummy ........... as U.S.
Customs is finally (at last) sending stolen Peruvian artifacts home. A
2,200-year-old mummy head wrapped in a wool turban, an 800-year-old arm with
a blue tattoo &an 1,800-year-old gold-filled fox-shaped headdress were
among 208 artifacts found by Customs inspectors making a routine check of
the Lufthansa MIA warehouse. The items will be returned to the Peruvian
government 3 1/2 years after U.S. Customs agents stumbled across them at a
Miami Int'l Airport warehouse. Some pieces were raided from one of the
world's richest archeological finds. The artifacts were stored in crates
labeled ``Peruvian handicrafts'' that were unloaded in MIA & destined
for Switzerland.
- Atlas Air. UP with a 105% jump in 3rd quarter net income
and a 33% increase in operating income. Operating income was US$35.7M, the
best quarterly performance in the company's history. Net income, US$12.7M,
was the 2nd-highest. Revenue rose 5 % to US$109.2M. Atlas provides B-747F
freighters to airlines under contracts that include aircraft, crew,
maintenance &insurance.
- CMA-CGM Line. UP as it expects to make profits in the
last 6 months of 1998. The line recorded a net profit for the 1st half of
the year to end the period at US$18.8M on a US$720M turnover. However, over
50% of the profit result was attributed to extraordinary gains, primarily
from vessel sales. South American services continue to be sluggish because
of overcapacity, but its round-the-world operations have done well from
exports out of Asia.
- C.H. Robinson. UP as 3rd quarter net revenues increased
19.3% to US$63.8M from US$53.5M for 3rd quarter 1997. Income from operations
increased 23.6% to US$18.9M from US$15.3M in 1997. Net income from
continuing operations increased 20.5% to US$11.9M from US$9.9M in 1997. Net
income per share from continuing operations increased 20.8% to $0.29 from
$0.24 cents per share in 1997. Net income from continuing operations in the
3rd quarter of 1998, compared to the prior year, was adversely affected by a
reduction in investment income resulting from a special cash dividend of
US$1.50 per share paid immediately prior to C.H. Robinson's initial public
offering during the fourth quarter of 1997.
- CP Ships. UP with a 9% increase in 3rd quarter operating
income, to Canadian US$24.6M despite lower freight rates and a small drop in
volume by Canada Maritime & Cast. The ocean shipping subsidiary of
Canadian Pacific said operational improvements continued, and that both
Lykes & Contship contributed to profits during the quarter. A more
recently acquired subsidiary, Ivaran, incurred "significant
losses," CP said.
- Circle International. DOWN with a reported net loss for
the 3rd quarter ended September 30 of US$544,000, inclusive of an US$8.1M
special charge, net of tax, ($0.48 per share) for restructuring
&repositioning actions taken in the quarter. The actions included the
write-off of certain receivables at Circle Trade Services as part of
repositioning that business, certain charges related to Latin America
operations, facility consolidation, merger integration costs for Alrod
International, Inc., write down of information technology assets &
employee severance costs. Without the special charge, 3rd quarter 1998 net
income was US$7.6M, an increase of 4% . Income from operations in the
quarter, excluding the special charge, was US$10.5M, an increase of 16% from
1997 3rd quarter operating income of US$9.1M.
- China Eastern Airlines. DOWN with a net loss of 33.2
million yuan (US$4M) for the first 6 months of 1998 compared with a net
profit of 306 million yuan in the year-ago period.
- Continental Airlines. UP as 3rd quarter operating
earnings jumped to US$150M from US$14M a year earlier. Net income fell to
US$73M from US$110M a year earlier, due to special charges. Revenue rose to
US$2.12B from $1.8B. Continental's operating income from cargo increased to
US$66M from US$64M.
- Delta Airlines. UP as profit for the July/September
quarter jumped 29% to a record US$327M, but cargo revenue declined 2% from
year-earlier totals. Cargo volume, measured in ton-miles flown, increased
1%, but that yield per ton-mile declined 3 percent. Cargo revenue slipped to
US$139M from US$143M.
- Forward Air. UP with earnings from continuing operations
for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 1998, were US$.39 per diluted share,
compared to $.30 in the prior year quarter (excluding the one-time benefit
of approximately $.12 resulting from last year's UPS strike). Operating
revenue from continuing operations increased to a record US$33.4M, an
increase of 16%, for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 1998.
- Fritz Companies. UP with a massive 75% leap in net income
to end the June - August quarter at US$6.7M from US$3.8M a year earlier. Net
revenue (revenue less direct transportation costs) gained 4.2% to just over
US$145M, while revenue also gained to end the period up 4.8 per cent to
US$342.3M. The company has authorized the purchase of up to US$5M of the
company's common stock.
- Interpool, Inc. (NYSE: IPX) UP with 1998 3rd quarter net
income per share of a record 35 cents. Revenues during the 3rd quarter of
1998 were US$46,115,000, up 13% from $40,962,000 in 3rd quarter of 1997.
Revenues during the first 9 months of 1998 were US$133,453,000, up 12% from
US$118,922,000 in same period 1997.
- J.B. Hunt Transport. UP with 3rd quarter 1998 net
earnings of US$10.8M, or diluted earnings per share of 30 cents, a six-fold
increase over the US$1.9M. Total revenue increased 22% to US$473.4M in the
3rd quarter. Van truckload business grew 26% during the quarter while
intermodal revenue was up 16%. Revenues in the logistics & dedicated
business increased 36% during the current quarter, compared with the same
period in 1997.
- Japan Airlines Co. DOWN with an expected 46% year-on-year
plunge in operating profit through September to 20 billion yen owing to
declining passenger traffic on both Int'l & domestic routes. Cost
cutting efforts yielded significant savings but were not enough to make up
for the fall in revenue. Indeed, British Airways is to suspend its flights
to Osaka at the end of this month as the "Asian Flu" lingers on.
- Matson Navigation Co. DOWN with a 34% decline in 3rd
quarter operating profit. Matson cited lower volume & rates. Container
volume in the company's Hawaii service was down 8% from a year ago, and
automobile volume was off 13%. Matson's quarterly operating profit was
US$16.2M, compared with US$24.4M in 1997.
- Mercury Air Group (Amex: MAX; PCX) announced on 16 Oct.
that its Board of Directors and senior lenders have approved repurchase of
an additional US$3M of the Company's Common Stock and 7-3/4% Convertible
Subordinated Debentures due February 1, 2006 from time to time in the open
market.
- Transportacion Maritima Mexicana (TMM) UP for the first 6
months of 1998 almost 12 per cent to US$23.7M in gross profits.
- Union Pacific Corp. UP with a return to profitability in
its latest quarter, a sign that the nation's largest railroad is recovering
financially from gridlock that had shut down many of its lines. The
Dallas-based company had reported 3 straight quarterly losses, earned US$38M
in the July-September period, or 15 cents per diluted share, down from
US$240M, or 96 cents, a year ago. Revenue dropped to US$2.4B from $2.5B from
same period 1997. UPRR's well know service problems in So. California&
traffic slow downs related to major track maintenance and capacity expansion
efforts along the central corridor.
Report From The Hospital Ward ........... as Asian flu
sufferers continue in bad shape, according to Barre International Ltd., and its
forecasts for the future of region aviation based on a survey of more than 1,000
stock brokers.
ALL NIPPON AIRWAYS
Net loss, fiscal 1998: $39 million.
Forecast, fiscal 1999: $42 million loss. |
CHINA AIRLINES (Taiwan)
Net profit, fiscal 1997: $74 million.
