31st Daily Rail Service for Felixstowe

Transcription

31st Daily Rail Service for Felixstowe
September 4, 2015 Industry Insight
31st Daily Rail Service for Felixstowe
Port of Oakland: Vessel Traffic Jam in San Francisco Bay Fading
... Page 9
Asia Pacific Cargo Demand Weakened in July ... page 10
Contents
CRANE WORLDWIDE LOGISTICS NEWS
Vote Crane Worldwide Logistics as Global Freight Forwarder of the Year
page 4
INDUSTRY NEWS
Global
World Airfreight Loses Its Bounce as China Falters
(Air Cargo News Staff)
page 3
U.S. Customs Moves Back Compliance Deadline
(P. Burnson)
page 4
Devalued Yuan Gets U.S. Retailers Re-Negotiating with
Chinese Suppliers
(G. Knowler)
page 5
COMPLIANCE CORNER
page 6
INDUSTRY NEWS
Americas
Diesel Prices Fall for 14th Straight Week, Reports EIA
(Logistics Management Staff)
page 9
Port of Oakland: Vessel Traffic Jam in San Francisco Bay
Fading
(P. Burnson)
page 9
ASPAC
Asia Pacific Cargo Demand Weakened in July
(Air Cargo News Staff)
page 10
Strike Hits Indian Ports
(JOC Staff)
page 11
EMEA
Russia Cracking Down on Port Corrpution After Bribery
Allegations
(E. Gerden)
page 12
31st Daily Rail Service for Felixstowe
(AJOT Staff)
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page 13
WORLD AIRFREIGHT LOSES ITS BOUNCE AS CHINA
FALTERS
Air Cargo News Staff
http://www.aircargonews.net/news/airlines/single-view/news/world-airfreight-loses-its-bounce-aschina-falters.html
The normal summer bounce in the world airfreight
market failed to materialise this year, due largely to the
faltering Chinese economy, said market data specialist
WorldACD in its latest report.
July was flat with only 0.7% volume growth, the lowest
of any month this year, and revenue figures were also
the worst reported for 2015. In previous years, July was
much better than June, but not this year, said Netherlands-based WorldACD.
Africa was the fastest growing origin, up 6.2% in volume thanks to increased business to the Middle East
and South Asia (MESA) and within the continent. Europe was second, with a 2.7% volume increase, mainly
fuelled by growth to destinations in Asia Pacific other
than China. Latin America remained in the doldrums.
Yields including charges (in US dollars) dropped again
by 1.8% compared with the previous month.
For originating cargo, China and Hong Kong (CN/HK)
combined were outperformed by the rest of the world
(RoW) on a year on year (YoY) basis; for the last 12
months: CN/HK was up 3.1%, RoW +4.5%; for the 12
months before that CN/HK grew 7.9%, RoW 5.5%; and
for the last nine months, CN/HK was up 1.8%, but RoW
was up 3.8%.
of 3.4%, but there were large regional differences, said
WorldACD. Volumes to CN/HK from Africa, Europe and
MESA all went down, by 22%, 3% and 9.4% respectively
but cargo volume originating in the Americas was up by
17.5%.
Volumes from Asia Pacific to CN/HK increased by 7.9%,
and was also the strongest growth in absolute terms.
This development brought the region’s share of total
worldwide volumes to CN/HK up from 36.9% to 38.4%.
The Suez expansion will reduce wait times by allowing
northbound and southbound ships to pass through the
waterway simultaneously, reducing wait times and allowing ocean carriers to save some money on fuel and
other operating costs, Mr. Davidson said.
The main appeal of the project to Egypt is to fend off
competition from the Panama Canal for China to U.S.
trade, said Dirk Visser, a shipping consultant with Dynamar B.V. in the Netherlands. Panama is midway
through its own canal expansion expected to open next
year. The Suez expansion also bolster the profile of
Egyptian president, Gen. Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, Mr. Visser
said.
“It’s a defensive measure against the new, much-larger
Panama Canal locks,” Mr. Visser said, adding that the
Suez will only remain an attractive alternative for South
China to U.S. trade routes if tolls do not rise significantly.
In terms of compound growth in outbound volumes
over the past three year, the Pearl River Delta (China
southeast +37% and HK +4%) did much better than the
Shanghai area, which was flat and the northeast: the
latter actually experienced a decline over the full period. The west was not at all affected by the country’s
recent slump, recording a compound growth of 81%,
albeit from a modest base. Its contribution to China’s
outbound total grew from 6% to 10% in three years.
