Shipping Search - Archive

Trucking and Ocean Shipping Figures Take a Final Bow

US – A sad start to our round-up to staff changes in the global freight and logistics sector with the news that J. Harwood Cochrane, founder of Overnite Transportation Company and Highway Express died on Monday 25 July at the age of 103. His demise was preceded in December by the death of his wife of 81 years, Louise, who died at the age of 99.

Now a Nervous Wait to See Who Will Prove Top Dog and Net the Main Prize

WORLDWIDE – FIATA has announced the four Young International Freight Forwarder of the Year Award 2016 Regional Winners, sponsored by FIATA and the TT Club. Now in its eighteenth year, this annual training and development awards and the associated entry process is crucial in identifying, recognising and encouraging young talent throughout the freight forwarding community around the world. The four regional finalists, selected this year from among a record 27 entries representing national forwarding associations are:

State Run Corporation Cooperates with Dubai Box Terminal Specialists

TAIWAN – Global marine container terminal operator DP World and the state run Taiwan International Ports Corporation (TIPC), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the development of Kaohsiung Port’s Terminal 7 in Taiwan. The agreement marks the beginning of a joint effort to seek future business opportunities and to steer growth in Taiwan’s port infrastructure, while enhancing the country’s trade potential by establishing seamless cargo movement across its supply chain. DP World Group Chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, said:

Dearth of Facilities is Impinging on Lorry Drivers Hours and Road Safety

UK – A new report from Transport Focus, an organisation which has evolved from the Central Transport Consultative Committee (CTCC) set up in response to the 1947 Transport Act, focuses on the plight of lorry drivers who are being let down by the paucity of suitable truck stops around the roads of Britain, and it has brought a rapid response from the country’s road haulage community. Whilst the report comments that car drivers are generally well served it notes the dissatisfaction amongst freight drivers who are often struggling to find space to park at the locations and times they need to stop, and facing serious sanctions if this means not complying with driving hours regulations.

Alternative to Operation Stack and Pressure on French Government Discussed

UK – FRANCE – News of the latest murder in Rouen, the ninth such atrocity in the past few days, will undoubtedly only heighten the security which so affected the cross Channel traffic last weekend. The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has commented on the delays caused by a shortage of French security staff, just at the time when checks on vehicles and passengers were at their most stringent. Delays of up to 14 hours have induced the FTA to call for the newly agreed truck park at Stanford Kent to be opened immediately for tourist traffic bound for Dover. FTA Head of Policy South East England, Natalie Chapman said:

Russian Operations Extended by Middle East Based Outfit

RUSSIA – Global freight and logistics group GAC Russia is expanding eastwards with the opening of new branches at Nakhodka and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, as the Russian Federation focuses on developing political and economic relations with the Asia-Pacific region leading to the country’s Far East moving to the top of the agenda. Arkady Podkopaev, GAC Russia’s General Manager, said:

Difference in Viewpoint with European Commission May Still Cost Manufacturer Dearly

EUROPE – Following last week’s announcement of a record price fixing fine on several well-known truck manufacturers levied by the European Commission (EC) for antitrust activity, Swedish firm Scania has remained defiant against the EC ruling, contesting the accusation that it colluded in a cartel with competitors to fix the prices of its vehicles. Scania has however made a provision of SEK 3.8 billion (around €400 million) in order to cover possible fines.

Fast Run from Indonesia to Scotland Makes Delivery on Time

GERMANY – INDONESIA – UK – SAL Heavy Lift, which began life in Hamburg as Schiffahrtskontor Altes Land GmbH in 1980 before becoming a subsidiary of the K Line group in 2011, recently entered the record books, not for the scale of the project undertaken, but for a change for the speed of a freight operation. One of the company’s fourteen strong fleet of specialist out of gauge cargo vessels completed a 20 day transit between Batum in Indonesia and the Firth of Forth in Scotland at an average speed of 19.3 knots.

