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12 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 • FOOD LOGISTICS www.foodlogistics.com L O G I S T I C S T R E N D S I N O U R I N D U S T R Y FOOD ON THE MOVE Panama Canal Shipping Boom Set To Let Loose Shipping analyst Drewry Maritime Research expects transhipment activity in Panama to grow strongly once the expansion of the Panama Canal is completed, accord- ing to Fruitnet.com. The expansion project, which is due for completion next year, will enable 14,000 TEU vessels to pass through the canal, increasing demand for tranship- ment options. Drewry is forecasting a double- digit jump in transhipment activity for 2016 and annual growth of 5 percent thereafter, leading to Panama Pacific coast throughput of 6m TEU by 2024. Transhipment activity in the wider Central America/Caribbean region is also set to grow as a result of the expansion. Dimensional Weight Pricing Surprises Online Merchants Close to a third of online merchants who ship orders via FedEx and UPS are unaware of the significant changes to rates that took effect at the beginning of this year due to dimensional weight pricing, according to Endicia, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based company that helps businesses with USPS shipping. Endicia surveyed 700 businesses and found that 28 percent of online businesses hadn't heard of dimensional weight pricing that has already taken effect. Maersk Line To Close Pacific Shipping Service Maersk Line will close its Trans-Pacific 5 (TP5) U.S.-flag service operated by its Maersk Line Ltd. affiliate as part of a strategy to eliminate unprofitable Pacific services, accord- ing to Hellenic Shipping News. The end of the current TP5 service from North Asia to Los Angeles-Long Beach and Oakland, Calif. using five older Panamax, U.S.-flagged container ships will not produce a significant reduction in the overall container ship capacity on the route, according to experts, because it is a relatively small service. The five ships on the route include four 4,300-TEU vessels formerly owned by Sea- Land Service and one ship chartered from Mediterranean Shipping Co. Lineage Logistics Acquires Columbia Colstor Lineage Logistics has acquired Colum- bia Colstor, a third-party warehousing and logistics company based in Moses Lake, Wash. With the acquisition of Columbia Colstor, Lineage Logistics doubles its presence in the Pacific Northwest to 11 locations . UASC Orders 2,000 Reefer Containers United Arab Shipping Co. (UASC), a container shipping line and global carrier, has ordered 2,000 reefer containers from Daikin, according to TradeArabia.com. The order marks the first milestone in the expansion of UASC's reefer services and underpins the company's ongoing investment in the cutting- edge, energy-efficient solutions for the car- riage of frozen and chilled cargoes. Fewer Loads, More Trucks J anuary and February are slow months in the spot freight market, and after last year's extreme weather-driven demand for trucks, 2015 is taking on a more typical pattern. Load volume and rates for truckload refrigerated freight drifted downward in January compared to December, according to DAT Solutions, which operates the DAT network of load boards. The national average spot rate for reefer freight was $2.31 per mile (including fuel surcharge), down 8 cents compared to December, but still 15 cents higher than January 2014. There were 11 percent fewer refrigerated loads posted in Janu- ary compared to December, while the number of available trucks increased by 3.3 percent. The load-to-truck ratio for temperature- controlled freight dipped 14 percent to 9.1, meaning there was an average of 9.1 reefer loads posted for every available reefer vehicle on DAT load boards in January. Load-to-truck ratios indicate market demand and capacity, and changes signal shifts in spot market rates. Another trend to watch: low on-highway diesel prices, which tend to have a dampening effect on spot market rates. When fuel prices slip, the surcharge drops and the total rate typically declines. UPS explains dimensional weight packaging on its website. Divide the cubic size in inches by 166 to determine dimensional weight in pounds. DAT SOLUTIONS' MONTHLY FREIGHT REPORT