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Chris Gillis

Located in the Washington, D.C. area, Chris Gillis primarily reports on regulatory and legislative topics that impact cross-border trade. He joined American Shipper in 1994, shortly after graduating from Mount St. Mary’s College in Emmitsburg, Md., with a degree in international business and economics.
Nov - 2020 -
18 November
Chris Gillis

Baltimore’s ‘inland’ port takes shape on e-commerce demand

Former Bethlehem Steel plant site at Sparrows Point, Maryland, attracts shippers and 3PLs to build Northeast distribution centers.

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16 November
Chris Gillis

Baltic Exchange enters airfreight market with pricing index

The London-based maritime market data provider will offer subscribers airfreight indices via partnership with TAC.

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13 November
Chris Gillis

When pigs fly

More than 200 breeder hogs were flown this week from St. Louis to Sao Paulo. Midwestern airport hopes it is the beginning of more livestock exports.

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12 November
Chris Gillis

Geodis in US links to Shopify, Amazon

European 3PL says integration with e-commerce marketplaces strengthens activity with American online retailers and shoppers.

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11 November
Chris Gillis

Dachser desks help US retailers weather holiday shopping season

Freight forwarder guides customers through online shopping shift and transport capacity choke points.

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06 November
Chris Gillis

Dutch airfreight wholesaler gets wings

Wholesale by Vels sees newly formed Amsterdam-based air cargo consolidation service for freight forwarders taking off during coronavirus pandemic.

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05 November
Chris Gillis

Exercise equipment inventories somersault over COVID-19 (with video)

Executives from Horizon Fitness, Estes Forwarding Worldwide and The DDC Group talk during FreightWaves LIVE @HOME about keeping up with the trend of online ordering and home delivery.

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Chris Gillis

Driving truck operations into the cloud (with video)

No more need to build information technology from the ground up when available cloud-based solutions can cheaply and efficiently modernize a trucker’s operation, experts tell the FreightWaves LIVE @HOME audience.

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04 November
Chris Gillis

Making shipping IT pitch attractive to investors (with video)

Shipwell CEO Greg Price explains during FreightTech Venture Summit the importance of winning over venture capitalists at the onset of presenting your idea.

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03 November
Chris Gillis

How truckers can avoid a bad dray day

A half-dozen basic tips on what drayage truck drivers must consider when picking up a container chassis from a pool.

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Oct - 2020 -
31 October
Chris Gillis

UPS raises certain non-contract service rates 4.9%

Rate increases, which apply to ground, air and international services, take effect Dec. 27.

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30 October
Chris Gillis

Envase adds Tailwind to expand TMS profile

Envase Technologies platform will expand its presence in Canada with the acquisition of TMS provider Tailwind Transportation Software.

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29 October
Chris Gillis

ATSG sees Q3 earnings rise on cargo aircraft leases

Air Transport Services Group’s freighter leases offset financial losses from its grounded passenger planes.

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Chris Gillis

Amazon sees surge in Q3 earnings

The e-commerce retail and logistics giant’s bottom line is healthier than ever.

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Chris Gillis

CIEM chassis begin rollout at new Virginia plant

Chassis manufacturer anticipates chassis shortage as COVID-19 subsides as well as desire among pool operators to replace aging units.

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Chris Gillis

DSV Panalpina CEO: Q3 results beat odds during pandemic

Danish third-party logistics services provider’s bottom-line benefits from easing COVID-19 during summer months.

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28 October
Chris Gillis

GECAS to lease first 777-300 converted freighters to Kalitta Air

Kalitta Air’s order of 777 passenger-to-freighter converted aircraft is an industry first.

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Chris Gillis

What shippers must know before packing containers

A half-dozen basic physical characteristics of ocean containers should be considered before shippers or their packers stuff them.

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27 October
Chris Gillis

Supply chain veteran leading Denver’s Transportation Institute

David Fisher’s 30 years of industry experience is expected to advance the university’s graduate program for transportation, logistics and supply chain executives.

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Chris Gillis

Crowley readies dive into offshore wind farm work

Crowley has the Jones Act-compliant marine transportation assets to accommodate the start of the burgeoning U.S. offshore wind industry.

