ASIA-EUROPE spot rates continued to increase over two straight weeks, rising 13.4 per cent or by US$176 per TEU to $1,491 per TEU last week, according to the Shanghai Containerised Freight Index (SCFI).

But rates were down 17.1 per cent or by $218 per TEU on the Asia-Mediterranean trade to $1,055 per TEU.



Rates on transpacific trades were also under pressure. Asia-US west coast rates fell a further 2.8 per cent or $68 per FEU to $2,408 per FEU and Asia-US east coast rates dipped 1.4 per cent or $49 per FEU to $3,379 per FEU.



The comprehensive SCFI rose 1.7 per cent from previous week to 1,251.2 points.

HAIKOU, the principal port of island province of Hainan, has launched a Haikou-Ho Chi Minh City service, marking the opening of Haikou's first direct container route to southeast Asia, reports Xinhua.

China Shipping Container Line (CSCL) now offers weekly sailings, which will contribute to the exchange and development in trade between the southern Chinese province and southeast Asia.



The business scope of Vietnam and Hainan has been growing, with rising volumes of coconuts, rice, fruit and rubber moving between the two. But until now, there has been no regular container service.

TAIWAN's Wan Hai recently posted its financial results for third quarter, experiencing a net profit of US$42 million, attributed to changing the focus to intra-Asia trade instead of Asia-Europe.

In the first half of the year, the world's 21st largest carrier already restored its profitability by earning $26.4 million in net profit, reported London's Containerisation International. This was attributed partly to lower bunker prices than first quarter's at an average of $100 per tonne.



"We are expecting full-year volumes of three million TEU this year [down from 3.4 million TEU in 2011], but we are able to pick high-margin cargoes due to our smaller capacity," said Wan Hai assistant general manager Gao Guolong.



Looking ahead, Mr Gao expects intra-Asia trade to continue booming though at a slower pace

DUBAI-based DP World Limited announced that it has been chosen by Jawaharlal Nehru PortTrust to build and operate a single berth facility alongside its existing terminal operation at Nhava Sheva, Mumbai.

The new facility is expected to be operational in 2015 and DP World said it will be investing US$200 million to build a container terminal of 330 metres quay length and 17 hectares of yard, which will have an annual handling capacity of 800,000 TEU and a draft of 13.5 metres.



The new quay has been awarded for a 17 year concession period and will be equipped with four rail mounted quay cranes and 12 rubber tyre gantry cranes, according to Dubai's Khaleej Times.



"We thank the Government of India and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust for awarding us this project. India is one of our most important markets and we are committed to supporting its growth over the long term," said DP World CEO Mohammed Sharaf.



"We currently operate five Indian terminals - Chennai, Mundra, Nhava Sheva, Visakhapatnam, Cochin - and our Asia Pacific and Indian subcontinent region was the main driver of our volume growth in the first six months of 2012, reporting a 12.1 per cent increase in volume to 13.3 million TEU," said Mr Sharaf.



Said DP World regional chief Anil Singh: "Timely capacity on the west coast of India is critical to our country's economic growth. JNPT is India's largest trade gateway and additional port capacity will ease congestion concerns."

THE Port of Rotterdam's container throughput in the first nine months of the year slipped 1.1 per cent to 8.9 million TEU year on year, but mostly due to a fall in empties.

"For example, the traditional peak in supply was lower this autumn. The lower supply dampens feeder transport, while short-sea grew significantly thanks to growth of volume to and from the Mediterranean among other things," the port said.



But overall container tonnage during the nine-month period increased by 1.7 per cent to 94.9 million tonnes with outgoing cargo accounting for 48.7 million tonnes, representing an increase of five per cent over the same period last year.



Rotterdam's cargo throughput increased by 1.7 per cent to 333 million tonnes in the nine-month period due to the seven per cent growth in exports.



"Throughput in the port enjoyed a good third quarter mainly due to the oil sector. Growth weakened during the third quarter due to declining world trade and while the corresponding quarter of 2011 was relatively strong. Across the entire year, we still expect a small growth of one per cent," said Rotterdam authority CEO Hans Smits.