No Time for Complacency However with Violent Assaults Continuing

WORLDWIDE – According to a new report from the International Chamber of Commerce's International Maritime Bureau (IMB), piracy and armed robbery at sea has fallen to its lowest levels since 1995, despite a surge in kidnappings off West Africa. Pottengal Mukundan, Director of IMB, whose global Piracy Reporting Centre has supported the shipping industry, authorities and navies for 25 years, spoke of the report’s findings, saying:

Remote Global Position and Detailed Status Report Available

FRANCE – SWITZERLAND – WORLDWIDE – French start-up company, TRAXENS, has pulled off a coup by signing up both MSC and CMA CGM, respectively second and third largest container shipping companies in the world, to its container fleet monitoring system. With a combined fleet of 4.5 million units these two world leaders transport approximately 25% of the world’s freight containers and the agreement sees CMA CGM and MSC invest capital in TRAXENS, with each Group also represented on the Board of Directors.

Steam Crane and Lock Equipment Get a Facelift

UK – Anyone who has been familiar with Hull docklands over the years will know how the area has evolved into a vibrant community as the old waterside has been developed into housing and retail areas. Now a £500,000 programme of refurbishment is underway on Hull’s Alexandra Dock to ensure the long-term future of three listed structures. Associated British Ports (ABP) has recently invested £200,000 in the Port of Goole’s last remaining boat hoist and this new scheme means the group has spent £700,000 on listed buildings in the past three months.

Absent Consignees Get Packages Locked Into Their Smart Cars

GERMANY – Not satisfied with broadening the possibilities regarding the deliveries of small items using drones, logistics giant DHL has come up with an interesting new idea for dropping off parcels at a customer’s address when nobody is at home, by using their Smart car as a sort of outdoor security box. The difficulties currently being encountered by home delivery drivers undertaking express deliveries when no one is around might may make good YouTube fodder but absent consignees are the bane of courier companies.

Tourists and Freight Drivers Warned of Continuing Chaos

UK – FRANCE – The horrendous delays being suffered by those transiting from the Port of Dover for France via RoRo cross Channel ferry services on this, the busiest weekend of the year, has been laid principally at the feet of French authorities. Motorists have been subjected to delays of up to 8 hours as a lack of French border control officials at the port caused huge queues to develop. At one stage there were only three officials manning the seven booths available, whilst only one was checking the passage of dozens of coaches, with each taking up to 40 minutes to pass through security. A port spokesman said:

Who is Now Working Where

FRANCE – Freight forwarding and automotive logistics provider Gefco has announced Anne Lambusson as its new Executive Vice President in charge of relations with the PSA Group (Peugot/Citroen). She will be replacing Paul-Henri Fréret in the PSA Contract Division Management as he will be taking over the ASOR area Management (East Asia) as Executive Vice President.

London Gateway Gains Accreditation from Eden Project Linked Adjudicator

UK – DP World's London Gateway Port, the UK’s latest deep-sea container terminal, has been awarded The Planet Mark™ for demonstrating its commitment to carbon emissions reduction. This internationally recognised certification programme is wholly-owned by Planet First, a sustainability service provider working in conjunction with the iconic Eden Project in Cornwall, ensuring UK trade is not just accelerated, but facilitated in a more environmentally friendly way. Cameron Thorpe, CEO, DP World London Gateway, said:

Arm of OECD Publishes First Quarter Figures

WORLDWIDE – The latest report from the International Transport Forum (ITF) shows a mixed picture as regards traffic volumes of global multimodal freight types in the first quarter of 2016. The ITF’s verdict is to conclude that ‘the overall picture [on air freight] suggests downside risks’ according to its preliminary seasonally adjusted data. The ITF is an intergovernmental body of 57 different state representatives acting as a think-tank across all transport modes, and is an arm of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) whose role is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.

