Posts Tagged ‘freight transport’
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010
If you ask trailer trucking professionals they would probably tell you that the trucking services industry could be an indicator of the health of the American economy. If we could find away to accurately predict the current health of the US economy in the future this would allow America to more accurately predict the financial waves that have been rocking the American economy of late and any further financial waves that could be coming down the road in the future. Now a group of researchers at the University of California in Los Angeles’s Anderson School of Management could have figured out away to use the credit-card fuel purchase patterns of the trucking transport industry to help predict future financial waves in the American economy.
The Anderson School of Management has apparently been at work with Ceridian, the fuel-card people, tracking the current diesel fuel purchases of the trucking industry of North America. They hope to use the data they collect using the Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index they have created to provide them with information on the health of the American economy. They have apparently been collecting the data they intend to use on an hour-by-hour basis in the industries that consume diesel fuel and if the data is as useful as they hope, we could see this idea grow into another tool that will allow American to better predict the future of business and the economy as American travels further into the century of the environment.
Tags: freight moving, freight shipping, freight transport
Posted in Freight Industry News | No Comments »
Monday, May 17th, 2010
Freight carriers bringing perishables to market from Africa are apparently feeling the effects of the problems that are being created by the volcanic ash in the skies of the world that are still causing air space closures and other problems in regions of the world. The freight rates for perishables from areas like East Africa has apparently skyrocketed by as much as 50 percent according to some sources and the costs are apparently being passed on down the supply chain to the consumer. This is of course probably hardly a surprise to freight carriers that have been feeling the effects of the tightness of air freight capacity coming out of Africa of late and according to the latest sources Mother’s Day in the United States last week didn’t help things either. The rush to get the flowers into the United States, so they can be bought and then given to mothers around the country at this time of year is normal and expected according to sources, but the problems with the volcanic ash are the real game changer in this case.
Is this problem likely to go away a quickly as it came? Volcanoes have a mind of their own and this is out of our hands, so we’re just going to have to find away to work around this problem. Unfortunately, the cost of many items is probably going to go up in cases where freight shipments are disrupted and costs become less manageable and predictable for air freight carriers and their customers. The problems with the recession has probably meant in many cases that firms have also put air freight capacity on the sidelines during the recession and this is certainly going to increase the problems with locating capacity out of regions where volcanic ash is causing problems with air freight movements through the skies of the world.
Tags: freight, freight quote, freight transport
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Thursday, May 13th, 2010
The container transport vessels that ply the oceans blue are so large that quick alterations of course and direction is difficult to achieve, if not impossible in most circumstances. This fact was probably in the minds of the pilots of the container transport vessels the CMA CGM Verlaine and Odessa Star the other day, once the pilots that were apparently on board at the time realised the two ships were going to collide in the reportedly poor conditions that existed on the waters at the time.
This collision certainly highlights the energy that’s involved in even the smallest collisions between containerships as the incident apparently resulted in the CMA CGM Verlaine rupturing its ballast tanks and six cargo holds. Hopefully any insurance the owners of the vessels have will cover the cost of the repairs to the ships, so the fact that there were no reported injuries to crew or environment during the accident is the best part of this news. This incident does highlight the possibility of accidents on the busy ocean transport lanes of the world’s waterways and maybe the need for some traffic control system enhancements in the future to help prevent similar accidents between container transports or any freight carrying vessels traveling the oceans of the world.
There will certainly be sceptics who will scoff at the idea of traffic control systems for the busy waterways of the world, but in a sense on many waterways of the world we already have traffic control systems in place. Unfortunately, history has shown that humankind will often put safety issues such as this one on a backburner of a sort, until such time as there is significant loss of life to warrant the issues be looked at. Hopefully, this isn’t the case in this affair and no tragedy will have to occur before we see safety systems put in place to help reduce the possibility of similar accidents occurring in the future.
Tags: freight, freight shipping, freight transport
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Wednesday, May 12th, 2010
Did you know that international ocean freight carriers from over 40 different countries currently export iron ore to China? In fact, China imports so much iron ore that it has allowed Chinese steel players to negotiate a binding long-term industry wide price agreement, instead of independent contracts with individual steel mills. The number of ocean freight carriers bringing iron ore to China is expected to increase in the future as well according to many industry sources in China and the world. Iron ore from the Indian sub-continent has been the flavour in favour with the Chinese steel mills of late, but this could change in the blink of an eye, since China has negotiated so many agreements for iron ore around the world and would certainly do so again.
There have been clouds of change on the horizon in this affair as significant pressure has been brought to bear against the Chinese to make changes to the current set up. China does need to be wary of burning bridges in this affair and burning bridges really isn’t the Chinese way. The Chinese appear to be more the limp-in kind of player who thinks he can out play you after the flop, the manipulator of emotions who is always seemingly in control of his emotions on the outside. In fact, the Chinese negotiators have apparently been at work spreading a net on the waters to see who they can ensnare and get involved in the debate occurring that’s starting to get louder according to many sources.
