(Prime Minister’s Office)
One of Canada’s top-20 international air travel markets, Switzerland is an important aviation partner for Canada. In this context, Canada and Switzerland have successfully concluded negotiations toward an Open Skies-type air transportation agreement, which modernizes the 1975 agreement (last amended in 2002) to better reflect today’s market realities.
The agreement now contains expanded operating rights for airlines from Canada and Switzerland to operate air transportation between each other’s territory and third countries, in conjunction with scheduled passenger and/or all-cargo air services between the two countries. It also enables airlines to adjust their prices with greater flexibility to meet current market conditions.
Overall, the agreement provides more flexibility for airlines and airports to consider commercial opportunities, facilitates greater economic activity, strengthens ties with Switzerland and ultimately benefits passengers and shippers by allowing more flight options and routings. Read more here.
Showing posts with label Transportation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Transportation. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
July Freight Cost Report
(Nulogx)
Results published [last week] by the Canadian General Freight Index (CGFI) indicate that the trend of increasing ground transportation rates continued through the July 2010 period.
Overall Freight Costs increased by 3% in July when compared to June. Base Rates, which exclude the impact of Fuel Surcharges assessed by carriers, also increased by 3.2% while Average Fuel Surcharges decreased slightly 13.42% of Base Rates to 13.13% during the same period.
"The information provided by the CGFI continues to indicate that we reached a floor in transportation costs for Canadian Shippers in April of this year, says Doug Payne, President of Nulogx. Since then we have seen 3 consecutive months of increases, led primarily by activity in both the Domestic and Transborder Truckload sectors".
Click here to view July's results.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
NAFTA Trade Climbed 18% in July
(Journal of Commerce Online – Joseph Bonney)
Surface transported trade falls 12.3% from June to July
The value of trade moving by surface transportation between the U.S. and Canada and Mexico totaled $61.3 billion in July, an 18% increase from a year earlier, but the business declined from June to July, the U.S. Department of Transportation reported Thursday.
The value of surface transportation shipments between the U.S. and its NAFTA partners fell 12.3% in July from the previous month. The DOT’s Bureau of Trade Statistics noted that month-to-month changes can be affected by seasonal variations and other factors.
U.S.-Canada trade totaled $36.3 billion in July, up 17.1% from a year earlier. U.S. surface trade with Mexico totaled $24.9 billion, up 21.5% from July 2009. Read more here.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Ground Transportation Costs Increase in First Half of 2010: Report
(Canadian Transportation & Logistics)
Results published by the Canadian General Freight Index (CGFI) indicate that the cost of ground transportation for Canadian shippers increased slightly during the first six months of 2010.
Overall freight costs increased by 1.8% from December to June. Base rates, which exclude the impact of fuel surcharges assessed by carriers, also increased by 2.2%. Average fuel surcharges decreased marginally from 14.7% of base rates to 13.4%, which buffered the effect of the increasing base rates.
In addition, overall freight costs for June trended upward, increasing 1.9% when compared to May and 3.2% compared to April. Read more here.
WEF Report Brands Brazil’s Transport Infrastructure ‘Appalling’
(Transport Intelligence – John Manners-Bell)
Canada ranks 10th in survey
Ahead of its Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2010 in Tianjin, China, the World Economic Forum has published its Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011.
Switzerland tops the overall rankings whilst the United States falls two places to fourth position, overtaken by Sweden (2nd) and Singapore (3rd), after already ceding the top place to Switzerland last year. [Canada ranks 10th, see here.]
The report takes into account a wide range of different factors in assessing the level of each country’s competitiveness. The most relevant from a logistics perspective is ‘infrastructure’, although of course more generalised factors such as, ‘goods market efficiency’, ‘macroeconomic environment’ and ‘technological readiness’ have an indirect impact on the sector. Read more here.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Obama Calls for Transport Investment, Reform
(American Shipper)
President Barack Obama in a Labor Day speech in Milwaukee outlined an ambitious six-year agenda for investing in transportation infrastructure as a way to help create construction jobs and lay the foundation for long-term economic growth.
