Maersk, Denmark emit same amount of carbon dioxide A woman pretends to carry the Maersk Emma, the world’s largest container carrier, docked at the Port of Felixstowe in the UK in this 2006 photo. A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S emits at least 40 million tons of carbon dioxide a year, as much as all of Denmark, the shipping company’s home country, newspaper Berlingske Tidende said, citing Maersk data. The emissions aren’t included in Denmark’s statistics because they mostly involve pollution from ships in international waters, Berlingske said. Maersk will work with other shippers to find ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the paper quoted Knud Pontoppidan, executive vice president of the Copenhagen-based company, as saying. Bloomberg

A TRUCKING group’s petition to increase fees remains unresolved after its major customers and an association of shipping lines have failed to make a decision regarding the amount of the rate hike. 

According to an official of the Supply Chain Management Association of the Philippines(SCMAP)—which includes food conglomerates such as San Miguel Corp. and Nestlé Philippines—the organization has not discussed it during a recent board meeting late last month. But the group may discuss the rate hike during another meeting before the month ends, Johnny T. Guillermo, SCMAP president said.

“We [SCMAP board] have not decided on it, but we have acknowledged the need for an increase,” Guillermo said at the sidelines of the group’s induction of officers Friday.

However, trucking groups led by Integrated North Harbor Truckers Association, WGA Truckers Association, and Allied Trucking Group Philippines, informed SCMAP and the Philippine Shipping Liners Association that they will already charge new rates of P5,915 per twenty-foot container by February 15. The current rate is P5,100 per container.

A letter of Catalino L. Costales, president of Allied Trucking Group, dated February 5, indicated that the group will levy new rates since the 30-day notice period has already lapsed. Trucking groups have informed the PLSA and SCMAP about the rate increase late last year.

Guillermo said the truckers can increase their rates anytime, and most of their members use brokers that shoulder the increase of the trucking rates.

Truckers asked for a rate hike last May 2006, but SCMAP, then called as Distribution Management Association of the Philippines, only allowed truckers to increase the rates to P5,100 per 20-footer container rather than the proposed P5,600.

In December, trucking groups informed shipping lines and consumer companies of the need to raise rates by 16 percent from the current P5,100 per metal box.

Estimates indicate that the P5,100 per container fee will only leave truckers with P3,665.11 to spend on operations as the remaining will have to go to value-added tax of 12 percent, retention of PLSA of 10 percent, and other costs of about 15 percent.

Request for trucking rate hike unresolved

A TRUCKING group’s petition to increase fees remains unresolved after its major customers and an association of shipping lines have failed to make a decision regarding the amount of the rate hike. 

AN interagency committee which prescribes revenue targets for government offices should also examine collection efforts without being too preoccupied about meeting these goals.

ABU DHABI—Dubai Ports (DP) World of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) recorded a growth of 19 percent in the UAE’s container throughput in 2007, local newspaper Gulf News reported on Thursday.