Freight Transportation Costs News

Missouri Port Authorities Team Up To Advance Plan For Statewide Initiative That Focuses On Innovative Inland Waterway Container-On-Vessel Freight Service.Missouri Governor Michael Parson visited the Mississippi River town of Herculaneum on August 12 to find out more about statewide efforts to deliver a new option to transport freight along the inland waterways and what role an innovative waterway vessel could play in moving larger volumes of goods and commodities along both the Mississippi River and Missouri River and their tributaries.

After a downtrend in the freight shipping tanker market since the middle of 2007, the industry has seen nothing but rate increases in the last month. The cost of freight shipping can mean an increase in the cost of many consumer products, according to FreightBrokering.info, which is why it's so important to keep freight transportation costs down. There are many reasons why the costs of ocean freight shipping have increased. Indian Oil Corporation recently paid $9 million in freight transportation charges for shipping crude oil on a very large crude carrier from West Africa to Vadinar, India. The high freight rate was a result of oil firms scrambling to hire ships before the holiday season started, leading to a shortage of ships.

Litton Ingalls Shipbuilding signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with SeaAmerica Cruise Lines, Inc., based in Hollywood, Fla. Under the MOA, LSS and SeaAmerica will develop a ship design leading to contract negotiations for the construction of two 42,000-ton, 1,000-passenger cruise ships. The program will include options for two additional ships. Construction of the ships would utilize both of Litton Ship Systems' production facilities, Litton Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula and Litton Avondale Industries in New Orleans, and would maximize the resources and experience of both shipyards to achieve operating synergies. Accommodations will include 87 percent outside cabins (most with private balconies)…