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Slowdown Stalls Nation's Freight Carriers

Haulers are hunkering down for a 'nuclear winter' in 2009

(Newser) - With freight carriers predicting 2009 could be the worst year in three decades, some haulers  say they’re “settling in for nuclear winter,” holding off on making capital expenditures, mothballing equipment and laying off employees, reports the Wall Street Journal. From truckers to railroads to ocean shipping, companies...

Freighters Must Brake for Endangered Whales Off US

Right whale get federal protection from speeding vessels

(Newser) - A new US law may save the world’s 400 remaining North Atlantic right whales from their worst enemy—large ships. Mariners will have to slow to 11.5mph as they slice through parts of the mammal’s migration path between New England and Florida, the Boston Globe reports. Since...

Freed Hostages Blast Pirates
 Freed Hostages Blast Pirates  
Nov 25, 2008 6:28 AM CST

Freed Hostages Blast Pirates

Hostages released as Somali pirates seize another ship

(Newser) - Crew members freed from a ship seized by Somali pirates say they were harshly treated by their captors and lived in fear of being killed, CNN reports. The men, greeted by relieved friends and family when they arrived home in India, say they were constantly held at gunpoint in a...

Slashing Prices Online May Kill Etailers

Price wars sure to kill off some struggling e-tailers

(Newser) - Online retailers’ response to their first dreary holiday season is a price war so fierce many won’t see the new year. Web shoppers are trained to search for deals, and 75% say they would leave a site that doesn't offer free shipping, the New York Times reports. Fine for...

Saudi Tanker Owners in Talks With Pirates

Saudi foreign minister pledges to eradicate Somali maritime threat

(Newser) - Negotiations are under way between Somali pirates and the shipping company that owns the Saudi Arabian oil supertanker they hijacked over the weekend, the BBC reports. The Saudi foreign minister could not say whether Vela International might agree to a ransom.

UPS, FedEx Jump to Fill DHL's Holes

Big Brown targets customers with ad buy, in talks to add DHL load

(Newser) - After DHL announced yesterday it was vacating the US express-mail market, UPS and FedEx ratcheted up efforts to snare as many of the Belgium-based company’s customers as possible, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. DHL handles 1.1 million shipments per day, 5% of the express and ground market in which...

DHL Will Cut 9,500 Jobs, Stop Domestic US Service

German firm shutters DHL Express service centers as its competition gets the better

(Newser) - Deutsche Post will close all of its DHL Express service centers, cut 9,500 jobs in the US, and eliminate US-only domestic shipping by land and air, the company said today, citing heavy losses and fierce competition with UPS and FedEx. The company said the new round of cuts are...

Both Arctic Passages Navigable for First Time

Using Northeast, Northwest shortcuts will be boon to shipping firms

(Newser) - In what scientists say is an historic moment, both Northeast and Northwest Passages are navigable as of this week, and shipping firms are salivating over the  possibilities, Der Spiegel reports. With an increasing number of largely ice-free days every summer, the radical shortcuts offered by the once-treacherous routes will eventually...

Netflix Deliveries Back On Track After Outage

Firm to give credit to millions of customers hurt by mystery glitch

(Newser) - Netflix deliveries were returning to normal yesterday after a computer glitch caused a 3-day disruption, Reuters reports. The company plans to offer a 15% credit to the millions of movie lovers affected by the glitch, whose cause is still a mystery. The outage, the worst in Netflix history, is believed...

Mystery Glitch Disrupts Netflix Shipping

Company apologizes as outages affect millions of customers

(Newser) - A technical glitch is disrupting shipping services at Netflix, holding up rentals for potentially millions of customers, the San Jose Mercury News reports. The company, which ships about 2 million DVDs each day, failed to send any movies on Tuesday. Shipping proved impossible again on Thursday. Netflix has yet to...

