East Coast : Logistics & Intermediaries

Industry groups praised the U.S. Senate for its passage Wednesday of the U.S. Manufacturing Enhancement Act of 2010, also known as the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (H.R. 4380), clearing the way for President Obama to sign it into law. “We are extremely pleased that the bill passed through both houses of Congress to help provide relief to U.S. companies that import foreign products not otherw...

The American Soybean Association released a list of key steps for how the Obama administration might meet its goal to double U.S. exports in five years. "Soybeans and soybean products are the most important U.S. export commodity, with export sales exceeding $21 billion last year," said ASA President Rob Joslin, a soybean farmer from Sidney, Ohio, in a statement. "This represented over 50 ...

Semiconductor maker Texas Instruments is the type of company that exemplifies the Obama administration’s effort to encourage U.S. companies to pursue opportunities in overseas markets as it seeks ways to boost the economy and create jobs. Rich Templeton, chairman and chief executive officer of the Dallas-based chip manufacturer, said in a speech to the Dallas Regional Chamber on Tuesday t...

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. said it had second quarter net profit of $97.2 million, 5.4 percent more than in the same 2009 period. The Minneapolis-based non-asset-based third-party logistics company said revenue for the period ending June 30 was $2.45 billion, up 27 percent from the same 2009 period. Transportation net revenue was $310 million, up 1.2 percent. ...

Cornerstone Solutions, a supply chain management-consulting firm, said it will relocate its headquarters to the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center in Fort Wayne, Ind., effective Aug. 1. “The move to the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center will allow us to continue to grow and provide our clients better service,” said Chris Werling, president of the firm. ...

CargoWise, a technology supplier to logistics service providers, has appointed Todd DeRosa as global marketing manager. Based in Sydney, Australia, DeRosa will be responsible for all global marketing strategies, partner relationships, and will work internally with CargoWise staff to develop new products. DeRosa has more than 15 years of global sales and marketing experience. He has wo...

World trade by all modes of transportation -- sea, air and land -- are forecast to grow 8.1 percent in 2010 and 6.9 percent in 2011, following a 7.2 percent decline in 2009, according to the latest forecast from IHS Global Insight's World Trade Service. Containerized trade volumes at the global level are forecast to reach nearly 10 percent, with a slightly stronger recovery -- 10.6 percen...

Export promotion has become a full-time preoccupation of federal agencies under President Obama’s export initiative instead of the part-time focus it garnered in the past, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said. Exports during the first quarter of the year rose 17 percent from the same period last year, helped in part by Commerce Department efforts to facilitate credit, connect U.S. companies...

Evans Distribution Systems, a logistics services provider, has expanded with new operations in Kenosha, Wis., and Twinsburg and Toledo, Ohio. The company will provide switching and yard management services for an automotive shipper at several Midwest assembly plants. To support this new business, Evans hired 16 employees who will serve as drivers and managers. Evans’ transportation di...

Transplace, a provider of transportation management services and logistics technology, has appointed Chris Lange and Bill Vitti as vice presidents of sales. Lange joins Transplace with more than 20 years of industry experience. He was global managing partner for the Supply Chain Practice in the Resources Operating Group at Accenture. Lange was also managing partner of Consulting Services ...

The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia has filed a motion to dismiss a fraud case against Agility Logistics, potentially ending one aspect of a three-year ordeal for the Kuwait based company that cost it a significant amount of government business. A case worker at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia confirmed a motion was filed Monday to dismiss...

Sher Sher & Blackwell, a Washington-based international transportation and government affairs law firm, is merging with Cozen O’Connor on Sept. 1. Sher & Blackwell partners Mark Atwood, Marc Fink, Jeffrey Lawrence, Anne Mickey, Stanley Sher and David Smith, along with nine other lawyers and government relations professionals, will join Cozen O’Connor in its Washington D.C., office. One o...

Scott Sandra Scott, a cross-border trade expert, has joined third-party logistics provider SEKO Worldwide as senior director of compliance. Scott will be in charge of global import and export compliance for the Itasca, Ill.-based company’s 100 offices around the world. Other areas of responsibility include supply chain security, regulatory strategy, and customer education. Scott work...

