American Shipper

   The U.S. military’s Africa Command (Africom) is making good on efforts to assist African country partners in developing logistics and security-related capabilities.    In specific, Africom is setting up logistics reporting structures that it hopes will soon be applied to aircraft, vehicles, and troops, but said meanwhile can be applied to other government operations such as customs declarations, […]

   The U.S. Transportation Command (Transcom) has announced Universal Service Contracts that it estimates could be worth about $6 billion to 22 U.S.-flag shipping companies over a three-year period.    They are indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity fixed-price contracts for both international ocean transportation and intermodal distribution services.    The Maritime Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation asked carriers to offer per-unit prices (for […]

The U.S. Commerce Department portal, loaded with news, advice, tutorials and information about programs across the federal government, is designed to help companies get started exporting or expand their activity.

   Hapag-Lloyd said Thursday it plans to assess a peak season surcharge for all cargoes and all container types from the Far East to Northern Europe from Aug. 1 through Sept. 30.    The surcharge, $350 per TEU, applies to all Far East origin points, including Southeast Asia, with the exception of Japan.    The […]

   The Toll Group said Thursday it has sold the Australian interstate linehaul and warehousing operations of its Toll Refrigerated business to Automotive Holdings Group Ltd., owners of Rand Refrigerated Logistics, for $6.5 million.    Toll Refrigerated had revenues of about $75 million and made a small operating loss in the financial year to June 30, […]

   The global logistics services company Panalpina said Wednesday it has opened four logistics competence centers to provide support to its branch offices throughout the world.    The centers, in Prague, Singapore, Buenos Aires, and New Jersey, are intended to support local teams from pre-sales through implementation to continuous improvement. The centers focus on best […]

U.S.-flag shipping advocates are expressing alarm over a provision in the surface transportation bill passed by Congress last week that they say could result in a third less food aid cargo being transported on U.S.-flag vessels.

   A check of what’s happening at various U.S. ports of entry controlled by Customs and Border Protection led to these tidbits of interest to cargo owners and transportation providers. Officers at the rail checkpoint in Portal, N.D., intercepted five Canadian citizens a week ago who were riding concealed aboard a locomotive. The stowaways were picked […]

Saia Inc., a less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier, has acquired Robart Transportation Inc. and its subsidiary RL Services Group. The Robart Cos., based in Duluth, Ga., provides truckload brokerage and logistics services.

The Southern California port on Monday announced two incentive programs aimed at inducing big ships and discretionary intermodal cargo to call at its marine terminals. If formerly approved, the programs will take effect Aug. 1.

   CA Technologies has expanded its sustainability-focused ecoSoftware suite with the release of ecoGovernance 3.0, a platform that aims to help companies with energy and sustainability management.    In the ecoGovernance 3.0 software, which the company said can integrate with many existing enterprise software systems used for transportation, warehouse, supply chain, and trade management, businesses […]

   According to a new study from Frost & Sullivan, found here, the trailer telematics market is not only ripe for the picking, but it’s also the place to look to when observing what fleets will adopt as new optimization processes.    Frost & Sullivan said that telematics vendors have a large opportunity in Europe […]

   The Obama administration on Monday announced the outcome of its 2011 Annual Review of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), a 36-year-old trade preference program under which the United States provides duty-free treatment to many imports from developing countries.    Based on the administration’s review of various issues and petitions related to eligibility of […]

   The U.S. Council for International Business (USCIB) said Tuesday it’s urging the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to deny Ecuador access to benefits of the Andean Trade Preference Act.    “With Peru and Colombia now moving up to full Free Trade Agreement partner status, Ecuador is the sole potential recipient of ATPA preferences […]

   The recent successful implementation of significant rate restoration initiatives by carriers in the core east-west trade lanes means that most are now operating above break-even, according to London-based consultancy Drewry.    “Carriers took sufficient capacity out in the winter months to ensure that recently reactivated services have not caused too much damage to the […]

   Epec Biofuels Holdings, which has developed an ethanol industry integration platform, has completed its first supply chain partner agreement with BioDimensions Delta BioRenewables (BDBR) of Memphis, Tenn., to help push its Ethanol 2.0 standard toward further adoption.    BDBR produces industrial sugar feedstocks that Epec views as a cornerstone to the future of ethanol. […]

   FedEx Corp. said Tuesday it has completed the acquisition of Tatex, a French business-to-business express transportation company.    The company said the purchase “represents the latest step in the company’s strategy to sustainably grow in Europe.”    It said the acquisition will give FedEx access to a nationwide domestic ground network which carries 19 […]

“Shippers, manufacturers and transportation companies must remain aware of the increased security risks during the upcoming holiday weekend,” said Dan Burges of FreightWatch International.

   Klaus-Michael Kuehne, honorary chairman of forwarder Kuehne+Nagel and the largest investor in the container carrier Hapag-Lloyd, believes the other leading German container carrier, Hamburg Süd, would be an ideal merger partner for Hapag-Lloyd.    Kuehne floated the idea of a combination of the two carriers in an interview with Germany’s Wirtschaftswoche magazine.    Kuehne said […]

   Phil Cowan has returned to shipping accountant and consultant Moore Stephens as head of corporate finance.    He was most recently group chief financial officer of V.Group Ltd. and chairman of V.Ships Capital. He was responsible for a number of V.Ships’ acquisitions and led the V.Ships’ team that managed the sale of V.Group to […]