The Cargo Letter

THE CARGO LETTER [331]
Air & Ocean Freight Forwarder - Customs Broker News
29 July 1998

Good Wednesday 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''. For your company travel this summer, or any time, the world's best discounts, information, selection & real deals can only be found at our https://cargolaw.com/d.traveler.html

The thousands of Forwarders & Brokers who read this publication around the world need to learn of YOUR experiences and what YOU learned today. 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

For late breaking news or to post comments about The Cargo Letter 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.  Chaos Central: The Opening Of CMK
      * Most Expensive Cargo Disaster In 
          Aviation History
OUR "A" Section: Trade, Financial & Inland News
   2.  Freight Forwarder Trade Briefs
   3.  The Cargo Letter Financial Page
OUR "B" Section: FF World Air News
   4.  Freight Forwarder World Air Briefs
OUR "C" Section:  FF World Ocean News
   5.  FF World Ocean Briefs
   6.  The Cargo Letter Cargo Damage Dispatches
OUR "D" Section: FF in Cyberspace
   7.  The Cargo Letter "Cyber Ports Of Call"
OUR "E" Section: The Forwarder/Broker World
   8.  Asian News Briefs
      * Our Warren Levine Feature
   9.  Overweight Containers Bite Brokers
      * You Were Previously Warned
   10. New U.S. Int'l Transport Legal Cases
   11. What's Your U.S. Customs Filer Code Number?
   12. HHG Moving Tips
      * Word From The Experts
   13. New HKG Airport Stats

OUR Top Stories

1. Chaos Central: The Opening Of CLK

• Most Expensive Cargo Disaster In Aviation History

-- by Cameron W. Roberts with Michael S. McDaniel for The Cargo Letter

Los Angeles - 28 July - Is it human error or corruption which plagues Hong Kong's (HKG) new US$20B Chek Lap Kok Int'l Airport?

On 6 July HKG's Chek Lap Kok (CLK) Airport opened. Thus began one of the most complicated cargo disasters of the 20th Century. After 3 weeks, mechanical & computer systems are still down amidst a sea of idle ULDs, soaring delay claims and missing freight in epic proportions. According to Hong Kong's Airport Authority a "bug" in CLK's master computer triggered a domino effect that instantly sent the new facility into utter chaos; erasing inventory, changing flight schedules; mis-routing cargo & baggage ....... and causing the biggest ever global snag.

In an attempt to gain control, Hong Kong officials enforced an air cargo embargo, hoping that the suspension would allow sufficient time to fix the computer & mechanical problems. At the time of the embargo Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Ltd. announced that to relieve pressures at so-called "Super Terminal 1", all import cargo processing - with the exception of perishables, strong room cargo, reefer freight, lifesaving materials, news material &statutorily controlled items would revert to the old HKG. venerable Kai Tak Int'l Airport.

Human Error, Hi Tech Stumble or Corruption? In the days immediately following the cargo embargo, it was widely reported that human error had caused the many computer problems. Other recent airport openings at Denver (US$4.9B), Kuala Lumpur, Kansai all had difficulty with computer systems intended to integrate various operating systems, but only CLK had sought to orchestrate all it's systems, from passengers & baggage to cargo & jet fueling via a single, central computer system designed in part by Oracle Corp. of Calif., & Electronic Data Systems Co. (EDS) and linked by over 400 miles of fiber optic cable. Contractors, computer experts & airline authorities all indicated that the individual systems would function separately in the event of a central computer failure. That was the plan. However, according to the Airport Authority & EDS somewhere in the system incorrect data was entered into the central database. In turn, central system instantly spread this erroneous information to all the connected systems with catastrophic results. Cleaning crews, passengers, baggage & cargo were directed to the wrong gates. Problems were exacerbated by a general breakdown in the telecommunications system, forcing ground crews to rely on cellular phones to coordinate with gate arrivals.

Thus far it is unclear if the computer system failed or if human error caused the problem; but it does seem clear that old fashion corruption has a role to play in the disaster. On 15 July four airport workers were charged with bribery & corruption for covering up shoddy construction of facilities connected with the rail link to the airport. Two engineers allegedly falsifying building requirements & delivery statements. HKG's Chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa, has appointed a judge to head an independent commission that will investigate and issue a full report within 6 months. [see our story in FF Air Briefs]

Opening Day - Peak Season? Clearly, the lessons of history are lost on CLK's Authority. HKG's traditional peak traffic volumes start in July and continue through October. Backlogs & lift are always an issue in these hectic months. Wearing apparel & other seasonal importers, busy building back to school & Christmas inventories rely on HKG as a primary logistics hub. Seasoned logistics experts question the wisdom of switching to CLK at a time when space & time were at a premium. "Just in time" inventory systems rely on reliable transit times that are measured in hours, not days. Delays of 2 to 3 days have caused major U.S. importers, such as LL Bean & The Gap to reconsider the importance of Hong Kong in their logistics planning. Many believe that local economics & politics, not logistics planning, were the driving force of a July opening day.

The Unexpected Problem - "Documents". Integrators, carriers, consolidators & shippers alike were scrambling to track & trace documents for inbound/out bound freight from HKG on 7 July 1998 . Courier services responsible for forwarding documents were temporarily unable to locate pouches containing original bills of lading, invoices & textile visas. These essential documents are often sent to foreign ports "just in time" to clear Customs. As a result, Hong Kong's embargo has sent a ripple through the logistics chain with global implications. In an effort to prevent further disruption, Cathay Pacific agreed to carry all express shipments on its passenger aircraft despite the cargo embargo. DHL & other courier services were exempt from the HACTL cargo embargo since courier shipments are classified under the same category as postal & perishables, not cargo. Several courier services are able to handle shipments direct from commercial airlines utilizing their own airport employees & systems based at the Express Cargo Terminal (ECT) facility, thus by passing the cargo handling problems at so called "Super Terminal One".

The Future. On 21 July 1998, The Hong Kong Association of Freight Forwarding Agents (HAFFA) responded to HACTL's plan for an air cargo recovery program with concern. HACTL announced that it has "achieved substantial increases in the amount of cargo being processed". Out of a predicted load of 4,000 tons at the start of each day, HACTL is currently processing only 1,900 tons. The company is expressing confidence in its recovery schedule which it says is realistic. HACTL has announced a 4-phase recovery program for air cargo - the 1st of which was executed on Saturday, 18 July. For the operation, both the old airport & the new will be used - "Super Terminal" at Chek Lap Kok & Terminal 2 at Kai Tak Int'l Airport HACTL'S objective is to finally shift all operations to "Super Terminal 1". Here are the details:

PHASE 1: From 18 July HACTL will start processing 50% of the projected daily tonnage of imports & exports. Cargo to be managed will be confined to pre-packed cargo on freighters only, but import perishable will still be processed at Check Lap Kok to ensure fast release.

PHASE 2: By the end of July, export pre-packed cargo on freighters &passenger aircraft will be dealt with, as will import cargo on freighters &passenger aircraft, representing 75% of daily tonnage.

PHASE 3: Mid-August will see services fully operational. HACTL will process 100% of projected tonnage of imports & exports using both airports.

PHASE 4: By the end of August, all import operations will be transferred to "Super Terminal 1". HAFFA has called HACTL's handling of the situation so far "an embarrassment" and "a disappointment" to the industry. It's now calling on the government to assist HACTL. saying the SAR's economy &reputation are at stake, and the "huge loss of revenue sustained by the industry & its customers" must be curtailed before further damage is done. The damage remains to be calculated.

