KOREA's Hanjin Shipping has announced the launch of a direct service between Asia and Mexico from March 14.

Hanjin Athens, currently deployed in CAX (China America Express), will be making its maiden call at Manzanillo, Mexico on March 14. This will cover Shanghai, Gwangyang, Busan, Long Beach as well as the Mexican ports of Manzanillo and Ensenada with five 5,500-TEU class ships.



Hanjin Shipping anticipates upgrading Mexico to a direct service to Mexico, where the demand is expected to show continuous growth.



Also, the company believes that it will be able to diversify its portfolio of cargo volume from Asia to the US south west regions by adding the growing cargo demand to Mexico.

JAPAN's Mitsui OSK Line (MOL) is revamping its Asia-east coast South America service (CSW) on March 25 with the sailing of the MOL Dignity departing from Xingang on March 25.

The revised coverage will make additional calls at Xingang, Dalian, Qingdao, Pusan and Shanghai, said an MOL statement. The revised port rotation will now be Xingang, Dalian Qingdao, Busan, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Durban, Santos, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Paranagua, Sao Francisco do Sul, Santos, Rio de Janeiro, Cape Town, Ngqura, Singapore, Hong Kong and back to Xingang.



"This change is in line with MOL's strategy of expanding one of its core trade lanes. We are pleased to announce that MOL covers Bo Hai Bay ports, Busan and Shanghai by the revamped CSW. Not only our customers in east coast South America trade lane, but also in Europe, North America as well as intra Asia trade lanes, will benefit from the transport from and to these ports," said MOL liner division general manager TK Konishi.

HONG Kong's Census and Statistics Department has reported a six per cent year on year decline in the city's port cargo throughput for the fourth quarter.

Outward cargo led the drop, falling nine per cent year on year to 103.7 million tonnes while inbound cargo also slipped, dropping five per cent leaving import figures unchanged year on year.



Also noteworthy was the distinction between seaborne and river cargo, the former of which dropped 10 per cent to 161.6 million tonnes, with the latter reporting a two per cent increase.



Though overall inbound cargo fell, several countries significantly increased their shipment volumes to the city. Most notable among these were Australia, Malaysia, and the United States, with 126 per cent, 46 per cent, and 19 per cent year on year tonnage increases respectively.



On the outbound side, the most significant increases were seen in shipments to Taiwan, mainland China and Thailand, each receiving 66 per cent, 36 per cent and 17 per cent more cargo respectively. Germany, Korea, and the Philippines meanwhile experienced declines of inbound Hong Kong tonnage, falling 23, 18 and 11 per cent respectively.

BEIJING-based, but Hong Kong-listed, Sinotrans Shipping Limited has posted a profit 69 per cent decline in profit to US$106.4 million for the year ending December 31, drawn on revenues of $229.1 million, compared to the 2008 sales figure of $455,972,itself a year on year decline of 49 per cent.

Containers, which only represent $20.8 million of the $250.5 million group turnover, did better than most business segments however with box ship time chartering providing 15 per cent more revenue year on year.



Dry bulk shipping, which contributes $208.4 million of the $250.5 total revenue was cut in half to $37.6 from $80.3 million earned in 2008, a result blamed on depressed rates.



"With economic stimulus programmes by governments, the international dry bulk was the first to recover from the gloomy shipping market and the Baltic Dry Index [BDI] in the fourth quarter of 2009," said the group statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange.



"However, the rebound was only comparable to the market bottom in the fourth quarter of 2008. The average BDI still dropped by 59 per cent in 2009 compared to 2008 and hit the lowest record in recent years," the statement said.



Said Sinotrans chairman Zhao Huxiang: "2009 saw a substantial decline in world trade volume and falling shipping demand under the impact of financial crisis, while the supply of tonnage kept increasing. Yet, the group still achieved profit, mainly attributable to the flexible strategy of combining long-term and short-term time chartering."



Said the group statement: "Looking forward, the international shipping market will still be under pressure from newbuildings. But the supply pressure in the market will be relieved by resilient shipping demand with the improving world economy, especially the rapid growth of the Chinese economy."

PACIFIC International Line (PIL) has expanded its existing RS3 service with the start this week of the South and West Africa Container Service 2 (SW2) that will also call at PSA Dongguan Container Terminal offering wider coverage of the African continent to Dongguan shippers.

The new rotation of the weekly SW2 service will be Dongguan-PSA DGCT, Huangpu, Nansha, Singapore, Durban, Onne, Apapa (Lagos), Lome, Abidjan, Durban, Port Louis, Singapore, Hong Kong, Kaohsiung, Taichung and back to Dongguan.



China is Africa's third largest trading partner after the US and France. In 2009, the value of exports from Dongguan to Africa reached US$300 million with container shipments increasing steadily.



Singapore-based PIL's new service connects Dongguan to south and West Africa deploying deploy a series of 1,500 TEU class ships and will contribute "significantly to the growth of PSA DGCT," said a statement from the PSA the terminal operator.



