U.S. import shipment volume for March, measured in TEUs, increased 11.9% from February, according to figures from trade information company Zepol. It said that's not a surprise because of comparison to February's low numbers. More significant is the total 2.6% rise in TEUs for Q1 of 2012, compared to Q1 of 2011, Zepol said, as well as the 6.2% rise this March from March of 2011.

Container volume in the Port of Charleston rose 12 percent in March, to the highest level since October 2008. In results announced at its April 17 board meeting, the South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) said it handled 134,857 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the Port of Charleston in March, up 12 percent from the same month last year and up 13 percent from February. For the fiscal year to date (July through March), TEU volume was up just over two percent, while container volume for the quarter (January through March) increased seven percent from the same quarter last year. SCPA's non-containerized cargo figures also remain strong, reflecting the agency's cargo diversification strategy, it said. The Port of Charleston handled 111,236 pier tons of non-containerized freight in March, up 53 percent from the same month last year.

A new excise tax on the import or manufacture of medical devices or equipment, and the burden of its related compliance costs, will have a negative impact on medical device manufacturing companies' bottom lines, according to a survey conducted by tax firm KPMG.

Immediately on the heels of approval of the Sabine Pass liquified natural gas export facility, Sempra Energy-owned Cameron LNG said it signed commercial development agreements with Mitsubishi Corp. and Mitsui & Co. to build an LNG export facility at the site of Cameron LNG receipt terminal in Hackberry, La. The completed facility is expected to have a total export capability of 12 Mtpa of about 1.7 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of LNG per day. Construction on the project is expected to start in late 2013 with operations to commence in late 2016, it said. (For details of the Sabine Pass decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, see ITT Online Archives [Ref. 12041731]).

The South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) is doubling the financial incentive it offers to encourage truck owners serving the port to replace their older trucks with newer, cleaner rigs. Eligible truck owners can now get a $10,000 incentive, plus the scrap value of their pre-1994 truck, to use toward the purchase of a 2004 or newer model, the authority said. Seaport Truck Air Cleanup Southeast, or STACS, is a voluntary truck replacement program launched last fall. The incentive for the program is funded by the SCPA, along with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) through an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant. According to a truck survey commissioned by the SCPA, about two percent of the trucks that frequent the Port of Charleston are 1993 or older model years. Based on EPA estimates, moving from 1993 or older trucks to 2004 or newer trucks reduces emissions by about 60 percent, the authority said.

Inbound container volume at the Port of Long Beach climbed 18.3 percent and exports rose by 10 percent in March, compared to the same period a year ago, the port authority said. Overall container volume through the port was up 12 percent, it said, as port terminals handled 461,600 twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) last month, compared to 412,250 TEUs in March 2011. For the calendar year, container volumes at the port are down 2.9 percent, compared to the first three months of 2011. Analysts expect modest growth in trade volume for 2012. Import containers accounted for 226,150 TEUs in March compared to 191,200 TEUs in the same period last year. Export containers hit 144,850 TEUs compared to 131,750 TEUs a year ago.

A group of truck drivers working at the Port of Los Angeles voted 46-15 April 11 to join the Teamsters, the union said. The drivers work for Australia-based Toll Group.

Cargo shipper Horizon Lines, Inc. said it completed transactions with more than 99% of its noteholders, and with Ship Finance International Ltd. to substantially deleverage the company's balance sheet and terminate vessel charter obligations related to its discontinued trans-Pacific service. The transactions eliminate virtually all of the remaining $228.4 million of the Company's 6% Convertible Secured Notes, partially offset by the issuance of $40 million of debt to SFL as part of the full and final settlement of the vessel charter obligations, resulting in a net debt reduction of $188.4 million. The Company's earnings and cash flows will be improved by the termination of $32 million in annual vessel charter obligations. Existing holders will maintain a stake of 6.5% in the Company's stock. This includes about 1.4% for existing equity holders and 5.1% for noteholders who received stock or warrants in the October 5, 2011, refinancing and the debt-to-equity conversion on January 11, 2012. Upon completion, the noteholders will own about 88.6% of the company and SFL 10.0%.

Software developer IQMS said it released a shipping and distribution management module, Shipping Manager, promising an integrated shipping program that allows customers to send and receive real-time data to and from common freight carrier systems, such as FedEx® and UPS® -- all from within EnterpriseIQ. Built on IQMS’ ERP platform, Shipping Manager automatically populates the package weight through scale interfaces, component weight data and other various methods. Users can then view up-to-the-minute shipping rates from FedEx® or UPS® and select the most cost effective shipping method for continual shipping savings, it said, and Shipping Manager automatically populates “ship to” addresses, accurate shipping charges and tracking numbers to the packing slips for increased shipping accuracy.

Lilly & Associates International announced a new full-service warehousing and distribution facility to operate along with its current offices in Panama. Lilly said the 100,000 sq. ft. full service warehouse and distribution center "is already operating at full capacity." Lilly's import, export and air and ocean logistics teams in the local Panama office, Miami headquarters and other Lilly offices in Latin America, arrange for cargo to arrive at the warehouse, and then distribute the cargo, it said.