Oil Spill Snarls Mississippi
 Oil Spill Snarls Mississippi 
Jul 25, 2008 7:28 AM CDT

Oil Spill Snarls Mississippi

Workers racing river to clean up gigantic slick near New Orleans

(Newser) - An oil spill stretching nearly 100 miles along the Mississippi is causing river traffic to pile up, AP reports. Dozens of vessels are stuck in New Orleans waiting to head upriver. Others are waiting to carry cargos of grain downriver from the heartland. Officials say it will be days before...

Iran Tests More Missiles as US Vows to Protect Allies, Interests

A 'lesson for enemies' says Iranian chief

(Newser) - Iran claimed to have test fired more missiles today, a day after it launched nine missiles that pushed up oil prices and further stoked concerns that a regional conflict was brewing, reports Reuters. The "maneuver brings power to the Islamic Republic of Iran and is a lesson for enemies,...

Kite Ship's Maiden Voyage a Success
Kite Ship's Maiden Voyage
a Success
Mar 20, 2008 8:58 PM CDT

Kite Ship's Maiden Voyage a Success

Sails allowed cargo vessel to use 20% less fuel during trip

(Newser) - Environmental concerns might get shipping companies to go back to the future, Earth2Tech.com reports, after a cargo vessel recently used 20% less fuel than normal on a 12,000-mile journey by a kite-like sail. The EU contributed $1.9 million to help rig the Beluga SkySails with the 1,...

Exxon Asks Court to Toss $2.5B Payout

Supreme's justices appear to be split in Valdez case

(Newser) - Nearly 20 years after the Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of crude oil in Prince William Sound, the company asked the Supreme Court to reject a ruling that it pay $2.5 billion in punitive damages. Judges appeared split in today's arguments, USA Today reports, making a tie possible...

Go Sail a Kite, Across the Ocean
Go Sail a Kite, Across the Ocean
Jan 22, 2008 6:23 PM CST

Go Sail a Kite, Across the Ocean

Cargo ship hopes to cut fuel costs, emissions with old-fashioned power

(Newser) - A ship partially pulled by a huge kite is starting its journey across the Atlantic today. The cargo ship—sailing from Germany to Venezuela—will test a new strategy of cutting CO2 emissions from ships by equipping them with computer-controlled kites. At more than 1,700 square feet, the kite...

Historic Train Crosses Korean Border

Freight service aims to narrow economic gap between countries

(Newser) - The historic first of what will be a regular schedule of freight trains crossed the border from South Korea to North Korea today, marking a major leap forward in the countries' reunification process and a step toward what could be a hugely profitable railway system. The link is part of...

Shortage of Officers Plagues Shipping
Shortage of Officers Plagues Shipping
Nov 16, 2007 11:12 PM CST

Shortage of Officers Plagues Shipping

Dearth of experienced mariners may spell future disasters

(Newser) - A blunder that dumped 58,000 gallons of oil into San Francisco Bay last week has drawn attention to a worldwide shortage of experienced mariners—and the resulting potential for future disasters. The number of ships is increasing as global trade booms, reports the Christian Science Monitor, but the current...

Korea Chiefs to Launch Border-Busting Railway

Freight link to strengthen economic ties

(Newser) - In their latest step toward closer ties, the leaders of North and South Korea have agreed to establish a cross-border train system to strengthen economic connections. Beginning in December freight trains will follow a 16-mile track through the heavily patrolled border frontier to a joint industrial complex in North Korea's...

Coast Guard Sets Up First Base in Warming Arctic

Plan to respond to oil spills and cruise ship emergencies

(Newser) - The US Coast Guard is setting up a base in the rapidly warming Arctic to help patrol anticipated tanker and cruise-ship traffic in the hot new shipping area, reports the New York Times. Officials have also begun discussions with Russia about controlling expected traffic in the Bering Strait. The base,...

Hudson River Gets Ready for Its Close-Up

Scientists set out to uncover 315-mile waterway's secrets

(Newser) - The Hudson River is about to go on display. The 315 miles of New York (and New Jersey) water will be outfitted with sensors that collect data and track environmental threats, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The effort will improve understanding of human impact on ecology and will direct resource...

Stories 101 - 120 | << Prev