Transport Information Group

Here are the latest US Government Accountability Office (US GAO) reports about transportation, published in June 2008.

• Air Traffic Control: FAA Uses Earned Value Techniques to Help Manage Information Technology Acquisitions, but Needs to Clarify Policy and Strengthen Oversight. GAO-08-756, July 18, 2008 (45 pages).
  http://www.gao.gov/docdblite/details.php?rptno=GAO-08-756
• Airline Industry: Potential Mergers and Acquisitions Driven by Financial and Competitive Pressures. GAO-08-845, July 31, 2008 (51 pages).
  http://www.gao.gov/docdblite/details.php?rptno=GAO-08-845
• Aviation Security: Transportation Security Administration Has Strengthened Planning to Guide Investments in Key Aviation Security Programs, but More Work Remains. GAO-08-1024T, July 24, 2008 (13 pages).
  http://www.gao.gov/docdblite/details.php?rptno=GAO-08-1024T
• Commercial Drivers: Certification Process for Drivers with Serious Medical Conditions. GAO-08-1030T, July 24, 2008 (7 pages).
  http://www.gao.gov/docdblite/details.php?rptno=GAO-08-1030T
• Commercial Drivers: Certification Process for Drivers with Serious Medical Conditions. GAO-08-826, June 30, 2008 (25 pages).
  http://www.gao.gov/docdblite/details.php?rptno=GAO-08-826
• Examples of Job Hopping by Commercial Drivers After Failing Drug Tests. GAO-08-829R, June 30, 2008 (9 pages).
  http://www.gao.gov/docdblite/details.php?rptno=GAO-08-829R (more…)
   

Here are the latest US Government Accountability Office (US GAO) reports about transportation, published in June 2008.

• Coast Guard: Strategies for Mitigating the Loss of Patrol Boats Are Achieving Results in the Near Term, but They Come at a Cost and Longer Term Sustainability Is Unknown. GAO-08-660, June 23, 2008 (56 pages).
  http://www.gao.gov/docdblite/details.php?rptno=GAO-08-660
• Federal Aviation Administration: Efforts to Hire, Staff, and Train Air Traffic Controllers Are Generally on Track, but Challenges Remain. GAO-08-908T, June 11, 2008 (15 pages).
  http://www.gao.gov/docdblite/details.php?rptno=GAO-08-908T

Roissy Carex, a High-Speed Freight Rail project

Since 1999, a group of companies settled on the Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport platform have been thinking and working together to set up a high speed freight rail service. From this idea came a struture, involving several partners:

• Public entities: Roissy Development (Economic Development Agency of Roissy Porte de France), the Val d’Oise Economic Expansion Committee, and the city of Goussainville;
• Private businesses: Air France Cargo, La Poste, and FedEx; and
• The Eurocarex College: composed of Lyon Saint Exupéry Airport Authority, Liege Carex (similar project in Belgium), Eurotunnel, High speed Trains (HST) Cargo Schiphol (Amsterdam Carex), Köln-Bonn Airport Carex, and Londres Carex;

There are also two of the major freight carriers that will soon be members of this alliance (DHL and UPS) and a bunch of associated members (see the complete list on Roissy Carex website referenced below). (more…)

FedEx, worldwide leader in express freight and packages transportation, will finance an extension of its infrastructures based in Paris Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport (Roissy-CDG). This site is the most important package sorting warehouse in France for FedEx and employs around 1,800 people of about 2,500 total in France.

FedEx European hub in will be expanded to meet demands of European businesses: the cost is evaluated at €80 million, financed by Aéroports de Paris, the Paris airports authority (that also operates Orly and Le Bourget airports). The package-sorting facility will be expanded from 49,600 to 72,000 square metres, the whole FedEx plant being 77,000 square metres. On the other hand, FedEx announced it will build a “State-of-the-Art, Environmentally-Friendly Facility” in Cologne, Germany. Construction is expected to be finished in September 2009 in Roissy-CDG airport (started in November 2007) and by spring 2010 in Cologne.

In Paris, this will increase package handling capacity by 31%, from 24,000 to 31,500 per hour. Most of the construction work has been done, some parking areas still need to be built, and then, the package sorting and dispatching system will be installed, by 2009. Since it entered the French market in 1985, FedEx never stopped growing. The company innaugurated its Roissy-CDG hub in 1999, which was, at that time the biggest FedEx hub outside the United States, and already represents a €200 million investment since 1999. (more…)

Air France-KLM and China Southern, the biggest Chinese airline (by the size of its fleet, the network, and the number of passengers transported) recently announced they would partner and create a joint-venture to operate freight aircrafts. If both companies get the needed authorisations, the deal could be concluded by the end of 2008.

The newly formed company would be name AE Cargo (Asia-Europe Cargo), in which Air France will not hold more than 25% of the shares. The French-Dutch airline will however provide the CEO. Asia-Europe Cargo will develop a 10-aircraft sized fleet in the next two years. Both partners still have to determine the hub location, either in Guangzhou, Shanghai or Shenzhen.

References

• Article: La joint-venture fret entre Air France et China Southern prend forme concrète, Lloyd, Jun. 5, 2008: here
• Article: Air France-KLM: Projet de co-entreprise avec China Southern, CercleFinance.com
• Article: Fret: Air France-KLM avance en Chine avec un accord-cadre de coentreprise, AFP, Jun. 3, 2008: here
• Article: Fret : 110% de hausse depuis janvier, Challenges, Jun. 3, 2008: here
• Article: China Southern va créer une joint-venture avec Air France-KLM, Reuters, Jun. 3, 2008: here

Alitalia’s stock suspended…

litalia’s problems are not gone… The Italian national airline is getting closer to bankruptcy. The Italian Government said it still intends to sell its shares (49.9% of the capital) to a private company, and the quotation is still suspended on Milan stock markets.

In order to ensure Alitalia’s survival, the Italian Government passed a decree that could allow a “faster” privatisation, while respecting the European regulations. A bank (Intesa Sanpaolo) has been nominated to advise Alitalia’s official in the privatisation process. The decree allows the privatisation without going through the legal auction process to sell the 49.9% shares the Italian State owns, and the Government will not have to make public critical information that could “endanger” the deal. However, companies interested in potentially taking over the airlins should have access to Alitalia’s financial data.

For Air France KLM, Alitalia’s deal is still dead!

When the Italian Government announced Alitalia was back on sale, Sylvio Berlusconi totally changed sides, saying that a potential alliance might be possible with the French-Dutch airline Air France-KLM. The Chief of Italian Government finally agreed that such a deal could be “a good solution” for Alitalia… complete opposite of its pre-elections opinions! (more…)