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23 October
Chris Gillis

Hillebrand expands bulk liquid logistics with Braid acquisition

German forwarder says acquisition will expand its global business in handling nonhazardous bulk liquids such as alcoholic beverages and edible oils.

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22 October
Chris Gillis

Southwest Airlines records $1.2B Q3 loss

COVID-19 keeps bookings soft, planes parked during quarter.

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21 October
Chris Gillis

FMC grants temporary tariff publication relief to CMA CGM

The carrier sought relief from commission regulations earlier this month as part of its efforts to recover from a crippling cyberattack in late September.

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20 October
Chris Gillis

World Shipping Council stays in step with Shipping Act

The ocean container industry association files an agreement with the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission to ensure its collective activities do not violate the Shipping Act.

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Chris Gillis

Container return date upheaval by the numbers

The Agriculture Transportation Coalition, together with TradeLanes, surveys hundreds of American shippers about the cost to their bottom lines of uncommunicated earliest return dates from ocean carriers.

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19 October
Chris Gillis

Lombardi becomes Institute of International Container Lessors president

Former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey executive takes over at IICL from Steven Blust, who will continue in a senior adviser role.

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Chris Gillis

NCBFAA’s 35-year general counsel retires

The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America’s general counsel Ed Greenberg looks forward to spending time with his grandson.

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09 October
Chris Gillis

FMC considers changing service contract filing requirements

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission will consider a change in its regulations that would allow filing of service contracts up to 30 days from the agreement’s effective date.

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Chris Gillis

CMA CGM seeks tariff publication relief from FMC post-cyberattack

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission will consider the French liner carrier’s relief petition to give it time to clean up its systems.

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Chris Gillis

Do you know where your chassis are?

Container chassis management model in the U.S. challenges advancement of full-circle tracking technologies.

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08 October
Chris Gillis

Reverse logistics requires handling customers with white gloves (with video)

Kenco’s Jason Neal explains at the FreightWaves Last Mile Logistics Summit how this service requires drivers to also be resilient customer service representatives.

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Chris Gillis

Industry groups ready responses to FMC’s ocean carrier pricing review

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission wants to learn the extent of allegations that ocean carriers are targeting noncontracted service providers for freight payment.

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07 October
Chris Gillis

FMC examines ocean carrier billing practices

U.S. Federal Maritime Commission steps forward with notice of inquiry to evaluate alleged ocean carrier abuse of “merchant” definition for bill of lading responsibility.

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06 October
Chris Gillis

Envase acquires SecurSpace for drayage storage

Drayage truckers on the Envase platform have access to an online marketplace that connects them to available parking and storage lots nationwide.

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Chris Gillis

Truckers counter ocean carrier effort to dismiss chassis complaint

The Intermodal Motor Carriers Conference insists the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission has jurisdiction to ensure that ocean container chassis provisioning is conducted fairly.

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05 October
Chris Gillis

SAL expands US project cargo footprint with Intermarine

SAL Heavy Lift Group sees Intermarine expanding its ability to serve project cargo shippers throughout North and South America.

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Chris Gillis

American exporters want end to erratic container return dates

The inability of ocean carriers to timely inform shippers of schedule changes results in costly logistics disruptions and potential for lost international sales.

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01 October
Chris Gillis

DHL Global Forwarding picks new Americas CEO

Tim Robertson succeeds Bill Meahl, who will continue to serve in an advisory role until his retirement next September.

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Chris Gillis

FMC extends coronavirus-related service contract filing flexibility

U.S. Federal Maritime Commission anticipates COVID-19 impact on U.S. supply chain to continue into the first half of 2021.

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Sep - 2020 -
30 September
Chris Gillis

Geodis expands US workforce to meet peak season

The 3PL will add up to 8,000 employees to handle the seasonal increase in e-commerce shipments on top of its ongoing effort to raise its profile in the American market.

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29 September
Chris Gillis

DHL takes carbon out of LCL service

For DHL Global Forwarding, the coronavirus pandemic is no excuse for the ocean freight industry to neglect sustainability initiatives in the supply chain.