General cargo volume declined 24 per cent to 4.7 million tonnes. Agribulk (grains, seeds, feed ingredients) decreased 15 per cent to six million tonnes.



"Imports are disappointing due to bad harvests and high prices. The prospects for imports for the coming months, the start of the new harvest year, are more positive," the port said.



The supply of crude oil increased six per cent and is back to its "normal" level of on average 25 million tonnes per quarter. There were no major maintenance breaks this year. Because production capacity was closed elsewhere in Europe, the production level of the refineries in Rotterdam was high.



Throughput of mineral oil products (petrol, diesel, kerosene, fuel oil) increased 13 per cent to 61 million tonnes. Throughput of fuel oil increased strongly due to ore Russian export and greater trading volume with Asia because of favourable price differences.

UK P&I Club, a shipping protection and indemnity insurance mutual, has announced a general increase in 2013 renewal fees of 7.5 per cent in 2013 as agreed at its annual board meeting.

The premium rating increase is in addition to any increase in the cost of the international group reinsurance premium for 2013 for the mutual members, which will be determined in the New Year, a company statement said.



It said that in recognition of the challenges faced by its members and the Club's strong capital position, the board has separately declared a Mutual Premium Discount of 2.5 per cent on the total mutual call for the 2011 policy year. The discount will amount to a 10 per cent deduction for all mutual members for the final instalment of the 2011 call due in December this year.



"In an environment of increasing claims costs despite a shipping recession, the Club needs to keep premiums moving forward in line with the actual claims experience. The general increase is a step towards addressing underlying claims inflation, as well as the anticipated future rebound in claims frequency from what have been record low levels," the release said.



Dino Caroussis, chairman of the UK P&I Club said: "The decision to make a 7.5 per cent general increase reflects the board's determination to keep the Club's underwriting in balance."

CONSTRUCTION of a new cross-border bridge spanning from China's Huichun to North Korea's Wonjong is expected to start in early 2013.

The new bridge will be mainly used for cargo, while the old one for passenger, according to Xinhua's report.



The Huichun-Wonjong bridge was first built in 1937 and is coming to the limit of its capacity though having been repaired for several times. It is undertaking over 600 tonnes' cargo and over 3,000 person's passenger traffic daily. More than 600 vehicles pass the bridge every day. As truck size is growing, the need for a new bridge also becomes increasingly pressing.

THE CNY12.9 billion (US$2.05 billion) railway linking western China's Golmud and northern Dunhuang will start construction soon, reports Xinhua.

The railway main line will run 506 kilometres and take five years to build to bear trains carrying 60 million tonnes per year moving 160 kilometres per hour.



Once complete, it will also link the Qinghai-Tibet Railway and Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway together, forming Northwest China's first ring shape closed railway network with Lanqing Railway, Lanxin Railway and Qingzang Railway, which will help improve railway network layout in western China, strengthen the economic and cultural exchange and cooperation between the provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, Xinjiang and Tibet, and boost the resource development of Qaidam Basin (in Qinghai province).

KERRY Asia Road Transport (KART) has launched a new twice-weekly trucking service connecting Shenzhen and Hanoi, through its ASEAN-China road network.

The less-than-truckload (LTL) service will initially connect industrial cities in southern China to northern Vietnam, providing shippers and 3PLs with a fixed-day dedicated service. The service may be expanded to other city pairs in the future, the company said.



The new service will depart Shenzhen for Hanoi on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Hanoi to Shenzhen on Wednesdays and Fridays. KART has also extended its door-to-door connectivity in China and Vietnam through its domestic courier services, ensuring expedited delivery throughout both countries.



"It is very exciting that there are new industrial and commercial centres developing along the road network connecting ASEAN and China and we are forecasting significant growth and additional city-to-city services in the future," said Alex Ng, general manager of KART.



KART is road transportation service that connects Shanghai, Shenzhen, Kunming in China to Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia and Singapore.



"There is demand from shippers for a service that matches airfreight for transit time and is more cost effective. By road we can deliver to the heart of Hanoi and Shenzhen which is much quicker than by ocean."



"Shippers want schedule integrity and the city-to-city direct service means we are able to manage our customers' supply chains more effectively, improving efficiency, reducing inventory and delivering just-in-time," added Mr Ng in a release.



