Trucking in the City
We all know trucks bring us good things, but are trucks good things? Not if they make deliveries in the early morning or at night, some New Yorkers think.
Residents of Manhattan's Upper East Side are divided over plans to extend truck delivery hours at a new three-story Fairway Market on East 86th Street.
They want the convenience, better cost and selection offered by a major supermarket—but not the added street and sidewalk traffic from truck deliveries.
And some of them really don't want the noise made by delivery trucks unloading goods as early at 5 a.m. and as late as 10 p.m., seven days a week.
It's a potential test case for New York City's plans to shunt truck freight delivery to off-peak hours, clearing congestion claimed to cost the city $13.4 billion a year.
It's also a test of whether municipal plans that sound fine on paper would make a hell of a noise outside an 86th Street window at 5:30 a.m. Sunday.
Local digital news outlet DNAinfo has been tracking the story as Fairway plans to move into a former Barnes & Noble location on the busy cross-town street.
The city gave Fairway Market a green light to extend loading zone hours over the objections of the East 86th Street Merchants/Residents Association.
That group has been working since 2002 on a $2.2 million capital improvement plan for the street that includes new benches, trees, bike racks and lampposts.
Additional truck traffic and sidewalks filled with boxes and pallets aren't in the architectural drawings available on the East 86th Street Association's Web site.
One member of the association and local community board told DNAinfo the 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. hours were "completely out of the realm of anything in the area."
That may be true, and no one likes being woken by the rumble of a delivery truck.
But would paralyzing a city block with midday truck traffic be a better solution? East 86th Street is a major commercial strip on Manhattan's East Side.
As a former resident of East 84th Street, I can attest that noise and inconvenience are a daily part of life in the Big Apple—as in any big city. No question.
But if New Yorkers really want the convenience of that East 86th Street market, they'll have to adjust to the inconvenience of extra trucks at some point, whether it's morning, noon or night.
Or just shop at the Upper West Side Fairway on Broadway and 74th Street.
Journal of Commerce Online
8/18/10
Mexican Duties Called ‘Bullying Tactics’
U.S. truckers and the Teamsters union have called on the Obama administration to fight back against the Mexican government’s imposition this week of additional duties on U.S. exports.
“These bullying tactics should not be tolerated. The onus is on Mexico to raise safety, security and environmental standards for their trucking industry,” said Todd Spencer, executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), in a statement. “We should not allow ourselves to be blackmailed into lowering our standards.”
More than 18 months have passed since Mexico first imposed the tariffs because the United States refuses to open its borders to Mexican trucks. On Monday, Mexico said it intended to add several products, while reducing or eliminating duties on several others, for a total of 99 products since the U.S. Congress has refused to fund the Cross-Border Trucking Pilot Program.
“At a time of deepening budget deficits and a weak economy, it would be foolish to subject U.S. taxpayers to such an expensive and very unsafe program,” said Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa. Restarting the program would cost an estimated $500 million.
“Instead of slapping additional tariffs on U.S. goods, Mexico should be living up to its end of the bargain by making sure its drivers and truckers are safe enough to use our highways,” Hoffa added.
OOIDA chastised the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative for failing to take action earlier against Mexico for implementing duties on U.S. exports.
“If the U.S. Trade Representative had called out Mexico for their illegal tariffs more than a year ago, we would not be in this situation,” Spencer said. “It was irresponsible to allow it to go on for this long.”
American Shipper
8/18/10
Rail Rebound Pushes Intermodal to 2010 Record
Container loadings climb to all time record, driving total past July 31 peak.
A rebound in U.S. rail freight volume pushed intermodal loads to their highest level of 2010 during the week ending Aug. 14.
The Association of American Railroads said major U.S. rail lines originated 233,767 intermodal container and trailer loads. Among them were the highest weekly number of container moves on record at 199,859 units.
