Transportation

[keith]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/transpor ... agerstown/

Metro’s next series of rail cars will be built at a $70 million plant in Maryland that will employ nearly 500 people and supply rail cars for the Washington-area system and transit agencies across the country.

Hitachi Rail announced Monday it has chosen Hagerstown as the home for an assembly plant that will release Metro’s eighth generation of rail cars starting in late 2024. Metro selected the company about 18 months ago to build 256 cars for its 8000 series, with an option for as many as 800 cars this decade.

The lucrative contract worth about $2.2 billion came with the requirement that Hitachi Rail assemble the cars at a plant in the Mid-Atlantic region. The announcement advances Metro’s lengthy journey to go from bidding to planning for its next rail car, a process that included Congress inserting itself into negotiations over cybersecurity fears and concerns about what would be built domestically.

It's nice that 500 people will be employed, but it's still not an American company and the profits go to Japan.

Victoria has been using Hitachi rolling stock for some years. I got the impression that they were less than pleased with the quality. I'll have to look it up. I think there were majorly problems with the brakes.

[keith]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/transpor ... agerstown/

Metro’s next series of rail cars will be built at a $70 million plant in Maryland that will employ nearly 500 people and supply rail cars for the Washington-area system and transit agencies across the country.

Hitachi Rail announced Monday it has chosen Hagerstown as the home for an assembly plant that will release Metro’s eighth generation of rail cars starting in late 2024. Metro selected the company about 18 months ago to build 256 cars for its 8000 series, with an option for as many as 800 cars this decade.

The lucrative contract worth about $2.2 billion came with the requirement that Hitachi Rail assemble the cars at a plant in the Mid-Atlantic region. The announcement advances Metro’s lengthy journey to go from bidding to planning for its next rail car, a process that included Congress inserting itself into negotiations over cybersecurity fears and concerns about what would be built domestically.

It's nice that 500 people will be employed, but it's still not an American company and the profits go to Japan.

Victoria has been using Hitachi rolling stock for some years. I got the impression that they were less than pleased with the quality. I'll have to look it up. I think there were majorly problems with the brakes.

Edit: I'm wrong. I don't see any significant problems other than corrosion towards end of life (they were in service from 1978 to 2014).
Hitachi (Australian train)

Edit 2: Its the current trains from Siemans that have (had) major brake problems. Siemens Nexas

[RTH10260]

[Frater I*I]

I'll tell you what happened....Joe Hazelwood was in command....

[Volkonski]

Shipping firm pauses Red Sea journeys over attacks

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-e ... press.coop

The decision comes after a spate of attacks on vessels launched from a part of Yemen controlled by the Houthis - an Iran-backed rebel movement.
The group has declared their support for Hamas and say they are targeting ships travelling to Israel.

The Red Sea is one the world's most important routes for oil and fuel shipments.

"The recent attacks on commercial vessels in the area are alarming and pose a significant threat to the safety and security of seafarers," Maersk said in a statement sent to the BBC.

"Following the near-miss incident involving Maersk Gibraltar yesterday and yet another attack on a container vessel today, we have instructed all Maersk vessels in the area bound to pass through the Bab al-Mandab Strait to pause their journey until further notice," it added.

[RTH10260]

I have been wondering how long it takes for the CIA to determine the Houthi bases and give the coordinates to the WH. I expect that in the next ten days or so some destroyer will lob a couple of cruise missiles into Yemen.

[Volkonski]

Good thing the Yemen-based Houthi militants didn't disrupt Red Sea shipping in time to do much damage to Christmas shopping.

Ikea says products will be delayed due to Red Sea diversions
At least $80 billion worth of cargo has already been diverted from the waterway, which provides access to Egypt’s Suez Canal.

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/busine ... rcna130820

Ikea warned of delays on some products due to the mass diversion of shipping containers from the Red Sea over safety concerns.

“The situation in the Suez Canal will result in delays and may cause availability constraints for certain IKEA products,” a spokesperson said by email Thursday.

They added that the safety of staff working in its supply chain was its priority, and it was evaluating other options to secure the availability of products. Ikea does not have its own container vessels but uses external operators.

At least $80 billion worth of cargo has already been diverted from the waterway which provides access to Egypt’s Suez Canal, the quickest passage between Europe and Asia, due to a wave of drone and missile attacks by Yemen-based Houthi militants.

Sweden’s Electrolux, the world’s largest appliance company, has set up a task force to find alternative routes and identify priority deliveries, Reuters reported.

Shipping giants Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM are among those to have confirmed this week they will begin diverting ships already in transit around the longer Cape of Good Hope route along the south of Africa as the attacks continue.

