American Shipper

   Thailand agreed during President Obama’s visit there this week to participate in the Proliferation Security Initiative.    The PSI is an international collaborative effort among more than 100 countries to stop the trafficking of weapons of mass destruction and missile-related items. Participants agree to exchange relevant information on illegal arms shipments, interdict such shipments, and […]

The Tampa Bay port this week discharged more than 52,000 tons of Brazilian-produced corn from the ship King Fraser. The corn is being imported to offset drought-stricken U.S. production shortfalls and will be used for animal feed.

“Customers want the global player, they’ve gone more to strategic partnerships. So we felt the timing was right. Carmichael saw this too – they just didn’t have other services to offer,” said APL Logistics Vice President Tony Zasimovich.

The harbor employers said Tuesday “the OCU has reversed course and once again called an end to negotiations in a move signaling that further OCU-initiated disruption in the L.A./Long Beach ports is likely.”

About 150 employees demonstrated at various sites around the port and a half-dozen ships were not worked Tuesday. The port has been negotiating a new contract with SEIU Local 1021, which expired in July 2011.

   The Portland Oregonian newspaper is reporting that an Oregon state labor official will meet with representatives from the Port of Portland and a longshore local that represents 25 security guards on Saturday to try and broker a labor agreement.    The newspaper said failure to reach agreement could result in a strike that “could […]

   The holding company of CABKA North America Inc., CABKA GmbH in Germany, and Belgium-based IPS – Innova Packaging Systems NV will merge under the newly formed CABKA Group.    Until a joint brand is announced, the CABKA and IPS labels will remain intact, the companies said.    CABKA and IPS together will become a […]

   Classification society ABS has awarded Stevens Institute of Technology $3 million to create a new civil, mechanical and naval engineering laboratory complex in the Davidson Laboratory.    The new complex will bear the ABS name.    “Without question, this laboratory complex will be a proving ground where enterprising students can develop the skills they […]

   Baltimore-based freight forwarder and customs broker Samuel Shapiro & Company has appointed C. Walter Starr as its chief financial officer.    Starr joins Shapiro with more than 25 years of experience in accounting, finance, and management serving in a variety of corporate roles. He was previously CFO and vice president of finance and administration […]

   C.H. Robinson, a large global-logistics provider based near Minneapolis, on Monday announced the roll out of an enhanced technology platform that provides real-time updates on shipment status, standardizes systems across the enterprise and increases analytic capability.    The new platform, called Navisphere, is essentially a rebranded version of Robinson’s internal transportation management system with some added […]

   SAP said at a conference in Germany this week it will release updates to three of its key supply chain software modules.    The updates are for SAP’s Transportation Management, Extended Warehouse Management and Event Management applications.    The TM update is designed to improve ocean and air freight management; better integrate with the warehouse […]

   The International Longshore and Warehouse Union said Monday grain companies operating terminals along Columbia River and Puget Sound have given local workers a final contract offer that “demands deep concessions from workers, even though the companies have been successful under the current agreement and impasse has not been reached in negotiations.”    A group […]

USTR on Monday hosted the first meeting of the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Commission (FTC), the body responsible for supervising the implementation of the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement and resolving issues.

U.S. freight volume remains steady    The amount of freight carried by the for-hire transportation industry rose 0.2 percent in September from August, continuing a pattern of little fluctuation since January even as other indicators, such as Gross Domestic Product and employment, showed an uptick in economic growth, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported last […]

   The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has named Frederick G. “Bud” Wright to executive director.    Wright succeeds John Horsley, who has served as executive director since 1999 and retires Feb. 1.    Wright served as executive director of the Federal Highway Administration from 2001 to 2008, assisting the administrator […]

“Having top-tier talent that can think, innovate and go to market differently is going to be a critical competitive advantage,” Zack Deming, a principle at executive recruiting firm Korn/Ferry International, said.

The council, which represents shipper groups throughout Asia, continued its offensive on liner shipping exemptions, which it says unduly burden the region’s shippers through higher freight rates and surcharges.

   The U.S. Export-Import Bank has authorized a comprehensive guarantee on a $500 million loan to Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT S.A. (LOT Airlines) for the export of a fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes to Poland.    Apple Bank for Savings of New York extended the loan. Nippon Export and Investment Insurance of Japan is […]

   The U.S. Export-Import Bank has authorized two transactions aggregating $461 million to underwrite the export of American-made satellites to Hong Kong.    The pair of transactions will support about 3,700 U.S. jobs, according to bank estimates derived from Commerce and Labor department data.    Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS) of Hong Kong will deploy the […]

The liner carrier had $617 million in operating profits in the third quarter of 2012, while revenue increased 9 percent year-on-year to $4.2 billion. For comparison, the line sustained a $224 million operating loss in the same 2011 quarter.