newsdesk www.bifa.org Ian Matheson, from Impress Communications, reviews some recent news that might impact on members’ business SNCF puts Channel operator SeaFrance up for sale French national rail operator SNCF has sought bids for its subsidiary SeaFrance, confirming media reports. The potential buyer will enjoy the position of “a leading operator for cross-Channel traffic” said the railway. The Rail <strong>Freight</strong> Group has published a new paper setting out its views on how the railways can best achieve cost reduction, economic growth and carbon reduction, without the need to adopt ideas such as vertical integration. It outlines some of the successes of the rail freight market and, in particular, how it has achieved a 30% improvement in efficiencies since being privatised. A launch event for ProtectRail, a €21 million European Commission-funded programme that aims to develop an integrated system intended to improve European railway security through better protection of trains and railways, was hosted by the <strong>International</strong> Union of Railways (UIC) last month. A report commissioned by the Campaign for Better Transport shows that Britain is lagging behind other European countries in developing a charging system for lorries to end unfair competition from foreign hauliers. TRANS European <strong>Freight</strong> Exchange, an internet platform where users share information about available loads and vehicles, has developed a highly efficient solution for marketing freight loads and truck space. The innovation is specially tailored to the requirements of forwarding alliances and larger forwarders with numerous branch offices. UK business secretary Vince Cable has visited DP World’s London Gateway project to give his backing to the £1.5 billion River Thames port and logistics park project. A potential of 36,000 new jobs could be created in the Thurrock, Essex, area. The port of Felixstowe handled a record 10,764 containers (16,209 teu) by rail in the week ending 26 September, beating the previous record by 182 boxes. Felixstowe said the increased volumes follow a number of track and equipment improvements made over the past two years, including a 39 metre extension of the South Rail Terminal to accommodate 22-wagon trains, and the inauguration of a second new rail-mounted gantry crane in August. Research by industry consultant Box Trade Intelligence (BTI) shows that shipping lines’ Asia-European services generated a $5.3 billion profit during the first half of 2010, compared with losses of $3.3 billion in the same period last year. This winter will see a growing number of idle containerships as lines layupvesselsfor the season, said Paris-based analyst AXS Alphaliner. The majority of ships expected to be laid-up are over 3,000 teu, a size of vessel difficult to switch to alternative trades. The Federal Aviation Administration in Washington has issued a safety alert for operators summarising research on the risks associated with the transporting of lithium batteries as cargo on aircraft. It recommends actions that air carriers and forwarders can take to reduce those risks. The restocking phase of the inventory cycle helped push international cargo traffic up 19.6% in August, compared with 23% growth in July. Official figures show this was 3% above the pre-recession levels of early 2008. During the firstquarter,airfreightgrewat an annualised rate of 25%, but only 12% for the first two months of the third quarter. Air Cargo News reported last month that despite meeting the deadline for 100% cargo screening, the US Transportation Security Administration still has gaping holes in its security, according to inspectors. The inspector general at the Department of Homeland Security investigated the current screening process and reported that terrorists can still easily smuggle explosives into the cargo of passenger aircraft. Cargo traffic at London Heathrow grew 12.2% in September over the same month a year ago, but freight demand showed signs of slipping with the airport’s smallest monthly tonnage since April. Heathrow’s cargo tonnage fell 2.7% in September compared with August, the second straight month-tomonth decline, airport manager BAA reported. ■ 4 November 2010
Fromdesktoptodestination Glyn Smith, Operations Director – Mapcargo <strong>International</strong> <strong>International</strong> freight forwarding & global logistics www.boxtop.net/study
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