PSA International is one of the leading global port groups. With its flagship operations in PSA Singapore Terminals and PSA HNN, PSA participates in 28 port projects in 16 countries across Asia, Europe and the Americas, with a global capacity of 111 million TEU and 66 kilometres of quay length.



Located on the Pearl River, PSA DGCT is one of the most important gateways in south China. PSA DGCT deploys state-of-the-art equipment including four post-panamax cranes and nine rubber-tyred gantry cranes. Together with an on-dock bonded warehouse, PSA DGCT is able to serve the needs of all shipping lines and shippers, said the statement.

THE KMS service of Korea Marine Transport Company Ltd (KMTC Line) has increased its capacity with three 1,600-TEU vessels and three other 2,000-2,500 TEU ships, reports Paris-based Alphaliner.

The upgraded Korea-China-Straits service (KMS - Korea Malaysia Service) boasts a full service with a port rotation as follows: Ulsan, Busan, Kwangyang, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Port Kelang, Singapore, Pasir Gudang, Hong Kong, Ulsan.

THE maiden call of Namsung Shipping's 900-TEU Cape Fesco took place this week at a gala ceremony at the Hongkong International Terminal in Kwai Chung,

Korea's Namsung Shipping Co Ltd guests were treated to roast-pig and cocktails under sunny skies, where they heard Namsung Hong Kong managing director Brave Lee announce the commencement of the new intra-Asia KTV service that will expand in the near future.



The new KTV service rotation will be: Busan, Ulsan, Kwangyang, Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh-Cat Lai, Bangkok-Pat, Laem Chabang and back to Hong Kong.

SEASPAN Corporation has taken delivery of a 2,544-TEU newbuilding that was built by Jiangsu Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Co Ltd on the back of a 10-year long-term charter by "K" Line.

The Guayaquil Bridge is to be deployed on the Japan, Philippines, Indonesia 'Pegasus' service (PGS) instead of the 1,708-TEU Jakarta Bridge, which has moved to the Japan-Thailand Papaya Express reports Paris-based AXS-Alphaliner newsletter.



The delivery is the first of two in the 'Jiangsu 2500' series delivered this year with Maria-Katharina S received in January adding to eight bought between 2008-2009 with China Shipping Container Lines (Asia) for a 12-year period at a fixed rate.

HONG KONG's OOCL has announced that it is limiting acceptance of online cargo booking to no more than eight weeks and in some circumstances less than that because of "tight space" in the Canada-US export market.

OOCL is now limiting acceptance of online booking requests via oocl.com or cargosmart.com to eight weeks, reported American Shipper. Shippers booking by phone or e-mail face an even more restrictive window of four weeks.



"We have for the past few months experienced an increase in closed vessels and cancelled bookings that are in part due to overbooking and customer multiple carrier booking activities in order to secure space. We believe our prudent move to limit the booking acceptance window to this eight-week period will benefit you the customer as we improve our space management," the carrier said.



A recent paper from the World Shipping Council (WSC) on US exports said while carriers are planning modest volume increase for both imports and exports, "given the market conditions and operating environment expected in 2010, challenges will continue to exist for carriers, and may arise for some export shippers."

CREDO Shipping is to extend its coverage to East Africa with its monthly Spice Service deploying 1,730-TEU Lissy Schulte on a port rotation of Karachi, Jebel Ali, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, Mombasa, Karachi, reports Alphaliner newsletter.

The Singapore-based company usually acts as non vessel operating common carrier (NVOC) in the south east Asia and south Asia sectors since its launch early 2009 by former Emirates Shipping Line executive Captain Raj. It offers regular shipments on third-party services including APL's LWX, or "K" Line's Singapore-south east Asia service and the Malaysia-Thailand service.

SAVANNAH's Georgia Ports Authority (GPA), has announced it has increased its capacity for reefer containers at its Garden City Terminal with the completion of 10 new electrified refrigerated container racks.

The new racks bring to 44 the number of reefer racks at the Port of Savannah terminal, which can now accommodate 1,056 containers, said a statement from the port authority.



"The completion of these refrigerated container racks reduces diesel consumption and increases our capacity for cold-storage exports," said GPA executive director Curtis Foltz.



The authority said it has more than doubled its refrigerated cargo volume in last six years with an increase of 120 per cent. In the past two years alone, volume has increased 19.8 per cent.



"Before electrified refrigerated container racks were brought online in 2008, diesel generators were used to power refrigerated containers in tandem with wheeled parking spots with electrical hookups," said the GPA statement. "Now, for every 10 racks placed into service, the GPA saves about 540,000 gallons of diesel fuel annually, which would have been used to power diesel generators. With a total of 44 racks online, the GPA avoids using more than 2.376 million gallons annually."

FEEDER operators have cautioned against any sudden increase in tonnage, which they say would stymie the recovery in the container sector. Analysts however are not so sure.

