World Trade - March 2009 - (Page 10) TRUCKING AIR OCEAN TECHNOLOGY TRADE FINANCE 3PL WAREHOUSING SUPPLY CHAIN AIR Watch by nearly a billion tons over the next 10 years, according to an ATA news release. During a meeting with lawmakers, an official with the ATA highlighted some of the industry group’s green initiatives, including the enactment of a national 65 mph speed limit, increased funding for the EPA’s SmartWay program, and infrastructure investments to fix the nation’s worse transportation bottlenecks. Government to Fund Aviation Biofuels R&D The U.S. Departments of Energy and Agriculture have announced a plan to jointly release up to $25 million in funding for research and development (R&D) of biofuels, including aviation biofuels. The Air Transport Association of America (ATA), a founding and principal member of the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative, applauded the move. “We are thrilled that the Obama administration has worked quickly to secure this funding for alternative energy,” said ATA President and CEO James C. May. “This commitment to the research and development of advanced renewable fuels will allow for commercial-scale demonstration projects and other important activities that will move us closer to commercially viable, environmentally friendly alternative jet fuel.” of cargo by August 1, 2010. “As one of the world’s busiest cargo airports, LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) needs to be ready to meet these new regulations now and by 2010, when 100 percent of cargo on passenger jets must be screened on the piece level,” said the executive director of Los Angeles World Airports. OCEAN Clean Truck Fees Underway at LA/LB The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach implemented their $35 per TEU “clean truck” fee on February 18, which created some snags for considering that about 20 percent of the trucks had to be turned away for failing to show proper credentials. Specifically, approximately 1,000 trucks were turned away from terminals gates, causing traffic jams at the port complex and surrounding roads. The clean truck program charges cargo owners $35 per TEU for containers moved by any truck with an engine built between 1989 and 2006. Trucks with engines built in 2007 or later are exempt from the fee, and older trucks have been banned entirely. The most hopeful turnaround would occur in 2013, but it’s likely that supply and demand won’t finally balance out until 2014. At the same time, AXS-Alphaliner says “a rebound of Chinese exports after the Lunar New Year failed to materialize,” and furthermore, Chinese exports in the first quarter of 2009 are expected to be 15 percent to 20 percent lower than in the first quarter of 2008. RAIL CN, NS Team Up to Improve Service Two Class I railroads—Canadian National and Norfolk Southern— are collaborating to improve the transportation of consumer goods and coal between the U.S. Midwest and Southeast. The joint project, called the MidAmerica Corridor initiative, will require the railroads to share track between Chicago, St. Louis, and points in Kentucky and Mississippi to shorten travel distances and increase velocity. The railroads expect to implement the initiative soon, following approval from the U.S. Surface Transportation Board. LTL Winning Back Business from Truckload According to a survey of lessthan-truckload (LTL) carriers conducted by Longbow Research, LTL carriers are winning back market share from the truckload carriers. An analyst with the research firm said, “Driving this trend are lower shipment sizes as retailers remain cautious about inventory and shipping larger quantities of freight.” He added that, “We do not believe this is a secular long-term shift; however, it is new business. Any new freight is considered good freight for LTL carriers.” The analyst explained that despite the uptick for LTL services, carriers remained generally pessimistic regarding their outlook for LTL industry fundamentals over the next 3-6 months. Roughly 56 percent of the contacts said they have a negative outlook for LTL demand over the next 3-6 months, which is slightly lower than 59 percent during December, although it remained higher than October when roughly 50 percent of contacts said they had a negative outlook for demand. WT LAX Makes Air Cargo Screening History Los Angeles World Airports says that one of its tenants has secured certification from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to be the nation’s first Independent Cargo Screening Facility (ICSF) under new TSA air cargo screening guidelines that took effect on February 1, 2009. The guidelines specify that the air cargo industry must screen 50 percent of cargo on wide-body passenger aircraft at a level commensurate with passenger-checked baggage by February 1, 2009, and 100 percent TRUCKING Box Ship Overcapacity Could Linger Longer Information service AXS-Alphaliner reports that there are now 392 containerships with 1.1 million TEUs idle, and warns, “This figure raises the specter of overcapacity hanging for years.” ATA Asks Congress to Support Green Initiatives The American Trucking Associations (ATA) has asked Congress to support the trucking industry’s environmental initiatives, which will reduce fuel consumption by 86 billion gallons and reduce the carbon footprint of all vehicles 10 WORLD TRADE MARCH 2009
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