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Post by Ladypowerdriver on May 2, 2011 10:40:10 GMT -5
Posts:
Hanjin Receives 10,000-TEU Vessel
Hanjin Shipping took delivery of the fourth in a series of five container ships with capacities of 10,000 20-foot equivalent units.
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CSX Reduces Horizon Charter Rates
Horizon Lines said its onetime parent, CSX, agreed to a $3 million annual reduction in charter rates on three ships Horizon leases from CSX.
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Maersk Hikes Asia-Europe Rates
Maersk Line announced a general rate increase on Asia-Europe trade lanes as part of what it calls a new "rate restoration initiative."
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LA Clean-Truck Case Goes to 9th Circuit June 10
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit on June 10 will hear oral arguments from the Port of Los Angeles and the American Trucking Associations in the two-year old case involving the port's concession requirements for harbor trucking companies.
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Container Ship Charter Rates Retreat
Container ship charter rates are retreating as a wave of newly-built ships entering the market dulls ocean carriers' appetite for hired vessels.
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Losses Widen for Horizon Lines in First Quarter
Horizon Lines, already trying to stave off bankruptcy protection, said first quarter losses widened as China-West Coast service got off to a rough start, fuel costs rose and volume was flat in the carrier's Jones Act domestic services.
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Court Agrees to Cut Horizon Fine
A federal court in Puerto Rico agreed to reduce Horizon Lines' $45 million fine for antitrust violations to $15 million, an action Horizon said lifts the threat that the company will default on its bonds next month.
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China Shipping Reports First-Quarter Loss
China Shipping Container Lines said its net loss for the first quarter narrowed 24.1 percent from a year earlier to $22.5 million, after three consecutive quarters of profits.
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MSC Boosts Bunker Surcharges on US Imports
Mediterranean Shipping Co. will increase its bunker fuel surcharges June 1 on all U.S. imports from northern Europe, Scandinavia, the Baltic countries and the Mediterranean.
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Dockworkers Sentenced for Payroll Fraud
Two New York-New Jersey dockworkers have been sentenced after pleading guilty to submitting fraudulent time sheets for hours they didn't work.
And Etc.
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Post by Ladypowerdriver on May 2, 2011 11:07:42 GMT -5
Apr 28, 2011 7:42PM GMT
The Journal of Commerce
ATA, Port to offer oral arguments in appeal of two-year-old case The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit on June 10 will hear oral arguments from the Port of Los Angeles and the American Trucking Associations in the two-year old case involving the port's concession requirements for harbor trucking companies.
The 9th Circuit is based in San Francisco but it will hear the oral arguments at its Southern California courthouse in Pasadena.
ATA is appealing a Sept. 15, 2010, decision by U.S. District Court Judge Christina Snyder in Los Angeles upholding the port's concession requirements in their entirety, including a requirement that motor carriers replace independent contractor drivers with employee drivers.
By The Numbers:
Containerized Ocean Trade - Southern California Ports
Los Angeles, a labor-friendly city, is pushing the employee-driver mandate because it would open the door to organizing the drivers. Unions, by law, can not organize independent drivers. The Teamsters Union supports the position of Los Angeles.
ATA charged in its appeal that Judge Snyder's ruling violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution and the motor carrier provisions of the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act. Those laws reserve for the federal government regulation of motor carriers engaged in interstate commerce.
Judge Snyder ruled that the Port of Los Angeles can legally impose concession requirements on motor carriers because it falls under the market participant exception to federal preemption law. She argued that Los Angeles is a participant in the port industry and is attempting through the concession requirements to protect its commercial interests.
Although the district court last September ruled in favor of the port, Judge Snyder enjoined the employee-driver mandate until the case is heard under appeal by the 9th Circuit.
This will be the second time the 9th Circuit is hearing arguments in this case as it has gone back and forth between the district court and the appellate court the past two years.
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Post by Ladypowerdriver on May 2, 2011 14:04:20 GMT -5
May 2, 2011 3:02PM GMT
The Journal of Commerce
Samsung Heavy Industries delivers fourth in series of five large ships
Hanjin Shipping took delivery of the fourth in a series of five container ships with capacities of 10,000 20-foot equivalent units.
Samsung Heavy Industries built the Hanjin Spain in South Korea.
The mega-ship is one of many large container ships slated for delivery this year, which has led analysts to warn of increasing overcapacity that will depress freight rates.
Hanjin said the Hanjin Spain will be deployed May 7 on the AE-6 service on the Asia- Europe trade, where it will have the following port rotation: Kwangyang, Busan, Ningbo, Shanghai, Xiamen, Hong Kong, Yantian, Felixstowe, Hamburg, Rotterdam, Singapore and back to Kwangyang.
The fifth and last in the series of 10,000-TEU ships is scheduled for delivery later this year.
Each of the ships in the series is 1,145 feet long by 150 feet wide. Each has a loadable capacity of 9,954 TEUs, a deadweight of 119,000 tons, and a top speed of 25.1 knots.
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Post by Ladypowerdriver on May 2, 2011 14:06:43 GMT -5
May 2, 2011 2:39PM GMT
The Journal of Commerce
Former parent agrees to save carrier $12 million over four years.
Horizon Lines said its onetime parent, CSX, agreed to a $3 million annual reduction in charter rates on three ships Horizon leases from CSX.
Under the agreement, the reduced charter hire expense is retroactive to January and runs through the January 2015 expiration of the charter, for a four-year savings of $12 million.