......see our other CLK stories throughout The Cargo Letter

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

2. Freight Forwarder Trade Briefs

• UPRR Begins Pay Back, But So. Calif. Still Taking Hits .............. as this month Du Pont Corp. settled for an undisclosed amount its damage suit with Union Pacific over the epic shipping delays of 1997. Many other shippers are known to have filed damage suits against UPRR after experiencing delays in some areas of the operator's network. The railroad has acknowledged there are some critical problems regarding service, but said its 1996 merger with Southern Pacific RR is solving, rather than contributing to these problems. However, many experts point to this merger as the very cause of the historic debacle. The U.S. Surface Transportation Board is studying whether or not to call for further restrictions on UPRR as a result of service problems over the past 2 years. During the 1st 3 months of 1998, the Port of Seattle's market share of Asian container imports with the West Coast rose nearly one percentage point to 11.4% during the same period last year, and said, in part, due to the Union Pacific delays caused in Southern California. By contrast, Southern California ports' market share of Asian imports fell 1.6 percentage points during the period. More bad news for LBG/LAX, the New World Alliance of APL, Hyundai Merchant Marine & Mitsui OSK Line announced last month it will shift its express rotation servicing Hong Kong, Taiwan & Southeast Asia from Southern California to Seattle. While congestion has eased on UP's western U.S. system, delays are continuing in other areas ........... and the Christmas shipping season is close at hand. Pray.
• Integration Is Future For Carriers ............. as Lufthansa Cargo says that, as far as it's concerned, the only way for air freight companies to fend off future competition is through the establishment of integrated systems. The statement came following Lufthansa's decision to collaborate with a forwarders Jet Speed Air Cargo Forwarders, Hellmann, AEI & Expeditors Int'l to advance various time-definite services. Panalpina, Kuehne & Nagel, Danzas and Schenker are also to join the new operation. The project will integrate the services offered by both the airlines and the forwarders, transforming them into complete logistics solutions. Lufthansa says the outcome of the co- operation will be a "virtual integrator" for shippers and will "dramatically improve the efficiency of the transport chain." Industry rules continue to change.
• U.S. Department of Commerce - Bureau of Export Administration U.S. Sanctions on the Export of Dual-Use Goods to India & Pakistan. Read the report
  http://www.bxa.doc.gov/ind-pak.htm
• Deal For Automated Export Filings Struck .............. as The Journal of Commerce report that after 3 years of sometimes bitter quarreling, the trade community has reached an historic agreement with the U.S. Customs Service & the U.S. Census Bureau on a system to automate the filing of export documentation. The proposal to restructure Customs' Automated Export System satisfies the needs of exporters and freight forwarders by limiting the amount of pre-departure information that must be filed for routine export shipments. Many exporters have long complained that it is impossible to submit every piece of information about a shipment prior to departure, as Customs was demanding. But in a major concession by Customs, the restructured AES will actually allow pre-qualified, low-risk exporters to ship their products without having to file any information prior to departure. Other exporters can export with only a portion of the required information submitted to Customs. The Census Bureau also wins because it will obtain information it needs to provide accurate records on U.S. exports. Top Census officials have said that because of the haphazard way in which export information is submitted, exports are under counted by billions of dollars a year, significantly inflating the trade deficit. The proposed restructuring of AES will probably be published in the Federal Register and go through the normal public comment period and rule-making procedures before it is formally adopted. It is estimated that as much as US$70B of exports go unreported each year, meaning that last year's reported trade deficit of US$181B might have been overstated by as much as 63%.
• China Growth Slowed ......... as export growth rate during the January- June period dropped almost 14% compared with the same period last year, reports in the Chinese press.
• Norton Lilly Int'l Expands China ........... as it has become the first U.S. based operator to be granted a Class A forwarding license in China, following final approval in early July for a joint venture with Sinotrans Shanghai. The 50/50 joint venture involves Norton Lilly attaining half of the Shanghai-based forwarding operations of Hua Hang Int'l including warehousing, trucks & chassis. The U.S. forwarder will also take over 5 local joint ventures & 6 offices.
• Circle Int'l Gets More China ............ as the U.S. forwarding giant has merged with Concord Express-Singapore & CE Logistics-Asia (collectively Concord). Circle's worldwide network will allow Concord, which concentrates on integrated transportation logistics & supply chain management, to magnify the size and range of its services as well as branching out, geographically. The merger was designed to make Circle's standing in Asia even more deep- rooted. A successful investment in Thailand 1.5 years ago, served to improve the company's standards as a logistics provider throughout the Asia Pacific region. The hope is that the combination will improve Circle's air & ocean logistics products and increase its critical mass in integrated logistics capacities within Southeast Asia. Circle Int'l is based in San Francisco and Concord Express in Singapore.
• Circle Int'l Gets Alrod ............ as it has agreed to acquire Alrod International, Inc., a privately owned corporation, through an exchange of common stock. The transaction will be accounted for on a "pooling of interests"/merger basis & will be non-dilutive. Founded in 1978, Alrod is a leading Int'l forwarder-broker, the top Hispanic-owned transport company in the U.S., and a founding member of the "Hi-Tech Forwarder Network". Alrod is based on the U.S. West Coast with 250 employees, offices & bonded facilities in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, San Diego, Guadalajara &Tijuana, Mexico.
  http://www.circleintl.com
• Sole Ownership For Castelletti ............. as the Swedish forwarding group, BTL, is now the sole owner of Swiss-Italian forwarder Castelletti. The Swiss railway SBB & French transport company Fatton sold BTL the 51% share of Castelletti it did not already own. Castelletti has 25 branches in Italy and subsidiaries in Switzerland, Germany & the U.S., employs more than 800 staff and has annual sales of about US$350.
• C.H. Robinson Worldwide Gets LTL .............. as it has acquired Preferred Translocation Systems, Inc. ("PTS"), a less-than-truckload, or LTL, 3rd-party transportation company, & Controlled Visions Corporation ("CVC"), an information systems company affiliated with PTS. PTS-CVC, headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minn., had combined revenues of US$9.4M in the first 5 months of 1998. Terms of the acquisitions were not disclosed. C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc., has gross revenues approaching US$2B and is a global provider of multimodal transportation services through a network of 120 offices in 38 states, Canada, Mexico, Belgium, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Poland, Brazil, Venezuela and South Africa.
  http://www.chrobinson.com
• Buddy, Can You Spare A Euro? ............ as Intercontainer -Interfrigois set to become the first European intermodal operator to adopt the Euro as its unit of currency. At present Intercontainer uses the European Currency Unit for certain customer contracts as well as in accounting transactions, but present contracts which are in ECUs will be changed in Euros. This will apply to all European Monetary Union member countries as well as Switzerland. All tariff, supply, service, accounting & finance business transactions will be converted to the new currency by the start of next year.
• Can You Euro-Speak? .......... as a Cargo-L article reports that the European Commission has announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the European Union (EU), rather than German, which was the other possibility.
• Joining U.S. & Canadian Rails ............. as Canadian National Railway Company (CN) & Illinois Central Railroad (Illinois Central Corporation) (IC) have filed a formal application with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board seeking regulatory approval of CN's acquisition of IC and integration of the companies' rail operations. The result will be a Canadian owned, 18,670 route-mile CN/IC network with 26,000 employees and operations in 16 U.S. states and 8 Canadian provinces.
• Panalpina Austria Grounded On Land .......... as it has withdrawn from the overland transport business following the breakdown of sales negotiations conducted for the past year with domestic & foreign companies. The withdrawal affects Panalpina Landtransport, Vienna, and its subsidiaries in Graz, St Michael, Linz, Wels, Salzburg & Innsbruck. The 570 people employed in overland feeder services, warehousing & distribution have not been given notice. Management is attempting to find interested parties to take over these employees, together with the traffic affected by the withdrawal, in the framework of a voluntary social plan. Interested?
• Saying Sankyu To China ............. as the Japanese forwarder &logistics company, Sankyu Inc., is launching a north-south network between Guangzhou & Beijing through Tianjin & Shanghai. It will achieve this by extending the present Guangzhou-Shanghai service to Beijing. In early June, Sankyu created its 9th subsidiary in Beijing. The network now encompasses sea, air & land services in the north, east & south of mainland China. The supporting companies are in Tianjin, Dalian, Qingdao, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Nanjing & Guangzhou. The Beijing subsidiary, capitalized at US$1.2M, is owned 80% by Sankyu; the remainder belonging to Beijing Marine Shipping Co.
• Take A Wireless Bite Out Of Crime ............as cargo theft has nearly tripled to an estimated US$10B a year in the U.S., as opposed to bank robberies which equal about US$80M a year. Indeed, who would ever want to rob a bank when it's been so easy to get a container? Weak penalties & high financial return on stolen goods for the criminals add to the increasing trend of stealing cargo. Because of the recent rise, law enforcement and the U.S. Congress are quickly devoting more time & resources to passing laws that would stiffen penalties. Looking for assistance in fighting cargo theft, trucking and other fleet management companies are turning to state of the art wireless tracking systems to help keep their vehicles and cargo "in sight." Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) is poised to become the first "killer app" for both wireless location & mobile data services, according to a new study. AVL revenues for commercial vehicle fleets & trailer tracking are expected to grow from US$367M in 1998 to over US$1B by 2003. One such system is General Motors' OnStar product. Another is produced by a company called Teletrac, Inc. With an estimated 90% success rate in locating stolen vehicles & cargo equipped within 2 hours or less, Teletrac may be worth study. Using Teletrac's wireless tracking technology, Crescent Truck Lines of Hayward, Calif., recently recovered 5 stolen trailer, saving nearly US$220,000 and helped apprehend the suspect who was on parole for auto theft and under investigation in connection with 17 other stolen vehicles. In Miami, Tiffany Transport Co., Inc. recovered a stolen vehicle in less than 30 minutes and saved nearly US$150,000 in vehicle and cargo value. In both incidents, the companies were able to provide the exact location of the stolen vehicles to their local police department. Teletrac's has two-way messaging so fleet operators can also communicate with drivers. TSchad@teletrac-online.com The similar Qualcom system, adopted by Covenant Transport for it's 3,400 trailers, can be seen at
  http://www.qualcomm.com/.
• Chunnel Hope Still Alive .......... as the highly troubled Channel Tunnel from Britain to France carried 1.3 million tons of cargo in the first five months of this year, a rise of 18% over the same period in 1997.
• WDM Forms Perishable Network ........... as Brisbane-based freight forwarder, WDM Int'l is taking steps to establish a worldwide perishable logistics service, called the Global Perishable Logistics Group. The organization hopes to join specialists together to offer an integrated, worldwide service.
• Another "E" Step For UPS .............. as Encanto Networks, a provider of electronic commerce solutions for small business, has announced an agreement with UPS to bundle UPS OnLine Office software with Encanto's e.go Commerce webstation. e.go Commerce will now deliver a complete, end-to-end online Internet business transaction. When a customer order is received from e.go Commerce's online storefront, the merchant, using UPS OnLine Office, will be able to immediately fulfill the order and ship it via UPS -- saving time, reducing paperwork, and streamlining operations.
  http://www.encanto.com
• Making U.S. Export A "SNAP" .............. as the Bureau of Export Administration will be bringing a new system online by end of summer which will allow companies to apply for an export license via the Internet. The Simplified Network Application Processing System (SNAP) will reduce paperwork & improve accuracy ...... and will be free. To access SNAP, users will need a pin number which they can get by writing the bureau. When operational, companies will be able to download the forms, complete them and post them to the website. Users will have a choice of: license applications, commodity classification requests, re-export license applications & multipurpose forms. Forwarders take note.
  http://www.bxa.doc.gov
• New Solutions Software ........ as Pfastship Logistics Int'l has announced its powerful, object-oriented application, Pfastship Windows NT, which supports carriers, including but not limited to UPS, RPS, FedEx, Airborne, BAX Global, USPS as well as LTL carriers. In addition to carrier support, Pfastship Windows NT can process an unlimited number of transactions per day at multiple locations, while interfacing with a variety of peripheral devices such as address-label printers, barcode printers, COD tag printers, scales, scanners & meters. Pfastship Windows NT can generate nearly any report that can be defined and will allow customers to custom design specific documents as well as query by customer name & number, order number, trace number and bill of lading, to name a few. Pfastship Windows NT also has the ability to interface with all custom and major order entry systems.
  http://www.pfastship.com
• Import Export Fundamentals OP 113 ........... as Prof. Emilio Milian of Golden Gate University at San Francisco will launch his new course for our industry this fall OP 113 emphasizes the practical aspects of import - export operations. You will study the start-up and operation of an export dept., the administration of Int'l transactions, letters of credit & other forms of payment, collection methods, and shipping procedures. Documentation, export regulations, import customs clearance & other government requirements will also be examined. A 3 unit course.
  http://internet.ggu.edu/~emilian/ops113/
• Amway Back In China ............ as Chinese customers will be able shop at special Amway retail stores, which are currently used as distribution centers. They will also be able to buy products from their distributors. In April, the Chinese government banned Amway Asia Pacific Ltd. & other direct marketers from door-to-door sales. Authorities were concerned such sales would promote illegal activity, including smuggling, the state-run news agency said at the time.
• Stiff Penalties Seen For Smuggler ........... as on 20 July, U.S. Border Patrol agents at San Diego seized 1,046 tablets of Viagra that authorities say a Japanese tourist bought in Mexico and intended to smuggle back to Japan for resale. The tourist, a 41-year-old man from Tokyo, planned to resell the wildly popular impotence drug in Japan. After paying US$11.00 per tablet in Mexico, the tourist planned to receive US$300.00 per dose in Japan.
• Splats In His Face, Not In Your Hand ............ as R.P. Scherer North America, a maker of gelatin medicinal capsules & paintballs, has announced that it will operate a fleet of 8 climate controlled trucks to ensure product quality to the point of use. The eight 40' trailers are close kin to the well known reefers used to move perishable commodities throughout the world. The new units will be used ensure constant temp & humidity conditions in transit for "paintballs" as they are moved to various PMI (Pursuit Marketing, Inc.) distributions centers across North America. Paintballs (.68 caliber liquid paint filled gelatin balls) are highly susceptible to changes in temp &humidity resulting in deformed or damaged paintballs that "unshootable". This is welcome news to recreational paintball players as well as professional &seasoned tournament players. Indeed, a melted paintball does little to brighten the pocket of its owner. R.P. Scherer says that the new delivery units will be positioned at multiple day national tournaments for storage of paintballs by tournament players, such as the upcoming 1998 World Paintball Championship Tournament scheduled for Fall of this year. A. Blaine Prentiss, or The Cargo Letter The trucks can be seen at
  http://www.rps-paintball.com