Forecast, fiscal 1998: $3 million profit. |
JAPAN AIRLINES
Net loss, fiscal 1998: minus $462 million.
Forecast, fiscal 1999: $26 million. |
KOREAN AIR
Net loss, fiscal 1997: $753 million.
Forecast, fiscal 1998: $139 million loss. |
MALAYSIAN AIRLINES SYSTEM
Net loss, fiscal 1998: $68 million.
Forecast, fiscal 1999: $88 million loss. |
QANTAS AIRWAYS (Australia)
Net profit, fiscal 1997: $149 million.
Forecast, fiscal 1998: $168 million profit. |
SINGAPORE AIRLINES
Net profit, fiscal 1998: $788 million.
Forecast, fiscal 1999: $494 million profit. |
THAI AIRWAYS INTERNATIONAL
Net profit, fiscal 1997: $50 million.
Forecast, fiscal 1998: $250 million loss. |
- A "Slow" Christmas For FedEx?............. as
last week 93% of pilots voted to refuse to work overtime during the
Christmas season if their union, the FedEx Pilots Assn. requests such
action. Negotiations for a new labor contract have stalled, and pilots
currently have ballots from the FedEx Pilots Association asking for
authorization to strike. Results of that vote are expected next month. The
holiday season is the busiest time of the year for FedEx, with the company
handling up to 4 million packages a day. During that time, the pilots often
are called upon to take extra flights. FedEx pilots, with an average salary
of US$130,000 a year, say they are unhappy with company changes in flight
schedules & are worried about job security. The pilots earn between
$45,000 a year and $200,000 a year. The fliers want a 24% pay raise over 3
years, while the company has offered 18% over 5 years. Next, a strike? Says
industry expert Michal Douglas, "It's been proven that the market is
far too large for either FedEx or UPS to shut down for any length of time.
Loss of revenue aside, the shear mass of freight overwhelms the other
carriers when one of the big boys stumbles - even for a few days. Airborne
& DHL refused to service all but regular customers during the recent UPS
strike, and FedEx rationed freight like packs of cigarettes in WW2."
Merry Christmas?
- And Airborne Too? .......... as in late breaking news,
angry over the firing of a popular pilot for refusing to fly an unsafe test
flight, 800 members of the Airline Professionals Association (APA) Teamsters
Local 1224 are now refusing to fly voluntary overtime for Airborne Express
and are mounting a public campaign that could result in work stoppages early
next year. Announced late yesterday.
- Northwest Airlines Not Smiling ........ as the airline
estimates the recent strike has cost it approximately US$26M a day in lost
revenues.
- Happy Birthday Mr. Boeing ......... as Boeing has
celebrated the 30-year anniversary of the 1st Boeing 747 to roll out of the
factory. Known as the world's first jumbo jet, the 747 is still the world's
largest commercial jetliner. With nearly 1,200 delivered, the 747 is the
best-selling twin-aisle jet in the industry. The 747's longevity &
popularity are demonstrated in the 15 different 747 models built over the
years, it is a legacy that will continue well into the next century. The 747
fleet has flown 2.2 billion people, the equivalent of nearly 40% of the
world's population. Boeing is discussing with key 747 customers an
increased-gross-weight 747-400X that has a maximum takeoff weight of 910,000
pounds (409,500 kg). This is 35,000 pounds (15,876 kg) more takeoff weight,
resulting in 460 statute miles (740 km) more range than the current 747-400.
Boeing also is studying two other 747 possibilities. One would offer even
more range than the 910,000-pound 747-400X, while the other would be a
stretch version, capable of carrying 20 percent more passengers than the
747-400. The projected average, long-term annual growth of 6.4% in the
world's air cargo fleet will result in more than 1,000 additional jet
freighter airplanes in the next 20 years, according to Boeing's latest
forecast. Happy Birthday, and thanks!
- Worth A Fortune ......... as UPS has been rated the
world's most admired mail, package & freight delivery company by Fortune
magazine.
- Smoke Jitters Congress Can't Tax ........... as the
Swissair crash off the coast of Nova Scotia last month is known to have
involved reports of smoke in the cockpit. The event has prompted a rash of
emergency landings & reports of smoke-related incidents in Canadian
airspace. Authorities believe the surge is due mostly to increased jitters
by pilots after the Swissair crash, rather than a more serious problem with
the world's commercial aircraft. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
statistics show that there were 30 smoke- related incidents logged in Canada
in the 7 weeks following the Swissair disaster which claimed 229 lives. This
compares with just 54 incidents in the 1st eight months of the year. “We
can only surmise based on what we've seen but ...... where in the past we
averaged slightly more than one a week, we're now getting 30 in a period of
6 weeks,” says NTSB spokesman David Austin, linking the increase to the
Swissair crash. Several airlines have given new instructions regarding
possible smoke incidents to their pilots following the Swissair crash.
Pilots for both FedEx & Delta have been told not to take chance and
divert immediately upon suspicion of smoke in the aircraft. Contrary to
popular wisdom, where there is smoke, there is seldom fire. Smoke smells
have been traced to everything from faulty engines to burnt toast in the
galley ovens but pilots must now act prudently when any unidentifiable odor
is detected
- There's Been No Further Word - What Is It Truth?
........... as there were reports that Swissair Flight 111 carried VERY
valuable cargo, including a Picasso painting, diamonds and possibly millions
of dollars in currency &gold. While no value has been stated for the
cash & diamonds, the loss could be HUGE. The Picasso painting is said
worth an estimated US$1.5M. Swissair would not disclose the identities of
the shipper/CGNEE of the painting, but said it was in a normal freight
container. Officials report that nearly 110 pounds of cash & 4 1/2
pounds of diamonds were aboard the flight. Swissair also said a locked box
or safe contained the currency & gold. Loss of human life will remain
the greatest consideration, but from a cargo perspective Flight 111 could
even set an airfreight liability record. At the appropriate time, you can be
very sure that official attention will shift to locating the safe, said to
be in the belly, before "unofficial" attention comes to focus on
this air cargo issue. Such explains why salvage divers have been driven off
recently by elements of the Canadian Navy.
- Sticking It To The Star .......... as American &
British Airways have put together a global alliance with 3 other carriers to
increase their competitive position in the aviation market. The venture,
called "OneWorld," will be a tough competitor to the Star Alliance
put together by United Airlines & Lufthansa, as the airlines
acknowledged when the creation of the 5 airline group was announced. The new
alliance also includes Canadian Airlines, Australia's Qantas & Hong
Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways, with possible future partners from Europe
& Japan. Canadian Airlines & Australia's Qantas already had
marketing partnerships with American & British Airways, but they have
now strengthened their ties, and Cathay Pacific has joined them. Executives
from the 5 carriers told a recent news conference that they had invited the
Spanish flag carrier Iberia to join up. Finnair president Antti Potila said
later his company was negotiating to get into the group, as is Denmark’s
Maersk Air which has an alliance agreement both with American &British
Airways. But "OneWorld" is also focused on Japan Airlines, ready
to welcome Japan’s largest Int'l airline whenever it decides to join.
Oneworld was launched even as American & British Airways continue their
fight to gain regulatory approval for a separate deal that would give them
U.S. antitrust immunity to set prices on routes across the Atlantic &
clearance from European Union authorities. The creation of OneWorld gives
the industry 2 big global alliances, although there are many smaller ones
such as the deal between Northwest Airlines & KLM Royal. It clearly puts
U.S. carrier Delta Air Lines at a disadvantage over its 2 main competitors,
United &American.