In terms of destinations served from China, North
America kept growing in 2015 while Europe dwindled,
trends already noted for 2012. MESA, and in particular
South Asia, showed continuing growth ex China.
Inbound volumes into CN/HK over the past nine months,
at 3.5%, kept pace with the worldwide volume growth
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U.S. CUSTOMS MOVES BACK COMPLIANCE DEADLINE
Patrick Burnson
http://www.logisticsmgmt.com/article/u.s._customs_
moves_back_compliance_deadline
Freight forwarders were relieved to learn yesterday
that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) would
be delaying its Automated Commercial Environment
(ACE) implementation.
The change in schedule was in response to concerns of
industry readiness for the transition, say CBP spokesmen.
CBP had originally set November 1 as the mandatory
date for electronic filing of all cargo release and entry
summaries including those requiring participating government agency data sets.
While CBP is still encouraging shippers to file entries
into ACE as early as possible, the new deadline has now
been set for February 28, 2016.
He added that the AfA holds a seat on the CBP Commercial Operations Advisory Committee (COAC).
“We look forward to sharing our member’s questions
and concerns with CBP regarding ACE implementation
of other trade issues,” says Fried.
Working in close coordination with the Department of
Homeland Security, the Border Interagency Executive
Council, and the White House, CBP has been actively
tracking and assessing stakeholder readiness for the
mandatory filing of all electronic entry and entry summaries in ACE.
“While significant capabilities have been deployed to
date, concerns about stakeholder readiness have necessitated a reassessment of our current timelines,” say
spokesmen. “We appreciate the input from the trade
community and have adjusted the mandatory transition to ACE for electronic entry and entry.”
“This is good news as several functionality issues still
exist requiring more testing and resolution,” says Brandon Fried, the executive director of the Airforwarders
Association, (AfA).
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FREIGHT FORWARDER OF THE YEAR
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because of the relationship we have built with our clients we were selected as the 2014 Customer
Choice Global Freight Forwarder of the Year. We have been nominated for this honor once more and
are asking for your help once more. Please click the link below to vote for Crane Worldwide Logistics
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4
DEVALUED YUAN GETS U.S. RETAILERS
RE-NEGOTIATING WITH CHINESE SUPPLIERS
Greg Knowler
http://www.joc.com/international-trade-news/
trade-data/china-trade-data/devalued-yuan-gets-us-retailers-re-negotiating-chinese-suppliers_20150902.html
Big retailers in the U.S. are dragging their Chinese suppliers back to the table to re-negotiate order contracts
and take advantage of lower manufacturing costs following Beijing’s sharp devaluation of the yuan.
The yuan has led the way among devaluating Asian currencies this year, falling 3.2 percent against the dollar in
what Reuters reports is the largest downward adjustment since 1994. This is making U.S. imports from China cheaper and American retailers want a piece of the
action.
Other supplier nations eager to remain competitive
have also gone the devalue route. Vietnam devalued its
dong by 1 percent while the Malaysian ringgit dropped
to a 17-year low, its largest one-day loss in almost 20
years.
“Most U.S. retailers have dollar-denominated annual
contracts with provisions that allow them to renegotiate if the currency moves outside of a pre-established
range,” Giuliano Iannaccone, chairman of Tarter, Krinsky & Drogin, an international and retail practice group,
told Reuters.
Some retailers will reap benefits immediately by exercising those clauses while others expect to enter next
year’s contracts with a stronger bargaining position, he
said.
“We are already engaging with our suppliers,” a senior
official from Toys R Us told the news agency. The company has dollar-denominated contracts and expects to
benefit. “The bigger question is what’s next from China
and how will that impact other countries where we procure from?” he said.
Mexico, one of the largest trading partners of the U.S.,
which rivals China in global sourcing, stands to benefit
more than others because its peso is down more than
the yuan. The Mexican peso has depreciated 12.5 percent so far this year, the Canadian dollar has fallen 12.1
percent while the euro has slipped 7 percent year-todate against the dollar.
But China remains the leading sourcing country for U.S.
retailers, who are trying to balance their inventory in
a difficult economic climate. A GT Nexus and YouGov
survey of 1,000 consumers show that many retailers
are dealing with unprecedented levels of out-of-stock
inventory, both online and in stores.