3. The Cargo Letter Financial Page

• Aer Lingus Group. UP with a profit before interest, tax and exceptional items of US$65.5M for 1997, an increase of 10% on the US$59.4M made in 1996. This was achieved on a turnover of US$1139M, up 15% on comparable 1996 levels.
• AirTran Holdings, Inc. (former ValuJet) UP with net income for the 2nd quarter of 1998 of US$8.6M, or US$.13 per share on a fully diluted basis, compared to a net loss of US$9.2M, or $.17 per share, for 1997. Net income for the 6 months ended June 30, 1998, was US$700,000 compared to a net loss of US$27.7M for same period 1997. Total operating revenues for the 2nd quarter were US$124M compared to US$47.8M for the previous year, an increase of 160%. AirTran ended the quarter with a continued strong cash position of US$66M.
• Alaska Air. UP with record 2nd quarter net income of US$38.9M, or $1.51 per share (diluted), compared with net income of US$20.8M, or $1.01 per share, for last year's 2nd quarter.
• America West Holdings, parent of America West Airlines, Inc. UP with the best quarterly earnings in its history. The record 2nd quarter 1998 net income of US$41.4M was up 80% and included an after-tax charge of US$2.5M related to a recent settlement by America West Airlines with the FAA (see Air Forwarder News Briefs, below). Excluding that charge, diluted earnings per share (EPS) for the 1998 2nd quarter were US$0.90, compared with US$0.50 in last year's quarter. Including the charge, reported EPS was $0.86. Year-to- date performance also set records for the best half year in America West's history including record operating revenues of US$1.0B and record net income of US$66.6M
• AMR Corp., parent of American Airlines Inc. UP with reported record 2nd quarter net earnings of US$409M, or US$2.30 per common share diluted, a 35% improvement over net earnings of US$302M, or US$1.63 per common share diluted, during same period 1997. These are the highest quarterly earnings in the company's history. However, the division's cargo revenue fell to US$169 million - a drop of 2.9%.
• Britsh Airways. UP with fiscal year revenue of US$955M, 4% up from 1996/97.
• Atlas Air, Inc. UP with net income for the quarter ended June 30, 1998 of US$10.1M, or US$.45 per diluted share, a record for 2nd quarter earnings and the 2nd best quarter in the Company's history.
• Circle Int'l. Up as income for the 2nd quarter increased 13% to US$7.5M compared to US$6.6M in the comparable period of 1997. Diluted earnings per share increased 13% to $0.45 per share. Revenue for the quarter was US$165.9 compared to US$166.9M for same period in 1997. Net revenue, which represents revenue less freight consolidation costs, increased 5% to US$69.0M. The effects of the stronger U.S. dollar when translating foreign results into U.S. dollars for reporting purposes negatively impacted revenue by 9% and net revenue by 7%.
• C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. UP with 2nd quarter of 1998, gross revenues increased by 21.1% to US$546.7M from US$451.4M for the 2nd quarter of 1997. Net revenues increased 21.1% to US$63.3M in 1998 from US$52.3M in the previous year.
• Cathay Pacific. EXPECTED DOWN as chief executive Peter Sutch has warned the company may drop into the red in 1998, after a 55% drop in profits last year when the company posted a profit of HK$1.694M. Reports indicate Cathay is currently involved in talks with at least 3 lines looking to forge links with the HKG based carrier. KLM/Northwest, British Airways/American Airlines &the Star Alliance of United Airlines/Lufthansa are reported to be competing to finalize a deal with the troubled carrier.
• Delta Air Lines. UP with unaudited net income of us$1.001B (US$12.68 diluted income per share) for fiscal 1998, a 13% increase from the fiscal 1997 record net income of US$886M (US$11.44 diluted income per share). Fiscal 1998 results represent the 3rd consecutive year of record net income for Delta.
• FDX (FedEx, Viking & Caliber). UP with revenues for the 4th quarter of US$4,078.0M (that's billion), 2.9% more than the fiscal period's US$3,961.2M and 11.0% more than the calendar period's US$3,673.8M. Net income for the quarter excluding merger expenses was US$170.7M or US$1.14 per share. Net income was US$134.6M or US$0.91 per share in last year's fiscal period and US$144.9M or US$0.98 per share in last year's calendar period excluding non- recurring items.
• Fritz Companies, Inc. UP as the San Francisco based giant has watched its revenue rise this fiscal year ending May 31, by 12% totaling US$1.3 billion. Net revenue was also up for the forwarder-broker by nearly 10%. Both operating & net incomes were also substantially higher than in the previous year. For the quarter, net income was at US$4.8M - up from $93,000 a year earlier while revenue rose US$14M to US$323M and operating income standing at US$6.9M - up from US$524,000.
• Interpool, Inc. UP as 1998 2nd quarter net income per share (on a diluted basis) was a record 33 cents, as compared with 31 cents for the same period in 1997. Revenues during 2nd quarter of 1998 were US$44,506,000, up 12% from $39,784,000 in the 2nd quarter of 1997.
• J. B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. UP with 2nd quarter 1998 net earnings of US$15.6M, or diluted earnings per share of 42 cents, compared with 1997 2nd quarter net earnings of US$1.9M, or 5 cents per diluted share. Basic earnings per share were 44 cents in 1998 and 5 cents in 1997. Total revenue increased 20% to US$461.0M in the 2nd quarter of 1998 from US$385.2M in 1997.
• Martinair. UP as the KLM-owned cargo & passenger carrier posted net income of US$26M for the year ended December 1997, on sales of US$715 million. This compares to last year's net income of US$2M on a turnover of US$609M.
• TMM Line. UP with revenues were increased to US$670M from a little US$470M in 1996. Gross profit for the year was reported to have amounted to US$48.1M, an increase of 37% from US$35.1M in 1996. However, a net loss of more than US$10M was reported for 1997, compared with a profit of US$43M in 1996. The loss incorporated US$30.4M related to investment in Transportacion Ferroviaria Mexicana.
• Tower Air Inc. UP with operating profits of US$3.9M for the 3 months ended June 30, 1998 compared to operating profits of US$9.5M for the 3 months ended June 30, 1997.

