UPS expanded its direct less-than-container load (LCL) ocean lanes in 2012 with over 300 additional lanes in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South America, it said. With more than 1,700 direct LCL lanes servicing 116 countries, UPS continues to broaden its ocean freight offering to meet burgeoning market demands, it said. The LCL services give customers access to more reliable and predictable ocean freight service in more markets, said Andy Huckbody, vice president of ocean freight services. The company also added direct LCL service from countries that importers are turning to for lower labor costs such as Vietnam. New direct LCL offerings also include 12 inbound and outbound lanes to Busan, South Korea, to meet demand arising from the U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement. The 300+ new lanes include 139 outbound lanes in Asia, and 81 outbound lanes in the Europe/Middle East/Africa region. UPS plans to add more lanes throughout 2013, Huckbody said.
Baltimore-based customs broker and international freight forwarder Samuel Shapiro & Company launched a Humanitarian Services Program recently to assist international relief organizations with logistical needs. Delivery of donated goods in places with weak infrastructure often results in logistical issues, and in such cases Shapiro will use its “industry connections to secure low-cost services with partnering agents, steamship lines, and truckers,” it said. Its first project involved shipment of donated insulation panels to Word of Life Fellowship’s dining hall in Honduras.
Descartes Systems Group is extending its cloud-based Air Messaging services across all Descartes OneView customers, it said. “Through this service, forwarders and brokers can enhance air cargo management capabilities by seamlessly connecting and exchanging shipment data and documents with air carriers,” the company said in a press release. OneView customers will be able to exchange air waybills, house bills, and status messages electronically with more than 90 global air carriers, Descartes said.
A revised version of the Voluntary Guide to Good Business Relations, done jointly by the National Industrial Transportation League and the Truckload Carriers Association, is now available, they said. The guide outlines mutually desirable business practices for shippers, receivers, carriers and drivers, they said. The revision updates the original version created in 2000, NITL said.
Farrow Group announced its acquisition of Kitchener, Canada-based customs broker W.Pickett & Bros. Feb. 4. The operations and staff of Pickett will be rolled into the infrastructure of Russell A. Farrow Limited. Farrow Group is the largest privately owned customs broker in Canada, and has offices in the northern U.S. and Los Angeles.
C.H. Robinson had a net profit of $296.4 million in the quarter ended Dec. 31, up from $109.2 million in the year ago quarter, it said Feb. 5. Revenue grew to $2.97 billion for the quarter, from $2.57 billion a year ago, it said. Ocean transportation net revenue increased 98 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012, mainly due to the impact of two months of Phoenix International Freight Services operations, following the acquisition. Excluding that, ocean transportation net revenue increased about 3 percent, it said. Air transportation net revenue increased 81 percent in the quarter, also mainly due to Phoenix. Excluding that, air transportation net revenue increased 19 percent, it said.
Wood pellet exports from the U.S. south and British Columbia reached a new record of 860,000 tons in the third quarter of 2012, said the North American Wood Fiber Review. Shipments in the quarter were more than 70 percent higher than the same quarter in 2011, it said (here). Pellet exports from the U.S. quadrupled in the past two years to 485,000 tons, and Canadian exports have also gone up the past few years, but at a slower pace, it said.
Three new resources to help U.S. apparel and footwear companies navigate social responsibility reporting requirements and other important social responsibility concerns within the global apparel and footwear industry supply chain were released by the American Apparel & Footwear Association. AAFA President Kevin Burke said "the mounting reporting requirements and disclosure mandates are proving difficult to manage.
United Parcel Service officially announced the withdrawal of its offer for TNT Express, as expected (see ITT's Online Archives 13011413). The European Commission issued its formal decision prohibiting the proposed acquisition of TNT Express, so one condition of the deal can't be fulfilled, it said. UPS and TNT Express entered a separate agreement to terminate the Merger Protocol, it said. UPS said it's disappointed with the EC’s decision, but "the company’s focus is on the continued execution of its growth strategy."
Netwin Solutions announced its GTKonnect FTZ (Foreign Trade Zone) software, which it said automates and simplifies complex zone-related data management, deadlines and reporting through reconciliation with inventory Bill of Materials (BoM), exception reporting, and integration with other software systems and partner organizations to reduce data entry. Netwin said its FTZ software provides end-to-end management of zone requirements with zone admission (or e-214 filing) to notify CBP of merchandise entering the zone via automated broker interface (ABI) link, QP/WP reporting for goods that arrive in one location and are being shipped to the zone or exported out of the zone, complete inventory management and visibility to process all zone related inventory transactions, 06 and 08 entry filing, and end-of-year reporting. Mitsubishi Motors North America has been a user of the software since December, Netwin said, using it to automate more than 250,000 zone transactions per day.