Sep
18th
Terminals are designed to cope with a certain, specified situation, but reality is often difficult to grasp and does not remain static.
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Sep
18th
As container volumes are increasing, ports and container terminals discover that their key resources, such as quays, quay cranes and storage space, are not available in the quantities required to adequately respond to the new situation.
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Sep
18th
Water-freight operating firms have criticised what, in their eyes, is a dilution of the UK government’s directive to favour use of waterways over motorways, in order to transport abnormally large cargo. According to the Inland Waterways Association, a recent consultation issued by the Highways Agency, in which it sought to demystify the guidelines for water-based operations, stands in contrast to the environmental priorities touted by the government.
Its chief concern is that a governmental shift in policy could place less emphasis on water freight if it proves to be a costly exercise - and do so "by stealth".
This view is contested by the Freight Transport Association, which argues that a return to road freight would be disadvantageous to the Highways Agency.
The consultation posed several queries to relevant interested parties. These included if, in instances when the cost of transporting freight by water is more than 20 per cent of the cargo’s value, it would still be viable to carry it this way. Additionally, if the guidelines deciding when road or water is used should be adaptable, when the mileage factor involved in either way is taken into account for a particular load.
According to the Commercial Boat Operators’ Association, the very fact these questions are being asked is indicative of a relaxation in rules. The association argues that the government would opt for road transportation even where the cost involved exceeds 20 per cent of the goods value.
Its Chairman, John Dodwell, added that: "Slow moving, long articulated lorries taking up more than half the road width cause significant delay and frustration to motorists this is unnecessary when an alternative already exists."
"We shall be asking for a meeting with government officials to expand on our views."
James Firth - the Freight Transport Association’s Regional Policy Manager - concedes that the Highways Agency’s policy lacks clarity, but rejects claims that: "…the government is trying to encourage freight onto road."
As per a spokesman from the Department of Transport: "The consultation is not intended to review the water preferred policy but is aimed at clarifying how the policy is applied and to provide greater transparency of the decision making process."
Freight International will continue to provide unrivalled coverage of further developments relating to the wider/lesser adoption of Water Freight operations.
Source - Freight International’s Assistant Editor
Recent related News Item:
MPs Urge for Companies to Transport Freight on Waterways
Further Resources - Products and Services:
Companies Supplying Cargo Shipping Containers
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Sep
13th
A report coinciding with the sixth anniversary of 9/11 has been published by the US Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General’s Office. Focusing on the security aspects of air freight operations in the US, the report states much ground still needs to be covered by the Transportation Security Administration to safeguard against potential terrorist action.
The majority of air freight is too out-sized to be accommodated in regular bomb scanning devices. Consequently, physical inspections are undertaken by employees of the airline in question - overseen by the Transport Security Administration. The procedures employed in said oversight, according to Richard Skinner, the Inspector General, "increase the opportunities" for bombs to be smuggled into freight containers.
Mr Skinner described how the Transportation Security Administration has insufficient numbers of inspectors within its employment. Additionally, that its rules are unclear, its enforcement is not universally applied, and its training is not thorough enough.
In response, the TSA affirmed that many of these complaints had already been solved. According to officials within the organisation, the rules have now been made clearer, while it also intends to increase its inspector force by half by 2009. Furthermore, said the officials, bomb scanners were now being used to scrutinise all freight.
Conceding that some action had been taken, Mr Skinner, however, highlighted how some concerns remained outstanding. Of the seven prime recommendations made in the report, only one, he added, had been fully implemented.
According to some analysts, an air-travel process with 100 per cent security across its operations is an unachievable dream. In line with this new report, the TSA can be seen to have made some improvements to the system. However, major progression is still needed - six years after the events of 9/11 highlighted the destructive potency of airborne operations.
Source - Freight International’s US Correspondent
Recent related News Items:
Chile and India Sign ‘Open Skies’ Cargo Agreement
US/Chinese Agreement Signed: Cargo Flights Increasing
Further Resources - Articles:
Further Resources - Products and Services:
Companies Supplying Air Cargo Containers
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Sep
13th
The number of passengers using Glasgow Airport has gone up for the first time since the attempted terrorist attack on June 30th this year. According to the airport’s operator - BAA Scotland - passenger levels reached 869,305 last month - a circa 5,000 increase over August 2006. Overall, BAA added, in excess of 21 million travellers passed through one of Scotland’s thee principal air hubs, located in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow itself. Previously, BAA data had pointed to a drop in Glasgow passenger traffic in the immediate aftermath of the attack.
Detailing its findings further, BAA pointed to long-haul flights as those among which the strongest growth was recorded at Glasgow Airport. These include flights to destinations such as Calgary, Dubai, New York and Vancouver.
The airport’s Managing Director, Gordon Dewar highlighted how the passenger increase statistics reinforced the overriding view of a recent survey, in which the majority of those assessed said that the June 30th terrorist attack had not put them off travelling by air. He stated, in this regard: "The past few months have been particularly challenging, and it remains to be seen if the failed attack on the airport will have a long term impact on visitor numbers. However, in the year to August, Glasgow Airport handled more than 8.8 million passengers, including more than 900,000 long haul travellers."