The Georgia Institute of Technology is planning to launch a new logistics research center in Panama in September, the business journal Global Atlanta reported this week. The center’s aim is to help the country become a trade hub for the Americas, as a new, wider set of locks through the Panama Canal promises to increase the nation’s importance in terms of regional container trade. T...

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission has received 20 license applications and changes for review. The FMC has received non-vessel-operating common carrier license applications from CJC Logistics, Wayne, N.J. (Oliver Rosca, president); Mega Shipping, El Monte, Calif. (Yuwei Chen, chief executive officer); Oliveira Marine Shipping, New Bedford, Mass. (Arnaldo S. Oliveira, president); and ...

What's true for rail is true for the road, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit has determined. Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, reversed the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and found in the case of Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. (“K” Line), et al. v. Regal-Beloit Corp., that a dispute over an intermodal shipment damaged in a railroad derailment. The shipment origi...

The American Apparel & Footwear Association on Monday offered a 10-point plan to help achieve President Barack Obama's commitment to double U.S. exports by 2015, the so-called National Export Initiative. The association submitted comments in response to a call from the U.S. Department of Commerce to make NEI a reality. "Opening new markets to the free flow of goods and improving cur...

Intelligent Global Pooling Systems, an all-plastic pallet pool operator, is nearing completion of a new research and development center in Bentonville, Ark. In addition, the company has completed construction of its new Global Customer Support and Logistics Center in Orlando, Fla., consolidating all of its customer service and logistics personnel at the new facility. “Our business has...

National Retail Systems said last week it has joined CargoNet, a clearinghouse for cargo theft reports and recovery efforts launched this year by Verisk Analytics’ subsidiary Insurance Services Office. NRS joins 10 insurance companies as charter members of the national information-sharing network. Last month, third-party logistics provider OHL joined CargoNet as a regular member. LG Ele...

Dennis McDonough, vice president of client solutions at Santa Fe Springs, Calif.-based Weber Distribution, has been elected president of the Distribution Management Association. DMA encourages growth of its members by facilitating opportunities to exchange ideas, discuss industry related problems, and keep abreast of government legislation. McDonough joined Weber last year with more t...

Jaguar Freight Services Ltd., a Valley Stream, N.Y.-based freight forwarder, has appointed Karen Gaines as chief financial officer. Gaines’ responsibilities will include oversight for all Jaguar Freight’s financial and human resource functions, including accounting, tax and treasury, the company said. Jaguar Freight has offices in London, New York, Philadelphia, Paris and Hong Kong, ...

Legislation aimed at stifling the import of certain minerals from war-torn Congo has electronic shippers looking more closely at their products’ components. The Conflict Minerals Trade Act (H.R. 4128) was signed into law by President Obama last week as a provision to wider financial regulation legislation. The bill was introduced by Reps. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., and Frank Wolf, R-Va., ...

The U.S. Export-Import Bank has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Turkey’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources to cooperate on financing U.S. exports to the Turkish market. Under the MOU, Ex-Im Bank and the ministry agreed to share information on trade and business opportunities to facilitate sales of U.S. goods and services offering environmental benefits to Turkey'...

The U.S. Export-Import Bank has opened in Iraq to help finance short- and medium-term sales of U.S. exports to Iraqi buyers in the public and private sectors. "Iraq's economy is growing, offering specific opportunities for U.S. exporters in a variety of industries,” said Bijan R. Kian, a bank board member, in a statement. “Ex-Im Bank can help by reducing the repayment risk, especially ...

Logistics company Geodis said it had revenue of 3.1 billion euro ($4 billion) in the first half of 2010, 37 percent more than in the same 2009 period. Part of the French transportation company SNCF, Geodis said higher revenue was driven by organic growth and acquisitions including its purchase of IBM Global Logistics. ...

Phoenix International Freight Services has opened offices in Papeete, Tahiti and Milan, Italy. The Wood Dale, Ill.-based logistics services provider said Tahitian companies already import from markets where Phoenix has strong coverage, such as the United States, Asia and France, so it made “good sense” for it to establish an office in Tahiti. The Milan office was established via ...