Relationship with Airfreight Carriers Modernised

WORLDWIDE – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) have signed an agreement to implement the IATA-FIATA Air Cargo Programme (IFACP) to replace the existing IATA Cargo Agency Programme, an initiative to control and improve professional relationships between airlines and their sales agents, the latter whose status has changed of late from sales operatives to clients. Speaking of the new arrangement, Aleks Popovich, Senior Vice President - Financial and Distribution Services at IATA, said:

Things Loosening Up as Relationship Develops

US – CUBA – American parcel giant FedEx, has become the first all-cargo airline approved by the US Department of Transportation to provide regular scheduled flights to Cuba as relations between the two countries continue to ease. Starting January 15, 2017, FedEx will begin once-daily Monday through Friday air freight service between Miami, Florida and Matanzas, Cuba, to complement the previously announced passenger/combinations flights.

Stay of Execution for One of the Last Royal Mail Ships

ST HELENA – ASCENSION ISLAND – SOUTH AFRICA – Having written up full details of the sale of the RMS St Helena in April as she was withdrawn from service it seems such plans were a little premature. Travellers are being advised to act fast to enjoy one of the final chances to sail on board one of the last working Royal Mail Ships in the world after her retirement was postponed until 1 July 2017.

Free Publicity is Not Pie in the Sky

LUXEMBOURG – As we are always telling our own clients, it pays to advertise, but this week Europe’s largest freight only airline, Cargolux, has started a campaign that promotes its freight forwarding customers in a very prominent way – by adding their name and logos to the livery of its aircraft. The details are preceded by a ‘Powered By’ slogan and the first three Cargolux 747 freighters now carry the added branding of a major customer each along with the familiar, distinctive Cargolux colours.

Collusion on Prices of Lorries in Cartel Which Operated for 14 Years

EUROPE – The European Commission (EC) has found that several well-known truck manufacturers broke EU antitrust rules having colluded for around 14 years to fix the prices of their vehicles. The conspirators also agreed to pass on the costs of producing trucks complying with stricter emission rules. The Commission has imposed a record fine totalling over €2.9 billion on four heavy and medium duty truck producers, Volvo/Renault, Daimler, Iveco, and DAF. MAN managed to evade financial penalty having informed the EC of the existence of the cartel and received full leniency. Commissioner for competition, Margrethe Vestager, said:

Japanese Firm is No Stranger to Commission Punishment

AUSTRALIA – Following an investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Japanese RoRo cargo carrier Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK), has pleaded guilty to criminal cartel conduct in the Federal Court, and will now face a minimum fine of A$10 million. NYK is no stranger to antitrust action from competition commissions around the world having already been penalised millions for similar freight cartel activities elsewhere.

First Six Months of 2016 Looks Healthy for Swiss Group

SWITZERLAND – WORLDWIDE – As one of the largest and most influential freight forwarding and logistics groups in the world Kuehne + Nagel results are often taken as a useful benchmark as to the progress of the industry. Despite a slight decrease in net turnover during the first six months of 2016 the group managed to return an increase in gross profit, up by 8% for the period.

Deal for Singaporean Group Finalised

UAE – SINGAPORE – WORLDWIDE – The Unique Group, which provides a wide portfolio of integrated subsea and offshore services via six dedicated specialist sites ranging from diving and life support to engineering and specialised craft, has completed the acquisition of Singapore based Oceanvision PTE Ltd and Oceanvision Equipment Services PTE Ltd via its subsidiary Unique Maritime Group (SEA) PTE Ltd. Oceanvision Pte Ltd specialises in manufacturing and supplying imaging and intervention products for sub-ocean, marine, offshore and petrochemical industries for use in hazardous areas and harsh environments.

Who is Going to Work Where This Week

UK – Who goes where this week in shipping and logistics but first new Prime Minister Theresa May is busy forming her first government, and some of the appointments are directly linked to the sector. Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has been moved to become Conservative Party Chairman. Chris Grayling has been named to take over the role. He was the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice from 2012 to 2015 and was Leader of the House of Commons and the Lord President of the Council between 2015 and 2016.

