American Shipper

   Singapore Airlines Cargo said Tuesday that it will start twice-weekly Boeing 747-400 freighter services to Frankfurt from Nov. 2.    The freighter services will complement the cargo capacity available on Singapore Airlines’ twice-daily passenger flights between Singapore and Frankfurt. Frankfurt is a major manufacturing and air transportation hub, with major exports being machinery and […]

The Justice Department said five individuals have been indicted for conspiring to export radio frequency modules to Iran to make improvised explosives.

   The Luxembourg-headquartered global logistics company Logwin has moved to a larger facility in Guangzhou to capitalize on growing demand in Pearl River Delta region, the company said Wednesday.    “The new office is part of a longer term plan by Logwin to expand its sales capability and office network across a region that includes […]

   Trade and logistics software developer Kewill has released its second annual review of the state of global trade management, 2011 Best Practices Survey for Global Trade Management, and found that 73 percent of the industry still has completely manual or semi-automated processes for preparing export documentation.    Kewill surveyed more than 800 logistics professionals […]

   Non-vessel-operating common carrier CaroTrans has started a new all-water less-than-containerload import service from Shanghai to Boston.      The first sailing of this weekly service was Oct. 20.  This offering is in response to requests from importers for a fast service direct to Boston that bypasses New York metropolitan area congestion, the NVO said. […]

   Non-vessel-operating common carrier Vanguard Logistics Services has launched three new direct less-than-container load ocean services from Dalian, Shenzhen and Tokyo/Yokohama to Chicago.    “Direct service is the freight forwarder’s preference as it provides faster transit times, less damages and fewer delays,” said Richard Haddock, Vanguard’s U.S. import business development manager.    The neutral NVO […]

   The head of the nation’s largest container port suggested Monday that Canada’s investment in its western ports to capture more Asian trade is smart policy and that a U.S. government inquiry into cargo diversion up north should focus on domestic impediments to U.S. port competitiveness.    In a wide-ranging interview with American Shipper’s editorial […]

   The Ports of Indiana has named former Procter & Gamble executive Scott Stewart as port director for the Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville.    Stewart retired from P&G in 2008 after 24 years. He most recently served as a senior policy director for Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and most recently as director of strategy for the Indiana […]

   Cargotec, a Finnish terminal equipment and systems provider, has entered into a cooperation with Rosmorport in Russia to coordinte marine trnsport infrastructure development.    “Rosmorport is a high-level leverage for participating in ports’ infrastructure development. This cooperation will also increase our opportunities to present our know-how in Russia,” said Mikael Mäkinen, Cargotec’s president and chief […]

The Port of Antwerp has signed two agreements with organizations in the inland Chinese metropolis of Chongqing – a training deal for international forwarders and an information exchange with mutual promotion on port matters.

It would be difficult to overstate how important it is for companies that are engaged in international trade to comply with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) today.  Enforcing the FCPA is now a top priority of U.S. law enforcement agencies, which have recently increased their efforts at a considerable pace. International anticorruption efforts are […]

The ocean carrier industry is finding it difficult to deploy a massive influx of capacity into global trades with relatively low levels of demand.    Rates have faltered on the eastbound transpacific and westbound Asia/Europe trade, and newer trades are showing signs of similar vulnerability. Meanwhile, the usually dependable intra-Asia trade is growing slower than […]

 Public companies are preparing to comply with new regulations that will require them to trace the source of four metals — tantalum, tin, tungsten and gold — in their products.  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will roll out rules to implement provisions in the mammoth Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which […]

   Horizon Lines said Monday  that it will discontinue its trans-Pacific container shipping service, which moves cargo between the U.S. West Coast and Guam on its westbound leg and China and the U.S. West Coast on the return, eastbound leg.    Horizon’s decision to end the service follows that of a number of carriers who […]

    Intra-Asia ocean line MCC Transport informed customers in Thailand today that they will have an extra week of free time for import containers before they are charged demurrage fees due to the massive flooding in Bangkok.     Thailand has experienced record floods since August that have killed at least 356 people. Flood waters are […]

   The Grand Alliance carriers Hapag-Lloyd, NYK Line, and OOCL have added a vessel to their CCX transpacific service as well as a new call at Qingdao, according to American Shipper affiliate ComPair Data.    The service, operated with NYK vessels, will have a revised rotation of Qingdao-Ningbo-Shanghai-Busan-Los Angeles- Oakland-Busan-Qingdao. The alliance will now deploy […]

   The liner carrier MOL said its own-operated ships had a perfect on-time record on Asia-Europe services in the third quarter, while transpacific performance improved significantly in the same period.    The Japanese line releases quarterly on time arrival performance statistics for its services – with separate statistics for its ships and ones on which […]

DB Schenker Rail will begin regular European-sized rail freight services between Poland and the UK starting Nov.8. It will run one train per week between Wroclaw, in Poland, and Barking, London, via the UK’s High Speed 1 rail route.

   The International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations has elected Stanley Lim Hwee Hong of Singapore as its new president at the organization’s general meeting in Cairo last week.    Hong, who has been FIATA treasurer since 2007, will serve a two-year term. He was elected a FIATA vice president in 1995 and a senior […]

The ocean shipping software developer INTTRA says that e-commerce usage has reached an all-time high, with a record two million container orders per month initiated through its portal the last two months.