Posted on Fri, Sep 03, 2010
Pack n send is monitoring Freight and Cargo Shipments both within the United State and worldwide. This article taken from Handy Shipping Guide highlights new strengths seen in US shipping markets.
Long Beach, California based UTi, a non asset based 3PL supply chain specialist turned in better than expected results yesterday following a general upward trend for the industry. With over 23 million square feet of warehousing in 23 countries the US company shows a pattern that seems fairly typical for the freight market at the moment. The CEO however offered a customary word of caution in today’s volatile conditions.
Eric W. Kirchner, chief executive officer, speaking of the second quarter results said in a statement:
"Our improved results were primarily driven by strong volumes and better operating margins. Airfreight and ocean freight volumes continued to grow faster than the market and were higher than volumes recorded in the second quarter two years ago, prior to the financial crisis. Results remain tempered by yield pressure due to continued high transportation rates, and we expect these rates to remain volatile on many trade lanes for the rest of the year. We are also expecting volume growth to moderate during the second half of the year due to a slowing global economy and more difficult comparisons to the prior year.
"We continue to be encouraged by improvements in our contract logistics and distribution business, which reported solid revenue growth and higher operating margins. Client volumes improved in the quarter, particularly in retail and consumer markets, and we continue to manage our operations more efficiently. Our transformation initiatives remain on schedule and we are making good progress in all areas."
UTi saw increased operating costs, up 9% against last year but it seems although traffic volumes were higher, rates were more competitive dragging profits back somewhat. Net revenues were up 12% for the half year against 2009 at $379 million.
For more information on Houston shipping, freight and cargo shipping, please feel free to contact pack n send at 713 266 1450.
Posted on Tue, Jul 20, 2010
Travelers who slog through long lines at airport security just to reach their seats might be surprised to learn that not all the cargo beneath their feet has been screened for explosives. But that's about to change.
As a result of the 9/11 Act endorsed by Congress in 2007, all cargo ferried aboard passenger aircraft originating in the United States must be screened, a mandate that federal officials say affects some 25 million pounds of cargo a day.
The law has ramifications for metro-area shippers and freight forwarders, who moved 24,825 tons of cargo -- including 4,263 tons of mail, as well as chemical materials, fruits and vegetables, high-tech machinery and electronic equipment -- out of Portland International Airport last year on passenger flights. It wouldn't take much for that kind of volume to interrupt timetables and back up cargo.
Next month, cargo headed for the belly of a passenger plane will be screened here before heading out through open doors in the back and down the tarmac for loading.
The law requires screening at the piece level, which means that shipments that are bundled together and shrink-wrapped on pallets or packed in containers have to be taken apart and reviewed and then repackaged.
The mandate also applies to shipments coming in from foreign countries, but T S A not expect to meet that requirement any time soon. It does not apply to all-cargo companies such as UPS and FedEx.
According to James Fotenos, a TSA spokesman, 47 percent of cargo is already being screened by certified freight forwarders.
He said the agency doesn't anticipate any major problems once the law fully takes affect, though acknowledged that "There may be minor back ups in some of the major gateway airports."
Shippers and air forwarding companies opposed the 2007 law, formally known as the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act, arguing instead for a "risk-based" system that would call for screening only when there was a known security risk, but Congress opted for the 100 percent solution.
The law has been phased in. Last year, airlines were required to screen 50 percent of all cargo;in May of this year that went up to 75 percent.
In fact, nearly all cargo going on narrow-bodied aircraft is screened now. Most of the remaining cargo to be screened is shipped in the hold of wide-bodied aircraft.
The final 25 percent includes the most difficult to screen products, such as pharmaceuticals, electronics, and perishables.
The mandate doesn't specify the method of screening and allows for hand screening, or X-ray and other scanning types of systems. It requires that the screening for cargo basically be the same as the T S A expects for passengers' bags and carry-on items.
