The CURE Foundation's - National Denim Day 2011

Like every year, ROE Logistics will be wearing denim on May 10th to support National Denim Day! Visit the Cure Foundation to receive your kit and see how you can help support this important cause!

In May 1997, the CURE Foundation inaugurated NATIONAL DENIM DAY, its main fundraiser. This event is held annually on the Tuesday following Mother's Day. Businesses, organizations and institutions across Canada are encouraged to allow employees, members and/or students to wear denim and receive CURE’s ‘pink flower’ ribbon in exchange for a suggested $5 donation. The Foundation also welcomes matching donations from corporations who wish to support their employees’ contributions to the fight against breast cancer.


According to statistics from the Canadian Cancer Society, 23,200 new cases of breast cancer in women and 180 new cases in men were diagnosed in 2010. Of these, 5,350 proved to be fatal.



“Wearing jeans has never been so important!”

Port of Montreal leases grain terminal to specialized firm

The Montreal Port Authority (MPA) announced that it signed a definitive agreement with Viterra Inc. for the grain handling company to lease and operate the MPA Grain Terminal.

The Port's grain terminal is a Canadian Grain Commission licensed transfer elevator which operates year round and has a storage capacity of 262,000 metric tonnes.

The terminal is located in the deepest inland seaport in North America and connects directly to both CN and CP rail networks. It provides direct shipping routes to various destinations in Canada, the U.S. and Europe.

"This terminal is an excellent strategic fit within our North American grain handling and marketing operations," said Bob Miller, Viterra's Senior Vice-President, North American Grain. "It provides a wide range of logistical options to support efficient movement of high quality bulk and containerized food ingredients to key domestic and international markets."

The agreement was signed following a selection process led by the MPA, and successful due diligence conducted by Viterra.

"Our agreement with an agri-business company that specializes in grain such as Viterra will make it possible to consolidate and increase grain traffic at the Port of Montreal, and enable the grain terminal to improve its competitive position while still providing high calibre service to Quebec grain producers", stated Sylvie Vachon, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Montreal Port Authority "Our grain terminal will now be run using the same business model as our other terminals, that is to say, by a specialized private operator, which will contribute greatly to its future success."

Viterra will assume full operation of the terminal by July 1, 2011.

Recurring French port strikes could end after agreement on retirement age

A national port reform agreement was signed last week that could signal then end of recurring work stoppages at French ports.

Plans by the government of France to transfer port workers to the private sector and increase the age of retirement met strong resistance from unions, who staged a series of strikes at French ports over the past two years.

A breakthrough on agreements involving government, unions and port authorities and covering all major French ports coincided last week with the signing of a national agreement on the linked issue of retirement age. It now appears that workers can start to be transferred to the private sector.

The port of Marseilles, for one, will begin the transfer of some 400 port authority personnel to private stevedoring companies in May.

The Marseilles authority said the agreements will bring French terminal operations in line with the practice at other major European ports.

Trucker strike in Shanghai comes to an end

On Saturday, 23 April 2011 the Shanghai Transportation & Port Administration Bureau has released an announcement confirming to adjust certain fees and costs which was the cause for the strike initiated local trucking companies. At this point we do not anticipate any further disruptions and consequently delays once any remaining backlogs are cleared.

Truck drivers strike in Shanghai

Please kindly be advised that the strike action in SHA has begun as of 10 am this morning, April 20, 2011.
Hundreds of strikers and several trailers were placed on the road in front of the port terminal gate to stop the traffic.
These actions were taken to protest the domestic fuel expense increased and the high handling fees charged by port
terminal operators, e.g. doc fee, container lift on/lift off fee.

Delays in receipt of export containers may result in possible knock-on effects to sea freight with possible delays or rollovers from carriers.

At this early stage we have not been advised which specific containers are affected.

We will keep you updated of developments.

If you require further information please contact your dedicated account manager.

Truck driver turnover increases, bringing back the threat of driver shortage

The American Trucking Associations (ATA) reports that hiring in the trucking industry picked up in the fourth quarter of 2010. ATA also notes an increase in the turnover rate for linehaul truckload drivers which indicates an increased demand for drivers as the economy recovers.

According to ATA's quarterly trucking activity report, truckload and less-than-truckload carriers increased payrolls in the last three months of 2010. Small truckload companies increased their employment by 0.8%, all within the driver pool, while large truckload companies boosted total employment by 0.3%, adding linehaul drivers but trimming back their local driver pools.

The survey also showed that after hitting a record low of 39% in the first quarter, turnover among linehaul drivers at large truckload fleets rose to 69% (annualized rate) in the fourth quarter, its highest level since the second quarter of 2008. Third-quarter turnover was 49%.

Turnover at small truckload fleets rose to 49% in the fourth quarter from 44% and LTL turnover remained exceptionally low at 6%.

ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said the increased hiring, coupled with rising turnover, indicated that fleets are responding to signs of the growing economic recovery.

"Fleets are clearly hiring more drivers as demand for freight hauling increases," Costello said. "In addition, while part of the turnover can be attributed to regulatory changes, we believe the bulk of this churn is due to increased demand for drivers."

"As the recovery strengthens, we're likely to see demand for drivers and trucking services continue to increase, with that demand manifesting itself in rising turnover rates and ultimately, once again, a shortage of truck drivers," he added.