At present, the Chinese demand for iron ore is probably too great considering the present growth in China for the Chinese to not listen to the debate and probably make some changes. China also needs the iron ore as much as or maybe more than countries need to find buyers for their iron ore and this is certainly going to make them at least listen to the comments surrounding this affair. In addition, it will take time for ocean freight carriers to get up to speed with their movements of iron ore to China and in the meantime China still needs freight carriers to constantly bring in daily loads of iron ore for business to continue.
Tags: container transport, freight transport, shipping freight
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Tuesday, May 4th, 2010
The problems in the French freight carrier industry have been in the headlines a lot lately and today it was reported that four stevedoring companies operating in the Port of Le Havre were fined by the French regulatory agency for what they deem as unfair competition tactics in their business operations at the port. Apparently, the agency thinks the groups involved have been meeting to agree on some aspects of business that could give the firms involved a significant business advantage in the Port of Le Havre.
The truth of this affair could likely be told in the weeks and days ahead and it could be trying times for the four stevedoring companies involved and the French freight carrier industry. There could always be additional business consequences involved for these companies and at the very least they’re going to be under the microscope for awhile. Exactly, what the additional business consequences could be we’ll probably hear about in the months ahead and we can be sure the French regulatory agencies will be watching every move the companies involved in this affair make in their future business affairs in the Port of Le Havre and probably anywhere they do business in France.
The fines applied this time appear to be more symbolic than substantial and it could be the French agency just wants to send a strong message to the four companies involved and others in the French freight carrier industry that this kind of stuff will not be tolerated? The French agency stopped short of applying some fines to parties that some think were involved in this affair, so maybe some sanity is starting to appear in this affair and we’ll see business in the Port of Le Havre return to normal.
http://www.ifw-net.com/freightpubs/ifw/ind…tm_medium=email
Tags: freight, freight carrier, freight forwarders, freight moving, freight shipping, freight transport, heavy haul, moving freight, shipping freight, trucking companies, trucking services, Trucking transport
Posted in Auto Industry News, Freight Industry News, Momentum Freight, Momentum Freight News, Shipping News, freight shipping | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 4th, 2010
Trailer trucking firms looking at the Unified Carrier Registration fees they’ll have to pay in the calendar year under the new proposals are probably wondering how this is going to affect them during a time when they’re already hauling a tough financial road? Reports by many carriers indicates that they’ll be paying as much as double the fees they paid in previous calendar years and many think this additional cost could create new problems for many of America’s and North America’s trucking transport firms. Especially, for large trucking services firms this could mean some major changes in the financial landscape and future of the company, and this of course is making some trucking professionals doubt the wisdom of the increases at this time in the trucking industries history.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has indicated in statements that it was forced to increase the United Carrier Registration fee at this time in order to provide states with the money they’re expecting under the Single State Registration System. This statement must provide little comfort to the trucking firms that will have to pay the increased fees, since in the end they’ll have little choice but to pay, if they want to continue to conduct business. At least the fees are less than the original numbers the FMCSA was throwing at trucking firms in the start of this affair, which for some trucking firms must be a positive sign. They can still expect a rather large bill in the days ahead from the FMCSA and this is probably going to stick in their throat for a few days.
http://www.todaystrucking.com/news.cfm?intDocID=23849
Tags: freight, freight forwarders, freight moving, freight shipping, freight transport, heavy haul, moving freight, shipping freight, trailer trucking, trucking companies, trucking services, Trucking transport
Posted in Auto Industry News, Freight Industry News, Momentum Freight, Momentum Freight News, Shipping News, freight shipping | No Comments »
Monday, May 3rd, 2010
Is it time for shipping companies to begin ordering new container transport vessels? There appears to be a cut-throat competition going on between shipyards competing for the latest round of new containership orders that might be an opportunity for some shipping companies to save a bit of money? The competition appears to be getting a little hotter lately as there have been reports of investigations into competition complaints.
One particular complaint centers on moves by one Greek shipping interest to raise the money it needs for new vessels by using European taxpayers money to pay for the vessels. The intensity of this dispute appears to be rising at the moment and this situation could become pretty heated in the days and weeks ahead. This affair appears to be a political hot potato at the moment in European circles, so we can probably expect some tippy-toeing to be going on around the events concerning this company. The investigation appears to be going full steam ahead though and we can certainly expect to hear something on this front in a few days.
We should probably expect more shipbuilding yards to join the competition for new container transport ships being built around the world. The volume of new ships being ordered has increased recently according to many in the freight carrier industry and a feeding frenzy of a type could begin shortly. What all this means for the world’s freight shipping industry is the question? Will the volume of containers that needs to be transported go up and is the business of shipping containers going to return to levels of old in 2010?
http://www.tradewinds.no/archive/;jsession…1+ship+purchase
Tags: container transport, freight, freight carrier, freight forwarders, freight moving, freight shipping, freight transport, heavy haul, moving freight, shipping freight, trucking companies, trucking services, Trucking transport
Posted in Auto Industry News, Freight Industry News, Momentum Freight, Momentum Freight News, Shipping News, freight shipping | No Comments »
Monday, May 3rd, 2010
Bulk oil shipments are taken by the large tankers of the world’s oil freight carriers to destinations around the world in some of the largest vessels ever to float on the oceans blue. Bulk tankers of this type are used to transport bulk liquids of many different kinds to market, including hazardous and potentially lethal bulk liquids that are used to power the world’s industries.
