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The Cargo Letter
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THE CARGO LETTER [380]
Air & Ocean Logistics - Customs Broker News
27 August 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."
This month we're celebrating our new Los Angeles Pier 400 -- largest
proprietary container terminal in the world -- and new Long Beach Pier T !!
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
- FIATA 2002 Opens To Int'l Delegates On The Bosphorus ........
as delegates of the Int'l Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA)
will assemble from around the world along the Bosphorus Straits at Istanbul,
Turkey, for the 2002 World Congress -- theme: "Links -Beyond Six Continents"
-- from Sept. 8 to 12, 2002 -- hosted by UTIKAD, the Turkish Int'l Freight
Forwarders Assn. Michael S. McDaniel of the Los Angeles law firm of
Countryman & McDaniel [The Cargo Letter] will attend as a member of the FIATA
Board of Legal Advisors -- one of only about 10 Americans credentialed to
attend the Int'l event.
"The freight-forwarding industry 2002 World Congress being organized in
Istanbul will debate its problems in local, regional & Int'l arenas and will
shed light on our day and futures as much from our country’s point of view as
that of the countries of the entire world. I want to thank the officials of
UTIKAD which is succesfully organizing & representing within the concept of
logistics the freight-forwarding service sector that forms the foundation for
development and welfare and I want to thank the FIATA officials who have been
unsparing in their support for the 2002 World Congress that will be organized
in Istanbul. I hope that the work to be carried out in this field & the
congress will be propitious for our world, our nation and our sector." --
Dr. Oktay Vural, Transportation Minister of Turkey.
www.fiata2002.org
- National Emergency On Export Control Extended ........
as President
Bush has issued an Executive Order to extend for one more year the national
emergency relevant to U.S. export control. The order is a continuation of
Bush's order issued last August to protect the U.S. due to an "unusual and
extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of
the U.S. in light of the Export Administration Act of 1979." Bush stated that
since the EA Act had not been renewed by Congress, the national emergency
declared Aug. 17, 2001, should be in effect for another year.
- Badges? ........
as the U.S. Transportation Security Admin. is
developing a mandatory identification card for every transit worker -- every
trucker, dock worker, airport employee & mass transit employee with access to
secure areas of the nation's transportation system. The cards would likely
use a form of biometric identification, gleaned from the user's eyes, voice,
palms or fingerprints. The number of truck drivers alone who could be
required to carry the card could easily rise to the hundreds of thousands,
said Dave Osiecki, VP for safety for the American Trucking Assn. According to
federal statistics there are 3.1 million truckers in the country.
www.tsa.gov
- C-TPAT Opens To Intermediaries ........
as U.S. Customs will now
accept applications from air freight consolidators, ocean transportation
intermediaries (OTIs), customs brokers, & NVOCCs, starting Aug. 26. C-TPAT
was started in April to enhance supply chain security through building
relationships between government & industry. The program calls on businesses
to establish policies enhancing their security practices & those of their
business partners. Prospective participants are required to fill out a supply
chain security profile questionnaire.
www.customs.treas.gov/enforcem/tpat.htm
- Intermediaries Scammed ........
as the latest tactic of people
smugglers trading in illegal immigrants is to pass them off as potential
clients of shipping agents to help them obtain visas, according to a warning
issued by the Int'l Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC). Ship agents could
face heavy fines if they fall victim to the smugglers' scams. A ship agent in
Portugal recently received a request to send a letter to the French embassy
in Portugal asking for visas for 2 men who were allegedly traveling to
Portugal to discuss future business with the agent. The exact words used were
"finalization of agency contract and also development of shipping business."
The agent became suspicious when the smugglers continually harassed him by
telephone in an attempt to rush him into writing the letter. The Portuguese
agent then contacted ITIC who confirmed that the same "company" had
approached another agent 2 months earlier about a fake crew change. Agents
who get caught up in the scam could find themselves facing huge repatriation
& accommodation costs as well as substantial fines from local immigration
authorities.
