Short news
October 31, 2012 Category Logistics, Short news
Airlines & airports
- Cargo demand at Cathay Pacific Airways rebounded 2.4% year-on-year in September boosted by hi-tech consumer products. Demand from Hong Kong, mainland China and other manufacturing centers, such as Vietnam, began to pick up as a result of large shipments iPhone 5s and other electronic goods.
- Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals said its cargo traffic rose 2.1% in the third quarter from the same period a year ago. The firm handled 697,791 tons of cargo in the period. Exports decreased 2.3%, while imports and transshipments rose 3.9% and 10.6%, respectively, from a year earlier.
Express delivery
- United Parcel Service has announced the opening of three new healthcare distribution facilities in the Asia-Pacific region, two of which are to be located in China, in Hangzhou and Shanghai. The third facility will be located in Sydney, Australia.“Asia is our fastest-growing market for healthcare, and we are seeing increased activity in the region, especially in China,” said Bill Hook, Vice President of UPS Healthcare Logistics.
- A draft amendment to the Postal Law, submitted to the bi-monthly session of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), would legally authorize postal administrations at the municipal level to supervise the industry.
Logistics industry
- Work began on a new cold-chain high-tech industrial park with a total investment of USD800 million in Jiaozhou, Qingdao, by the China International Marine Containers (Group). Covering an area of 5.8 hectares, the park contains five integrated sections, including an industrial management headquarters, a research academy, a refrigerated container factory, and equipment manufacturing centers. When complete, the park’s total output value is estimated to reach CNY15 billion, with an annual production of 100,000 cold boxes.
Ports & sea transport
- Cosco Pacific said third-quarter profit was little changed from a year earlier as a trade slowdown pinched cargo volumes. Net income rose 3.9% to USD98.2 million, the Hong Kong-based company said in a statement to the city’s stock exchange. Excluding a contribution from a stake in a container maker and non-recurring items, profit fell 0.5% to USD76.6 million. Volume growth at the company’s container terminals slowed to 9.2%, from 11% in the first half. Cosco Pacific’s terminals handled 14.6 million containers in the third quarter.
- Cosco Container Lines and China Shipping have agreed to jointly operate shipping routes from north and northeast China to Fujian province and Shantou in Guangdong province. The two shippers, with a combined market share of 80% in the domestic coastal container trade, would each deploy ships to jointly operate the routes. The two companies and their parent companies would also cooperate in other fields.
- The Ministry of Transport is considering trying out a carbon trading system or a carbon tax for the domestic shipping industry. A final plan has yet to be devised, but the measures are likely to call for slowing down the speed of ships. Zhang Shouguo, Deputy President of the China Shipowners’ Association, warned that if a carbon tax is levied, some weaker shipping companies will close down, noting that the price of shipping in China has already dropped below cost.
- Chinese shipyards saw a rebound in new orders in September. They received orders for 34 new vessels, totaling 1.92 million DWT, accounting for 60% of the world’s total new-order volume and an 81% increase from the same period last year.
- Chinese shipping companies have opened their first China-Russia container route, shipping more than 100 containers filled with consumer goods, computer components and ironware products from Ningbo to Russia’s Vostochny. Container ships ply the route weekly, departing Ningbo port every Thursday. After arriving at Vostochny port, cargoes will be unloaded and transferred via railway to East Europe.
- Orient Overseas (International) (OOIL) could be heading for a total turnover of around USD6.4 billion this year after the parent of Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) reported revenues of USD4.47 billion in the first nine months of the year from its box shipping business. This was 7% higher than last year and followed a 10.9% rise to USD1.59 billion in container shipping revenue in the third quarter. OOCL Logistics generated USD230 million in revenue in the first half of this year. OOCL’s total container volume climbed 5.1% to 3.95 million TEU in the first nine months. Average revenue per TEU grew 7.2% between July and September.
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