The spot rate for container shipping on the Asia-Europe route is likely to rise to US$2000 per TEU in two months as carriers plan to take out more capacity following the Chinese New Year due from the middle of this month, the Hindu Business Line reported.
The present rate is $1763 per TEU. The Asia-Europe route has been defined at the route between the Chinese ports of Shanghai, Ningbo and Shenzhen and the European ports of Antwerp, Rotterdam, Bremerhaven and Hamburg and the spot rate as the charge for transporting a 20-ft container plus all surcharges excluding the terminal handling charges.
At present, carriers are charging 18 surcharges including the peak season surcharges although it is over. Meanwhile, the Shanghai Containerised Freight Index recently surged 7.2 percent as spot rates on Asia-Europe and Asia-US routes went up considerably.
According to Paris-based consultancy Alphaliner, the world’s container fleet capacity decreased by 142,000 TEUs between the beginning of January and early February.
Source: Transport, Logistics and The Economy (Feb 8th)
MISC’s wholly-owned subsidiary MISC Agencies has entered into an agreement with Al Hilal Shipping Agency to set up a joint venture (JV) company in Dubai.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, MISC last Wednesday said the agreement is to incorporate a joint venture company in Dubai for acting as sole shipping agents for MISC, to carry out business of shipping agency and other allied shipping activities in the UAE.
Al Hilal Shipping Agency is an independent subsidiary of the Rais Hassan Saadi Group. Founded in 1910, it has been operating out of all major ports in the region, apart from North America, North Europe and the Mediterranean regions. A company official yesterday told Emirates Business that the joint venture came into operation from February 1.
“It has been in the pipeline for quite some time now. The agreement will greatly benefit both companies,” said the official.
MISC Agencies entered into the joint venture agreement (JVA) with Al Hilal Shipping Agency on October 15, 2009. The name of the joint venture company is MISC Shipping Services – UAE.
While Al Hilal Shipping Agency will hold 51 per cent, the remaining stake will be held by MISC Agencies. The issued and paid-up capital of the JVC will be Dh1 million.
MISC said the joint venture is not expected to provide a material impact on the earnings of MISC for the current financial year ending March 31.
Meanwhile, MISC recently announced that it is to revise the port rotation and coverage of its Halal Express 2 (HE2) service linking the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent and the Middle East.
MISC last month launched a new service to add to its current Halal Express Service (HE1 and HE2). The Malaysia East Asia Service (MES) will directly connect the Far East ports to Ho Chi Minh and the South East Asia region.
The service, which commenced on January 26, 2009, with an inaugural voyage starting from Yokohama, is said to meet the growing demand for the carriage of cargoes in the intra-Asia region.
The Malaysia East Asia Service will serve the following port rotation: Yokohama, Nagoya, Shanghai, Kaohsiung, Shekou, Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore, Tanjung Pelepas, Jakarta, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City and back to Yokohama. A total of five vessels with a capacity of 1,200-1,700 TEU (20-foot equivalent unit) are allocated for the new service.
The company also said that in line with the launch of Malaysia East Asia Service and its focus to improve services to customers, the HE2 port rotation has been restructured to cover Qingdao, Pusan, Shanghai, Xiamen, Singapore, Port Klang, Colombo, Nhava Sheva, Jebel Ali, Dammam, Karachi, Port Klang, Singapore and back to Qingdao.
MISC was formed 39 years ago and today owns a fleet of vessels ranging in capacity from 5,800 to 308,000 dwt. About 20 newbuilds are scheduled to join the fleet within the next three years, comprising 11 owned Aframax tankers; six Aframax tankers, three in-chartered medium range two tankers and three owned product tankers.
Through its subsidiary, Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering, MISC is involved in a wide spectrum of oil and gas engineering construction. It is also involved in fabrication, building and upgrading of deepwater vessels, drilling platforms and other oil and gas facilities.
MOT had this up only in Malay language apparently. Some key points have been translated and i’ve translated some in bracket below - to my best knowledge of Bahasa Malaysia. For more info, try +603 88866412.
