Nippon Cargo Airlines said it will launch new freighter flights connecting Tokyo's Narita Airport and DFW International Airport Nov. 5. The twice-weekly flights will be the first direct freighter connections for the Dallas/Fort Worth area into Japan, it said. Nippon Cargo will operate the route from Narita to Chicago O'Hare, then to DFW Airport, Anchorage, Alaska, and then back to Narita, using 747-400 aircraft. It plans to phase-in 747-8's later.
The International Longshoremen's Association and the U.S. Maritime Alliance "will have their respective committees review their positions and analyze associated costs," resulting from proposals exchanged Oct. 23 and 24, said George Cohen, director of the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service in a statement on the ongoing talks. He said only that the two sides "discussed a number of major issues."
FedEx Freight said it's expanding its Canada and Mexico services, with expanded geographic coverage and upgrades to its shipping tools that assist customers in processing less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments. It expanded its FedEx Freight Priority next-day service between 13 U.S. markets and Canada with the opening of the Rochester, N.Y., service center, which connects cross-border shipments to and from Toronto and Montreal. In addition, Rochester and all U.S. gateway centers for service to Canada are already compliant with the Nov. 1, 2012, Canada Border Services Agency eManifest requirement, it said. For Mexico, two new service centers are planned: The Culiacán service center covers northwestern Mexico, which includes Mexicali and Tijuana. The Silao center provides service to the state of Guanajuato, located in the north central part of Mexico. FedEx said it also added ability to process cross-border LTL shipments to and from Canada and Mexico through FedEx Ship Manager Software, FedEx Ship Manager Server and FedEx Web Services.
Flight dispatchers for Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo represented by the Teamsters said they signed their first contract with the company. The dispatchers voted for Teamster representation four years ago and negotiations began in October 2009. The tentative agreement includes extensive economic improvements as well as multiple positive work rule changes, they said.
Air Canada Cargo will use OAG Cargo's AFRA online rate distribution and management application as an eRate publishing and distribution channel across its America network, OAG said. The introduction will enable AFRA subscribers to have access to Air Canada Cargo's rates, it said. OAG said AFRA reduces the need for forwarders to call and negotiate individual shipment rates.
Teamster negotiators said the first round of UPS Freight negotiations wrapped up last week in San Diego with significant progress being made. Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall, Director of the Package Division, said the union presented proposals to the company that include eliminating subcontracting, limiting the overuse of casuals and allowing discretionary days to accumulate year to year. The National Negotiating Committee refused to accept a company proposal to be reimbursed for 10 cents per page for any paper copies requested by a local union in excess of 10 pages, it said. UPS Freight negotiations are to resume Nov. 12-16 in Washington, D.C.
The Panama Canal handled a record of 333.7 million Panama Canal tons (PC/UMS) of cargo during fiscal year 2012, ending Sept. 30, officials said. That was up 3.6% over last year, it said, and tops the previous record of 312.9 million tons in 2007. The top market segments in the 2012 fiscal year were full container vessels with 119.8 million Panama Canal tons, followed by dry bulk carriers (83.4 million Panama Canal tons) and tankers (51.6 million Panama Canal tons).
Worldwide trade via specialized refrigerated containers increased by 54.5 million tons between 2001 and 2011, for an annual growth rate of 3.9%, with seaborne trade reaching almost 91 million tons in 2011, according to a new report by Drewry Maritime Research. It said the perishable reefer trade remains resilient to adverse economic conditions and future growth in cargo volume is inevitable.
Pilots for Northern Air Cargo airline ratified their first contract, the Teamsters union said. NAC, owned by Saltchuk Resources, operates a fleet of Boeing 737s throughout Alaska. Saltchuk is a transportation holding company that owns other transportation related companies including Aloha Airlines.
Shipping officials and longshoremen "are making good progress on a number of difficult issues at the full committee and subcommittee levels," after concluding five days of negotiations Oct. 13, said Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service Director George Cohen. The U.S. Maritime Alliance and the International Longshoremen's Association were to resume talks this week, he said.