Conference Board News

Among transportation planners, “resilience”, describing the ability to bounce back from adversities, both economic and other, has become a top consideration as we increasingly must “expect the unexpected.” The U.S. waterway system, covering the network of inland rivers and coastwise waterways, has seen a mix of good and not so good. As the 2020-2021 pandemic moves toward winding down, a recovery from the dismal 2020 is underway, but activity on the rivers is uneven. Ken Eriksen…

Irving Shipbuilding, Canada’s National Shipbuilder, has awarded an $8.9 million contract to ABCO Industries Limited (ABCO) for the design and construction of 12 metre landing craft for the Royal Canadian Navy’s Harry DeWolf-class Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS). Halifax Shipyard is constructing up to six AOPS as part of the Government of Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS). Each AOPS will have one custom designed 12m landing craft onboard. The landing craft will be used by Royal Canadian Navy to deploy vehicles, such as all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles or trucks, from the ship’s vehicle bay. ABCO, based in Lunenburg…

The government's assistance package, revealed in March 2012, includes the forgivable loan worth up to $260 million (but Irving will have to repay it if it doesn't reach those job targets) and a repayable loan of $44 million for human resources, technological, and industrial development, reports CBC News. The Department of Economic Development said the 4,000 jobs will be created over the 29-year life of the agreement, while the NDP government defends the arrangement on the basis the shipbuilding work will generate $2.8 billion in tax revenue for the province. In 2012, a Conference Board of Canada study found that Nova Scotia could benefit from an average of 8,400 indirect jobs between 2012 and 2030, peaking at 11,500 jobs during the program’s busiest years.

A year after Irving Shipbuilding Inc.’s successful bid to build $25B worth of combat vessels for the Royal Canadian Navy and ships for the Canadian Coast Guard, the largest procurement contract ever awarded in Canada, a positive economic buzz continues to grow across the province and throughout the Atlantic region. It’s an optimism not generated by any other project in many years. The multi-billion dollar package provided through the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS)…

AAPA Elects Armando Duarte of Santa Marta, Colombia, As 2013 Chairman. The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA)—representing the interests of seaports throughout the Western Hemisphere—this week during its Centennial Spring Conference board of directors meeting in Washington, D.C.—elected Armando Duarte-Peláez as its next chairman of the board. Mr. Duarte- Peláez’s one-year term will begin the last day of AAPA’s 101st Annual Convention in Mobile, Ala., which runs Oct. 21-25, 2012.

Economic growth in Nova Scotia, currently running at 1.6 percent for 2011, looks promising over the next two years, according to the Provincial Monitor report released today by BMO Economics. "We expect growth to accelerate to a 2.5 percent clip by 2013, when the positive impact of the recently announced Federal shipbuilding contract begins to take root," said Robert Kavcic, Economist, BMO Capital Markets. The contract landed by Irving Shipbuilding to build combat ships for the Royal Canadian Navy is worth an estimated $25 billion through 2030. The Conference Board of Canada estimates that about 8,000 new jobs - more than 1 per cent of total employment in the province - will be sustained over that period, and that real GDP will see a boost of about $800 million per year on average.

The American Society of Safety Engineers’ (ASSE) Women in Safety Engineering (WISE) Common Interest Group has honored  100 women from around the world for making a difference in the safety, health and environmental (SH&E) field as part of the WISE ‘100 Women, Making a Difference in Safety’ project. Mary Armstrong, who is based in the Seattle area, was honored for her dedication to protecting people, property and the environment. Armstrong is the vice president of Environment, Health and Safety at Boeing, the world’s largest aerospace company. She joined the company in 1984 as a process engineer for manufacturing research and development, and steadily ascended the chain of command during the last two decades.

The Board of Directors of the National Waterways Conference voted to support the draft Inland Marine Transportation System Capital Investment Strategy endorsed by the Inland Waterways Users Board at its meeting in New Orleans on December 15, 2009. The unanimous vote signals the Board’s recognition of the urgent need for adequate funding for our nation’s water resources infrastructure. Developed over the course of the past year under the auspices of the Inland Waterways Users Board, the Strategy is the culmination of a collaborative effort by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and industry representatives to develop a comprehensive funding and investment plan for construction and major rehabilitation projects along the 12,000 mile system of inland waterways.

“Old sailors never die, they just drop the anchor,” Robert J. “Bobby” Pfeiffer said over a decade ago as he was contemplating retirement. Pfeiffer, one of Hawaii’s most renowned sailors and captains of industry, dropped the anchor on Friday, September 26, 2003, at age 83, at his home in Orinda, Calif., after a lengthy illness. During his 12 1/2 years at the helm of Alexander & Baldwin, Inc., Pfeiffer became practically synonymous with business leadership in Hawaii. He charted a course of modernization and diversification, and led A&B through one of its strongest periods of growth and prosperity. At the same time he earned a reputation for leadership –– personal as well as corporate –– in support of charitable and other community causes.

Northrop Grumman Corporation has appointed Dr. Ronald D. Sugar to its board of directors, increasing the board to 14 members. Dr. Sugar, formerly president and COO of Litton Industries Inc., is corporate vice president, president and CEO of Northrop Grumman's Litton Sector. He joined the board effective with the completion of the company's tender offer for Litton Industries Inc. Prior to joining Litton, Dr. Sugar was president and COO of TRW Aerospace and Information Systems, and a member of the three-man Chief Executive Office of TRW Inc., a $17 billion global automotive, aerospace and information systems company. In his nearly 20 years with TRW, Dr.

Northrop Grumman Corporation has named Ronald D. Sugar, president and chief operating officer chairman and chief executive officer. Dr. Sugar was elected to Northrop Grumman's board of directors last April. Kent Kresa, chairman and CEO, stated, "With our recent acquisition of Litton Industries, Northrop Grumman is now a $15 billion top-tier global enterprise with 80,000 employees. Ron's appointment provides our company with additional management depth, experience and expertise at an important time in our company's history. For the past 11 years, Kresa has held the position of chairman, president and chief executive officer, leading Northrop Grumman in its transition from primarily an aircraft company to a leading defense electronics…

In a strategic simulation of a terror attack designed to assess America's vulnerability through its ports, a group of business and government leaders found that such an attack could potentially cripple global trade and have a devastating impact on the nation's economy. The group focused on ways to improve detection before a weapon gets to a U.S. port, as well as help businesses to build resiliency into their operations. The two-day Port Security Wargame, sponsored by Booz Allen Hamilton and The Conference Board, took place October 2-3, 2002, in Washington, DC, with 85 leaders from a range of government and industry organizations, who have a critical stake in port security.

The top executive of Brazilian state oil giant Petrobras on Tuesday defended his company's acceptance of an industry achievement award despite suffering the loss of the world's largest deepwater oil rig in March. Petrobras president and CEO Philippe Reichstul dedicated the 2001 Offshore Technology Conference Distinguished Award for Companies and Organizations to the 11 workers who died when two explosions rocked the P-36 rig on March 15. Reichstul said Petrobras accepted the award because it recognizes the company's advances in subsea production systems, not the drilling platform proper. The subsea systems were not damaged in the sinking, he said. "We've been amazed by the way everything is impeccable subsea," Reichstul said at the 2001 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) yesterday.