Pack n Send Blog

 While the texting while driving has been a hot topic for about a year, it looks as if the courts are finally stepping in at the Federal level and making new rules. Due to deaths while texting, this appears to be beneficial to both consumers and businesses.

This article from the March and September Transport   Topics outlines the progress the progress that the Office of Management and Budget is taking.

A federal rule banning truck drivers from texting while driving has been sent to the Office of Management and Budget, in advance of Tuesday’s distracted driving summit being hosted by the Department of Transportation in Washington.

The rule, sent late last week to OMB, follows DOT’s proposal of the regulation in March. that would ban texting by interstate commercial truck and bus drivers.

OMB’s review was completed Friday, according to its website.

Details of the regulation are likely to be released in conjunction with the summit, being hosted by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who has made laws against texting and driving one of his primary goals.

The Governors Highway Safety Association said Monday that 12 states have passed texting bans for all drivers since last year’s distracted driving summit.

The rule regarding distracted driving would make permanent an interim ban DOT announced in January, DOT said. It does not affect operation of navigation devices or other in-cab tasks.

For information on shipping freight in the United States and worldwide cargo shipping, please feel free to call us at 713 266 1450.

Three is the magic number. Turkish Airlines has signed an order for three A330-200 freighters to add to its existing A330-200F and four A310 freighters.

The airline has a further 27 aircraft on order with Airbus from contracts placed in 2009 and 2010. Turkish Airlines has also signed an order for 10 passenger aircraft.

 Air cargo news reported this order on its website.  While three freighters does not seem like a high order, the fact that these orders have been placed adds to the impression that the worldwide economy is improving at a slow but steady pace.

 Pack n send is continually monitoring both air and ocean orders of equipment as a way to monitor economic improvement.

 Pack n send is located in Houston Texas. For assistance with your freight preparation, freight receiving, crating and packing please feel free to contact pack n send at 716 266 1450.

Pack n send looks world wide for alternative uses for cargo shipping contaniers.   Douglas  Britts column in the Houston Chronicle discussed “unorthodox porposes as a cooperative, self sustaining village make largel of shipping containers.” We found the following detailed story by David Theis.  Enviornmentally smart construction and alternative use of shipping containers is always of interest to pack n send. 

By David  Theis

In Houston, there are visionaries, and then there is Nestor Topchy. At least, that’s the impression you get when you hear him talk about the  Hive  project. Hive is his brainchild, but it’s one that others have eagerly agreed to share.

Hive is an ambitious undertaking, but the concept behind it is surprisingly easy to grasp. Topchy and friends hope to construct a sort of self-contained urban village out of shipping containers. The proposed design, which Topchy worked out with architect Si Dang and others, calls for a square exterior wall comprising shipping containers stacked two deep.

The large space inside the walls (right now Hive is projected to cover 6.5 acres) will be filled green space, including trees and ponds, a few plazas, and the piece de la resistance, the “inner Hive,” a swirling, circular labyrinth made of six layers of stacked containers. The inner Hive containers will be connected by gradually sloping, wheelchair-accessible ramps.

Topchy and friends want Hive to be as self-contained and village-like as possible. So they’re hoping that containers in the outer walls will become home to a wide range of activities, from shopping to car repair to music making, while the inner Hive will be dedicated to quiet activities, such as writing, painting and meditation.

On the other hand, if worse comes to worse, and society does actually collapse, they’ll be able to close the Hive walls, medieval style, and plant a big garden. Survivalists and artists, no place but Texas. Topchy’s timeline  calls for the Hive to be completely finished by 2015.

For more information on  container shipping as well as freight shipping, please call pack n send at  713 266 1450.

Antique shipping and moving is a very specialized service.  When you want to move just a small amount of antique furniture, you can have it custom crated and then freighted. 

Some pieces of antique furniture can go on a pallet, surrounding the furniture with protection and stretch wrap, and shipping the furniture via truck to its new city.

