DANISH Maersk Line, the world's largest carrier, has announced it will withdraw the AE5 service for Asia-Europe trade permanently and stop the AE9 loop until early December.

"We do not expect volume growth on the Asia-Europe trades this year so there is no need for the number of ships sailing," said Maersk Line trade and marketing chief Vincent Clerc.



If the outlook of the Asia-Europe trade remains weak, Maersk will continue to cut capacity and apply slow-steaming to more services, said the Maersk statement.



Deploying eight 6,500-TEU vessels, Maersk's AE5 service will offer its last sailing departing Tanjung Pelepas on November 8.



Besides, the AE9 string, sailing with eleven 8,000-TEU vessels, will be suspended with immediate effect until early December 2012.



Said Mr Clerc : "Further to the nine per cent capacity reductions we made earlier this year, this brings the total capacity reduction in 2012 on Maersk Line's Asia-Europe network to 21 per cent.



"We expect a three per cent slump on the Asia-Europe container trades for 2012 and are taking steps to adjust to this without reducing our market position," Mr Clerc said.



Maersk said the move will not affect the normal operation of its Daily Maersk and Daily Maersk Promise services.



The carrier claimed a recent survey revealed that 42 per cent of Daily Maersk customers had saved money on logistics because of "absolute reliability" and prompt transportation time for product delivery.

FREIGHT rates across all major trade lanes fell last week, but it was the Asia-Mediterranean trade that was hit the hardest, plunging 6.2 per cent to US$1,130 per TEU, according to the Shanghai Containerised Freight Index (SCFI).

The Asia-Europe trade, which has suffered the most significant declines in recent memory, saw a 3.9 per cent slip in rates to $1,113 per TEU for the week.



Rates from Asia to the US west coast, which had actually held up over the past few weeks, took a significant tumble, dropping 5.1 per cent to $2,592 per FEU.



Asia-US east coast rates continued their downward spiral, slipping 3.8 per cent to $3,539 per FEU.



Across all trades covered by the index, the SCFI contracted 3.6 per cent to 1,202.96 points.

TAIWAN's Yang Ming, the world's 16th largest carrier, has extended its transpacific AWE3 service to Colon, Mexico, effective October 21 by vessel YM Singapore from Hong Kong.

With nine 4,250-TEU ships deployed on this loop, its new rotation includes: Hong Kong, Shenzhen-Yantian, Kaohsiung, Shanghai, Busan, Manzanillo, Colon, Savannah, Charleston, Wilmington and back to Hong Kong.

LOGWIN, a provider of air and ocean freight and logistics services, has opened a new office in the fast-growing industrial city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, astride the middle reaches of the Yangtze.

The office will bring the company's network to 28 offices in China. Wuhan, with its population of 10 million, is the location of the third office Logwin has opened in China this year.



"Our office will provide us with a platform to engage new customers from a broad spectrum of industries," said Henk Westerhoek, country director for Central and Northern China.



The company said it wants to expand in order to create as many opportunities as possible across transportation, warehousing, logistics services and freight forwarding for its customers in China.



In Wuhan, it will target the automotive, machinery and equipment, retail and consumer goods. In order to meet demand in the growing fashion and lifestyle sector, the company said it launched its "red carpet" logistics product in Asia last year. In China, it opened its dedicated "red carpet" logistics warehouse in Beijing to meet increasing demand for warehousing and transport services for premium European and US fashion and lifestyle products.



Logwin will also focus on growing demand in Wuhan's maritime sector with its Ship Parts Logistics for supplying ships with components and replacement parts.

BENGBU, a river port city in the eastern province Anhui, is building a new terminal at the Wuyuan port area, which will be the first terminal on the north bank of the Huaihe River, a river to the north of Yangtze.

The terminal cost CNY264 million (US$42 million) to build and covers a quay length of 674 metres, Xinhua reports. It is located close to the Bengbu Industrial Park and is the one of the major projects the city plans to launch.



The terminal will have eight berths and a warehousing area of 41.47 hectares. After completion, it will be able to handle up to five million tonnes of freight per year.

XINJIANG has exported 71 per cent more vehicles in the first eight months of 2012 to a total of 16,106 automobiles year on year, representing a 70 per cent increase in value to US$650 million over the same period, Xinhua reports.

Xinjiang's automotive output has been rising since March and reached a peak in July before falling 19.1 per cent month to month to 2,661 vehicles in August, yet still representing a 105.9 per cent year on year increase. Kazakhstan is the largest market for Xinjiang's automotive sector, followed by Russia. Trucks are the most exported vehicle.



But in the same period, Xinjiang's grain exports (including cereal, beans and potatoes) plunged 53.4 per cent to 7,199 tonnes, while its value declined 55.8 per cent to $4.71 million.



