American Shipper

On Second Thought … Thomas Nightingale Chief Marketing officer, Con-way Inc. board of directors Transport Marketing and Sales Association nightingale.tom@con-way.com    The Transportation Worker Identification Credential was launched with the best of intentions, spurred by the tragic events of 9/11.    With security measures heightening everywhere, Congress, through the Maritime Transportation Security Act, established what […]

High-tech CSX hub takes intermodal to next level.    Companies like CSX are applying new approaches to increase the density and efficiency of new intermodal terminals.    These include stacking stored containers trackside, using cantilevered, wide-span electric cranes that can cross several tracks at once, employing advanced software to optimize the order of lifts, and […]

OAKLAND    Matson has ended one of its two U.S./China services a year after it was launched, citing sustained high fuel prices, downward rate pressure and overcapacity in the transpacific trade.    Matson in late August discontinued its expanded China-Long Beach Express service (CLX2), which includes service between Hong Kong, Yantian, Shanghai and Long Beach. […]

Improved demand brings return for German heavy-lift specialist’s westbound service from India to Europe. By Eric Johnson    Here’s a peek into how the recent economic recession affected trade regions differently: through the dark days of the crisis, project cargo and heavy-lift specialist carrier Rickmers-Linie continued to serve India from Europe, but there wasn’t nearly […]

   It’s been said low ocean freight rates can’t induce demand. Consumers either want their extra-large flat-screen TVs or they don’t, and the price of such products relies little on the ocean rate makers like Sony or Samsung can secure at a given time.    So if carriers can’t compel customers to ship more with […]

   Airlines had a difficult time making a profit during the first half of the year, but industry executives feel more confident about being in the black going forward as concerns about soaring fuel prices have abated in recent weeks, according to a survey on airline business confidence.    The survey, conducted each quarter by […]

   It seems only natural to think the bigger the customs broker the more import entries they can efficiently process.    However, that’s not actually the case. A recent survey of 140 industry executives by Kewill found productivity, or the number of monthly customs entries per full-time customs employee, peaked with mid-sized broker operations, and […]

    American Shipper’s International Transportation Management Systems (ITMS) Benchmark Study, published November 2010 (available for free at www.AmericanShipper.com/ITMS), demonstrated that shippers use an average of about four-and-a-half IT systems to manage international transportation, while best-in-class firms or “winners” actually use more.      More technology isn’t necessarily a good thing. Most likely these shippers have adopted […]

APL Logistics rebuilds domestic intermodal business a decade after selling double-stack business to Pacer. By Chris Dupin    It’s back to the future at APL Logistics as the company rebuilds its domestic intermodal business a dozen years after selling it to Pacer International.    APL, as American President Lines, pioneered double-stack intermodal rail and 53-foot […]

Soviet era-built AN-124s still reign as world’s dominant super-heavy haulers. By Chris Gillis    The world’s biggest commercial cargo planes, the Antonov 124s, didn’t feel the downdraft of the most recent global recession.    The planes’ handful of operators mostly benefited from pre-existing long-term project cargo transport contracts, which often take several years to complete, […]

Sputtering recovery translates into fewer shipments. By Eric Kulisch    Growth has been choppy since the U.S. economy pulled out of recession two years ago, alternating between lukewarm and anemic expansion.    Most economists have minimized the likelihood that the U.S. or global economies will fall into decline again, but economic data and shipment volumes […]

  Congress has introduced legislation that would impose a national policy for regulating discharges of ballast water to prevent the introduction of invasive species. The bill, H.R. 2840, also aims to regulate incidental “gray water” discharges from ships ranging from oily water separator effluent and refrigeration and air condensate effluent.    Reps. Frank LoBiondo, R-N.J., […]

   Liner carrier CSAV will end its Marco Polo service between India, the Middle East and South Africa as it joins a similar Mediterranean Shipping Co. service as a slot buyer, according to American Shipper affiliate ComPair Data.    The last voyage of the service is to depart Thursday from Durban.    In July the […]

Balling    Niels Kim Balling, 60, a shipping executive and consultant has died.    Balling was a managing director at Econships, a management advisory for transport and logistics headquartered in Hong Kong.    He had been a managing director at MISC Integrated Logistics and group vice president at MISC Bhd, a general manager and director […]

Eng    Eng Aik Meng, former president of Singapore-based liner carrier APL, has joined an Indian-based health care conglomerate as its new chief operating officer, according to news reports.    Eng will be charged with developing Fortis Healthcare’s business outside of India, primarily across Asia and Australia.    He left APL at the end of […]

   The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has approved certification of Envirotainer’s RKN e1 electrical heating and compressor cooling air cargo container.    Envirotainer, pioneer of the world’s first active temperature-controlled container in 1995, has experienced significantly increased demand for its RKN e1 since it was first approved by the European Air Safety Agency (EASA) in […]

   Houston’s Ellington Air Cargo Facility, a property adjacent to the Ellington Air Field, is ready for development, said Project Director Mark Briggs.    “The Ellington Air Cargo Facility is the first of its kind in Houston,” Briggs said. “Not only does it offer the lowest cargo tariff in the Houston Airport System, it also […]

   Singapore Airlines Cargo has added Jakarta to its freighter network and increased its weekly frequencies to Auckland, Shanghai, Sydney and Xiamen.    The new weekly Boeing 747-400 freighter service to Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport started on Sept. 5. It is to be increased to twice weekly during the winter.   The carrier said the Jakarta […]

   Russian Railways subsidiaries RZD Logistics and TransContainer will cooperate in a joint venture to offer shippers express container trains.    The express service is being tested on the route between Yekaterinburg and St. Petersburg.    Fast container trains will offer a convenient and reliable shipping service to Urals-based steel exporters, said According to RZD […]

   The U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday in two separate votes approved extensions to Federal Aviation Administration and surface transportation programs that were due to expire in the coming days.    The FAA bill will keep aviation programs running through the end of January while authorization for highway and transit programs is extended through March […]