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.TOP NEWS
UK, EU meeting in bid to calm post-Brexit trade turbulence
CTV News
Breaking up is proving hard to do for Britain and the European Union, whose divorce deal is in choppy waters just six weeks after the U.K. made its economic split from the bloc.
U.K. Brexit minister Michael Gove and European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic are meeting in London to try to smooth out the problems, but few expect a quick resolution.
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First Black woman to lead WTO says she will prioritize fair trade, access to Covid-19 vaccines
CNN
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was confirmed as director-general of the World Trade Organization on Monday, becoming the first woman and the first African to lead the global trade body.
Okonjo-Iweala was appointed by the WTO after the last remaining rival candidate, South Korean trade minister Yoo Myung-hee, withdrew from the race. She will take up her post on March 1, initially for a term that runs until August 2025.
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Higher diesel prices likely as freeze shuts down Gulf Coast refineries
Freight Waves
Diesel prices got another boost as the deep freeze hitting Texas that drove up natural gas prices to astronomical levels late last week is now resulting in the closure of refining capacity.
The one refinery that has confirmed its closure due to weather-related problems is the biggest in the U.S. — the Motiva refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, at 600,000 barrels per day. Reuters and Bloomberg both reported that the closures had been confirmed with Motiva, which is 100% owned by Saudi state oil company Aramco.
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Quasar is an end-to-end supply chain optimization platform that enables the management and cost control of the supply chain for shippers. It’s a fully cloud enabled and digital platform designed to automate manual effort in tracking assets, as well as provide data and insights into how to optimize the supply chain from “order to cash.”
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.RAIL
Rail traffic for the week ending February 13, 2021
AAR
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending February 13, 2021.
For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 480,483 carloads and intermodal units, up 0.3 percent compared with the same week last year.
Total carloads for the week ending February 13 were 211,420 carloads, down 7 percent compared with the same week in 2020, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 269,063 containers and trailers, up 6.9 percent compared to 2020.
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Railroad service improvement perhaps a C+
RailwayAge
Precision Scheduled Railroading overall so far is not anywhere near "precise-delivery railroading."
Quarterly reports traditionally are a financially portrayed score card written to investors. Equity and debt holders want to see how the railroads are doing.
The railroads don't seem to talk much to their customers at these quarterly reviews. But there are a few messages that shippers should take away when listening. Yes, we do know that some important rail customers do listen in.
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CN to hold advisory vote on climate action plan
Progressive Railroading
CN's board announced yesterday it will seek an annual advisory vote on the company's climate action plan during the general meeting of shareholders in April.
The plan includes annual disclosure of greenhouse-gas emissions aligned with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), a science-based 2030 emission intensity-reduction target, and annual progress updates.
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.TRUCKING
Saskatchewan rest areas lacking adequate services, says poll
Truck News
Half of commercial drivers in Saskatchewan feel the condition of rest stops and pullouts in the province are of very low to low quality, while the other 50% say they are in neither high or low condition.
Data collected by the Saskatchewan Trucking Association's (STA) Ministry of Highways Survey revealed drivers would like to see more full-service rest areas, as well as more that are suitable for large tractor-trailer combinations.
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How trucking fleets can escape the insurance squeeze
Truckinginfo
Even if a trucking fleet were never to have a crash or injury, it still must be insured — adequately insured, and at the lowest reasonable cost. That is getting tougher to pull off as commercial insurance coverage becomes more costly than ever. However, there are more than a few routes a fleet can take to help escape the squeeze of rising insurance costs.
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.AIR
Ocean carrier CMA CGM buys jets for new air cargo unit
American Shipper
CMA CGM, the fourth-largest container shipping line and parent of CEVA Logistics, now owns a cargo airline. The move bears similarities to what Amazon.com did five years ago when it launched a private airline to help support its rapidly growing e-commerce business.
The French shipping company, based in Marseille, announced it was diversifying its transportation and logistics portfolio by creating an airfreight division.
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'It's a juggling act' say handlers as cargo congestion swamps Europe's airports
The Loadstar
Forwarders and other stakeholders are being urged to help stem the chaos at airports, as multiple hubs and handlers across western Europe face severe congestion, with no sign of flows easing despite China's holiday.
Cargo flows continue to be high — but also unpredictable — and handlers say they expect volumes to continue throughout the Chinese new year break.
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.MARINE
Major economic and logistics impacts for Quebec and Ontario businesses that use the Port of Montreal
AJOT
As the negotiation process is currently suspended and the truce between the dockworkers' union CUPE 375 and the Maritime Employers Association (MEA) draws to a close, and in the context of an unprecedented pandemic that the Canadian economy must continue to face, the Montreal Port Authority (MPA) hopes that the parties will quickly reach an agreement to avoid a new work stoppage by the dockworkers. Already, the Port of Montreal’s user companies and clients are feeling the impacts.
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Shippers baulk as contract box rates spike to massive highs
Splash247
Contract rates as measured by the 23-year-old China (Export) Containerized Freight Index (CCFI) have risen faster than ever recorded putting containerlines on course to register improved profits this year, even over 2020’s stellar performance. However, latest data seen by Splash shows many shippers are baulking at signing lengthy contracts now, willing to wait till the market cools.
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Patience tested: 62 ships at anchor in San Pedro Bay
American Shipper
Sixty-two vessels, including 20 container ships destined for the Port of Los Angeles, were at anchor in San Pedro Bay early Wednesday afternoon.
"If we do nothing, we will still have vessels at anchor come midsummer," Port of LA Executive Director Gene Seroka said during a press conference.
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Michelin commits to shipping tires on sail-powered cargo ships
gCaptain
Tire manufacturer Michelin has agreed to ship some of its tires using two sail-powered cargo ships being developed by French shipping line Neoline.
Under the agreement, tires will be loaded in containers and shipped from Michelin's facilities in Halifax, Nova Scotia to Saint-Nazaire, France as soon as the Neoline's first ships enter service in 2023.
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Chinese officials call for cooperation to end container shortage
The Maritime Executive
With reports of growing congestion and the lack of containers spreading into China's major ports, Chinese officials are calling for great cooperation to maintain trade and slow the rise in container rates. They recently called on the ports and shipping associations to work with the international carriers to resolve the container shortage.
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