Petty border trade is the main method of Xinjiang's grain trade. Grain exported came to $4.38 million in dollar volume, taking up 93 per cent of Xinjiang's grain exports, mostly going to Mongolia.



In this period, Xinjiang's exim trade with Pakistan fell 42.6 per cent to $94.72 million in value. Exports to Pakistan dropped 42.8 per cent to $94.13 million while imports from Pakistan increased 27.9 per cent to $590,000.

HUICHUN, a city on Dooman River at the border convergence of China, North Korea and Russia, is planning to expand its logistics service network to become a distribution hub in northeast China for transshipments from Korea, Japan, Russia and the west coast of US, Xinhua reports.

The economic and trade ties between countries in the Dooman River basin is growing closer recently. Huichun plans to seize the opportunity to raise its cargo handling volume to over five million tonnes by 2015.



Huichun will build bonded logistics parks, border petty trade centres and other specialised logistics facilities to widen its logistics service coverage. Besides, the city also plans to develop a logistics information sharing platform and expects to attract leading players in the industry to set up branches in the city.



Governor of Huichun Wang Jingyou said the city's transportation infrastructure has continued to improve in recent years and this has given the city the foundation of becoming a logistics hub.

DAMCO, the standalone logistics arm of the AP Moller-Maersk Group, will acquire Melbourne-based PacNet, a forwarder in China and Australia with 382 staff and annual revenues of US$180 million.

Damco said in a statement that it has been looking to strengthen its overall presence in Australia in the segments where PacNet has been active for some time. By combining forces with PacNet, Damco said it "significantly enhances its platform in the north Asia and Asia Pacific regions" and it will "gain market leadership positions in retail and lifestyle sectors in Australia and further strengthen its position in air freight from China to Australia".



Said Damco CEO Rolf Habben-Jansen: "I am happy to be joining forces with PacNet, which is another good step forward to further build our global business. PacNet has a high reputation for service in Australia, in the apparel, footwear and retail sectors.



"We are combining two businesses with very aligned strategies, complementary skills, customer bases and geographic strengths, and we have already seen that our cultures match very well, which is an excellent basis to improve our ability to serve our joint existing and future customers even better," Mr Habben-Jansen said.

THE Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's Hong Kong Business Development Office has relocated in October to a new premise in Kwun Tong, Kowloon.

The new address is: B22 3/F Manning Industrial Building, 116-118 How Ming Street; tel: 852 28573006; email: panynjhk@gmail.com



Deputy director for the Hong Kong, Mainland China and Taiwan business activities based at the HK office is Salina Wong.



The port authority operates: John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International, LaGuardia, Stewart International and Teterboro airports; AirTrain JFK and AirTrain Newark; Port Newark; the Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal; the Howland Hook Marine Terminal on Staten Island; the Brooklyn Piers/Red Hook Container Terminal; and the Port Authority-Port Jersey Marine Terminal.

THE proposed high-speed rail link (HS2) from London to Midlands due for completion in 2026 with a possible extension to Manchester and Leeds by 2033, will be fast-tracked despite opposition from constituencies on the line.

British Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has rejected claims that problems with the tender process for a separate West Coast Main Line has no bearing on the project that has the" determined" support of Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne, the finance minister.



The HS2 is a project with a "long-term" view which will not be put on ice despite speculation that it was "effectively dead".



Mr McLoughlin defied critics on a route considered to create little time savings for a project of its size. "Whichever route we're going to put it on we're going to upset people," he said, according to London's Independent.



He admitted to completion within five years is unlikely but hopes legislation can be brought forward to get HS2 through Parliament before the next election in 2015.



He added that cross-party consensus is important. "Look at what we achieved with the Olympics - we had cross-party support for that - yes it was expensive but God didn't it show Britain off well."

INTERNATIONAL air freight volume was 1.3 per cent lower in August for the second consecutive month against a slight increase in capacity of 0.7 per cent, said the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Asia-Pacific recorded its sixth consecutive month of decline with capacity off 3.7 per cent year on year and its freight tonne kilometres (FTK) down 6.3 per cent.



Africa cargo volume was up by 11.1 per cent and capacity grew 7.9 per cent while the Middle East continued to show robust figures in August with its international air cargo freight tonne kilometres up 11.4 per cent on a 10.5 per cent increase in capacity.



North America volume was up by 1.8 per cent while its capacity dropped 2.1 per cent continuing a three-month decline since June.



European declines continued as did Latin America with volumes down 1.1 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively. Europe saw a slight capacity increase of 1.4 per cent while Latin America surged to 13.1 per cent.