[John Thomas8]

Is distance just a lame excuse for not having functioning high-speed passenger rail between major US cities?

[Greatgrey]

Awww, I thought the new posts in this thread would be about the end of Hyperloop.

[RTH10260]

That was another of Elon Musks conceptual babies, though I understand that Saudis poured much oil money into it.

[John Thomas8]

I read about that. The costs are just too high per KM. Regular High Speed Rail in Japan is $80 million USD/KM, Maglev HSR is $220 million/KM (Japan is the only country trying both at the present). Add the cost of vacuuming that tube to the mix and there isn't any way to make any money on that type of rail service.

[Sam the Centipede]

Wikipedia has an informative article about hyperloop concepts and trials. Worth a read if one is interested.

I''m sure I'm not the only person who finds it offensive that these tech (and other) billionaires avoid paying tax anywhere and use the money they don't deserve for vanity projects and silly ego-boosting and environment-wrecking geegaws.

As has been pointed out, if someone has $10B and 90% of it is taken in tax or other penalties, they still have $1B.

Of course rich people are always going to want to have nice things. But there's a difference between sailing on a fancy yacht and flying space rockets or other tech crap.

[Volkonski]

Ships rerouted by Red Sea crisis face overwhelmed African ports

https://www.reuters.com/business/ships- ... 023-12-22/

Shipping companies sailing around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid Houthi attacks on the Red Sea face tough choices over where to refuel and restock, as African ports struggle with red tape, congestion and poor facilities, companies and analysts say.

Hundreds of large vessels are rerouting around the southern tip of Africa, a longer route adding 10-14 days of travel, to escape drone and missile attacks by Yemeni Houthis that have pushed up oil prices and freight rates.

The attacks by Iranian-backed militants have disrupted international trade through the Suez Canal, the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia, which accounts for about a sixth of global traffic.

South Africa's major ports, including Durban, one of Africa's largest in terms of container volumes handled, as well as Cape Town and Ngqura ports are among the worst performing globally, a World Bank 2022 index released in May found.

[Volkonski]

Container rates hit $10,000 as ocean freight inflation soars in Red Sea crisis

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/21/contain ... chaos.html

With the Red Sea diversions by shipping companies including Maersk continuing amid the risk of attacks by the Houthis, global logistics managers are faced with a two-front storm of rising ocean and air freight prices and stranded cargo. Both are threats to the global supply chain after three tumultuous years of inflationary pressures and delays from Covid disruptions which recently seemed to finally have been vanquished.

The ceiling in ocean freight prices shot up in a matter of hours on Thursday as a result of more vessels diverting from the Red Sea. CNBC has learned that logistics managers were quoted this morning an ocean freight rate of $10,000 per 40-foot container from Shanghai to the U.K. Last week, rates were $1,900 for a 20-foot container, to $2,400 for a 40-foot container. Truck rates in the Middle East now being quoted are more than double.



As of Thursday morning, 158 vessels are currently re-routing away from the Rea Sea carrying over 2.1 million cargo containers, Kuehne + Nagel tells CNBC. The value of this cargo based on MDS Transmodal estimates of $50,000 per container is $105 billion.

[Volkonski]

US Navy helicopters destroy Houthi boats in Red Sea after attempted hijack

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67851897

The US Navy has destroyed Houthi "small boats" whose crew attempted to board a container ship in the Red Sea.

Four vessels from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen fired upon the Maersk Hangzhou and got within metres of the ship, the US military said.

Helicopters from nearby US warships responded to a distress call - and, after being fired upon, sank three boats "in self-defence".
The crews were killed and the fourth boat fled the area.

A Houthi spokesperson said the vessel had refused to respond to warning calls, and that 10 of its group members were dead or missing after the incident.
Houthi forces have been attacking ships in the Red Sea since November, launching more than 100 drone and missile attacks on vessels passing through the vital shipping lane.

The Iranian-backed Yemeni rebel group has previously claimed its attacks are directed at vessels linked to Israel, in response to the war in Gaza.

Maersk is a Danish shipping line.

[Volkonski]

Middle East crisis live: US designates Houthis as terrorist group after attacks on ships in waters off Yemen

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/ ... ile-attack

The US has announced the re-designation of the Houthis as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entity following US-UK airstrikes on the Iranian-backed Yemen-based militants who have launched waves of attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

A statement from the White House’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, reads:

"Over the past months, Yemen-based Houthi militants have engaged in unprecedented attacks against United States military forces and international maritime vessels operating in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. These attacks fit the textbook definition of terrorism. They have endangered US personnel, civilian mariners, and our partners, jeopardized global trade, and threatened freedom of navigation.

