NOTICIAS MES DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2002 (NEWS)

25/09/02 GT Nexus Introduces "Enterprise Series 7" - Announced developments in Supply Chain Execution Software - Company also establishes dedicated brand for popular ocean shipping portal

GT Nexus, the leading provider of global logistics and supply chain software announced a corporate expansion strategy to drive growth in the important market for supply chain execution software, starting with the launch of its Enterprise Series 7 product line. A web-hosted technology offering, Enterprise Series 7 features a comprehensive suite of applications to plan, procure, manage, optimize and execute global logistics, multi-modal transportation and supply chain operations, from order point to final delivery, on a single collaborative platform.

GT Nexus also announced that it is establishing a distinct, dedicated brand, GTN - powered by GT Nexus, for its popular ocean transportation portal. This web-based transaction platform -- integrated with multiple ocean carriers representing about 40 percent of global capacity - has grown to include more than 5,000 users worldwide from over 2,000 companies.

Tim Minahan, Vice President of Supply Chain Research at Aberdeen Group, commented, "Enterprise Series 7 is a natural extension of GT Nexus' proven execution and event management capabilities. The enhanced platform offers a single point of command and control for execution, contract management, and performance management activities across global supply chain operations."

Air Freight, Supply Chain Performance Management Products Introduced:

GT Nexus has been long recognized as a provider of software for ocean transportation planning, procurement, management and execution. Enterprise Series 7 marks a major expansion with new products introduced in several areas:

-Air Freight transportation planning, optimization and contract management

-Supply chain performance management and analytics

-Multi-modal freight audit and payment

Products are configured specifically for customers to connect them with all their global supply chain partners, including suppliers, carriers and forwarders.

GTN, the leading ocean transportation transaction portal, will continue to be powered by GT Nexus technology and supported by the company's management, engineering, operations, marketing and product development teams. Launched in April 2001, GTN technology is in its seventh generation of deployment.

"GTN is seeing accelerated adoption in the market, with our user base growing consistently and transactions increasing at a steady clip of about 40 percent every month," said John Urban, GT Nexus President. "Establishing a dedicated brand for the portal will help increase market recognition and enable us to drive continued growth." GT Nexus Enterprise Series 7 is available immediately. To learn more about product logistics and supply chain software solutions, write to info@gtnexus.com or visit www.gtnexus.com.

GTN products enable enterprises and third party logistics providers to optimize and manage the flow of goods and information through a single platform, from order point to final delivery, anywhere around the globe.

24/09/02 Lufthansa in process for renewing its fleet - Board approves purchase of ten Airbus A330-300s

The Lufthansa Supervisory Board approved the purchase of ten Airbus A330-300 jets. With this decision, Lufthansa is streamlining its medium-term fleet expansion and is also taking advantage of the current favourable market conditions for aircraft procurement.

The purchase has already been accounted for in the Lufthansa Group's capital expenditure budget. Lufthansa is also continuing to invest in one of Europe's most modern fleets that combines fuel efficiency and low emission values.

Delivery is scheduled from January 2004 to November 2005. Lufthansa is thus securing the aircraft capacity it requires to meet planned growth and the increase in traffic volume forecast for 2003. In contrast to its rivals, Lufthansa sees excellent medium-term growth prospects on long-haul routes in particular.

The A330 has outstanding operational and commercial features and bears many similarities to the A340 - an aircraft type of which Lufthansa currently has 34 in service. The A330 will therefore be readily integrated into the long-range fleet and prove an excellent addition. A decision on the engine manufacturer will not be taken before the end of this year at the earliest.

23/09/02 Delta Air Lines Cancels Buenos Aires, Rio De Janeiro Services, Carrier Cites Less Demand for Worldwide Air Travel

Delta Air Lines said it is making a strategic business decision to cancel its daily, nonstop service from Atlanta to Buenos Aires and from Atlanta to Rio de Janeiro.

The last southbound flights will operate on Nov. 30, 2002, and the last northbound flights will operate on Dec. 1, 2002. Delta will continue to operate its daily nonstop service between Atlanta and Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Subodh Karnik, senior vice president - Network and Revenue Management, said, "Lower demand for air travel worldwide and the continued weak U.S. and global economy has resulted in significant financial losses for these services. We have concluded it is better to focus our resources on those markets where we can be most competitive and realize the greatest revenue generation opportunities.

