Hawaiian Island airline, Aloha Airlines has announced that despite the cessation of its passenger services, the carrier will continue with cargo operations.

Filing for Chapter Eleven bankruptcy this week, Aloha Airlines has blamed increasing fuel prices for the airlines passenger services demise.

Aloha Airlines President and Chief Executive Officer, David Banmiller said in a statement posted on the Aloha Airlines website that the cessation of passenger services was a “dark day for Hawaii.”  Banmiller also stating that “despite the groundswell of support from the community and our elected officials, we simply ran out of time to find a qualified buyer or secure continued financing for our passenger business. We had no choice but to take this action.”

While the airline has confirmed that its cargo operations will continue and that shippers seeking shipping services or clarification on the present situation should call Aloha cargo locations at Hawaii airports, Seattle company, Saltchuk Resources has announced an intention to buy Aloha’s air cargo business.

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Chinese air cargo airline, Great Wall Airlines has announced that it has commenced services from Tianjin Binhai International Airport to Amsterdam, the airline committing to a five flights weekly with leased Boeing 747-400 Freighter aircraft.

This latest operational announcement indicates another milestone achieved for the airline with a somewhat checkered past, Great Wall Airlines having resumed operations in 2007 having appealed in 2006 restrictions placed on the airline by the United States Department of Treasury.

The first airline to offer direct services from Tianjin to Europe, the move is indicative of the demand for air cargo transportation from with in China. The President  of Great Wall Airlines, Mr Tan Kai Ping saying that we have “listened to the needs of our customers in making this decision to serve Tianjin.”

Mr Ping went on to say that “The support we received from the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China, the Tianjin Municipal Government and our partners at Tianjin Binhai Airport convinced us that this is the correct decision. Our freighter services from Tianjin will enable us to support the supply chain needs of our customers for northern China.”

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North American rail transportation company Union Pacific Railroad has announced that it will transfer its Bulktainer services to chemical industry transportation company ChemLogix LLC.

The announcement amounts to a change in business direction for both Union Pacific and ChemLogix as ChemLogix becomes the sole provider of Bulktainer  services to customers, while Union Pacific will continue to provide rail transportation services for Bulktainer’s.

Commenting on the changes, Diane Duren, Vice President and General Manager of Chemicals for Union Pacific Railroad, said that “This is a win-win opportunity that will enable Union Pacific to focus on its core competency as a rail services provider and continue to provide Bulktainer customers with an intermodal alternative for long-haul tank truck shipments.”

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Package delivery company United Parcel Service (UPS) has once again shown its green intentions and credentials by deploying yet more low emission vehicles.

Over one-hundred and sixty of UPS’s Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), low  emission delivery vehicles have been deployed by the company to five United States cities.  The roads of Dallas, Atlanta, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Ontario, San Ramon and Fresno will all now see the low emission vehicles, the vehicles reducing the company’s carbon footprint whilst at the same time fulfilling UPS’s business obligations.

The director of vehicle of engineering at UPS Robert Hall said regarding the deployment of the new vehicles said that the company “has deployed alternative fuel vehicles for more than 70 years and this CNG deployment is one more step towards the ‘greening’ of the UPS fleet.” Hall then went on to add that “continuing to add CNG delivery trucks to our fleet is a sustainable choice because natural gas is a cost effective, clean-burning and readily available fuel.”

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Having recently announced a change of destination port for the Unites States to the Port of Galveston in Texas, Sea Freight carrier Wallanius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL) has now added an additional service between North and South America.

Beginning late next month, the carrier will begin Pure Truck Car Carrier (PTCC) services between Ports in the United States, Mexico, Columbia, Venezuela and Brazil.  While an existing RoRo service exists between South and North America, WWL will now sail two PTCC’s on the route, the M/V Tasco and M/V Tagus.

The new service is expected to be a boon for automakers in North and South America, providing new opportunities for manufacturers to exploit new and existing markets.  Christopher Conner, the President of WWL Americas confirmed this sentiment, saying that “auto manufacturers are selling and producing more and more in the world’s emerging markets.”  “By launching this new service, we aim to provide our customers with cost-effective access to the largest auto markets throughout the Americas. Our “factory to dealer” solution provides our customers with competitive power and agility in these challenging markets.”

