|
NEW STUDY SHOWS FREIGHT RAIL FUEL EFFICIENCY UP MORE THAN 20 PERCENT SINCE 1999
The U.S. Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) released last week a study showing vast improvements in freight rail fuel efficiency over the last two decades, approximately 22 percent between 1990 and 2006.
Several factors point to the reasons for rail’s fuel efficiency, including the improvement in diesel-electric locomotives, the increased use of double stack trains, track and signal improvements, and longer trains. The complete study can be found at:
Comparative_Evaluation_Rail_Truck_Fuel_Efficiency.pdf
EXPORT DEVELOPMENT CANADA MARKS 65 YEARS OF HELPING CANADIAN EXPORTERS
Export Development Canada (EDC) on Friday celebrated its 65th anniversary as Canada's official export credit agency (ECA). Since first opening its doors 65 years ago on November 21, 1944, EDC has provided Canadian exporters with more than $833 billion in insurance, financing, and bonding products. From the $983 million that the Government invested in EDC in the form of share capital, EDC has grown the government's investment to its current value of just over $5 billion.
EDC is Canada's export credit agency, offering innovative commercial solutions to help Canadian exporters and investors expand their international business. EDC's knowledge and partnerships are used by more than 8,300 Canadian companies and their global customers in up to 200 markets worldwide each year.
EDC is financially self-sustaining, a recognized leader in financial reporting and economic analysis, and has been named one of Canada's Top 100 Employers for nine consecutive years.
TRUCK BUILD UP ON SAUDI BORDER AGAIN CAUSING SHIPPING DELAYS
For the second time in six months, thousands of trucks are building up on the Saudi Arabia -UAE border. Between 4000 and 5000 trucks are stuck in 15 mile queues without access to shelter or provisions at a Saudi-UAE border crossing due to new Saudi customs checks.
Drivers and suppliers are worried fruit and vegetables cargo will be left to spoil if the lines are not cleared and the delay in the delivery of construction materials and industrial goods is causing frustrations in both countries.
Saudi officials are determined to crack down on the contraband cargo they know frequently crosses the border and they have reduced the number of commercial vehicles allowed entry to two hundred a day from the normal five hundred to give them time to adequately examine every drivers load and documents. A similar border build-up in June was eventually cleared following a series of meetings between customs officials from both countries.
It appears no such meeting has been scheduled to address the current backlog. The usual problems associated with this type of delay, higher costs for shippers, lower wage returns for drivers, increased freight costs are exacerbated by the extremes of temperature which cause fresh produce to spoil whilst vehicles sit and wait.
CN COMMITTED TO RUNNING TRAINS IF STRIKE HITS
CN and the TCRC will be meeting to discuss the contract today (Friday) November 27, 2009 with the help of federal mediators. If an agreement cannot be reached, CN advises the railroad remains willing to go to binding arbitration.
Management resources are being mobilized since yesterday in case there is a labour disruption come 2009 Nov. 28th. CN intends to continue train operations, with intermodal cargo having very high priority.
NEW CARGO SERVICE FOR SCOTTISH MARKET
“Eye for Transport” reported this week that Forth Ports has teamed up with Feederlink to provide a service from Grangemouth, the UK's largest feeder port to Southampton.
The new route meets the demands of a range of industry sectors and port-centred logistics. The new service builds on the Port of Grangemouths's reputation as one of Europe's premier feeder ports. In addition, the introduction of the route significantly improves the availability of a sustainable alternative to road haulage for transporting goods across the UK.
Feederlink already calls at Felixstowe, Rotterdam, Tees, Tyne and Immingham from the Port of Grangemouth.
CANADA WORKS TO CUT POLLUTION FROM SHIPPING / IMPROVE SAFETY STANDARDS
The Government of Canada announced that Canada is taking important steps to help reduce air and water pollution from ships in Canadian waters, and ensure the safety of vessels, goods and workers.
The government will ratify international conventions related to marine pollution and maritime safety, which builds on other actions taken, including introducing the Clean Air Act in 2007, passing legislation to hold ship owners more accountable for environmental disasters and doubling Canada's jurisdiction over Arctic waters. Full details at: http://www.tc.gc.ca/mediaroom/releases/nat/2009/09-gc025e.htm
MELFI BACK IN HALIFAX
“Canadian Sailings” reports that after several months’ absence, Melfi Marine has decided to start sailing back into the Port of Halifax.
The first vessel will arrive in late December. A source from Protos Shipping, Melfi’s agent in Canada, said the line was able to work out favourable arrangements with the Halifax Port Authority and CN that made it attractive to return.
The slide in the global economy had forced Melfi to leave the port and do business out of Montreal. The Cuban line will use two vessels on the service that will call the South End Container Terminal, operated by Halterm Container Terminal Ltd., about every 10 days. The two ships, each with a capacity of approximately 450 TEUs, will sail to Havana and then to ports in Spain and Italy. Melfi’s customers in Halifax are pleased to see the line return. Customers had to transport product to or from Montreal by rail or truck.
CKYH CARRIERS TO START WINTER CAPACITY CUTS
JOC Online reports that the members of the CKYH Alliance announced Wednesday that they will adopt their winter season schedule on the trade between Asia and North America starting at the end of November.