As SGS TAPA-TSR certified, KART's containers are equipped with security features such as GPS tracking and on-board CCTV.

CHINA's Cosco Pacific's Athens-area Piraeus Container Terminal (PCT) handled 1.6 million TEU in the year to end-September, 200,000 TEU, surpassing the 1.4 million TEU annual target and representing a 96 per cent year-on-year increase.

According to Cosco Pacific statistics, PCT handled 171,000 TEU in September alone, which was 77.4 per cent more than in the same month in 2011. PCT officials estimate that by the end of December, about 2.1 million TEU will have passed through Dock II, slightly more than the original target of two million TEU for the whole year, the Athens-based Ekathimerini.com reported.



The officials stressed that Piraeus remains the most dynamic container terminal for the Chinese company in Europe and the Mediterranean, as in the first nine months of 2012, out of the terminals that Cosco controls, Piraeus registered an annual increase of 96 per cent, while Naples posted a 19.1 per cent rise, Antwerp an 11.6 per cent decline, and Suez a 9.5 per cent drop in container handling.



"It is obvious that Cosco is directing more and more of its cargo toward Piraeus, and Dock II in particular, which it controls 100 percent, illustrating how significant the port of Piraeus is for its strategic plans," an unnamed source from the International Maritime Union (IMU) said.



The same source added that: "The reduction of bureaucracy, the competitive rates, the high productivity, as well as the certainty you feel when bringing cargo to Dock II, have contributed in our great majority choosing the Chinese, as we know we will not come up against any unforeseeable circumstances that will cause problems in the proper handling of containers."



Through its parent company Cosco, PCT has planned significant investments for the further modernisation of Dock II, as well as the faster completion of construction work for Dock III, so that once both docks start operating simultaneously the number of boxes handled could reach 3.7 million TEU per year.



The schedule is for Dock III to become fully operational by 2015 and a statement from Piraeus Port Authority (OLP) recently confirmed that "the projects are being carried out within the contractual dates".



In line with the expansion and improvement of services offered at PCT, it has begun building ultramodern logistics facilities covering an area of 7,000 square metres, including a facility measuring 5,200 square metres for the storage of dry-cargo loads. There will also be another facility measuring 620 square metres, which will be used for the storage of cargo requiring deep-freeze or refrigeration.

MARSEILLE Fos is seeking to reclaim its role as the gateway to southern Europe, facilitating trade with the Far East and Africa and saving shipowners four to five days at sea in comparison with its competitors in the north.

With peaceful working relations restored since the implementation of the May 2011 reform, the Marseille Fos port community is ready to win back its customers and attract new traffic, reports Mumbai's LogisticsWeek.



The throughput of one million TEU should be exceeded between now and the end of the year, with a traffic forecast of 1.07 million TEU, surpassing the historic record achieved in 2007 of slightly over one million TEU.



Shipowners are backing the port once again with the addition of six new direct services from Algeria, Libya, South and East Africa, Turkey, Israel and the Caribbean. The port has also boasts of five services to Asia, eastern Mediterranean, Canaries and South America Atlantic, Algeria and the Caribbean. Nine services have increased their service capacity between 20 to 50 per cent.



With its quadrimodal transport network offering links by river, rail, road and pipeline, the port is recognised as being a strategic hub by the European Commission, which will be integrated into the future TransEuropean Transport Network (RTE-T).



Marseille Fos also boasts of a high logistical capacities with its spacious layout and there are plans to build a multimodal logistics centre scheduled for commissioning during 2013.



The port also has river and rail links to serve the Medlink ports multimodal platforms along the Rhone and the Saone. A high speed rail link will also connect Luxemburg to the GPMM soon. Eighty per cent of the goods at Marseille Fos are released within two days. With increased efficiency of crane drivers, up to 28 containers can be loaded and unloaded per gantry crane each hour in Fos and 24 compared to 14 previously.

US BROKERS and forwarders have been warned that reefer units must be to be pre-tested and registered with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) before they move within the state from January for face US$1,000 fines.

In a newsletter issued by the British International Freight Association (BIFA), trucking companies who operate reefer containers in California should already be aware of the new law.



