L4 Logistics | Transport Shipping and Logistics News

 Air Fuel Surcharge Index Recalibrated; Remains Capped at 12.5%UPS announced new 2006 rates for most U.S. small package services, including a 3.9 percent increase in commercial ground services and a 5.5 percent rise in UPS air and international services.

Boots Group plc has awarded Exel, the global leader in supply chain management, a three-year contract to undertake its packaging waste calculation, helping the health and beauty retailer to meet its packaging obligations.

Virgin Atlantic becomes first airline to reduce fuel surcharge with £5 reduction"Virgin Atlantic has decided to reduce its fuel surcharge by £5 (from £30 down to £25) per sector on all its tickets sold in the UK from Monday 21 November. The decision has been taken in light of the recent decrease in the price of oil and we felt it only fair to pass it on to our passengers.

OH Logistics Adds Mike Honious: Engineering Professional Joins Leading 3PL. Tennessee—Ozburn-Hessey Logistics announced the addition of Mike Honious as Vice President of Engineering. In this role, Honious will oversee the design and execution of large client supply chain management solutions.

 New appointment in Exel's environmental compliance business  Exel, the world leader in supply chain management, has appointed Ben Ratliff as Business Development Manager within its environmental compliance solutions business. He will be responsible for the development of new services that will help businesses deal with their obligations under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directives.

Hamburg Süd: Restructuring of Asian and Pacific Coast / Latin American Routes. Starting in January 2006 Hamburg Süd will restructure its two services from Asia to the Pacific Coasts of South America and North America to improve service coverage and transit times to principle markets. As a consequence the China Asia South America Service (CASA) will no longer call in Vancouver and Long Beach (SB and NB) but proceed from Asia directly to Manzanillo, Mexico and ports on the South American West Coast. This revised CASA service will complement the already existing weekly service between Asia and key ports in Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile.

Infratil is pleased to announce that its agreement with Stagecoach Group plc with respect to acquiring its New Zealand bus and ferry business is now unconditional.

Construction soon to begin on the world's most advanced high-speed military craft. On November 17, Mobile, Alabama-based Austal USA celebrated the grand opening of its new construction facility with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. This event took place just 11 months to the day after breaking ground on the project on 17 January 2005.

Second Straight Year of Record PerformanceIn fiscal year 2005, JAXPORT set new port records for cargo tonnage handled, cruise passengers embarked and operating revenues earned. It is the second consecutive year JAXPORT set new marks in all three key performance areas.

Dynamex Inc. (NASDAQ:DDMX), the leading provider of same-day delivery and logistics services in the United States and Canada, today announced the Company has been named a Tier 1 carrier for Chrysler. As a Tier 1 carrier for Chrysler, Dynamex will provide transborder and domestic expedited premium freight transportation service in the United States and Canada.

Kuehne + Nagel announces the appointment of Martin Kolbe (44) as Chief Information Officer and member of the Management Board of Kuehne + Nagel International AG, effective November 1, 2005. He succeeds Thomas Engel, who will be leaving the company.

JSC Russian Railways plans to set up a joint venture (JV) with Railion Deutschland AG charged with international freight shipping operations - JSC EurasiaRailLogistics. Formation of the JV is designed to increase the share of railway transportation for freight traffic between Germany, Russia and China. This will be possible after implementation of measures to create the competitive logistical services demanded by freight shippers.

Ukraine and Georgia are about to create a free trade zone, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said. The governments of the two states have reached all the agreements necessary for this, he underscored.

The historic trade Silk Road is reviving with a new route Beijing-Astana-Moscow-Riga-Vilnius-Warsaw. The six countries’ international project that was taking place on September 27 – October 17 aims to revive the Silk Road and present an alternative to marine and railway transport.

Senator Lines started new service between South China and Middle East. With its South China Middle East Express (SMX), the German container line will strengthen its presence in the Middle East, expanding its network to include the direct port of Bandar Abbas.

China's state-owned China Shipping Group may launch a project to develop a transshipment container terminal on the Greek island of Crete, reports business Times Singapore.

Gulf-state backed Dubai Ports World was close to agreeing an offer to buy British ports and ferries company P&O for more than 3 billion pounds, a source familiar with the situation said on Saturday. The source added a deal could be announced early next week.

If UPS were an airline, it would be the 9th largest in the world. Last year UPS delivered over 3.5 billion packages, the equivalent of nearly 10,000 every minute. But these days the giant shipping company is branching out. It is now positioning itself as a company to turn to for complete supply-chain solutions, handling tasks like computer repair and the warehousing of auto parts for multinational companies.

There is no doubt that the Yangshan Deepwater Port offshore from Shanghai is an impressive feat of construction as is the 32 km bridge that supports a six-lane highway and connects the port to the mainland. Nothing new really, we all know Communist countries can do impressive feats of construction. But will it ever live up to its promises?

Schneider Logistics Selected by Honeywell to Improve Transportation Management and Supply Chain Visibility; Company Will Manage Shipping Logistics for Honeywell Specialty Materials. Schneider Logistics, Inc., an international lead logistics provider, today announced that it has been selected by Honeywell Specialty Materials, a global leader in the production of high-performance specialty chemicals and materials, to manage the group's shipping logistics within North America. Under the contract, Honeywell Specialty Materials will use Schneider Logistics' transportation management solutions and supply chain management technology. Honeywell Specialty Materials is a strategic business group of Honeywell, a $26 billion diversified technology and manufacturing leader.

Finalists of 2005 China Supply Chain & Logistics Awards Announced.(The China Supply Chain & Logistics Awards are part of CHaINA Summit & Expo, taking place on Nov. 29-30 in Shanghai, offering two days of educational and networking opportunities for all professionals in the extended supply chain sector industry, including manufacturers, retailers, distributors, IT vendors, 3PLs and consultants.

China is gearing up for the opening of a series of high-speed railways throughout the country as it expands the infrastructure and trains drivers to speed up the service.Vice-Minister of Railways Hu Yadong told reporters on Sunday that express trains with a speed of 200 kilometres per hour are expected to start running next year, while those with a speed of 300 kilometres an hour will be used on parts of the nation's railway lines.

Beijing and Tianjin are forging ahead with the establishment of a modern transportation network in order to accelerate the development of the Bohai Economic Rim and to give logistics firms a boost in the region.

A new container terminal for feeders and inland navigation vessels is being constructed at the Maasvlakte in Rotterdam. The so-called Rotterdam Container Terminal (RCT) is part of the Kramer Group, which also operates two terminals for empty containers in the Eemhaven area and at the Maasvlakte.

High speed: ALSTOM and ANSALDO BREDA (FINMECCANICA) signed a strategic partnership. ALSTOM and Ansaldo Breda, a Finmeccanica Group company, have signed a strategic and industrial partnership for the engineering, production and marketing of single deck high-speed trains. This agreement covers both very high-speed trains (more than 300 km/h), and high speed trains (up to 250 km/h), meeting the new European standards for interoperability.