The American Trucking Associations’ For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index rose 0.2% in March, on a seasonally adjusted basis, after increasing 0.5% in February, it said. Compared with March 2011, the index was up 2.7%, which was the smallest year-over-year increase since December 2009. ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said “the pace of freight definitely slowed from the torrid pace in late 2011.”

The Morrow Pacific project is seeking bids to build 20 enclosed barges to be used in the export of low-sulfur coal from the Powder River Basin to the Asia-Pacific market. The project is valued at about $70 million over the next two years. Due to the size of the project, Morrow Pacific anticipates hiring multiple companies to complete various aspects of the work, it said. The Morrow project is still subject to regulatory review and faces opposition (See ITT Online Archives [Ref.12042016]).

The European Union’s announcement that it will suspend sanctions against Myanmar got support from the U.S. business community, in a joint statement by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Foreign Trade Council, and the US-ASEAN Business Council. The statement said the "U.S. government can support continued reform by easing and suspending the web of sanctions, particularly on financial services and investment." They said U.S. companies can be "powerful contributors to economic growth, development, and higher living standards" of Myanmar, and "failure by the United States to take similar steps will do more than put American companies at a commercial disadvantage vis-a-vis their competitors; it will harm the reform process itself by undermining those in Myanmar who have supported reform.”

A representative of Lockheed Martin expressed its interest in building plants in Mexico, at a bilateral meeting with Mexican Secretary of Economy Bruno Ferrari. The Lockheed Martin representative said Mexico’s recent admission as a member of the Wassenaar Arrangement makes it an attractive option to Lockheed Martin for such activities.

The Manatee County, Fla., Port Authority approved a $13 million contract with American Bridge Company for a 584-foot extension of Berth 12 and a 10-acre container yard, finishing a port expansion project that originated in 1997, in an action April 19. The project is expected to be complete by mid-2013, well in advance of the on-going expansion of the Panama Canal --- now expected to be operational in 2015. When finished, Berth 12 will be 1,584 feet long with a 40-foot draft and be capable of handling Panamax-sized ships arriving at Port Manatee’s first dedicated container facility. American Bridge was selected from 11 contractors, ranging from the winning low bid of $13,075,487 to a high bid of $15,510,000. After receiving authorization to proceed, American Bridge expects to complete construction in June 2013.

United Maritime Group said it agreed to sell U.S. United Barge Line, a wholly owned barge transportation subsidiary of UMG, to Ingram Barge Company. The company does dry bulk transportation and logistics and operates U.S. United Bulk Terminal, the largest coal and petroleum coke handling facility in the Gulf of Mexico, and U.S. United Ocean Services, which operates the largest Jones Act dry bulk ocean fleet by capacity. It provides barging for the domestic and export markets for coal, petroleum coke, grain and other dry bulk commodities, it said. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2012, subject to regulatory approvals and satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

A new excise tax on the import or manufacture of medical devices or equipment, and the burden of its related compliance costs, will have a negative impact on medical device manufacturing companies' bottom lines, according to a survey conducted by tax firm KPMG.

U.S. import shipment volume for March, measured in TEUs, increased 11.9% from February, according to figures from trade information company Zepol. It said that's not a surprise because of comparison to February's low numbers. More significant is the total 2.6% rise in TEUs for Q1 of 2012, compared to Q1 of 2011, Zepol said, as well as the 6.2% rise this March from March of 2011.

Container volume in the Port of Charleston rose 12 percent in March, to the highest level since October 2008. In results announced at its April 17 board meeting, the South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) said it handled 134,857 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the Port of Charleston in March, up 12 percent from the same month last year and up 13 percent from February. For the fiscal year to date (July through March), TEU volume was up just over two percent, while container volume for the quarter (January through March) increased seven percent from the same quarter last year. SCPA's non-containerized cargo figures also remain strong, reflecting the agency's cargo diversification strategy, it said. The Port of Charleston handled 111,236 pier tons of non-containerized freight in March, up 53 percent from the same month last year.

Immediately on the heels of approval of the Sabine Pass liquified natural gas export facility, Sempra Energy-owned Cameron LNG said it signed commercial development agreements with Mitsubishi Corp. and Mitsui & Co. to build an LNG export facility at the site of Cameron LNG receipt terminal in Hackberry, La. The completed facility is expected to have a total export capability of 12 Mtpa of about 1.7 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of LNG per day. Construction on the project is expected to start in late 2013 with operations to commence in late 2016, it said. (For details of the Sabine Pass decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, see ITT Online Archives [Ref. 12041731]).