Surge in attacks off the coast of Somalia drive open sea piracy to record high

The first three months of 2011 saw piracy at sea hit an all-time high with 142 attacks worldwide, according to the International Maritime Bureau's (IMB) global piracy report.

In the first quarter of 2011, 18 vessels were hijacked, 344 crew members were taken hostage, and six were kidnapped, IMB reported. A further 45 vessels were boarded, and 45 more reported being fired upon.

The sharp rise was driven by a surge in piracy off the coast of Somalia, where 97 attacks were recorded in the first quarter of 2011, up from 35 in the same period last year.

"Figures for piracy and armed robbery at sea in the past three months are higher than we've ever recorded in the first quarter of any past year," said Pottengal Mukundan, Director of IMB, whose Piracy Reporting Centre has monitored piracy worldwide since 1991.

In the first three months of 2011, pirates murdered seven crew members and injured 34. Just two injuries were reported in the first quarter of 2006.

Of the 18 ships hijacked worldwide in the first three months of the year, 15 were captured off the east coast of Somalia, in and around the Arabian Sea and one in the Gulf of Aden. In this area alone, 299 people were taken as hostage and a further six were kidnapped from their vessel. At their last count, at the end of March, IMB figures showed that Somali pirates were holding captive 596 crew members on 28 ships.

The IMB reports that large tankers carrying oil and other flammable chemicals are particularly vulnerable to firearm attack. Captain Mukundan said: "Three big tankers of over 100,000 tonnes deadweight have been hijacked off the Horn of Africa this year. Of a total of 97 vessels attacked in the region, 37 were tankers and of these, 20 had a deadweight of more than 100,000 tonnes."

A number of countries are employing their navies to take a tough stance against piracy. In a recent show of force, commended by the IMB, the Indian navy captured 61 Somali pirates on a hijacked ship off India's west coast.

Elsewhere, in the first quarter of 2011 nine incidents were reported off Malaysia and five incidents have been recorded for Nigeria.

Update on labour negotiations at British Columbia harbours

Contract negotiations were held last week between the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Canada with the assistance of Federal Mediator Bill Lewis.

Additional meetings were scheduled for this week and started on Wednesday, April 13th.

The contract covering longshoremen along British Columbia's coast ports expired on March 31, 2010.

Neither side has given the mandatory written 72 hour strike or lock-out notice and as such, a lawful work stoppage cannot occur.

Such stoppage is all the more unlikely as the Minister of Labour has, during a Federal election and in the name of national interest, the power to prevent a strike or lock-out until 21 days following the election. It is widely assumed that the current Minister would exercise this power, given the economic importance of the harbours that would be affected by any work stoppage.

Japan testing outbound container ships for radiation levels

The Japanese government has begun scanning container ships leaving from the harbours in Tokyo bay for radiation emissions.

The move by Japan's transport ministry is primarily a bid to alleviate concerns about contamination from a crippled nuclear plant for shipowners, crews, and the foreign harbours where the ships are destined.

Scanned ships will be given a certificate recording radiation levels.

Ships found to have radiation readings exceeding a standard level will not be permitted to leave the ports of Tokyo, Kawasaki or Yokohama.

U.S. imports by container expected to be up 9% in April - April 12, 2011

A report prepared for the U.S. National Retail Federation (NRF) says that import cargo volume at the nation's major retail container ports is expected to be up 9 percent in April over the same month last year.

"These numbers are an indication that the economy is recovering and retailers are expecting continued increases in sales through the summer and beyond," NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. "There are challenges ahead from rising prices for gasoline and other essentials, but inventories are under control and retailers are optimistic."

The U.S. ports followed by Global Port Tracker handled 1.1 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units in February, traditionally the slowest month of the year and the latest for which actual numbers are available. That was down 8 percent from January but up 10 percent from February 2010.

It was the 15th month in a row to show a year-over-year improvement after December 2009 broke a 28-month streak of year-over-year declines. One TEU is one 20-foot cargo container or its equivalent.

March was estimated at 1.2 million TEU, an increase of 11 percent over March 2010. April is forecast at 1.24 million TEU, up 9 percent from a year ago; May at 1.32 million TEU, up 4 percent; June at 1.38 million TEU, up 5 percent; July at 1.45 million TEU, up 5 percent; and August at 1.54 million TEU, up 8 percent.

The first half of 2011 is forecast at 7.4 million TEU, up 8 percent from the first half of 2010. For the full year, 2010 totaled 14.7 million TEU, a 16 percent increase over 2009. Last year's percentages were high because 2009's 12.7 million TEU was the lowest level seen since 2003.

Global Port Tracker, which is produced for NRF by the consulting firm Hackett Associates, covers the U.S. ports of Long Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma on the West Coast; New York/New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston and Savannah on the East Coast, and Houston on the Gulf Coast.

ROE Logistics Montreal Offices Merge!

In order to further optimize our services, PLEASE NOTE that Effective Monday, April 4th, 2011 our two Montreal offices (Cote‐de‐Liesse and Bridge Street locations) will be merged. As of this date, we will all be located at the ROE Head Office location. THE NEW ADDRESS WILL BE:

ROE Logistics Inc.
660 rue Bridge St.,
Montreal, QC H3K 3K9

Please note that our email addresses, telephone (and extensions) as well as our fax numbers will remain the same.

We kindly request you to make the necessary changes in your files and to inform your colleagues.

We look forward to working with you from our amalgamated location.

Thank You!