OUR "B" Section: FF World Air News

4. Freight Forwarder World Air Briefs

• IATA Looks Ahead ............ as the Int'l Air Transport Assn. set a new agenda its 54th annual general meeting at Montreal last month. The central goal is to reduce the number of accidents in the industry by halving of the number of aircraft lost by 2004. According to IATA's director-general Pierre Jeanniot other items on the agenda include problems faced by privatizing air traffic control operations & with the introduction of much needed new & more powerful navigation systems. Members approved a project to make sure that service suppliers to the industry such as air traffic controllers are Y2K compliant. In remarks to the group, Mr Jeanniot also welcomed the dawn of electronic commerce, but warned that adequate safeguards against fraud still need to be taken. Last, Jeanniot warned that airlines need to make provisions in case the industry should experience further effects of the Asian Flu.
• Big Boys Too Big? .............. as the question of competition between airlines in the U.S. domestic market is to be explored by the National Academy of Sciences. The study comes in response to complaints that larger airlines are competing unfairly with smaller carriers. The U.S. Congressional Transportation Committee decided in late June that airlines must now gain prior Department of Transportation approval for domestic alliances. In turn, competition guidelines, recently issued by the U.S. Congress are being delayed while the study is carried out. The DOT will now have about 6 months to review proposals involving code sharing. The House action affects 3 announced alliances which involve the 6 largest U.S. airlines: Continental &Northwest; American & US Airways; and Delta & United.
• Some Advise From Singapore ............ as airlines need to do more to understand the business of shippers & forwarders, Hwang Teng Aun, Dir. of Cargo for Singapore Airlines, told the recent AirCargo Forum. Hwang said airlines will never provide shippers with satisfactory solutions if they &forwarders continue to manage air content & ground content components separately. Cargo carriers need to vertically integrate their IT &operational processes with major forwarders in order to provide better solutions to customer problems, he told forum members. Airlines should also learn more about their customer's products including their production, delivery & harvest cycles as well as packaging requirements. Following these guide lines is only way an airline can become a value-added player in the logistics chain, Mr. Hwang said. We hope the carriers listen.
• Will There Be A BAXmobile? ........... as BAX Global has enhanced its Emergency Response Service, or "ER," by adding 2 new levels of service, including money back overnight guaranteed delivery & direct airport-to- airport service. ER was developed by BAX Global to handle shipments, regardless of weight or size constraints, that require demanding time-specific guaranteed delivery. There are 3 distinct levels of service: Guaranteed First Arrival; Guaranteed Overnight; & Guaranteed Airport-to-Airport service. There is an automatic confirmation from BAX customer service once the delivery is completed. http://www.baxglobal.com
• United Shoots Self In Paris Leg .......... as lack of suitable aircraft has stymied UAL plans to run cargo services to Paris from Chicago. Currently, the only U.S. firm running freight-only services to France is FedEx, to its Paris hub. United had applied to operate 6 flights a week from ORD via JFK to the French capital. While the application was to operate the service with a DC-10, UAL has not been able to locate one not already in use elsewhere. This difficulty for UAL opens the door for UPS to be the next to take advantage of the recent open-skies accord agreed between the US & France. UPS already has plans to run a Louisville- Philadelphia- Paris route using its B-767F freighters.
• Polar Takes Better French Aim ............ as L.A.'s own Polar Air Cargo, is currently finishing a feasibility study for freighter flights into the French city of Marseille, expecting to begin the service by the beginning of 1999. French & U.S. authorities are reported to have replied positively to the line's proposal to serve Marseille 2 x weekly with B-747F aircraft. Polar says it selected Marseille over Paris as FedEx & UPS already have the route authority to fly into the French capital.
• Air France Aims At Self ........... as the French government intends to proceed with plans to sell off 20% of the carrier in Sept. The move startled many, considering the impact to both its reputation & finances of a 10 day pilots' strike that crippled operations on the eve of the World Cup Soccer Finals in early June. The strike happened only days after the airline announced its 1st net profit this decade, US$313M, compared with a loss last year.
• Diagnosis For Philippine Air Worsens ............. as its pilot strike in June added damage even beyond the Asian flu. Sources in Manila suggest PAL may end all intercontinental long-haul services except for U.S. flights.
• AA - BA Deal Closer? ........... as the U.S. Dept. of Justice has recommended that competitors of American & British Air receive 336 slots at Heathrow as a condition of the pair’s receiving antitrust immunity for their long-delayed alliance. Although the Dept. of Justice does not have authority to block the code-sharing partnership, a spokesman said, "The proposed alliance should not be approved unless it is significantly restructured," with antitrust carve outs of hub-to-hub routes Dallas-London & Chicago- London. Dept. of Justice added that "a bilateral open-skies treaty , while essential, by itself would not be sufficient to make the alliance acceptable, without substantial access to Heathrow by competing airlines."
• Fed Ex Ready At CLK? ............ as the company says its new facilities at Hong Kong Int'l Airport will save at least 2 hours of processing time on inbound packages & documents. Located in the 2,500 square-meter Asia Airfreight Terminal (AAT) at Chek Lap Kok (CLK), FedEx started operating along with the new airport on July 6. FedEx has 30 flights arriving/departing CLK every week. Along with customs, FedEx has also established an electronic data interchange (EDI) system at CLK.
• The People Who Brought You CLK: ARRESTED! ........... as 4 airport workers have been charged with bribery & corruption for covering up shoddy construction of facilities connected to the rail link at HKG's new airport, CLK. Two engineers & a project foreman allegedly falsified measurements &fabricated delivery statements, and a 4th suspect is charged with trying to bribe a building inspector with US$25,600 so he wouldn't look into the cover- up, the Independent Commission Against Corruption said. The corruption case followed a string of problems since the US$20B Chek Lap Kok airport opened July 6, and seemed certain to increase growing criticism of the government &airport management. But what about the guys who designed the cargo terminal?
• Fritz Keeps The Lift ............ as even though Chek Lap Kok airport is now operating at only 30% of its normal capacity, Fritz currently has no backlog of shipments from Hong Kong. Despite the problems at the airport, Fritz has the capability to move shipments because of its strategic alliances with many of the key airlines servicing Hong Kong. The company predicts "normal" operations at the airport to resume by the end of August, although many doubt the prediction. Fritz received its ISO-9002 certification for air freight services in HKG in May 1997.
• From Chaos Comes DHL Profit ......... as continuing air cargo glitches at Chek Lap Kok have resulted in a surge in DHL Worldwide local business, as the int'l air express carrier adjusts operations to accommodate the demand for air express services in Hong Kong. DHL customer service operations in Hong Kong are experiencing a 50% increase in call volumes from shippers seeking reliable shipping options. Additionally, over the past 2 weeks, DHL has experienced a 20% increase in shipment volumes and a 35% increase in shipment weights through its express terminal at the new port. DHL continues to process shipments with its own employees & systems based at its Express Cargo Terminal facility, thus bypassing the problems & cargo embargo at the Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminal's Limited (HACTL) now infamous & dreaded "Super Terminal One".
• Kuehne & Nagel Throws Its Hong Kong Airfreight In The Ocean ............. as it has instructed all its major overseas stations to accept bookings to Hong Kong on a new Air-Sea service in order to deal with the cargo problems at Chek Lap Kok. Under the Air-Sea service, airfreight consignments are consolidated by the KN stations overseas and sent by air to either Singapore or Korea where the cargo is loaded into ocean containers and forwarded to Hong Kong on short-sea routes. As the long-haul sectors to Singapore and Korea are still covered by air, the total transit time is only extended by 4 to 5 days to allow for the sea-transport to Hong Kong. A similar service for exports is offered by Kuehne & Nagel, whereby air cargo consignments are sent by sea from Hong Kong to Singapore and Korea for onward transportation to the oversea destinations by airfreight.
• KLM Under Fire ........... as there is serious criticism stemming from its change to a new system whereby certain airport handling facilities are off limits to forwarders, but accessible by KLM. Schiphol-based forwarders say this allows the airline alone to control the entire handling process, thereby giving KLM an unfair advantage in the perishables market. The accusation is being processed by the Dutch Competition authority, a division of the Hague's Ministry of Economic Affairs.
• BA Gets Shanghai ........... as the British & Chinese governments have reached an agreement on direct air services between the 2 countries with British Airways due to start flights to Shanghai using B747-400 aircraft.
• A Fine Result For Southern Air ......... as Fine Air Services Corp. has announced that it has executed a letter of intent to acquire Southern Air Transport, Inc., a privately owned cargo airline based in Columbus, Ohio. The acquisition is expected to be completed within approximately 90 days, subject to the satisfactory completion of due diligence & receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals. It is Fine Air's intent to continue to operate SAT as a separate line.
• MSAS Gets Laker Int'l ........... as French air freight company Laker Int'l has been bought by MSAS Cargo Int'l. The Paris-based company carries freight particularly for producers of high-tech equipment, consumer goods &pharmaceuticals.
• Landair Splits .......... as Landair Services, Inc. has announced it will divide into 2 publicly traded companies, one comprised of its Truckload carrier business with operating revenues of approximately US$96M & the other its Forward Air business with operating revenues of approximately US$112M. Forward Air provides scheduled trucking services to air freight forwarders, fully-integrated air cargo carriers and domestic & Int'l airlines.
• UPS Euro Expansion .......... as UPS Worldwide Logistics Europe has announced its new distribution center at Wakefield in Yorkshire will be open by the end of Sept. at over 100,000 square feet. In Holland, the company is adding almost 80,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space to its existing distribution center at Roermond, due to be completed in early 1999.
