GATX Corp. had 2012 fourth quarter net income of $29.7 million, compared to$31.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. Net income for the full-year 2012 was $137.3 million, vs. $110.8 million in the prior year, it said. Rail International segment profit was $10.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2012, vs. $6.7 million in 2011. American Steamship Co.'s segment profit was $8.2 million in the fourth quarter 2012 compared to $9.4 million in 2011.
International logistics firm Dachser acquired the Spanish air and sea freight forwarder Transunion S. A., subject to approval by the antitrust authorities, it said. Transunion, with a staff of 235, has nine offices in Spain and represented in Turkey, Argentina, Peru and Mexico. The acquisition is part of Dachser's Global 2.0 strategic growth program, it said.
ABF Global Supply Chain Services said it's now providing a single contact for full-container-load (FCL) and expedited less-than-container-load (LCL) supply chain solutions to Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Peru and Uruguay. "South America is a natural extension of our global coverage," said Carlos Martinez-Tomatis, ABF GSCS division vice president. ABF Global already reaches nearly 90 percent of the total ocean international market to and from the U.S., he said, and "our goal is to reach 96 percent of the total import/export market, which we anticipate achieving before the end of 2013."
The Mariner Group will provide its CommandBridge situation management and security system to Port Everglades, Fla., it said. "Our CommandBridge security integration platform provides overall security situation awareness to significantly enhance incident management," said Mariner CEO Steve Dryden.
Livingston International bought New Orleans-based MBLX, Inc. and MBLX Resources, LLC, said CEO Peter Luit. MBLX provides full barge load and less-than-barge load services, primarily on the Mississippi. Luit said the acquisition gives Livingston additional freight forwarding expertise and a new service offering.
Zepol said U.S. vessel imports rose 1.2% in 2012, to more than 17.6 million TEUs (twenty-foot-containers) imported, about 200,000 more containers than 2011. It said "slow and steady growth seems to be the consistent pattern for the year," but import volume still has not returned to 2007 or 2008 levels.
Oracle announced new releases of its Transportation Management and Global Trade Management tools. The releases include new capabilities such as enhanced fleet management; transportation sourcing, business intelligence and planning; freight payment, billing and claims; and document and customs management. The releases will help customers boost business growth and market expansion by cutting transportation costs, increasing operational efficiency, improving customer service, decreasing supply chain lead times and mitigating supply chain/trade compliance risks, Oracle said. The latest releases combine “new capabilities such as specialized mobile applications with enhancements to the industry's most comprehensive transportation and global trade management platforms,” said Oracle Vice President-Logistics Product Strategy Derek Gittoes.
East Coast Diversified Corp. said its EarthSearch Communications International subsidiary launched a new proprietary RFID/GPS software platform designed for customs agencies and revenue authorities. Its new Customs Agencies and Revenue Authority Software (CARAS) tool is based on EarthSearch's successful Global Asset Tracking & Identification System (GATIS) and is fully customizable, it said. It also offers internal security features to manage access and activities related to monitored cargo, said ECDC CEO Kayode Aladesuyi. ECDC Business Development and Marketing Director Andrej Jeremic said "CARAS is the solution ... to quickly and effectively facilitate electronic cargo tracking." Features include the ability to create specific routes for cargo traveling between borders, electronic fence around routes traveled by monitored cargo, Start and End Journey processes for cargo movement validation, customized agent access and activity reports, and implement electronic seals and hardware for rail, wet cargo and containers, it said.
California-based China Armco Metals said its subsidiary Armco (Lianyungang) Renewable Metals obtained the qualification from Chinese regulators to import and process scrap metals, including waste metal appliances, scrap wires/cables and waste electric motors, from overseas to China directly. The qualification was approved and authorized by China's Ministry of Environmental Protection. It said it believes obtaining the qualification is a big milestone in its recycling business development because it will significantly improve its global sourcing capability and cost control by removing import agents and directly working with global suppliers.
Trimble said it bought privately-held ALK Technologies of Princeton, N.J., which offers proprietary routing and international map-based solutions for transportation, logistics and mobile workforces. The addition of ALK is expected to extend and complement Trimble's Transportation and Logistics product portfolio, including TMW Systems' transportation management solutions, PeopleNet's integrated onboard computing and mobile communications systems and GEOTrac's fleet management and worker safety solutions for the oil and gas industry, it said. ALK software includes CoPilot Live, which offers onboard GPS navigation for professional drivers; and PC*MILER for logistics, manufacturing, government and transportation operations.