A division of Freight conglomerate FedEx, FedEx Ground has today broken ground on a new site in Troutdale Oregon, the site to host a FedEx Ground distribution hub that will be double the size of the existing operation in Portland, Oregon.  The new hub part of a nationwide network expansion aimed at boosting daily package volume capacity and enhancing the speed and service capabilities of the FedEx network.

The 415,000 square-foot facility will be built in the new Troutdale Reynolds Industrial Park in Troutdale, and will cost about $100 million dollars, including land acquisition as well as construction and material-handling equipment.  The facility due to open in 2010 will initially handle 25,000 packages per hour, that figure growing to 45,000 packages per hour, after a projected expansion.

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International express freight and logistics corporation, DHL has announced its intention to eliminate over one third of the 18 million paper invoices it sends out across Europe annually by 2010.  The company advising that customers who use an e-billing service implemented by DHL, will no longer need to  receive their invoices on paper, rather the invoice information is provided via an online portal to view and approve electronically.

Based in the United Kingdom, Accountis Limited, a division of Fundtech Limited, has been working with DHL for more that two years in an effort to develop the freight conglomerates e-billing capabilities.  The company will support the DHL’s rollout of its e-billing system across most major European territories by the end of this years.

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In the wake of  the implementation by the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach of a Clean Truck Program, as written about previously here on Freightscene.com(*), members of the West Coast Marine Terminal Operator Agreement (WCMTOA) have today announced that the group has been contracted by the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, to collect the resultant Clean Truck Fee. 

Establishing a new company called PortCheck Incorporated,  the members of the WCMTOA, through PortCheck, will manage and collect revenue from the Clean Truck Fee and Clean Truck Program as well as enforce the bans on trucks not meeting Clean Truck Program requirements.

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Dutch express freight company TNT has shown off the company’s expanding environmental credentials by opening its first carbon dioxide emission-free depot in Veenendaal, the Netherlands.

The opening of the Veenendaal depot is the first in what is to be a series of “green” buildings with the company aiming to cut carbon dioxide emissions from  of all of the company’s buildings, not just in the Netherlands but right around the world.

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The International arm of express package delivery company United Parcel Service has broken ground on a new facility at Shenzhen International Airport in China,  which once completed will provide UPS as an Intra Asian hub, capable of shaving precious days and hours off transit times for the company’s customers.

Once completed, the hub is to replace the current UPS intra Asia facility which is located at the former Clark Air Base in the Philippines.  The facility at Shenzhen International Airport should be completed and open by 2010.  The new location expected to tap into China’s Pearl River Delta manufacturing district, as well as lessening transit times for all Asian Customers.

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Global express freight conglomerate, DHL, has released a press statement in the wake of a shooting incident at the company’s office in Kabul Afghanistan.

Below is the statement in its entirety:

At approximately 8.30am (local time) today at a DHL office in Kabul, Afghanistan, an incident took place involving a shooting. It is with deep regret, that we have to report that there are fatalities, two of whom are DHL staff.

At this difficult time our thoughts are with the families, friends and colleagues of those who have lost their lives under such tragic circumstances.

DHL is fully cooperating with authorities investigating the incident. In order not to hinder the investigation no further information can be released at this time.

DHL will issue a further statement as more information is available.

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TNT, the express freight and mail company headquartered in the Netherlands, has announced the opening of a new gateway for the company, at Japan’s Osaka Kansai International Airport. 

The new gateway is set to reduce transit times for deliveries from China and Vietnam by a full twenty-four hours, with the additional benefit of a one-stop express delivery service between China and Osaka.  The Japanese city being one of the regions most important manufacturing hubs.

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The express air freight subsidiary of Deutsche Post World Net’s DHL, DHL Express has announced that the company has entered into an agreement with Polar Air Cargo, to improve the company’s time definite products traversing the Pacific Ocean.

DHL Express, which owns forty-nine percent of Polar Air Cargo, will now utilize the New York based cargo airlines scheduled weekday flights, from Los Angeles, Wilmington and New York via Anchorage to the Asian destinations of Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul and Tokyo. The partnership also covering an extended weekend schedule, with flights to Honolulu, Sydney, Sharjah and Leipzig.

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The European distributor of digital office products brand, Ricoh, Ricoh Europe Supply Chain Management (SCM), has announced an agreement with Dutch logistics provider CEVA Logistics to take charge of the Spanish Service Parts Satellite Warehouse.

The warehouse, to be located in the CEVA Logistics site in Subirats, Spain, will provide warehousing, cross-docking, spare parts and reverse logistics to Ricoh Europe SCM as well as the company’s finished products and supplies, third party logistics provider.

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The Premier of the Australian state of Victoria, John Brumby, has announced a $38.7 million  dollar package aimed at providing the state with a sustainable rail freight industry that can support Victoria’s farmers and the agricultural sector.

In the wake of the funding, five of the state’s major rail lines are to receive upgrades, having been identified in a review as needing attention.  The upgrades are aimed at achieving improved speed limits and more efficiency to at least seventy percent of Victoria’s rail freight network.

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