American Shipper

Six maritime unions have formed a new group called the Maritime Labor Alliance. 

   Navman Wireless released an Android version of the mobile app for its OnlineAVL2 fleet tracking system.    The new app will allow dispatchers, fleet managers, and executives to monitor and manage fleet activities from Android-based smartphones and tablets. The company previously had an app for the iPhone and iPad.    The app is free […]

   The Halifax Port Authority said David Henderson has been elected vice chairman of its board, succeeding Tom McInnis.    McInnis was recently appointed to the Canadian Senate.    Henderson is a sales professional with over 35 years of experience and is currently the Atlantic territory account manager for Samsung Electronics Canada Inc.

   Star Information Systems (SIS) has signed an agreement with StormGeo to jointly develop a new set of software and services for the offshore and shipping industries.    As part of the deal, StormGeo will also take a 15 percent stake in SIS with an option to increase this in the future, which the companies say […]

The new Boeing 747-400 services will initially operate five times weekly from Shanghai, via Chengdu or Chonqing. The flights return via Tianjin. The airline has slots for up to 10 flights per week from Amsterdam.

The agency has withdrawn a solicitation for a study on the “safety, economic and environmental issues of vessels with double hulls” due to a “lack of available funding and interest,” a spokesman said.

   Apple’s announced release of its new iPhone 5 yesterday, as well as the introduction of the new Kindle Fire and other tablets – including the possibility of a “mini-iPad” – are expected to strengthen demand for air freight capacity and push rates higher.    The air freight market “is very poor right now to begin with, in […]

The EcoLiner could haul bulk commodities or containers and its developers said “we expect this new concept to appeal to shippers of consumables particularly, oil companies and logistic operators keen to get their cargo off the roads.”

   Container throughput at the Port of Virginia grew 24 percent in August on a yearly basis to 188,658 TEUs, the Virginia Port Authority said.    The figure comes on the heels of three consecutive monthly records, including an 8 percent increase to 180,384 shipping units in July.    Since January the port has processed 1.36 […]

   The ocean carrier Mediterranean Shipping Co. has extended its Andean Feeder Service between its hub in Freeport, Bahamas, and the west coast of South America to include a full direct service to New York and Philadelphia.    Previously the five-ship Andean Feeder loop turned in Freeport and a separate single-ship weekly shuttle connected New […]

   Logistics industry knowledge provider Transport Intelligence (Ti) and executive search consultancy Hanover Fox International (HFI) have formed a strategic alliance for recruitment in the logistics sector.    The partnership will combine HFI’s recruitment expertise with Ti’s 10 years’ of experience in the logistics industry, as well as its rolodex of senior level logistics and transport […]

The combined e-commerce logistics firms will offer a network of 18 European distribution centers, access to the Reflex warehouse management system, a European contact center, and extensive transport services.

   Marine services provider Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS) has opened 10 new offices in India.    The offices are located in Ludhiana, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Nagpur, Kanpur, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Indore, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru, and are the result of Inchcape’s significant increase in business with Hapag-Lloyd India.    “Winning this additional business is a new chapter in […]

   The environmental group Basel Action Network (BAN) said the U.S. Maritime Administration has adopted a new policy effectively ending the federal artificial reefing program that allowed the scuttling of old ships for artificial reefs.    The practice dates back to the 1972 Liberty Ship Act.    “Since the program’s inception, approximately 45 ships have been […]

   The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission has received for review an application for a license change.    The agency received the application from NTL Naigai Trans Lines (USA), Torrance, Calif. (Yoij Kurita, president) to add the trade name NTL Cargo One.    Persons knowing of any reason why the applicant should not receive an OTI license amendment are urged […]

FMC reviews OTI license application

   U.S. Xpress Enterprises, a Chattanooga, Tenn.-based trucking company, has named Latasha Neal vice president of driver recruiting.    She has nearly 20 years of experience in the trucking industry, working primarily in the areas of driver recruiting and retention. Neal most recently served as director of recruiting and retention for Swift Transportation.

“It has been a challenge to develop a viable concept for transporting blades of this size (55 meters long) by rail in Europe, but well worth the effort,” said Mette Heileskov Bulow, transportation chief specialist at Vestas.

   When Dow Chemical plans for the future it follows the approach that IBM gets the most headlines for: it looks decades down the road and prepares for trends and crises related to energy, environment, population, food, and other demands.    The company is now shifting focus because of a trend that shippers can’t stop […]

   The U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday reported the country’s exports in goods and services for July was $183.3 billion, down 1 percent compared to the month previously.    Imports for July also declined 0.8 percent to $225.3 billion, compared to June.    “While there’s still more work to do, we remain on track toward […]