He called for rebuilding 150,000 miles of roads, laying or repairing 4,000 miles of rail lines; restoring 150 miles of runways; funding the Next Generation Air Traffic Control System, which will allow more planes to fly in congested airspace while improving safety; investing more in high-speed rail; creating an infrastructure bank to help seed private investment; and consolidating more than 100 different transportation programs into a few that are managed according to performance-based outcomes. Read more here.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Transcore Freight Index Continues to Surge
(Canadian Transportation & Logistics)
TransCore's Canadian Freight Index continued to show improvement in June, posting its sixth consecutive month of double digit growth in spot market freight availability. The index indicates spot market freight availability was up 59% year-over-year in June.
The index was 11% higher than in May. June, notes TransCore, is generally a peak month for spot market freight. For the second quarter, spot market freight was up 39% over the first quarter and 70% better than Q2 2009. Cross-border load postings were up 68% year-over-year while equipment availability dropped 15% from June 2009, indicating a tightening of capacity.
TransCore's Canadian Freight Index is derived from its Loadlink freight-matching service, which features more than 12 million loads and trucks per year. Read more here.
TransCore's Canadian Freight Index continued to show improvement in June, posting its sixth consecutive month of double digit growth in spot market freight availability. The index indicates spot market freight availability was up 59% year-over-year in June.
The index was 11% higher than in May. June, notes TransCore, is generally a peak month for spot market freight. For the second quarter, spot market freight was up 39% over the first quarter and 70% better than Q2 2009. Cross-border load postings were up 68% year-over-year while equipment availability dropped 15% from June 2009, indicating a tightening of capacity.
TransCore's Canadian Freight Index is derived from its Loadlink freight-matching service, which features more than 12 million loads and trucks per year. Read more here.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Canadian Transportation Rates Take Step Back in March
(Canadian Transportation & Logistics)
The latest results from the Canadian General Freight Index show the cost of ground transportation for Canadian shippers decreased slightly in March, erasing February's gains.
Overall freight costs dropped 2.6% in March, according to the index. Base rates, excluding fuel surcharges, decreased 1.9% with average fuel surcharges dropping 4.5% from the prior month.
The Canadian General Freight Index is compiled by Nulogx. More info is available here.
The latest results from the Canadian General Freight Index show the cost of ground transportation for Canadian shippers decreased slightly in March, erasing February's gains.
Overall freight costs dropped 2.6% in March, according to the index. Base rates, excluding fuel surcharges, decreased 1.9% with average fuel surcharges dropping 4.5% from the prior month.
The Canadian General Freight Index is compiled by Nulogx. More info is available here.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Decreasing Supply Aids U.S. Transport Recovery
(Transport Intelligence – Thomas Cullen)
The American transport economy is creeping back towards growth. The American Trucking Association (ATA) ‘For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index’ climbed 0.4% in March after falling slightly in February and the highest level since November 2008. The seasonally unadjusted figures were 19.1% higher than in February. The ATA’s Chief economist Mr Bob Costello suggested that “both the demand and supply situations are steadily improving” driven in great part by re-stocking. He added that “For most fleets, freight volumes feel better than reported tonnage because the supply situation, particularly in the truckload sector, is turning quickly.”
This theory received a degree of support from Werner Enterprises, whose first quarter figures reported revenues up 8%, to $425.1m, although the trucking element of this actually declined by 1%. Operating income margin also increased on a year-on-year basis from 3.6% to 5%. Werner’s management commented that, “(the) recent improvement in the freight market can be attributed to decreasing supply than rising demand. We have observed an increase in the size and quantity of carrier failures in recent months. Gradually improving demand is also helping, and we anticipate that steady improvement will continue as we progress throughout 2010”. Read more here.