Cartel Activity Yet Again Reaps the Whirlwind from US Court

US – Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL) has become the fourth shipping line to resolve allegations that it violated the Sherman Act by conspiring with competitors to fix prices, allocate customers, and rig bids of international ocean shipping services for RoRo Cargo such as cars and trucks to and from the US and around the world. WWL agreed to plead guilty and pay a breath-taking $98.9 million criminal fine for its involvement in a conspiracy, bringing the total so far collected in this case to over $230 million.

Port of London Plans Have Environmental Considerations as a Priority

UK – For those who have resided on, or close to, the River Thames, there is much to celebrate of late. After decades of misuse and a plunge in fortunes from the busy, working waterway of sixty or so years ago, and pollution levels sometimes reaching horrifying proportions, the future is now much brighter, the river much cleaner, as evidenced by the return and abundance of wildlife and the resurgence of commercial traffic which is increasing year on year. A new deep water container freight port and logistics park has sprung up downstream of the busy Tilbury Docks which in turn replaced the original Royal Docks complex after the heydays of the last century.

Logistics Stakeholders Scale the Heights to Raise Funds

UK – At the beginning of the month, twenty-five teams from shipping companies and others across the UK's maritime and logistics sector took part in the ‘24 Peaks Challenge’, an annual event organised by Seafarers UK which this year saw around 120 participants orienteering across the 24 highest peaks in the Lake District, measuring upwards of 2,400 feet, in just 24 hours. In doing so, they succeeded in raising an incredible £110,000 in support of seafarers in need. Nigel Shattock, Director of Fundraising & Communications at Seafarers UK, said:

Financial Hurdles Successfully Vaulted by Korean Freight Carrier

SOUTH KOREA – WORLDWIDE – Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) has fulfilled its commitments to its restructuring terms following the South Korean container carrier’s acceptance into the 2M Vessel Sharing Agreement (VSA). Starting April 2017, HMM will join the world’s two largest container shipping lines, Maersk Line and the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), subject to regulatory approval and final negotiations, to provide an improved joint service for all three on worldwide trade routes.

Fuel and Emission Savings of 15 to 30% Predicted

UK – FRANCE – As more and more companies endeavour to improve their environmental credentials another logistics group will test the advantages offered by the latest hybrid truck technology to its road haulage operations over the next few weeks. French transport tech developer Adgero has signed an agreement with Fraikin, one of the largest commercial vehicle fleet service companies in the UK, and Southampton-based Alternatech to supply the Adgero UltraBoost hybrid system to boost efficiency through fuel savings, extra power and reduced emissions for rigid lorry applications.

Container Carrier and Classification Groups Sign Up

WORLDWIDE – With the new restrictions on the use of heavy oil as a fuel source for merchant vessels, ferries etc. likely only to become ever more rigid with the efforts to clean up the maritime sectors environmental pollutants, the use of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) becomes more appealing as time passes. Now a diverse mixture of industry players from a container shipping line to vessel classification operations have formed a coalition, known as SEA/LNG, to accelerate the widespread adoption of LNG as a marine fuel.

Rain, not Brexit, Slows Things at Farnborough Air Show

UK – US – RUSSIA – WORLDWIDE – Despite preliminary gloom after the Brexit referendum the naysayers appear to have been proved wrong regarding the effect on at least one event as the aircraft manufacturers from around the world gathered to sign, or release details of, their latest deals. Despite closing early on Monday due to torrential rain the sun was shining for Boeing which, amongst numerous passenger plane orders, announced a commitment from heavy lift air freight and project cargo group Volga-Dnepr for twenty 747-8 Freighter aircraft, four of which have already been delivered.