- TIPS - Minus ........
as the U.S. Justice Dept. has decided to scale
back its controversial "Operation TIPS" program, but has retained truck
drivers among the group of workers who could be recruited by the government
to report suspected terrorist activities, its new written policy stated.
TIPS, which stands for the 'Terrorism Information & Prevention System," was
billed as a way for various workers — including mail carriers, utility
employees and truckers — to alert authorities about suspicious behavior they
encountered on the job.
- Genesee & Wyoming Adds One ........
as the regional freight railroad
owner has agreed to buy the Utah Railway Co., from Mueller Industries, Inc.,
for US$54M. Utah Railway, a short line that operates 45 miles of owned track
& 378 miles under track access agreements, from Ogden, Utah to Grand
Junction, Colo., consists primarily of coal transport business and switching
services -- generated US$24m in revenue over past 12 months.
- BNSF Online ........
as Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. (BNSF),
the U.S. railway, has created a logistics unit & bought the 5 year-old
web-based services provider in Transport Management Systems (TMS) --
Clicklogistics. Clicklogistics is to form the hub of a management
infrastructure & customer base in the new BNSF unit called "BNSF Logistics."
Eric Wolfe, the former COO at Clicklogistics, has been appointed the unit's
VP Clicklogistics is headquartered in Boston, with an operations center in
Concord, North Carolina. It began as a 3rd party logistics provider (3PL) but
today does business with over 100 shippers & more than 1,000 carriers,
according to the company.
- Small But Proud ........
as Railway Age magazine has named Bridgeton,
N.J.-based Winchester & Western Railroad as Short Line "Railroad of the Year"
and Port Clinton, Pa.-based Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad as
"Regional Railroad of the Year."
- Canadian Tradegate ........
as carriers & customs brokers are
partnering in an e-business alliance to help speed information on Canada-U.S.
cross-border shipments to Customs. The Canadian Society of Customs Brokers,
which represents Canadian & foreign-owned brokers, announced a
"cross-industry initiative" along with the Canadian firm, ViaSafe Inc.
ViaSafe provides electronic connections between importers, brokers & carriers
and the Canada Customs & Revenue Agency (CCRA). The partnership cooperates in
developing an electronic instrument called "Tradegate." Initially, potential
partners include 4 prominent customs brokers & two trucking companies from
Canada, a major European steamship line, & a U.S. Int'l courier company. The
partnership declined to identify them pending final approval.
- Schenker Buys Out Portugal ........
as the German forwarder has
acquired complete shareholding control of its Portuguese affiliate,
Biermann-Schenker. Until the acquisition, which was made retroactive from
Jan. 2002, Schenker held 33% of equity in Biermann-Schenker. Created in 1953,
it employs 145, operates a modern logistics center in Lisbon as well as sites
in Pombal & Porto.
- Kuehne & Nagel "Centralizes" ........
as the Swiss logistics group has
bought a 60% stake with an option for the remaining shares in Ibrakom, a
Central Asian forwarder & logistics operator. The company, headquartered in
Dubai and employing 400, is to be renamed "KN Ibrakom." K&N has for many
years been operating in nearby Azerbaijan, the UAE & Turkey, so the
acquisition will now give it access to Afghanistan, Georgia, Iran,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Uzbekistan, & Turkmenistan.
- APL Logistics Spreads South ........
as it has opened "APL Logistics de
Honduras," the company's 2nd such expansion in Central America this year. APL
Logistics made a similar expansion in Guatemala earlier this year when it
opened its own office in Guatemala City. The Honduras operation will be based
in San Pedro Sula.
- TGAX Logistics Lands In U.S. ........
as the Hong Kong-based air &
ocean freight forwarder, has now established 4 U.S. offices as part of its
North American service network. The offices are located in New York, Chicago,
Los Angeles, & San Francisco, "the key trade gateways in the U.S.," said
Donald Woo, president of TGAX.