China has been making moves designed to make the country as self-sufficient in the future as possible. Part of this plan is a desire to control the domestic and international flow of bulk oil into the China. China has recently made a few choices that have a few freight carrier industry analysts thinking that China is moving toward purchasing the new tanker capacity it needs to make sure at least 40 percent of the bulk oil imported into China is transported on tankers owned or controlled by Chinese shipping interests.
Towards this end many in the worldwide freight carrier shipping industry think that there are Chinese shipping companies currently planning to increase the size of what’s already one of the world’s largest bulk tanker fleets by as much as five times its present size in order to handle this job. This means Chinese shipping interests that are planning on bowing to government pressure in this goal are going to have to order a bushel full of new tankers. At present the new orders haven’t been seen on the books of the world’s shipyards, but if China is going to move toward the goal of transporting a large percentage of the imported oil it uses to power its industries, it will have to get started on this job soon.
http://www.tradewinds.no/archive/?action=s…w+hong+kong+arm
Tags: freight, freight carrier, freight carriers, freight forwarders, freight moving, freight shipping, freight transport, heavy haul, moving freight, shipping freight, trucking companies, trucking services, Trucking transport
Posted in Auto Industry News, Freight Industry News, Momentum Freight, Momentum Freight News, Shipping News, freight shipping | No Comments »
Friday, April 30th, 2010
There’s apparently a belief in parts of the world that more needs to be done to reduce the carbon wheel-print of North America’s trailer trucking industry. The latest report on this subject, titled Freight Trucks and Climate Change Policy Mitigating CO2 Emissions, even suggests that the governments of North America need to get to work in partnership with the trucking transport industry on reducing the carbon emissions of the trucking services industry of North America. The belief exists that not enough is being done to help the trucking industry reduce its carbon wheel-print and more needs to be done on all sides to move the trucking industry down the road to carbon sustainability a little further.
There could be some truth to this statement, but we could probably always do more and we do have to keep the trucks moving as we are trying to make the business of freight trucking a little greener for the health of the future of the trucking industry. We do have to control our emotions and make sure any changes we make are going to be useful for achieving the goals we have in mind. Solutions can cause additional problems in the trucking industry that we just don’t need at this time in history, so we do need to make sure any change we do make is going to do the job. The trucking industry of North America can no longer afford to think in terms of a North American industry and we must take into account the activities of all of the trucking industries around the world.
The good news is that we have started the trucking industry down the road to reducing carbon emissions, but obviously we still have lots of work to do, before the work is going to be complete. If we make sure we study the ideas we have implemented and alter our future plans using the facts we collect during the journey the job should be a lot easier.
http://www.todaystrucking.com/newscenter.c…&intDocID=23665
Tags: freight, freight forwarders, freight moving, freight shipping, freight transport, heavy haul, moving freight, shipping freight, trailer trucking, trucking companies, trucking services, Trucking transport
Posted in Auto Industry News, Freight Industry News, Momentum Freight, Momentum Freight News, Shipping News, freight shipping | No Comments »
Friday, April 30th, 2010
Container transport vessels berthed at the ports of the world could be using more shore power in order to reduce the carbon propeller-print and emissions of the world’s ports. It was reported that last month Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) conducted tests to see if they could feasibly use shore power for container transport ships at berth. The tests were apparently successful enough that the company is apparently going ahead with plans to power vessels at berth using shore power. The number of ships that are normally at berth according to the designers means that the use of shore power could significantly improve the air quality of Shanghai.
There will certainly be many ports of the world that will be watching what happens with this plan by the Shanghai International Port Group. If the results of the plan are as successful as the designers hope, we can certainly look forward to seeing more container transport vessels sitting at berth in the ports of the world being powered using shore power. There of course is going to be a few problems with power generation standards around the world. The various container transport vessels of the world can have varying voltage and frequency requirements with the power they use in comparison to the electrical supplies of the various ports of the world. This means that a system will have to be developed that will allow all vessels to use the various power frequencies and voltages of the various ports around the world.
This could mean that another industry will be created to design and manufacture the technology and systems that the container shipping industry needs to make use of shore power around the world. In the end though, the container shipping industry will be a little greener and this is the best part of this idea.
http://www.worldcargonews.com/htm/w20100424.236574.htm
Tags: container transport, freight, freight forwarders, freight moving, freight shipping, freight transport, heavy haul, moving freight, shipping freight, trucking companies, trucking services, Trucking transport
Posted in Auto Industry News, Freight Industry News, Momentum Freight, Momentum Freight News, Shipping News, freight shipping | No Comments »