By the Numbers
Port Manatee container trade soars 74 percent in record first fiscal half
AJOT | April 15, 2021 | Ports & Terminals | Ports | By The Numbers
Port Manatee’s vibrant containerized cargo trade keeps soaring to record heights, with the number of container units crossing port docks in the six months ended March 31 rising nearly 74 percent over the comparable year-earlier period.
GPA’s March container trade leaps 48 percent
AJOT | April 15, 2021 | Ports & Terminals | Ports | By The Numbers
The Port of Savannah handled an all-time record of nearly 500,000 twenty-foot equivalent container units in March, an increase of more than 48 percent, or 162,275 TEUs, compared to the same month in 2020.
Valenciaport goods and container traffic grew in March by 12.96% and 9.22% respectively
AJOT | April 15, 2021 | Ports & Terminals | Ports | By The Numbers
Valenciaport is the driving force behind economic activity, facilitating the export activity of companies. Cargo TEUs grew by 24.38% in March (accumulating 8 consecutive months with positive figures) and unloading TEUs by 31.82%
Rystad Energy’s daily market comment from our Head of Oil Markets Bjornar Tonhaugen
AJOT Administrator | April 15, 2021 | Energy News | Conventional | By The Numbers
Oil prices are posting only marginal losses today as the market is just lightly trimming the excess gains of a good week for the oil market.
Recovery on horizon for Ontario International Airport as passenger volumes show improvement
AJOT | April 15, 2021 | Air Cargo News | Airports | By The Numbers
Ontario International Airport (ONT) has regained more than half of the passenger volume lost as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic which nearly decimated global air travel a year ago, according to monthly data released by airport officials today.
Attracted by high rates, truckers shift to the spot market
AJOT | April 15, 2021 | Intermodal News | Road | By The Numbers
DAT Trendlines: Demand indicators for van, refrigerated and flatbed truckload services for the week ending April 11, 2021
Cargo volume in Frankfurt continues to achieve strong growth
AJOT | April 15, 2021 | Air Cargo News | Airports | By The Numbers
In March 2021, passenger traffic at Frankfurt Airport (FRA) continued to be severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Cargo surge breaks March, first quarter records at the Port of Los Angeles
AJOT | April 15, 2021 | Ports & Terminals | Ports | By The Numbers
It was the strongest March in the Port’s 114-year history, its busiest first quarter and by far the largest monthly year-over-year increase.
Smooth cargo flow continues at Port of Virginia as new March record is set
AJOT | April 15, 2021 | Ports & Terminals | Ports | By The Numbers
The Port of Virginia in March set a new record for monthly TEU volume (twenty-foot equivalent unit) having handled nearly 280,000 TEUs and processing the volume with fluidity.
Building a solar farm is becoming noticeably more expensive as modules and labor get costlier
AJOT | April 14, 2021 | Energy News | Alternative | By The Numbers
The cost of building solar farms has been declining for several years, making the renewable technology increasingly popular with projects of all sizes mushrooming around the world.
Global Spending on Renewable Energy to Hit $243 Billion in 202
AJOT | April 14, 2021 | Energy News | Alternative | By The Numbers
Capital spending on renewable energy is in a period of robust growth and is on track to catch up with oil and gas spending.
Millions of electric vehicles may face production delays from 2027 as lithium mining capacity lags
AJOT | April 14, 2021 | Energy News | Alternative | By The Numbers
The global market share of electric vehicles is set to rise so quickly that battery manufacturers will not be able to meet production requirements, a Rystad Energy analysis shows.
Rystad Energy’s daily market comment from our Head of Oil Markets Bjornar Tonhaugen
AJOT | April 14, 2021 | Energy News | Conventional | By The Numbers
Lately the oil market has been plagued by pessimism over how quickly demand can recover, as a result of the recent growth in Covid-19 infections, the related lockdowns and restrictions in several countries, and vaccination campaign hiccups.
New industry trends report uncovers shifting priorities after COVID
AJOT | April 14, 2021 | Project / Heavy Lift News | By The Numbers
AntwerpXL, the award-winning event dedicated to breakbulk, heavy lift and project cargo, has released its first Trends Report ahead of its return to Antwerp Expo, Belgium, on 7-9 December 2021.