"We do not cancel service without giving great consideration to the impact on the communities involved. However, we do not see market conditions becoming favorable in either market in the next 12 months," he said. "The people of Delta are our most important asset and we value their efforts and abilities. The closing of these two stations is not a reflection on their dedicated service, but is a necessary step that Delta must take."

Delta began daily service between Atlanta and Buenos Aires in April 2001, and started service between Atlanta and Rio in June 1997.

In discussing Delta's future Latin American strategy, Karnik said, "Delta remains committed to the Latin America region. We are always looking for opportunities and evaluating market potential. Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro are key markets in Latin America. We will continue to assess the market potential for both."

Despite polite comments issued by Delta directives, only one is the present reality, Only a year after having initiated service to Buenos Aires, Delta Airlines cancels same due to significant financial losses as result of less traveling demand...

20/09/02 Wilh.Wilhelmsen ASA and Wallenius Lines AB - Signed the strategic acquisition of Korea's Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., Ltd. (HMM) car carrier division.

Representatives from Wilh.Wilhelmsen ASA (WW) and Wallenius Lines AB (OW) signed the agreement with Korea's Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., Ltd. (HMM) on the acquisition of HMM's car carrier division. The terms of the agreement include long-term exclusive contracts with Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) and Kia Motors Corporation (KMC) on shipping their car exports for an initial five-year period, with provision for extensions.

The newly-established company, which will acquire HMM's car carrier division, will be incorporated in Korea, with WW and OW together holding 80% and with HMC and KMC together holding 20%.

Completion of the acquisition is conditional upon obtaining regulatory approval and financing.

President of Wallenius Lines AB, Carl Johan Hagman (36), has been appointed President & Chief Executive Officer of the newly-established company. Mr. Hagman has extensive experience in the global shipping industry and has also previously lived and worked in Korea.

Commenting on the agreement with HMM, Mr. Hagman said "This presents a unique opportunity for WW and OW to become participants in the continuing success of HMC and KMC in the global automotive industry by providing the highest quality car transportation services based on global best practices."

HMM's car carrier division is one of the leaders in the global shipping industry, and currently operates a fleet of 76 vessels dedicated to transporting cars manufactured by HMC, KMC and other major global car and Ro/Ro manufacturers to various destinations world-wide.

Mr. Sjur Galtung, Deputy Group Chief Executive of WW, also commented "This acquisition will be the largest foreign acquisition of a Korean operation and is a reflection of our faith in Korea and faith in the long term success of the Korean automotive industry. We have all witnessed the exceptional growth rates achieved by HMC and KMC and we would like to bring our global transportation resources and decades-long experience to support HMC and KMC in their goal of becoming a Global Top 5 car manufacturer."

WW and OW also own 50 per cent each in a joint venture, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Lines (WWL), which operates a combined fleet of car and Ro/Ro carriers in liner traffic and contract shipping. WWL is one of the world's largest transporters of rolling cargo, with a fleet of 60 vessels and operations in all the large and important trades.

With the acquisition of HMM's car carrier division, WW and OW with their joint holdings will be the global leaders in the transportation of cars and other rolling car cargoes.

19/09/02 TMM Lines launched a new service between the US Gulf, Central America and West Coast South America.

The m.v. "TMM Chiapas", departing Houston on September 19, will launch the Gulf-Andes service which operates once every ten days.

The service provides shippers with two main links, both northbound and southbound:

- Between US Gulf/Florida and West Coast South America

- Between Central America and the US Gulf/Florida

In Central America, shippers in Honduras and Costa Rica, are directly linked with the West Coast of South America. Customers in Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua are linked into the service through intermodal connections.

The service features direct calls to Cartagena with connectivity to La Guaira and Puerto Cabello in Venezuela.

Juan Manuel Gonzalez, Senior Vice President, says: "We see this Gulf-Andes service as a natural addition to the portfolio of services we already offer throughout the Americas.

"We are sure that business will grow very rapidly, both northbound and southbound. I know that shippers in Valparaiso, Guayaquil, Puerto Limón and Puerto Cortes particularly, will appreciate the extra capacity for temperature-controlled cargo."

"We can now also offer shippers in the US Gulf direct connections to the growing markets of Central America and the West Coast of South America. It's just four days from Miami to Puerto Limon (Costa Rica) and 21 days from Miami to Valparaiso."

