Reader’s Digest Trusted Brand award for FedEx

FEDEX Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp listed on New York Stock Exchange, has been named a Trusted Brand by readers of Reader’s Digest across the Asia-Pacific.

In this year’s Reader’s Digest Trusted Brands in Asia Survey, FedEx won the Gold Award for the sixth consecutive year in the overall Asia regional category of the airfreight/courier service division.

“It is an honor for FedEx to be recognised as a trusted brand and service provider by customers in this region for six years in a row.

“FedEx has always been focused on making every customer experience outstanding since we established operations in Asia 25 years ago,” said David L. Cunningham Jr, president of FedEx Asia-Pacific, in a statement.

“The results from this year’s Reader’s Digest Trusted Brands in Asia Survey reflects FedEx’s success in delivering and anticipating what customers want,” he said.

Inaugurated in 1999, the Reader’s Digest Trusted Brands in Asia Survey is the region’s most comprehensive poll that seeks to identify Asia’s most trusted companies.

In addition to trustworthiness and credibility, the survey also measures the companies’ commitment to innovation, quality of services and products, corporate values, understanding of customer needs as well as corporate social responsibility.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/maritime/story.asp?file=/2009/5/11/maritime/3869058&sec=maritime, 11 May 2009

Northport wins Asia’s best container terminal award

NORTHPORT (M) Bhd bagged The Best Container Terminal Award (Asia) at the Asian Freight and Supply Chain Awards 2009 held in Hong Kong recently.

Northport, a multi-purpose terminal, was selected for the award from a list which included other top container terminals in Asia.

The selection was based on a list of criteria, which included crane productivity, timely and adequate investment in new terminal infrastructure to meet future demand, effective use of information technology and efficient turn-around of trucks delivering and picking up containers.

Northport, which handled three million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) last year, offers one of the widest shipping connectivity among ports in Malaysia with about 123 container shipping lines linking it to some 300 ports worldwide.

Managing director Datuk Basheer Hassan Abdul Kader said in a statement that Northport was committed to maintaining high performance and productivity because leading shipping lines that called at the port required standards comparable with other major global ports to which they were linked.

Last year, 81 shipping lines as well as 44 conventional and 502 container vessels made about 8,000 ship calls at Northport.

On the impact on the global economic downturn, Basheer said container cargo through Northport dropped 15% (year-on-year) in the first quarter of this year.

Northport is one of the major hubs in Malaysia for exporting cargos and this moderate decrease was within expectation.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/maritime/story.asp?file=/2009/5/11/maritime/3869211&sec=maritime, 11 May 2009

MISC logistics arm’s facilities certified halal

MISC Integrated Logistics’ (MILS) storage and warehousing facilities have been certified halal by Halal Development Corp (HDC).

MISC said in a statement that the certification was awarded based on the merits of hygiene and syariah compliance for both dry and cold storage.

The integrated logistics arm of MISC Bhd is located at the MISC Logistics Hub (MLH) Free Commercial Zone (FCZ) on Pulau Indah, Port Klang.

MILS’ dry warehouse, with 250,000 sq ft of space, can handle 23,000 pallets.

The cold-storage facility is able to accommodate multiple temperatures ranging from 18°C to -25°C. The cold room is equipped with mobile racking solution with a capacity for 8,500 pallet positions for frozen products and 1,200 pallet positions for chilled products.

The storage facility at the FCZ, coupled with MISC’s Halal Express Service shipping route, makes MISC one of few companies truly capable of offering customers the entire value chain in halal logistics.

MILS has also formed a joint venture in Dubai, which will give it the opportunity to tap and strengthen the group’s connectivity and promote the halal capabilities of MILS logistics hub in Malaysia.

The hub can be seen as a bridge to Africa, the Middle East and Europe where the halal markets are huge.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/maritime/story.asp?file=/2009/5/4/maritime/3815066&sec=maritime, 04 May 2009