BAA Scotland’s Chairman, Stephen Baxter, was encouraged by the achievements of Scotland airport network. "Over the past year, BAA Scotland has invested more than £20m in support of new and expanding airlines", he said, adding: "With international passenger numbers growing at almost 10% a year, and dozens of new destinations now available from Scotland, this represents money well spent."
The terrorist attack on Glasgow Airport occurred the day after two car bombs were found in central London. A Jeep Cherokee was set alight, then driven into the side of the hub’s Terminal 1. While immediately closed, the efforts to restore normality at Glasgow resulted in it reopening two days later, in what Alex Salmond, Scotland’s First Minister, described as a "spectacular achievement".
Source - Airport International’s Regional Correspondent
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Airport Security - The Real Terrorist Threat
Glasgow Airport Reopens After Terrorist Attack
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Sep
8th
Transport for London’s Rail Freight Strategy document was published on the 6th September 2007. The chief aim detailed within is the removal of up to 176 million lorry miles from the UK’s motorways and roads per annum, which, it is hoped, will reduce levels of both accidents and gas emissions.
Rail Freight Strategy outlines the TfL’s objectives over a ten year timeframe, backing London Mayor Ken Livingstone’s directives concerning congestion, road traffic accidents and greenhouse emissions. It makes provision for the expansion of traffic within the rail freight sector, along with increasing demand for rail services from passengers. It additionally highlights awareness among the TfL’s members of the need to preserve equilibrium between the twin demands of freight and passengers. This, it adds, is best served by using the present rail framework to its maximum allowable efficiency.
The Managing Director of London Rail, Ian Brown, described the document thus:
"The London Rail Freight Strategy sets out our view of how the rail freight network and facilities should develop in London to 2016. The rail strategy is part of a multi modal plan for addressing the freight objectives in the London Plan and the Mayors Transport Strategy. It was developed in liaison with rail industry partners, and provides the basis of TfL`s recommendations for investment in rail freight. "
A feature of the Rail Freight Strategy is a toolkit, designed to assist officers within the London boroughs with issues surrounding the development of new freight hubs.
According to Transport for London, emissions generated within the rail freight sector are currently ninety per cent less than when the equivalent freight is transported over road by HGVs. Additionally, as per the document: "In London in 2005, there were 1,040 casualties associated with goods vehicles. There were none in the rail freight industry."
Source - Freight International’s London Reporter
Rail Freight to Benefit from Government Funding
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Sep
4th
The Chilean Civil Aeronautic Council (JAC) confirmed on Tuesday 4th September 2007 that an agreement has been signed between Chile and India, in which air cargo will be allowed to transit freely between the two nations. Dubbed ‘open skies’, the new understanding supersedes a previous agreement, in which such liberalisation was apparent, but in more restricted form. Now, as per a Chilean Government statement: “unlimited numbers of these (cargo) services from and to Chile or India, using any type of aircraft and with full traffic rights to, from, or via any intermediary" will be granted.
The statement confirmed that the agreement excludes “cabotage� – the movement of cargo by an overseas carrier within two hubs located in the same country.
Referring to India, the JAC’s secretary general, Jorge Frei, highlighted the significance of the newly-refined tie-up. "We’re allowing operators to transport cargo to a gigantic market, whose foreign trade grew 162 percent last year", he said.
Mr Frei added: “This is a substantial step for the national aeronautics market to continue growing and improving connectivity with the (world’s) centers of development". His comments came from New Delhi, where the agreement was signed in partnership with the adjunct secretary to India’s Civil Aviation Ministry, R.K. Singh.
The Chilean Government also described the agreement’s potential in helping to swell the volume of passengers travelling between India and Chile. As identified by Mr Frei: "It will significantly liberalize air passenger transport, helping airlines to establish operations or sell fares to Chile or India, helping to encourage the arrival of tourists from India."
According to the Chilean Government, since 2002, a six-fold increase in trade involving India has been recorded. In 2006, the South American nation exported goods to India valued at $1.49 billion in total, with $164.5 million going the other way.
Source – Freight International’s Sub Editor
Recent related News Item:
US/Chinese Agreement Signed: Cargo Flights Increasing
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Aug
29th
On Sunday 26th August 2007, it came to light that British Airways may now have to make a multi-million pound legal settlement in respect of the fuel price fixing scandal, which was covered in previous News Items in our sister publication, Airport International. The lawsuit is understood to include a number of blue-chip firms based in Europe, Volvo, TNT and Ikea among them. It has also been noted that British Airways has reserved an amount of approximately $700 million to meet the possible settlement now expected.
BA has already made a significant payment of $300 million to the US Department of Justice, of which $200 million related to price-fixing within its cargo division, and the remainder was in respect of passenger flights. As per documentation now in the hands of a district court in the US, this new lawsuit is concerned with shipments, on which a value of $29 million has been placed. In line with a plea agreement forged between BA and prosecutors in the US, ten current and former executive-level employees of the flagship UK carrier are considered not immune from being prosecuted. Among these ten is the present Director of Operations at BA, while it is understood that, according to the airline, four of them still work there.
