Retail Industry Leaders Association News

Of 98 container ships, 44 blocked from ports. U.S. firms take legal action over unpaid bills. Roughly half of Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd's container vessels have been blocked from ports since the South Korean firm's collapse, putting manufacturers and their customers increasingly on edge about the fate of cargo and spikes in freight costs. Woes for world's seventh-largest container shipper have only deepened since its banks withdrew support and it filed for court receivership this week. One vessel has also been seized by a creditor in Singapore while firms in the U.S. have launched legal action against Hanjin to seize vessels and other assets over unpaid bills.

TOTE Maritime Alaska announced that Michael Noone will assume the role of President, January 1, 2016. Noone joined TOTE Maritime Alaska as Chief Operating Officer in August 2013, bringing 28 years of experience in the shipping and logistics field. As COO, he has been responsible for creating strategic and operating plans for sales, pricing and operations. Noone received his bachelor’s degree from Wagner College and is certified by some of the nation’s top executive programs in Logistics…

In a letter sent Wednesday, the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) applauded Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) for introducing legislation that would institute universal port performance standards and a formalized reporting structure for capturing data on true operational capacities of U.S. ports. “Retailers’ supply chain operations are highly dependent on the functionality and efficiency of our U.S. ports,” said Kelly Kolb, vice president for government affairs. The Port Transparency Act (S. 1298) would direct the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) to work with numerous other entities, including port authorities, to obtain applicable and fruitful port performance measures.

Senate bill aims to mitigate impact of labor disputes at America’s ports. In a letter sent today, the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) welcomed the introduction of the Protecting Orderly and Responsible Transit of Shipments (PORTS) Act in the U.S Senate. The bill, sponsored by Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO), would amend the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to provide state governors a mechanism under federal law to mitigate the destructive impact of port labor disputes on the economy at both the state and federal level. Specifically, the legislation would authorize a governor from a state where a port labor dispute is causing economic harm to form a board of inquiry and start the Taft Hartley process.

The U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security held a hearing on U.S. The hearing comes during a labor standoff between shipping companies and port workers that shut down 29 West Coast ports over the weekend. The ports have since resumed operations. "We need to explore the policy options to support port growth and future volumes of freight to keep goods moving," Chairman Deb Fischer (R-NE) said during the hearing.

TOTE, Inc. President and CEO Anthony Chiarello was honored by The Navy League of the United States with the Vincent T. Hirsch Maritime Award at the organization’s annual convention and Sea Service Awards Luncheon in Long Beach, Calif. last week. The Vincent T. Hirsch Maritime Award, named for a patron and past president of the Navy League, was presented to Chiarello in honor of his achievements during his more than 30 year career with maritime organizations and “contributions to protecting and growing the privately-owned U.S. Chiarello, who joined TOTE, Inc.

Anthony Chiarello, president and CEO of TOTE, Inc., will be the keynote speaker at the SHIPPINGInsight 2013 Fleet Optimization Conference, Oct. 22-24 in Stamford, Conn. Prior to TOTE, Inc., the largest of five operating groups owned by Seattle-based Saltchuk Resources, Inc., which includes five companies organized in maritime, logistics and ship management lines of business, Chiarello, was the COO and executive vice president at NYK Logistics (Americas), Inc. Prior to NYK, Chiarello was with the AP Moller/Maersk organization for 16 years.

Saltchuk Resources has promoted Anthony Chiarello, to president & CEO of TOTE, Inc. TOTE, Inc. is the largest of six operating groups owned by Seattle-based Saltchuk Resources, Inc., and includes five companies organized in maritime, logistics and ship management lines of business. Chiarello, who accepted the top leadership position at TOTE, Inc. just 18 months ago, has already lead a realignment of the organization’s five operating companies in to three distinct lines of business: TOTE Maritime, TOTE Ship Management and TOTE Logistics. In February, TOTE, Inc.

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) Administrator/CEO Alberto Alemán Zubieta delivered an address on Feb. 11 at the 2009 Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) Logistics Conference in Dallas, Texas. In front of approximately 900 global logistics leaders, Mr. Alemán Zubieta highlighted the anticipated benefits of Canal expansion, which is progressing on-time and on-budget, and will help Canal customers to efficiently deliver products to consumers around the world. He also pointed out the rapid growth of Panama as the transportation and logistics hub of the Americas. Slated for completion in 2014, the $5.25b Expansion Program will double Canal capacity by building a new lane of traffic.