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Kementerian Pengangkutan melaksanakan larangan ke atas kenderaan barangan menggunakan jalan raya semasa cuti perayaan Tahun Baru Cina 2010 (12,13 Februari dan 20,21 Februari ) dengan 4 kategori pengkelasan jenis kenderaan berat. Maklumat terperinci adalah seperti berikut:
Kategori 1 (Sekatan Penuh) (Full ban)
1.Lori Balak, lori pengangkut bahan binaan seperti simen, besi, keluli, batu, pasir, tanah kecuali yang dibenarkan di bawah kategori 3. (Logging lorries and lorries carrying cement, steel, sand, earth etc except those listed in category 3 below)
2.Lori pembancuh simen dan jentera berat ( kren, low loader dan lain-lain jentera berat ). (cranes, low loaders and other heavy vehicles)
Kategori 2 (Dibenarkan beroperasi daripada jam 6.00 pagi hingga 12 tengah mlm) (allowed to operate between 0600hr to 2359hr)
2.Lori kontena/kargo dari pelabuhan ke lapangan terbang tidak setempat. (cargo trucks / container haulier fm port to airport)
Kategori 3 (Dibenarkan beroperasi daripada jam 6.00 pagi hingga 6 petang di sekitar kawasan Lembah Klang , kawasan Bandaraya Johor Bahru , Georgetown dan Ipoh Sahaja. Tertakluk kepada had masa operasi yang dibenarkan di jalan-jalan tertentu)(allowed to operate between 0600hr to 1800hr within Klang Valley, Johor Bahru town area, Georgetown and Ipoh only. Subject to time allowed to operate on individual roads.)
1.Lori pembancuh simen (concrete mixer truck)
2.Kren bergerak (mobile cranes)
3.Lori tipper pengangkut batu dan pasir. (tipper truck carrying sand / rocks)
Kategori 4 (Tidak dikenakan sekatan) (no restrictions)
1.Lori gas dan kimia untuk bekalan perubatan dan industri kimia. Lori konten/kargo dari dan ke lapangan terbang. (Gas / chemical transport supplying for medical / chemical industry. container / cargo trucks to and fro airports)
2.Lori kontena/kargo dari pelabuhan ke lapangan terbang setempat. (container / cargo trucks fm sea ports to ariport)
3.Lori kargo membawa bahan keperluan harian ( makanan,buah-buahan,sayuran,bahan-bahan mentah,suratkhabar dan ternakan ) atau lori kosong dalam perjalanan pulang. (cargo trucks with daily necessities - fruits, vegetables, dailies, meat etc or empty lorries back)
4.Lori mengangkut sampah dan bahan kumbahan (sewerage).
5.Lori kecil d’controlled ( BDM 5000kg ke bawah ). Lori kontena.kargo antara terminal di pelabuhan setempat (ITT)
6.Lori kontena / kargo dari pelabuhan ke gudang dan sebaliknya serta di sekitar kawasan industri yang berhampiran dengan pelabuhan. Lori tanker pengangkut bahan bakar ( petroleum/diesel , gas dan LPG ).
7.Lori yang terlibat dalam kerja-kerja kecemasan dan menyelamat ( rescue operation )
Sebarang Pertanyaan : Bilik kawalan Putrajaya 03 88866412
Malaysian exports of rubber products including compound rubber to China may rise further in 2010 due to lower import tariffs under a free trade agreement and the country’s insatiable appetite for cars, an industry executive said Friday.
Exports of rubber products to China increased by 18% in 2009, tracking the astonishing growth in the country’s vehicle market, which has overtaken the U.S.’s to become the world’s largest with sales up 50% last year to 13.6 million units.
“With China’s economy expected to grow around 7%-8% in 2010, exports of rubber products may continue to improve,” and growth may rise above 18% this year, said Teo Suat Cheng, chief executive of the government-linked Malaysian Rubber Export Promotion Council.
Exports of compound rubber into China rose 47% in 2008 to 256,122 tons, data from Malaysia’s Statistics Department showed.
While the full-year data on 2009 compound rubber exports isn’t available yet, sales in the January-October period hit 342,492 tons, reflecting a surge in China’s vehicle sales.
Compound rubber generally contains as much as 99% natural rubber, but China imposes s lower import duty on the former than on the latter.
Malaysia’s rubber products exports may hit MYR11.1 billion this year, of which exports of rubber gloves are expected to generate MYR7.8 billion, Teo said.
She said Malaysian rubber products manufacturers may also be able to take advantage of a lower import tariff under a free-trade agreement between China and the six more economically-developed members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, under which customs tariffs will be scrapped on about 90% of products, including rubber products.
The deal came into force Jan 1. The six members of Asean in the trade agreement are Brunei,Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
The free-trade deal may also boost dry rubber imports from China, Teo said, favoring Malaysian car makers, as they would be able to lower production costs with cheaper spare parts from China.
