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The Cargo Letter
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THE CARGO LETTER [374]
Air & Ocean Logistics - Customs Broker News
26 February 2002
Good Tuesday 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." Good job with the Salt Lake Olympics -- Schenker!
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:
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:
Section A: Section: Trade, Financial & Inland News|
Section B: FF World Air News |
Section C: FF World Ocean News | Section
D: FF in Cyberspace |
Section E: The Forwarder Broker World
Freight Forwarder Trade Briefs
The Cargo Letter Financial Page
- The U.S. Direction ........ as on 6 Feb, the U.S. Trade
Representative Robert Zoellick informed a U.S. Senate panel that the
trade-related goals of the U.S. for this year include completing bilateral
free trade agreements (FTAs) with Chile & Singapore, advancing Russia's
accession to the WTO, and ensuring the involvement of least developed
countries in the global talks launched at the Nov. 2001 WTO meeting in Doha.
- So, What Do You Intend To Import? ........ as on 19 Feb. U.S.
Customs Commissioner Robert Bonner told U.S. senators a key feature of the
Port & Maritime Security Act would be the use of advance information to
screen cargo for contraband before leaving for the U.S. Passage of the act
(S. 1214) would require submissions of advance shipping manifests before
departure for U.S. ports of entry, Bonner told senators at a committee field
hearing organized by a U.S. senate committee in Charleston, S.C. Bonner also
mentioned a measure he has proposed recently, the Container Security
Initiative (CSI), which would address the vulnerability of cargo containers
to terrorists' smuggling efforts -- by establishing Int'l security criteria
for identifying high-risk cargo containers. The initiative would push for
pre-screening cargo at points of departure with detection technology, and
the use of electronic seals on containers to thwart tampering or theft, he
added. CSI & the port security act could work together to prevent
terrorists or contraband from entering the U.S. ports, he said.
- Performing With ELVIS ........ as U.S. Customs has asked more
countries to participate in its Electronic Visa Information System (ELVIS).
The textile visa is an endorsement in the form of a stamp issued by a
foreign government and is used by U.S. Customs to verify the origin country
and to tally imports against official quotas. Twelve countries participate
in ELVIS. They are Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Taiwan &
Thailand. U.S. Customs said the ELVIS reduces the number of data
discrepancies between the U.S. import information and the participating
country's export information. The system's transmissions are matched with
the information sent to U.S. Customs by the customs brokers. U.S. Customs
also said the use of the ELVIS deters fraudulent visas by tracking amounts
released per visa and alerting Customs officers to possible inconsistencies.
- More For ACE ........ as the Bush administration's budget proposal
for fiscal 2003 includes $313M for development of Customs' future automated
computer system, a US$13M increase over the previous year's budget. Customs'
Automated Commercial Environment is an estimated US$1.4B system with a 4
year development plan. In fiscal 2001, the agency received US$130M for ACE
and, through industry lobbying, received US$300M in fiscal 2002.
- Bringing It To The Surface ........ as the U.S. Surface
Transportation Board will begin posting all substantive & procedural
paper document & correspondence filings with the board in formal
proceedings to its Web site. The documents & correspondence will be
scanned onto the site, accessible via the "Filings" link. Users
will be able to search filings by filing date or docket number & view,
print and download documents. Filings marked "confidential" will
also be scanned & will be searchable, so that users will be able to
determine that a confidential filing exists.
www.stb.dot.gov
- Council Says Amtrak Must Go ........ as countering Amtrak's pleas
for more money, a U.S. congressional advisory panel said Feb. 8 that private
companies should be given the chance to make passenger trains more efficient
& successful. The Amtrak Reform Council called for competition in
passenger rail, currently the exclusive domain of Amtrak. Only 2 companies
expressed some interest. "The system we have today, the old Amtrak, has
not worked & is not working" said the reform council. The council
finished nearly 4 years of work by sending a 111-page report to Congress
& briefing the Bush administration. Amtrak said the report sidestepped
questions about what kind of rail system Americans want, or how much it will
cost. The council said Amtrak, created in 1971 to relieve freight railways
of the burden of carrying passengers, should no longer make policy or own
land. It would break Amtrak into 3 pieces. One would make policy &
another would oversee tracks, property & stations Amtrak owns in the
Boston-Washington Northeast Corridor. The 3rd would conduct train
operations. After a transition of 2 to 5 years, it would accept bids for
franchises to run various routes. The Amtrak Reform Council's report:
www.amtrakreformcouncil.gov
- EU Smuggling Case Is Smoked ........ as on Feb. 20 U.S. District
Judge Nicholas Garaufis rejected claims that cigarette makers intentionally
oversupplied countries in Eastern Europe & elsewhere so the surplus
would be smuggled into the 15-nation EU, resulting in billions of dollars in
lost taxes. The same decision dismissed a similar suit filed in 2000 by the
governors of 22 states in Colombia. Garaufis ruled that the plaintiffs in
both civil cases failed to show that recent U.S. legislation & court
decisions had nullified the "Revenue Rule" - a long-standing legal
standard barring one country from enforcing tax claims by other countries.
