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West
Coast Port of Everett taps Battuello
as chief of Business Development
EVERETT — The Port of Everett has hired economic development professional Terrie Battuello to create economic opportunities at the port. Ms. Battuello, who will assume her new role as chief of Business Development for the port on July 1, has been hired to lead the development efforts of the Marina District and the Riverside Business Park. She will also work with business leaders to leverage the ports abilities to help stimulate growth in the district. Ms. Battuello, 52, comes to the port after eight years as the assistant city manager of Economic Development for the city of Bothell. During her time at the city of Bothell, Ms. Battuello managed the city’s Innovation Partnership Zone that includes dozens of public and private companies working to grow and expand the biotech industry in the city. She also was in charge of attracting developers for the city’s surplus property, which resulted in bringing approximately $220 million in private investment to the development pipeline in the city, along with the recruitment of McMenamins as a flagship hotel and resort. Ms. Battuello was selected after a nationwide recruitment process that attracted development professionals from throughout the United States. She will report to the executive director, and hold one of the top spots at the Port of Everett. The port is also completing the process of recruiting a new Chief Financial Officer to fill the vacancy created by Karen Clements retirement in September.
Carriers plan to create
new operational alliance
COPENHAGEN — Maersk Line, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. and CMA CGM have in principle agreed to establish a long-term operational alliance on East – West trades, called the P3 Network. The network will operate a capacity of 2.6 million TEU (initially 255 vessels on 29 loops) on three trade lanes: Asia – Europe, Trans-Pacific and Trans-Atlantic. While the P3 Network vessels will be operated independently by a joint vessel operating center, the three lines will continue to have fully independent sales, marketing and customer service functions. Each of the lines will offer more weekly sailings in their combined network than they do individually. As an example, the P3 Network plans to offer eight weekly sailings between Asia and Northern Europe. In addition the P3 Network will offer more direct ports of call. The lines intend to start operations in the 2nd quarter of 2014, but the starting date will be subject to obtaining the approval of relevant regulatory authorities. In addition, the establishment of the P3 Network is subject to the lines agreeing on definitive contracts. Finalization and signing of the contracts is planned for the 4th quarter of this year.
ATA truck tonnage
index
up during month of May
ARLINGTON, VA — The American Trucking
Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA)
For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index rose 2.3 percent in May
after falling 0.2 percent in April. (The 0.2 percent drop
in April was unchanged from what ATA reported on May 21,
2013.) In May, the SA index equaled 126.0
(2000=100) versus 123.2 in April. May 2013 is the highest
level on record, surpassing the previous high in December
2011(124.3). Compared with May 2012, the SA index rose
6.7 percent, which is the largest year-over-year gain
since December 2011. Year-to-date, compared with the same
period in 2012, the tonnage index is up 4.5 percent. The
not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the
change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before
any seasonal adjustment, equaled 132.7 in May, which was
5.4 percent above the previous month (125.9). Trucking
serves as a barometer of the U.S. economy, representing
67 percent of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic
freight transportation, including manufactured and retail
goods. Trucks hauled 9.2 billion tons of freight in 2011.
Motor carriers collected $603.9 billion, or 80.9 percent
of total revenue earned by all transport modes. ATA
calculates the tonnage index based on surveys from its
membership and has been doing so since the 1970s. This is
a preliminary figure and subject to change in the final
report issued around the 10th day of the month.
Port Association
reports $1 billion
earmarked for harbor maintenance
ALEXANDRIA, VA — The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) reports that for the second year in a row, the U.S. House Energy & Water Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), has approved a $1 billion draw from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund. The money is for maintaining America’s deep-draft navigation channels and harbors and is as part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ fiscal 2014 funding bill. If passed by the Senate and enacted into law, this would be the largest regular annual appropriation for navigation maintenance. A June 17 press release on the bill by the House Appropriations Committee stated that, in prioritizing funding, the subcommittee chose to “invest in critical infrastructure projects to protect lives and property and support economic growth.” The $1 billion appropriation approved by the subcommittee is $110 million more than the Administration requested in its fiscal 2014 budget earlier this year. Annual revenue collected from the HMT for maintenance dredging is approximately $1.6 billion.
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Braemar Seascope sees
drop
in vessel order/trading fleet ratio
LONDON — The ratio of container TEU capacity on-order compared to the trading fleet dropped below 20 percent in June, reports Braemar Seascope. The broker advises that, as the container industry is expected to take delivery of record volumes of TEU capacity this year, the order book to trading ratio has eroded to approximately 20 percent in June 2013. Jonathan Roach, Container Market analyst at Braemar Seascope, said, “With more than 1.7m TEU expected to be delivered in 2013, the ratio is set to fall to approximately 16 percent by the end of the year. During the six year ordering boom between 2003 and 2008, in the region of 10.0m TEU of containership capacity was ordered. The order book ratio peaked at approximately 60 percent in 2007, when in excess of 3.0m TEU was ordered. In the five years since the global financial crisis, vessel ordering has declined; from 2009 to 2013, we estimate that just 4.0m TEU will be added to the order book.” He added, “Even though ship finance has become more difficult to secure since the 2008 banking crisis, new orders have increased in 2013 and the new building market certainly has not collapsed – rather new building activity is ticking over with selective and niche container ship ordering. This year to date, we have noted 80 container ship orders with a combined capacity of 580,000 TEU. In the corresponding period in 2012, only half that number of ships was contracted, with a combined TEU capacity of 230,000 TEU. Even with underwhelming global container demand seen in 2012 and a similar growth pattern expected this year, new orders are still materializing as shipyards reduce new-building prices in a strategy to bolster and maintain their forward cover."