Road Freight

Shippers’ Voice Welcomes Call for Single Carbon Footprint in Europe

Shippers seeking to choose ‘green’ or ‘sustainable’ transport are being put off by the confusion of initiatives and promises offered by logistics and transport companies, says  Andrew Traill, Shippers' Voice Managing Partner. “The lack of a common programme results in a proliferation of calculation methodologies, carbon calculators, sustainability initiatives and so on,” he explains. “This usually leads to increased effort and cost for companies to assess carbon emissions of transportation and also hampers collaboration with other companies in the supply chain." Dr Traill welcomes the latest initiative to de-mystify the current situation, with a European Shippers' Council forum called ‘Greening the Maritime Logistics Supply Chain’ on 28 September in Brussels. “The European Shippers' Council has effectively cried ‘Enough is enough - it is time identify what the schemes are, what they all do and which ones are going to be of use to shippers ‘.  Shippers need to know. They need tools to measure their carbon footprint and for that they also need accurate, reliable measures of the carbon footprint of the ships which carry their freight, and the ports and terminals which load and unload the freight and pass the goods on to inland carriers - by road, rail and inland waterways." A group of companies is getting together to try and bring order to this chaos in road freight logistics

Feature: Short Sea Shipping-Nurturing a Modal Shift

By David Tinsley, technical editor Swelling U.S. interest in fostering the development of coastwise shipping may be set against the backcloth of an anticipated 55 percent growth in demand for domestic freight transport over the period 2000-2010. Aside from its breathtaking scale, one of the most remarkable aspects of the U.S. projection is its similarity to the forecast, 50-percent increase in European road freight volume within the same timeframe.

Incat Sells Hull 058

A contract has been exchanged for the sale of Incat Australia’s 98m catamaran, hull 058, to a European customer. The purchaser is a long term Incat customer, and intends for 058 to join its two existing Incat vessels in operation for the northern European summer. Announcing the sale to staff at the Hobart shipyard, Incat Australia Managing Director, Craig Clifford said “The sale of vessel 058 has been foreshadowed for some time, and is great news for all Incat staff and supporters

Fratelli Cosulich Expands with Dublin Freight Office

Multi-faceted shipping group Fratelli Cosulich has expanded its freight forwarding business by opening an office in Dublin, Ireland. The move follows fast growth in its freight forwarding and NVOCC operations which operate from bases in Heathrow, Felixstowe, Izmir, Istanbul, New York, Shenzen and now Dublin. Fratelli Cosulich will move freight of all types by road, sea and air and expects its Dublin office to have balanced import and export traffic. The Dublin office details are:

U.K. Financial Assistance to Move Freight to Waterways

The UK Department for Transport issued its Consultation Document entitled Financial Assistance for Moving Freight from Road to Inland Waterway and Maritime Transport. The post-consultation response indicates broad support for grants to encourage increased use of waterways in lieu of roadways to transport freight in the U.K. Differences remain, however, with regard to detailed implementation.

UK Short Sea Shipping Bureau Takes Shape

A UK Short Sea Shipping Bureau is one step closer to becoming a reality, according to the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS). Over recent months, the ICS has organised a number of meetings with leading bodies in the UK transport industry including the Chamber of Shipping, Freight Transport Association, BIFA, Road Haulage Association and British ports' groups, all of which have given the bureau their full support. The next step is to secure funding from the UK government.

Commission Launches Pilot Blue Belt Project

The European Commission launched a pilot project designed to reduce administrative burdens in shipping. Short sea shipping is an environmentally friendly way of transporting freight within the European Union, but complex procedures hamper its full development. These could be overcome by creating a "blue belt" for maritime transport in which ships could operate freely within the internal market, with a minimum of administrative burden

Port of LA Breaks Ground on Intermodal Terminal

Port of Los Angeles breaks ground on US$137-million railyard that will increase on-dock rail efficiency, reduce congestion and improve environment. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Port of Los Angeles officials broke ground on a new intermodal storage railyard that will improve a vital link in the national freight network. The new yard will function as a critical link between the Port of Los Angeles and the Alameda Corridor, providing staging and storage for trains using the corridor

PD Ports Wins Container Carrier Award 2011

PD Ports has been recognised at the ASDA Carrier Awards for the second year in succession, winning the UK Container Carrier Award 2011 for the combination of its Logical Link and PD Logistics services. ASDA launched the awards last year to help it continue to raise standards amongst its logistics suppliers, and contestants had to demonstrate improvements in seven areas: colleagues, service, compliance, empty miles/positioning, equipment, fuel efficiency and innovation

Danish Shipowners: On Growth track in Wake of Economic Crisis

Denmark has retained its position as one of the world's leading maritime nations, despite the economic crisis. In terms of operated tonnage, Denmark is today the fifth largest maritime nation in the world. In all, Danish shipping companies transport some 10% of the world trade. Henrik Segercrantz reports on Danish maritime issues. Danish shipping is global, with trade within Europe counting for only a quarter of the industry’s total revenues