Chairman's Corner

During the last week we have experienced an unprecedented disaster along the Gulf coast of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. The heartbreaking reports of human suffering and destruction of property in the region have gotten to us all. Thankfully our staff in the Mobile office escaped unharmed with only limited damage to their homes and belongings. It is clear that the area must and will be rebuilt, yet for the moment our immediate help is needed to support the grief-stricken victims of this terribly disastrous storm.

EMO Trans Inc has created an immediate relief fund where donations from our company, combined with those from our employees, will support the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army, And we would appreciate your contributions also. We ask that checks are made payable to either the Red Cross or the Salvation Army, whichever organization you prefer and have them sent to the attention of:

EMO Trans Inc.
135 Guy Lombardo Ave
Freeport, New York, 11520
Tel: 516) 867-6800
Attn: Tom Harlin - Vice President, Finance

Thank you for your support !

EMO Trans continues to focus on developing additional business within our global network. Along with strong customer support, overseas development and hard working conscientious employees we have again shown solid growth year to date. As we approach the fourth quarter of 2005 we are showing a revenue increase of 25% over 2004.

During 2005, we have strategically enhanced our presence around the world, while strengthening our position in the global market. We will continue to follow this path as we concentrate on expanding our future business relationships in such areas like Latin America and the Caribbean. We are also looking forward to the opening of additional domestic offices in the Midwest as well as in the Northeast during the fourth quarter.

Thank you to all of you who have helped us achieve these past results, and we also ask for your continued support in the future.

K-Line update on their New Orleans operations

The City of New Orleans has suffered through a hurricane and subsequent flooding that has devastated the city. It is estimated that 80% of the city is flooded; much of the city is without electricity, fresh water, or phone service. There has been a mandatory evacuation of the city ordered by the authorities. The gulf coast of Mississippi, which includes the port of Gulfport, has also been devastated.
Although our thoughts are foremost for the safety and health of the region's residents, we must carry on with our responsibilities to provide our customers with the logistical and information support we can do.
Enclosed is a brief update of the situation and our contingency plans, which are implemented with immediate effect.

I. Physical infrastructure and Operations
As is reported on www.kline.com, the port of New Orleans, the five major railroads (UP, BNSF, NS, CSX and Kansas City Southern), and all depots are closed for business in New Orleans. No communications have been established with the port; the railroads are in the process of estimating the damage to their facilities. There has been no communications established with any of KL's New Orleans' depots or trucking companies. There is no timeframe for resumption of operations in New Orleans.

In Mobile, AL, one of KL's CY depots is open for business.
The Tasco 5 vessel CP Discoverer v.79 skipped New Orleans and discharged import cargo in Houston, TX. CP Ships, the vessel operator, declared "force majeure" for this specific vessel. KL is awaiting further updates from CP Ships on its next vessel, but a New Orleans call is impossible.
The UP and NS railroads have "embargoed" rail traffic into and out of New Orleans. They have stopped accepting containers at origin, and have interrupted in-transit trains while deciding what to do. We are awaiting final confirmation from the RRs and will provide this information once its been received and vetted. The railroads have not yet declared "force majeure."

II. KL Cargo Acceptance Policy
KL is still assessing its overall policy, but have determined at the very least to IMMEDIATELY suspend taking bookings for New Orleans destination/hub for both imports and exports.
While the fate of the New Orleans port and the railroad facilities are completely uncertain, it would be prudent for POL offices to suspend equipment release for current bookings, and to suspend the loading of full containers onto vessels. If possible, requesting customers to try to divert containers to another U.S. location. With peak season here in the US, we want to avoid containers idling at US marine terminals incurring costly demurrage and creating terminal congestion. In addition, it will be very difficult to move containers from the US ports once service resumes, due to the normal delays associated with recovery operations.
KAM Export Pricing will be providing more specific instructions for export bookings.

III. Enroute Containers
There are 139 import containers discharged and enroute to New Orleans/Mobile hubs, and 186 import containers more loaded to vessels for US discharge. This figure includes all strings -- TPS/TAS/SAMCO.
LOG is working closely with the railroads to determine an operation contingency plan, and we will provide updates when received.