- Security Cargo Network Grows ........
as this alliance of independent
freight forwarders, has signed up new member companies in 6 countries since
Aug. 1, bringing to 60 the number of member offices operated by 36 companies
in 28 countries. The latest members come from Argentina, Australia,
Bangladesh, Greece, Italy & Sir Lanka. The network, founded May 1, offers
discounted cargo insurance rates.
www.securitycargonetwork.com
- Ferroviasped Holding Gets Finnlines ........
as the rail subsidiary
of the Swiss logistics company Kuehne & Nagel (K&N), is to take over the rail
cargo business of shipping company Finnlines, including it's customers &
services. K&N is one of the 1st companies to introduce rail traffic systems,
or railship. The K&N subsidiary Ferroviasped, which operates in 33 locations
& employs about 180, will take over management of the acquired business in
Oct. Until the acquisition, Ferroviasped had rented about 700 railship
conveyances from Finnlines, one of Europe's largest shipping companies with a
focus on rail links between Finland & western Europe.
- Phoenix Int'l Freight Services Announces New Equity Interest ........
as the major U.S. forwarder, NVOCC & Customs broker based in Wood Dale,
Illinois, has announced that Taiwan-born Andy Wang has acquired an equity
interest in the company and is the new managing director. The size of Mr.
Wang's shareholding was not disclosed. Formerly Phoenix's director for North
Asia, Mr. Wang joined the company in 1995 and will now focus on developing
the China market while overseeing operations at 14 Asian offices. Mr. Wang is
completing his doctoral studies in Int'l Finance at Fudan University in
Shanghai.
- Mexicans, Stop Your Engines ........
as the California Trucking Assn.
and several environmental & labor groups have disputed the federal
governments claim that the groups would be unaffected by heavier-polluting
Mexican trucks. "Increased emissions of fine particulate matter from
Mexico-domiciled truck" would create numerous health problems, the groups
argued in court documents filed Aug. 2, before a hearing on their recent U.S.
District Court suit to block Mexican truck entry. Will this wide ranging
dispute on border crossings ever end?
- Love Your Trucker ........
as the U.S. trucking industry & its
professional truck drivers celebrated "National Truck Driver Appreciation
Week" (Aug. 18-24) with a little more pride in their hard work than they
usually display. That's because President George W. Bush singled them out for
praise. In a White House letter the President said: "During these
extraordinary times, the men & women of America's trucking industry have
reliably performed their vital role in our Nation's economy." Bush also
praised the safety record of the three million truck drivers who criss-cross
the U.S. daily, delivering more freight than any other form of
transportation. He said: "Americans ... depend on our truck drivers to
ensure our safety," citing the industry's steadily improving highway safety
record.
- Failure To "Redeliver" ........
as more than 2,000 computers & 72
weapons have been lost or stolen from the U.S. Customs Service over the last
3 years, Sen. Chuck Grassley said as he prodded the agency to fix the problem
quickly. The information comes from an audit by the Treasury Dept.'s
inspector General (IG). Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Finance
Committee, had requested the audit & has released a heavily edited copy of
the IG's report. The report comes as the Customs Service -- the nation's
oldest law enforcement agency, founded in 1789 -- has shifted its primary
mission from detecting smuggled narcotics to preventing terrorists, possibly
with nuclear, chemical or biological weapons, from getting into the country.
The sensitive items lost or stolen from 1999 through 2001 from U.S. Customs,
a Treasury Dept. agency, included:
2,251 computers (1,713 desktops and 538 laptops), valued at US$690,000.
72 firearms, although 13 were subsequently recovered, leaving 59 unaccounted
for that were valued at US$18,560. One recovered weapon had been used in a
gang-related drive-by shooting, the report said.
613 badges, which cost US$12,260 to replace.
