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Courier Companies
Join Protest Against RA 9280
Multinational courier firms operating
in the country have joined the freight forwarding
community in their opposition to Republic Act
9280 (The Customs Brokers Act of 2004).
In a meeting with the RA 9280 Task Force and
the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(PCCI) last week, representatives from TNT Worldwide
Express, DHL and UPS Delbros said they are joining
forces to take steps against the immediate implementation
of the law.
According to Philippine International Seafreight
Forwarders Association (PISFA) training director
Romeo Sto. Tomas, R.A. 9280 once implemented
would require courier companies to clear their
parcels and documents individually through an
accredited customs broker.
"They can no longer clear their shipment
at one time. There will be no more seamless
integration of customs clearance and clearing
of shipments in batches," he said.
Sto. Tomas pointed out this would mean large
companies would be entrusting their numerous
packages or shipments to a single broker, therefore,
translating to longer processing time and added
costs.
He added courier companies also face the possibility
of having to retrench employees working for
their customs brokerage department. Under the
law, the corporate practice of customs brokerage
is prohibited.
DHL Gateway manager Nigel Lockett said that
at present, clearance of cargoes usually takes
up only a "couple of hours". If the
law is implemented, the average processing time
could take three days or more.
TNT Express Worldwide Operations manager Allan
Sarabia said the usual two- to four-hour shipment
clearance might stretch to a day. "The
current process also allows us to clear even
in the evening (after office hours) and on holidays,"
he noted.
Also, costs involved in clearing shipments would
balloon. Sto. Tomas said there is a possibility
that since clearance of shipments will be on
a per consignment basis, the payment could be
P800 per entry.
Lockett said such cost may not be fully absorbed
by the courier company and ultimately passed
on to end-users. With this, he further commented:
"How many multinationals are going to stay
in this country?"
TNT's Sarabia said courier firms will work together
and approach the issue jointly. He said the
companies are seeking opinion of their legal
offices to come up with a concrete plan to oppose
the law.
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DOTC
to Create Regional Maritime Hubs
REGIONAL maritime hubs will soon
be in place in various parts of the country
especially in missionary routes, according to
the Department of Transportation and Communications
(DOTC).
Transport assistant secretary for Planning and
Project Development Robert R. Castañares
said the government is considering some areas
in MIMAROPA (Mindoro-Marinduque-Romblon-Palawan),
Southern Luzon link and Western Mindanao for
the hubs.
"The plan in Mindanao is dubbed as the
Southwestern Mindanao Roll-on/Roll-off Transport
System ," he said. It would involve the
islands of Zamboanga, Basilan, Jolo and Tawi-Tawi.
The Luzon link would cover Real, Baler, Bilasag,
Maconacon, Dingalan, Casiguran in Quezon Province
and Palanan and San Vicente in Cagayan.
Castañares said DOTC will sit down with
the Regional Development Council of MIMAROPA
to discuss the possibility of creating hubs
within the area. "They should be able to
update us on the master development plan of
the region. And also, we will know which among
the areas they want prioritized," he said.
The plan to create regional maritime hubs involves
the establishment of an independent ro-ro system
in these areas which will be served by small,
but steel-hulled vessels.
Castañares said the MIMAROPA council
has optimism about the potential of the areas,
despite these being missionary routes. "They
are confident there is enough (volume) for small
vessels," he said.
He added the regional hubs would involve areas
not covered or only slightly covered by the
Strong Republic Nautical Highway of the government.
Castañares explained the project will
eventually translate to lower costs of shipping
because it will eliminate double handling of
cargoes.
"For instance, a farmer from Mindoro does
not have to go all the way to Manila to look
for a vessel going to Marinduque to bring his
produce. Instead, there will be a direct link
from Mindoro to Marinduque and to other destinations
within the hub," he explained.
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Palau
Micronesia Sees $2M a Year from Philippine Operations
PALAU MICRONESIA AIR is expecting
annual revenues of $32 million in its first
year of operation, $2 million of which will
be contributed by its Philippine operations.
At the sidelines of the recent Palau-Manila
direct service launch, Palau Micronesia Air
president and chief executive officer Alan R.
Seid said the company is expecting the Philippines
to exhibit strong growth in its first year of
operation.