Some pieces will need to be custom crated. The crate will need to be built specifically to fit your antique.

The crating company should have years of experience both handling and valuing antiques. Remember: every crate will need to be built to specifically fit your individual item.

Make sure they know how to properly pack and prepare the furniture for your move.  Some of it may be blanket wrapped, some of it may be wrapped in flexible cardboard and some may need to be crated for the move.

You will want to make sure that you have a current appraisal before valuing the antique for shipping.

If you are shipping antique sculptures or art work, look for a firm that specializes in packing and crating high value items from one city to another.

Finding a company that can offer varied services when shipping antiques will help save you money.  You want to make sure that your antiques arrive in pristine condition.

For help with antique furniture shipping or if you have any questions about shipping antiques, please feel free to contact pack n send at  713 266 1450.

With new homes adding chandeliers as enticement to purchase homes and older residences  adding chandeliers as an  enhancement,  chandeliers are now being shipped throughout the world

Most chandeliers are now made out of crystal, wrought iron, wood or ceramic.  

 For shipping purposes specialized crates must be for each chandelier. The crates need to be lined with Styrofoam, and then the chandelier must be  hung for shipping. The chandelier needs to be braced or fill the space with peanuts for safe travel.

 For crystal and glass chandeliers pieces will need to be cushioned separately with soft Styrofoam or bubble wrap. Each and every chandelier will need to be looked at separately to determine the safest way to pack it for safe shipping. Designers and private individuals ship chandeliers as well as individuals purchasing chandeliers for overseas shipping.

Office buildings throughout the country are hanging chandeliers in their atriums.

In Texas, deer antler chandeliers are popular.  These also require special wrapping and packing before placement inside specially made crates.

When looking for someone to crate your chandelier look for a company that has expertise shipping delicate and high value items.  Make sure that you chandelier is fully valued for both loss and damage.

For more information on safe chandelier shipping, please fell free to contact pack n send at 713 266 1450.

 While this article taken from the Handy  Shipping Guide pertains to the UK, it is another indicator that worldwide freight shipping is once again on the upswing.

UK – Shipping and Forwarding is still the industry for those with the right qualifications according to one of the country’s leading operators. Despite the economic doom and gloom Davies Turner group chairman Philip Stephenson says school leavers and graduates looking to take their first career moves in the logistics industry have again been attracted to his company. Despite the influx of well qualified, fresh faced youngsters however other supply chain specialists still seek the right candidates for more senior jobs. Stephenson says:

"Summer and autumn are the best times to recruit graduates and high-flying school leavers to our organization and the 2010 candidates were particularly strong - we were surprised both by the number and the standard of the many applications. The most recent trainees have joined us at an exciting time as global recovery powers the freight industry and we are preparing to expand further our portfolio of services for UK exporters and importers."

The trainee scheme is in operation nationwide at Davies Turner's main hubs. The successful applicants are between 18 and 24 and have been recruited from appropriate websites, as well as training and educational establishments. The full programme lasts two years, and participants spend time in all operating divisions as well as Davies Turner Air Cargo and group accounts.

Whilst Davies Turner say they offer the promise of a rapid rise into management for the right candidates it seems middle management and senior staff are harder to come by. DHL are still seeking suitable staff to develop their expanding road freight network (APPLY HERE) and indeed even the Handy Shipping Guide is struggling to find suitable sales staff in several countries, including the UK (we shall be including a Job Board within the Directory in the very near future with opportunities for those who have recruitment requirements).

Meanwhile Mr Stephenson is more than happy that the way to ensure high quality senior staff is to train them yourself wherever practical whilst ensuring those already in place are encouraged by ongoing in house training. He concludes:

"To me, the success of our scheme will be the number of trainees who remain with us after their two years induction is complete. We have an enviable track record here - on a recent visit to our Dartford terminal, I recognised several members of staff in key positions who joined us as trainees over ten years ago. In the past we have had traditional apprenticeships but have now made our training more professional with in-depth courses based both on our in-house resources and those accredited by BIFA. We are in no way neglecting our current staff and have increased training at all levels in the company. Customer service quality depends on the expertise and professionalism of all our personnel."