The full port rotation is: Houston, New Orleans, Miami, Puerto Cortes, Puerto Limón, El Tablazo, Cartagena, Guayaquil, Callao, Valparaiso, Lirquen*, Ilo*, Callao, Guayaquil, Cartagena, Barranquilla*, Puerto Limon, Puerto Cortes, Houston.

*Every two weeks

12/09/02 The A.P. Moller Group - Maersk continuous growing by purchasing independent shipping lines. This time has purchased Torm Lines

The A.P. Moller Group - Maersk - including Safmarine have agreed to purchase Torm Lines from A/S Dampskibsselskabet Torm. The agreement was signed in Denmark on 9th September 2002 and will take effect from 16th September 2002.

Torm Lines is an operator of container and break bulk services from the US Gulf and East Coast of America to the West Coast of Africa. It currently operates four multipurpose vessels on a direct transatlantic service and a further four vessels on a feeder service along the coast in Africa.

The employees working with Torm Lines in Denmark, the USA and West Africa will be offered jobs within Maersk Sealand and Safmarine.

Commenting on the announcement, Mr Vagn Lehd Møller, Executive Vice President of A.P. Møller said: "The acquisition of Torm Lines' USA / West Africa service provides us with a number of new opportunities to improve coverage within the container segment and as a strong provider of regular coverage of the break bulk market in this trade. We believe this offers interesting growth opportunities and service improvements to the benefit of our customers."

Mr Klaus Kjaerulff, Managing Director of A/S Dampskibsselskabet Torm, said: "Torm Lines has a strong position in the US / West African market and we are proud of its achievements. However, the focus of our group has now gravitated towards our activities in the product tanker and dry bulk sectors. We felt the future of the company was better assured with the larger global operations of A.P. Møller."

The A.P. Moller Group, whose headquarters are at Esplanaden, Copenhagen, employs over 60,000 people worldwide and has offices in more than 100 countries.

The A.P. Møller Fleet comprises more than 250 vessels with a total deadweight of about 12,000,000 tons and includes container vessels, tankers, bulk carriers, supply ships, special vessels and drilling rigs.

Besides shipping, the A.P. Moller Group is engaged in exploration for and production of oil and gas, shipbuilding, aviation, industry, supermarkets and IT services.

A.P. Møller and Mærsk
While the A.P. Moller Group is named after its founder A.P. Møller, the Mærsk name originates from A.P. Møller's grandmother Kiersten Pedersdatter Mærsk and can be traced back to the beginning of the 16th century.

Today, the Mærsk name (spelled Maersk in international settings) is used as a part of the trading/company name by several busines units in the A.P. Moller Group.

09/09/02 Lufthansa Cargo increases it's Fuel Surcharge to 0.10 euros per kilo of actual freight weight on September 23, 2002

Lufthansa Cargo is increasing the Fuel Surcharge from 0.05 to 0.10 euros per kilo of actual freight weight on September 23, 2002. The logistics company in the Lufthansa Group is following a method announced at the beginning of 2002.

The method is valid throughout the entire worldwide Lufthansa Cargo network and governs the introduction and increase, as well as the reduction or withdrawal of Fuel Surcharges based on so-called "Fuel Price Indexes".

Whenever the Fuel Price Index exceeds the threshold of 135 for two consecutive weeks, a surcharge of 0.10 euro per kilogram of actual freight weight is imposed according to the method applied at Lufthansa Cargo. In the last two weeks the Fuel Price Index had reached 138 and 142 points respectively.

The German cargo carrier publishes its Fuel Price Index weekly on the company website at: www.lufthansa-cargo.com.

Lufthansa is the first carrier to announce such an increase, other airlines are expected to follow same steps.

06/09/02 Hamburg Süd signs agreement to join new round-the-world service in cooperation with P&O Nedlloyd, Contship and CMA CGM.

Hamburg Süd, a leader in marine transport and modern intermodal logistics, and a specialist in North/South trade, announced that it has signed an agreement to participate in a new round-the-world (RTW) service configuration in cooperation with P&O Nedlloyd (PONL), Contship and CMA CGM.

The lines will rationalize resources to create both Eastabout and Westabout RTW rotations and subject to regulatory approval will commence in November 2002. The new Service will provide shippers with enhanced schedule frequency and reliability.

The Australasia to North America legs of the two rotations will replace the long-standing Australia/New Zealand (ANZ) to East Coast North America Vessel Sharing Agreement (VSA) between Hamburg Süd's Columbus Line subsidiary, and PONL. Columbus Line will also use the enhanced configuration to open new direct service for its customers between Australasia and Europe, further expanding the global scope of Hamburg Süd container trade routes.