The American transport economy is creeping back towards growth. The American Trucking Association (ATA) ‘For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index’ climbed 0.4% in March after falling slightly in February and the highest level since November 2008. The seasonally unadjusted figures were 19.1% higher than in February. The ATA’s Chief economist Mr Bob Costello suggested that “both the demand and supply situations are steadily improving” driven in great part by re-stocking. He added that “For most fleets, freight volumes feel better than reported tonnage because the supply situation, particularly in the truckload sector, is turning quickly.”
This theory received a degree of support from Werner Enterprises, whose first quarter figures reported revenues up 8%, to $425.1m, although the trucking element of this actually declined by 1%. Operating income margin also increased on a year-on-year basis from 3.6% to 5%. Werner’s management commented that, “(the) recent improvement in the freight market can be attributed to decreasing supply than rising demand. We have observed an increase in the size and quantity of carrier failures in recent months. Gradually improving demand is also helping, and we anticipate that steady improvement will continue as we progress throughout 2010”. Read more here.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
USDA Releases Major Report on Agricultural Transportation
(CIFFA eBulletin)
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday released to Congress a comprehensive report on agricultural transportation in the United States, the first ever of this magnitude.
The report, Study of Rural Transportation Issues, was mandated by the 2008 Farm Bill and covers the four major modes of transportation commonly used by agriculture in the United States-truck, rail, barge, and ocean vessel.
The report examines some of the major issues facing agricultural transportation, including: the dramatic effect of deregulation on the rail industry, a growing gap for funding the inland waterways and highway systems, availability of containers and ocean vessel capacity, and the infrastructure that may be needed to support a projected increase in bio-fuel transportation.
The report also discusses the current approach to transportation policy in the United States, in which each mode of transportation is often considered separately without an overarching view of the flow of freight through all the modes. Study of Rural Transportation Issues may be found on the Agricultural Marketing Service website here.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday released to Congress a comprehensive report on agricultural transportation in the United States, the first ever of this magnitude.
The report, Study of Rural Transportation Issues, was mandated by the 2008 Farm Bill and covers the four major modes of transportation commonly used by agriculture in the United States-truck, rail, barge, and ocean vessel.
The report examines some of the major issues facing agricultural transportation, including: the dramatic effect of deregulation on the rail industry, a growing gap for funding the inland waterways and highway systems, availability of containers and ocean vessel capacity, and the infrastructure that may be needed to support a projected increase in bio-fuel transportation.
The report also discusses the current approach to transportation policy in the United States, in which each mode of transportation is often considered separately without an overarching view of the flow of freight through all the modes. Study of Rural Transportation Issues may be found on the Agricultural Marketing Service website here.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Domestic Intermodal Primed for Growth
(Journal of Commerce Online – Bill Mongelluzzo)
Rail likely to benefit as shippers cut transportation costs, carbon footprint
Domestic intermodal rail weathered the economic recession better than most transportation modes, and the industry appears now to be on the verge of experiencing unprecedented growth. The growth in domestic intermodal will be driven by shipper requirements to reduce transportation costs, improved reliability of intermodal services by all rail carriers and corporate America’s desire to reduce its carbon footprint.
“The changes are so profound I believe we are at an inflection point,” Brian McDonald, vice president of intermodal at Union Pacific Railroad, told the Los Angeles Transportation Club.
UP is a case in point. Domestic intermodal was the only sector of UP’s 40 commodity lines to grow during last year’s recession. In fact, UP handled a record number of domestic intermodal units in 2009.
Changing customer requirements will be a primary driver of domestic intermodal growth. Traffic managers are acting under a mandate to reduce transportation costs, and substituting domestic intermodal for over-the-road trucking is the quickest way to cut costs over longer distances, McDonald said. Read more here.
