Transportation: Page 491

Ocean Ports & Carriers

Maersk Group Considers Splitting Into Different Companies

A.P. Moller- Maersk

Maersk is now battling on two fronts, with container shipping suffering from historic low freight rates and the oil business dealing with around a 60 percent fall in oil prices.

Danish shipping and oil group A. P. Moller-Maersk could split up into separate companies, its chairman said on Thursday after naming Soren Skou, the head of its container business, as chief executive.

Ocean Ports & Carriers

Hapag-Lloyd Teams with INTRRA on Complying with Container Weight Rule

The e-VGM service is available in two versions for carriers and shippers and provides the operational capabilities for digital submission, receipt, processing and auditing of SOLAS-compliant VGMs.

Hapag-Lloyd will connect with the INTTRA e-VGM Service for facilitating compliance with the International Maritime Organization’s container weight requirements.

Ocean Ports & Carriers

Panama Canal Expansion to Change Regional Shipping Networks

The Suez Canal may still have an advantage over the Panama Canal in terms of the time taken to transport cargo, especially with the recent news that it will be offering more competitive tolls for ships.

The opening of the expanded Panama Canal is likely to create a significant shift in regional shipping networks, particularly with regards to the size and frequency of ships coming into the US East and Gulf Coast ports.

FAA Releases Drone Regulation; Amazon and Google to Deploy Drones Next Year

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

The use of drones for deliveries from companies like Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc., however, will require separate regulation.

Under the new rules, drone flights will be approved for agriculture, research and development, educational and academic use, and powerline, pipeline and antenna inspections. They will also be approved for aiding rescue operations, bridge inspections, aerial photography and wildlife nesting area evaluations.

Teasdale Foods Acquires Mesa Foods, Boosting its Hispanic Food Portfolio

Teasdale is a leading national provider of private label and branded Hispanic foods to the retail, food service and wholesale channels.

With the acquisition of Mesa, Teasdale is able to provide an entire suite of private label and branded Hispanic food products to a diverse customer base across a variety of channels including retail, food service, restaurants and wholesale.

Software & Technology

Walmart Sells Chinese E-Grocery Business to Rival JD.Com for 5% Stake

Wal-Mart's tie-up gives it access to JD.com's nationwide logistics and warehousing networks, as well as its over 150 million users, helping expand the U.S. firm's reach with China's increasingly tech-savvy middle class.

The sell-off, announced on Monday, is a significant shift for Wal-Mart in China, where it operates more than 400 brick-and-mortar stores.

North American Freight Shipments Continue to Struggle

Cass Information Systems, Inc.

Expenditures for freight fell for the third time in five months, according to the latest Cass Freight Index Report.

The measure for freight shipments rose 1.3 percent from the month before to a reading of 1.091, its highest level since November, but it’s down 5.8 percent from May a year ago. The gap from May 2014 is even larger, 7 percent, when the reading was at 1.173, one of its highest since the Great Recession.

Warehouse Costs Set to Rise; What Operators Can Do

By understanding the factors that will shape costs during the three years to 2019, warehouse operators can develop strategies to save money.

Wages are a key cost for warehousing providers, which require a significant amount of labor to handle and manage inventory.

KION Group to Acquire Dematic for $2.1 Billion

Dematic Corporation

KION GROUP will become one of the leading global providers of intelligent intralogistics solutions by acquiring Dematic

After deductions for certain liabilities, the KION Group expects the purchase price for the shares to amount to approximately $2.1 billion USD, based on an enterprise value of Dematic of $3.25 billion.

Ocean Ports & Carriers

Ocean Carriers Support Terminal Weighing Approach For SOLAS Requirement

OCEMA applauded the efforts of the ports and marine terminal operators that have announced that they will provide VGM weighing services on behalf of U.S. exporters and encourages ports and terminals across the country to adopt similar approaches.

Under the OCEMA terminal weighing approach concept, U.S. ports and marine terminal operators could weigh containers moving through their truck gates and provide the gross container weights directly to ocean carrier stowage planners.

Ocean Ports & Carriers

Maersk Line: SOLAS VGM Rule Necessary But Will Be Bumpy

When analyzing root causes for such accidents, it is clear that significant vessel instability has been caused by actual weight exceeding the declared weight by several hundred percent. For a few containers this might not be an issue, he noted, but when it is the case for more of the cargo, the risk of major container stack collapses or a serious vessel accident increases significantly.

FedEx Agrees to Pay Drivers $240 Million for Misclassifying Them as Contractors

The settlement, if approved, would be divided among 12,000 drivers, some of whom would receive tens of thousands of dollars.

Until 2011, FedEx contracted directly with independent contractors, allowing the Memphis, Tennessee-based company to save on taxes, fringe benefits, health care costs, pensions and other workers' costs.

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