• EU OK's DHL Deal .......... as DHL the European Commission will allow Deutsche Post AG (the German post office) to complete its purchase of 22.5% stake in DHL Int'l. From July 1, Deutsche Post is offering its express document service, called "Express International" co-branded with DHL and enable Deutsche Post customers to send documents throughout DHL's network of 227 countries & territories around the world. Deutsche Post joins Lufthansa Cargo, Japan Airlines & Nissho Iwai as a major shareholder in the company.
• SwissCargo Consolidates ........ as it will move all freighter aircraft operations to Basle, enabling it to offer services to destinations such as Hong Kong & Mumbai. A company spokesperson said focusing on a single point will lead to better aircraft utilization & more viable fleet maintenance scheduling. At present services are scheduled from both Basle & Geneva.
• GeoLogistics Renames Its Carib Purchase ............. as completion of its acquisition of Caribbean Air Services, Inc. from AmerTranz Worldwide Holding Corporation on July 15, 1998, will bring the new name "GeoLogistics Air Services". The company provides air logistics services between the U.S. mainland, Puerto Rico & the Dominican Republic and was acquired for US$27M. GeoLogistics Corp. was formerly Int'l Logistics Ltd.
• Not A Virgin In Airfreight ............ as Virgin Atlantic Cargo has doubled the size of its LHR cargo facilities in anticipation of expected growth in volumes. A new building, which is located opposite the cargo terminals at London's Heathrow (LHR), will be known as "Cargo Point" , to be managed by Plane Handling, Virgin's air freight handling company. The new building, which houses 13,000 square meters of warehousing & office accommodation, will be home for both export/import operations as well as cargo sales & reservations.
• Boeing's Y2K Bug Is Dead? ........... as we repeat a story from last month's edition [330] to remind that the Boeing Group has announced that "no safety of flight issues" have been identified with millennium computer bug. Speaking to the IATA annual general meeting last month, Tim Fehr, V.P. of Airplane Systems for Boeing, said flight safety will be maintained and no serious problems are expected. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told the same conference that FAA views the millenium bug threat as an important issue. However, FAA says it has a clear plan to combat the issue&believes the national airspace system will be operating safely at the appointed hour. To repeat, the issue is serious. For the past 2 years, IATA airlines have been working together to ensure their own systems will be year 2000 compliant, at an estimated cost of US$1.6 billion. What have YOU done? Is your company ready for Y2K? Will your scheduling, payroll, and even word processing still work at the stroke of midnight on 1 Jan. 2000? Don't count on luck. Find out!
• Exactly Yellow .............. as Yellow Freight System has entered into partnerships with several air carriers to service its "Exact Express", a new system to offer same-day, next-day & hour-specific deliveries to Canada, Puerto Rico and the entire U.S. Although most shipments will be moved using Yellow Freight's own motor truck cargo network, the company will also use air carriers when necessary to herald its entry into the lucrative air freight industry. Yellow has guaranteed customers that if stated delivery times are not met by the day or time specified, service will be free.
• Maple Leaf & Mid East .......... as Air Canada & Royal Jordanian are introducing a codeshare service between Canada & Amman, Jordan via London (LHR).
• The Baron's Freight Focus .......... as Boeing has delivered the first 2 of 8 MD-11F freighters to Germany's Lufthansa. It expects to finish the order by year 2000. Meanwhile, Lufthansa & Russia's Sibir Airlines have reached an agreement on cargo services to/from their respective countries.
• Flying Movies ........... as Airborne Express delivers about 75% of the movies you watch on the big screen. Entering the field in 1993, its entertainment division is now the fastest-growing unit in the company. The lane is often hectic, as Airborne has to move additional aircraft out of LAX to deliver the films, plus shift its other high-priority freight around to make the movie studio deadlines.
• Slower Growth For Alaska Seen ........... as experts predict air cargo traffic throughput Alaska will only grow by 8%over the next five years. In the 12 months that ended June, '98 int'l air cargo traffic through Anchorage, Alaska, grew by 17. Insiders are blame the Asian Flu for the slowdown in growth, saying companies must keep in mind the fact that air cargo traffic is still, in fact, growing, although not at such a fast rate.
• Roehlig UK Chills Out In South Africa ............... with the opening of new freight facilities by its sister company in the southern hemisphere. Roehlig South Africa's new airfreight terminal in Durban features cool-room facilities and is located adjacent to South African Airline's cargo depot and 600 feet from customs, enabling perishables to be placed directly into the cold room, eliminating long and potentially damaging storage in the open. A second perishables & airfreight terminal in Cape Town is similarly equipped and was built to European Union standards for all kinds of perishable cargo, from fruit, vegetables and flowers, to fish and even ostrich meat.
• Pedal To The Atlas Metal .......... as Atlas Air, Inc. has reached an agreement with Boeing to accelerate into 1999 the scheduled deliveries of 2 of the new B-747-400 freighters it currently has on order. The revised schedule now calls for 5 firm deliveries in 1998, 4 firm deliveries in 1999, 1 firm delivery & 4 options available in 2000, and 6 additional options available thereafter. "This agreement reflects the confidence Atlas has in the market for this aircraft," said Michael A. Chowdry, President of Atlas Air, Inc.
• America West Takes 2nd Biggest FAA Pounding.............. as the U.S.'s 9th-largest airline, was slapped with a US$5M fine after the Federal Aviation Administration found the carrier had violated aircraft maintenance & operating rules. The fine, believed to be the 2nd-largest ever imposed on an airline, was based on a number of findings, including cases in which 17 America West jets were flown after they were overdue for structural tests. Among them were examinations of the skin around crew & cargo doors on Airbus A-320 aircraft. In other cases, passenger & cargo flights were flown aboard B-737 & B-757 airliners without protective netting installed in aircraft cargo holds. Also, a B-757 was put back in the air without necessary repairs to its elevator. US$2.5M will be forgiven if the line complies with the terms of a settlement agreement which calls for implement a series of new practices & procedures regarding certain maintenance activities.
• What Was It About "DON"T" They Didn't Understand? ............... as ST Mobile Aerospace Engineering of Mobile, Ala shipped 3 boxes of oxygen generators as airfreight from Mobile to United Airlines in Oakland, Calif., without properly labeling the cargo - an action similar to that which led to the crash of a ValuJet airliner - faces a $100,000 fine from the government. FAA cracked down on such shipments after the ValuJet plane plunged in flames into the Florida Everglades in May 1996. Investigators believe the fire was ignited or fueled by a shipment of oxygen generators placed in the aircraft's cargo hold. The canisters can generate heat up to 500 degrees when triggered. They are designed to provide oxygen to passenger emergency masks. FedEx transported the shipment by air.
• OAG Goes "E" .......... as the world of air transport analysis has taken a leap forward with OAG Worldwide's launch of OAG MAX, an analysts decision support tool. Available on CD-ROM, it uses 32-bit technology on a Microsoft Windows 95 or NT platform, is designed -- principally -- for air transport analysts in the airline, air cargo, airport, aerospace and Government department sectors. Updated monthly, OAG MAX offers data usable in a matter of seconds, presented via an easy-to-use series of drop-down menus from five main categories: flights, aircraft, geography, airlines and time period. With its Internet style, OAG MAX is also designed to help users who do not have specific database or IT knowledge.
• Forwarder On A Wire .......... as Cargo Int'l Logistics has faced some rather difficult challenges in keeping Vladimir Kekhaial, the Ukrainian born trapeze artist "in the air". Billed as the World’s Richest Trapeze artist, this former Moscow State Circus travels the globe with special equipment which must not suffer shock damage of any kind. CIL is keeping Vladimir show on the road all over the world.
  http://newyork.worldbusiness.net/gms/cargo.html
• Volumes. UP for the world in March 1998, cargo volume rose in Africa by 10%, in the Middle East by 9%, in Europe & No. America by 5% each, and by 2% in Latin America & the Caribbean. UP for BA with 1997/98 fiscal year volume of 815,870 tons of freight & mail, a rise in excess of 13% over the previous year. UP for Continental for the month of June '98 with 67,811 cargo revenue ton miles, up18.8% over same period last year. DOWN for Northwest, as Cargo ton miles (CTMs) systemwide were down 12.2% from 1997's 190.8 million CTMs to 167.6 CTMs in June 1998. WAY UP for KLM's Martinair which saw its cargo operations grow 25%in 1997; 189,000 tons last year compared to 152,000 in 1996. United's June cargo ton miles were 251,987,000, UP 4.9% from 240,127,000 a year ago. Emirates Skycargo carried 200,000 tons of freight, up 25%, and reduced its unit cost by almost 5% per available ton kilos. Where the "Flu" is concerned, the number of passengers using airports in Asia in March 1998 fell 10% from 1997 levels, the 6th consecutive month of reduced traffic because of the region's economic fallout; some 36.1 million air travelers used airports in the Asia/Pacific region during the month, although cargo tonnage through the region was down only 2%.
• IATA's Americas Air Transport Forecast 1985-2011............. is now available. The report covers passenger traffic for all regions, airline developments, route structures & profiles of airport activity. It identifies areas of growth & decline in passenger traffic and ranks countries & regions by order of importance in the Americas. For copies contact IATA at 514/874-9659
• In Memorium ......... as a Ukrainian owned, Russian made Ilyushin-76 cargo plane crashed into the sea on 14 July when its engine caught fire shortly after takeoff from the Gulf emirate of Ras Al-Khaimah, near Dubai. All 8 aboard were killed. The 4 engine freighter was owned by Ukraine's Defense Ministry, on lease to a private Kiev-based cargo airline, A.T.I. Aircompany, the Ukrainian Emergency Situations Ministry said. The plane was carrying 40 tons of cargo when it took off, bound Mykolayiv in southern Ukraine. Cargo included several automobiles & audio equipment, the Ukrainian Embassy said. Mohammad Hussein, a businessman who was the terrace of a beachfront hotel at the time, said he saw the plane catch fire & explode before plunging into the sea 500 yards from shore. Hundreds of watermelons were floating in the sea after the crash, he said.