01 Feb 2010 JFE Steel Corporation & Marubeni Itochu Steel Inc has been awarded the following line pipe orders for Gorgon Natural Gas Project operated by Chevron Australia Pty Limited:
1. 154 KMT of DNV450 Grade line pipe for the Gorgon and Jansz Export Flowlines
2. 18KMT of DNV450 Grade line pipe for the Gorgon Domestic Gas Line
The Gorgon Project is operated by the Australian subsidiary of Chevron in JV with the Australian subsidiaries of ExxonMobil and Shell, Osaka Gas, Tokyo Gas and Chubu Electric. The Gorgon Project is developing the Greater Gorgon gas fields, located between 130 kilometers and 200 kilometers off the north west coast of Western Australia. The Greater Gorgon gas fields are estimated to contain resources of about 40 trillion cubic feet of gas, Australia’s largest known gas resource.
As the large diameter line pipes supplied for this project will be used for long distance sub sea pipeline, they must meet low temperature toughness requirements and have heavy wall thickness sufficient to withstand operations under high pressure, along with anti corrosive properties.
JFE has demonstrated its proven capability to fulfill these very strict and demanding requirements on many other projects. JFE has abundant experience in supplying high-grade line pipes for numerous pipeline projects all over the world.
JFE Steel and Marubeni Itochu Steel will continue to supply high quality steel pipe that is valued by its customers as it seeks to contribute to the development of global energy resources.
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 26 (Bernama) — The Naza group plans to launch four new Peugeot car models this year and is targeting to sell close to 3,000 units.
Its joint executive chairman SM Nasarudin SM Nasimuddin said the group sold 3,766 Peugeot cars last year, comprising 2,347 units of the 206 Bestari, 885 units of the 308, 491 units of the 407, and 43 units of the 207.
“Excluding sales figures of the 206 Bestari which has been phased out, sales of Peugeot vehicles by Naza in 2009 would be a total of 1,419 units,” he said during a media briefing here Tuesday in conjunction with the visit of Peugeot’s deputy managing director Nicolas Wertans.
The Naza group is the main importer and distributor of well-known automotive brands such as Ferrari, Peugeot and Brabus.
On its year-end target for total motor vehicle sales this year, SM Nasarudin said the group hoped to achieve between 25,000 and 26,000 units from 16,000 units last year.
“For this year, Peugeot will begin exporting the new T33 model that will be assembled at Gurun to Thailand and Indonesia,” he said.
Besides exporting the T33, Peugeot has also started to expand its Asean regional office in Petaling Jaya to coordinate operations for the entire Asia-Pacific region.
Wertans said Peugeot and Naza planned to make Malaysia its manufacturing hub for right-hand-drive cars in Asia and export Peugeot vehicles assembled at the Naza plant in Gurun to Thailand and Indonesia.
“We hope to increase our market share in Malaysia to between three and eight per cent from one per cent currently,” he said at the media briefing.
Wertans also unveiled Peugeot’s new brand identity as part of the French carmaker’s plans to move up three places in the world car market by 2015.
Currently, Peugeot is ranked 10th in the global automotive market in terms of size.
The new marque plan involved the launch of 14 new models in its core market and in new markets between 2010 and 2012, he said.
Wertans also said that Peugeot will continue to push the frontiers of the motor industry by designing vehicles which will embody all of the spirit of the BB1 concept car which is 2.5 metres long and can seat up to four people and is 100 per cent electric.
Naza’s unit Nasim Sdn Bhd, which distributes the Peugeot vehicles locally, recently announced it is undertaking a re-branding exercise at all its branches and dealers following the carmaker’s unveiling of a new global brand identity.
The exercise will entail the incorporation of Peugeot’s new logo and brand identity at all Nasim’s branches and dealers nationwide.
Found this on knol.google.com posted by Jacob Pang. Thanks mate. This is very useful info. Do let me know if u have an issue for me to post this here. cheers!!
malaysiashipping.info ===========
Stowage factor
The stowage factor of a cargo is the ratio of weight to stowage space required under normal conditions. It indicates how many cubic meters one metric ton of a particular type of cargo occupies in a hold, taking account of unavoidable stowage losses in the means of transport.
The stowage factor of a cargo may vary, since it depends on the packaging and the nature of the cargo.Where bale goods are concerned, an important parameter is whether they are transported compressed or uncompressed,
Other goods have stowage factors which vary depending on the degree to which they have been processed.
