American Shipper

   The third party logistics company and truck brokerage Transplace said Wednesday the chemical distributor Brenntag will use its proprietary software-as-a-service (SaaS) transportation management system (TMS) to improve supply chain visibility and operational efficiencies.    Linking chemical manufacturers and users, Brenntag provides business-to-business distribution solutions for industrial and specialty chemicals globally. The company has more than […]

While the 34 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation spend an average of 1 percent of GDP on transportation infrastructure, that percentage hasn’t changed since 1995, according to recent ITF data.

   MOL said the fore section of its containership MOL Comfort sank Wednesday evening in the Arabian Sea.    The company said the remaining section of the ship “sank in the high seas” near 19’56″N 65’25″E (water depth about 3,000 meters) at 7 p.m. on July 10.     The Japanese liner company said “about 2,400 containers on board the fore […]

The department said the past four years represent the strongest period for U.S. agricultural exports in the history of the country. Farm exports in fiscal year 2012 reached $135.8 billion and supported 1 million American jobs.

Seventeen major retailers have banded together to form a work safety initiative in Bangladesh, demanding factory inspections, the development of common safety standards and the election of worker representatives.

   The U.S. Export-Import Bank will back comprehensive guarantees for two HSBC loans totaling $55.6 million to support the export of American aircraft and agricultural machinery to China.    The authorizations mark the 19th and 20th transactions, respectively, registered under the 2005 Framework between Ex-Im Bank and China’s Ministry of Finance to promote U.S. exports […]

   Page Siplon has been appointed by the Georgia Department of Economic Development as the director of the Georgia Centers of Innovation.    Bo Warren, who is currently with the Georgia Department of Agriculture, will become the director of the Georgia Center of Innovation for Agribusiness.     Siplon will maintain his current role as the […]

   NewPort Tank Containers and Sinochem Safe Transport said they will create a common ownership platform for combining their international, deep-sea tank container operations.    The companies have worked together since 2009 under an “operating agreement,” allowing them to operate as one company, but with two separate brands. Under the new ownership structure, the partners will […]

   Swissport has secured multi-year handling contracts from Etihad Cargo in Frankfurt, Munich and Vienna.    Swissport will handle cargo on both passenger and freighter flights for the carrier.     The company was previously certified as Etihad Cargo’s preferred handling partner, winning contracts in Athens, Geneva, Larnaca, Nairobi, Seoul and Toronto.    “We are proud […]

The European Commission is investing 600 million euros ($730 million) in research funding to develop new technology, heading off massive congestion in the region’s airspace expected to balloon out of control in the next 20 years.

The vessels will each have a capacity of 770 FEUs and be used in the company’s U.S. West Coast operations. Self-geared and equipped with gantry cranes, they will be delivered in late 2015 and early 2016.

   The Port of Virginia achieved its best TEU throughput for the first half of a calendar year with 1.054 million standard shipping units processed between January and June, the Virginia Port Authority said Tuesday.    The port’s volume represented a 6 percent increase over the first half of 2012.    The Port of Virginia, […]

   Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Supply Chain Solutions (SCS) has purchased England Logistics’ freight forwarding business for an undisclosed amount.    With the acquisition, SCS adds offices in Ningbo, Shanghai and Qingdao, China; and Los Angeles to its current locations in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Virginia. According to Les Brand, SCS’ chief executive officer, the new […]

SUDS automates managing and processing of carrier contracts and numerous amendments. When a contract is uploaded, the system extracts and organizes rates from large volumes of rate agreement contract data.

   The U.S. Department of Agriculture has begun issuing nearly $2 million in fiscal year 2012 payments through a program that assists farmers and producers in U.S. territories who paid to transport either an agricultural commodity or input used to produce it.    The USDA announced the sign-up period for the fiscal year 2013 program […]

   Ozburn-Hessey Logistics has signed a lease to fully occupy the 185,520-square-foot Pan American North Distribution Center just outside of Miami.    The company, which operates more than 130 distribution centers worldwide, will move into the space this fall.    OHL’s lease stands as the largest one signed in the Miami area this year. The […]

   International organizations covering aviation, the maritime industry and customs have banded together to enhance collaboration on security and other procedures.    Leaders from the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Maritime Organization and the World Customs Organization met in London July 8 to talk about common goals. Discussion included risk-management issues and international mandates […]

   In its latest update on the containership MOL Comfort, the Japanese liner company MOL said that firefighters have been unable to bring a fire under control on the section that remains afloat because of adverse weather.    The ships fractured in two parts on June 17. The aft section of the ship sank 10 days […]

   Days after delivering the first in a series of 20 new 18,000-TEU ships to Maersk Line, Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering has reportedly landed another order for three giant containerships.    Citing a Korean regulatory filing from earlier this week, Bloomberg said Daewoo has snagged an order worth 481.2 billion won ($424 million.)    Dow […]

Import volume at the nation’s major container ports is expected to increase 1.1 percent in July over the same month last year, but a slow summer should be followed by significant increases as retailers head into the holiday season.