- Biggest UK Cargo Alliance Born ............ as Britain's
4 biggest independent air freight operators, Heavylift Cargo Airlines,
Atlantic Airlines, Air Foyle & Channel Express say they will take
advantage of mutual opportunities on both sides of the Atlantic facilitated
by any UK/US open- skies deals. The group says it wants bilateral aviation
discussions to resume. U.S. officials ceased negotiations after they said
there could be no deals on matters like open pricing and comprehensive route
rights. After a 20-month suspension, discussions re-started on October 12.
Meanwhile, a hearing on the alliance's request for exemption from U.S.
antitrust legislation has been postponed indefinitely by the U.S. Dept. of
Transport.
- NW - Continental Marriage In Doubt? .......... as the
U.S. government might sue Northwest for antitrust to prevent it from buying
a controlling stake in Continental, fearing that alliances being forged
among the country's major airlines could stifle competition. Continental
reacted to the news by saying it very much wanted the deal with Northwest,
but it was prepared to go solo anyway. Northwest agreed in January to
acquire a 14% share in Continental representing 51% of the voting rights in
exchange for a US$311M payment and 4.1 million Northwest shares If
completed, the deal between the lines will see them combine their route
networks in a strategic alliance, while keeping their fleets, management,
& employees separate. Continental is also to join the KLM - Northwest
alliance.
- Cathay Pacific's Sad PAL Still In Talks ........... as
the parties are still in discussions over the possible purchase of a 40%
stake in grounded Philippine Airways. Philippine's President, Joseph
Estrada, says a firm agreement on the beleaguered airline is close, but
Cathay is refusing to disclose details. The closure of PAL leaves many areas
of the 7,000-island archipelago without air service. Though some of PAL’s
assets have already been disposed of or are immobilized, such as the 747-400
the airline used on its last flight that is the subject of an attachment
order in Los Angeles according to a court order obtained by a U.S. bank.
Late word is that PAL will launch services to the U.S. West Coast, Asia
& the Middle East over the next 5 weeks Starting October 29, PAL will
fly beyond Philippine borders for the first time in 36 days when it begins a
Manila-Los Angeles-San Francisco- Manila triangulated routing.
- Good Bye Southern Air ......... as after a series of
failed deals to buy U.S. based Southern Air Transport, the carrier has been
forced to shut down operations. In recent weeks, both Fine Air Services
& cargo carrier, Kitty Hawk abandoned plans to purchase Southern. The
troubled airline, which was CIA property from 1960 to 1973, has now grounded
aircraft, and dismissed all staff. Southern's fleet included 11 Lockheed
L-100 Hercules freighters and five B-747Fs.
- Latest Jewel In The L.A. Crown Unveiled ........... as
Ontario Int'l Airport (ONT), a new state-of-the- art US$270M twin-terminal
complex opened Saturday, Sept. 19, ahead of schedule and US$26M under
budget. It is located 50 miles east of LAX and is part of the Los Angeles
World Airports (LAWA) system. ONT can accommodate up to 10 million
passengers a year -- a 58.7% increase in passenger capacity from the current
6.3 million passengers. Facilities also are planned to handle the expected
growth in air cargo moving through Ontario. Since 1992, air cargo flowing
through the airport has increased 50% to more than 460,000 tons.
- Air France Cargo Shinning .......... as G1XL, its new
showcase cargo hub at Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport opened this month.
Representing a US$65M investment and over 3 years of planning &
construction, the new facility is Europe's largest, covering more than one
million square feet. G1XL is expected to handle one million metric tons of
cargo annually, including 40,000 truck movements per year. G1XL is staffed
with 1,200 personnel. Due to the June pilot strike, the airline's freight
revenue witnessed a decline of more than 12% while freight volume for the
quarter fell almost 18% as compared with the same period last year.
- TAESA Takes A Hit, Gemini May Be Next ........... as the
FAA has proposed fining the Mexican air carrier US$160,000 for flying a
cargo jet above its maximum allowable weight & for failing to make
timely repairs. Transportes Aereos Ejecutivos S.A. de C.V., or TAESA, was
operating a DC-10F under a lease agreement with STAF Airlines, an operator
providing service between Santiago, Chile, and Miami. During an MIA ramp
inspection on Nov. 7, 1996 (indeed, the current FAA action has come
quickly), the FAA found the aircraft had been flown 23,564 pounds over its
maximum allowable gross weight, although its flight manifest stated
otherwise. TAESA also failed to repair a main fuel quantity indicator &
an auxiliary power unit within the required time period. FAA is also
proposing fining Gemini Air Cargo Inc. US$75,000 for failing to perform
proper maintenance on a DC-10F freighter. Gemini, based at Dulles Int'l
Airport outside of Washington, violated FAA maintenance regulations, the
agency charged. The FAA alleged that Gemini did not perform maintenance
needed to return a Douglas DC 10-30F to its original or to a proper
condition, installed unapproved parts & misdrilled holes while
installing the wing hinge assembly. As a result, the FAA said, Gemini Air
Cargo operated the DC-10 in a condition not airworthy for more than 90
flights between April 20 & June 9, 1998.
- Arrow Air Gets The Diamond ......... as the Miami-based
all cargo airline, has been awarded the Federal Aviation Administration's
coveted Diamond Awards for maintenance excellence at both its Miami &
San Juan maintenance facilities. Arrow is the 1st & only FAA Part 121
all cargo air carrier in Miami to receive the honor this year, and is the
only Part 121 carrier at San Juan to ever achieve Diamond status.
- Report To The Holo Deck! ........... as Emery Worldwide
has deployed new "HoloTrak" scanning workstations at its No.
American Sortation Center in Dayton, Ohio, dramatically speeding the
movement of freight through the facility by eliminating the need to scan bar
codes manually with hand-held scanners. Several HoloTrak workstations, which
consist of an overhead scanner linked to a computer workstation on the dock
floor, are installed at the bottom of Emery's "superslides," which
are used to pre-sort parcels 70 pounds and under. When shipments reach the
bottom of the slides, Emery freight handlers load them directly into cargo
containers destined for a particular city. The holographic industrial
scanners employ a proprietary "holodisc" to scan at high speeds
over very long distances, allowing them to be mounted 7 feet above the
ground & automatically register the bar codes on the parcels as they are
loaded. The information is instantly displayed on a computer monitor below
to confirm that the freight has been loaded into the correct container.
Emery's superslides can move 40,000 packages per hour & the larger of
the slides have 4 to 5 HoloTrak workstations. As many as 100 workstations
are expected to be installed by 2nd quarter 1999. The HoloTrak systems are
manufactured by Metrologic Instruments Inc. http://www.metrologic.com
- China Airlines Joins The Cyber Pack ........ as a new,
real time service entitled "Internet Cargo Tracking System" has
just come on line. The system includes departure and destination points for
cargo shipments, number of items, weight, flight number and dates &
times of flight departure/arrival. The address for this service is
http://calnje.china-airlines.com/cgo/cargo
http://www.china-airlines.com
- UPS & Challenge Step Ahead In Brazil ........... as
they have teamed to guarantee round trip dedicated express delivery service
to/from the Mercosur region by way of Brazil and the rest of the world, 5
days a week, which will reduce transit time to Brazil. For inbound service
to Brazil, UPS packages are guaranteed space for all shipments, and will
arrive several hours earlier than commercial flights. As a result, a
dutiable package may be received by as much as one day earlier.