- Also Wants Boardwalk & The Waterworks ........
as New York City has
made a tentative offer to swap the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey's
ownership of the former World Trade Center site in exchange for direct
ownership of JFK & LaGuardia int'l airports. The idea, proposed by deputy
mayor Dan Doctoroff, would remove the Port Authority from any major role in
plans to rebuild offices & memorial sites at the World Trade Center site. The
Port Authority would finish rebuilding an underground PATH commuter train
station. The Port Authority has long coveted direct ownership of the 2
airports, which would save tens of millions of dollars in long-term leasing
fees.
- That's Brisk Baby! ........
as U.S. District Judge James Parker has
ruled at Albuquerque that a Brazilian religious group that uses
hallucinogenic tea in its ceremonies should get back a shipment of the
substance seized by U.S. Customs. The court found that church members' rights
under the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act were being violated by
withholding the tea. The O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal, or
UDV, sued the U.S. Dept. of Justice after the Customs Service & the Drug
Enforcement Agency seized 30 gallons (114 liters) of hoasca tea at Santa Fe
office in 1999. No one was arrested in the raid. UDV used to hold ceremonies
near Bronfman's home southeast of Santa Fe, where members consumed the tea
that contains N.N. dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, a controlled substance.
Reports are that membership applications for the O Centro Espirita
Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal doubled upon release of the tea.
- Air France.
DOWN in 1st quarter its 2002 fiscal year net profit was 195
million euro, down 27% from a year earlier, but operating profit grew 36% to
253 million euro.
- Air Worldwide Holdings (holding company of Atlas Air & Polar Air Cargo --
partner of China Eastern).
Eastern) DOWN with a reduced US$32.6M mid-year loss from
US$56.5M in same period the previous year, an improvement stemming from
better results in 2nd quarter.
- Cronos Group (container lessor/liner operator).
UP with a rise in net
income to US$2.6M from US$2M in spite of lower revenues.
- Deutsche Post World Net.
DOWN as 1st half net profit plummeted 85.2%
US$152M due to the European Commission's judgment against the German postal &
logistics giant.
- EGL.
UP as net revenues increased 12% from 2Q 2001.
- Expeditors Int'l of Washington Inc.
UP as 2nd-quarter net earnings
improved 10% to US$23.7M.
- Hub Group.
DOWN with a net loss of US$2.2M for 2nd quarter compared to
net income of US$1.1M a year ago.
- Lufthansa.
UP as operating profit more than tripled in 1st half of 2002,
for a profit of 332 million euros against 105 million euros in the
year-earlier period.
- Overseas Container Line (OOCL).
DOWN as 1st half after-tax profit feel to
just US$1.03M, compared with US$49.1M last year. Chronic overcapacity in the
container trades has dealt another corporate blow.
- P&O Nedlloyd.
DOWN with an operating loss for the quarter of US$46M in Q2
compared to a profit of US$46M in Q2 2001. For 1st half of 2002, P&O Nedlloyd
reported a pretax loss of US$145M, compared to profit of US$50M in 1st half
2001.
- Schiphol Group (Amsterdam Airport).
UP 5.3% for 1st 6 months with pretax
profit of 108.2 million euro.
- Stinnes (Schenker parent).
UP with US$128M in mid-year operating profit, a
2% rise from the 1st 6 months of 2001 -- under a takeover bid from Deutsche
Bahn, a land transport company.
- Star Cruises (world's 4th).
UP as net income for the 1st 6 months rose to
US$35.9M from US$9.2M in 2001.
- United Parcel Service.
DOWN with a lower 2nd quarter operating profit, at
US$1.03Bn, in spite of a 2.5% rise in revenues to US$7.68Bn.
- Virgin Atlantic.
DOWN pretax losses of US$141.3M in its last financial
year.
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
Written from wire stories, the Associated
Press, Reuters, Hong Kong Shipping News Lloyds & other world sources.
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