Today, in response to these continuing threats and attacks, the United States announced the designation of Ansarallah, also known as the Houthis, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. This designation is an important tool to impede terrorist funding to the Houthis, further restrict their access to financial markets, and hold them accountable for their actions. If the Houthis cease their attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the United States will immediately reevaluate this designation."

The decision requires US financial institutions to freeze Houthi funds and its members will be banned from the country.

[raison de arizona]

Houthi pirate TikTok is crazy. Mostly seem like kids:

[raison de arizona]

Some context:

Hundreds of Houthi rebel child soldiers dead in Yemen war - UN

Nearly 1,500 children recruited by Yemen's Houthi rebels died in fighting in 2020, and hundreds more the following year, the UN says.

In a report to the Security Council, experts said rebels were still recruiting children, using summer camps and a mosque to spread their ideology.

They added that air strikes on the rebels by Saudi-led forces were still inflicting many civilian casualties.

More than 10,000 children have been killed in the war that began in 2015.

Tens of thousands of adults have also died as a direct result of the fighting, with millions displaced and on the brink of famine.

In the 300-page report, the panel said it had received a list of 1,406 children recruited by the Houthis who had died on the battlefield in 2020 and 562 between January and May the following year.

"The children are instructed to shout the Houthi slogan 'death to America, death to Israel, curse the Jews, victory to Islam'," the Associated Press news agency quoted the four-member panel of experts as saying.

"In one camp, children as young as seven years of age were taught to clean weapons and evade rockets."

It called on all parties "to refrain from using schools, summer camps and mosques to recruit children" and recommended sanctions for anyone who did not.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-60190484

[Volkonski]

Red Sea shipping attacks pressure China's exporters as delays, costs mount

https://www.reuters.com/world/red-sea-c ... 024-01-19/

For Chinese businessman Han Changming, disruptions to Red Sea freight are threatening the survival of his trading company in the eastern province of Fujian.

Han, who exports Chinese-made cars to Africa and imports off-road vehicles from Europe, told Reuters the cost of shipping a container to Europe had surged to roughly $7,000 from $3,000 in December, when Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement escalated attacks on shipping.

"The disruptions have wiped out our already thin profits," said Han, adding that higher shipping-insurance premiums are also taking a toll on Fuzhou Han Changming International Trade Co Ltd, the company he founded in 2016.

The rupture of one of the world's busiest shipping routes has exposed the vulnerability of China's export-reliant economy to supply snarls and external demand shocks. In a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday, Premier Li Qiang emphasised the need to keep global supply chains "stable and smooth", without referring specifically to the Red Sea.

Some companies, such as U.S.-based BDI Furniture, have said they are relying more on factories in places such as Turkey and Vietnam to mitigate the impact of the disruptions, adding to recent moves by Western countries to reduce dependence on China amid geopolitical tensions.

At stake for China now is the danger that other firms will follow suit and reassess their de-risking strategy, opting potentially to shift production closer to home, an approach known as "near-shoring".

[Volkonski]

Oil tanker on fire after Houthi missile attack

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-e ... press.coop

An oil tanker is reported to be on fire in the Gulf of Aden after being struck by a missile claimed by Yemen's Houthis.

The movement said they had targeted the Marlin Luanda on Friday evening.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said that the incident happened 60 nautical miles south-east of Aden.

US officials say a nearby naval ship is responding to the vessel's distress signal and no injuries have been reported.

It is the latest attack on commercial shipping by the Houthis in and around the Red Sea.

UKMTO said authorities had been informed and were responding to the latest strike, and warned other vessels to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity.

Houthi military spokesman Yaha Sarea said the group used "a number of appropriate naval missiles" and Friday's strike was "direct".

The oil tanker is flagged with the Marshall Islands.

Since November, the Houthis have launched dozens of attacks on commercial vessels travelling through the Red Sea, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

The pro-Hamas group says it is targeting ships linked to Israel in response to the military ground operation in Gaza. However, many of the vessels which have been attacked have no connection with Israel.

A second wave of UK and US air strikes were carried out on Houthi targets in Yemen earlier this week.

The UK and US are also targeting the Iran-backed militant group with sanctions to cut of its financial resources.

[Volkonski]

Attacks on ships in the Red Sea are disrupting global trade. Here’s how it could affect what you buy

https://apnews.com/article/red-sea-hout ... 3095646308

“What’s happened right now is short-term chaos, and chaos leads to increased costs,” said Ryan Petersen, CEO of the supply chain management company Flexport. “Every ship that gets rerouted has 10,000 containers on it. It’s a lot of emails and phone calls getting made to replan each of those container journeys.”

