American Shipper

   Christopher A. Coakley has been named vice president, government affairs at Saltchuk Resources.    Coakley, who is based in Washington, D.C., will represent Saltchuk’s interests at the federal level and will coordinate the company’s public policy efforts nationwide. He will also be Saltchuk’s representative on the executive committee of the American Maritime Partnership, a trade organization […]

   India’s two biggest container ports were impacted by strikes in the last week, according to news reports from the region.    Nhava Sheva was hit by protests from farmers and politicians starting from Wednesday over government delays in providing land compensation packages to those displaced by planned port projects.    The protests continued through […]

   There’s evidence that rate hikes implemented by major carriers on the transpacific in mid-March worked.    According to the latest edition of American Shipper’s Transpacific Pulse survey, roughly 64 percent of respondents said their rates had risen in the last month, with more than 23 percent saying rates had gone up significantly.    Another […]

   MOL President Koichi Muto said Monday that the ocean carrier expects to post its largest loss ever in the current fiscal year.    Muto, in a speech to mark the 128th anniversary of the company’s founding, said MOL has been hit by a number of factors in the last fiscal year, which ended March […]

   The liner carrier Zim Line sustained an operating loss of $276 million in 2011, compared to an operating profit of $223 million in 2010, the line said in a statement last week.    Zim’s revenue increased 2 percent year-on-year, to $3.8 billion in 2011, while container volume increase 9 percent, to 2.4 million TEUs.   […]

   The liner carriers Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Co. said Monday they plan to increase rates on the Asia-Europe trade from May 1.    Both lines are seeking hikes of $400 per TEU from most of Asia to all parts of Europe. For MSC, the increases include origins in Japan and Black Sea destinations, […]

2011 profit rises 8% as it transitions away from reliance on U.S. military logistics contracts, with Agility decrying a U.S. fraud indictment as a way for the government to deflect blame for high costs of Iraq war

   The Waterways Council, Inc. (WCI) on Friday lauded a bipartisan bill introduced by seven Congressmen aimed at modernizing the lock and dam infrastructure of the U.S. waterways system.    The bill, “Waterways are Vital for the Economy, Energy, Efficiency, and Environment Act of 2012” — or WAVE4, is sponsored by Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY), […]

   Queensland Rail (QR) has signed a five-year, $33 million contract with Logica to split its IT infrastructure from its privatized freight business and develop them both into manageable separate systems.    Formerly QR Limited before the government sold of Coal & Freight in 2010, QR is a government-owned railway operator in the state of […]

   Livingston International has finalized the acquisition of the customs and trade compliance services from J.P. Morgan Treasury & Securities Services, a business unit of JPMorgan Chase Bank.    Livingston president and CEO Peter Luit noted that the acquisition covers the operations and technology of the former Vastera business.    Adding in these customs and […]

   Thailand is seeing its logistics costs remain high as the country struggles with transporting goods around its geography. The nation is now looking to rail as a way to address costs and shipments. The nation currently sees 83 percent of moves delivered within the country while rail accounts for only 2 percent.    The country’s […]

   Non-vessel-operating common carrier Shipco Transport opened its third office in Laem Chabang, Thailand.    The new office will join Shipco’s Bangkok and Suvarnabhumi Thai locations.    Erik Thomle, currently the regional director of Indochina, will be acting as Shipco’s general manager for the new office.    “By positioning our office in Laem Chabang, we […]

South African fruit growers body challenges logistics industry to overcome supply chain inefficiencies and improve the nation’s perishable logistics and transportation networks, ahead of a key industry conference in Cape Town this month

   U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Friday published program and registration details for its upcoming Trade Symposium, which is being held for the first time on the West Coast.    The event is May 10 at the Long Beach Convention Center.    CBP is also offering a fee-based Webcast for those unable to attend. […]

   AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC), Russia’s largest cargo airline and part of the Volga-Dnepr Group, has taken delivery of its second Boeing 747-8 freighter.    The new plane will be used on ABC’s route network linking Europe, Asia and the United States with its hubs in Moscow. ABC took delivery of its first B747-8 in January, […]

   The United States on Friday asked the World Trade Organization to set up a compliance panel to address the European Union’s failure to remove WTO-inconsistent subsidies to aircraft manufacturer Airbus.    “We refuse to stand by while American businesses and workers are disadvantaged,” said U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, in a statement. “The European […]

   DeOrchis & Partners, one of the country’s best known admiralty and maritime law firms, has merged with the Philadelphia-based Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads.    In a note to clients and readers of its “Client Alert” newsletter, the firm said it is joining the New York offices of Montgomery McCracken, which also announced last month […]

   National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (NSCSA) signed a contract last month with Qatar Aluminum Company (QATALUM) to transport aluminum from Qatar to the United States. Saleh Al-Jasser, the CEO of NSCSA said the aluminum will be carried on each voyage of the company vessels for a period of one year. The estimated value […]

   The U.S. Trade and Development Agency awarded a $216,582 grant to El Salvador’s Comisión Ejecutiva Portuaria Autónoma (CEPA) to support a program for vessel traffic improvements at the Port of La Unión.    CEPA, the Salvadoran government entity responsible for developing and managing the nation’s transportation infrastructure, intends to expand operations at the port […]

    The U.S. Maritime Administration said last week it has awarded a $34.6 million contract for the design and construction of a new facility for berth ready reserve fleet ships on the Neches River near Beaumont, Texas to McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. of Houston.     When completed in 2013, the new facility will provide a […]