The suits "clearly implicate the revenue rule in that they would
necessarily cause this court to pass on foreign tax laws," the judge
wrote. The EU vows to fight on.
- India Customs More Liberal ........ as for any export goods packed
& sealed in the presence of a customs or central excise officer at the
factory or warehouse, no examination will be needed at the ports except if
the seals have been tampered with or if there is reason to suspect fraud.
For exports under free shipping bills where there is no export incentive
involved, no examination will be needed, again unless there are suspicions
of fraud. However, for exports under duty drawback or DEPB schemes which
involve exports incentives, the customs inspection rules will vary depending
on the destination & the value of exports incentives.
- U.S. Intermodal Rail Dip ........ as traffic declined 4.1% &
rail carload traffic slipped 3.1% in Jan., according to results reported by
the Assn. of American Railroads. Major U.S. railroads handled 784,649
containers & trailers in the 5 week period ending Feb. 2. Total
estimated ton-miles was off 1.2%, to 137.1 billion. Combined cumulative
volume on 18 U.S. & Canadian railroads totaled 1.85 million carloads,
down 3.8%, and 943,159 trailers & containers, down 4.0%, in Jan.
- NIT Picking New Members ........ as the National Industrial
Transportation League will open its membership to include freight
transportation providers. The plan, "Vision 2020," was announced
by the NIT League's Executive Committee at the annual meeting in Charlotte,
NC, & approved by the entire board in Jan. Ballots were mailed to each
current member company -- given 30 days to vote. 72% of the membership
approved Vision 2020, thus meeting the 2/3 requirement for the NIT League to
activate the plan. This is a big change for the 95-year-old group, long
known as the "voice of the shipper." For the 1st time, freight
transportation providers, such as ocean carriers & forwarders, can
become full, voting members.
- The Power of Brown ........ as UPS has launched the largest &
most aggressive advertising campaign in its 95-year history, using print
& TV ads to extend one of the world's most recognized brands. "What
can Brown do for you?" -- only the 5th tagline in the company's
history. Through the spring campaign launch, UPS will invest US$45M across
numerous media. To support the effort, UPS customers in 37 countries now can
download "UPS OnLine Tools" from the Web and those in 34 countries
have gained wireless access to tracking information -- part of a push by UPS
to provide companies outside the U.S. access to the latest technology
options. Previously, "OnLine Tools" was available in 46 countries
around the world -- but only through UPS account representatives. Now, the
tools can be downloaded off the Web in 37 of those countries in the native
language of the user.
- Solid Brown ........ as UPS has combined its logistics subsidiaries
with a new organization called "UPS Supply Chain Solutions," which
combines the sales, marketing, finance & technology resources of its
supply chain subsidiaries. UPS Supply Chain Solutions now offers the
services of UPS Logistics Group, UPS Freight Services (including Fritz
Companies), UPS Capital, UPS Consulting & UPS Mail Innovations.
Together, these companies provide supply chain design & management,
freight forwarding, customs brokerage, mail services, multi-modal
transportation, consulting & financial services.
- FedEx Re-brands The Wheels ........ as it will re-brand 2 of it's
LTL ("less than truckload") operating companies in June, American
Freightways (AF) & Viking Freight -- as FedEx Freight. LTL carriers
deliver shipments weighing more than 150 pounds -- typical shipments average
1,000 pounds -- which are moved entirely by truck with day-definite delivery
requirements.
- Emery Forwarding On The Rocks ........ as it was contracted by more
than half of the exhibitors for the 2002 Tucson Gem, Mineral & Fossil
Showcase to provide air & ocean transportation for the high value rock
materials on display. The Tucson gem showcase, largest event of its kind,
consisted of 36 separate shows featuring gems, minerals, fossils, beads,
carvings, saris, wedding bands, pearls & rocks, among other items, from
all over the world. Running through Feb. 18, it attracted more than 40,000
people, including dealers, wholesalers & mining companies as well as
small shop vendors & hobbyists. In total, Emery handled over 500,000
pounds of rock material from various Int'l & domestic locations
traveling to the numerous show locations in Tucson, Arizona & back.
