Get your daily fix of industry news on logisticsmgmt.comAn executive summary of industry newsm YRCW restructuring: A done deal. YRCWorldwide (YRCW) shareholders unanimouslyvoted to have common stock of thefinancially-troubled LTL carrier diluted inthe last step of its financial restructuring.This news follows a $500 million restructuringannounced in July that included a new$400 million lending agreement. Before therestructuring, YRCW had 48 million outstandingshares; after the restructuring, it has 1.9billion shares, meaning former shareholderswill own just 2.5 percent. New shareholderscomprised of lenders, bondholders, and laborunion members now own the other 97.5 percentof the company. YRCW officials said therestructuring would enhance the company’sliquidity and provide a “runway for the continuedgrowth in revenues and earnings.”m Port Tracker predicts Peak Season. Importcargo volumes at major U.S.-based containerports are slowly seeing annual monthly gainsas retailers prepare for the holiday shoppingseason, according to the monthly Port Trackerreport by the National Retail Federation (NRF)and Hackett Associates. The Port Trackerreport is calling for September to come inat 1.5 million TEU for an 11.8 percent annualdecrease. <strong>October</strong> is expected to reach 1.48million TEU for a 9.5 percent increase. HackettAssociates President Ben Hackett said the<strong>2011</strong> Peak Season is already taking form inthe U.S. with slightly improved freight ratesand carriers implementing Peak Seasonsurcharges. And with the amount of inventorythat was being held, Hackett said a peakseason of some sort is in effect although itwill not be as strong as others due to a lack ofstrong demand.m Boeing late for its 747-8 Freighter date.Shippers anticipating the launch of Boeing’s747-8 Freighter last month were disappointedby a last minute cancellation. At issue, itseemed, was a contract negotiation with oneof the manufacturer’s key clients: Cargolux.Published reports contend that the disagreementbetween Boeing and the airline mighthave also involved compensation for QatarAirways that owns 35 percent of Cargolux.Quatar was promised 787 Dreamliner aircraftthat had not yet arrived. According to thejust published Boeing Current Market Outlook<strong>2011</strong>-2030, long-term economic projectionsare fraught with difficulty. This episodecertainly points to one them. “Many of theassumptions such as regional and nationalGDP growth underlying Boeing’s projectionsare highly variable, influenced by short-termfactors,” the report said.m Maersk wants to deliver the goods. Followingits promise to be more collaborativewith shippers, Maersk Line is introducing atime-definite service in the booming Asia-EUtrade lane that it’s calling Daily Maersk. “Upuntil now, customers have had to adjust theirproduction schedules and supply chains toaccommodate shipping lines’ unreliability, asthey have never been able to trust that theircargo would be on time,” said Maersk LineCEO Eivind Kolding. But Maersk promisesthat this will be a thing of the past, noting thatthe engine behind Daily Maersk is 70 vesselsoperating daily sailings between four ports inAsia (Ningbo, Shanghai, Yantian, and TanjungPelepas) and three ports in Europe (Felixstowe,Rotterdam, and Bremerhaven) in whatamounts to a giant “ocean conveyor belt” inthe carrier’s busiest global service.m Teamsters lawyer up. Following the Julyannouncement that the U.S. and Mexico hadreached a cross-border trucking agreement,a Wall Street Journal report indicated that theTeamsters union has filed a lawsuit againstthe White House that intends to block the deal.According to the report, the complaint allegesthat the “pilot program sets standards thataren’t stringent enough for Mexican trucks anddrivers,” adding that the cross-border truckingprogram, which is expected to kick off with apilot program in the next 30-to-60 days, waivesa law requiring trucks to display proof of meetingfederal safety standards. It added thatthe Teamsters believe the program is “faulty”because it includes standards that are impossiblefor Mexico to meet.continued, page 3 >><strong>October</strong> <strong>2011</strong> | WWW.LOGISTICSMGMT.COM <strong>Logistics</strong> <strong>Management</strong> 1
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