Rail likely to benefit as shippers cut transportation costs, carbon footprint
Domestic intermodal rail weathered the economic recession better than most transportation modes, and the industry appears now to be on the verge of experiencing unprecedented growth. The growth in domestic intermodal will be driven by shipper requirements to reduce transportation costs, improved reliability of intermodal services by all rail carriers and corporate America’s desire to reduce its carbon footprint.
“The changes are so profound I believe we are at an inflection point,” Brian McDonald, vice president of intermodal at Union Pacific Railroad, told the Los Angeles Transportation Club.
UP is a case in point. Domestic intermodal was the only sector of UP’s 40 commodity lines to grow during last year’s recession. In fact, UP handled a record number of domestic intermodal units in 2009.
Changing customer requirements will be a primary driver of domestic intermodal growth. Traffic managers are acting under a mandate to reduce transportation costs, and substituting domestic intermodal for over-the-road trucking is the quickest way to cut costs over longer distances, McDonald said. Read more here.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Snow Stalls Freight in Northeast
(Journal of Commerce Online)
Winter storms disrupt freight movements from Great Lakes to Atlantic
Winter storms Wednesday stopped or slowed freight traffic and closed facilities from the Great Lakes to the East Coast. An expansive area of wintry precipitation is “moving from the Mississippi River Valley into the Midwest and toward the Mid-Atlantic,” said the National Weather Service. “Widespread heavy snows are likely over the next few days from the Great Lakes, upper Ohio Valley, central Appalachians, northern Mid-Atlantic, and into the New York City metro area/southern New England region.” Read more here.
Winter storms disrupt freight movements from Great Lakes to Atlantic
Winter storms Wednesday stopped or slowed freight traffic and closed facilities from the Great Lakes to the East Coast. An expansive area of wintry precipitation is “moving from the Mississippi River Valley into the Midwest and toward the Mid-Atlantic,” said the National Weather Service. “Widespread heavy snows are likely over the next few days from the Great Lakes, upper Ohio Valley, central Appalachians, northern Mid-Atlantic, and into the New York City metro area/southern New England region.” Read more here.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Obama’s Money Trains
(Journal of Commerce Online – John D. Boyd)
More than half of high-speed rail grants will go into freight corridors to build up inter-city passenger service
It took nearly a year and a stubbornly high unemployment rate before the Obama administration recast its long-awaited $8 billion in rail system grants as part of a jobs strategy.
But when the White House unveiled its list of winners for high-speed rail funding, to boost passenger train service between cities, it quickly became clear large parts of it would go into the freight rail corridors that also carry Amtrak trains.
For instance, of the 13 funding corridors that traverse parts of 31 states, just two would be true high-speed passenger lanes with “bullet trains” that would need their own walled-off tracks away from freight operations. Read more here.
More than half of high-speed rail grants will go into freight corridors to build up inter-city passenger service
It took nearly a year and a stubbornly high unemployment rate before the Obama administration recast its long-awaited $8 billion in rail system grants as part of a jobs strategy.
But when the White House unveiled its list of winners for high-speed rail funding, to boost passenger train service between cities, it quickly became clear large parts of it would go into the freight rail corridors that also carry Amtrak trains.
For instance, of the 13 funding corridors that traverse parts of 31 states, just two would be true high-speed passenger lanes with “bullet trains” that would need their own walled-off tracks away from freight operations. Read more here.
Intermodal Takes Record Share from Trucks
(Journal of Commerce Online – John D. Boyd)
International traffic leads fourth-quarter gain in long-haul moves
U.S. freight shippers sent their highest shares yet by intermodal combination moves in the 2009 fourth quarter, compared with using trucks only, said transportation consultants FTR Associates. Intermodal, which pairs short-haul trucking with long-haul rail service, took an estimated 13.3% of the long-haul market for international and domestic containerized freight, FTR said.
That is up 0.2% from the third quarter and is “slightly above the previous high-water mark” in fourth-quarter 2008, FTR said. “Intermodal has gained share for three consecutive quarters since the freight meltdown” began, said Lawrence Gross, senior consultant for FTR. Read more here.