- IFA Takes A Partner ........ as the Int'l Freight Assn., a global
network of independent cargo forwarders, has finalized plans to form a
strategic alliance in Central & Eastern Europe with CARGO PARTNER AG,
the Vienna-based group specializing in global shipping of air & sea
cargo. Established in 1985, the IFA is headquartered in Sydney & is one
of the longest-running professional associations representing independent,
locally-owned logistics & transportation specialists which cover over
160 locations across the globe. CARGO PARTNER has been operating since 1983
with air cargo activities & since 1985 with sea cargo services. In
addition to the head office in Vienna Airport, there are offices in
Fischamend & Linz, Austria. Current central & eastern European
offices that the IFA will work with are Zagreb in Croatia; Prague & Brno
in Czech Republic; Warsaw, Poland; Bucharest, Romania; Bratislava, Slovak
Republic; Ljubljana, Slovenia; & Budapest, Hungary.
www.ifa-online.com
- Fritz Institute Takes Shape ........ as it seeks a central role in
delivering essential help to disaster victims. Lynn C. Fritz formed the
Fritz Institute to expand the availability of talent, best practices &
state-of-the-art technology to humanitarian organizations worldwide. Fritz
Institute will mobilize business community partnerships to provide expertise
& functional support, and collaborate with the academic community to
research the needs of disaster relief organizations & educate their
service professionals on best practices. Known as a pioneer of logistics
services, Mr. Fritz leverages his 30-years of experience & resources to
augment the expertise & resources of NGO & governmental disaster
relief organizations. This marks the launch of Mr. Fritz's endeavors, since
the sale of Fritz Companies, for which he was Chairman & CEO, to UPS in
2001.
- Schenker Unites ........ as it has integrated all of its air, sea
& land operations & logistics in the UK into one company. The new
company, born out of Schenker-BTL & Schenker Ltd., will employ some 490
people in the UK at 18 locations have revenues in excess of US$130M a year,
and be known as Schenker Ltd.
- Kuehne & Nagel Buys Out Brazil ........ as it has purchased the
remaining 50% of the shares of KN Deicmar SA, a joint venture company based
in Sao Paulo, from Deicmar SA. The wholly owned subsidiary in Brazil will
now operate under the name Kuehne & Nagel Ltda.
- Freightek Inc. Buys "The Way Out" ........ as the
developer of global trade & supply chain software, will acquire Exitt
Inc., an application service provider of customs brokerage & freight
forwarding software.
- Safety In Numbers? ........ as Logistics.com, the logistics
software provider, & CargoSmart, the online container shipping portal,
have entered into an alliance to jointly work with maritime cargo shippers.
The partnership will give shippers a one-stop site where they can procure
rates & manage their ocean shipments. They will use Logistics.com's
"OptiBid Lane" procurement software & CargoSmart's online
sailing schedules, instant booking confirmations, cargo tracking &
tracing, shipment milestone notification & relationship manager
functionalities.
www.Logistics.com
- Wearing It Out ........ as when "laundering" comes up in
narcotics cases, it usually has to do with concealing drug money. Not so in
the latest case at Orlando Int'l Airport. A Colombian laundry used heroin as
"starch" for shirts & blue jeans & hired a smuggler to
take the drug-soaked clothes into Florida, documents said. Customs Service
inspectors stopped Alejandro Mejia Garcia at the airport on Feb. 5 &
noticed the unusually stiff clothes that smelled of vinegar & left a
trail of white powder (genius award candidate). Mejia was charged with
smuggling heroin & held at an "undisclosed location" (perhaps
with the Vice President) without bail. He could face a life sentence if
convicted of smuggling more than 2.2 pounds of heroin. Mejia told customs he
was promised US$12,500 by smugglers in Colombia to carry the clothing to the
U.S., court papers say. Drug agents also arrested 3 men who came to the
airport to receive the clothing, customs officials said. Mejia, who arrived
on a flight from Panama, had been scheduled to board a connecting flight to
New York. Customs supervisory agent Stephen R. Callan said heroin starching
is an old smuggling method that has recently resurfaced. Sniffing your
Columbian laundry for that "springtime freshness?"