- UPS Wants Costa Rica ......... as it asks the U.S. Dept.
of Transportation for permission to operate a freighter linking the U.S.
with the Dominican Republic & Costa Rica. UPS says the planned service,
which will operate 5 days a week with a B757, is a key part of the carrier's
Latin American expansion plans.
- New Panama Hub For DHL ......... as DHL Worldwide Express
has recently inaugurated a new hub facility situated at the Tocumen Int'l
Airport in Panama City, Panama. The facility spreads over 1,900 enclosed
square meters & has the capacity to sort up to 5,000 pieces per hour.
DHL has also started operations at its new 50,000-square foot Express
Logistics Center (ELC) at the Miami Int'l Airport. The new MIA site was
built to replace a smaller facility and has over 90,000 square feet.
- Lufthansa Cargo & SAS Cargo Closer ......... as they
have agreed to allow each other the use of their European Express Services
& route networks. In the initial phase, starting November 1, 1998,
Lufthansa Cargo is opening its European route network for
"priority" shipments, the express product from SAS Cargo. After 1
Nov. SAS Cargo customers in Scandinavia & Finland will be able to ship
their express freight from/to 10 new European destinations served by
Lufthansa Cargo. These are: Athens, Baku, Berlin, Bilbao, Istanbul, Leipzig,
Linz, Lisbon, Lyons and Malaga. In other Lufthansa Cargo news, with the
combination of daily direct services between Detroit & Germany, an
additional freighter flight in Dallas, and more services to the U.S. West
Coast, Lufthansa Cargo will now boost its freighter capacity into the North
American market by 22% over last year.
- Less Down Under ........... as Ansett Australia will
reduce or cease certain services altogether, at various ports in NSW, the
ACT, Queensland &Tasmania. More, the airline has suspended its Shanghai
service until financial conditions in the market improve. A re-structuring
program, which will last 3 years, is being undertaken to generate yearly
profits equal to 10% of the airline's annual turnover. Ansett will
completely overhaul its eastern Australian regional network which is losing
over A$55M a year. In the last 2 years, Ansett has recorded operating
profits of 0% and 0.8%. Expect more bad news here.
- Martinair's New DIA & DFW Links ......... as it will
begin with the launch of B747-200F weekly freighter service direct to
Amsterdam from Denver Int'l Airport beginning on October 25th. DIA has been
urging Martinair to expand cargo capacity in recent years. Similar service
from Houston may also start this month. Martinair wants to expand North
America cargo opns over 150% by 1999.
- EVA Air Does DFW .......... as new direct air freight
service between DFW and Taipei will be provided utilizing McDonnell Douglas
MD-11F freighters commencing November 23, 1998.
- Flying & Floating Cargo Plane ........... as this
month Russia rolled out a new amphibious civilian plane this based on a
military design. The Be-200 can be used as a 70-seat passenger plane, a
cargo craft or a fire fighting plane, said the Irkutsk Aircraft Building
Association. The aircraft is based on the amphibious warplane Be-40.
Russian, American, British, Swiss and Ukrainian companies helped design the
new version.
- BA Watch" Not Watched ........... as British Airways
has discontinued its "BA-TV" internal television service for
employees with news about the company, after low initial viewing figures.
Maybe that swimsuit idea would have helped.
- NOL To Sell APL? ........... as Neptune Orient Lines
(NOL) continues to deny it would like to sell the 40% stake in American
President Lines (APL) it acquired in 1997. NOL admits plans to sell
non-strategic assets, although APL is not part of that sale. In a recently
released statement, the company stated, "If by combining with another
shipping company and for it to take a stake in APL through a share-swap
arrangement, resulting in further economies of scale, enhancement of our
competitiveness and adding business value to the group, we are open to the
idea, but we will insist on retaining a controlling stake in APL. The
immediate priority is to focus on our newly acquired APL, to improve our
business performance, lower our gearing and return to profitability."
APL submitted its resignation as a member of the Trans- Pacific Westbound
Rate Agreement (TWRA) on 12 Oct.
- Happy 30th Evergreen Marine! ........... as the Taiwan
carrier has grown into the world's largest fully containerized marine
carrier, at 2,088,000 TEU and broadened its scope to include overland
transport &aviation. After 30 years the Evergreen Group contains 28
major corporations to its credit and employs 17,451 people internationally,
a massive leap from 1988, when total staff numbered 5,960. Evergreen
currently operates 84 vessels, including 66 owned, with a capacity totaling
210,388 TEU. Evergreen's affiliate, Uniglory Marine Corp. has also recorded
substantial growth since its beginning in 1984. By 2001, Uniglory's fleet
will expand to 46 with a total container capacity of 54,884 TEU (excluding
four 866 TEU S- type ships destined for scrapping) and is targeted to be
hauling 1.5 million TEU a year. On the air side, Evergreen's EVA Air became
Taiwan's 1st privately owned Int'l airline in 1989, and is now is expected
to add to its 33 plane fleet by taking delivery of 4 more MD-11 freighters
over the next ten months, bringing the total number of EVA's MD-11s to nine.
It's been a very busy 30 years. Coincidental to the birthday, M/V Ever Union
has just made its inaugural voyage to a mainland PRC port, marks the 1st
major container vessel of Evergreen's to ply the Mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan
route for the past 48 years. Happy birthday!
- Will Reform Hurt Conferences? ......... as the U.S. Ocean
Shipping Reform Act of 1998 is seen by some to dilute the power of
conferences by requiring them to permit member lines having individual
contracts with shippers. The law, which will become effective on May 1,
1999, urges a transfer to contract carriage from common carriage. The
passing of the bill means that shippers and carriers are now allowed to keep
primary conditions of their contracts classified. It will be illegal for
shippers to continue ordering identical conditions to those offered by
carriers to shippers in similar positions. Tariffs will still need to be
made available via private operations, but will not require filing with the
Federal Maritime Commission. The bill also means carriers can jointly set
rates within conferences through the retention of their antitrust immunity.
.............President Clinton has signed the Ocean Shipping Deregulation
Act of 1998. See OUR Top Stories in part 1.
- In The Wake Of The Ocean Reform Act ............as
leading NVOCCs have announced the launch of a new shippers union. NACA (New
American Consolidators Association) bringing together Brennan Int'l, Conterm
Consolidation Services &Direct Container Line. The move has caused much
discussion within the maritime industry, particularly as the companies have
traditionally competed head-to- head as neutral NVOCCs offering import &
export services to shippers, forwarders & other NVOCCs. According to
Charlie Brennan, president of Brennan Int'l,nothing has changed. "We
still compete as aggressively as we have done in the past, but we mutually
accept that we can gain advantages as an industry under the rules of a
shippers association. By combining our buying power with the carriers, we
now have a single voice, which in turn, has allowed us to attract more
competitive rates. This is a significant contribution to Brennan and its
customers. We all anticipate taking our common ability to effect economies
of scale into other parts of the way we do business."
- The NIT Will Explain .......... as the National
Industrial Transportation League (NITL) will be offering a series of
seminars on the Ocean Shipping Reform Act in January & February 1999 in
Washington, DC; London, UK; Los Angeles, CA; Dallas, TX; & Chicago, IL.
Full details in the next The Cargo Letter.
