Reports rife of Hamburg Sud buyout by Maersk

Nov. 30 | Danish shipping giant Maersk Line is looking to further increase its presence in the Latin American trades by acquiring German rival Hamburg Sud, the world’s seventh biggest container operator in terms of capacity, according to unconfirmed reports. The...

Asian airlines register strongest monthly cargo demand

Nov. 30 | Air cargo carriers in the Asia-Pacific region reported further growth in international freight demand in October year-on-year, traffic figures from the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) showed. The pickup in cargo traffic, which began in the...

Updated WCO trade facilitation guide released

Nov. 30 | The World Customs Organization (WCO) has published the updated TFA Implementation Guidance, incorporating new tools and instruments and adding more members’ practices to improve border trade flow, customs processes, and safety standards. “The Guidance...

Returning OFWs’ airport terminal fee canceled by early 2017

Nov. 29 | The Philippine Department of Transportation (DOTr) said returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) whose tickets were purchased abroad will be exempt from paying terminal fee by March 2017. Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general Ed Monreal...

DPWH, tollways operator sign North-South connector road deal

Nov. 29 | The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Manila North Tollways Corporation (MNTC) have signed the concession agreement to build an eight-kilometer, all-elevated road that will connect the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and South Luzon...

Truckers welcome mass firing of Manila traffic enforcers

Nov. 29 | Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada has ordered the mass resignation of 690 Manila traffic enforcers following allegations of extortion and other illegal activities against them. The move was welcomed by truckers. “Today, I am issuing an order for all traffic...

PH gov’t employees get discounts from Cebu Pacific

Nov. 29 | Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno (fifth from left) and Cebu Pacific CEO Lance Gokongwei (sixth from left) signed the agreement that gives government staff on official business discounts when they take Cebu Pacific. Cebu Pacific (CEB) has signed a Government...

Myanmar’s automated customs system off to a shaky start

Nov. 28 | The new automated customs system of Myanmar is now up, but not working as smoothly as envisioned, as shippers reported various issues that have cropped up since they started using the online platform. The Myanmar Automated Cargo Clearance System (MACCS)...

Plans to upgrade Sabah port to transshipment hub

Nov. 28 | The Malaysian federal government has allocated MYR1.027 billion (US$230 million) to the state government of Sabah through the Sabah Economic Development and Investment Authority in a bid to transform the Sepanggar Bay Container Port (SBCP) into the transshipment...

Customs Modernization and Tariff Act Series 2: Background and History of CMTA

Nov. 28 | This is the second in a series of articles on the Philippine Customs Modernization and and Tariff Act. For Series 1, click here. Preliminary Work. Sometime in 2007, the Philippine Bureau of Customs (BoC) announced that the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC)...