IV. Communications With Customers
KAM Customer Service will be contacting import and export customers to provide updates on existing cargo and bookings.
During this very, very difficult time we ask for your understanding and patience while the situation continues to unfold.
Port closures in the USA Gulf region

Port of New Orleans:
Henry Clay Wharf = Heavy damage to roller doors and skylights
Nashville A Wharf = Moderate damage to siding. Harbor Crane P+O looks to be in “operational shape”
Napoleon Container Terminal = Numerous stacked empty containers were tossed around. A small number of loaded containers under water, cargo inside would be effected.
Harmony Street Wharf = Roof lost sections
1st Street Wharf = Heavy damage to roof and roller doors.
Erato Street Wharf = incurred heavy damage. Dry dock moved up the river and got stuck under the Crescent City Bridge and then ran aground on a river bank
France Road Wharf = not accessible due to high waters, no power. This is the area where refer containers are loaded

Even with all these damages, the port engineers hope to open the port operations within weeks, depending on cooperation between the various authorities at the port.

The ports of Gulfport and Pascagoula remain closed. The port of Mobile is also closed, with the exception of barge traffic.

The Intra coastal Waterway is open from the Mobile Ship Channel east to Apalachicola, Florida, and closed from the Mobile Ship Channel west to Pass Christian, Mississippi. The Mississippi River is closed to deep draft traffic from Sea Buoy to Mile Marker 507 in Natchez, Mississippi. Deep draft vessels may move within anchorages if they have pilots on board.

The Coast Guard is conducting port surveys and moving assets into these ports to restore buoys, lights, and aids-to-navigation, thus allowing maritime traffic to safely navigate.

USF Bestway Trucking operation in New Orleans remains closed and without power. The company estimates that it will be another week before any decision is made regarding when this location will be operational again. CSX Corp. is continuing freight transportation service to customers outside of the immediate Gulf Coast storm area by rerouting rail traffic through its western gateways. UPS deliveries to several ZIP codes in the effected areas have been suspended.

The most severe storm impact is concentrated on the 100 mile rail route between Pascagoula, Mississippi, and New Orleans, including several bridges. Repair work has already begun, but it will take some time to complete.

Intermodal operations have been suspended between New Orleans and Mobile. All other destinations in Southeast USA will be re-routed either via St. Louis or Memphis on the Union Pacific trains. UP informs us to expect delays in routing containers across the USA continent.

Air India launches new flights

Indian flag carrier has launched daily flights from Delhi to Hong Kong which then connect with the Osaka flights. The carrier has also expanded it’s route network by connecting new destinations including Los Angeles, Birmingham, Toronto and Dhaka.

Fuel Surcharges irritates shippers

The European shippers council said it is becoming increasingly skeptical on the surcharge amounts that shipping lines and air carriers are adding to their freight charges and believes some carriers are using the headlines of the upward spiral of oil prices to impose surcharges higher than that they need be.

“In air freight the surcharge on fuels can represent 50 percent or more of the total freight rate and in some cases the surcharges are even higher than the actual freight rate itself. In such circumstances these surcharges must be seriously questioned”.
The ESC concludes that it would like to discuss the methodology of calculating fuel surcharges with airlines in order to implement more transparency.

Freight boom at Munich, Germany airport

Munich airport reports dramatic growth in its cargo throughput during the first half of the year with 97,000 tons of flown cargo handled. The figure represents a gain of 22,000 tons – an increase of 30.2 percent over the first 6 months of 2004.
The boom at the airport is due primarily to the expansion of its all-cargo traffic, particularly the new scheduled freighter services provided by Cathay Pacific Cargo B747Fs from Hong Kong via Dubai; Emirates Sky Cargo B747Fs from Dubai, with onward service to New York; and a Qatar Airways Cargo A300-600F from Doha.

Our EMO Trans staff in the Munich office is there to help you with your cargo needs. Of course this month the famous “Oktoberfest” takes place in Munich. Strangely enough it is always in the month of September and never in October.