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Governor of the United States, state of Pennsylvania Edward Rendell has announced today that his state will make a series of significant investments in rail freight infrastructure.

Totaling some $10.2 million dollars the investment will be spread throughout thirty-eight grants in twenty-seven counties, funding infrastructure in an effort to create an maintain jobs in the rail freight industry.

Speaking on the announcement of the investments, Governor Rendell said that  “Rail freight provides a dependable and efficient method for moving
goods around Pennsylvania and provides an important link to the global
marketplace,” and furthermore “This investment will help stimulate
economic development, while also preserving and improving the
commonwealth’s rail system.”

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Key agricultural organisations within Canada have this week expressed concerns a the possibility that the country’s rail freight operators may be profiteering at the expense of the nations farmers.

A report commissioned by the Canadian Wheat Board(*) has found that  Canada’s big rail companies make in excess of $100 million dollars a year at what the wheat board describes as excessive returns at the expense of Canadian farmers.  At a recent press conference, six agricultural representative organisations including the Canadian Wheat Board called for a review into the reports findings. 

Figures revealed by the report estimate that the railways made a total of $175 million dollars in 2006-2007 at $6.25 per tonne of grain transported, a figure greater than what was considered fair and reasonable compensation for moving grain under the previous Western Grain Transportation Act. Additionally the Canadian Wheat Board reports that the Canadian Transportation Agency found that the railways had been allowed to earn revenue that was triple their actual costs for rail car maintenance and reduced the revenue cap for grain by about $72 million per year. A gap of at least $100 million remains, while the railways appeal aspects of the CTA ruling.

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In a decision that symbolizes a return to normal operations for the Kenya Port Authority (KPA) and the Port of Mombasa after four months of uncertainty, the go-ahead has been given for the Port of Mombasa to once again handle transshipment cargo for the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam.

Having dealt with both the political and commercial turmoil that resulted in delays at both the Port of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam, the Kenya Revenue Authority in consultation with the KPA and other stakeholders has, with a letter of intent, removed the transshipment restrictions, restrictions that saw an important business segment of the Port of Mombasa halted.

Transshipment traffic totaled a slight 426,436 tons or 2.5% of the Port of Mombasa’s cargo throughput last year, yet the sector has the highest growth rate of any cargo operations at the Port of Mombasa with a 4% increase over 318,415 tons handled in 2006.

Both the Port of Mombasa and Dares Salaam are set to benefit from the normalisation of transshipment operations, with congestion of freight and cargo at both ports remaining the biggest immediate challenge.

Source: Business Daily

In an industry where the environment is seen more often than not as a liability, rail freight company Union Pacific is looking on the bright side, telling how the company expects to benefit from the push for a greener planet by delivering environmentally friendly products.

Increasing demand for products like Ethanol and hybrid motor vehicles says Union Pacific will see the company build on its already substantial business.  The rail freight company having already transported over 100,000 hybrid vehicles as well as responding to the rising ethanol in the United States.

Commenting on the expected  rise in demand for the shipment of environmentally friendly products, Julie Krehbiel, Vice President and General Manager  for Autos at Union Pacific said that as “Union Pacific Railroad is the largest automotive carrier west of the Mississippi River, we want to drive awareness of Union Pacific’s role in delivering greener vehicles and fuel to market.”

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The American Trucking Association (ATA) today has called upon President of the United States George W Bush to address the growing crisis faced by truckers by increasing fuel costs, by tapping into the nations Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).

In his letter to the President of the United States(*), Bill Graves the ATA President urged action, outlining the rapid rise in the cost of the trucking industries life-blood of diesel fuel, noting that it costs about $1,000 dollars to fill up the average tractor trailer.

Graves also noted that despite the industries conservation efforts, there remains an ever increasing gap between what savings can be achieved via efficiency improvements and the continued upsurge of fuel costs.

In urging President Bush to open up the SPR to ease the burden on truckers and the industry, Graves also expressed concern the rising energy prices has on the over-all economy. “We are very concerned that out-of-control energy prices will greatly magnify our current economic slowdown and delay our economic recovery,” said Graves. “If households have to spend their forthcoming tax rebate checks on energy, the stimulus will be significantly limited. The more consumers spend on fuel the less they have to spend on other goods or services.

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