The American Trucking Associations (ATA) group has applauded a decision by the New York State Legislature to reject the proposal to introduce a congestion fee for New York City.

Had it been successfully implemented the proposal would have seen truck drivers paying $21 dollars per weekday and auto drivers charged $8 dollars per weekday to drive in Manhattan below 60th Street between Six AM and Six PM.

ATA President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Graves commenting on the  defeat of the plan, said that despite that fact that many areas of the United States are experiencing problems with strained transportation networks, the idea of introducing congestion charges to combat this are “unfair, ineffective and ignore our real transportation needs.” 

(more…)

Canadian transport and logistics provider TransForce Income Fund (TransForce) has been advised that it is subject to an interim order of the Québec Superior Court regarding a planned reorganization.

The interim order of the Court confirmed the calling of an annual and special meeting of TransForce’s unit holders and a special meeting of shareholders of TFI Holdings, an affiliated corporation, for the purpose of considering the reorganization.

TransForce had announced its intention to reorganize previously, the company wishing to change structure from that of a Income Fund to that of a corporation.

(more…)

One of the top truckload carriers in the United States, Celadon Trucking Services (Celadon) is celebrating being awarded a top score honour by the United States Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) for its efforts to improve environmental outcomes for the company and community.

The Indianapolis based company has been participating in the EPA’s  Smartway Transport Partnership program and earned a Shipper Index Factor (SIF) of 1.25. The number representing outstanding environmental performance and confirming that Celadon has been utilizing the latest fuel saving strategies and technologies.

Celadon Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Steve Russell commenting on  the achievement said that he “is extremely proud of the achievement” and that the company’s maintenance and operations employees had “worked very hard” to make the achievement possible. 

(more…)

Former Hawaiian passenger airline Aloha Airlines is still operating an inter-island air cargo operation, however the future of this service is now precariously balanced against the issue of further financial woes.

While an offer has been made for the airlines cargo operations from Saltchuk Resources, with the bidding process expected to to start April 21, interim financial support is still required, support that is expected to come from the airlines primary lender General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC).

Aloha Cargo requires financial support from GMAC to continue with cargo operations, with GMAC saying that it will only support continued operations if an agreement can be reached between the company and pilots in the wake of the company’s passenger service demise and its scheduled appearance in bankruptcy court today.

(more…)

With the demise of Ohio’s Skybus airlines, the third such airline seeking bankruptcy protection in just over a week, Indiana’s Gary-Chicago Airport, a brief Skybus destination, will now look to cargo operations to fill the void left by the Skybus grounding.

Occasional aviation nemesis, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley pointed recently to air cargo as a way Gary-Chicago can maintain its viability, the Mayor commenting optimistically that the airport may eventually become “the hub of cargo coming in throughout the world.”

Such optimism aside and despite being located alongside several industrial facilities and having apron space at the airport extended in 2005 to accommodate existing cargo operations, the ability of the airport to attract air cargo operators remains in doubt.

In January of 2006, the state of Indiana received almost $90 million dollars of federal funding towards an expansion program at the Gary-Chicago, the program designed to improve both passenger and cargo facilities at the airport.

Source: TradingMarkets.com and Gary-Chicago International Airport

Japanese based shipper Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) have announced new services between Asia and the west coast of the United States of America, the services coming as growth in Asia demands additional capacity.

Beginning in May, MOL will sail its “PS3″ service from Ningbo and Shanghai in  China and its Japan America Shuttle (JAS) from Osaka, Kobe, Nagoya, Shimzu and Tokyo.  The departure points being rotated during the week while both services will terminate in Los Angeles, California.

With four, 2,800-3,000 Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit vessels sailing the PS3 and JAS services on a 28-day rotation, the company states the the new services will provide some of the fastest transit times in the industry.  MOL also says that with the JAS service, it will be able to offer customers more port coverage in Japan than currently offered by any other transpacific service.

Mitsui OSK Lines forms part of the giant MOL group of companies, the group owning and operating the world’s largest merchant fleet. 

Source: Mitsui OSK Lines

Canada’s Cargojet, all-cargo freight airline has announced that it will move to improve its services for the transportation for sensitive healthcare products including pharmaceuticals.

Whilst Cargojet has previously provided services for healthcare items, the company now the company now plans to substantially upgrade such services, focusing on the stringent requirements that healthcare cargo must  be transported under.

Executive Vice President of Sales and Service with Cargojet, Jamie Porteous remarked this week that “Cargojet completely understands the time and temperature-sensitive nature of transporting these products and has developed and implemented customized processes to ensure the needs and requirements of these products are met.

(more…)

Leading European businesses CEVA Logistics and Groupe DANONE have announced that they are to strengthen relations between the two, with additional cooperation, this time in Turkey.

Food and beverage company Groupe DANONE, through its business unit Numil Turkey, has engaged with CEVA Logistics to provide Numil with various logistics services out of Istanbul.  Services that will cater to Numil’s product range of high-quality baby foods and specialized medical nutrition products.

The agreement which builds upon existing cooperation on two different continents, will see CEVA managing bonded and non-bonded warehousing, as well as performing value added services and parcel distribution to key accounts. CEVA providing these services from a new 14,000 square-meter multi-user site in Istanbul.

(more…)

Indianapolis based airline ATA Airlines (ATA) has announced that it has entered into Chapter Eleven bankruptcy protection, effectively grounding the airline and its operations.

The cessation of ATA operations includes both passenger and cargo services, however it has emerged that along with increasing fuel costs, a decision by the FedEx Corporation has been a decisive factor in the airlines demise.

For the past two decades, ATA had been a part of FedEx teaming  arrangements, the teaming seeing ATA receive a significant share of the airlift contracts under the International Program of the Department of Defense Air Mobility Command.  However earlier this year, FedEx informed ATA that it would not be included in the teaming arrangements for the government’s 2009 fiscal year.

(more…)

River freight company Tidewater Holdings has announced the purchase of equipment currently operating on Washington’s Columbia Snake River system from the Foss Maritime Company.

The purchase, made up of two tug-boats and twenty barges is expected to be  completed within the next two months and according to Tidewater, is indicative of the company’s strong commitment to the Columbia Snake River
transportation system.

Tidewater President and Chief Executive Officer, Dennis McVicker said of the purchase that “we’re excited that Tidewater’s 75-year commitment and service continues to expand with added upriver equipment that will complement our current fleet and improve delivery of goods and services region-wide.”

(more…)