Palau Air flies Palau-Manila-Palau twice a week,
every Tuesday and Saturday. The maiden flight
to Manila was last August 7.
According to Seid, the company is awaiting finalization
of the Palau-Philippines air service agreement.
"We are flying under charter agreements.
Once our permit is approved, hopefully by August
19, we will be a scheduled carrier flying three
times a week to and from the Philippines,"
he said.
Palau Micronesia Air president
and chief executive officer Alan R. Seid
Seid noted the airline is targeting to transport
Palau locals working in the Philippines as well
as tourists. On the freight side, the carrier
transports fresh tuna from Palau to the Philippines
for export to Japan.
The company is keen on building and developing
alliances with major carriers such as the Philippines
Airlines (PAL), Japanese Airline and Thai Airways
for feeder services.
"We are working very hard to develop these
relationships and they (airlines) seem to be
very receptive. Our discussions with PAL will
be concluded within 30 days," Seid said.
He noted Palau Air's rates are 10-20% lower
compared with other carriers'.
The airline leases a Boeing 737-300. It has
a flight operating agreement with Airwork of
New Zealand. A service to Darwin, Australia
is also in the offing.
A second Boeing 737-300, for deployment to the
Japanese market, will be in service by year-end.
- Maritess R. Mesias
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ICTSI
Revenues up 28% in Q2
INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER TERMINAL SERVICES, INC.
(ICTSI) reported a 28% increase in consolidated
gross revenues for this year's second quarter.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange,
the company said the growth was attributed to
improved cargo handling revenues from foreign
subsidiaries Baltic Container Terminal in Gdynia,
Poland and Tecon, Suape S.A. in Brazil.
For the first six months of the year, the terminal
operator said consolidated gross revenues went
up 23%.
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ATSC
Net Income up 27% in 1st Semester
ABOITIZ TRANSPORT SYSTEM CORPORATION (ATSC)
recorded a consolidated net income after tax
of P377.8 million for the first semester, up
27% or P81 million higher compared with the
previous year.
Total net income before tax was P511.8 million,
about 16% or P71.1 million over the same period
last year. Net income from operations totaled
P619.9 million, up 21% from last year's P513.5
million.
ATSC said increases in operating and overhead
expenses did not hamper revenue growth as the
company earned approximately P4.4 billion, a
9% increase from the P4 billion net revenue
posted during the same period of the previous
year.
Passage revenue saw an 8% increase or P160.5
million to roughly P2.2 million from P2 million
last year. The growth was attributed to intensive
marketing efforts of promoting higher-value
passenger accommodations and increasing passenger
traffic.
The freight business contributed P2.2 billion
to the total revenue. This was 11% more than
last year's P1.9 billion. The positive performance
was attributed to the focus given to higher
paying cargoes and higher cargo volume transported
during the period.
ATSC's total operating expenses went up 8% to
P3.7 billion from P3.5 billion. The increase,
inclusive of terminal and overhead costs, was
due to higher fuel; repairs and maintenance;
insurance, container yard management fees; passenger-related
expenses; and dollar-denominated expenses.
Higher expenses were offset by lower charter
hire, transshipment costs, and advertising expenses.
Due to the spiraling cost of fuel and higher
fuel consumption, fuel expenses grew 18%. The
average fuel and diesel oil prices surged 14.35%
and 19.61%, respectively. Fuel consumption increased
due to additional vessels (SuperFerries 17 and
18) now in operation.
Due to greater safety measures and continuous
fleet upgrade, vessel repairs and maintenance
costs rose 33% to P255.2 million from P192.2
million.
In addition, the company reported a 33% increase
in passenger-related expenses due to additional
manpower for its newly-deployed vessels, increase
in food and subsistence costs, and other vessel
amenities.
Dollar-denominated expenses, such as ship management
fees, imported vessel spare parts and container
leases, also grew because of the weak peso.
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ATSC
Hikes Fuel Cost Allocation
ABOITIZ TRANSPORT SYSTEM CORPORATION (ATSC)
has added about P300 million to its fuel expense
budget for the year in view of spiraling fuel
costs in the world market.
The increase was computed based on current world
fuel price index of $42 per barrel.
Aboitiz One president and chief executive officer
Sabin Aboitiz, in a recent press briefing, said
the P300 million is in addition to the annual
P2 billion allocation for fuel expenditures.