Adding to the bedlam in global shipping is what Petersen calls a “double whammy": Passage through another crucial trade corridor — the Panama Canal — is restricted by low water levels caused by drought. And shippers are in a rush to move goods before Chinese factories shut down for the Feb. 10-17 Lunar New Year holiday.

The threat grows considerably the longer the war in Gaza drags on. Disruption to Red Sea trade lasting a year could surge goods inflation by up to 2%, Petersen says, piling on pain while the world already struggles with higher prices for groceries, rent and more. That also could mean even higher interest rates, which have weakened economies.

[Volkonski]

The U.S. Commercial Ship Industry Has Collapsed. Fallout For National Security Could Follow.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lorenthomp ... 932c0a32f5

At the beginning of 2023, China had 1,749 large oceangoing commercial vessels under construction in its domestic shipyards. America had five.

At the beginning of 2022, China had 1,708 vessels under construction. America had three.

U.S. production of commercial vessels—at least, the kind used in international trade—has nearly ceased.

While China consolidates its role as the world’s leading commercial shipbuilder with 40% of global output, the United States produces about one-fifth of one percent of global output.

The U.S.-flagged merchant fleet is similarly debilitated. At the beginning of 2023, only 177 oceangoing commercial vessels flew the American flag. The number of vessels flying the Chinese flag was over 5,000.

Not surprisingly, the ranks of U.S. merchant mariners capable of crewing such vessels has dwindled. Indeed, were it not for laws that reserve domestic oceangoing commerce for U.S. ships, the profession would probably disappear.

[chancery]

https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/20 ... -free-ride

NY’s sub-replacement-level governor: NYC’s transit system should be destroyed so wealthy commuters from Connecticut and New Jersey can continue to free ride

Kathy Hochul has flopped at the last minute to kill the Manhattan congestion toll, as the New York Democratic Party continues to hover well below the Mendoza line:

There is nothing good to be said for this decision. It is bad politics, bad economics, bad governance, and bad for the climate.

Let us briefly count the ways that it is destructive.

It is stupid coalition politics. Hochul has alienated her allies, including environmental groups, state budget hawks, and transit advocates. Bill McKibben, the longtime New Yorker writer who has become one of the country’s most famous climate activists, called Hochul’s decision “one of the most aggressive anti-environmental actions ever undertaken by a Democratic governor.”

In exchange, Hochul has delighted her Republican adversaries, who can praise her wise decision-making in the weeks to come — and therefore brandish their own bipartisan bonafides — but continue to campaign against congestion pricing through November. Congestion pricing is unpopular now, but in her fecklessness, Hochul has guaranteed that it will be a live issue in November.

It is nonsense budget politics. Hochul says that she has delayed congestion pricing because she is worried about the city’s recovery from the pandemic, but regardless of her reasons, she has now left a $1 billion hole in the transit authority’s budget. The New York Times reports that she wants to fill that hole by raising taxes on the state’s businesses.

But that means that she has taken a tax formerly charged to some New York residents and businesses — but which would also fall on New Jersey and Connecticut residents and businesses — and shifted it entirely to in-state entities. She has, in essence, cut taxes on out-of-state residents and raised taxes on New York businesses and consumers.

And instead of taxing the right to use roads in downtown Manhattan, which are a limited public resource, she will instead tax all business activity in the state. What good will that do for New York’s economy?

Those political and financial flaws might be forgiven if her decision was good for the planet. But don’t worry: It’s also bad climate politics.

Cars, SUVs, and trucks belch more climate pollution into the atmosphere than any other single economic activity in the U.S. Nearly 20% of America’s annual carbon pollution comes from individuals and families driving their private vehicles around on roads and highways. This is a far larger share of national pollution than is generated by more famous climate villains, such as air travel.

https://x.com/EricLevitz/status/1798401159818051679

Eric Levitz
@EricLevitz
Personally, I would prefer for my city to tax commuters to reduce congestion than for it to increase payroll taxes on carless NYC residents like myself, who are significantly more numerous

Second Ave. Sagas
@2AvSagas

Hochul is speaking now. She says she cannot add to the financial burden of truck drivers and small business.

(So an NYC-based business tax instead??? Come on.)

A belief that it’s never the right time to execute any progressive policy initiative is critical to being able to advance in the New York Democratic Party.

[chancery]

Eric Levitz reposted
Robinson Meyer
@robinsonmeyer
If it holds, Kathy Hochul’s decision to freeze congestion pricing in NYC is a generational setback for climate policy — worse than the Mountain Valley pipeline, worse than Alaska’s Willow project — that will have lacerating national implications. I wrote about it, link below