TRADIANT-BACKED PORTAL ANNOUNCES NEW NAME, LAUNCH

TRADIANT-BACKED PORTAL ANNOUNCES NEW NAME, LAUNCH    The multi-carrier container shipping portal formerly known as GTN was launched on Monday (April 2) under the name “GT Nexus,” the information technology firm Tradiant said.
   The new multi-carrier portal, announced last December, previously used the temporary code name GTN before it opened. It will now operate using the web site www.gtnexus.com and the activities of Tradiant will be consolidated into GT Nexus.
   GT Nexus and INTTRA, a competing portal, are the two main multi-carrier portals backed by container shipping lines. Both are launching their initial online services.
   Alameda, Calif.-based GT Nexus confirmed that Crowley Liner Services, Compania Sud Americana de Vapores and Wan Hai have joined the nine ocean carriers APL, CP Ships, Hanjin, Hyundai, “K” Line, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Senator Lines, Yang Ming and Zim Israel Navigation Co. as members of the portal.
   A spokesman for the portal said that it would be “collectively providing access to over a quarter of the global ocean container market through GT Nexus.”
   Ocean carriers have a minority equity stake in GT Nexus.
   GT Nexus announced the introduction of its services in two product categories — transportation planning and transportation execution.
   Online planning functionalities include: news, sailing schedules, regulatory guides, maps, and currency tables; freight    rate requests and responses;    contract management; cargo forecasts; and shipment allocations across providers.
   Transportation execution modules include: bookings, documentation, shipment tracking and status information, and reports.
   GT Nexus said that its planning services have been marketed since the fourth quarter of last year. Its transportation execution modules have just been introduced for certain customers only, and will be generally available at the end of the second quarter.
   GT Nexus also said that ITOCHU Express,    the American subsidiary of the Japan trading house Itochu Corp., is starting a pilot program to adopt the planning services of this Internet portal.