Aboitiz One and ATSC are sister firms under
mother company Aboitiz Equity Ventures. The
companies will be merged as part of the consolidation
process of the Aboitiz transport companies.
Aboitiz noted the consolidation is already 80%
complete; full consolidation will be achieved
by January 1 2005. "The remaining process
is more on paper works. Only legal requirements
are needed," he said.
Meanwhile, ATSC said it confident it would end
the year on a positive note despite continuing
uncertainty in the price of fuel.
ATSC reported a 22% increase in first-quarter
income to P61 million from the previous year's
P50 million. ATSC chief operating officer Endika
Aboitiz noted the company is hopeful that strong
growth will continue in the second quarter.
He said freight operation is showing strong
improvements while passage business remains
modest.
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NENACO
to File Protest vs Foreign Cargo Ship Operator
NEGROS NAVIGATION COMPANY (NENACO) will file
a protest against the operator of a cargo vessel,
which hit one of its passenger vessels late
last week.
Based on preliminary investigation, foreign-owned
cargo vessel M/V Sea Celebrity collided with
NENACO's passenger ship Saint Joseph the Worker
(SJW), bound for Bacolod while the latter was
maneuvering outside North Harbor breakwater.
As a result, M/V SJW sustained a hole on its
port side freeboard approximately three meters
above water line.
The cargo vessel M/V Celebrity, as of Friday,
was at Pier 18 North Harbor for further investigation
and assessment of obligations to NENACO. Its
registry is unknown.
The local shipping firm claimed the accident
occurred in spite of repeated warning signals
sent by its ship's captain. "When the cargo
vessel did not heed any of M/V SJW's warning,
the captain ordered the slowing down of the
ship and braced its passengers for impact,"
the company said.
NENACO said the incident was immediately reported
to all concerned agencies such as the Philippine
Coast Guard. The vessel was immediately steered
back to the port for assessment of damages.
The company disclosed the vessel repair may
take from one to three weeks. Losses of P3 million
a day are expected until the vessel resumes
operations.
All 647 passengers were accommodated at NENACO's
terminal lounge overnight and were transferred
to M/V San Paolo which left for Bacolod Friday
afternoon.
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China
Shipping Vessel Maiden Call at the MICT
A vessel of China Shipping Container Lines,
Co. (CSCL) recently had its maiden call at the
Manila International Container Terminal (MICT),
International Container Terminal Services, Inc.
(ICTSI) flagship operation. Arriving from China,
the 1,900 TEU-capacity MV Perseus loaded and
offloaded 180 TEUs. After the MICT, the vessel
sailed off to Vietnam. Jay Valdez, ICTSI Operations
Center superintendent (left), presented a commemorative
certificate to Capt. Pfitzmann Dick, vessel
master (center). With them is Francis Reniva,
China Shipping Manila Agency, Inc. operations
and boarding officer.
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APL
Launches Fast, Reliable Vietnam Feeder Connection
APL has launched a new weekly service to cater
to Vietnam's expanding export trade, particularly
the burgeoning textile and garment industries.
The Vietnam China Express (VCX) connects Vietnam
with line-haul services in Hong Kong to the
North American east and west coasts, as well
as Latin America and Mexico.
For example, it connects with APL's PS2 service
for Los Angeles and Oakland cargo; the PS1 for
Seattle and Vancouver freight; the Atlantic
Pacific Express (APX), the New York Express
(NYX) for the US East Coast and Latin America;
and the Mexico Asia Express (MAX) for Mexico
consignments.
APL Senior Vice President for the Trans-Pacific
(TP) trade, Robert Sappio, said, "The VCX
feeder service enhances our ability to help
our customers move their Vietnam-origin products
to market more quickly than ever before, which
is essential for fast-moving sectors such as
textiles and garments."
By linking with APL's TP services, customers
can achieve competitive transit times to many
destinations. Ho Chi Minh City to Seattle, for
example, takes just 16 days and sailing time
to Los Angeles is only 17 days. All-water transit
time to New York is 30 days and combined ocean-intermodal
transpor-tation takes 22 days.
The first sailing of the VCX was on August 3
from Ho Chi Minh City. The port rotation is
Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Fuzhou, Hong Kong,
Ho Chi Minh City. The service uses two APL feeder
vessels.
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