- Forwarder Means "Forwarder" Says FMC ..........
as the Federal Maritime Commission ruled last month that a forwarder is not
entitled to normal forwarding fees if all it does is provide software to
enable an exporter to transmit documentation to the forwarder or directly to
the carrier. The agency stuck to its long time position that, to receive
their fees, forwarders must provide specialized services as specified in the
1984 Shipping Act. These include arranging cargo space, processing shipping
documents and carrying out related tasks. But with forwarders growing in
size and sophistication through acquisitions of "mom and pop"
operations, the issue of what services forwarders will be able to legally
provide is far from settled. New software applications & the growing
practice of forwarders placing their own employees at exporters' facilities
are creating a new array of forwarder services. "I could see another
(test) case coming down the line because the industry is changing so
rapidly," said Thomas Panebianco, the FMC's general counsel. "But
this particular case didn't warrant changing the existing statute." FMC
rejected a petition from an Atlanta forwarder, RF International, to allow
the firm to collect forwarding fees from shipments booked directly by
exporters using its software. The petition originated when smaller
forwarders in Atlanta had complained to the FMC about RFI's practices. In
turn, RFI sought clarification from the FMC. RFI argued that those
traditional forwarder services justify collection of carrier compensation,
"even when the data go directly from the shipper to the carrier with no
intervening action by the forwarder," the FMC said in its decision
Sept. 14. "That was an extreme case, and a 'no-brainer,' " Mr.
Panebianco said, "because the Shipping Act requires 'value-added'
forwarder services to be eligible for forwarder compensation." Still,
FMC did acknowledge that the business is rapidly changing, implicitly
holding out the possibility other forwarder services might meet with its
approval. As we know, forwarders receive a percentage of the freight bill
from ocean carriers, typically ranging from a minimum of 1.25% to as high as
2.5%. Forwarders can sometimes earn as much as 5% when providing freight to
consolidators. Large forwarders are by no means united in arguing that
simply providing software entitles them to forwarder fees. For example,
Tower Group Int'l, disagreed that forwarders are entitled to fees in such
circumstances. But in comments filed in the case, Tower agreed with RFI on
the need to clarify rules on a separate issue, that of forwarder employees
working out of the exporters facility. Such workers are known as
"in-plants." Providing "in- plants" has been questioned
by government officials who see it as a possible de facto illegal rebate,
because it would translate into an effective reduction in the fees shippers
pay to forwarders. The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Assn. of
America hailed the FMC's decision.
- Asian Flu Will Linger? ......... as Pacific carriers are
said expecting the trade imbalance caused by Asia's financial crisis to last
for at least another 18 months. In addition, carriers will be pursuing
further rate restorations both eastbound & westbound over the next year.
Transpacific lines are expected to publicize details of a rise on eastbound
rates at the beginning of November. The trade imbalance was not expected to
last as long as it has, or to be as serious. Last year's eastbound rate rise
of US$300 per FEU even failed to compensate for its effects. Analysts say
westbound trade is so sluggish that lines will probably need to implement
rate hikes in that direction on a commodity-by-commodity, route-by-route
basis.
- Creel Keeps FMC ......... as the U.S. Senate has
confirmed the re- nomination of Hal Creel as Federal Maritime Commission
chairman & John Moran as a new member of the FMC. Creel, who has headed
the commission for 2 years, won confirmation to a 5 year term. Moran will
serve through June 30, 2000. He succeeds Joe Scroggins, whose term has
expired. Moran has been V.P. of legislative affairs for the American
Waterways Operators. Earlier, he spent 5 years as Republican counsel to the
Senate Commerce, Science & Transport Committee.
- FMC Pumps Fees ............. as filing fees for
agreements requiring FMC review will rise from US$1,402 to US$1,666. Charges
for amendments to agreements will rise from US$695 to US$841. Freight
forwarder license applications will cost US$788 instead of US$687. A new fee
of US$23 will be imposed for correcting clerical errors in service
contracts.
- Public Access to FMC Records .......... as a final rule,
effective November 4, 1998, has been issued by FMC revising its regulations
in 46 CFR Part 503 on public access to FMC records, materials &
information in order to clarify existing rules, provide information
concerning the electronic availability of information and records, and
incorporate the requirements of the Electronic Freedom of Information Act
Amendments of 1996. The revised regulations cover materials the FMC will
make available for public inspection and copying and whether they will be
available at the Office of the Secretary, upon written request, or on the
FMC's Web site. http://www.fmc.gov
- EU Council Exonerated ........... as following its
complaints that the Transatlantic Conference Agreement (TACA) had been
forcing general increases of over 80% between 1993 and 1995, the European
Shippers' Council (ESC) says it feels exonerated by TACA's recent
punishment. The European Commission (EC) fined TACA member lines this month
more than US$300M. TACA's predecessor, the Trans-Atlantic Agreement (TAA)
was also included in the ruling. The ESC has slammed TACA & TAA for
being "unlawful" and praised the EC's decision.
- Asia Rates Up For '99 .......... as lines serving the
Asia-Europe routes under the Asia Westbound Rate Agreement are expecting a
rate increase over the last 6 months of next year. This increase would
follow rate hikes which are to be implemented next January & April.
Rates on the trade are due to go up by a minimum of US$200 per FEU on 1
January, and US$150 on 1 April 1999. The actions are being taken to
compensate for the trade imbalance as vessels out of Asia are full, but
remain mostly empty in the opposite direction.
- TACA Continues Decline ........... as Hyundai has become
the latest carrier to resign from the Trans-Atlantic Conference Agreement.
The Korean carrier will leave TACA at year end, but will continue to buy
container slots from a TACA member, Mediterranean Shipping Co. TACA has been
under intense legal attack by the European Commission & commercial
pressure from non- conference lines. Since the start of the year, Hanjin,
Neptune Orient Lines &Cho Yang have left the conference. DSR-Senator,
TMM and Tecomar will leave at the end of the year. Hyundai's departure will
leave TACA with nine members, compared with about 15 lines operating outside
the conference. Most of the lines that have left TACA have small market
shares, but TACA's overall share has dropped from 80% to an estimated 60%.
- OOCL & P&O Nedlloyd More "Grand"
.......... as they are to increase their cooperation within the Grand
Alliance, expanding on their current alliance routes through the recently
announced Grand Alliance /Vessel-Sharing Agreement (VSA). The VSA operates 3
northern Europe/US trade loops including Maersk's Europe/north America/Asia
pendulum service. NYK operates 2 more, the Gumex and PAX services. OOCL and
P&O Nedlloyd are member lines of the Grand Alliance along with NYK &
Hapag-Lloyd, but they only cover the transpacific &Asia/Europe routes.
- New Zealand Becomes Canada! ............ as CP Ships
parent company Canadian Pacific, is buying Australia New Zealand Direct Line
(ANZDL) from its two current owners, SCAC Delmas Vieljeux & New
Zealand's Brierley Investments. CP Ships' latest take-over is the 5th such
deal struck in just 2 years. The agreement includes ANZDL's container
shipping services & brand name. Since December 1996, CP Ships has
purchased Lykes Lines, Contship & Iravan Lines.
- AEI Moves To Consolidate In "Fast" Company
.......... as the forwarder/broker has contracted with 11 ship lines to
handle about one 4th of its ocean traffic. AEI also says it is in
preliminary talks with FastShip, which plans a high-speed transatlantic
service in 2001, about pre-committing large blocks of container space. The
move came days after the U.S Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 1998 was signed
into law. That law encourages a shift from common carriage to contract
shipments. AEI said that under its new "consolidation program,"
the 11 carriers with which it has signed will have right of 1st refusal on
additional cargo made available under the program. AEI, which shipped
126,000 containers last year, said it expects half of its worldwide volumes
to be tendered under the program. AEI said that before the consolidation
program, it used as many as 60 carriers worldwide. AEI has added to its
current operations in Rochester & Syracuse, New York by buying up
customs broker, Associated Customshouse Brokers.