The three chartered vessels, the Horizon Anchorage, Horizon Tacoma, and Horizon Kodiak, operate in the Alaska trade. They were built in 1987.
"We greatly appreciate the willingness of CSX to provide meaningful financial assistance as we work to refinance our debt and position Horizon Lines for long-term success," said Michael T. Avara, executive vice president and chief financial officer. "As our former parent company, CSX remains a valued and very important business partner."
CSX retained Horizon when Sea-Land Service's international operations were sold to A.P. Moller-Maersk in 1999. CSX sold Horizon to the Carlyle Group in 2003. Horizon was sold to Castle Harland group in 2004 and has been publicly traded since 2005.
Since agreeing February to plead guilty to a felony antitrust violation, Horizon has been struggling to refinance debt. Last week a court granted a reduction from $45 million to $15 million in the company's fine.
The Justice Department requested the reduction, saying the larger penalty threatened to send the carrier into bankruptcy. Horizon said the reduced fine would enable the company to avoid an expected default this month on $330 million in convertible bonds.
Horizon said last week that its first quarter net loss from continuing operations widened to $33.3 million from $11.7 million a year ago due to start-up losses for its China-West Coast service, rising fuel costs and flat volume in the Jones Act domestic trade.
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Post by Ladypowerdriver on May 2, 2011 14:10:30 GMT -5
May 2, 2011 1:31PM GMT
The Journal of Commerce
Westbound freight charge to increase $250 per TEU June 1
Maersk Line announced a general rate increase on Asia-Europe trade lanes as part of what it calls a new "rate restoration initiative."
Starting June 1, the planned increase will be $250 per 20-foot equivalent unit.
"The rate restoration initiative will apply to all dry and reefer cargo moving from all Asian ports to all destinations in North Europe and the Mediterranean," Maersk said in a trade notice Monday.
The increase comes on top of the Danish carrier's previously announced GRI of the same amount on the route that came into effect March 1.
Maersk's move follows similar GRI announcements by almost all major carriers operating on Asia-India subcontinent-Europe-Mediterranean trade routes.
In related news, MSC said Monday it plans to apply a rate increase on cargo shipped from India to East Africa. Effective May 16, the proposed increase will be $100 per TEU.
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Post by Ladypowerdriver on May 3, 2011 10:16:00 GMT -5
Apr 29, 2011 12:26PM GMT
The Journal of Commerce
Charge on trans-Atlantic imports effective June 1
Mediterranean Shipping Co. will increase its bunker fuel surcharges June 1 on all U.S. imports from northern Europe, Scandinavia, the Baltic countries and the Mediterranean.
By The Numbers:
Europe-North America Westbound Container Trade
For imports into U.S. East and Gulf coast ports the Geneva-based carrier will add a charge of $268 per 20-foot container and $536 per 40-foot container.
For imports into Pacific Coast ports, the bunker surcharge will be $380 per 20-foot container and $760 per 40-foot container.
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Post by Ladypowerdriver on May 3, 2011 10:31:36 GMT -5
Dockworkers Sentenced for Payroll Fraud
Apr 28, 2011 8:32PM GMT
The Journal of Commerce
NY-NJ dockworkers pleaded guilty on fraudulent time sheets
Two New York-New Jersey dockworkers have been sentenced after pleading guilty to submitting fraudulent time sheets for hours they didn’t work.
William A. Vitale, a shop steward at Maher Terminals and trustee for International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1, pleaded guilty to third-degree theft by deception in Union County Superior Court in New Jersey. He was sentenced to pay nearly $97,000 in restitution and must surrender his Waterfront Commission license and leave the ILA.
NY-NJ waterfront arrests in news from JOC:
Whacked on the Waterfront
In a separate case, Pedro Del Valle, an ILA lasher employed by Island Securing & Maintenance, was sentenced to three years probation, 300 hours of community service and $19,074 in restitution after pleading guilty in New York to a federal charge of wire fraud conspiracy.
Waterfront Commission Executive Director Walter Arsenault said Del Valle’s commission license has been temporarily suspended until an administrative hearing on permanent suspension is held
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Post by Ladypowerdriver on May 3, 2011 19:18:09 GMT -5
Weak housing market contributed to drop in imports from Asia
U.S. containerized imports fell 2.5 percent in March, the first year-to-year decline in 16 months, as a weak housing market contributed to a drop in imports from Asia.
Volume measured in 20-foot-equivalent units was down 11 percent from China, 22 percent from Hong Kong and 9 percent from Japan, where shipments were affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, according to Journal of Commerce sister company PIERS.
Journal of Commerce Economist Mario O. Moreno said the drop in monthly volume, which had been rising since the end of 2009, appeared tied partly to the troubled U.S. housing market.
Imports of furniture, by far the largest containerized commodity, tumbled 17 percent in March. Sales of furniture and home furnishings are tied closely to the real estate market because buyers often purchase furnishings to outfit their new homes.
“Sales of existing homes and new homes were disappointing in January and February, and although sales improved in March they are still bouncing along the bottom,” Moreno said. “Mortgage rates are off the all-time lows, which isn’t helping, and an increasing number of houses are being bought with cash – a reflection of falling home prices and unfavorable credit facilities.”
The fall in imports from Japan was mainly due to a 13 percent plunge in inbound shipments of auto parts, and declines of 12 percent in imports of tires and 8 percent in engines and motors. Although Japan is the largest source of U.S. auto parts imports, this category rose 17 percent in March, largely because of imports from Germany.
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