German based shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd has announced that the company will commence a new container service linking Europe and the Middle East.

To be known as “EPIC”,the restructured service will be provided jointly by Hapag-Lloyd and Hamburg Süd, and will see transit times from Antwerp to Karachi of just seventeen days.

Hapag-Lloyd will contribute four 4,200 Twenty foot equivalent unit, container vessels to the six vessel service, with each ship offering four-hundred reefer plugs.

The service will depart and return to the port of Hamburg with visits to the ports of Tilbury, Antwerp, Gioia Tauro, Jebel Ali, Karachi, Mundra and Nhava Sheva making up the services route.

Hapag-Lloyd states that in addition to the EPIC service itself, a shuttle service conecting Gioia Tauro to Alexandria in Egypt will allow for greater shipping options within the Middle East, the transit time between the Egyptian port and Gioia Tauro being only two and a half days.

Source: Hapag-Lloyd

The director of the Gary/Chicago International Airport, Chris Curry has this week poured cold water on the proposition by Chicago Mayor Richard Daley that the airport  now focus on cargo activities to maintain its viability.

The Mayor made the suggestion(*) after recent arrival at Gary Chicago, Skybus Airlines failed and withdrew its services.  However in writing to local media, Chris Curry has said that passenger services still remain as the airports top priority with Cargo activities being of secondary importance.

Expressing concern that grant funds received on the basis of the airport providing passenger services, Curry suggested that the funding might be withdrawn if the focus from passenger services

shifts.  The director saying that “When the Federal Aviation Administration approved the letter of intent which granted $58 million for the airport expansion, it was based on relieving passenger congestion in the Chicago area. If the airport changed the focus of the original intent of the letter of intent money, there is the potential risk of losing that funding.”

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The United States Department of Transportation has announced today a new rule that stipulates that trains carrying the most toxic and dangerous materials and substances, will be required to be routed on the most secure routes.

Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters announced that the new rule, taking effect from the first of July, will require railroads to conduct a comprehensive safety and security risk analysis of its primary route and any practicable alternative routes over which it has authority to operate.  The Secretary saying that the strong measure will better ensure “that rail shipments of hazardous materials will reach their final destinations safely and without incident.”

Analysis carried out as a result of the new rule will require the consideration of information provided by local communities, as well as the consideration of a minimum of 27 risk factors like trip length, volume and type of hazardous material being moved, existing safety measures along the route, and population density. Railroads must implement their routing decisions based on these analyses by September 2009.

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Ocean shipping and integrated logistics company Horizon Lines has announced this week its road map to develop a United States Marine Highway that would ease congestion around gateway trade corridors and improve the efficiency of America’s transportation system.

Horizon’s Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Charles Raymond has told attendees at North America’s Marine Highways Conference that the United States needed a working Marine Highway to improve the fuel efficiency of the transportation system, ease highway and rail congestion around the major cities and finally to improve the environment. “A strategic approach to port development within a national freight transportation funding framework will play a key role in creating a viable Marine Highway system.”  commented Raymond.

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Israeli airline, El Al Airlines (EL AL) has advised that as part of the company’s efficiency initiatives, the airline may cease to operate dedicated cargo flights from Israel to Asia.

While El Al has reaffirmed that cargo will still be accepted for belly transportation in passenger aircraft,  the dedicated cargo flights may have to make way for the company’s bottom line.

In a statement released to the press, Vice President of Cargo Operations for  EL AL Israel Airlines, Doron Maor said that the closing of freighter operations to Asia had not only the capacity to improve the company’s profitability but also increase the service levels to customers utilizing El Al Cargo’s routes to Europe and North America.

While the cargo director of El Al, Yair Bitton emphasised that “no exact date has yet been agreed to end freight operations”.  It is fully understood that the company has decided to gradually reduce the freighter frequencies to Asia, whilst trying to find viable alternatives to those services.

Bitton also noted that once alternatives are found to the existing services, the company will end its freighter service to Asia.

Source: PORT2PORT

Express parcel and mail delivery company TNT NV (TNT) announced this week an investment of over €100 million Euro over the next five years to strengthen the company’s network coverage, connectivity and infrastructure.