That was the second time in three weeks that intermodal set new year-to-date peaks, after the major U.S. carriers picked up a then-2010 peak volume of 232,895 boxes in the July 31 week. In between, intermodal slowed mildly to 231,208 for the Aug. 7 period.
Truck trailers hauled on rail flatcars of major U.S. railroads have begun to slow slightly in recent weeks, from 34,896 loads originated for the seven days through July 31 to 34,641 a week later and 33,908 as of Aug. 14.
Until recently, intermodal trailer loadings had been rising, against a long-term trend of more shippers opting out of trailers for the more efficient, stackable containers. Industry sources had said some ocean cargoes at seaports were being transloaded into larger domestic trailers because comparable containers were too scarce.
Counting the large Canadian and Mexican railroads that report data to the AAR, total intermodal volume at major North American rail carriers reached 291,386 units in the Aug. 14 week, up from 287,679 a week earlier and 290,710 in the previous peak week of July 31.
Box volume on the continent's large railroads was up 20.4 percent last week from a year earlier, the AAR said. That includes a 21.8 percent year-over-year increase in container loadings, and a 10.7 percent jump in trailers.
Journal of Commerce Online
8/19/10
Air Freight Forwarding Growth Outpaces Ocean
Report says air freight market grew 38 percent in first half of 2010
Air freight forwarding grew at nearly triple the rate of ocean forwarding in the first half of 2010, a sign of volatile swings in capacity following last year’s contraction in shipping volume, according to a new report on global freight trends.
The air freight forwarding market grew 38 percent in the first six months of the year over the same period a year ago, according to London-based Transport Intelligence, while ocean forwarding expanded 13 percent from last year’s depressed levels.
The research group said the sharp shift in international shipping trends followed “drastic steps by air and sea carriers” to reduce capacity, pressuring shippers and their logistics providers to seek more expensive space.
The increase in volume this year followed a 23 percent year-over-year decline in the overall global forwarding market in 2009 and a slim 2.4 percent increase in 2008, Transport Intelligence said in its report on the forwarding market.
This year, “forwarders who only six months earlier had been contending with a crisis in volumes now faced a high demand/low capacity environment in which their gross profits were being undermined,” Transport Intelligence said.
The group expects the market to settle into a period of lower growth, however, and less volatility.
“The surge in volumes seen in the first half of this year has been caused by a correction in supply chain inventories,” said Transport Intelligence analyst John Manners-Bell. “We expect volumes to moderate in the next six months, followed by a period of lower growth. This means that, across the period as a whole, some air and sea forwarding markets—most notably Europe—will not return to 2008 pre-recession levels until after 2013.”
Journal of Commerce Online
8/16/10
Will Marine Highways Save US Shipbuilding?
The Department of Transportation’s announcement last week to advance their marine highways initiative was arguably the biggest single boost the fledgling industry has had since everyone started talking about the concept eight or nine years ago.
You could assume that a boost in U.S. coastal shipping would be a boon for U.S. shipbuilders, since the Jones Act requires that vessels operating in American waters be American-built. Some yards will benefit from new orders, but there’s no guarantee that the marine highways save the industry.
American Feeder Lines, one of the DOT’s designated projects, signed letters of intent with Aker Philadelphia Shipyard and Bay Shipbuilding for 10-1,300 TEU container ships to shuttle containers along the Atlantic coast. Price: $70 million apiece, and a badly needed shot in the arm for Aker.
“Ten vessels would be a substantial contribution, at least to one or two yards,” said Eugene P. Miller, an attorney with K&L Gates in Washington. But is $70 million the real cost? Traditionally, series construction lowers the unit cost of vessels, but new U.S. construction recently has been plagued by cost overruns.
Miller noted Aker’s order book goes empty once it completes the last two of a string of product tankers for the U.S. trade. Several mid-size yards have gone bankrupt in the past couple years, the result of a bad economy. Big builders that focus on Navy construction may be facing substantial cuts in government spending. Northrop Grumman, for example, earlier this year announced it was getting out of the business of building Navy ships, and a putting its yards up for sale.