According to IATA, Europe is the only region forecast to show loss for 2012, finding itself in the red by as much as US$1.2 billion.



Now more than ever is the need for the delivery of a Single European Sky (SES), that would cut the cost of European air navigation in half by 2020, bringing today's average cost per flight of EUR715 (US$926) to EUR400, said the IATA director-general and CEO Tony Tyler.



"The SES is not a panacea for the problems of Europe's beleaguered airlines. But solving this EUR5 billion waste would go a long way to improving the sector's prospects and boost the competitiveness of doing business in Europe," said Mr Tyler.



The push by the European Commission's vice-president Siim Kallas to get the SES on track is critical to Europe's economy, which relies on aviation for tourism as it provides nearly EUR500 billion of its GDP and saves 16 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually.



Mr Tyler expressed disappointment over the poor performance of the biggest aviation states of France, Germany and the UK towards cost-efficiency in the first review and proposes tougher targets from now on. "And to make them stick, there must be clear and painful penalties if states do not meet them," he said.



In the area of establishing Functional Airspace Blocks (FABs) it is vital that these deliver measurable efficiencies alongside a cost-benefit for the technology to support the SES, which will require large investments running into billions of euros.

VOLGA-DNEPR Group has commenced construction of a new hangar at Sharjah Airport in the United Arab Emirates that will soon be providing MRO services for freighter and passenger aircraft.

The hangar is scheduled to be fully operational by January 2013 and will be operated by Volga-Dnepr Technics. It will offer maintenance and repair services to third parties for both Russian and western-built aircraft.



The group's Gulf branch was established in Sharjah in 1996 and its core activities include maintenance and repair services as well as the supply of components and consumables and the sale of aeronautic products and petroleum, oils, lubricants (POL) applicable to a wide range of aircraft. The new hanger facility will increase its capability still further.



The 20,000-square-metre hangar is in a future heart of the multi-functional MRO facility and will also be equipped with a range of facilities for additional services, including repair workshops such as wheels and brakes, batteries, structure repairs, extensive storage facilities and offices.



"We will be offering a range of services to cargo operators," said Victor Sherin. "The Sharjah Airport Free Zone is well known as a vast cargo centre for the whole Middle East region, and this investment will allow flight operators to effectively solve any maintenance-related issues that arise during the operations, from line maintenance to heavy checks."



The hangar has capacity to maintain up to six narrow body aircraft or two 747s at the same time. A wide spectrum of types such as Boeing 737-Classic, 737-NG, 747-200/300/400, AN-124, AN-74 and IL-76 are expected to be among the users.

EUROPE's anti-trust regulator has expressed concern at the US$6.85 billion take over of Dutch parcel firm TNT Express by UPS for fear it will corner the market.

The European Commission (EC) has raised objections to the deal because of increased concentration in an already concentrated market. However, the EC Commissioner Joaquin Alumnia emphasised the usefulness of consolidation to promote efficiency and create strength in two different countries with no overlap.



"Nothing can boost a sustainable growth pattern more than turning the single market into a reality for innovative entrepreneurs, efficient businesses, and 500 million consumers," said Mr Almunia, according to the UK's Transport Intelligence.



Mr Alumnia cited the example of a problematic deal which could see four competitors in the national mobile phone market in Austria down to three with a possible US$1.6 billion merger between Hutchison's Austrian telecoms and Orange Austria.



The question is whether the bid from the largest parcel courier of UPS with TNT Express would take up too much of the pan-European network where it too will reduce from four down to three firms.



Outside of the force of these companies on an international scale, Mr Alumnia's focus is on the combined force of UPS/TNT on international routes within Europe.

LUXEMBOURG's Cargolux is considering a further take-over by its minority stake holder Qatar Airways which currently holds 35 per cent, with the Grand Duchy holding the remaining 65 per cent.

The cargo airline's union, OGBL, has raised concerns over the deal which leaked to the press as a EUR750 million (US$969 million) cash injection over a three to four-year period.



The union has demanded the government retain its majority share which in the worst-case scenario might involve Qatar Airways relocating its maintenance activities and threatening 450 jobs, said union spokesman Hubert Hollerich.



In a report with Lloyd's Loading List.com, Mr Hollerich questioned the co-incidence of the recent opening of a large hangar facility in Doha as part of a cost-cutting focus proposed by its interim CEO Richard Forson.



Mr Forson's review has suggested flight crew outsourcing and re-registering of the Cargolux craft in Qatar.



Cargolux needs to address revenue losses it was dealt in the first three months of 2012, said its chairman Albert Wildgen.



Mr Hollerich said: "While nothing has been decided, it is very worrying that those at the top at Cargolux are thinking in this direction."