- FastShip Finds A Euro Home .......... as it has signed an
agreement to make Cherbourg, France, the sole European port for a
transatlantic service featuring 4 ships that will sail at 35 to 40 knots and
give competition to the airfreight mode. FastShip already has designated
Philadelphia as its U.S. port for the service, which would offer transits
nearly twice as fast as conventional vessels. Cherbourg will build necessary
terminal facilities and road & rail improvements. The cost is expected
to be more than $55 million for the terminal and at least US$45M for other
infrastructure. FastShip hopes to award a construction contract in the 2nd
quarter of next year and to begin the service at the end of 2001.
- OOCL Launches Internet B/L Platform ............as its
"Internet Bill of Lading" services recently debuted in Singapore
as part of a program to establish a global standard for electronic
documentation on the Internet. The service is being gradually introduced in
Asia, Europe & other countries, together with its Internet booking,
tracking and other interactive features. The Internet Bill of Lading feature
allows exporters to prepare OOCL Bills of Lading at their own premises, thus
by-passing the process of multiple visits to shipping line offices. Shippers
can efficiently recreate regularly used Bill of Lading information, as well
as ensure full compliance with their own specific Letter of Credit
information. There is a feature allowing exporters to distribute copies of
their Bills of Lading electronically to their overseas customers. There is
said to be a sophisticated security control feature. NOTE: A paper bill of
lading must also be issued in order to comply with the laws of many major
trading nations. http://www.oocl.com
- The Siege & Storming Of M/V Thorseggen ......... as
the Port of Long Beach became the scene of a tense standoff last week.
Greenpeace "activists" (eco-pirates), dressed in bright orange
jumpsuits, boarded the vessel on Tuesday as it entered the harbor, tied
themselves to M/V Thorseggen's loading crane, and unfurled a banner that
read: ``Stop Destroying the Great Bear Rainforest.'' Greenpeace claimed the
ship's cargo of newsprint was manufactured by Vancouver-based International
Forest Products Ltd. from trees logged in an old-growth forest. When the
ship was forced to drop anchor, more of the eco-terrorists handcuffed
themselves to the anchor chain. After two days of lost time, at the request
of the ship's owner, about 20 SWAT police officers boarded the 570-foot
vessel Thursday afternoon and arrested the protesters for trespassing &
obstruction. The cargo owner's Rick Slaco, Int'l Forest Products' chief
forester, denied damage to old growth forests &dismissed the protest as
a publicity stunt. ``It's not surprising to us,'' he said. ``Traditionally,
they do this at this time of year. It's their peak fund-raising period.''
Dismissed by the cargo interests or not, the transport industry is at
increasing risk to this type of economic terrorism. It is truly unfair for
cargo carriers to become "targets of opportunity" for this type of
attack, given our lack of notice as to what freight might be
"political". Greenpeace certainly understands this concept, but
obviously does not care that it has cost an innocent ship owner a
significant amount of money and caused the cargo of other shippers to be
delayed. Prosecutions for what amounts to felony conduct should well follow.
- New York Is Now "Leaking" Less .......... as
the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, the Port Authority & the
County Prosecutor's Office collaborated to identify and arrest 6 suspects
the battle against cargo theft in N.Y. Items with an import value of
US$973,880 had been stolen from 8 cargo containers which arrived in the Port
of New York. Included in the stolen cargo was Tommy Hilfiger clothing and
Nourison oriental carpets. The arrests resulted from an ongoing
investigation into a widespread cargo theft ring engaging in cargo
"leakage." According to officials, "leakage" occurs when
a truck driver allows a portion of the cargo to be stolen after the cargo
containers are picked up from a warehouse or waterfront terminal and when
the cargo is delivered to the scheduled destination. The thefts are
committed in a manner such that it appears as if the cargo was not stolen en
route to the legitimate destination. Distribution of the stolen cargo is
facilitated by a group of organized fencing operations. Waterfront
Commission detectives have been conducting an extensive investigation into
leakage since May 1996. The thefts were associated with the
"Corporation," an organized crime group based in Hudson County,
New Jersey.
- New Maersk Chief ......... as Knud Stubkjaer 42, has
recently been appointed CEO to replace former CEO, Ib Kruse. Joining the
Danish shipping company in 1977 as a trainee at that time, Mr. Stubkjaer is
now widely accepted as a Maersk and AP Moller veteran.
- M/V OOCL Belgium May Get Chilly Reception .......... as
the vessel was recently christened at Daewoo Heavy Industries' Okpo Shipyard
on Koje island, Korea. The new building is the 2nd ice-strengthened
container vessel ordered by the Hong Kong's OOCL. It is one of the largest
purpose-built container vessels for ice navigation and will be deployed in
the transatlantic service between northern Europe and Montreal. The hull
structure is strengthened & the ship's systems and equipment are
designed to be operational at temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees
Celsius. Chilly indeed.
- Meet M/V P&O Nedlloyd Kobe ........as the largest
containership ever built at a Japanese shipyard has been constructed for
P&O Nedlloyd Container Lines. The 6,690-TEU M/V P&O Nedlloyd Kobe
has been delivered to the carrier's Kure Shipyard and is the third of four
vessels of the same kind. Capable of cruising at 24.5 knots, the ship will
ply the Japan-Europe route starting in Kobe.
- M/T Petro Ranger Pirates "Walk" ........... as
Chinese authorities on Hainan island, China, were, in early Oct., preparing
to release 12 suspected pirates instead of extraditing them to Malaysia,
according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB). The 12, carrying
Indonesian identity documents were detained by Chinese police following the
discovery, off Hainan, of the hijacked Malaysian-flag tanker Petro Ranger in
May. The ship had been hijacked at sea, by 12 pirates, en route for Ho Chi
Minh City, and was diverted to Hainan. The master and crew were subjected to
considerable violence during the hijack. Some of the ship's cargo of 9,574
tons of gas oil and 1,591 tons of kerosene was unloaded by the pirates while
the rest was eventually seized by the authorities before the ship was
allowed to sail.
- This Month In U.S. Naval History ......... with first
take-off from a U.S. aircraft carrier. On Oct. 17, 1922, Lt. Commander
Virgil C. Griffin took off from the flight deck of the newly commissioned
carrier USS Langley (CV 1) in a Vought VE-7SF, ushering in the era of naval
aviation.
- Throughput .......... as Port of Hamburg says its
container volume increased 9.7%, to 1.768 million TEUs, during the first
half of 1998, and says volume is expected to total 3.6 million TEUs for the
full year. Port of Long Beach was up 17.6% during the port's just-ended
fiscal year ....... volume in September was 372,746 TEUs, up 12.1%from a
year earlier and the 2nd busiest month in the port's history ..... and or
the 12 months ending Sept. 30, Long Beach handled a record 3,972,377 TEUs.
Import loads outnumbered export loads by about 2 to 1, and the total of
loaded export boxes was nearly matched by empty boxes being sent back to
Asia.
As the world is now so taken by the movie "TITANIC", we seriously
question what the response might be if the public came to know just how
dangerous is the sea. Make certain your customers know the truth. Arrange
quality marine cargo insurance for all shippers and let them see the following
.........
Due to scheduling difficulties for our valued Correspondent Steve Schultz,
this important feature of The Cargo Letter is on an hiatus. For those of our
readers who look forward to this vital shipping information each month. We have
just spoken to Mr. Schultz. He Promises a speedy return. McD
However, our usual warning for this feature will remain, because it is very
dangerous out there ................