Then factor in the still-fragile prospects for the marine highways. For the eight projects, DOT’s endorsement could give them credibility they didn’t have among prospective investors, but Miller said he’s unconvinced about the amount of cargo marine highways operators will be able to attract from highways and railways.
“There’s a lot of interest in the marine highways, and it clearly has objectives that are worthwhile from a lot of perspectives,” Miller said. Advocates argue that the marine highways can reduce air pollution, save energy and untangle congested highways.
“I may be the Cassandra around here, but I’ve still got to be convinced. I’m still not sure how big the market is. And $70 million is still an expensive vessel,” Miller said.
Journal of Commerce Online
8/20/10
MAPI Report: Manufacturing to Grow Faster Than Overall Economy
Manufacturing production is expected to grow by 5.7 percent in 2010 and 4.7 percent in 2011, according to a report recently released by the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI. In its Quarterly Economic Forecast, the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI says the economy has decelerated to a slow growth mode, but manufacturing is expected to hold its own.
"Expenditures are rapidly growing for business equipment, as are exports," said Daniel J. Meckstroth, Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI chief economist. "Manufacturing will grow faster than the general economy as it relies less on consumer spending while disproportionately benefiting from strong demand for business equipment, exports, and basic materials."
Non-high-tech industries should experience an increase in production by 5.1 percent this year and 4.3 percent in 2011, the report said. Meanwhile, high-tech manufacturing production is expected to grow at higher rates, with 14.5 percent growth in 2010 and 13 percent growth in 2011.
While the report expects overall unemployment to remain high, manufacturing should add 277,000 jobs this year, and 373,000 positions next year.
The report forecasts increases in exports and imports. Inflation-adjusted exports are expected to grow 12.5 percent in 2010, followed by an 8.1 percent gain in 2011. Imports should rise 11.8 percent in 2010 and 6.7 percent in 2011.
The forecast puts the price of imported crude oil at an average of $74.50 a barrel for 2010, and $78 a barrel in 2011. This compares to 2009's average of $59.40 per barrel.
Originally known as the Machinery and Allied Products Institute, MAPI was formed as a result of the Depression-era National Industrial Recovery Act to help stabilize the industry. The group still retains its original acronym and is devoted to serving manufacturers through a focused program of economic research and peer learning.
Truckinginfo.com
8/23/10
Unemployment Rates Rise in 14 states
NEW YORK—State unemployment took a negative turn in July, with more states posting rising jobless rates than in the previous month.
A total of 18 states and the District of Columbia posted unemployment rate decreases in July, according to the Labor Department's monthly report on state unemployment. Jobless rates rose in 14 states and were unchanged in 18 states.
The report was slightly gloomier than in June, when unemployment rates eased in more than half of all U.S. states for a third straight month and only five states reported jobless rate increases.
But at the same time, fewer states reported jobless rates of 10% or higher in July. While 17 states and D.C. reported rates at or above this level in June, only 11 states posted rates of 10% or higher in July.
Nevada posted a record high rate of 14.3%, making it the state with the highest level of unemployment for a third month in a row, after it took the distinction from Michigan in May.
But Michigan wasn't far behind, posting a 13.1% rate in July, followed by California, which posted a 12.3% rate.
North Dakota remained the state with the lowest unemployment, posting a 3.6% rate, followed by South Dakota and Nebraska, with rates of 4.4% and 4.7%, respectively.
Compared with the same period a year ago, the employment picture was a bit more encouraging, with more than half of the nation's states reporting lower unemployment. Twenty-seven states and D.C. posted rate declines from the previous year, while 20 states reported increases and three states had no change.
In a separate report earlier this month, the Labor Department said the economy continued to lose jobs in July, with employers cutting payrolls by 131,000. Meanwhile, the national unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.5%.
The state unemployment report issued Friday showed that 25 states reported jobless rates significantly lower than the national unemployment rate, while seven states had higher rates.
CNNMoney.com
8/20/10