freightwaves flashback

2004: The capsizing of two vessels rocks the project cargo industry.

1994: Those involved in response to the 600,000-gallon spill reflect on their efforts.

NASA hauls the longest heavy cargo delivery; Reefers run food to the Bahamas; Submarine cables connect the Virgin Islands.

1971: Londoners are able to buy American melons for the first time after test shipments to the U.K. proved successful.

We take a look back at the state-of-the-art technology that streamlined trucking in 1961.

1992: 2-D bar codes provide an almost infinite variety of codes, which could prove especially useful in international shipping.

2000: World container port throughput increased 7.8% last year to about 201 million TEUs — the first time volume exceeded 200 million TEUs.

1974: They may be the last hurdles in the way of renewed trade between the
United States and Cuba. An embargo failed to work and indirect business
has begun.

1991: The new system allows automobiles to move in regular intermodal containers instead of the multilevel railcards that now are the industry standard.

1999: eBay ushers in e-commerce’s most dramatic distribution channel disruption in decades.

A massive eight-day backup of barge traffic at Locks and Dam 26 on the Mississippi River in 1976 resulted in shipping losses estimated as high as $500,000 a day.

1996: The FAA says it’s ready to start testing new designs of air cargo containers built to withstand terrorist bombs, but the industry worries the new containers could add weight, be expensive and reduce available cargo space.

The “trapped” crews found many ways to pass the time, including holding their own Bitter Lake Olympiad, in celebration of the Tokyo Olympics of 1968.

1986: Liberia fights to remain a leading flag of convenience as competition increases.

1991: In-transit damage used to be a major problem for Ford, but the automobile manufacturer has amped up its hauling standards.

2002: The Port of Oakland gears up intermodal capabilities to catch up with in-state rivals Los Angeles and Long Beach.

1974: Administration opposes HR-8193, but House sub-committee gives it an OK. Mountainous Bolivia asks 50% for its ships; others get 100% share of their own trade.

1978: More than a decade ago, someone accepted the measurement given in a manufacturer’s advertisement at face value. The figure has been used since then to compute ocean freight rates on certain chemicals. Who is liable? The shipper or the carrier?

2001: Several shipping lines are close to ordering the first container ships of 8,000- to 9,000-TEU capacity, but others in the industry are warning of the associated risks.

1992: U.S. Customs is contracting with a Massachusetts-based company to design and construct an X-ray unit that can examine the cargo inside a standard container in about three minutes.

2006: Istanbul-based freight forwarder Advance International has made use of international agency plans to re-establish reliable landbridge routes between the two continents.

1981: Plans to use offshore vessels for the generation of electricity by use of ocean water temperature differences could develop into a “good market” for the nation’s shipyards, according to an industry spokesman.

1997: “Comparing our project to the Panama Canal is to confuse an apple with an orange,” New York lawyer Don M. Bosco said. “Our competition won’t be the canal. Instead, we intend to take significant business from the 3,000-mile U.S. landbridge system.”

As part of Women’s History Month, FreightWaves spotlights the first American woman to make it to the top at sea.

1996: At 1,044 feet (318.2 meters) long, the new Maersk ships are longer than the Eiffel tower, but they are still capable of a high speed of 25 knots.

2002: “It’s a myth that we are out of land,” said Jim Larson of the NY/NJ Port Authority, discussing the airport’s cargo possibilities.

2005: Airbus is ready to break Boeing’s 30-year monopoly on making large passenger aircraft.

1988: The U.S.-Far East container trade will undergo a significant drop in growth over the next few years, according to a study recently completed by the research firm of Temple, Barker & Sloane Inc.

1999: To avoid the costs and delays of processing stowaways at destination ports, some ships’ crews have been known to shove stowaways overboard and set them adrift at sea.

“Not only are we at the height of the Christmas season, but we’re at the height of the Y2K concern as well. Importers and major trading houses are trying to move their goods now to beat any chance of problems with the changeover to the new millennium.”

2000: UPS Airlines has signed an agreement with Boeing Co. to take delivery of 13 MD-11 widebody freighters over the next four years.

1971: Security at Miami International Airport will be increased with a move aimed at protecting precious cargo as well as travelers.

1961: The first of a complete line of lightweight, compact, heavy-duty diesels for the over-highway trucking industry by Caterpillar, the 1673 has been tested on some 200 trucks throughout the nation.

2006: Schneider National CEO called for a return to a national speed limit, saying it was the most important thing that the federal government can do to improve highway safety.

1975: C-5 cargo plane carries 6 marine containers from Nashville to Oakland.

1992: Textiles and trucking are among industries with the most at stake in the North American Free Trade Agreement.

FreightWaves Classics will present articles about key events, companies,, organizations, etc. from the history of transportation, logistics, supply chain and freight.

1966: Seventy thousand American gallons of frozen concentrated orange juice were imported into the United Kingdom from Florida in 1965. This quantity represents nearly two million cans, retailing at about 32 cents for 6 fluid ounces, appreciably higher in fact than the American price.

1970: After 123 years of Hapag history and 113 years of Lloyd history the first page of Hapag-LIoyd AG history will be written in 1970. The new company has a staff of 11,500 of whom some 5,000 are sea-going personnel.

1981: Civic pride and more than a little politicking have scuttled — at least temporarily — a controversial proposal to study whether the competing Puget Sound ports of Seattle and Tacoma should cooperate and, ultimately, merge.

1964: The Whopper Hopper is the most advanced design of any freight car fabricated from USS Tenelon stainless steel. In a single trip it can transport 135 tons of bulk material and enough sugar to sweeten 30 million cups of coffee.

1973: This will be Sea-Land’s 2nd container crane at Jacksonville and the 3rd in operation at the port.

1971: Jacksonville, Savannah and Charleston duke it out for Southeastern port crown.

1963: Trucks have moved into the lead as the primary mode of transportation for Florida’s half billion dollar citrus and vegetable crops.

1969: The system will cut baggage delivery time by at least 50% while protecting luggage from loss and damage.

1963: NASA will employ a specially enlarged aircraft to aid in the transport of the Saturn S-IV rocket from California to Florida.

The walk-through feature makes it possible to handle cargo within both containers without removing either from the chassis.

1972: Tropicana is now exporting around 70,000 shipping tons annually with 90% going to Western Europe.

Shipments of 3,000 to 4,000 pounds of Florida strawberries make their way to Germany via Boeing 707 jets.

Piper Executive Victor C. McCollum outlined how improvement in containerization could further benefit his company and its distributors abroad.

One Florida hatchery credits modern innovations and personal overseas visits to customers for its continued success.

The SS Tropicana routinely hauls 650,000 gallons of orange juice from Florida to New York every eight days.

17 years ago, the SARS outbreak topped the list of concerns for the international shipping industry.

An overflow of West Coast-bound vehicle shipments characterized one of the largest mini-bridge operations ever assembled for a single movement.

Forced out by Castro, some offshore Florida farmers look to grow their produce elsewhere.

America’s mission to put a man on the moon draws one step closer to reality.

News that made a splash 56 years ago.

Dive into this week’s flashback from 54 years ago.

Florida’s top port news 50 years ago this month.

Flashback Fridays previews the soon-to-open Freight Alley Haul of Fame and showcases four trucking companies that contributed to the history of trucking.