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Lineage Logistics Recognized for Exemplary Energy Management Project

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Lineage Logistics Recognized for Exemplary Energy Management Project

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Utilization of machine-learning technology for a process referred to as “flywheeling” has successfully supported energy management and waste reduction for Lineage Logistics. The global temperature-controlled logistics provider was recognized for these efforts by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Better Plants Program (Better Plants) this week, earning them a winning position for 2019 Better Practice Awards.

“This great honor from the DOE is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our talented team, and it is quite humbling to be recognized as a leader in energy conservation. Flywheeling is one of the many ways Lineage lives our purpose of transforming the food supply chain to eliminate waste and help feed the world,” said Greg Lehmkuhl, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lineage.

Invented by Lineage’s Principal Data Scientist, Dr. Alex Woolfe, “flywheeling” takes energy conservation to the next level by eliminating waste and proactively managing energy while reducing cost. These efforts are critical in Lineage’s operations as the company confirmed its North American power consumption alone is comparable to that of a mid-sized city.

Following the launch of the “flywheeling” project, Lineage and Dr. Woolfe received the official utility patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office and will be recognized on July 10-11 at the Better Buildings, Better Plants Summit in Virginia.

“We are entrusted with ensuring that billions of pounds of food across the United States and the globe are kept at optimal temperatures throughout the supply chain, and we are obsessed with finding new ways to do this even more safely and efficiently than has ever been done before,” Said Michael J. McClendon President, Lineage Europe & EVP, Network Optimization.

“Better Plants partners such as Lineage are implementing innovative energy efficiency solutions in the industrial space that are cutting costs and energy-use and the Better Practice Awards honor their leadership,” said Valri Lightner, DOE Advanced Manufacturing Office Acting Director.

Source: Lineage Logistics

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US Coal Exports Decline on Lower EU Demand

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Washington, DC – US coal exports have continued to decline from their record volumes in 2012 with exports during the first half of this year totaling 52.3 million short tons (MMst), 16 percent below the same period in 2013.

 

Most of these exports go to countries in Europe and Asia, according to the US Department of Energy.

 

The decline, the agency said, reflects both lower European demand for steam coal and increased steam coal supply from Australia and Indonesia.

 

Metallurgical coal supply from Australia, Canada, and Russia has also increased. These factors have led to a cumulative decline of 9.0 MMst in coal exports to Europe and Asia during the first half of 2014.

 

Coal exports fall into two categories: metallurgical coal, which is used in the production of steel, and steam coal, which is commonly used to fuel boilers that generate steam used to produce electricity. With relatively minor coal imports, the US has been a net exporter of coal since 1949, the earliest year of data collection.

 

Metallurgical coal production, primarily from the Illinois and Appalachian coal basins, represented less than 8 percent of production but 56 percent of total US coal exports in 2013.

 

Europe is the leading destination for metallurgical coal exports, followed by Asia. Together, these two regions accounted for nearly 80 percent of US metallurgical coal exports in the first half of 2014.

 

Steam coal is mainly used to generate electricity, but also has applications at combined heat and power plants to produce steam used in industrial processes.

 

Steam coal generally has lower heat content than metallurgical coal and can be found at most coal-producing basins in the US. In recent years, steam coal accounted for more than 90 percent of domestic coal production.

 

During the first half of 2014, Europe received 8.8 MMst of US steam coal exports, a drop of 7.4 MMst from the same period in 2013. Asia’s share of US steam coal exports increased in 2014, but export tonnage to Asia decreased 2.4 percent from the first half of 2013.

 

In 2013, six US ports shipped 89 percent of US coal exports. Among them, Baltimore and Norfolk represent 55 percent, while Houston, Mobile, and New Orleans make up 30 percent. Seattle accounted for 5 MMst, or 4 percent, all of which was comprised of steam coal exports.

 

Eastern and southern ports are used to export metallurgical coal because it is produced in the Illinois and Appalachian Basins.

 

10/06/2014

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US Trade Deficit Narrows, Petro Exports Surge

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Washington, DC – In a surprise development, the US trade deficit narrowed in August to its smallest level in seven months on an increase in exports.

The trade gap narrowed 0.5 percent to $40.1 billion, while July’s trade deficit was revised to $40.3 billion, according to Department of Commerce figures released this morning.

Increased global sales of capital goods, consumer goods and industrial supplies were credited with the 0.2 percent increase in exports in August.

The trade gap with China narrowed in August, while exports to Japan rose to their highest level since March 1996.

Imports edged up 0.1 percent to $238.6 billion with imports of capital goods during the month were the highest on record.

However, inbound shipments of petroleum dropping to their lowest level since Nov. 2010 as US oil exports are set to surpass a record that’s held for the past 57 years.

The US shipped 401,000 barrels a day abroad in July, 54,000 shy of the record set in March 1957, according to data compiled by the US Department of Energy (DOE).

US oil exports are expected to reach 1 million barrels a day by the middle of 2015, the DOE said.

Canada accounted for 93 percent of US oil shipments in July with Italy, Singapore and Switzerland also accounting for an increasing share of US-sourced oil sales.

10/03/2014

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Carib Energy Granted ‘Small Scale’ LNG Export License

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Jacksonville, FL – Carib Energy LLC has been granted a 20-year, small-scale US Department of Energy (DOE) export license for the supply, transportation and distribution of US-sourced liquefied natural gas (LNG) into several Non-Free Trade Agreement (NTFA) countries in the Caribbean, and Central and South America.

The licensing permits Carib Energy, a subsidiary of the Crowley Maritime Corp., to export 14.6 billion cubic feet (BCF) of LNG – roughly the equivalent of 480,000 gallons – per day via 10,700 gallon ISO-certified tanks to the specified regions.

Earlier in the year, the company was awarded a multi-year contract to supply containerized, US-sourced LNG to two Coca-Cola bottlers in Puerto Rico.

That contract included supplying and transporting the LNG to the two plants in Cayey and Cidra, Puerto Rico.

The LNG “provides both facilities with substantially lowered emissions, an alternative to their current diesel fuel source, and an uninterrupted fuel supply due to the abundance and availability of US-sourced LNG,” the company said.

The transportation of the LNG for all of the company’s new projects is being managed by Crowley’s in-house logistics team, which coordinates shipment of the 40-foot bulk liquid tank containers carrying the LNG from the company’s shipping terminal at the Port of Jacksonville, Florida.

The containers containing the LNG are ISO-certified and approved by the US Department of Transportation to carry approximately 10,000 gallons of the product.

LNG is natural gas that is cooled to -260° Fahrenheit until it becomes a liquid and then stored at essentially atmospheric pressure.

Converting natural gas to LNG, a process that reduces its volume by about 600 times allows it to be transported. Once delivered to its destination, the LNG is warmed back into its original gaseous state so that it can be used just like existing natural gas supplies.

When returned to its gaseous state, LNG is used across the residential, commercial and industrial sectors for purposes as diverse as heating and cooling homes, cooking, generating electricity and manufacturing paper, metal, glass and other materials.

LNG is not stored under pressure and it is not explosive. LNG vapors – methane – mixed with air are not explosive in an unconfined environment. When exposed to the environment, LNG rapidly evaporates, leaving no residue on water or soil.

Founded in 1892 in San Francisco, the Crowley Maritime Corp. entered the LNG market by acquiring Florida-based Carib Energy LLC last year.

Shortly thereafter, Crowley created a specialized LNG services group to offer supply, transportation, and distribution of LNG services utilizing the certified tank containers.

09/15/2014