In order to provide our customers with the most current information available, the Phoenix News Summary is emailing industry news updates. Our summaries can also be read via our web site, www.phoenixintl.com, on the Industry News page.

Korean Air pilots strike - JOC - Unionized pilots at Korean Air went on strike over pay on Thursday, forcing South Korea 's biggest airline to cancel more than half of its scheduled flights.

Fluid forecast for ports – JOC - U.S. ports and marine terminal operators made it through the 2005 peak-shipping season without serious congestion problems, and the ports should remain trouble-free into the New Year, a monthly survey indicates. Operations at the Class 1 railroads also appear to be returning to normal following delays of up to a week at inland intermodal yards the past month, according to the Port Tracker, a monthly analysis of freight transportation trends published by the National Retail Federation and Global Insight. "While some shippers experienced intermodal rail delays, the industry performed much better than last year at this time, especially in light of record container volumes," the report said. Container volumes moving through major West and East Coast ports should decline steadily each month through February, when volumes will be about 20 percent lower than peak-season highs in October, the survey predicted. The harbor trucking industry is also expected to have sufficient capacity, especially with the PierPass extended gates program in Los Angeles-Long Beach helping to smooth out the daily peaks and valleys in port traffic.

Phoenix International decreased the air fuel surcharge to $0.50/kg. December 1 st. Some carriers are already announcing a further decrease to $0.45/kg.

Trans-Pacific lines boost bunker charge – JOC - The bunker surcharge on ocean shipments from Asia to the United States will rise to a record $590 per 40-foot container beginning Jan. 1, but the surcharge is expected to ease next spring if the price of oil continues to decline. Carriers are raising the bunker surcharge even as oil prices come down on the world markets. This is happening because shipping lines are in effect back-billing shippers for increases in bunker fuel prices that occurred in previous months. "Customers understandably ask why surcharges are rising while fuel prices are going down," said Albert A. Pierce, TSA executive director. "The simplest answer is the calculation delay prevented carriers from recovering true fuel costs as they were going up, and if the current downward trend continues, we should see relief from higher fuel costs in coming months."

Rates plummet as ship capacity soars - Container freight rates on the Asia-Europe trade have slid by 30 percent in the last few months in what observers believe is the start of a long-predicted downturn in the cyclical shipping industry. Containerized cargo rates on the transpacific route have dropped by 15 percent since the peak season. The global container fleet expanded by 13 percent this year and will grow by 17 percent in 2006 while growth in cargo volume will be less than 10 percent, analysts say. Rates will come under pressure not seen in 10 years.

Our summary articles are compiled from a number of public sources that, to the best of Phoenix’s knowledge, are true and correct. In the event any information provided is erroneous, Phoenix International Freight Services, Ltd. accepts no liability or responsibility.