Doom sayers, such as Singapore feeder, Sea Consortium, fear that any move by main line operators to re-introduce laid-up vessels and abolish slow steaming activities - the operating of ships several knots below their top speed to reduce fuel costs and soak up extra capacity - would upset the delicate supply and demand balance that currently allows carriers to benefit from high spot-rates, which as of January exceeded US$2,000 per TEU.



In an interview with London's International Freighting Weekly, Bengal Tiger Line CEO, Bill Smart, said that the flow of tonnage into lines traditionally operated by feeders could have negative repercussions on the industry, adding that pending orders for large vessels would further fuel the potential of another supply glut, as was seen at the start of 2009.



Analysts from Dynamar however indicated that they did not expect to see any tonnage increases in the near future, as, of the vessels that were brought back into service, most were merely being used to mop up containers left behind on Asia-Europe routes due to lack of capacity.

THE US Federal Highway Administration has set a new goal to complete highway and bridge projects in half the time it takes today, said Administrator Victor Mendez.

Usually, completion times run 10 to 15 years, including a six-year eco review as well as nine years for planning, design and construction, reports American Shipper.



Under what is called the "Everyday Counts" initiative this would be speeded up, Mr Mendez told an American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials conference near Washington.



He said legal impediments need to be identified to see if they can be eliminated, but he also conceded there may be nothing that can be done - "but at least we've done what we can," he said.

TNT Hoau, TNT's road distribution arm in China, has completed its nationwide day-definite road distribution network. Following recent extensions to Chengdu, Chongquing, Zhengzhou, Xian, Yantai and Xiamen, the company now offers guaranteed day-definite ground delivery to 26 of the country's largest cities, using 246 day-definite line-hauls.

The service features rapid door-to-door transport, complete with online trace and tracking. A shipment from Guangzhou to Shanghai, for example, takes a little less than two days.



Hoau purchased 400 EU III-compliant trucks for the network, each of which is fitted with GPS monitoring systems.



"Our customers in China will now be able to enjoy the full business benefits of a high-standard, national-level day-definite road distribution service, at a price well below the cost of domestic air freight," said Edward Xu, CEO of TNT-Hoau.



TNT North Asia managing director Michael Drake added in a company statement, "The successes we have achieved for the day-definite road distribution service enhances TNT's overall service offerings in China, and strengthens our leadership in China."



The day-definite service, which has already been used by a number of Fortune 500 companies, complements TNT's national less-than-truckload (LTL) operations. Overall, TNT Hoau manages a road distribution network of 1,500 depots and 56 domestic hubs, covering more than 600 Chinese cities.

AIR China's latest operation figures showed that the carrier achieved a strong growth of 55.1 per cent in its cargo volume and an increase of 6.3 per cent in its passenger volume in January, Logistics Week reported.

The carrier's cargo volume amounted to 90,700 tonnes. Domestic cargo volume rose 37.1 per cent to 52,200 tonnes while international cargo volume surged 86.2 per cent to 34,300 tonnes. Cargo volume on Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan lines rocketed 111.3 per cent to 4,002 tonnes.



Passenger volume in the same month totalled to 3.4 million. Domestic passenger volume increased 5.4 per cent to 2.8 million. International passenger volume rose 11 per cent to 490,000 persons. Passenger volume on Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan lines went up 11.4 per cent to 108,000 persons.



Passenger load factor fell 0.2 percentage points to 77 per cent, while general load factor increased 6.1 percentage points to 67.8 per cent.

UAE-based cargo carrier Midex Airlines was suspended recently after a routine audit conducted by the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). The company is said to have failed to fill in key postholder positions.

Postholders are appointed by the company, but are subject to ratification by the GCAA. According to a report by the UAE National, Midex president Issam Khairallah attributed the mishap to the recent death of two former postholders, and the inability of Midex to secure a confirmation for one of its replacement appointees.



Midex recently purchased two Boeing 747-200s to meet increased demand for charter flights in Afghanistan and Iraq, increasing its fleet to a total of nine.



The carrier first started its operations out of Abu Dhabi in 2008 with daily flights to Paris. Following the global downturn, this was cut back to just one a week. Midex currently carries 150 cargo tonnes a day, down 50 tonnes from its 2008 forecast.

CHINA'S largest private air carrier, Hainan Airlines, is to shift to a cargo sales method based on regions by integrating regional network resources from its existing mode based on cities, Logistics Week reported.

The move is a strategy to increase air cargo sales in view of slackened downturn-hit market since 2009 by allowing smaller neighbouring cities to sell the services of a larger city in the same region.



The report said the new method can double the carrier's regional sellable resources. For example, the five cities in the East China region - Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Wenzhou and Nanjing - has a total of 30 sellable cargo services on an individual basis, but after implementing the new mode, these five cities can sell each other's services and thus raise the number of regional sellable services to 89.