Pack n send has re published this article as a service to our customers. For information about freight shipping Houston, and packing and unpacking services in Houston, please contact us at 713 266 1450.

Taken from handy shipping guide WORLDWIDE – Ever the innovators  Dhl Global Forwarding have come up with two solutions to an age old problem. Exporting or importing a car without any of the serious damage that can result even after the smallest bodywork scrape. For decades this particular cargo has been the bane of many a freight operator’s life and now refinement of a double rack system, plus a new innovative box built for motor vehicles, may well prove the answer for many.

The collapsible C3SB transport box and the double car rack facilitate the loading of vehicles and increase efficiency in using transport capacity. In addition, both systems offer protection against damage due to external factors during transport by air, sea and road, such as turbulences, heavy seas or poor roads. Both transport solutions have now been patented by the German Patent Office, (the freight forwarding side of DHL is of course a division of Deutsche Post DHL).

Racks to transport two cars within one container have of course been around a long time but the new model has a movable intermediate level enabling the car rack to be used to not only to store two sedan-sized vehicles on top of each other in a container but also two cars also need only one space in the main cargo hold of a freight aircraft.

Both systems provide for more efficient transport, and therefore increased environmental efficiency, than conventional containers. The advantages of these novel shipping concepts become evident particularly in multimodal transport. Cars no longer need to be unloaded and reloaded during combined road, sea and land transport, since the C3SB box and the car rack are equally suitable for all transport methods.

DHL automotive experts based the C3SB box on the principle of the collapsible boxes used in many households. Their sides fold inward to rest on the bottom of the box. This represents a major further improvement of efficiency compared to the previous C2SB model already successfully used. The movable walls and the cover of the so-called "Customized Car Safety Box" already provided sufficient space and the required flexibility needed when loading the vehicles and making them safe for transport. The C3SB version with its collapsible walls now enables several empty boxes to be piled on top of each other, which therefore occupy only one space during transport.

Hermann Ude, Chief Executive Officer DHL Global Forwarding, Freight said of the new systems:

"The transport box and the car rack offer clients from the automotive sector top-end solutions in terms of safety and flexibility of transport. They again underscore our comprehensive competency with respect to logistics for one of the most important industry sectors worldwide.”

Pack n send has take this article from Handy Shipping  Guide. It is another in our series of article about improvements and efficiencies  in freight and cargo shipping.

 For information about packing freight and cargo in Houston Texas, contact pack n send at  713 266 1450.

  BOLSTERED by the news of the UAE lifting its ban on accepting cargo shipments, Yemen held fresh talks on 16 January to lift the EU ban.

In an effort to alleviate concerns the minister of transport Khaled al-Wzir briefed the EU delegation on Sana’a International Airport’s attempts to strengthen security, handling and personnel programmes.

New security equipment has been installed at passenger and cargo areas. Additional security measures are in place, including a full physical search of all employees entering or leaving the airport and a 100 per cent search of all packages and cargo by means of explosive detectors. X-ray equipment and detaining of all packages and cargo for 48 hours prior to shipping have also been endorsed.

Staff at the airport including 260 security and customs personnel and 10 maintenance and technical equipment personnel recently partook in US-led training programmes on operating the explosive detectors.

In December the UAE lifted its ban after supervising a five-day training course for 26 air cargo and air shipping security personnel at the airport. The ban was imposed in October after the discovery of a plot to use explosives hidden in freight shipments to blow up cargo airliners bound for the US.

In January talks with the EU the minister made it clear that relationships with shipping companies have been re-addressed as well as regulations, licenses and procedures required in order to allow such companies to carry out safe shipping operations.

We have reprinted this article from Cargo  News as a service to our customers.