QUESTION: How Do I Calculate Charable Weight For Airfreight Based On Dimensions (DIM)? Domestic? Int'l? Metric?

ANSWER: Go to The Freight Dectective Transport Reference Desk
https://cargolaw.com/detective2.html

OUR "C" Section: FF World Ocean News

5. Freight Forwarder World Ocean Briefs

• Time Limit Defined For HMF Claims .............. as it is reported that refunds for the Harbor Maintenance Fee, which was declared unconstitutional in March 1998, are subject to a 2 year statute of limitations. Still, attorneys for shipper interests have filed briefs with the U.S. Court of International Trade at New York contending that the statute of limitations should not apply and that there should be no time limit on these claims.
• FMC To Change Fees ............ as U.S. Federal Maritime Commission has announced that more than 35 will be increased, several will be reduced and some eliminated. The changes are the 1st in 3 years. Correcting clerical or other errors in submissions will now cost US$233. It had cost nothing. Use of the Automated Tariff Filing & Information System will decrease from US$0.46 to US$0.33 per minute. New agreements by companies and others subject to the U.S. Shipping Acts of 1916 &1984 that need commission review will cost US$1,666, up from US$1,402. Agreement amendments needing review will increase from US$695 to US$841. Ocean freight forwarder license approvals will increase from US$687 to US$778. A US$84 fee will be charged for a computer diskette of the Regulated Persons Index. Comments on the changes are due 27 July.
• New "Shipping Act" Opinions Sought ........... as the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) wants YOU to contribute ideas regarding proposed changes to the Shipping Act of 1984. If approved by the U.S. Congress, the new law will come into effect on May 1, 1999. The FMC is asking for comments on issues such as monitoring the private services responsible for the publication of ocean carrier tariffs. Review The Shipping Act at
  https://cargolaw.com/navigator.html
• Long Beach Remains King ............... as it has retained its title as busiest seaport in the U.S. by being the only container port to exceed the 3 million TEU mark. For 1997, containerized imports rose by over 16% to the equivalent of 1.8 million TEU, and exports increased by 2.4% to 1.1 million TEU. With empty containers exceeding 590,000 TEU, the total volume of containerized trade jumped more than 3.5 million TEU - an overall increase of 14.3% from 1996. Trade with Japan remained steady for most of 1997, worth US$22B. China is currently the port's No. 1 overall trading partner. China &Hong Kong represent more than US$20B in trade for Port of Long Beach. The port currently handles almost a 3rd of all U.S.-Sino trade, more than any other seaport in the U.S. Despite Korea's currency devaluation toward the end of 1997, trade between Long Beach & Korea remained steady. Latin American trade has averaged an annual growth rate of 52% since 1990, making it a major market in global commerce. But remember, America's No. 2 busiest port is Port of Los Angeles which is right next door! Los Angeles now has both the king & queen of U.S. ocean cargo and LAX, the undisputed No.1 of U.S. air cargo. Indeed, L.A.'s "THE PLACE!"
• Watch Out West Coast ............ as the Port of New York and New Jersey cut a key charge on cargo of 60% effective 1 July.. The Int'l Longshoremen's Assn., AFL-CIO & the New York Shipping Assn., representing employers, said the tonnage assessment on local cargo & ocean containers destined for or moving from points within 260 miles of the port will drop to US$1 from its present level of $2.50 per assessment ton. The ILA & NYSA said the reduction reflects continued progress in their joint efforts to increase productivity, improve their competitive position and attract more cargo to the port. U.S. West Coast ports must continue to monitor costs in order to remain competitive on imports destined for inland delivery.
• So Long El Nino: Panama Re Floated ........... as the Panama Canal Commission has lifted draft restrictions in the waterway & reinstated the normal maximum authorized transit draft of 39.5 feet. The move follows 109 days of restrictions on vessel draft due to drought conditions caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon. The restrictions lasted for a shorter period than had been feared as experts initially expected the dry conditions to last until September.
• Container Vessels Leave - Arrive In Record Number ......... as a study shows a record number of containerships are to be pulled out of commission in 1998, exceeding even last year's record high. Mitsui OSK says 19 vessels went to the junk yard last year, but by April this year, an equal number had already been scrapped. NYK is now retiring the 2,300 TEU M/V Aramac, constructed in 1972, while MOL is set to dismantle the 1,800 TEU M/V Alligator Miracle, built in 1973. In spite of their ages, the ships are still in demand for sale. The Aramac will by NYK's 3rd retirement this year, & its 8th since 1996 while the Alligator Miracle is the first full ship to be binned since containerization began in 1968. Meanwhile, Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, CGM & COSCO all ordered a series of large ships this month, with Maersk making the biggest order for 4 2,200 TEU vessels (large feeders). Hapag Lloyd has placed an order with Hyundai for four 4,800 TEU Panamax containerships. Yang Ming has ordered five 5,200 TEU ships OT Africa Line is negotiating for two 1,000 TEU vessels, while OOCL is considering two to five 5,000 TEU newbuildings. While 55,588 TEU were ordered between January& April, the pace is picking up, with 31 vessels, and a total carrying capacity of 71,208 TEU ordered in May alone.
• LBG Approves New Terminal ........... as a plan to redevelop more than 500 acres of the former Long Beach Naval Station for cargo handling purposes has been approved by the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners. The board's action will allow the Port of Long Beach to develop approximately 300 acres for one or more container terminals and provides additional acreage for storage of petroleum and breakbulk cargo such as lumber & steel. This is the same area for which a spirited legal battle was fought on behalf of the China flag carrier COSCO. Space will be set aside for a ship repair facility at the former U.S. Navy Shipyard (home of the world's largest dry dock), but the exact size of the facility will remain flexible until proposals are received from potential operators. The board made its decision at a meeting held in June. The vote came on the heels of the U.S. Navy's 26 May decision that deemed the City of Long Beach reuse plan presented the best use for the former naval properties by converting the land to cargo terminals.
• New Mexican HAZ MAT Rules ........... as the Mexican Secretariat of Communications & Transport has published proposed rules on hazardous cargo in the 30 June issue of Diario Oficial. The regulations have been worked on since 1996. Vessels carrying hazardous cargo to Mexican ports will have to inform the port of the cargo before arrival and ports will verify the cargoes and can reject them. Trucks arriving at the ports must give at least a day's notice. In addition, exclusive hazardous cargo areas have to be formed at Mexican ports. A daily log will be kept of cargoes but enforcement will ultimately reside with the federal government. Hazardous cargoes are defined as those that in handling or transport, present a higher risk to public health or the environment.
• Eritrea Seizes Cargo of Ethiopia ......... as the Eritrean government has reportedly seized all cargo of Ethiopia at Assab, Eritrea. It includes 80,000 tons of food aid, mostly wheat, 45,000 tons of other cargo, 4,000 vehicles and thousands of tons of petroleum. A conflict between the two countries began over border issues on 6 May.
• Who Wants Italia di Navegazione? ............ as Taiwan's Evergreen has pulled out of bidding for Italy's state owned carrier. France's CMA-CGM and Italy's D'Amico di Navigazione are the only 2 remaining bidders.
• COSCO Weds Sinotrans ............. as China's state owned carrier, has agreed to merge with the forwarder. The decision to combine the two transport giants is said made in keeping with the government's decision to rationalize state companies and build up large conglomerates in China. According to officials at Sinotrans and Penavico (the other state forwarder), COSCO's agent, it is the intention of the government to separate the newly merged entity from both the Ministry of Communications & the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation and create it a super organization that will provide air services as well as sea transport. Measures to aid state run companies include cutting interest rates about 5 times over the last two years. The cuts saved China's state companies a total of 40 billion yuan, providing state banks with incentive to lend and allowing companies to finance reforms.
• Hamburg Sud Gets South Seas Steam ................ as A/S Thor Dahl Shipping, parent company of South Seas Steamship Co. Ltd. (SSS) & Hamburg Sud have reached agreement in principle to sell the business of SSS to Hamburg Sud - The Shipping Group. SSS is a container carrier between the West Coast of North America and the Pacific Islands. Hamburg Sud, through its Columbus Line operation, is a major container carrier between North America & Australia/New Zealand.
• Flu Induced Increase? ............ as the 1st general rate increase for 9 years has been implemented by the Korea Nearseas Freight Conference. The whopping 15% increase, approved by the Korea Shippers' Council, took effect on July 1. The Korea Nearseas Freight Conference is made up of Korean liner operators serving Japan and Korea. Meanwhile, Evergreen Line has dropped calls at Busan in favor of adding extra calls in Taiwan.
• Carriers Don't Think There Is Enough Capacity? .......... as HKG based OOCL believes that it's 8 post-Panamax 5000 TEU boxships are not enough. Reports say this Grand Alliance member will look to Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries & Korean Samsung Heavy Industries to build the new vessels during the next 3 years. Meanwhile, Maersk Line continues its expansion binge with an order for 6 new containerships to have capacities of 3,700 TEU and to replace existing tonnage In early June, Maersk placed orders for four 4,300 TEU newbuildings. Earlier, at the end of May, the Danish carrier announced orders for four 2,200 TEU feeder ships. Not to be out done, Hapag-Lloyd is finalizing discussions with several Asian shipyards for 4 new 4,800 TEU vessels to be delivered by year 2000. The move will increase the number of Hapag-Lloyd owned ships capable of loading more than 4,000 TEU to 15. To fill its ships Hapag-Lloyd has also placed orders for 38,000 TEU worth an estimated US$135.7M. Hapag-Lloyd has just taken delivery of three 4,422/4,612 TEU ships, M/V Shanghai Express & M/V Dusseldorf Express. M/V London Express is scheduled to enter the carrier's Europe/Asia/Europe service before December. Now which way will those rates go? Hmmm?
• Hyundai Switches Sides .......... as it is reported to be changing alliances from Zim to New World Alliance partners APL & Mitsui OSK as of this month. The switch applies to the alliance's all-water route between Asia &the US East Coast, via the Panama Canal. The port rotation for the New World Alliance's Panama Canal route is: New York, Norfolk, Charleston, Manzanillo, Panama City, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Kaohsiung, Busan, Kobe, Nagoya, Tokyo, Panama, Manzanillo, Charleston & New York. Nine 2,880 TEU ships, from APL and Mitsui OSK, will be deployed on the route.
• Maersk Improves Caribbean Direct ............ with a new direct service to the Caribbean as an extension of the carrier's north and south American network. Countries covered by the new service are; Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Trinidad, Barbados, French Guiana, Guyana, Surinam, Aruba and Curacao. Ports of call will be: Port au Prince, Haiti; Kingston, Jamaica; Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic; Port of Spain, Trinidad; Bridgetown, Barbados; Oranjestad, Aruba; Willemstad, Curacao; Georgetown, Guyana; Cayenne, French Guiana; Paramaribo, Surinam and Kingstown, St Vincent.
• To Russia: You Go West? ............. as there is now a block-train service using the Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR) which could be a competitive option to all-water carriers, the Trans-Siberian Intermodal Operators Assn. of Japan (TSIOAJ) has said. Association members made the statement after the successful April running of a demonstration block-train between Pacific Russia (Nakhodka/Vostochniy) & Brest, on the western border of Belarus. The train was made up of 45 freight cars loaded with cargo from Japan, South Korea &other Asian destinations. In total, it carried 90 TEU., and completed the 12,000 km journey in just 9 days. TSIOAJ believes that with schedules in place, transit times to cities in eastern Europe could be completed in less than 20 days, making it an effective option on the Europe/Asia/Europe trade. Routes from Seattle & Alaska might also come in the future.
• Maersk Wears The Stars & Stripes ............ as it will contribute a crew to join 29 officers to work on the USNS Watson, the U.S. Military Sealift Command's new large roll-on-roll-off ship. The Watson is one of 14 new ro/ros being built for the US military by the National Steel and Shipbuilding in San Diego and the Avondale Shipyards at New Orleans.
• Interpool Gets XTRA ............ as the container & chassis leasing giant continues growth. XTRA stockholders will receive US$65 per share and retain about 10% ownership when the company is sold to Interpool. XTRA, is a lessor of US domestic and marine intermodal equipment. According to US reports, the agreement will result in the recapitalisation of XTRA. Interpool also recently gained a 50%interest in Container Applications International, a manager of container assets. Interpool is corporate sponsor of The Cargo Letter Library, Search Engine & Message Board.
  http://www.interpool.com/tcl/
• Container Version Of "Pocket Fisherman"? ............. as a fold-down dry freight container which can be stacked & locked together when empty is being marketed by its Australian developers. Eubert Co. says its "Foltainer", folds down to 1/3 of its normal size and can be erected in 5 minutes by 2 people, a forklift and a hammer (and perhaps a small dog). The container is also watertight and able to cope with the normal load & test conditions expected for a 20 foot, 30 ton ISO series 1 type CC container. When loaded, the containers will be stackable to the same height as normal ISO units. Door seals are standard, and the wall joints have double rubber/polymer seals. The new containers are said to require fewer re positioning ships, fewer truck trips, fewer acres of land for storing empty containers and fewer terminal moves. The container has an 8 year service life.
• K Line Between The Sheets? .......... as a moisture damage preventative sheet designed to protect rice from dew damage has been developed by the Japanese carrier. Developed after years of intensive research, the 2 types of dew proof sheets - "Dew Safe", suitable for cargo loaded on pallets, and "Bulk Dew Safe" for bulk commodities, have been patented in the U.S., Europe, Canada & Australia. Using a system of waterproof sheets made of water-impermeable polyester materials & a polymeric water absorbing material, the dew proof sheets cover the ceiling and 4 sides of the ocean container. Air holes are provided near the top of the sheet so that the moist air from the cargo is easily discharged outside of the sheet. When the saturated air comes in contact with the steel sides of the container, the air cools down and forms water droplets which are in turn absorbed by the water absorbing sheets. The system was developed after Japanese trading houses requested K Line develop a new cost effective method of protecting rice from the damage caused by the dew that forms inside dry containers. Rice imported into Japan from Australia, Vietnam & Uruguay will have cargo hauled in "Bulk Dew Safe" covered dry containers.
• One Way Containers? .......... as K Line, Mitsui OSK Lines & NYK Lines have all purchased 18,000 FEUs, more than twice the amount of containers purchased in the last year due to the container shortage in Asia, where westbound cargo currently far outweighs eastbound. These carriers have also orders a combined volume equivalent to 2,860 FEUs in reefer containers, 240% more than last year.
• U.S.S. New Jersey Goes Home - Welcome "Harry" ............. as the U.S. Senate has approved moving the former U.S. Navy Iowa Class Battleship New Jersey (BB 62) to its namesake state for mooring as a museum in Bayonne. It is planned to open the ship in 2000 after U.S.$7M in work. More than U.S.$3M has been raised so far. Meanwhile, President Clinton commissioned the Nimitz class, nuclear-powered USS Harry S Truman last Saturday with a celebration of the ``Give 'em hell'' president's memory. The US$4.5 billion, 97,000-ton ship named for the former Democratic president towers 20 stories above the waterline and has a crew of 6,000.. In a compromise worked out in Congress, the next Nimitz Class carrier, due in 2002, is to be christened U.S.S. Ronald Reagan. We doubt any foe will dare to mess with "Ronnie".
• Container Yard For Exclusive Malibu? ........... as hundreds of FEUs (forty foot ocean containers) have stacked up in the land of movie stars and the rich &famous. Good thinking on the part of Cal Trans (California's transit authority) brought an ocean solution to a land locked problem. FEUs weighted with sand have been stacked 3 & 4 high to form a barrier for the protection famed Pacific Coast Highway through southern Malibu as land slides recently pleagued the area in the wake of El Nino. No word on a movie deal for Intertpool Corp.!
• Zen Continental Becomes Paramount ........ as the famed China forwarder has moved to 15200 Downey Ave., Paramount, CA 90723 Tel# (562)663-6888
• Throughput. As PSA Corp., the owner/operator of cargo-handling facilities at Singapore, posted a record performance in March with total traffic of 1.31 million TEU was 3.1% over the port's previous record in October 1997, 10% higher than the corresponding month in 1997.
• Volumes. As TMM Line has reported increased volumes of more than 30% to 482,000 TEU in 1997.
• In Memorium ...........as Richard G. Ashworth, Esq. dies at 72. He was the lead counsel in the landmark Ronda v. Bloomfield case. Ashworth, from Watertown, Conn., attended Princeton University & Yale Law School before joining Haight, Gardner, Poor & Havens in 1950, where he specialized in maritime law. He became a partner in 1963, the same year as Ronda v. Bloomfield, which involved a vessel casualty off Le Havre, France. The case established that a maritime court in one country cannot halt legal proceedings outside that country.

6. The Cargo Letter Cargo Damage Dispatches

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 .........

Ocean CARGO disasters this month include: ..........