International traffic leads fourth-quarter gain in long-haul moves
U.S. freight shippers sent their highest shares yet by intermodal combination moves in the 2009 fourth quarter, compared with using trucks only, said transportation consultants FTR Associates. Intermodal, which pairs short-haul trucking with long-haul rail service, took an estimated 13.3% of the long-haul market for international and domestic containerized freight, FTR said.
That is up 0.2% from the third quarter and is “slightly above the previous high-water mark” in fourth-quarter 2008, FTR said. “Intermodal has gained share for three consecutive quarters since the freight meltdown” began, said Lawrence Gross, senior consultant for FTR. Read more here.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Drewry Publishes Carriers’ Financial Stress Index
(eyefortransport)
A new report from Drewry Shipping Consultants reveals that only two of the carriers tracked in the financial stress index are operating above the “distress zone”. Drewry Shipping Consultants’ new Freight Shipper Insight provides up-to-date market information on demand trends, freight rate developments and macro-economic indicators specific to the ocean, air, rail and road freight sectors.
Read more here.
A new report from Drewry Shipping Consultants reveals that only two of the carriers tracked in the financial stress index are operating above the “distress zone”. Drewry Shipping Consultants’ new Freight Shipper Insight provides up-to-date market information on demand trends, freight rate developments and macro-economic indicators specific to the ocean, air, rail and road freight sectors.
Read more here.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Latest Winter Storm Disrupting Some Freight
(Journal of Commerce Online – John D. Boyd)
Rail, river, road transportation affected across broad area of U.S.
The latest in a series of strong winter storms is disrupting all forms of surface freight transportation, as rivers and rail switches ice up and some Interstate highways have closed at times from heavy snow and ice buildup.
BNSF Railway told customers on Jan. 7 that its service “is being impacted by extreme cold and winter weather conditions across the Central and Northern Regions, which includes Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Montana, North and South Dakota. The extreme cold is resulting in slow operating conditions. Read more here.
Rail, river, road transportation affected across broad area of U.S.
The latest in a series of strong winter storms is disrupting all forms of surface freight transportation, as rivers and rail switches ice up and some Interstate highways have closed at times from heavy snow and ice buildup.
BNSF Railway told customers on Jan. 7 that its service “is being impacted by extreme cold and winter weather conditions across the Central and Northern Regions, which includes Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Montana, North and South Dakota. The extreme cold is resulting in slow operating conditions. Read more here.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Canadian Chamber of Commerce – National Transportation Strategy Report #4
(CIFFA eBulletin)
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has issued the fourth report from the Canadian Chamber’s transportation series, A Multimodal Transportation Infrastructure Investment Strategy. It builds on previous reports that calls for the Canadian government to put in place a National Transportation Strategy based on four guiding pillars. An Economically, Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Plan is pillar #4. The full report is available here.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has issued the fourth report from the Canadian Chamber’s transportation series, A Multimodal Transportation Infrastructure Investment Strategy. It builds on previous reports that calls for the Canadian government to put in place a National Transportation Strategy based on four guiding pillars. An Economically, Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Plan is pillar #4. The full report is available here.
The Canadian General Freight Index Falls Slightly in October
(PR Insider)
Results published today [Tuesday] by the Canadian General Freight Index (CGFI) indicate that the cost of ground transportation for Canadian Shippers declined slightly in October after rising in September. Since the beginning of the year, the index has fallen in eight of the ten months, and has declined 9.6% in aggregate.
Although overall results declined, Base Rates, which exclude the impact of Fuel Surcharges assessed by carriers, rose .3% in October; only the second monthly increase since the beginning of the year. Offsetting the increase in base rates was a drop in average Fuel Surcharges, resulting in slightly lower overall costs.
