American Shipper

Study by KPMG and Thomson Reuters shows U.S. ahead in GTM and compliance process automation.

   A U.S. District Court agreed in August to have antitrust lawsuits filed by shippers against roll-on/roll-off shipping companies dismissed. (In Re Vehicle Carrier Services Antitrust Litigation. U.S. District Court, N.J. No. 13-3306. MDL No. 2471. Aug. 8, 2015.)    Now some of the shippers are asking Judge Esther Salas to reconsider her decision or […]

   Global climate change talks recently concluded in Paris, with leaders trying to get agreement on voluntary commitments for nations to reduce carbon levels from human activity.    With the atmosphere warming, sea ice is melting at alarming rates and the world’s oceans are expected to gradually rise.    Executive Director Curtis Foltz said in […]

FTZs are a growing strategy for duty management, but it takes software to maximize value.

MER Group to operate ship demolition yards in Puerto Rico and Europe.

   Volume growth across the freight movement industry has slowed substantially and in some regions and segments, notably rail and trucking, even declined. This  lull is likely to persist for a while and assuming that the causes are reversed beginning in 2016, represents an opportunity for capacity expansion investment needed to reduce the risks of […]

   Kudos to Eric Johnson for his insightful article in the October 2015 American Shipper, asking if there are new and better ways of communicating essential data among the participants in international supply chains—“A New Communications Pipeline?”      Substantial progress has been made in recent years in supply chain management as it has emerged […]

   Throughout the transportation industry, many customers use a pricing benchmark when comparing rates from various providers, but until now, air freight shippers have been shut out of this analytical game.     In January, John Peyton Burnett is set to roll out the beta version of his TAC Index, the air cargo market’s first rating […]

   It’s not only liner companies like CMA CGM and APL or COSCO and China Shipping that are combining.    In November, Triton Container International Ltd. and TAL International Group announced they would merge to become the world’s largest container-leasing company, with about 4.8 million TEUs of revenue-earning assets worth nearly $8.7 billion, or representing […]

   The Obama administration has really moved the ball when it comes to implementing reforms of export controls the past six years. The goal was to revise regulations and processes so they are more responsive to today’s technology, trading realities and national security threats. Cold War-era bureaucracy was strangling the ability of many companies to […]

   A common problem that every publicly held company faces is the expectation of continued growth.    Equity markets demand that success leads to more success, a forever abstract target of compounding growth that seems thoroughly attainable and innately unattainable at the same time.    One of the downsides to this expectation of growth is […]

   Passage in early December of a five-year, $305 billion surface transportation bill was a relief for the business community, which has long expressed concerns about bottlenecks and worsening road conditions that make it difficult to efficiently transport goods to domestic and international markets. The icing on the cake, from industry’s standpoint, is the new […]

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has agreed to conduct the design and engineering phase of the project, and the $1.1 trillion omnibus bill passed by Congress on Friday includes funding to dredge the harbor to 52 feet.

The bilateral agreement on passenger and cargo aviation, which took two years to negotiate, is designed to increase opportunities for carriers by opening new routes between the neighboring countries.

The French Competition Authority has ordered a total of 20 companies to pay nearly $740 million in fines for alleged anti-competitive behavior in the French parcel delivery sector.

The improved productivity resulting from the institution of variable pricing would be worth $2 billion to $3 billion annually, according to estimates from management consulting firm McKinsey & Co.

The state’s Transportation Economic Development Fund will disburse nearly $1 million in funding to support “economically important” construction projects tied to private plant expansions.

Carriers will face continued competition from operators of both container and handy-size bulk ships, according to the London-based ship consultant’s latest Multipurpose Shipping Market Review and Forecaster report.

The Marseille Fos port authority’s Fos port-industry zone will become the site of France’s first demonstration plant for a ‘Power to Gas’ project.

The European shipping and transport company launched a daily rail freight shuttle between Italy and Rotterdam and Zeebrugge as part of a comprehensive multimodal link between England and Italy.