American Shipper

   Carrier Transicold said it has introduced a new container atmosphere control technology that helps maintain quality of produce so it can be shipped over longer distances.    The company said its XtendFRESH system actively manages oxygen and carbon dioxide levels inside the shipping container, while simultaneously removing ethylene. Carrier also said the system is designed to […]

   President Barack Obama has nominated Deb Miller, a former head of the Kansas Department of Transportation, to the Surface Transportation Board to replace Francis Mulvey, who saw his term expire in December.    If confirmed by the Senate, Miller’s appointment would run through 2017.    Mulvey, who is currently serving as vice chairman, is […]

   In a transportation procurement study published in June by American Shipper, in partnership with Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals and Retail Industry Leaders Association, 50 percent of large shippers cited a lack of return on investment (ROI) as the number one inhibitor to their adoption of bid procurement technology. This is a shockingly […]

Shippers urge early talks for U.S. West Coast longshore labor contract.    Contract negotiations between employers and longshoremen on the U.S. East and Gulf coasts were protracted and fractious in 2012-2013, with importers and exporters watching nervously from the sidelines.    Shippers are bracing themselves once again as the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), which represents […]

By Randy Mullett, Vice President of Government Relations and Public Affairs, Con-way Inc.    America has fallen behind the rest of the world’s developed economies in truck productivity and shippers and consumers should care because they are bearing the brunt of this shortfall through higher shipping costs, increased congestion, heightened emissions, less safe highways, and […]

   The number of new truck broker registrations has declined for seven consecutive months this year, after first showing a decline in September 2012, according to analysis of U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration data by MyCarrierResources.com and Interstate Transport, a brokerage in St. Petersburg, Fla.

   The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee introduced its version of a Water Resources Reform Development Act reauthorization bill on Sept. 11, and was scheduled to debate, amend and rewrite the legislation on Sept. 19.    With today’s emphasis in Washington on streamlining government and reducing spending, H.R. 3080 includes many reform initiatives, including requiring […]

   U .S. Customs and Border Protection has tentatively selected ATS Logistics Inc. of North Charleston, S.C., as the new operator of its Central Examination Station for the Port of Charleston, replacing incumbent Charleston Freight Station, spokesman Sean Crep said.    Charleston Freight Station has, for the past 17 years, been the designated warehouse location […]

Green Express allows fast, low-cost transport of perishables between Latin American and U.S. markets.

By Walter Kemmsies, chief economist, Moffatt & Nichol    Neglect of the inland waterway system undermines the Midwest’s ability to import and export heavy cargo, especially grain and oilseeds. Overlooking the importance of the inland waterway system is easy to do and may require a little imagination to understand…

   We’ve seen a rash of pretty significant acquisitions in the supply chain technology space over the past year.    There was the joining of transportation management powerhouses JDA and RedPrairie in November 2012, followed by the merger of GT Nexus and TradeCard in January.    Then, in early September, the cloud-based spend management solutions […]

More industry analysts dialing back previous dire predictions.    In its latest data on the perennial debate over the trucking industry’s driver shortage, the American Trucking Associations has predicted that by 2022 the industry will have an unmet demand for 239,000 drivers.    The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s new hours of service rules, which took […]

   We’ve seen a rash of pretty significant acquisitions in the supply chain technology space over the past year.    There was the joining of transportation management powerhouses JDA and RedPrairie in November 2012, followed by the merger of GT Nexus and TradeCard in January.    Then, in early September, the cloud-based spend management solutions […]

   The stainless steel tubing manufactured by the Finnish company Stalatube is used for a variety of applications, such as building structures and facades, machinery to manufacture food and pharmaceuticals, offshore oil rigs, bus frames, and even sculptures.    About 70 percent of the company’s annual sales of 100 million euros ($133 million) are in […]

   TetraPak uses C.H. Robinson’s system to increase payload efficiency, gain visibility. Global shippers keen on upgrading their transportation management processes often face an unwelcome dilemma — their appetite to improve or establish a global platform is not matched. 

With progressive industrial policies, the country offers numerous opportunities for American shippers, their suppliers, 3PLs and carriers. By Jon Isbell    I have made two trips to Mexico this year, visiting Tijuana, Guadalajara, San Luis Potosi, Irapuato, Leon, Mexico City, and Monterrey. I traveled by road from Guadalajara to San Luis Potosí to the outskirts of […]

New technology helps shipowners use bunker and still meet sulfur emission reductions.    As 2015 approaches, shipping companies face the possibility of sharply higher fuel costs as regulations require the maximum amount of sulfur in bunker fuel used in so-called sulfur “emission control areas” (ECAs) to be cut 10-fold.    The International Maritime Organization has created […]

Vendors are busy building logistics apps for mobile environments, but who’s truly ahead?    If there’s one trend among the handful of buzzwords that emerge each year in the IT industry that’s straightforward to understand, it’s mobility.    That’s partly because we all hold in our hands the key to this new trend — the smartphone.    […]

   When the most recent round of TIGER grants was announced in September, Duluth Seaway Port Authority in Minnesota received $10 million to increase general cargo handling capacity by improving the 28-acre Garfield Pier and connecting it to roads and railroads.    It was a nice coda for the career of Adolph Ojard, who retired at […]

   Air cargo forwarders and shippers have certainly seen more challenging times, but in the current domestic landscape, the persistent sluggish U.S. economy is still taking a heavy toll.    It’s a good thing forwarders are multimodal, said Brandon Fried, executive director of the Airforwarders Association, because his membership has picked up the slack in […]