 For assistance with cargo shipping from Houston, palletizing and crating feel free to contact pack n send at 713 266 1450.

As reported in earlier blogs, the shipping industry looks towards environmental concerns when shipping cargo.  This article found in the Handy Shipping  Guide highlighs Maersks efforts to improve our environment.

FRANCE – DENMARK – This week the fourth annual European Business Awards held in Paris saw shipping group  A. P.  Moller- Maersk scoop the “Environmental Awareness Award” in recognition of their policies, strategies and innovations in the field. In common with many freight and logistics groups Maersk have shown themselves to be prepared to explore every avenue in an attempt to reduce the impact of their activities on the environment.

The winners were chosen by a select jury of politicians, entrepreneurs, academics and industrialists of different nationalities who reasoned the award with Maersk's integration of environmental sustainability into the business strategy, and especially Maersk Line’s commitment to transparency and open innovation. Søren Stig Nielsen, Head of Maersk Line Sustainability, accepted the award on behalf of the Group.

Slow steaming, where vessels slow down to conserve fuel, has contributed significantly to Maersk's environmental goals, and the work continues. Maersk Line's aim is to cut CO2 emissions, per container transported, by 25% in 2020 compared with 2007 levels. The company say one added benefit of slow steaming is that it allows the box carrier to schedule its deliveries more precisely because vessels can slow down or speed up in order to arrive on time.

The Handy Shipping Guide has frequently highlighted the efforts by Maersk to improve shipping’s ecological image in fields from   fuel experimentation and   ship design container handling equipment to  and many in the freight industry will feel it is good to see such sterling work by at least one logistics specialist group rewarded.

The European Business Awards define the Environmental Awareness Award thus:

‘This award goes to an organisation that can best demonstrate a company-wide commitment to minimising its impact on the environment, alongside significant success in minimising its carbon footprint. Judges look for evidence of a clearly articulated, widely communicated environmental strategy embedded into the company’s business practices. Policies that improve business performance from an environmental perspective and innovative approaches to environmental management will be rewarded. Judges will also look for measurable evidence of how organisations have actively reduced their carbon footprint.’

Photo: Søren Stig Nielsen accepted the award in the company of Jules Kortenhorst (right) CEO of the European Climate Foundation.

 For more information about cargo shipping from Houston and the Port of Houston, please feel free to contact pack n send at 713 266 1450.

When shipping marble furniture, there are a few important things to consider.  First and foremost if it the marble can be removed from the piece of furniture.  You need to look for a company that has the capability to remove the marble. They also must have the ability to custom build a crate to place the marble in for shipping. Below we have listed some standard guidelines for crating the marble.

Depending on the size and fragility of the piece the crater should use up to 3 inches of Styrofoam on the bottom of the crate and 1-2 inches of Styrofoam on the sides and top. Before putting the piece into the crate, make sure that the marble has double or triple bubble surrounding it.

The crate should be closed with staples on the bottom and screws should be put on the top for easy opening.

Metal banding should be secured  around the crate.

 The company that you choose to crate your marble should offer both on site crating as well as crating at their facility.  The company should have a preferred list of shipping companies, as well as preferred movers for your delicate marble.  The company needs to offer valuation protection for your marble piece.

 For more information on marble shipping, please feel free to contact pack n send at 713 266 1450.

When you need to ship medical equipment look for a company that has experience packing and shipping high value and delicate items.

 Seek out a firm that ships for doctors offices, universities, hospitals and medical centers. Ask if they can box, crate or even wrap and palletize the shipment.

Do they have the capability to value your equipment for pick up and delivery?  Have they asked you if the equipment can be taken apart for less expensive shipping, or does it need to be kept completely set up and ready to use?  If the equipment can only be moved as a whole piece, can the company you choose send it in a truck for you? 

Due to the delicate and expensive nature of medical equipment, care must be taken when choosing a shipper.

