HUTCHISON SUBSIDIARY LINE ACQUIRES CAIRO TECHNOLOGIES

HUTCHISON SUBSIDIARY LINE ACQUIRES CAIRO TECHNOLOGIES    Logistics Information Network Enterprise Ltd., an information technology subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based Hutchison Port Holdings group, has acquired Cambridge, United Kingdom-based Cairo Technologies, a transport management software specialist.
   LINE said that it plans to launch a new product using proprietary technology developed by Cairo to reduce inland freight transport costs.      
   Cairo, founded in 1993 by a group of Oxford and Cambridge university graduates, has developed a transport management system that optimizes freight capacity usage and transport costs.
   Its new product, Transport Management System, will allow businesses to boost efficiency and cut costs by improving transport planning processes and asset utilization, a spokesman for LINE said. The system is multi-modal, covering rail, barge and road transport. It facilitates truck-load matching, route plan optimization and online cargo tracking.
   “More than 40 percent of the trucks on Europe’s roads are traveling empty,” said Aaron Mak, chief executive officer of LINE. “There is enormous room for improvement to better utilize the assets and raise operating efficiency.”
   Hutchison Port Holdings launched Portsnportals.com in March 2000 and recently renamed the company LINE.