Any company that arranges, hires, contracts for, or dispatches reefer-equipped trucks, tractor-trailers, shipping containers, or railcars for the transport of perishable goods on California highways or railways, must verify that the carrier is using a CARB-compliant container. The requirement applies to brokers and forwarders irrespective of where their actual business is located.



The BIFA newsletter explained that while brokers and forwarders are not required to physically inspect the container, they must verify CARB compliance. CARB suggests that carriers provide their ARBER certification page to show that the dispatched unit is 100 per cent compliant.



"CARB recommends that brokers and forwarders provide notice to their carrier base that only those listed in the database will be considered when arranging freight that travels in California," the newsletter added.



CARB has also advised freight brokers to include language in contracts and load boards that any moves within California must use only CARB-compliant reefer equipment. In addition, the broker must provide contact information to any hired driver, so they may be reached if a truck is stopped for CARB-related enforcement.



CARB has proven to an aggressive environmental regulator. In June, 2011, the agency increased from 24 to 40 nautical miles, the zone in which ships must use costly low-sulphur fuel.



In October 2010, CARB was found to have exaggerated diesel pollution levels 340 per cent, allegedly due to miscalculation, and knowingly passed a tough clean-air rules based on the false data, revealed the San Francisco Chronicle.



CARB chairwoman Mary Nichols admitted she knew about the false data before the board voted on stringent new regulations and has apologised for "not sharing", the Chronicle reported.

THE Panama Canal Authority has awarded a contract to build a US$366 million bridge on the Atlantic side of the Canal to Vinci Construction Grands Projets of France.

The bridge design is inspired on similar infrastructure work in countries such as Spain, Korea, France, China and Japan. The double-plane, twin pylon, cable-stayed bridge will feature two lanes of traffic in each direction. Its length will be 4.6 kilometres and it will stand 75 metres above sea level. The bridge will be built with reinforced concrete.



The bridge will be located three kilometres north of the Gatun Locks and the new postpanamax locks on the Atlantic side province of Colon. Once completed, it will benefit neighbouring communities to cross the canal.



The tender beat rival bids from the Odebrecht-Hyundai Joint Venture (Brazil-Korea) and Acciona Infraestructuras-Tradeco (Spain-Mexico) because the French firm offered the lowest price, and $63 million less than the bid from Odebrecht-Hyundai.



All documentation was analysed by an expert evaluating committee, who reviewed technical aspects and previous experience, as well as the financial capacity of each company or group, a statement from canal authority said.

TWO of China's state-owned airlines, Air China and China Eastern Airlines, posted double-digit profit declines year on year on the back of slower demand for air travel amid the global economic downturn.

The mainland's flag carrier Air China recorded a decrease of 16.5 per cent in net profit to CNY3.17 billion (US$507 million) in the third quarter, while Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines posted a third quarter net profit fall of 20.4 per cent year on year to CNY2.63 billion due to recent weak cargo traffic.



Air China's revenue rose slightly to CNY28.7 billion in the third quarter compared to CNY28.1 billion in the same period last year. Net profit for the first nine months of this year nearly halved to CNY4.24 billion from CNY7.86 billion, and during the period, revenue rose four per cent to CNY76.3 billion. The Beijing-based carrier hopes to issue bonds pay for 56 new aircraft costing CNY26 billion.



China Eastern's revenue rose 2.8 per cent to CNY25.13 billion in the quarter and 3.6 per cent to CNY65.53 billion in the nine months. Net profit in the first nine months of this year fell 37 per cent to CNY3.63 billion. The Shanghai-based carrier is planning to issue shares to its parent in return for a capital injection of about CNY2 billion.

THE world's biggest package-delivery company, United Parcel Service (UPS), has been granted an extension from the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) to the last day of February next year to complete the proposed acquisition of TNT Express.

"Pursuant to the AFM exemption, the offer period is further extended until one week after clearances from the European Commission and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce have been obtained, but under no circumstances later than 28 February 2013," said a TNT statement.



The acquisition was scheduled to be completed in the last quarter of the year, with the relevant offer period closing November 9. But UPS announced earlier that the European Commission had provided a Statement of Objection to the two companies concerning the competitive impact on such proposal.