1.] 16 June. M/V Aptmariner (Liberian- registry operated by COSCO (Hong Kong) Shipping Co. Ltd.) ran aground off St. Nicholas Island in the St. Lawrence Seaway near Montreal due to steering problems, while sailing from Klaipeda, Lithuania, to Cleveland and Detroit with steel coils and was re floated 18 June by the tugs Avantage, Andre H. &Jerry Newberry. The Aptmariner suffered forepeak damage and will be repaired at a cost of U.S.$409,000, using 30 tons of steel;
2.] 26 June. M/V Diana- Maria (Antigua & Barbuda-registry) ran aground near La Marola Rock at Ria de Ares, Spain, while sailing from Blyth, England, to Ferrol, Spain, with 2,000 tons of scrap metal. Flooding was reported in the engine room and the 6 crew were rescued by a helicopter. On 29 June, work began to lighter 20 tons of fuel as the Diana-Maria continued to flood;
3.] 26 June. M/T Astro Gamma (Greek-registry 268,310-dwt tanker) suffered an engine room fire as it loaded fuel at Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The fire was extinguished by local firefighters and no one was injured. The Astro Gamma has 42 crew; x.] 26 June. The Chilean Navy's lead ship of the Condell (PG 06)-class frigate collided with the U.S. Military Sealift Command's Henry J. Kaiser-class Replenishment Oiler U.S.N.S. Pecos (T-AO 197) while operating 70 miles off California. No one was injured. The Condell was preparing to refuel from the U.S.N.S. Pecos when it apparently had steering problems;
4.] 28 June. M/V World Peace (Cypriot-registry) was abandoned at 11 degrees 26.8 minutes north, 62 degrees 51 minutes east after its No. 4 cargo hold flooded. The 21 crew abandoned ship & boarded M/T Maasstroom L (38,039-dwt motor tanker). The World Peace was sailing from Chennai, India, to Rotterdam, with marble and was last reportedly drifting at 2 knots west-southwest towards India;
5 .] 29 June. M/V Woo Yang Honey (South Korean-registry) was abandoned at 23 degrees 00 minutes north, 116 degrees 35 minutes east after it began flooding. The 16 crew were rescued by another vessel and taken to Shantou, China, before the Woo Yang Honey sank;
6.] 29 June. S/V Rita Allah (Syrian-registry wooden vessel) was towed to Limassol, Cyprus, after drifting for days in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Two died of dehydration & were thrown overboard before the vessel was found. Some 115 people were aboard when it docked;
7.] 29 June. M/V Magdelan Sea (Canadian-registry offshore supply vessel) rescued 3 crew from a 30-foot S/V Swamba that had spent 25 hours drifting in a storm off Nova Scotia. The demasted Swamba was flooding in 16-foot seas;
8.] 29 June. M/T Katerina SG (Panamanian-registry) was disabled when the No. 5 piston in the main engine separated from the crankcase in an explosion. The vessel was left drifting at 03 degrees 30 minutes north, 87 degrees 42 minutes east. It had sailed from Port Klang, Malaysia, for Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, & Nacala, Mozambique, with palm oil;
9.] 2 July. U.S. Coast Guard seized 41 pounds of cocaine from M/V Friendly Express (Belize-registry). The vessel was sailing from Haiti to Miami when it ran out of fuel on 30 June. It was towed to the Miami anchorage by the USCGC Riga, where it was boarded by the Coast Guard and the U.S. Customs Service. The cocaine was found in a concealed compartment under the deck of a cargo hold;
10.] 5 July. M/T Captain X. Kyrinkou (Cypriot-registry) was damaged in heavy seas while sailing with diesel fuel from Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates, to South Africa. It called at Aden, Yemen, where damage was found to cable ducting on deck;
11.] 7 July. M/V Tiger Force (Maltese-registry 224 TEU ship of Bengal Tiger Line) sank at 08 degrees 03 minutes north, 79 degrees 00 minutes east. It was carrying containers from Colombo, Sri Lanka, to Tuticorin, India, and the crew was rescued;
12.] 9 July. F/V Hosei Maru, an 11-ton fishing vessel, collided with a whale on Tokyo Bay . Seven of 14 people aboard the vessel were injured including one who had a broken jaw;
13.] 9 July. M/T Seasalvia (Maltese- registry 88,396-dwt motor tanker) ran aground on sand near the Haydarpasa Breakwater in Turkey's Bosporus Strait. It is carrying crude oil from Novorossiysk, Russia, to Italy;
14.] 10 July. M/T Tadoussac (Canadian- registry ) has run aground 2.2 miles east of Peche Island near Windsor, Ontario. It is carrying coal;
15.] 13 July. M/V Rautz (Austrian-registry) sank at 35 degrees 05 minutes north, 09 degrees 31 minutes west, while sailing from Safi, Morocco, to Poland. Six crew were rescued & 4 are missing;
16.] 15 July. M/V Aida (Swedish-registry 52,288-gt ro/ro operated by Wallenius Lines) & M/T Golden Asia (Panamanian-registry.) collided east of Saeki, Japan, at 32 degrees 58 minutes north, 132 degrees 09 minutes east. Each had damage. The Aida was sailing from Mizushima, Japan, to Portugal, while the Golden Asia was en route from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, to Oita, Japan, with alcohol;
17.] 15 July. M/V Docelirio (Liberian-registry) ran aground at Mile 85.7 in Venezuela's Orinoco River. It was sailing to Trinidad with iron ore pellets;
18.] 15 July. M/V Nickerie (Dutch-registry motor refrigerated ship.) was taken in tow following engine problems. The ship will be taken to its destination of Vigo, Spain. It is carrying frozen fish;
19.] 27 July. M/V Lindarosa as flames raced through a cabin on a freighter in Genoa's harbor, killing 5 illegal immigrants who had stowed away on the ship. The ship had unloaded a shipment of cars from Tunisia. Frequent readers of this feature will note that it was a very quiet month!

NOTE: Due to seasonal weather there were many, many more cargo vessel groundings, barge losses, fires & other disasters we had no room to report. Large loss of life was reported in the fishing fleets and on ferries, but it does not involve cargo and is nor reported. It was another BAD month at sea. We mourn the many vessels lost.

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.

OUR "D" Section: FF in Cyberspace

7. The Cargo Letter "Cyber Ports Of Call"

Here are our suggested world wide web sites of the week for your business, your information and your amusement ...............

The Freight Detective's Spyglass .... LIVE ! The Only Gathering of 24 Hour Transport Cameras In The World - Where Will You Go Today?
https://cargolaw.com/cameras.html

Chek Lap Kok ............ Hong Kong's new, yet now infamous airport
http://www.hkairport.com

Europort Vatry.
http://www.europort-vatry.fr

USBTS - US Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
http://www.bts.gov/

Broker Licensing & Compliance ........... U.S. Customs Service. Soon to feature the National Broker Register.
https://cargolaw.com/d2.customs.html

Aviation Convention in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. July 29th August 4th. In addition to the seminars, we have 4 live video cameras set up for your pleasure. We are looking forward to providing an exciting week of live coverage.
http://www.cyberair.com/

Air Cargo Calculator ............. figure out dim weight, by CargoSoft, web site designs for transportation.
https://cargolaw.com/detective2.html

Transport Session of the European Parliament ............ set for 25 Sept. Italian Transport Minister Burlando will give the keynote address. Topics will include "Raw Material Logistics", "Logistics: What Future?", "International Port Networks", "Industrial Logistics", Transports in Europe", "Financial support of the transport infrastructures", "European Union Port Policy after 2000". Info available only in Italian.
http://www.fiera.ge.it

Hazmat Safety Homepage ..........of the U.S. Dept. of Transportation. By October, this site will replace the Hazardous Materials Information Exchange, an electronic bulletin board run by the Research and Special Programs Administration. Eventually the site will offer online registration for training courses and hazmat seminars for small businesses conducted throughout the country by the HMS office and Transportation Safety Institute
http://hazmat.dot.gov

High-Tech Forwarders Network
http://www.htfn.com/

CargoFinder ........... an open market exchange where shippers' transport needs meets carriers' demand. See the online demo.
http://www.cargofinder.com

Reid's Consultancy Service ........... with online glossary and industry info.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/mark.reid/index.htm

Maritime Signal Flags ......... meanings & uses. It talks!
http://members.aol.com/opresco1/signalflags/

OceanWide .......... delivers sailing schedules via the PointCast Network, using free software to deliver news & other information to your PC or Mac. Users choose which sailing schedules they want to receive by filling out a form at the site. Allows forwarders to get instantaneous quotes and marine cargo insurance. The actual insurance certificates can then be printed by forwarders directly from their computers.
http://www.oceanwide.com/

Rating Your Frequent Flyer Miles .......... and understanding them.
http://inside.excite.com/c/000020001185245708

UPS E-Commerce
http://www.ec.ups.com

Transport R. Pynnonen Ltd .......... since 1948, the premier transporter by road from the UK & Finland to Russia, Central Asia & the Commonwealth of Independent States (Former Soviet Union). Now with a logistics representative in the USA.
juha-pekka.aitoaho@r-pynnonen.fi

Trade Expert ............ a commercial product from IHS TransPort Data Solutions contains rules & regulations necessary for importing goods into the U.S. & Canada.
http://www.transportdatasolutions.com

Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs) ............ for trade & generic chemicals. Three CD-ROM set of more than 225,000 listings. NOT FREE.
http://www.env-sol.com/solutions/MSDS.HTML

Summer Diversions ................

The Freight Detective's Butler ............. the world's greatest collection of resources for gourmet cooking recipes, travel, wine, cigars and current event in YOUR own neighborhood! He's YOUR personal concierge! Don't miss this important & fun resource!
https://cargolaw.com/d.butler.html

Top Ten Vacation Planning Sites
http://inside.excite.com/c/000019001185245902

Free Card & Classic Games
http://inside.excite.com/c/000020001185245704

Play Fantasy Baseball
http://inside.excite.com/c/000019001185245901

OUR "E" Section: The Forwarder/Broker World

8. Asian News Briefs

-- by Warren S. Levine, for The Cargo Letter

Albright Stands Firm At ASEAN Conference

U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, in Manila for the regional forum of the Association of SouthEast Asian Nations, leveled heavy words at Burmese Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw for the political repression aimed at silencing opposition leader and Nobel Laureate Suu Kyi.

Suu Kyi is reported stuck in a car on a rural road in Burma, surrounded by military police. She has been there for the better part of a week as of this writing. Albright was upset with Ohn Gyaw's support for the actions of his government. She characterized the Burmese for having "...an authoritarian government that just doesn't get it, that blames the victim for the problem."

Albright had sharp words for Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan regarding the rash of dissident arrests in China after President Clinton's June visit. However, they also exchanged good words about liberalization of trade between China and the United States.

Indonesian Military Accused of Mass Rapes, Murders

A number of Indonesian military officers and subordinates were arrested in Jakarta, according to official Indonesian news reports. The arrests are in the aftermath of the atrocities against and murders of ethnic Chinese citizens & businesspeople, some of whose families had been in Indonesia for generations.

Over a thousand people were killed, over 100 women were raped and over 20 other women were raped and murdered in the violence which erupted in May and led to the resignation of President Suharto after a reign of 32 years.

In one case, a nine-year-old girl was raped and tortured, and died a few days later in a Singapore hospital.

Many crime scene photographs have been transmitted out of the country and copied to news agencies and human rights organizations around the world via email attachments. The Cargo Letter will make these resources available to interested news or human rights organizations upon request with statement of intended use. Warning: these are extremely graphic pictures.

The U.S. House International Relations subcommittee is keeping a close eye on the situation in Indonesia. U.S. intelligence reports that the crimes may have involved high-level members of the Indonesian military. Next step: a visit from William Cohen, U.S. Secretary of Defense, in early August. It is hoped that prosecutions by the Habibie government will proceed swiftly thereafter.