“Companies are all trying to run lean inventories, but
we’re still finding stock-out levels of 55 to 65 percent,”
said Greg Kefer, vice president of corporate marketing.
Balancing inventory in an uncertain economic climate
without doubt is a challenge. U.S. business inventories
rose 3 percent year-over-year in June to $1.8 trillion,
climbing 0.8 percent from May, the largest sequential
increase since January 2013, the U.S. Census Bureau
said. Census data show U.S. retail sales rose 1 percent
in June, but inventories rose 4.1 percent.
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5
AIR CARGO ANTITRUST CARRIERS FACE TRIAL AFTER
U.S. COURT RULES THERE IS A CASE TO ANSWER
Alex Lennane
http://theloadstar.co.uk/air-cargo-antitrust-carriers-facetrial-after-us-court-rules-there-is-a-case-to-answer/
A handful of cargo airlines are to face trial in January after
failing to convince a New York court to end a class action
lawsuit against them.
On Monday, Judge John Gleeson, the key decision-maker
in the slew of air cargo antitrust cases which are overshadowing both the airline and forwarding industry, heard arguments from the only airlines which have not already settled
– Air China Cargo, Air India, Air New Zealand and Atlas/Polar
Air – that there was no case against them.
However, the Court ruled for the plaintiffs, buyers of air
freight services. As a result, the airlines will find themselves
in court on on January 25, facing the plaintiffs, who will, according to law firm Hausfield, seek “billions of dollars” in
compensation.
The airlines had claimed, among other arguments covered
in hundreds of pages of submissions to the court, that there
was no evidence of their participation in a conspiracy and
that their actions were, in some cases, requested by foreign
governments. They argued that in countries including Japan, New Zealand and China, as well as in Hong Kong, an
agreement on surcharges was permitted.
In the case of Hong Kong, the airlines had worked together
through the Board of Airlines Representatives to agree on
surcharges and surcharge triggering mechanisms. They argued that individual applications were not permitted. But
the plaintiffs showed that anticompetitive behaviour must
be “mandated or compelled” by a foreign state, not “merely approved or permitted”, and that US rules had been
breached.
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In addition, Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings (AAWW) had
sought to distance itself from accusations levelled at its subsidiary, Polar Air Cargo, claiming AAWW was simply a “holding company” and had no involvement in Polar’s business,
other than its investment.
However, the plaintiffs argued: “The evidence shows otherwise. AAWW dominated and controlled its wholly owned
subsidiary Polar Air Cargo Inc, treating it as a mere division
and micromanaging its operations.”
They argued that the board of directors was identical, each
entity was treated as part of an integrated portfolio, the
fleets were combined and there were no segregated corporate records. They also contended that: “By causing Polar
to pay AAWW approximately $177 million after this lawsuit
was filed in 2006, and by causing Polar to transfer its assets
and operations to an affiliated company in 2007, AAWW
stripped Polar of its assets and caused it to become undercapitalised while leaving it ‘holding the bag’ for its antitrust
liability.”
The ruling will come as a disappointment to the airlines
which have spent considerable time and money to have the
case dropped, while other carriers paid compensation. They
are the last airlines in the case after 27 carriers settled for a
total of more than $1bn.
Hausfield partner Brent Landau, for the plaintiffs, said the
judge’s ruling was “a major milestone for the victims of this
massive price-fixing conspiracy”.
ANTI-CORRUPTION WATCHDOG: ONLY 4 OF 41
COUNTRIES ACTIVELY FIGHTING BRIBERY
BY COMPANIES
Associated Press
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/08/20/anti-corruption-watchdog-only-4-41-countries-actively-fighting-bribery-by/
An anti-corruption watchdog says only four of 41 countries
that signed an anti-bribery convention 16 years ago are actively investigating and prosecuting companies that bribe
foreign officials to win contracts, or dodge taxes and local
laws.
Transparency International, which annually assesses compliance with the OECD anti-bribery convention, said Thursday that Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and
the United States are the only countries considered to be
actively enforcing the agreement.
The organization says six countries are classified as having
moderate enforcement, nine have limited enforcement,
and the remaining 20 “are doing little or nothing.” Two
could not be measured.