Below are the stowage factor for various commodities
While announcing 2009 results, commenting on US Steel’s outlook, Mr John P Surma chairman & CEO of US Steel said that “We expect to report an overall first quarter 2010 operating loss in line with the fourth quarter 2009 as gradually improving business conditions are not yet fully reflected in our operating results. We continue to experience improved order rates from several of our end markets. Automotive, service center, converter and appliance customer order rates in North America and Europe are at or near their highest levels in the last twelve months, while in other markets, such as construction in North America, demand remains soft, but due to the low levels of inventory and the anticipated seasonal increases in activity at the end of the first quarter, our construction order book remains stable. A gradually strengthening economy should result in improvements in real demand, while apparent demand will likely be positively influenced by the restocking of the manufacturing supply chain, which we believe is under way. Relatively low levels of flat rolled product imports, if continued, are also expected to support improved order rates. Our Tubular operations are also continuing to experience favorable demand trends, most notably in alloy product at our welded operations in East Texas. At the same time, spot market prices are increasing across all of our segments in response to increased order rates and global raw material cost pressures.”
He added that “We continue to believe that the US and global economies are in the early stages of a gradual recovery. While we are becoming more optimistic, primarily due to improvements we are starting to see in the manufacturing sector, we remain cautious in our outlook for end user demand.”
He said “Flat rolled results for first quarter 2010 are expected to be comparable to fourth quarter 2009 as the benefits of increases in average realized prices and shipments and reduced facility repair and maintenance costs are expected to be offset by the absence of approximately USD 55 million of favorable effects from LIFO inventory liquidations and adjustments to employee layoff benefits. Average realized prices are expected to increase from fourth quarter 2009 as we expect to begin realizing the impact of increasing spot market prices later in the first quarter. Increases in our index based contract prices would be realized later as higher published market price assessments enter the index calculations for future periods. We are currently making steel at six of our seven North American steelmaking locations, with the exception being our Lake Erie Works, which represents approximately 10% of our annual Flat rolled raw steel capability. We expect to complete maintenance work on our largest blast furnace, the No 14 Blast Furnace at Gary Works, late in the first quarter and have all available capacity in operation at these six locations before the end of the quarter. Overall, raw steel capability utilization rates are expected to increase from the fourth quarter of 2009.”
He added that “First quarter 2010 results for USSE are expected to be comparable to the fourth quarter 2009 as the benefits of increased shipments and operating efficiencies are expected to be offset by higher raw material costs. While euro based transaction prices are expected to be comparable to the fourth quarter, reported average realized prices are expected to be lower due to foreign currency translation effects. We expect to complete maintenance work on the #3 Blast Furnace at USSK in early February and operate all five of our blast furnaces for the remainder of the quarter.”
He said that “We expect our Tubular operations to remain profitable in the first quarter. However, results are expected to decrease from the fourth quarter as the benefits of increased shipments are expected to be offset by increased costs as we continue to increase production to meet increased order rates, as well as the absence of the USD 10 million of favorable fourth quarter items discussed above. Seamless and welded tubular product prices are expected to improve throughout the quarter, as a result of recently enacted price increases. However, reported average realized prices are expected to decrease slightly as compared to the fourth quarter due to a higher proportion of welded tubular product shipments. We expect increased operating rates at all of our pipe facilities in the first quarter, most notably our welded pipe facility in East Texas. These expected increases should also benefit our Flat rolled operations that supply substrate requirements to our welded pipe facilities.”
Mr Surma said that “Capital expenditures for 2010 are expected to total approximately USD 530 million and remain focused largely on environmental and other infrastructure projects. We continue to evaluate investments of long term strategic importance, including projects to invest in production of coke and coke substitutes, given that some of our existing coke batteries are approaching the end of their useful lives, to reduce coke requirements in Serbia through coal injection, to enhance our Tubular operations in order to more efficiently serve customers’ increased focus on shale natural gas resources and to allow us to increase our participation in the automotive market as vehicle emission and safety requirements become more stringent. In light of the significant capital commitment that such projects would entail over the next several years, we may seek to secure some long term funding for such projects and general corporate purposes prior to committing to such projects.”
