The U.S. Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel postponed its annual conference in New York that was scheduled for Nov. 14. The conference is now scheduled for Jan. 9 in the same location, Bridgewaters South Street Seaport.
SeaCube Container Leasing said third quarter adjusted net income increased 15% year-over-year to $12.8 million, and revenue grew 9% to $49.5 million. Average utilization was 97.9% for the third quarter, and it committed to buy about $318.8 million in equipment for delivery through January 2013.
Textainer Group Holdings said net income for the third quarter ended Sept. 30 grew 10.6% to $50.7 million, and revenue was up 11.7% to $122.3 million. It said utilization of its containers continued at "very high levels," averaging 97.9% during the third quarter, and it invested a record of more than $1 billion in new and used containers year to date, including more than $155 million of purchases from its managed fleet in the third quarter.
Expeditors International of Washington had net earnings of $88.5 million for the third quarter of 2012, down from $106.6 million a year ago. Net revenue decreased 6% to $465.1 million. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, net earnings were $249.2 million, compared to $292.8 million for the same period in 2011, and net revenue for the nine months decreased to $1.37 billion from $1.42 billion. Chairman Peter Rose said: “During our 30+ year operating history, we have never had the kinds of convergence of industry challenges, in both our customers and service providers' industries, than we have experienced this year. Financially struggling air and ocean carriers, airfreight markets adapting to smaller, lighter, more powerful smart phones and mobile tablets versus heavier PCs, lackluster consumer and business demand and global economic uncertainty have all combined to create a very uniquely challenging business environment.”
Transplace said Essex Group successfully implemented Transplace's Transportation Management System for optimizing and managing North American inbound shipments. It said the new product allows Essex Group to improve carrier selection and communication, and drive cost savings. Essex Group, a North American manufacturer of wire and cable products and accessories, has been a customer of Transplace Mexico since 2010, and expanded its use of the TMS into the U.S. and Canada, it said.
C.H. Robinson Worldwide said it finalized its acquisition of Phoenix International for $571.5 million in cash and about $63.5 million in newly-issued C.H. Robinson common stock. Robinson announced the deal in September (See ITT's Online Archives 12092520 for summary of the deal).
Roadrunner Transportation Systems said it bought Central Cal Transportation for about $4 million plus an earnout. Roadrunner CEO Mark DiBlasi said the deal "substantially enhances the scale and critical mass of our drayage operations in the West Coast region." During calendar year 2011, Central Cal generated about $19 million revenue.
The minor 0.6% year-on-year growth in worldwide air cargo in September is less significant than the 0.6% fall in air freight volume between August and September, said the International Air Transport Association in its monthly report on air traffic. International air freight was up 0.5% for the month, and domestic was up 1.3%, it said. Despite the year-over-year growth, September was the second notable month-on-month fall in air freight growth in a row, it said, and that eroded the stability in volumes achieved earlier in 2012. Capacity was trimmed 0.6% compared to year-ago levels, it said, increasing the freight load factor slightly to 45.6% from 45.1% a year ago.
Horizon Lines had a $1.4 million profit in the quarter ended Sept. 23, vs. a $111.7 million loss a year ago, it said. Revenue grew to $279.6 million from $267.6 million. Container volume for the 2012 third quarter totaled 61,514 revenue loads, up 3.4% from the same period a year ago. Unit revenue per container was $4,245 in the 2012 third quarter, compared with $4,171 in 2011. Unit revenue per container, net of fuel surcharges, was $3,218, up 2.9% from $3,127 a year ago, it said.
Economic activity is expected to remain the main driver of growth in air freight for the foreseeable future, said the Airport Council International’s 2013 edition of the Global Traffic Forecast 2012-2031. Freight operations (measured in tons) should grow faster than passenger operations for airlines, it said. In 2011 freight was estimated at roughly 93 million tons and will more than double to reach about 225 million tons by 2031, averaging 4.5 percent growth per annum, ACI said.