- She Sought Happiness Until Age 108?? ........ as an 81-year-old
woman in a wheelchair was arrested at Miami Int'l Airport on charges of
trying to smuggle 10,000 Ecstasy tablets into the U.S. The suspect -
arrested with her 56-year-old boyfriend - told Customs inspectors she knew
the pills were hidden in her luggage but thought they were Viagra! A supreme
optimist, but exactly WHAT was she planning with that young boyfriend over
the next 27 years of supply? Customs inspectors found 9,931 of the illegal
pills hidden in a suitcase full of books during a routine X-ray of luggage
coming off a British Airways flight that arrived in Miami from London on
Feb. 19 night. Bail was set at US$250,000 each for the suspects, Stella
Michetti & Hans Hirschi. Hans said to be very deflated over the event.
It's Good To Be The Railroad!
- Air Canada. ........ DOWN with a loss of US$238M for 4th quarter
that ended Dec. 31 2001. For all of 2001, the airline, which dominates
Canadian market after taking over rival Canadian Airlines in 1999, lost
US$780M compared with a US$51M loss in 2000.
- Airborne Inc. ........ (holding company for Airborne Express) UP
with 4th-quarter net income of US$2.2M, compared to net loss of US$11.9M for
year-earlier period.
- AirNet Systems Inc. ........ (time-critical air transport to banks)
UP with 4th quarter net income of US$2.1M, up 9.3% over the year-earlier
period.
- Atlantic Container Line. ........ DOWN with a 26% decrease in net
income for 4th quarter, to US$5M, as it reported lower volumes &
revenues for its transatlantic operations. >> Total North Europe/U.S.
trade container traffic dropped about 4% both eastbound & westbound in
2001.
- British Airways. ........ DOWN for 4th quarter 2001 loss of US$226M
against a pretax profit of US$92M for same period last year. The 3 month
pretax figures took the results for the 9 months to a loss of US$162M, as
opposed to a profit of US$304M in 2000. Operating loss for the quarter was
US$264M, (2000: $113M profit). For the 1st 9 months of the fiscal year,
operating loss was US$92M (2000: US$623M profit). Passenger yield in the
third quarter was up 0.3%.
- C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. ........ UP as net income for 4th
quarter improved 10.5% to US$20.6M. Income from operations rose 10.7% to
US$33.6M, while net revenues improved 4.3% to US$112.4M. For 2001, net
income improved 17.9% to US$84.0M.
- CNF Inc. ........ (Emery Worldwide) DOWN with net losses of
US$217.1M for 4th quarter & US$402.9M for 2001.
- Delta Air Lines. ........ DOWN as 4th quarter & full year 2001
results showing a dramatic loss of US$486M for Dec. 2001 quarter, excluding
unusual items. This compares with a net income of US$79M for the Dec. 2000
quarter. Including unusual items, Dec. 2001 quarter net loss & loss per
share were US$734M & US$5.98 respectively, compared with net income of
US$18M in Dec. 2000 quarter. Dec. 2001 quarter operating revenues declined a
massive 28.7%. For full year 2001, Delta reported a net loss of US$1B.
- EGL Inc. ........ (EGL Eagle Global Logistics) UP with 4th-quarter
net income of US$821,000, compared to a net loss of US$42.5M for
year-earlier period.
- Expeditors Int'l of Washington Inc. ........ UP as 4th-quarter net
income rose 5% to US$27.1M. Net revenues increased 1% to US$155.3M.
- Florida East Coast Railway. ........ UP with an operating profit in
2001 of US$41.2M, the 2nd-highest in the St. Augustine, Fla.-based company's
history.
- Forward Air Corp. ........ DOWN as 4th-quarter net income was
US$4.6M, down from US$6.6M for year-earlier period.
- UAL Corporation (parent of United Airlines) ........ DOWN with a
loss for the full year, including special items, totaling US$2.1B -- largest
ever in airline history.
- Wilh. Wilhelmsen ASA (Norwegian shipping group that owns 50% of
Wallenius Wilhelmsen Lines) ........ DOWN with a 42% drop in net income
for 2001, to $27.6M.
Please click below for other sections:
Section A: Section: Trade, Financial & Inland News|
Section B: FF World Air News |
Section C: FF World Ocean News | Section
D: FF in Cyberspace |
Section E: The Forwarder Broker World
The Cargo Letter Correspondents:
Michael S. McDaniel, Esq., Editor (Countryman & McDaniel).
Cameron W. Roberts, Esq. (Countryman & McDaniel).
Written from wire stories, the Associated Press,
Reuters, Hong Kong Shipping News Lloyds & other world sources.
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