“A slight increase in the domestic market seems to have been countered by weaker rates in the Trans-Border market,” says Alan Saipe, president, Supply Chain Surveys Inc., and long time analyst and observer of the transportation and logistics industry.
The CGFI is sponsored by Nulogx, a leading Transportation Management Solutions provider, and is used by shippers and carriers to benchmark performance, develop business plans, and secure competitive agreements. It was developed with the assistance of Dr. Alan Saipe. Read more here or view the results at the most recent results are available at the CGFI website.
Results published today [Tuesday] by the Canadian General Freight Index (CGFI) indicate that the cost of ground transportation for Canadian Shippers declined slightly in October after rising in September. Since the beginning of the year, the index has fallen in eight of the ten months, and has declined 9.6% in aggregate.
Although overall results declined, Base Rates, which exclude the impact of Fuel Surcharges assessed by carriers, rose .3% in October; only the second monthly increase since the beginning of the year. Offsetting the increase in base rates was a drop in average Fuel Surcharges, resulting in slightly lower overall costs.
“A slight increase in the domestic market seems to have been countered by weaker rates in the Trans-Border market,” says Alan Saipe, president, Supply Chain Surveys Inc., and long time analyst and observer of the transportation and logistics industry.
The CGFI is sponsored by Nulogx, a leading Transportation Management Solutions provider, and is used by shippers and carriers to benchmark performance, develop business plans, and secure competitive agreements. It was developed with the assistance of Dr. Alan Saipe. Read more here or view the results at the most recent results are available at the CGFI website.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
DOT Freight Transport Index Drops 10.5% in October
(Transport Topics Online)
The Department of Transportation’s freight transportation services index fell 10.5% in October from a year earlier, the largest such decline in the 20 years in which it has been calculated. The index fell 1.2% from September, reaching a 94.5 reading, DOT’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics said in its monthly report Wednesday. The figure is a 1% increase from the recent low of 93.5 reached in May, the lowest level since June 1997.Read more here.
The Department of Transportation’s freight transportation services index fell 10.5% in October from a year earlier, the largest such decline in the 20 years in which it has been calculated. The index fell 1.2% from September, reaching a 94.5 reading, DOT’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics said in its monthly report Wednesday. The figure is a 1% increase from the recent low of 93.5 reached in May, the lowest level since June 1997.Read more here.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Climate Conference Targets Will Lead to New Era of Transport Demand Management
(Transport Intelligence – John Manners-Bell)
What is being billed as the largest and most important UN climate change conference in history has opened in Copenhagen, with diplomats from 192 nations warning that this could be the last chance for a deal to protect the world from global warming.
The transport industry, as a major contributor of greenhouse gases, will be under considerable pressure to reduce its emissions. Although much has been done, progress has been considered too slow if the EU is to meet existing overall greenhouse gas emission reduction targets by 2020. If the EU commits to further reductions at Copenhagen, governments will have to find new ways in which to constrain transport demand. […]
The EC has already stated that emissions from the transport sector will be subject to binding targets at Member State level including the use of biofuels. However it has concluded that existing targets can only be met by a reduction of total transport demand (passenger and freight). This could be through pricing measures or other types of ‘demand management tools’. Read more here.
What is being billed as the largest and most important UN climate change conference in history has opened in Copenhagen, with diplomats from 192 nations warning that this could be the last chance for a deal to protect the world from global warming.
The transport industry, as a major contributor of greenhouse gases, will be under considerable pressure to reduce its emissions. Although much has been done, progress has been considered too slow if the EU is to meet existing overall greenhouse gas emission reduction targets by 2020. If the EU commits to further reductions at Copenhagen, governments will have to find new ways in which to constrain transport demand. […]
The EC has already stated that emissions from the transport sector will be subject to binding targets at Member State level including the use of biofuels. However it has concluded that existing targets can only be met by a reduction of total transport demand (passenger and freight). This could be through pricing measures or other types of ‘demand management tools’. Read more here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