NOTE: The historic dangers of carriage by sea continue to be quite real.
Shippers must be encouraged to purchase high quality marine cargo insurance from
their freight forwarder or customs broker.
Here are our suggested world wide web sites of the week for your business,
your information and your amusement ..............
Damco Maritime's Tips For The Internet Surfer ..............
as our friend Markus Wiedemeier has constructed a colorful new page which guides
you to many high points of our industry on the web.
http://www.damcomar.com/the-net.htm
U.S. Customs Trilingual NAFTA Center Web Site
http://www.nafta-customs.org
TheTrip.com ....... now voted the BEST on-line travel
service for business needs. THE one stop travel site. Along with other travel
needs, you may access through:
https://cargolaw.com/d.traveler.html
Airline Safety
http://airlinesafety.com
World Trade Organization ........ read the newsletter.
http://www.wto.org
Fritz Companies ......... newly upgraded web site.
http://www.fritz.com
NWA.com ....... Northwest Air's newly upgraded web site.
http://www.nwa.com
Roadway Express ....... newly upgraded web site.
http://www.roadway.com
Yellow Freight System ....... newly upgraded web site.
http://www.yellowfreight.com
Eurotunnel ........... said to be on the financial mend.
http://www.eurotunnel.com
Transport Law of Venezuela ........ from the Sabatino
Pizzolante Law Firm.
http://www.sabatinop.com
U.S. Rails To Trails Conservancy ............. this month
celebrating the 1,000th abandoned rail route which has been converted to a
hiking trail. Today, less than half of America's original rail system remains
and 2,000 miles of tracks are abandoned every year. So, make
"Rail-Trails" your next walk.
http://www.railtrails.org
AfriCargo Airlines ........ serving Accra, Gaborone and
Entebbe.
http://www.transoceanic.net/
Freight Forwarder Directory
http://www.forwarders.com
ABF eCenter .......... a new suite of Internet- based tools
tailored to services customers.
http://www.abfs.com
World Trade Zone ........ private fee service. Directory
listings.
http://www.worldtradezone.com/
USA-FSU Trade ......... a mailing list on the subject of
trade between the U.S., Russia and Former Soviet Union.
http://www.onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/usa-fsu_trade
Buying Real Estate In Beijing?
http://www.glory-group.com/html/intr.html
News Trawler ........ search the primary sources.
http://www.newstrawler.com/nt/nt_home.html
The Cargo Letter Transport Software Center
PowerQuest's ............. "PowerPartners"
program, designed to reach the needs of the VARs (Value Added Resellers) &
system integrators. Voted "Best Vendor-Int'l at the recent VarVision event.
http://www.powerquest.com
ITM Corporation ........on-line logistics resource enables
you to book shipments, create forms & track domestic or Int'l shipments over
the Internet, 24 hours a day.
http://www.itmship.com/
InterConn Network ........ supply chain software.
http://www.interconn.com
Descartes Systems ...... supply chain software.
http://www.descartes.com
ExisTechnologies ........computerized systems for dangerous
goods control. Brochure available.
http://www.existec.com
Int'l Software Marketing ........ new trade management WT/3
software provides extensive transaction processing capability and automation for
companies involved in buying& selling goods into foreign markets. Ability to
send, receive, and process international transactions automatically.
http://www.ismworld.com
Workwise Corp. ........ E-commerce software.
http://www.workwise.com
Wright v. Universal Maritime Service Corp. - U. S. Supreme Court
No. 97-889
STATUS: Pending
Court below: U.S. Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit At issue in this arbitration
case is whether a person under a collective bargaining agreement (CBA)
containing a mandatory arbitration clause may bring a court action under the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) without first filing a grievance under the
CBA.
Wright was a longshoreman in Charleston, SC and a member of a local union.
The CBA contained an arbitration clause covering "all matters affecting
wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment." In 1992,
Wright was injured on the job, received a settlement of $250,000, and was
certified "permanently and totally disabled." In 1994 Wright's
physician informed him that his condition had improved and he was able to return
to work. Respondent employers agreed not to employ Wright due to his permanent
disability status, which prompted Wright to file an ADA claim in the district
court. The court below held Wright was required to submit his claim to
arbitration pursuant to the CBA before he could bring an action in court.
Brooker v. Durocher Dock & Dredge - U. S. Supreme Court
No. 98-18
Court below: 133 F.3d 1390 (11th Cir 01/26/98)
STATUS: Pending
At issue in this workers' compensation case is whether a seawall is a covered
"situs" under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act
(LHWCA), 33 USC ss 901 et seq. (1994) which caused injuries to an employee who
fell off the old seawall during the course of his employment at Durocher Dock
& Dredge. The court below held that the seawall was neither a
"pier" or "other adjoining area customarily used by an employee
in loading, unloading, repairing, dismantling, or building a vessel," such
that Brooker's injury would be covered by the LHWCA.
United States v. Haggar Apparel Company - U.S. Supreme Court
No. 97-2044
Court below: 127 F.3d 1460 (Fed Cir 10/22/97)
STATUS: Pending
At issue in this tariff law case is whether the oven-baking process used to
cure Haggar's post-cure fabric is an operation that is "incidental to
assembly" under the tariff laws of the United States. The tariff provisions
provide a partial duty allowance for certain U.S.-made components that are
assembled outside the U.S. for return to the U.S. so long as the components are
not advanced in value or improved in condition "except [by the actual
assembly itself or] by operations [which are] incidental to the assembly
process." (Item 807.00 Tariff Schedule of the United States). The court
below held that Haggar's process was incidental to the assembly process. It held
in addition that the statute did not prohibit advancement in value of Haggar's
product when the operation is incidental to the assembly process. Haggar's duty
allowance was therefore permitted. See our article "Customs
Makes A Federal Case Of It" in OUR "A" Section:
Trade, Financial & Inland News (part 1).
Cree v. Flores U.S. Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit
No. 97-35305
STATUS: Decided Oct. 8, 1998
Holding: District court's historical analysis of 1855 treaty contained no
errors & evidence proved tribal members interest in travel, therefore,
exempting them from licensing and permit fees for logging trucks.
Defendants appeal the district court's holding that the Treaty with the
Yakamas exempts the Yakama Indian Nation from Washington truck license
&overweight container/trailer permit fees. Plaintiffs originally brought
suit after defendants, who are officers of the State of Washington, issued
citations to tribal members who had refuse to pay the applicable fees on their
logging trucks. In affirming the district court's decision, the court found that
proper weight was given to the historical fact that travel was a significant
interest of the Yakamas at the time of the treaty. The court did not find it
erroneous to interpret the treaty as the Yakamas understood it at the time of
its creation. Finally, the court affirmed the Yakamas assertion of their rights
under the treaty as timely. AFFIRMED
Read the full opinion at: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=9th&navby=case&no=9735305
-- by Michal Douglas for The Cargo Letter
There are several very good software packages that provide a multitude of
forwarder services. But if generation of generic AWBs is your chief concern, the
answer may be easier than you think.
Using any word processor, you can create an AWB in the form of a table.
Write-protect all but the data fields as well as the file itself (this forces
you to save the file with a new name each time).
Now you can bring up this 'master' file, tab through all the fields, print as
many copies as necessary, and save each shipment by whatever name/number you
choose.
Not perfect - but free!