Some of the more commonly shipped pieces of medical equipment that are shipped are:

high value diagnostic equipment

autoclaves

microscopes

physical therapy equipment

Ask if the company can box, crate and freight medical equipment.  Since each piece of medical equipment is handled differently, the company will need to look at each piece individually.  There may need to be protection on the lenses, arms, or feet of the equipment.

If you need to ship the medical equipment internationally, you will need to make sure that company you choose has experience with international shipping.

For more information about shipping medical equipment both domestically and internationally, please feel free to contact pack n send at 713 266 1450.

This article posted on the KTRK website highlights the diffuculites that ships are having with the temporary closure of the Houston Ship Channel.  Pack n send will try and post daily updates for our customers until the Port of Houston is fully operational once again.

 HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The Coast Guard is working to reopen the Houston Ship Channel after a barge collided with a highline tower. Due to the accident, the Ship Channel is closed to marine traffic and it will remain closed until at least Tuesday or possibly Wednesday.

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The accident basically shut down the entire Ship Channel from mile marker 105 to124. So unless you are in a local vessel that is conducting business between those two markers or if you are outside of those two markers, you are basically out of luck. This could be the case until Tuesday or even early Wednesday, according to the Coast Guard.

That's a big problem because there are 18 inbound vessels waiting at the Ship Channel and 14 outbound. The longer this repair takes, the more that number will grow.

On Sunday at around 6am, a tug boat owned by American Electric Power was pushing three barges carrying scrap metal when it collided with an electrical tower that was fortunately under repair, so the lines were not live at the time.

Nineteen miles of waterway are affected by the Ship Channel closure. The Port of Houston says $322 million are lost each day it's closed. The Coast Guard has two cranes performing the work to try to clear the Channel as fast as possible. One of them is called 'Big John.'

"We have the crane, Big John, on scene and the Big John is going to connect to the tower to take the tension off the tower. Right now the tower is sitting partially on the barge and is probably being supported a little bit by the power lines that are there between the other towers," said Captain Markus Woodrings with the U.S. Coast Guard. "Once the Big John hooks up and takes the load on the tower, then CenterPoint energy can get up there, disconnect the line and reel them in and then we can cut the base of the tower, pick the tower up and put it over on the bank and get the Ship Channel open."

According to the Coast Guard, the six tug boat crew members were not injured in this accident. They have been tested for drugs and alcohol. However, those results have not yet been released. The incident is still under investigation. The tug boat's owner will be responsible for repairs.

 There are 30 yachts that are stuck in downtown Houston, members of the Houston Yacht Club who can't get out because of the closure.

The channel is the lifeline to the Port of Houston, the nation's leader in foreign waterborne tonnage and imports and runner-up in U.S. export tonnage and total tonnage.

For more information on shipping cargo out of the Port of Houston, please contact pack n send at 713 266 1450.

SOMALIA – In yet  another  pirate attack, the most southerly reported this year so far in the region, a UAE owned tanker was seized around 100 miles South of Dar es Salaam after unloading its cargo of bitumen at Mombasa in Kenya. The attack follows three previous attacks this week on freight vessels off the Tanzanian coastline.

The vessel was once again Panamanian flagged and was manned by an all Indian crew of 15 according to local reports. We have had no word so far from the vessels owners Bitumen Invest. The ship is the MT Asphalt Venture an asphalt carrier en route to Durban when radar observation showed her turn suddenly and set a course for Xaradheere, about 300 miles north of Mogadishu on the Somali coast.

We have no reports of any contact with the vessel at this time since she altered course early this afternoon. With the seasonal increase in pirate raids, vessel owners and operators are warned by the  authorities to be extra vigilant and take all possible precautions against attack.

Pack n send found this article in the Handy Shipping  Guide. Since we ship worldwide freight and cargo, we constantly monitor the shipping lines throughout the world.  With ships being detained on a regular basis, we look for lines that offer the best possible routes.

For more information on cargo and freight shipping from the United States, please contact pack n send at 713 266 1450.