With the winter season coming up, alliance partners Cosco, “K” Line, Yang Ming and Hanjin Shipping said they will cut capacity in the trade by 10 percent on services to the U.S. West Coast and by 20 percent on services to the U.S. East Coast. The CKYH alliance said it decided to start the winter program in order to cope with decreasing demand as well as rising fuel costs.
CANADIAN RAILWAY CARLOADINGS SEPTEMBER 2009
The volume of cargo carried by Canadian railways fell in September, as a result of a drop in commodity loadings in Canada as well as traffic received from the United States.
Total freight traffic originating in Canada and freight received from the United States fell to 22.3 million metric tonnes in September, down 15.9% from September 2008. Both non-intermodal and intermodal transportation systems accounted for the overall drop in cargo loaded.
Non-intermodal freight loadings, which are typically carried in bulk or loaded in box cars, declined 15.5% to 17.8 million metric tonnes. The decrease was the result of reduced loadings in the majority of the commodity groups carried by the railways. The commodity groups with the largest declines in tonnage were iron ore and concentrates, potash, colza seeds (canola), and lumber.
Despite the overall drop in non-intermodal loadings, the industry saw a strong gain in loadings of coal, rising 9.4% to about 3.0 million metric tonnes. Intermodal freight loadings decreased 10.1% compared with September 2008 to 2.1 million metric tonnes. The decline in loadings was attributable to a decrease in both containerized cargo shipments and trailers loaded onto flat cars. Rail freight traffic coming from the United States fell to 2.3 million metric tonnes, down 23.5% from September 2008.
EDC GLOBAL EXPORT FORECAST FALL 2009 - THE RACE TO
RECOVERY
The Global Export Forecast identifies the major forces acting on the world economy and their implications for Canadian exporters. It describes which foreign markets will offer the best opportunities for Canadian exporters for the coming year, and analyzes the sales outlook by sector. It also discusses the major risks faced by exporters.
The full 137 page Forecast can be downloaded at:
http://www.edc.ca/english/docs/GEF_e.pdf
Executive Summary (8 pages):
http://www.edc.ca/english/docs/GEF_Summary_Fall09_e.pdf
SECRETARY NAPOLITANO AND MINISTER VAN LOAN ANNOUNCE INITIATIVES IN COMBAT THREATS
Washington, November 24, 2009 - U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Public Safety Canada Minister Peter Van Loan announced initiatives between the United States and Canada.
Those initiatives build on their shared commitment to tackle common threats like terrorism and organized crime while ensuring the lawful flow of travel and trade across the border. The announcement came after Secretary Napolitano and Minister Van Loan met for the second of their formal biannual meetings; the Secretary and the Minister have also met three other times this year. Full details at:
http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/media/nr/2009/nr20091124-eng.aspx
CMA CGM ADEN GULF SURCHARGE - COSTS OF PIRACY
ESCALATING
The transit of Container Ships through the Gulf of Aden in both directions is subject to high costs caused by the prevailing risks of piracy in the area. CMA CGM continues to ensure the safety and the security of the cargos carried by its vessels through the Gulf of Aden.
As the ships cross at increased speed, apply a route deviation and whenever available join convoys protected by coalition warships under the Atalanta scheme. The prevailing surcharge is increased to USD$41 per TEU (Aden Gulf Surcharge) which will be implemented on all containers transiting this area, effective December 15th, 2009. This surcharge comes in addition to any Rate Agreement, short term or long term, already concluded with customers or to be concluded.
RETAIL BOX VOLUME ON WAY UP IN '10?
”American Shipper” reports that major U.S. retail container ports could see their first year-over-year increases in import cargo volume in more than two years beginning in early 2010, according to the monthly Port Tracker report released Monday by the National Retail Federation and IHS Global Insight. “There’s not enough data yet to establish a clear trend, but we’re hopeful that this is a sign of recovery,” said one source form the NRF.
U.S. ports surveyed handled 1.14 million TEUs in September, the most recent month for which actual numbers are available. That was down 3 percent from August and down 16 percent from September 2008, marking the 27th month in a row to see a year-over-year decline. Volume for October, traditionally the peak month of the year, was estimated at 1.17 million TEUs, down 15 percent from last year. November is forecast at 1.09 million TEUs, down 11 percent from last year, December at 1.06 million TEUs, flat compared with last year.
The report now expects the ports it surveys to move 12.7 million TEUs in 2009, a 16.8 percent drop from last year’s 15.2 million TEUs and the lowest since the 12.47 million TEUs imported in 2003. Port Tracker forecasts volumes in January 2010 will be 1.03 million TEUs, down 3 percent from the same 2009 period, but predicts volumes will begin to rise in February and March.
CBSA "WHY IS TRADE COMPLIANCE IMPORTANT"
Trade compliance refers to importers and exporters meeting all of the requirements governing the movement of commercial goods into and from Canada. International trade data is derived from the information provided by the import and export community. This data is compiled by Statistics Canada from the import and export records of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
Trade data also includes Canada's export data. The quality of trade data is, therefore, directly linked to the reliability of the information provided by importers and exporters. The publication “Why is Trade Compliance Important?” was created as a tool to explain to CBSA stakeholders why trade accounting accuracy is beneficial to them and to promote compliance with all legislation administered by the CBSA. An electronic version is available at the following Internet address:
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/pub/bsf5108-eng.html
|
beacon.ca
feedback