Michal Douglas is the Moderator of the AIRCARGO Mailing List, a service to
3100 industry professionals, and president of IMAGINATION, INC., Internet
Solutions for the Air Cargo Industry. http://www.imaginationinc.com
- Teenaged Rape Counselor Murdered;
Witch Hunts Prompt Cries For Intervention
-- by Warren S. Levine, for The Cargo Letter
SEATTLE, October 27 -- In the latest round of violence to hit Indonesia, an
18-year-old rape counselor was brutally murdered in her home near a military
complex in the center of Jakarta on October 9th. The young woman was found dead
of multiple stab wounds and a slashed neck by her father, reports said. The
military, long accused of having too much power in this, the world's most
populous Islamic country was said to be investigating this latest in a series of
senseless killings. The victim of this latest civil unrest, which many say has
been fueled by the military, was a Christian. The murdered young woman,
Martadinata Haryono, a high school student, worked with her mother for
Volunteers for Humanity, one of many groups trying to end the anti- Chinese
violence which has pervaded Indonesia over the past eighteen months.
In other violence in this economically ravaged country, over 150 people, most
of them Muslims, have been killed in what can only be described as Salem- style
witch hunts.
In Serang, a small town west of Jakarta, a 55-year-old man was attacked
outside of a mosque and accused of being a sorcerer. Before the crowd could put
him in a pool of water to determine if he was indeed a black-magic practitioner,
he was beaten with sticks and stoned to death by the mob.
The Indonesian Justice Minister, in apparent denial of the incidents, told
The Jakarta Post that the killings "often claim innocent victims."
However, he stopped short of outright condemnation of the murders -- indeed he
almost seemed to justify the murders -- when he suggested that anyone who claims
they can kill or hurt people with "black magic" should be punished.
Most of the previous violence in Indonesia had been directed at ethnic Chinese,
traditionally Buddhists or Christians. But now the violence seems to be aimed at
Muslims, including a number of clerics who have been victimized as well.
Many groups have protested the involvement of Indonesia's military in the
investigations, since the military has wielded almost absolute power for decades
in that country's civil affairs. The U.S. Department of State has advisories out
for Americans traveling to Indonesia. Any foreigners who plan to visit Indonesia
should register their itineraries with their Embassies in Jakarta.
- Historically Rocky Road May Be Smoothing
-- by Warren S. Levine, for The Cargo Letter
SEATTLE, October 24 -- In a series of high-level talks over the past weeks,
representatives of The People's Republic of China and Taiwan have made their
most serious attempts ever to iron out the differences between the two
governments.
A given in the equation is that there is only one China. Another given is
that Taiwan will never, after experiencing a free market system and a
representative democracy, agree to the communist way of government. The biggest
variable is the way in which the two systems will interact once China and Taiwan
have been unified.
After their first series of meetings in the beginning of October, Koo Chenfu,
Taiwan's chief negotiator, called PRC President Jiang Zemin, "lao
pengyou" -- "old friend" -- but he also held fast to Taiwan's
hesitation to reunify with the mainland until the PRC becomes a democracy.
Oddly enough, the Central Committee of the Communist Party (CCCP) has
operated quite like a democracy within itself, while ruling the populace of the
PRC as a socialist system. The system which governs the masses has been referred
to as "Market Leninism," a spoof on the traditional type of Marxist-
Leninist system to which China has tried to hold fast.
However, the idea of China as a true democracy scares most Party elders who,
over the past 50 years, have seen a Nationalist Revolution (which created the
Republic of China on Taiwan), a Cultural Revolution, a terrorist government over
which Mao Zedong presided, and an Information Revolution, brought on as a result
of the Tiananmen Square events of 1989.
The Nationalists were banished, chased off the mainland, to Taiwan. The
Cultural Revolution has long since been decried as a perversion of the system, a
massive crime committed against the people by a corrupt and paranoid regime.
But the information revolution is in progress and cannot be stopped. The
ever-growing popularity of the Internet has guaranteed that. No matter how many
firewalls and roadblocks China attempts to throw in the faces of free
information entering that country, the innumerable mirror sites and the sheer
volume of communications entering China every second of every day, cannot be
monitored.
And although no deal was struck in the latest round of talks, there was no
anger demonstrated during the meetings, and to demonstrate the most positive
aspects of Taiwan's democratic form of government, Koo invited Wang Daohan, an
84-year-old former mayor of Shanghai and mentor to the Chinese President, to
visit Taiwan in December of this year, to observe the general election.
Mainland Chinese, of course, got the official version of the meetings from
Xinhua, the government-controlled news agency of the PRC, and were seemingly
happy to have the talks occur, but their cousins on Taiwan were more pessimistic
about China's continued claims to Taiwan. On Taiwan, the people can receive CCTV
from the Mainland, however, news from Taiwan is very strictly controlled within
the PRC.
Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui was pleased with the dialogue, but held fast
that Taiwan must be seen as an equal partner in talks with the Mainland. In
contrast to the March 1996 war games which China staged during Taiwan's last
presidential election, the attitude was much more peaceful. However, both sides
agreed that there were still major differences to be resolved.
Lee has been president of Taiwan since 1988, and was reelected in Taiwan's
first free general elections in March 1996. He has said that he will resign at
the end of this term, in March of 2000. In between, however, there will be more
talks, more warm exchanges, more hot disagreements and more cooling-off periods.
The most critical time coming up will be the first ten days of October 1999,
when The People's Republic of China will celebrate their 50th anniversary on
October 1 and The Republic of China will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the
relocation of the Nationalist government on October 10.
If the rival governments can get through that time peacefully, then there may
be hope for the eventual reunification of China under peaceful terms in our
lifetime.
- Doings In The Mojave Desert
28 Oct. -- Site plans have been unveiled for an international air cargo
center and business hub at the former George Air Force Base by Stirling Corp.,
in a joint participation arrangement with the Southern California Int'l Airport
Authority (SCIAA). The plan is for development of a "Southern California
Int'l Airport" (SCIA), a 4,000-acre master-planned business &industrial
airport complex located in the City of Victorville
Intended to serve as the second int'l gateway for Southern California, SCIA
would support increasing Int'l air cargo operations, forecasted to grow from
2.65 to 8.9 million tons per year over the next 16 years (SCAG 1998 Regional
Transportation Plan). Stirling's goal is to invest $418 million to develop SCIA
into a worldwide distribution hub and successful business and industrial park,
bringing 15,000 jobs to the Victor Valley, about 120 miles East of Los Angeles
on the road to Las Vegas.
Currently, SCIA has two (10,047-foot and 9,136-foot) runways that benefit
from 360 days of good flying weather and 2,000 acres of land designated for
facilities development. It also features a full service fixed based operator
(FBO) and flight facility that provides passenger, cargo and fueling services
for general aviation and commercial transport aircraft, including 747-400
aircraft and over 125 acres of concrete aircraft parking apron on the flight
line. At completion, SCIA has a projected capability to handle more than
4-million tons of air cargo per year, a major portion of the region's forecasted
growth.
Located in the City of Victorville, approximately 10 minutes off Interstate
15 in the southeast corner of the Mojave Desert, SCIA is approximately 40 miles
northeast of Los Angeles County & 40 minutes north of Ontario Airport (ONT).
There are major trucking & rail routes through the Victor Valley, providing
access to the major Southern California, U.S., and Mexico markets.
SCIA is seen attractive to business because of a number of pro-business
development programs including the LAMBRA Business Enterprise Zone which
provides a variety of special tax credits to businesses relocating to the former
Air Force base, as well as a redevelopment project area providing assistance and
incentives including site and infrastructure improvements. The project will also
benefit from the development of an 1,800-acre Foreign Trade Zone at SCIA.
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