UN Arbitration Meets Cold Reception from Chinese Authorities

ASIA – It is over four years since we first wrote of the escalating tensions in the South China Sea as no less than five independent states claimed some sort of domain over the regions on and around the Spratly ‘Islands’ and their rich veins of marine life and sub-sea gas and oil deposits. Developments today mean a further deterioration of relations after the Chinese refused to attend the Arbitration Tribunal to face Philippine representatives where the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) found that China ‘understands its rights to extend, in some form, beyond the maritime zones expressly described in the Convention’, the latter being the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Coast Guard Plans Should be Heeded and Put into Practice

US – A timely hurricane preparedness warning from the Captain of the Port (COTP) of New York should also be heeded by other coastal communities in danger from the sudden onset of violent storms which abound at this time of the year. Whilst those at sea aboard all types of vessels tend to keep a weather eye open whatever the season the Captain has recommended a series of actions to ensure the New York and New Jersey maritime communities are prepared in the event of hurricane conditions affecting the area.

Long Awaited Rationalisation by HMRC Finally in Sight

UK – An area where the country has always been regarded as a little ‘quirky’, particularly by our continental cousins, concerns the treatment of alcohol products and the way they are taxed. Nowhere is this more apparent than when it comes to warehousing the finished product and now it seems things may be about to change following initial moves by Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) which has announced new proposals for current excise alcohol law with procedures to be simplified and rationalised.

True Tale of Horrific Accident Concentrates the Minds of Delegates

UK – Anyone involved with logistics knows that trade conferences can be at times, shall we say, a little uninteresting. Not so for the fourteenth annual National Fork Lift Safety Conference which began with an emotional speech from Lisa Ramos, victim of a fork lift truck accident which cost her a leg and who, in a hard hitting talk, illustrated the life-changing consequences of safety lapses in the sector. Lisa was supported by husband and former colleague David, who recounted his own experience of the shocking events of that fateful day and the long-term repercussions for the couple.

Deep Sea Port Gets Another Track Borne Option

UK – Even hard bitten devotees of Britain’s largest container port would be hard put to deny that the road links into Suffolk are not all they could be, despite many attempts to improve them over the years. What is clear however is that opportunities for intermodal freight arriving and leaving the port by rail have steadily increased and now, just seven weeks after the introduction of the 32nd daily train, the 33rd daily rail freight service has been introduced at the Port of Felixstowe operated by GB Railfreight.

Oh What a Tangled Web We Weave...........

US - CHINA – HONG KONG – JAPAN – TAIWAN – INDIA – GERMANY – UK – EUROPE – The spectre of more multi-million dollar claims against a host of international freight forwarding operations has arisen after confirmation that four major US law firms, with offices in Minnesota, California, Washington and New York, are coordinating the class action claims by numerous companies which believe they have been the victims of artificially inflated cargo tariffs and supplementary illegal surcharges.

Driverless Trucks, Pilotless Planes Now Vessels Set to Sail Uncontrolled by Human Hand

WORLDWIDE – Autonomy is the new buzzword of logistics technology buffs and after recent European driverless truck convoys and commonplace control of aircraft without necessary human intervention we have autonomous ships becoming a reality and likely to enter service soon. Now classification society Lloyd’s Register (LR) has set out the ‘how’ of marine autonomous operations in a new ShipRight procedure guidance. The guidance describes autonomy levels (AL) ranging from 'AL 1' through to 'AL 6' denoting a fully autonomous vessel with no access required during a mission.

Truckers to Get Better Deal Thanks to Industry Association

US – The country’s road haulage industry body, the American Trucking Associations (ATA), has expressed its gratitude to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) for launching a pilot programme to allow carriers to have non-preventable crashes stricken from their record. Under the FMCSA’s proposed demonstration, carriers would be able to challenge certain crashes where it is plainly evident the commercial vehicle is not at fault. The FMCSA proposed to include crashes in which an opposing motorist was driving under the influence, driving the wrong direction or struck the truck in the rear or while it was properly parked.