The worst category includes six of the Group of 20 global
economic powers: Argentina, Japan, Russia, Mexico, Brazil,
and Turkey.
ASIA PACIFIC NATIONS AIM TO ELIMINATE 80% OF
IMPORT DUTIES IN 10 YEARS
Bilaterals.org Staff
h t t p : / / w w w. b i l a t e r a l s . o r g / ? a s i a - p a c i f i c - n a tions-aim-to&lang=en
Trade ministers from 16 Asia Pacific countries agreed today
(Aug 24) to eliminate tariffs on 80 per cent of their imports
within a decade, in a major breakthrough in talks for a massive regional free trade deal.
The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) and China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India, which have been negotiating for a trade pact
known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership or RCEP since May 2013, have been bogged down by
the issue of modality in goods until now.
“The biggest issue we resolved today was agreement on
modality in goods, meaning the level of tariff reduction,”
Malaysian International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed said in a press conference at the end of the
ministerial meeting, adding “I consider this to be a major
achievement”.
The ministers agreed that upon being put into force, no
duty will be imposed on 65 per cent of tariff lines, and in 10
years it will be 80 per cent.
“Details will be worked out in the next few weeks,” Mr Mustapa said. “Our position now is for RCEP to be substantively
concluded by the end of this year. There will be some technical issues which need to be resolved in 2016. We have
to be realistic. Although the original plan was to complete
everything perhaps by 2015, now we know that some issues might have to be carried forward. But those are minor
issues.”
He said part of the problems faced in negotiations was that
some countries involved do not have bilateral free trade
agreements like Japan and China or China and India.
A meeting of the trade negotiating committee is scheduled
for Oct 12 to 16 in Busan, South Korea.
“(We) hope that by the time Busan comes in October, countries can exchange requests and offers,” Mustapa said. He
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said he expects an agreement can be reached by mid-2016.
The RCEP is touted as the world’s largest free trade deal as
it will cover half the world’s population and, with a combined output that stood at US$22.7 trillion (S$32.1 trillion)
in 2014, accounts for almost 30 per cent of the global economy.
Last year, the total trade of RCEP economies reached
US$10.8 trillion while total foreign investment inflow hit
US$366.3 billion.
Efforts under RCEP have paralleled with more high-profile
free trade talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) led by
the United States.
TPP is seen as crucial for the United States to counter China’s growing influence in the Asia-Pacific region, while RCEP
is one of the key platforms for China to strengthen its trade
ties with other nations.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Providing high-touch, high-service, high-value
supply chain solutions in 110 offices in 24 countries.
8
DIESEL PRICES FALL FOR 14TH STRAIGHT WEEK,
REPORTS EIA
Logistics Management Staff
http://www.logisticsmgmt.com/article/diesel_prices_
fall_for_14th_straight_week_reports_eia
The 4.7 cent drop follows a 5.4 cent decline last week, with
prices falling a cumulative 40 cents since the week of May
25.
The national average for diesel gasoline prices fell for the
14th consecutive week, according to data issued by the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration
this week.
On an annual base, the current diesel average is down
$1.30.
The average price dropped 4.7 cents to $2.514 per gallon,
which now stands at the lowest weekly average price for
diesel since July 2009, when it was at $2.542 the week of
July 27, 2009, according to EIA data.
Oil is currently trading at $47.21 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
PORT OF OAKLAND: VESSEL TRAFFIC JAM IN
SAN FRANCISCO BAY FADING
Patrick Burnson
http://www.logisticsmgmt.com/article/port_of_oakland_vessel_traffic_jam_in_san_francisco_bay_fading
A backlog of container ships crowding San Francisco Bay is
fading, the Port of Oakland announced yesterday.
Furthermore, noted port spokesmen, there were no vessels at anchor waiting for berths at its five marine terminals. It was the sixth straight day of no waiting after a summer-long buildup of ships in the Bay.
“The vessels waiting to berth have been declining the past
three weeks,” said Maritime Director John Driscoll. “Ships
are arriving in Oakland and going straight to berth.
He added that this is what shippers should expect.
The port cautioned that vessel backlogs could reoccur until
all longshore labor reinforcements are in place. That could
take another four-to-six weeks, the port said. Growth in the
labor force is expected to be completed in time for the autumn peak shipping season.
Meanwhile, the port said it continues to work on cargo
congestion in marine terminals that was exacerbated by
vessel backlogs.