He further added that “Total costs for pension and other benefits plans are expected to be approximately USD 420 million in 2010 compared to USD 462 million in 2009. Excluding the USD 93 million of charges in 2009 related to various workforce reduction programs and the sale of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company early last year, these costs are expected to increase by approximately USD 50 million in 2010. Company payments for these plans in 2009 were USD 657 million, which included a voluntary contribution of USD 140 million to our main defined benefit pension plans, approximately USD 75 million related primarily to Voluntary Early Retirement Programs, and reflects the agreement with the United Steelworkers to defer the 2009 mandatory contribution of USD 75 million to retiree health and life insurance trusts until 2012. In 2010, we expect to make payments of approximately USD 570 million before considering any voluntary contributions to our main defined benefit pension plan. As also agreed with the USW, we could further reduce these payments by up to USD 75 million should we choose to use the 2008 mandatory contribution to cover 2010 retiree health and life insurance payments and then refund this amount in 2013. At year end, our pension plans were under funded on an accounting basis by approximately USD 1.7 billion and other benefits plans were under funded by approximately USD 2.9 billion as compared to an under funded status of USD 2 billion for pension plans and USD 3.1 billion for other benefit plans as of December 31st 2008.”
SINGAPORE: Rice is the only crop in Asia at risk of potential damage from El Nino as the weather phenomenon, which reduces rainfall, weakens and may spare coffee, palm oil, rubber and sugarcane output, an agricultural meteorologist said.
Drier-than-normal weather has affected rice crops in Myanmar, Thailand, northern Philippines and northern Malaysia, Bryce Anderson, chief agricultural meteorologist at Telvent DTN Inc., an agricultural weather news and information provider, said in a phone interview on Tuesday.
“If there’s going to be a problem, it would be in terms of rice in that particular region,” Anderson, who has been an agricultural meteorologist for 30 years, said in a phone interview from Omaha, Nebraska. While the weather pattern is easing, “the effects of El Nino are still going to be hanging around for a while,” he said.
Drier weather in Malaysia and Myanmar may add to global rice supply concerns and push prices higher after governments in Thailand, the world’s biggest exporter, and the Philippines, the biggest importer, warned that their production will drop this year as El Nino parches crops, Jonathan Barratt, managing director at Commodity Broking Services Pty., said by phone from Sydney today.
Rice production in the Philippines may drop 1.7% to 7.25 million metric tons in the first half as lower rainfall caused by El Nino prompted farmers to reduce acreage, the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics Office said January 20.
The weather pattern may affect 543,000 hectares of rice land, which may push the country to buy more of the grain overseas, Agriculture Undersecretary Bernie Fondevilla told reporters in Manila on Tuesday. The government has so far bought 2.2 million tons from overseas suppliers for delivery this year.
“We feel that given the weather concerns, we could have a supply issue,” Barratt said. “We’re actually thinking that rice has an upside. We’re looking to go long rice.” Rough rice futures have advanced 26% on the Chicago Board of Trade from last year’s low.
The export price of 100% grade-B Thai white rice, the benchmark in Asia, has risen 13% from its October low as the Philippines accelerated purchases after storms destroyed at least 1.3 million tons of domestic crops. Concern that India may become a net importer after a drought also lifted prices.
Rice for March delivery added as much as 0.6% to $14.195 per 100 pounds in after-hours electronic trading on the Chicago Board of Trade and was at $14.15 at 2:08 p.m. Singapore time.
“Prospects for world rice prices in the next few months are subject to much uncertainty,” the UN Food and Agricultural Organization said in a report released last week. “A subsiding of the recent price strength is unlikely to be witnessed before March/April when more will be known about the size of the new crops heading to the market.”
Malaysia, the world’s sixth-largest importer, was forecast to buy 850,000 tons this year, while Myanmar, Southeast Asia’s third-largest shipper, was estimated to sell 1 million tons, the US Department of Agriculture said on January 12.
“There may be some interruption of supply,” Anderson said. “I want to be optimistic there’s going to be some improvement as we go forward from here,” he said, noting that El Nino did not create “complete region-wide issues.”
During the first half of January, the temperatures in the eastern Pacific Ocean were 1.2 degrees Celsius higher than normal, down from 1.9 degrees in December, when average temperatures were the warmest since 2002, Anderson said, citing Telvent DTN data. El Nino is characterized by a warming of the Pacific.
“This is a sign to us that the El Nino has reached its peak and is probably going to decline as we head into the rest of the northern hemisphere winter and into the spring,” Anderson said.
Apart from parts of Southeast Asia, the rest of Asia is in a “favorable situation,” with soil moisture in some parts of northeast China at close to 90%, making rice “supply conditions manageable,” Anderson said. “The way things are appearing, I don’t think we are going to have a real threat to production” of coffee, palm oil, sugarcane and rubber, he said. Those crops require less water than rice.