Germany’s export value of logs and lumber reached 2.5 billion dollars in 2020
AJOT | April 14, 2021 | International Trade | Commodity | By The Numbers
The total timber harvest in 2020 will be the highest since 2007, when the cyclone Kyrill swept in over Central Europe and damaged approximately 45 million m3 of timber.
U.K. businesses burn cash as Brexit bureaucracy takes its toll
Bloomberg | April 14, 2021 | International Trade | By The Numbers
EU border hassle hits U.K. exporters big and small
Aluminum jumps to highest since 2018 on strong China trade data
Bloomberg | April 13, 2021 | International Trade | Commodity | By The Numbers
Aluminum surged to the highest in almost three years, leading gains in base metals as Chinese trade data buoyed the outlook for demand.
Rystad Energy’s daily market comment from our Oil Markets Analyst Louise Dickson
AJOT | April 13, 2021 | Energy News | Conventional | By The Numbers
The oil market is having a slow month after the latest OPEC+ meeting as the latest production policy leaves little room for big surprises in oil balances.
Saudi Aramco’s profit halved in two years, market cap $210b below Apple’s
AJOT | April 13, 2021 | Energy News | Conventional | By The Numbers
Even before the pandemic, the oil and gas industry was faced with slumping prices. However, with a record collapse in oil demand amid the lockdowns, the COVID-19 crisis has further shaken the market, causing massive revenue and market cap drops for even the largest oil companies.
Port of Hueneme board demonstrates fiscal responsibility
AJOT | April 13, 2021 | Ports & Terminals | Ports | By The Numbers
Additional contribution to employee retirement trust brings total to $2.5M The Port of Hueneme continues to ensure financial stability and fiscal responsibility as the Board of Oxnard Harbor District Commissioners voted to fund another $500,000 to the District’s California Employers’ Retiree Benefit Trust (CERBT) account for their fiscal year ending June 30, 2021. Other Post-Employment Benefits (or OPEB) are benefits costs (other than pensions) that Federal, State, local governments and special districts provide to their retired employees. These costs include health care, dental, vision and life insurance. It has become evident, with rising costs of healthcare, that future expenses for the OPEB costs will increase significantly as the years go on. Prior to opening the CERBT account, the Port practiced a pay as you go system covering the OPEB retiree costs for the current fiscal year only. The future years unfunded liability continued to grow with the onset of more retiring employees. Then in fiscal year 2017, the Port took a step towards lowering their Unfunded Accrued Liability (UAL) with the creation of a CERBT with an opening deposit of $500k. Then in the following two fiscal years, increased the account balance by $500k each in fiscal years 2018 and 2019. With the current successes of the stock market, the $1.5M investment grew to nearly $2M. The effect on the unfunded liability was dramatic. The UAL was growing towards $9M but has been reduced to approximately $6M. After waiting to see the fiscal impacts of FY2020, on March 15, 2021 Oxnard Harbor District’s Board of Commissioners voted to reduce the Port’s unfunded OPEB liability further by authorizing another $500,000 deposit in the CERBT account which bring the Port’s prefunding to approximately $2.5M. This Pay & Save As You Go method has proven to be a significant and consistent way to reduce the Port’s unfunded OPEB liability over time. This trust, administered by CalPERS, will serve as the pre-funding element for Other Public Employee Benefits (OPEB,) supplementing the pay-as-you-go method currently in place. According to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC,) California has one of the largest unfunded OPEB liabilities in the country, exceeding $166 billion, or $4,200 per resident1. By adding the OPEB pre-funding element, the Port is avoiding passing on debt to future generations and preventing potential budget shortfalls in future years. The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) identifies this type of pre-funding OPEB as a “best practice.” Further, it was noted as a positive comment on the Port’s last Bond rating review by Standard & Poors (S&P) that the pre-funding action was a positive reflection upon the fiscal responsibility of the Port. “With financial uncertainty heightened by the COVID-19 crisis, we are proud to make all efforts to prioritize the fiscal health of the Port,” says Oxnard Harbor District Board President Jason T. Hodge. “In doing so, we are investing in our Port’s future and taking very seriously our role of sustainable provider of jobs and security for our local communities.” “Our goals and efforts have been with meeting our financial responsibility to account for future costs.,” says Andrew Palomares, Port Deputy Executive Director, CFO/CAO. “By investing a little each fiscal year, it softens the blow of a larger demand on our future financial reserves. Instead of simply a pay as you go system, we’ve adopted a pay & save as you go.”