Proposed remedies include Saturday gates and a common
pool of container chassis to help harbor truckers move
containers more quickly. The measures - while somewhat
controversial - are intended to hasten cargo delivery to
shippers.
As reported in LM, more than a dozen cargo ships filled the
San Francisco Bay anchorage in July. They were delayed by
a labor shortage that slowed vessel loading and unloading
in port. Since then, the number has been in decline
The port said an influx of additional longshore labor over
the past six weeks has helped eliminate the backlog. About
150 more dockworkers are joining the work force to accelerate vessel operations in Oakland. They’re being augmented by more than 300 casual or part-time workers. Another 30 marine clerk positions are being created, as well.
In the past four days, all requests for labor have been filled
at Port of Oakland marine terminals. For much of the summer, only 50-to-70 percent of the labor orders were filled.
9
ASIA PACIFIC CARGO DEMAND WEAKENED IN JULY
Air Cargo News Staff
http://www.aircargonews.net/news/airlines/single-view/
news/asia-pacific-cargo-demand-weakened-in-july.html
Asia Pacific carriers saw air cargo demand weaken in July
while international passenger numbers showed “further robust growth”.
Preliminary traffic figures for July released by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) saw airfreight markets
soften, “reflecting a slowdown in world trade activity and
weakening demand for Asian exports”.
Measured in freight tonne km (FTK) terms, air cargo demand
registered a 2.2% decline compared to the same month last
year, said AAPA.
Offered freight capacity increased by 2.9%, leading to a 3.2
percentage point fall in the average international freight
load factor to 62.1% for the month.
Commenting on the results, Andrew Herdman, AAPA director general, said:”On the freight side of the business, air
cargo demand began the year quite strongly but has lost
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momentum as a result of a slowdown in global trade and
weaker demand for Asian exports.
“For the January-July period, the region’s carriers reported
a 3.5% increase in international air cargo demand, down
from the 5.3% growth recorded in 2014.”
Herdman concluded, “Whilst demand for air travel remains
robust, the weak cargo markets highlight some wider concerns about downside risks to the global macroeconomic
outlook, including the effects of slower growth in China, exaggerated currency movements and stock market volatility,
that could affect both business confidence and consumer
demand going forward.”
STRIKE HITS INDIAN PORTS
JOC Staff
http://www.joc.com/port-news/asian-ports/strike-hits-indian-ports_20150902.html
A 24-hour strike by unionized dockworkers has disrupted
normal operations at some of the key Indian major public
ports, including largest container handler Jawaharlal Nehru
Port Trust, on Wednesday, according to local shipping sources.
The stoppage is part of a nationwide industrial action called
by all of major trade unions in the country to protest labor
reforms and other policy changes fast-tracked by the federal government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The
labor action is scheduled to end at midnight.
“As the majority of dockworkers are absent, operations at
the port terminals have been affected,” JNPT said in a report
to the Ministry of Shipping.
“On two vessels, loading and unloading of cargo could not
be carried out due to non-reporting of cargo-handling workers of the port,” the Chennai port trust said in a report.
The newest port data obtained by JOC.com shows steady
congestion is taking a toll on India’s top container port, as its
throughput tumbled nearly 10 percent from 387,275 TEUs
to 350,954 TEUs on a year-over-year basis.
The nationwide strike notice was issued by a consortium of
12 major labor federations to press their 12-point charter
of demands. Workers representing these labor groups on
Wednesday held rallies at major industrial locations in the
country to highlight the issues, according to reports.
The one-day stoppage is expected to cost the Indian economy roughly Rs. 25,000 crore (approximately $3.8 billion),
according to an estimate by the Associated Chambers of
Commerce and Industry.
“Export cargo will be backlog, throwing crucial delivery
schedules off, besides with exports being under pressure,
the strike is a further setback,” an Assocham official said in
Kolkata.
Unionized dockers have also walked off the job at other major state-owned ports, including Kandla, Paradip, Visakhapatnam, Cochin and Tuticorin, according to reports. “All in/
out vessel movements have been suspended at Kandla,” a
shipping line representative told JOC.com.
But JNPT officials did not cite any major disruptions at the
two private terminals in the harbor, including APM Terminals-operated Gateway Terminals India, which has experienced a series of stoppages during the past year.