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Chris Gillis

PayCargo gets $35 million injection from Insight Partners

Insight Partners’ investment will allow PayCargo to build new online freight payment services and tools for shippers, 3PLs and transportation providers.

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24 September
Chris Gillis

Ocean carrier group seeks dray truckers’ chassis complaint dismissal

The Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association says the Federal Maritime Commission’s jurisdiction does not apply to a domestic transport dispute with container-hauling truckers.

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Chris Gillis

Japan Airlines sees future for drones

JAL supports testing drone systems to safely and efficiently deliver essential goods to the country’s health care network.

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23 September
Chris Gillis

US chassis providers stay on roll to radial tires

Bias-ply tires persist within the nation’s container chassis fleet, but equipment providers vow that their days are numbered with the ongoing switch to radial tires.

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21 September
Chris Gillis

Bankrupt LATAM gets financial lifeline

Court-approved access to $2.45 billion is expected to help the South American carrier weather the pandemic.

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Chris Gillis

Boeing expands freighter conversion lines as orders increase

The 737-800 and 767-300 passenger planes are ripe for converting to all-cargo configurations due to their age and capabilities. Boeing is adding extra capacity to keep up with orders.

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17 September
Chris Gillis

Ryder CTO looking for next great technology (with video)

Ryder System’s chief technology officer tells American Shipper’s Global Trade Tech Summit that the time is right to explore future supply chain technologies.

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15 September
Chris Gillis

3PLs frustrated by ocean service contracted rate upheaval

The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America said its members are tired of ocean carriers charging them hundreds of dollars over their service contract rates.

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14 September
Chris Gillis

FMC keeps spotlight on ocean forwarder, consolidator concerns

COVID-19 may have disrupted supply chains but not the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission’s regulatory and policy focus on ocean container shipping, FMC chairman says.

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Chris Gillis

When lifting empty containers, two is better than one

Hyster introduces newest double-empty container handler to marine terminal and intermodal rail yard operators.

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11 September
Chris Gillis

Cedar Rapids logistics park on horizon

Iowa transportation company Travero plans to open a multimodal cross-dock operation by next September.

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Chris Gillis

ATS has wind energy at its back

More than 20 years of investment and dedication to the U.S. wind energy industry pays off for Anderson Trucking Service even during the worst of times.

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10 September
Chris Gillis

How much wood would a container manufacturer chuck?

New ocean container floor design developed and tested by the Institute of International Container Lessors over the past 10 years reduces wood use by up to 45%.

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04 September
Chris Gillis

3PLs prepare to catch Damco shippers jumping ship

A.P. Moller-Maersk’s recent announcement that Damco will no longer exist as a separate brand is expected to drive some shippers into the arms of others.

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03 September
Chris Gillis

Nippon Express completes acquisition of Indiana 3PL

MD Logistics, a specialist in handling temperature-controlled pharmaceuticals, will operate as a subsidiary of the Japanese logistics services provider.

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02 September
Chris Gillis

Geodis opens European market to US e-tailers

3PL’s MyParcel provides European e-commerce customers a scheduled, yet competitively priced shipping service between existing express and postal.

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01 September
Chris Gillis

Japan Airlines joins Tokyo drone delivery test

The flagship Japanese airline joins other transportation and technology providers to develop urban freight delivery capabilities with drones.

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Aug - 2020 -
31 August
Chris Gillis

DCLI expands chassis fleet in US Gulf region

Direct ChassisLink has added 1,000 new chassis to the Gulf Coast region since its departure from the OCEMA Gulf Consolidated Chassis Pool earlier this year.

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28 August
Chris Gillis

Storm cleanup to cause Louisiana rail shippers some delay

Class I railroad crews will spend the next two days clearing downed trees and restoring electric power along tracks in southern Louisiana.

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Chris Gillis

FMC assigns truckers’ chassis compliant to administrative law judges

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission’s Office of Administrative Law Judges is expected to announce an initial decision in this multibillion-dollar complaint against the ocean carriers by August 2021.

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27 August
Chris Gillis

E-commerce logistics, airfreight fuel Kerry Logistics’ 1H profit

Hong Kong-based 3PL’s warehouse business suffers from shrinking inventories, but forwarding business saves the day, leading to $109 million first-half profit.