New York, New York: So good we fly it twice says Emirates

Emirates is to increase to double-daily on its A340-500 service between Dubai and New York JFK starting November 7. The airline announced that due to high load factors they are increasing their capacity as Northern America is a very strong passenger and cargo market. Far East cargo moves through Dubai into the USA East coast.

Emo Trans Houston – Middle East LCL ocean consolidation container

Weekly service from Houston to: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Bahrain, Sharjah, Doha, Muscat, Damman, Riyadh. Our Houston office is now accepting bookings. We would appreciate your help in supporting this weekly service. Please call 1-800-397-9630 for more information.

Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach cuts short FREE time

All import containers arriving at the ports have to be removed from the pier within
4 days. Calculation of “free” time begins from the day the container is discharged from the vessel and not when the vessel is fully discharged.

Update on Wood Packaging

September 16, 2005: The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will notify importers of non-compliant wood packing material until February 1, 2006,but take no other action unless infestation is noted.

February 1, 2006: CBP will begin rejecting shipments (repacking non-compliant pallets and crates and re-exporting the non-compliant packaging) at the cost of the importer.

July 5, 2006: Full enforcement. All wood packing material must be treated and marked. Non compliant regulated wood packing material will not be allowed to enter the United States.

APHIS-PPQ has a toll free number available for questions pertaining to the importation of wood packing material. In the United States and in some Canadian locations the toll free number is 866-738-8197. International callers may call (USA Country Code - 011) 301-734-5376.
This service will be active from September 1, 2005 through October 16, 2005, with a possible extension.

For further questions on import to USA: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/wpm/guidelines.pdf
Any questions regarding export:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/wpm/export.html

Virgin Atlantic Airways and Sinqapore Airlines see strengthening market to South Africa

The cargo director at Virgin Atlantic said air freight to its South African destinations of Johannesburg and Cape Town has seen a real turnaround recently and Singapore Airlines recently introduced a B747F to connect through their Brussels hub. Cargo space to South Africa had been very tight, but this should give a much needed relief.

We at Emo Trans are committed to the South African market. I myself just returned from a business trip to Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. Together with our partner Sebenza we are exited about possible new business opportunities in this very interesting market. Growth rates in South Africa are in the double-digit range and everywhere I traveled I saw lots of new construction.

Sebenza Forwarding has offices in Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Pretoria. We would appreciate if you would consider us for your traffic to and from South Africa.

In Memoriam

It is with great sadness that we must advise the passing of Malcolm Bickley, our Branch Manager in Mobile, Alabama, who suffered a massive heart attack on August 6th.
Malcolm, born in London, England, came to the United States over 20 years ago. He was a seasoned professional who worked in the industry for more than 30 years; 9 of which were spent at EMO Trans. Malcolm successfully ran our office in Alabama, where he was deeply respected not only by his fellow colleagues but also by customers and our overseas partners. He surely will be missed by all of us. Malcolm is survived by his wife, Kathleen, and his two sons, Darren and Martin.

Rhonda Hofman, who worked with Malcolm for many years, has been appointed Branch Manager of EMO Mobile. Rhonda has demonstrated her managerial abilities by remaining focused during this difficult time by providing our customers with the level of service they are accustomed to. We are confident that Rhonda and her team will continue the success of the Mobile station that was so important to Malcolm.

Anniversaries

5 years: Ruben Gonzales and Denise Coucoulas (Freeport Corporate office)
Diane Boggs (Pittsburgh office)

Winner of the month

The “picnic basket” goes to June McPherson. Congratulations!!
Next month we will give away a “$25.00 fuel gift card”. Please let us handle many of your shipments. As always, each one will be entered into our monthly drawing.

Thank you for your business. We appreciate it very much.

If you enjoy reading this newsletter and have a friend or collegue who you believe might benefit from it, please forward it on. We encourage your ideas and suggestions. EMO Trans respects your privacy. We do not share your information with anybody and will only use this data to send you information via this newsletter. Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter.

Newsletter Options

remove me

send comments

get shipping quote