An official at APMT Mumbai told JOC.com that the terminal was operating normally on Wednesday morning. “Gate
operations continue to be normal, with a daily average of
4,000 20-foot-equivalent units being handled through the
gates,” the official said, responding to a JOC.com request
regarding the system outage on Tuesday.
For JNPT, this was the second labor disruption in as many
months. On August 4, GTI, the largest container facility in
JNPT, abruptly shut down all operations following a go-slow
action by workers handling rubber-tire gantry crane operations over contract issues. This forced carriers to reroute
ships and drop off JNPT imports at neighboring hub ports in
the region, particularly Colombo in Sri Lanka.
11
RUSSIA CRACKING DOWN ON PORT CORRUPTION
AFTER BRIBERY ALLEGATIONS
Eugene Gerden
http://www.joc.com/port-news/european-ports/russia-cracking-down-port-corruption-after-bribery-allegations_20150828.html
The Russian government said it’s cracking down on port
and customs corruption by dismissing several St. Petersburg
customs officials tied to a bribery investigation and beginning internal port inspections next month.
The action comes after German prosecutors in 2013 began
investigating Ford Motor Co. and DB Schenker, a subsidiary
of the German Deutsche Bahn railway company, on suspicion the duo paid St. Petersburg port and custom officials
bribes to get goods cleared faster through Russia’s largest
container port. The $1 million in bribes were transferred
to officials through banks in Switzerland and Cyprus, said a
Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs spokesman.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has joined
the investigation, a source told Reuters. A Ford spokesman
12
could not confirm or deny the SEC was investigating the carmaker that produces Focus and Modeo models at a St. Petersburg plant, according to Reuters. Deutsche Bahn said it
has already dismissed staff related to the accusations and is
investigating others employees.
Russia said it has dismissed several senior officials at the
North-West Customs Administration, which serve the St.
Petersburg port, and employees at Global Ports and FESCO, two large Russian container terminal operators. The
government said it plans to file criminal charges against the
fired officials.
Starting next month, the Russian government will begin
inspections of ports and customs operations, particularly
those in the Far East and on the Black Sea. The government
plans to announce the results of its corruption investigation
in early October 2016.
31st DAILY RAIL SERVICE FOR FELIXSTOWE
AJOT Staff
http://www.ajot.com/news/31st-daily-rail-service-for-felixstowe
The 31st daily rail freight service has commenced today (2
September 2015) from the Port of Felixstowe, the Port of
Britain.
The new service is operated by GB Railfreight, their 7th daily
service from the port. It runs between Felixstowe and Birch
Coppice, Birmingham.
Commenting on the new service, Clemence Cheng,
Chief Executive Officer of the Port of Felixstowe and
Managing Director of HPH Europe division, said: “As
well as being the busiest container port in the UK, Felixstowe also operates the country’s biggest intermodal rail facility. In 2014 we handled close to 900,000 TEU
by rail. This record volume was achieved by the investment we made in our newest terminal, the North Rail
Terminal, and the dedicated employees in our rail team
working closely with our customers and Network Rail
to improve on our efficiency and the handling of longer
trains. The 30+ wagon trains that run from there are
the longest intermodal trains in the UK.
John Smith, Managing Director of GB Railfreight, added:
“This is a really exciting day for us. We have worked extremely hard to identify opportunities to increase our
capacity to and from the port. As a result, we now run
the longest intermodal freight trains on the network
with wagons that can accommodate 40 foot-containers.
“The winning of our 7th slot is an important milestone
as it enables us to further expand our capacity, helping us to continue to meet the demand from our customers and support the growth of the intermodal rail
freight market and its potential to take freight off the
roads.”
Regular rail services are also run from Felixstowe to
Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Teesport, Birmingham, Doncaster, Tilbury, Selby, Hams Hall, Daventry, Wakefield, Ditton (Widnes), Burton, Scunthorpe
and Bristol.
“Capacity at the North Rail Terminal is being further enhanced
by two new Rail-Mounted Gantry Cranes. Together with the
new service launched today,
this investment further enhances the unique range and
frequency of services available
at Felixstowe giving port users
greater choice and more opportunities to strip carbon from
their supply chains.”
The new rail cranes at Felixstowe have been co-financed by
the European Union Trans-European Transport Network
(TEN-T) programme. They bring
to nine the number of gantry
cranes serving the port’s three
rail terminals.
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