Shandong sea ports box volume down 0.7pc last year

EASTERN China province Shandong`s sea ports handled 13.1 million TEU in 2009, down 0.7 per cent year on year, but the decline is narrower compared with a year ago, Xinhua reported.
Tonnage rose 11.1 per cent to 730 million tonnes. Foreign trade cargo grew 12.6 per cent to 420 million tonnes, added the report.
Last year, the province achieved a road cargo volume of 2.5 billion tonnes, up 16.2 per cent over the prior year.
AAPA panel opposes local take-over of truck regulation from Feds
THE American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) has declared it will not support greater local regulatory authority over harbour trucking despite the fact that many of its larger members support such measures.
The AAPA`s Legislative Policy Council passed a resolution saying ports already had sufficient power to ban old, polluting trucks from their harbours.
At issue is a ban on independent owners operators, who it is said are not as able to meet the rising environmental standards being imposed on the industry. The Teamsters union backs the ban too because it makes it easier to enlarge their union membership with only employee drivers allowed to work.
The ports of Los Angeles, Oakland and New York-New Jersey want to amend federal pre-emption authority over interstate commerce to give ports regulatory control over harbour trucking.
This labour issue is dividing the port industry, reports Newark`s Journal of Commerce. Los Angeles is spending up to US$265,000 on lobbying to persuade Congress to support an amendment. But the adjacent Port of Long Beach opposes this.
Unions and environmentalists said the AAPA action should not be taken as representative of the biggest US 10 container ports