Jiang Zemin Orders PLA to Divest Itself and Stop Smuggling
PAP Also Smeared In Daring Speech by Chinese President

In a brave political maneuver and as a demonstration of just how great and worthy a leader he is, Chinese President Jiang Zemin ordered the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the People's Armed Police (PAP) to divest itself of lucrative real-estate, manufacturing, construction, importing and exporting businesses and stick to their prime objective -- presumably hunting down political opponents.

In an order issued last week, Jiang also instructed the militia to cease its smuggling operations, although the production of pirated CDs and videos was not specifically mentioned.

Now that China's army has fortified its cash reserves, they will soon close up shop and begin production of aircraft carriers and nuclear power plants, not weapons factories or anything.

A factory which until recently was making fake Louis Vuitton sweats &sneakers bearing a name similar to a Japanese stock index will be converted to a plant which will produce knockoff radar-invisible sheeting for the People's Air Force.

In news reports which raise further questions, Chinese Foreign Minister Tang, at the ASEAN Forum in Manila, repeated China's promise to stop targeting 13 American cities with nuclear missiles, as agreed to during President Clinton's visit in June.

But at the same time, in Beijing, the State Council released its first policy statement in three years, indicating their displeasure with the strengthening of relations between the United States and Japan.

In the July 27 statement, China once again refused to rule out the use of force in their claim of sovereignty over Taiwan. It is, evidently, the heat of the opera season in Beijing.

US Trade Rep Busted For Illegal Importation of Beanie Babies

U.S. Trade Representative Chalene Barshefsky, traveling with President Clinton to China last month, was reported by The Washington Post to have bought forty Beanie Babies in Beijing.

Customs Regulations allow the importation of one Beanie per family. Additionally, Ty, the maker of the original Beanie Baby, has an agreement with China that their product is not to be sold in China.

Barshefsky turned the Beanies over to Customs. Keep your eyes open for the next auction of seized merchandise in the DC Customs District.

South Vietnamese "Head Shot" General Dies of Cancer at 67

Nguyen Ngoc Loan, the South Vietnamese General who marched a Viet Cong prisoner into a Saigon street in 1968 and shot him in the head in front of rolling news cameras died of cancer at his home in Virginia on July 15. He was 67. The man Loan executed was involved in the killing of a policeman and his family during the Tet Offensive which led to the eventual collapse of South Vietnam.

9. Overweight Containers Bite Brokers

• You Were Previously Warned

-- by Michael S. McDaniel for The Cargo Letter

As we warned in The Cargo Letter [306] of Oct. 1996, the Countryman & McDaniel law firm has begun to defend U.S. Customs Brokers (CHB) and forwarders against both civil & criminal cases stemming from a truckers so called "reliance" upon weight & dim information stated on the Delivery Order (D.O.) form. Potential penalties can run well over US$10,000, plus attorneys fees & costs. In these cases the motor carrier presumed an ability to haul the load if the weight of a particular ocean container was shown on the D.O. at less than 29,000 lbs. Then, when police authorities stopped and cited the truckers load as "OVERWEIGHT" .......... all fingers pointed at the Customs Broker for issuing a D.O. which had set forth weight or height information which was within lawful limits.

The problem is that D.O. information is simply copy typed from the ocean bill of lading under circumstances where the CHB never even sees the cargo. Especially where the CHB does not provide a copy of the OB/L or HB/L to the trucker along with the D.O., officials such as the Los Angeles City Attorney have previously taken the position that the D.O. is a representation of weight.

While great strides have been taken at Ports such as Long Beach/Los Angeles to educate officials as to the proper meaning & use of a D.O. form, our Oct. 1996 suggestion is still your best course. CHBs should reprint their D.O. form to contain a prominent notice such as "THIS IS NOT A REPRESENTATION OF WEIGHT OR HEIGHT", or "CUSTOMS BROKER DOES NOT WARRANT ACCURACY OF WEIGHT &HEIGHT INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM OCEAN CARRIERS FOR THIS CARGO".

It is good practice to supply a copy of the bill of lading to the delivering trucker. Indeed, these same principles may apply to the "Arrival Notice" forms issued by some NVOCC agents when providing cargo availability information to CGNEEs.

10. New U.S. Int'l Transport Legal Cases

• Transport Related Cases From Countryman & McDaniel

United States v. Marin-Cuevas
No. 96-50686 June 8, 1998 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Immigration Law: Derivative Citizenship - Note This For Your Overseas Employees
Holding: Defendant's claim that he is a citizen of the United States by virtue of "derivative citizenship" through his mother failed because his mother did not spend enough time in the U.S. prior to his birth.
Defendant had claimed that as a legitimate child of a U.S. citizen, whose mother was physically present in the U.S. prior to his birth for the statutorily required period of time he is a U.S. citizen. Defendant, born in 1966, was counting on a statute 8 USC sec. 1401 that was amended in 1986 and not meant to operate retroactively. Hence his derivative citizenship claim failed. Furthermore, there was no error when, although the jury was to make a determination regarding citizenship, the district court instructed that the INS has "exclusive authority under the law to issue a certificate of citizenship." The jury instructions, taken as a whole were not found misleading. Affirmed.

Int'l Assoc. of Independent Tanker Owners (INTERTANKO) v. Locke
No. 97-35010 June 18, 1998 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
Constitutional Law: Federal preemption
Holding: Only one of Washington's Best Achievable Protection
Regulations, enacted to prevent oil spills, is impliedly preempted by Federal law because the state requirement attempting to regulate vessel design characteristics is preempted by the Ports & Waterways Safety Act (PWSA), which places the design and operating characteristics of oil tankers under federal regulation.
In the aftermath of the M/T Exxon Valdez oil spill, Washington enacted provisions more stringent than federal regulations in order to protect its waters from pollution by oil tankers. Section 1018 of the Oil Pollution Act (codified in 33 USC sec. 2701) demonstrates congressional intent not to preempt "the authority of any state . . . from imposing additional liability or requirements with respect to . . . pollution by oil." Regarding all requirements but one, petitioners failed to demonstrate that Washington's regulations were subject to conflict, field or express preemption. However, the regulation requiring tankers to be equipped with global positioning system receivers was impliedly preempted by PWSA. Affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded.

Enesco Corporation v. Price/Costco Inc.
No. 96-56571 June 22, 1998 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
Trademark Law: Liability for failure to disclose repackaging of product NOTE: Marking case
Holding: The district court improperly dismissed plaintiff's claims against defendant for violations of sections 32 and 43(a) of the Lanham Act where, although a trademark owner's right to control distribution is limited by the "first sale" doctrine, plaintiff's product falls under the "repackaging notice" exception articulated by the Supreme Court in Prestonettes Inc. v. Coty (1924).
Plaintiff markets fragile porcelain figures which require careful packaging to avoid damage. Plaintiff contends that its success is attributable in part to the special cartons and inter packing it uses to protect its figurines. Without plaintiff's permission, defendant began selling the figurines to its customers in a kind of packaging that plaintiff alleges does not provide adequate protection from damage. Since a damaged product may reflect badly on the manufacturer, defendant may, if allegations by plaintiff are true, be required to disclose to the public that it repackaged the merchandise. Since appellants may be entitled to some relief, dismissal was improper. Reversed and remanded.

11. What's Your U.S. Customs Filer Code Number?

An Entry Filer Code is a unique three-character (alphabetic, numeric, or alphanumeric) code assigned to Customs brokers & importers who file entry documents for imported merchandise with the U.S. Customs Service. The code constitutes the 1st three characters of the unique number assigned to each entry filed with the Customs Service, and identifies the entity that prepared and filed the entry. Entry Filer Codes may also be assigned to others who are not entry filers, but who conduct business with U.S. Customs through the Automated Broker Interface (ABI), for example, international carriers participating in the Automated Manifest System (AMS).

Matt Zehner, V.P. for Customs Surety at Intercargo Insurance Co. has now brought to our attention a new web site from U.S. Customs which features downloadable, public notice of Filer Code files, including address & phone number info for each user. This information has been added to our U.S. Customs resource center
https://cargolaw.com/d2.customs.html

DID YOU KNOW? ............. Chicago's O'hare Int'l Airport has the port code of "ORD" because its name used to be "Orchard Field". Now you know.

12. HHG Moving Tips

• Word From The Experts

Given that 45% household goods (HHG) moves occur during the summer months, the American Moving & Storage Assn. has some helpful advice for your customers:

• Label all boxes, assigning a room and box number to each.
• Pack one room at a time. This can help keep you organized, & save you time when unpacking.
• Pack one or two "survival boxes." Your personal survival kit should contain toilet paper, a telephone, toothpaste & brushes, snacks, coffee and a coffee pot, soap, a flashlight, some kitchen utensils and silverware & a can opener. Consider filling a second box with paper towels, shelf paper, rags, sponges, window and floor cleaners and other cleaning supplies. These survival boxes should be the very last boxes placed in your car or truck to ensure easy access.
• When picking up heavy boxes, bend your knees to help prevent serious injuries to your lower back and shoulders.
• To minimize the risk of damaging a lamp, wrap the base, harp & bulb separately in newspaper. Never wrap lamp shades in newspaper, since ink can stain them. Use tissue paper instead.
• To help prevent silverware from tarnishing, wrap each piece in cloth. Use an old blanket or moving pad as a cover for your silver chest to help prevent scratching.
• To help save time and prevent wrinkles or damage to clothing, keep garments on hangers and use a wardrobe carton if possible. If you don't want to use cartons, each item can be taken off the hanger, folded and placed in a suitcase or box lined with paper.
• Make sure you use heavy-duty packaging tape to secure your boxes. To help save time and avoid the aggravation of constantly searching for misplaced scissors--or using a tape dispenser with a cutting blade--you may want to use Scotch tear-by-hand packaging tape. This tape can be torn by hand in any length, eliminating the need to use scissors, knives, keys--or even your teeth--as cutting instruments. Scotch tear-by-hand packaging tape meets U.S. Postal and UPS standards. It can be ideal for moving, mailing or other package sealing needs. The tape costs about $2.49 and can be found at leading drug, food, office supply and mass merchandise stores nationwide. "HAPPY MOVING!"

13. New HKG Airport Stats

As the $20-billion Chek Lap Kok airport replaces Hong Kong's old & overcrowded Kai Tak airport. Hong Kong is one of the world's biggest cargo hubs.

CARGO RANK (In millions of metric tones annually)
1.   Memphis: 1.63 (due to FedEx)
2.   Los Angeles: 1.37
3.   Hong Kong: 1.30
4.   Miami: 1.28
5.   Tokyo: 1.27

PASSENGER RANK (In millions of people annually)
1.   Chicago: 53
2.   Atlanta: 50
3.   Los Angeles: 45
4.   London: 44
20. Hong Kong: 22

Note: 1997 figures. Source: L.A. Times