This Year First Woman Merchant Captain Wins the Most Prestigious Award

WORLDWIDE – INDIA – Captain Radhika Menon, Master of the oil products tanker Sampurna Swarajya, is to receive the 2016 International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea for her role in the dramatic rescue of seven fishermen from a sinking fishing boat in tumultuous seas. Captain Menon is the first female captain in the Indian Merchant Navy and will be the first female to receive the Award.

Numerous Appointments and Departures in the Sector

GREECE – A sad start to this week's staff changes in the world of freight and logistics with the death of the founder, co-owner, and Chairman of Mamidoil-Jetoil, Kyriakos Mamidakis who committed suicide at his home on July 3, at the age of 84. The company's line of business include storage, transport and trade of petroleum-based products in Greece and the Balkans, and financial trouble led to the company filing for bankruptcy last month.

Highest Ever Total Recorded for Three Month Period

UK – BELGIUM – Having just last month recorded record levels of cross channel freight using its services between Dover and Calais, P&O Ferries has just announced a 15.5% rise in similar traffic between Zeebrugge and Tilbury in the second quarter of 2016 hitting 58,195 freight units between Zeebrugge and Tilbury from April to June, the highest quarterly total in the nine year history of the route.

European Commission Extracts Promises on Future Cargo Tariffs

EUROPE – WORLDWIDE – The European Commission has accepted commitments by fourteen of the world's largest container shipping companies which have given undertakings aiming to increase price transparency for customers and to reduce the likelihood of coordinating prices in the future. The Commission had expressed concerns that the box freight companies' practice of publishing their future price increase intentions might harm competition and customers by raising prices for their services to and from Europe, in breach of EU antitrust rules. Speaking following the EC's decision, the Commissioner in charge of competition policy, Margrethe Vestager, said:

Losses Likely This Year Despite Alliances and Slow Steaming Cost Reductions

WORLDWIDE – According to the latest Container Forecaster report published by global shipping consultancy Drewry, container freight rates are forecast to rise modestly over the next 18 months from the all-time lows reached recently, though the slight increase will not be sufficient to rescue the industry from substantial losses in 2016. Whilst the box lines continue to amalgamate either through merger, takeover or signing up to alliance agreements all possible steps to reduce costs, slow steaming etc. may have already been taken.

Guards Sent to Protect Merchant Shipping Remain Incarcerated after 1000 Days

UK – INDIA – The Mission to Seafarers and families of the British guards of the anti-piracy vessel the Seaman Guard Ohio, who claim they are currently unlawfully detained and imprisoned in India, have called for a parliamentary lobby and supporter rally to hand in a petition at Downing Street on July 7, which marks the day when the men will have been in detention for 1,000 days. The families are calling for British MPs across all parties to unite to support the men and for the British people to write to their local MPs. Yvonne MacHugh, partner of Billy Irving, issued a statement, via Change.org, saying:

However Local Animosity Will Draw Legal Challenge to Operation Stack Solution

UK – The spectre of Operation Stack still looms large over the County of Kent today after the government announced it will solve the problems of thousands of stationary trucks, such as those on thirty two days last year, which caused the closure of the M20 motorway and brought the county’s roads to a standstill. Although today’s announcement that £250 million is to be spent on a lorry park for up to 3,600 vehicles was greeted warmly by such as the Freight Transport Association (FTA) and the Road Haulage Association (RHA), for those living around the site of the proposed park in the village of Stanford West this was the worst possible news.

Latest IATA Yearbook Now Available

WORLDWIDE - The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced industry performance statistics for 2015 for both passenger and air freight carriage in the course of the year. The statistics show that the global cargo markets managed a 2.3% expansion in freight and mail tonne kilometres (FTKs). This outstripped a capacity increase of 5.8% decreasing freight load factor by 1.6% pp. This information was included in the recently released 60th Edition of the World Air Transport Statistics (WATS), the yearbook of the airline industry’s performance.

