American Shipper

   The transpacific container trade could see increased rate volatility in the coming year, predicted Lars Jensen, the chief executive officer of SeaIntel Consulting.    Speaking at the Journal of Commerce’s TPM 2014 conference in Long Beach, Jensen noted that rates in the Asia-Europe trade have fluctuated more over the past two years as large […]

   FedEx will increase its shipping rates by an average of 3.9 percent on March 31, the company announced Monday.    FedEx said the change applies to shipments within the U.S. (including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands), between the U.S. and Canada, within Canada, between the U.S. and Mexico, and within […]

   Fred Smith, the chief executive officer of FedEx, said a rise in protectionism is one of the biggest reasons that world trade is no longer growing rapidly.

   The U.S. India Political Action Committee last week slammed a potential move by the U.S. Trade Representative to designate India a “priority foreign country” in ongoing trade disputes between the United States and India.

   The average price of air freight on east-west routes fell to $3.31 per kilogram in January from $3.58 per kilogram in December, according to Drewry’s East-West Air Freight Price Index.    In November, pricing hit a high for 2013 at $3.81, following an average in October of $3.73. Aside from the last quarter of […]

   Shippers have begun getting squeezed by truck capacity, according to an industry note by Cowen and Company.    The firm said that during the South West Association of Rail Shippers Conference, a lot of the talk centered around truck capacity, with shippers saying that these fears have presented themselves after years of anticipation. The […]

   Rail Logistics, which owns and operates the “Cold Train” express refrigerated intermodal service on the BNSF Railway network between the Pacific Northwest and Chicago, has been acquired by Federated Capital Corp., a private investment, leasing and financial management firm based in Farmington Hills, Mich.    Federated Capitol also owns the Great Lakes Central Railroad, […]

   The U.S. Transportation Department on Friday proposed to approve United Airlines’ application to serve Tokyo’s downtown Haneda Airport from San Francisco.    Under a U.S.-Japan agreement, U.S. airlines may operate up to four daily round-trip flights per day at Haneda Airport, where operations are limited. The four flights have been operated by Hawaiian Airlines […]

   Qatar Airways Cargo will launch twice-weekly service to Hyderabad, India, using an A330 freighter on April 1, and the carrier announced it commenced Boeing 777 freighter service to London Stansted five times each week starting May 2.    The carrier also announced it has resumed its operations to Zaragoza, Spain, on a twice-weekly basis. […]

   IT Minerals will spend $4.5 million to establish an importing, processing and exporting facility at the Port of New Orleans for minerals sourced from Mexico and other countries.    “The port welcomes IT Minerals as a tenant of our industrial real estate properties,” said Port of New Orleans President and Chief Executive Officer Gary […]

   A compromise between the House and Senate on a new water resources bill that would help improve inland and seaport navigation is still several weeks away, according to congressional leaders.

   The federal Highway Trust Fund for fuel and excise taxes used to reimburse states for highway improvements on the national system is projected to go broke sometime in August, but states could begin feeling the pinch sooner, federal and state officials say.    The lack of funding could delay needed projects while also causing […]

   “K” Line said it will launch two new services this month to enhance service between Japan and the Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia. Hapag Lloyd and NYK will also participate.

   Twenty-eight trade associations, frustrated by the slow pace of getting someone installed as the permanent commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, are calling for  a floor vote as soon as possible to confirm Gil Kerlikowski.

   Assad Kotaite, president emeritus of the International Civil Aviation Organization, has died at the age of 89.    The organization called Kotaite, who died Thursday, one of the most prominent and respected figures in civil aviation, and a respected leader and visionary.    He began his career with ICAO in 1953 as part of […]

   CargoWise One is intended to replace the developer’s ediEnterprise platform. CargoWise also said it has rebranded itself WiseTech Global.

   For the past few years, the supply chain leadership mantra has been “agility.” The economic downturn taught virtually every business, in every industry, the importance of building speed and responsiveness into its end-to-end supply chain, enabling a faster reaction to demand shifts.    As a result, we’ve seen impressive improvements in supply chain capabilities […]

   Ongoing progress between Mexican, U.S. and Canadian authorities to integrate border management policies and procedures has led CBP to consider proposing a tripartite conference, modeled on its popular Trade Symposium, to update industry about their joint efforts, Deputy Commissioner Thomas Winkowski said.    In a briefing with reporters, Winkowski laid out the possibility of […]

   The partnership between CBP and the trade community, manifested through the Commercial Operations Advisory Committee (COAC), has never been stronger. CBP’s culture has shifted during the past four years to the point that it works to co-create virtually all policies and programs with the private sector.    And COAC is working harder than ever […]