NUSA ADDS IMPORT CONTRACT SERVICES

NUSA ADDS IMPORT CONTRACT SERVICES    The National Unaffiliated Shippers’ Association has reported a 50-percent increase in membership since it started last September.
   That has allowed the association, an entity developed by shippers to pool their freight volumes to secure better rates and service from ocean carriers, to seek transportation contracts beyond exports.
   NUSA has recently added imports to its services, and plans to eventually arrange foreign-to-foreign service contracts with carriers, said Thomas C. O’Rourke, president of NUSA, based in Smithfield, R.I.
   O’Rourke also said the association strives to receive priority assignment of carrier equipment (empty containers and chassis) and “proprietary allocation” of vessel space for its bookings.
   The group will hold its first annual meeting in Newark, N.J., in September.