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26 August
Chris Gillis

Trans-Atlantic LCL steady despite COVID-19

The trans-Atlantic may not be the dominant container market, but it remains dependable for hungry ocean consolidators and forwarders.

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24 August
Chris Gillis

DHL aims to advance women in its ranks

DHL Supply Chain North America will provide three months of fully paid maternity leave starting Jan. 1 as part of a push to recruit, retain and promote women in its management ranks.

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20 August
Chris Gillis

Truckers seek $1.8B from ocean carriers for alleged chassis overcharges

The American Trucking Associations’ Intermodal Motor Carriers Conference seeks to put an end to alleged price manipulation of container chassis usage between ocean carriers and draymen.

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Chris Gillis

FMCSA approves ‘performance-based’ chassis inspection training

The Intermodal Association of North America said the federal agency’s signoff allows more efficient training and helps recruit and retain equipment mechanics.

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19 August
Chris Gillis

FreightWaves Carrier Summit: Helping truckers exit dwell hell (with video)

FreightWaves’ Kevin Hill interviews co-founders of Baton about their technology plans to eliminate long-haul truck driver dwell times.

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Chris Gillis

Freight consolidator Shipco sweeps away LCL ‘touch points’

Shipco Transport and its container freight station subsidiary ICT have adopted Vector Software to reduce human contact and on-site paperwork processing as the coronavirus persists.

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18 August
Chris Gillis

Volga-Dnepr adds 777 to Boeing freighter suite

Russian airline has become the 19th customer for the twin-engine, all-cargo aircraft.

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Chris Gillis

TRAC Intermodal selects new president

Former XPO executive Daniel Walsh succeeds Jennifer Polli, who is credited with leading the chassis provider through “significant transformation.”

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17 August
Chris Gillis

British Airways starts sunsetting 747 fleet

The first of 31 giants of the sky in British Airways’ fleet says goodbye.

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13 August
Chris Gillis

Russian airlines expand 737 freighter services

ATRAN Airlines says increased online shopping has increased express air cargo traffic between Moscow and China’s northern cities.

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12 August
Chris Gillis

GECAS stocks up on 737-800 converted freighters

GE Capital Aviation Services now has 74 orders for Boeing to convert versatile, narrow-body passenger planes for express and e-commerce services.

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Chris Gillis

Magma Aviation adds 747-400 freighter to fleet

Magma has a nose for cargo. It will operate a new 747 that can open its front end to load big shipments.

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11 August
Chris Gillis

LATAM kicks off Miami-Brazil cargo flight

Don’t confuse Florianopolis with Indianapolis. It’s in Brazil and LATAM is flying freighters there from Miami.

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10 August
Chris Gillis

PayCargo helps shippers, forwarders pay it forward

PayCargo has become a force in the online payment of freight transportation bills and now offers coronavirus-impacted shippers and forwarders credit lines to smooth their cash flow.

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06 August
Chris Gillis

Airbus orders in 2020 cut in half by COVID-19

Airlines are saving every penny possible and with so few people traveling they don’t need more airplanes. That’s hurting sales at Airbus and Boeing.

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Chris Gillis

Enstructure acquires bulk terminal at Port Canaveral

Multipurpose marine terminal operator Enstructure says the purchase of Ambassador Services in Port Canaveral establishes its presence in U.S. Southeast.

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05 August
Chris Gillis

Deutsche Post DHL beats back COVID-19 with Q2 profit

Deutsche Post DHL saw a significant rise in e-commerce activity during the second quarter due to continued COVID-19 travel restrictions and retail store closures.

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04 August
Chris Gillis

FMC finds NY/NJ port ‘minimally impacted’ operationally by COVID-19

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission found during its Fact Finding 29 investigation that the Port of New York and New Jersey showed supply chain resolve during the coronavirus pandemic.

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03 August
Chris Gillis

Expedited trans-Pacific LCL filling a growing niche

With airfreight capacity squeezed and rates high between China and the U.S., ocean freight consolidators offer the option of fast, cheaper less-than-container load, trans-Pacific services.

