CII, AMI PARTNER TO MOVE U.S. EXPORTS TO AUSTRALIA

CII, AMI PARTNER TO MOVE U.S. EXPORTS TO AUSTRALIA    Consolidators International Inc., a cargo wholesaler based in Los Angeles, and Air Menzies International, a large Syndey-based air-freight wholesaler, have formed a strategic alliance for handling U.S. cargo into Australia.
   Julian Keeling, president of CII, said that “we now have a partner ‘down under,’ ” but stressed that CII and AMI will remain independent.
   CII ended its relationship with its previous Australian partner, Australian Freight Services, when AFS was acquired by the New American Consolidators Association (NACA).
   CII, which has been in business for seven years, “insists on working with cargo organizations that have no ties to current or potential competitors,” Keeling said.
   NACA had expressed interest in acquiring CII as well, but the interest “was not mutual,” Keeling said. “Consolidators International is not for sale.”
   The new CII-AMI partnership is the first of several multiple agreements to other international destinations, Keeling said. “We are confident that CII will complete negotiations with AMI to include New Zealand, the U.S., and the United Kingdom before the end of the current year,” he said.
   AMI, which has been in business for 25 years, is a division of the Menzies Group.