THE Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) says statistics show that after six consecutive months of cargo declines in the Asia-Pacific, regional volumes were largely flat in September, only falling 0.4 per cent year on year.

The statistics further revealed that Asia-Pacific cargo carriers matched capacity and demand in September fairly well; they offered 4.3 per cent less freight space than in September 2011.



AAPA director general Andrew Herdman said he's impressed by these results: "For air cargo markets, after experiencing a 3.9 per cent year-on-year volume decline for the first nine months of the year, September was a relatively good month, only marginally below last year's figure."



Also strong in September was Asia-Pacific carriers' freight load factors, which rose 2.6 per cent, year on year, to 66.6 per cent. This figure is relatively consistent with regional airlines' performance from a nine-month standpoint; Asia-Pacific cargo carriers' load factors stalled 0.5 per cent, year over year, in the first nine months of 2012, according to AAPA data quoted by Atlanta area Air Cargo World.



Despite stalled cargo traffic, passenger volumes have been steady in the Asia-Pacific lately. Traffic surged four per cent, year over year, in September, with Asia-Pacific airlines carrying 16.7 million passengers. Despite this, this is a marked decrease from the 18.5 million passengers Asia-Pacific carriers carried in August.



Such declines speak to the "challenging" operating environment affecting Asia-Pacific carriers, Mr Herdman explained. "Margins have been under pressure from stubbornly high oil prices, and there is continuing uncertainty about the global economic outlook, despite the fact that Asian economies are still maintaining respectable growth rates," he added.

AIR France-KLM posted a 21-fold increase in third quarter year-on-year net profit to EUR306 million (US$397 million), drawn on revenues of EUR7.2 billion.

But cargo flow deteriorated over the quarter, impacted by the economic slowdown and the situation of overcapacity in the industry. Traffic fell by 6.6 per cent for capacity, down by 3.7 per cent.



Unit revenue per available tonne kilometre rose 0.7 per cent on the back of a positive currency effect of 6.7 per cent. Cargo revenues stood at EUR 758 million (minus 1.9 per cent) while the operating result was minus EUR 67 million.



Quarterly results were termed "satisfactory" with improved profit on the back of increase passenger traffic and favourable exchange rates which helped offset a decline in the airline's cargo business.



A limited capacity increase in the passenger industry led to an improvement in unit revenues in the third quarter, which was additionally helped by a positive foreign exchange effect due to the depreciation of the euro in comparison to other currencies.



Air France's cost reduction plan, Transform 2015, has started to have a "significant impact on costs", according to an airline statement. Operating costs totalled EUR6.68 billion, up 4.5 per cent (+ 0.7 per cent ex-fuel). On a comparable currency basis they fell 1.1 per cent, reflecting the strict cost control measures implemented in the context of Transform 2015.



The fuel bill increased by 14.8 per cent, or EUR254 million, to EUR 1.97 billion under the effect of a decline in volume of two per cent, a negative currency effect of 15 per cent and a rise in the fuel price after hedging of two per cent.



Staff costs (excluding temporary staff) amounted to EUR1.88 billion. The measures taken in the context of Transform 2015 took effect, limiting the rise to 1.2 per cent in spite of an additional pension charge at KLM of EUR18 million.

A US$1.75 MILLION in consumer electronics was stolen from an airport cargo facility Sao Paulo, prompting global security service FreightWatch International to warn shippers, manufacturers and carriers to be extra-vigilant ahead of the holiday season when cargo thieves strike.

The company said a group of five armed men gained entry into the TAM Cargo warehouse in the Viracopos International Airport in Sao Paulo after subduing and locking up eight security guards in a room.



Brazil has recorded several multi-million dollar losses this year due to "warehouse invasions", according to FreightWatch, which warned that the beginning of the holiday shipping season has marked a rise in cargo theft.



"Concentrated efforts by cargo gangs targeting specific commodities that are popular during the holiday season, such as consumer electronics, consumer care goods and others, are already being felt.



"The increased supply chain volume heightens the value at risk across all points in the supply chain. Warehouse robberies typically are the largest value incidents due to the high volume of product stored in single location," the company said.