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Jul - 2020 -
31 July
Chris Gillis

Q&A: DCLI calls national chassis pool debate an illusion

DCLI chief commercial officer warns shippers and truckers who seek a national chassis pool: Be careful what you wish for.

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30 July
Chris Gillis

DHL injects $1.6M into new Indianapolis life sciences facility

DHL located a new life sciences warehouse in Indianapolis because the city has many pharmaceutical companies in the area.

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29 July
Chris Gillis

Boeing takes $2.4B loss in Q2 due to COVID-19

Boeing commercial aircraft deliveries fell by more than half over the past six months, compared to the same period last year.

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28 July
Chris Gillis

Boeing sees rising demand for freighter conversions

Boeing has received orders from DHL Express to convert four 767-300s to all-cargo configuration and from AFG for two 737-800 converted freighters.

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25 July
Chris Gillis

Hurricane Hanna takes aim at south Texas border

First Atlantic hurricane of the 2020 season could cause substantial flooding to south Texas and northeastern Mexico this weekend, delaying freight traffic at ports and land border crossings.

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Chris Gillis

Hawaii shipping braces for Hurricane Douglas

While the storm is expected to weaken as it passes over the islands, Young Brothers pulls its interisland barges into calmer waters for the weekend.

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24 July
Chris Gillis

How the FMC monitors ‘blank sailings’ and their competitive impacts

Chairman Michael Khouri explains how the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission keeps track of COVID-19-induced ocean container carrier sailing schedule changes for anticompetitive behavior.

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23 July
Chris Gillis

American Airlines cargo revenue sinks, along with Q2 profit

American Airlines’ cargo revenue for the first half of the year was $277 million, or 37% lower than the first half of 2019.

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Chris Gillis

American Airlines suffers $2.7B Q2 loss from COVID-19

American Airlines lands $2.7 billion pretax loss in second quarter.

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22 July
Chris Gillis

Fire extinguished on Ethiopian Airlines freighter at Shanghai airport

An Ethiopian Airlines plane suffers extensive damage in a fire at Shanghai Pudong airport.

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Chris Gillis

LATAM lands Brazil’s last COVID-19 emergency air bridge flight

Latin American airline mobilized five Boeing 777 passenger planes to move 1,200 tons of N95 masks on board 39 cargo-only flights from China to São Paulo.

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21 July
Chris Gillis

Kuehne + Nagel uses ‘agile structure’ to weather 1H 2020

The coronavirus’ whipsaw effect on the global supply chain took a toll on Kuehne + Nagel during the first half of 2020, but without a rapid internal response the hit would have been far worse, CEO Detlef Trefzger says.

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Chris Gillis

FreightWaves 3PL Summit: COVID-19 bruises complacent US food supply chain (with video)

Kenny Lund, executive vice president of Allen Lund Co., tells FreightWaves 3PL Summit that the fresh produce supply chain still has some growing to do, as coronavirus showed Americans that food shortages can still occur.

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20 July
Chris Gillis

Freighter influx can’t offset cargo decline at Schiphol airport

The increase in freighter flights at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport during the first half of the year was not enough to offset the dramatic drop in cargo transported by passenger planes.

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16 July
Chris Gillis

FMC examines COVID-19 impacts on New York/New Jersey ports

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission enters “phase two” of its fact-finding investigation into COVID-19 impacts on container shipping in the Port of New York and New Jersey.

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15 July
Chris Gillis

Amazon to build giant central Texas fulfillment center

Amazon’s Pflugerville fulfillment center will be located off State Highway 130, a rapidly expanding business corridor in central Texas.

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Chris Gillis

2021 AirCargo Conference will take off virtually

With safety and travel logistics in mind, the annual AirCargo Conference, which draws up to 800 attendees, will take place online in 2021.

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14 July
Chris Gillis

Delta cargo revenue drops despite freight-only flights

Delta Air Lines will retire more than 100 planes by year’s end, reducing the carrier’s available cargo capacity to some destinations after coronavirus passes.

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Chris Gillis

Siemens Healthineers taps DHL to manage North American distribution

German company picks DHL Supply Chain in North America for its flexible and efficient logistics platform to handle sophisticated medical equipment.

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