Cheniere Energy Partners said it signed a liquefied natural gas sale and purchase agreement with Total Gas & Power North America in which Total agreed to buy 91,250,000 MMBTU of LNG annually plus 13,500,000 MMBTU of seasonal LNG volumes.
U.S. import volume in November, measured in TEUs (twenty-foot-containers), was down 12.8% from October and another 15.2% from November of last year, Zepol Corp. said. The total number of TEUs imported for the month was 1,245,889, the lowest amount for a November since 2003. Hurricane Sandy on the east coast and labor strikes on the west certainly played a large factor in the import slump, it said. Imports from Asia dropped significantly in November. China was 18.2% lower than October, and South Korea was down 21.1%. Europe actually increased in vessel exports to the U.S. by 4.5% from October. The Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach both had major decreases in TEUs from October, partly due to labor strikes, Zepol said. The port of Newark and New York was up from October by 1.9%, the only port in the top 10 to see a notable increase for the month, it said. Each of the top 20 ocean carriers had large decreases, Zepol said.
DHL Global Forwarding said it's expanding its multi-modal product combining ocean freight and air freight services to eight new destinations in Africa. It expanded "DHL SEAIR" to Abidjan (Ivory Coast), Brazzaville (Republic of the Congo), Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Dakar (Senegal), Luanda (Angola), Douala (Cameroon), Malabo (Equatorial Guinea), and Pointe Noire (Republic of the Congo). African shipments will be forwarded primarily through Dubai and then transferred into pre-booked air cargo space to be flown into Africa, stabilizing the supply chains and making DHL SEAIR a viable alternative during peak season congestion, DHL said. DHL SEAIR also uses a single combined transport document.
The global air cargo security and screening systems market will reach $486.5 million in 2013, as airports and air freight companies acquire new screening systems and update existing security systems in order to meet the requirements set by relevant government authorities, said a new report by Visiongain. It said the growth is due in large part due to improvements in screening technologies which allow for improved efficiency, the adoption of comprehensive regulations for air cargo security and rising demand by businesses for cargo to be transported by air.
Third-party logistics provider Transportation Insight said it acquired CPA International, a Connecticut-based logistics company. CPA will operate as a new division of Transportation Insight, and CPA head executive Bill Titone will be president of the division. Terms weren't disclosed.
APL Logistics bought customs brokerage and trade compliance firm Carmichael International Service for an undisclosed amount, the companies said Nov. 20. Los Angeles-based Carmichael employs about 200 people in 10 U.S. metropolitan markets. The transaction allows APL Logistics to bring the customs services in-house, the companies said. APL Logistics "has the processes and systems in place to help customers comply with U.S. Customs and Border Protection's programs at origins,” said Tony Zasimovich, APL Logistics’ Vice President of International Logistics Services. “Add to that Carmichael’s Customs brokerage and trade consulting capabilities in the U.S., and we will be well-positioned to coordinate the flow of goods and information from the factory floor at an international origin to the store-door in the U.S.” Carmichael offers traditional customs brokerage, trade compliance, consulting, and transportation services. It operates in the ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, New York/New Jersey, Chicago, San Francisco/Oakland, Seattle/Tacoma, Miami, Boston, Atlanta, Savannah and Memphis.
The Border Trade Alliance (BTA) would like to see a Senate-approved commissioner of CBP now that the Presidential and Congressional elections have been decided, said BTA President Nelson Balido in a blog post. The blog post, titled "A Post-Election To-Do List for the Administration and Congress on the Border," also pointed to sequestration as an area of concern for BTA.
Negotiations between UPS and the Teamsters are focused on working conditions, work rules, harassment and safety, the Teamsters union said, saying the latest round of UPS negotiations wrapped up this week. After these issues are addressed, negotiations will then turn to economic issues including pensions, health care and wages, the union said. The UPS contract is the largest collective bargaining agreement in the country, the union said: The UPS and UPS Freight contracts cover about 250,000 Teamsters. The current five-year agreements expire July 31, 2013. Negotiations are to resume Jan. 7 in Washington, D.C.
Overseas Shipholding Group, one of the world's largest publicly traded tanker companies, filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions Nov. 14 for itself and certain operating subsidiaries in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, it said. It said it intends to use the Chapter 11 process to significantly reduce its debt profile, reorganize other financial obligations and "create a strong financial foundation for the Company's future." Some subsidiaries, including those that manage the company's facilities in Manila, Singapore, Greece, London and Newcastle, did not file for reorganization. OSG said it plans to continue to serve customers without interruption while it reorganizes its debt, and has adequate cash to allow the company to continue operating as usual.
The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America will hold its annual conference at the Westin Mission Hills Resort in Rancho Mirage, Calif. April 7-10.