 Pack n send is publishing this article taken from the Handy   Shipping News to show that weather and natural delays in freight do not only occur in the Untied States.

NEW ZEALAND – After our story  earlier this month  on the hardships endured in South Island in the wake of the earthquakes there were immediate disruptions the following day (15th September) when landslips on North Island in the Manawatu Gorge closed State Highway 3 to all traffic, including freight trucks. At that time the road was swiftly cleared and reopened within a few hours.

NEW ZEALAND – After our story earlier this month on the hardships endured in South Island in the wake of the earthquakes there were immediate disruptions the following day (15th September) when landslips on North Island in the Manawatu Gorge closed State Highway 3 to all traffic, including freight trucks. At that time the road was swiftly cleared and reopened within a few hours.

Now however the Gorge is closed to rail freight for the next two days at least after a further slip caused a train carrying a cargo of 400,000 litres of milk to derail yesterday (Saturday). The freight train was heading for Palmerston North from Hawkes Bay when upon rounding a bend the driver saw the blocked track. Despite efforts to stop in time the KiwiRail train ran into the earth slip, fortunately with no injuries to the crew. Another train also hit a slip at Taumarunui on Saturday morning, fortunately again with no injuries and no reports of major delays.

Further interruptions to cargo have occurred due to the persistent bad weather which closed State Highway 73 to high sided lorries and caravans when high winds threatened to overbalance tall vehicles and heavy snowfalls occurred in some mountain areas. The outlook however is good for the next few days with dire weather warnings lifted. Meanwhile the stricken milk locomotive remains stranded after the wagons were removed and towed via an alternative line to their destination and efforts to clear the earth fall using other trains continue whilst the main line at Kaikoura is due to open later today after almost two weeks following the massive landslip there.

Now however the Gorge is closed to rail freight for the next two days at least after a further slip caused a train carrying a cargo of 400,000 liters of milk to derail yesterday (Saturday). The freight train was heading for Palmerston North from Hawkes Bay when upon rounding a bend the driver saw the blocked track. Despite efforts to stop in time the KiwiRail train ran into the earth slip, fortunately with no injuries to the crew. Another train also hit a slip at Taumarunui on Saturday morning, fortunately again with no injuries and no reports of major delays.

Further interruptions to cargo have occurred due to the persistent bad weather which closed State Highway 73 to high sided lorries and caravans when high winds threatened to overbalance tall vehicles and heavy snowfalls occurred in some mountain areas. The out look however is good for the next few days with dire weather warnings lifted. Meanwhile the stricken milk locomotive remains stranded after the wagons were removed and towed via an alternative line to their destination and efforts to clear the earth fall using other trains continue whilst the main line at Kaikoura is due to open later today after almost two weeks following the massive landslip there.

For information on freight and cargo shipping, please contact  pack n send at 713 266 1450.

Shipping an estate can be quite complicated. An estate may include cars, furniture, and other large pieces. Items may need to be shipped to various different addresses of friends and family members.

For this reason, we recommend you follow these four tips to help you find a shipper, but also send goods to multiple receivers. 

1. Your estate shipper should send it all. When looking for a company to ship items for an estate, it is important to make sure that they can ship everything, including your fragile goods, as well as furniture and cars. 

2. Your shipper should send to multiple addresses. Your estate shipper should pick up your estate items and deliver them in the city, or that ships both domestically and internationally.

3. Find a shipper that brings supplies. Do you have the boxes and packing materials needed for your estate? Your shipper should have those goods on hand, just in case you want to save money and pack your own goods.If your shipper can bring boxes and supplies, family members can pack items should they choose to do so. This gives them the opportunity to save on packing costs. Items like clothes and books usually do not need professional packing. 

4. Tell the truth on value. Value the items for what they are actually worth, not at an inflated sentimental value.

If we can answer any of your estate shipping questions, please call us at at 713-266-1450 or contact us for a free shipping quote.