At the beginning of August, the Chief Executive of BA, Willie Walsh, provided assurance to the public and media alike that the airline’s price-fixing was the result of action by a "very limited number of individuals". However, since then, information issued by the US Department of Justice has confirmed the depth into which the subsequent inquiry went. The department cited both BA’s ex-Commercial Director, Martin George, and the previous Head of Communications, Iain Burns, as yardsticks which the investigation passed beyond.
Confirmation was provided by the DoJ that it was "carving out" ten present and ex-senior executives from a deal of immunity, designed to determine issues of BA’s liability in America. These figures, who have not yet been charged, may end up behind bars as a result of criminal prosecution.
Freight International will cover further developments in this case as we get the facts.
Source - Freight International’s US Correspondent
Recent related News Items:
Qantas Reserves $40m Pending Freight Price-Fixing Fine
British Airways Price-Fix Fine Increases
Fuel Price-Fixing Fine for British Airways
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Aug
28th
A group of MPs today urged for the government to contemplate the introduction of financial incentives to encourage businesses to adopt methods of freight transportation that are reliant on water, as opposed to rail or road. The group, which together forms the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee, has issued a report in which it highlights how a mere 1 per cent of freight is presently carried along the UK’s rivers and canals. This is despite the hugely reduced rate of carbon dioxide emission that the waterways offer over road haulage - equating to a drop of 80 per cent.
The report draws attention to a pledge made seven years ago by British Waterways, in which it promised that the amount of freight transported on water would be doubled within 10 years (taking it to 2010). However, in 2005, five years after the statement, a slump was instead noticed, of 900,000 tonnes. In response, the agency highlighted the uneconomic nature of over-water transportation, and suggested that adoption of it now would likely generate additional costs within the industry.
Now, this new report actively seeks involvement at government level to explore the potential for freight transportation using rivers, and suggests implementation of a ‘carbon credit scheme’ as an incentive. This last feature of the report is covered in the report thus: "If the government is serious about transferring more freight on to the waterways, companies themselves require further financial incentives to make this move,"
One company featured within the report is Sainsbury’s, which has recently been conducting assessments of the validity of water-based freight operations. In the trials, the River Thames was used as a channel between delivery sites and stores. For the future, the report states, the supermarket leviathan plans to use this method to carry up to 7,000 tonnes of materials involved in the construction of sites for the London Olympic Games in 2012.
While Freight features prominently, the main thrust of the report is a more general stress on the need to both preserve and upgrade canals and rivers across the UK. In these general terms, David Drew MP, the EFRA British Waterways Sub-Committee’s Chairman, provides comment on the report. He states: "…we have seen a recent renaissance in our waterways but this is now clearly under threat because of immediate funding issues and also a lack of clarity in the strategy that BW are pursuing not helped by the apparent break down in relationships with Government. Putting this right is an absolute necessity."
Source - Freight International Newsdesk
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Aug
28th
Qantas, the national carrier of Australia, stated on Monday August 13th 2007 that it had isolated a figure of $40 million, pending a possible fine in respect of alleged price-fixing by the airliner’s freight division.
US regulators, as well as their counterparts in Australia, New Zealand and Europe have been looking into claims of this price-fixing across the air freight spectrum. According to Qantas itself: "These investigations revealed that the practice adopted by Qantas Freight and the cargo industry generally to fix and impose fuel surcharges was likely to have breached relevant competition laws."
This, the airline detailed in a statement issued on Monday August 13th 2007. It continued: "To date, it has not been possible to quantify any direct or indirect liability associated with these matters."
Two weeks earlier, Qantas said, an announcement was made by the US Justice Department, in which it detailed how both Korean Air and British Airways had admitted to taking part in price fixing, in relation to both passenger and freight flights. The resultant fines for both carriers were $300 million. In the case of British Airways, at least $200 million of this was in respect of its freight operations.
On this basis, stated Qantas, it had been decided to set aside a certain amount of its own pending discovery of and fines issued for “unacceptable conduct�. "Based on these (BA/Korean Air) developments, a decision has been made to make a $US40 million ($A47 million) provision in the 2006/07 financial accounts," Qantas confirmed.
According to the airline’s Chief Executive, Geoff Dixon, Qantas has well-defined policies under which it complies with national/international air travel laws. He added: "We have investigated this issue thoroughly and are confident that the unacceptable conduct was limited to a small number of people."
Qantas has refused to comment further at this stage, given the regulatory nature of the current investigations into its alleged price-fixing. However, Airport International will continue to provide the most up to date information on this topic as more facts emerge.
Source – Airport International’s Australasian Reporter
Recent related News Items:
BA Fine Could Precede Further Action Against Airlines
British Airways Price-Fix Fine Increases
Fuel Price-Fixing Fine for British Airways
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