The investments will be spread throughout Southeast Asia, China and Europe, with TNT responding to increased customer demand for the shipment of larger volumes of high-value items between Asia and Europe.

Commenting on the strategic nature of the investment, James McCormac, Chief Operating Officer of TNT’s express division said that “Our strategic objective is to build a leadership position in domestic, intra-regional and selected intercontinental express flows in the emerging Asian region.”

McCormac also eluded to the significant growth experienced by TNT in the region, saying that “TNT’s volumes between China and Europe have grown over 20 per cent in 2007, and we’re certain that the stop in Singapore will further accelerate this volume growth.”

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In a week that has seen Boeing announce further delays to it’s 787 Dreamliner passenger aircraft, freight versions of the famous manufacturers aircraft are giving the Seattle based company something to smile about.

Specifically, this week has seen the first flight of the Boeing 767-300BCF or “Boeing Converted Freighter”, the  aircraft having been converted from passenger to freight configuration in Singapore.

Sporting the livery of launch customer All Nippon Airways (ANA) Cargo and that of ALLEX, a joint venture between ANA, Nippon Express and Kintestsu World Express, the Boeing 767-300BCF first flew for three hours, before undertaking the significantly longer fourteen hour, fifty-one minute flight to Boeing’s Seattle facilities.

Boeing Flight Operations pilots stationed in Seattle will now conduct the flight test program on the 767-300BCF, with delivery and certification of the freighter expected in June.

Source: PR Newswire and Boeing

Rail freight company CSX Transportation (CSXT) has announced that it will significantly upgrade facilities in Erwin Tennessee, the company moving forward to enable improvements to the delivery of various commodities.

As the former headquarters of the company’s predecessor Clinchfield Railroad, Erwin Tennessee retains its importance to CSXT as an important gateway for coal trains operating from the Appalachian’s to receivers such as electrical power utilities.

CSXT reports that the expansion project will focus on improving bulk services including coal and grain.  Approximately $6 million in track and structure work will take place at the Erwin terminal during 2008, the end goal of the work being to accommodate a growing volume of coal and some grain trains that will be using distributed power at the rear of those trains.

A further $3 million will be spent on communications and technology upgrades in the region to support distributed power.  Distributed power referring to locomotives placed in the middle or rear of a train and controlled by an engineer from the lead locomotive. CSXT states that by distributing the power through the train, handling over mountainous territory is improved, more rail cars can be added, and fuel efficiency is increased.

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Global transportation and logistics firm CEVA Logistics has announced today that it will become the sole distributor of motor vehicle products for Italian firm the Piaggio Group.

The agreement with Piaggio which sees CEVA Logistics provide warehouse management and spare parts transportation throughout Italy and Europe, will expand to include the management of finished products and their distribution to dealers in Italy and Europe.  CEVA already manages the Piaggio di Santa Maria di Sala, Scorzè and Gausticce warehouses, with a combined space of around 30,000 square metres.

The Piaggio Group manufactures some of worlds best two-wheeled vehicles, with brand names like Aprillia, Moto Guzzi and Vespa among their lineup.  CEVA Logistics will make both standard and double decker means of transport available to Piaggio, the transport and logistics company having the capacity to distribute up to 400,000 motor vehicles per year.

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The cargo arm of Brazilian Airline TAM Linhas Aéreas has announced that it will move to develop an Electronic Waybill system known as a CT-e project for its operations in Brazil.

Partnering with Brazilian Federal Tax Authorities and a group of more than 10 companies from different transport sectors, TAM Cargo has committed to implementing later this year a a single transport waybill format, a standard document that all cargo transporters will issue before shipping, and one that will will replace the current paper forms with an electronic document that can be used for all transport categories.

According to TAM Cargo, the CT-e will make the airlines cargo operations faster and more efficient as processes that used to be manually carried out become automated.  Currently, when cargos are unloaded from aircraft, they undergo an inspection process in some Brazilian states and cannot be delivered to addressees until a series of manual procedures are completed. Automating the process will reduce the time cargo remains at inspection points, making compliance with legal requirements faster and more efficient.

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