2016 Likely to See More Fiercely Fought Contests at Popular Occasion

UK – The most prestigious event for the UK's shipping and forwarding community, the 2016 British International Freight Association (BIFA) Freight Service Awards is now officially open for entries and, after 28 years, the competition is rightly seen as the leading awards scheme recognising the best in the UK freight forwarding industry. The awards will once again be held at the popular London venue, The Brewery in Chiswell Street on January 19, 2017.

US Giant Acquires Logistics Workflow Solutions Provider

US – Diversified technology and manufacturing group Honeywell has signed an agreement to acquire privately held, supply chain and warehouse automation company Intelligrated, previously backed by investment group Permira, for $1.5 billion. The purchase price translates to approximately 12 times Intelligrated’s estimated 2016 EBITDA. The company’s 2016 sales are estimated to be approximately $900 million and carries a portfolio of warehouse automation, order fulfilment and software solutions with an extensive presence in North American e-commerce, retail, food and beverage markets.

New Equipment Reflects the Diversity of West Country Trade

UK – Following an original order dating back 8 years the Bristol Port Company were happy to offer a contract to Cooper Specialised Handling, the heavy lifting division of Cooper Handling Group, for the supply of ten new Konecranes fork lift trucks worth £1.5million and the general purpose, multi-functional units have now been delivered to Britain's most centrally located deep sea port. Bristol offers the full range of shipping, distribution and logistics services and can accommodate a wide range of freight, including bulk energy products, animal feeds and gain, motor vehicles and fresh produce. With more than 120,000 m² of modern warehousing adjacent to berths, the port is ideal for storing high value paper and metal products.

Overhead Gantry Scheme Tailored to Protect Badgers

UK – The freight and logistics industry has often caused immense environmental problems when acting to try and serve the needs of a world with a rapidly expanding population. Whilst some countries, and those international companies working there, have demonstrated a singular lack of conscience when dealing with wildlife, the UK has recently shown sympathy with various flora and fauna disturbed by its development. London Gateway the new, deep water port on the Thames was subject to intensive environmental studies prior to work starting with thousands of creatures moved to alternative homes, and owners DP World have invested heavily in ensuring as little disturbance as possible occurred, whilst still standing accused of its dredging causing potential problems to fish stocks.

UK and North American Pharmaceutical Traffic a Priority for Airline

UK – NORTH AMERICA – For the air freight carriers pharmaceuticals are a commodity which marries perfectly with their systems, generally lightweight yet voluminous and requiring both speed of transport and hygienic, often temperature specific conditions, ‘pharma’ provides a high value, high tariff cargo. Now Virgin Atlantic Cargo has announced it is to increase its investment in temperature-controlled services after more than doubling its share of the pharmaceutical market from the UK to North America since the launch of its Cool Chain product two years ago.

2D Graphene Helps to Power European Airship

EUROPE – CHINA – WORLDWIDE – It must be said that we have in the past sometimes poured scorn on the idea of the airship as a viable option as a regular carrier of air freight, particularly looking historically at the devastating effects the weather can have on the huge craft but, along with drones, (another favourite target of ours) they may indeed have a niche in the logistics market in certain circumstances and regions of the world. Over two years ago we set out the latest case illustrating the development of the Aeroscraft and now a European venture is set to use cutting edge technology to help its own huge heavy-lift airship project get off the ground.

Minimum Wage Rules Mean With Immediate Effect Two Vital Documents Must be Carried in Cabs

FRANCE – EUROPE – The British International Freight Association (BIFA) has released an update to the enforcement of France’s minimum wage with regard to foreign transport vehicles entering the country. As of July 1, all road transport companies carrying out international journeys in and out of France or cabotage journeys within French territory will need to fill out the ‘Attestation relating to the posting of a worker’. The document has to be available in the cabin of foreign trucks that enter France for cabotage or international transport (only transit operations will not be covered), along with a copy of the work contract of the road haulage driver.