The Eastabout service will provide weekly sailings from Australia/New Zealand to the U.S.Eastcoast via the Panama Canal, continuing on to Europe and then returning to Australia/New Zealand via the Suez Canal.It will operate using ten new 4,100 TEU (1,300 reefer slots) vessels.

The Westabout service will sail from the USEC through the Panama Canal to the Pacific Islands and Australia/New Zealand, then to Southeast Asia, the Suez Canal and Europe, before returning to the U.S. East Coast. It will utilize twelve 2,100 TEU ships. A Hamburg Süd-named vessel will participate in each of the two RTW rotations.

Port rotations for each string are still being finalized and service participants expect to announce those details shortly. Columbus Line officials said the new service configuration offers a number of benefits for its customers: improved frequency (weekly vs. the current 9-10 days); faster transit times made possible by the 23.5 knot service speed of the new vessels; and expanded reefer capacity to serve the important meat trade from Australia and New Zealand to the East Coast. Hamburg Süd recently announced the purchase of 2,300 advanced Volumax integrated reefer containers. A significant portion of the more than $40 million investment is being positioned for use on this trade route.

The Australasia to North Europe service addition opens new options for Columbus Line customers on both continents in addition to expanding the company's operational flexibility in the positioning of equipment worldwide. Officials said the new RTW rotations will not affect Columbus Line's existing fixed-day weekly service linking Australia/NZ and West Coast North America service, nor its West Coast services to and from the Pacific Islands.

04/09/02 UPS Launches Ocean Service - UPS has launched a new ocean option for shippers who manufacture goods in China and Brazil and import into the United States.

The new service dramatically speeds the movement of ocean-transported goods by minimizing stops on land.

The new service, UPS Trade Directsm Ocean, transforms ocean-containers into pre-labeled small packages or less-than-truckload shipments. Shipments move from the ports to nearby UPS freight facilities with minimal handling, processing and storage.

UPS Trade Direct Ocean, operated by UPS Freight Services, is the latest integrated service in UPS's growing portfolio of transportation and logistics options that enable global commerce and simplify international trade for customers. This contractual service is ideal for large apparel, sporting goods, electronics and other companies that utilize ocean as an economical transport mode and want order delivery direct to their customers.

The streamlined processes benefits shippers by bypassing multiple distribution centers, minimizing the need for shipper-owned warehouses. The process also minimizes handling, which potentially means less loss and damage and faster origin-to-final destination transit times. Customers currently using the service indicate time savings of 2-20 days. Shippers also see indirect savings because their inventory is moving faster from factories to end customers, speeding up their cash flow and receivables and lowering inventory carrying costs. Consolidated billing also helps to cut administrative costs for shippers. Initially, UPS Trade Direct Ocean is available for shipments with origins in China and Brazil that are destined for U.S. locations. Ports include Shanghai, Hong Kong and Yantian in China and Novo Hamburgo in Brazil.

Here's how it works:

Customers deliver shipments to UPS Freight Services centers in Brazil and China. Small packages destined for U.S. customers are labeled, then put in ocean containers. Ocean containers are transferred to ports and placed on ships, booked by UPS Ocean Freight Services which is an NVOCC (non-vessel operating common carrier). Upon arrival at the ports, UPS finalizes international trade documentation and customs clearance requirements.

From containers, small package shipments are deconsolidated then travel across the U.S. via UPS's rapid ground or air network. Shippers and customers can then track their shipments via the web. (Less-than-truckload service also is available.) Throughout the journey, UPS tracks by item, carton or shipment level.

UPS Trade Direct Ocean adds to UPS's growing portfolio of supply chain management and transportation network offerings. Operations include distribution centers in more than 150 countries and such services as freight forwarding, customs brokerage, international trade services, order fulfillment and service parts logistics. "Our goal is to simplify the complexity of global commerce, " said Joe Pyne, UPS Senior Vice President who is responsible for UPS Supply Chain Solutions.

UPS is a leading global provider of specialized transportation and logistics services, and is the world's largest small package and express carrier. Through its UPS Supply Chain Solutions subsidiaries, UPS delivers logistics, freight, customs brokerage, financial, mail services and consulting solutions to enhance customers' business performance. UPS Freight Services specializes in global transportation solutions, customs brokerage, and international trade management.

 

NOTICIAS DE MESES ANTERIORES (NEWS)