A recent survey by the Air Forwarders Assn. found that 64 percent of its members expect the airlines to handle the screening. But the airlines lack space and manpower, and airline officials have made it clear they will fly when they are ready, and if the cargo isn't screened, it will sit at the airport until it is.
A March 2009 Government Accounting Office report said that participation in the Certified screening program may be cost prohibitive for small freight forwarders, which constitute 80 percent of the industry.
In an effort to keep our customers informed about trends and laws in the cargo industry, we are publishing parts of the article written by Pack n send is publishing by James Mayer of the Oregonian.
For more information on freight and cargo shipping, please contact pack n send at 713 266 1450.
Posted on Thu, Jun 24, 2010
While pack n send has noticed an uptick in freight in both Houston and in the US in general, the article below from the handy shipping guide highlights the precarious situation of the world wide freight industry.
WORLDWIDE - Despite the fact that companies like Maersk Line tell us that they have container ships coming out of mothballs as the call for empty boxes comes from Asia to service increasing levels of export cargo, there is often a darker side to such tales to remind us of the parlous state which world trade sank to so recently. We now understand that at least one of the ‘container repositions' being undertaken will terminate with the scrapping of the carrying vessel, the ‘Sealand Performance' which, after ferrying the empty boxes between the US and China for redistribution, will remain there to be broken up.
There are many other ship owners who still have spare capacity with freight vessels still idle after long periods anchored up in locations as diverse as Indonesian inlets and Scottish lochs and, never ones to report bad news, doubtless many owners will quietly follow the same course as Maersk with the ‘Performance' and realize what is left of their older assets. As we have reported numerous times many new build vessels have been cancelled despite sizeable deposits which were then forfeited but lately several companies have invested in the excess stock with a view to increasing their fleets with a minimum outlay.
It seems the situation can be just as hard in the airfreight market and now we hear of freight aircraft available for sale, hire or ‘wet lease', otherwise known as ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance)as life toughens up even in previously lucrative sectors. We spoke to Air Charter Agent Ray Bowyer who told us he has several Anontov AN-12 (20 ton payload) and AN-24 (5 ton payload) freighters and PAX/freight combination aircraft available fresh from African and Middle Eastern oil contracts.
So who will be proved right? Those disposing of underutilized assets? Or has the market in bulk and container vessels and used aircraft leveled out? Only time will tell, but as usual, the trick is sell high buy low; you just have to figure when things are at the bottom of the tide.
For more information about shipping freight in Houston and freight shipping in the United States, please contact pack n send at 713 266 1450.
Posted on Fri, Jun 18, 2010
US - The Motor Carrier Protection Act just put forward by two Senators is causing ripples amongst the trucking and shipping industries. The bill proposed by Minnesota Democrat Amy Klobuchar and Republican Olympia Snowe from Maine is designed to toughen up the criteria needed by companies wishing to take responsibility for cargo in their care and applicable to all freight brokers and freight forwarders.
Industry critics say that this legislation merely increases the power of the larger carriers
The draft outline of the proposed regulations are as follows; each licensee must lodge a broker bond for $100,000 (currently $10,000), the FMCSA) to lay out specific guidelines for applicants plus tougher regulations overall. Licenses to be reviewed annually or be automatically revoked with costs of licenses set to cover the FMCSA's enforcement budget. The are proposing stricter penalties for defaulters, including an unlimited liability for freight costs against any unlicensed broker or freight forwarder.
In addition each registration will be exclusive to each regulatory authority and documents for every transaction must show the license number and the authority which granted it plus the bond providers and their administration procedures will also be strictly controlled.
Motor carriers will doubtless be divided on the issue. To some it will mean more cost and more administration, with one slip potentially costing them serious money, to others, it will remove completely the rogue elements that plague the industries lower end and feed off smaller haulers made desperate by difficult times.
Pack n send has reprinted part of the article listed in the Handy Shipping Guide. We closely monitor proposed legislation that will affect both cargo shipping and the freight industry.
For assistance in shipping both freight and cargo containers, please call pack n send at 713 266 1450.
www.pack-n-send.com