Supply chain

Canada intends to deepen its trade and investment relations with Ghana, according to John Baird, Canada’s foreign affairs minister.

Import volume at the U.S.’s major retail container ports is expected to rise 3.3 percent in May compared with the same month last year, but growth could slow to a standstill by the end of the summer...

Malusi Gigaba, South Africa’s public enterprises minister, has unveiled Transnet’s seven new ship-to-shore cranes at the Durban Container Terminal – Pier 2.

The recession might finally be over for the refrigerated warehouse industry. Operators in the U.S. and Canada expect revenue to grow more than 4 percent in 2013, according to a recent survey by the International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses.

DB Schenker Logistics in Finland has been selected by Oy Roberts Ab, a Finnish food production company, for the storage and distribution of its food products.

CEVA Logistics has opened the City of Pharma, a 20,000 square meter (about 215,278 square foot) hub in Stradella, Italy, for the warehousing and handling of products destined for health care distribution channels.

Gati Ltd. has sold a 40 percent stake in its shipping subsidiary, Gati Ship Pvt. Ltd., to a strategic partner for Rs. 8 crore (about $1.5 million).

India’s trade deficit in April totaled $177.87 billion, widening from a deficit of $140.41 billion in April 2012.

U.S. Maritime Administrator David Matsuda said Monday he is stepping down at the end of the month after three years at the post.

Agility today won a five-year contract with the Kuwait National Petroleum Co., worth an estimated $24.4 million.

Chicago continues to be one of the “hottest industrial leasing markets” in the country, according to Britt Casey, executive director of Cushman & Wakefield.

President Obama has designated the third Friday in May of each year as National Defense Transportation Day, and the week during which that Friday falls as National Transportation Week.

CaroTrans has expanded its network into the Baltic and Commonwealth of Independent States, including Russia.

Container carriers began the year with seemingly unshakeable resolve to increase rates on refrigerated cargoes, saying the prices were far below what carriers need to earn a return on their sizable investments. Now rates seem to be in a freefall.

Major Indian port-based logistics provider Gateway Distriparks reported its net profit fell 4 percent year-over-year in fiscal year 2012-13, which ended March 31, 2013, to $23.44 million on a consolidated basis, despite significant revenue growth.

Shippers worried about the potential loss of capacity when the new hours-of-service rules kick in will need to work more closely with truckload carriers to ensure they get the best possible fleet utilization.

President Obama’s recent tapping of Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx as Department of Transportation secretary sparked speculation on the political future of the young Democratic rising star and what the pick means for the administration’s high-speed rail agenda.

Gati reported its revenue in the third quarter of its fiscal year 2013, ending March 31, 2013, was 3.2 billion rupees (about US$57.8 million), improving 23 percent from $46.9 million in fiscal year 2012, ending March 31, 2012.

Logiventures has invested in eight acres of land, near the Magam Ruhunupura Mahinda Rajapaksa Port in Hambantota, Sri Lanka, to support its vehicle transit facility, which opened there in June 2012.

The global 3PL market remains fundamentally strong, even as revenue growth has slowed for most third-party logistics providers amid economic uncertainty. Driving the market are shippers who continue to turn to outsourced logistics services as they expand in developing markets.

NFI has announced five promotions and additions to its senior management team.

With Mother’s Day just a few days away, logistics companies are ramping up operations to prepare for extra holiday-related shipments...

DB Schenker Logistics will build a new €53 million (about US$68.7 million) terminal in Vantaa, Finland.

Food importers might want to brace themselves: They need to get ready to plow through thousands of pages of new regulations, help foreign suppliers prepare facilities and operations for new rules, make sure they aren’t legally responsible for mistakes made by foreign suppliers and perhaps open their wallets for steep user fees.

The Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry has scaled back its export target for fiscal year 2013-14 from an original estimate of $500 billion to $325 billion.

Major Japanese international freight forwarder Kintetsu World Express Inc. said on May 9 that its net profit declined 4.3 percent in fiscal 2012, which ended on March 31, from a year earlier to 9.134 billion yen ($92.26 million) on a consolidated basis.

After handwringing, a major lobbying effort and consternation on the Hill, Congress passed $55 million in new funds to allow U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors to stay on the job. And Southern California’s Port Hueneme got one of the rare budget reprieves that allowed the produce and auto port to continue normal operations.

The International Maritime Organization is seeking public input on administrative burdens that may result from compliance with IMO instruments.

Operators in the perishables sector of the global air cargo market are seeing gains while volume in other sectors has declined.

The Government Accountability Office said a flawed pilot test of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential biometric readers raises questions about TWIC’s “premise and effectiveness in enhancing security.”

The U.S. Senate is poised to pass the first Water Resources Development Act since 2007 — possibly as soon as this week — paving the way for faster permitting of projects and full use of the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund.

Canada is adopting “strict” environmental standards to reduce emissions from ships navigating in Canadian waters...

The U.S. has requested consultations with Bahrain under the labor chapter of the U.S.-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement...

Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo of Brazil has been recommended for the role of director-general of the World Trade Organization.

DHL Global Forwarding’s freight division has extended its route offerings between Asia and Europe for intermodal shipments.

Widening of the Panama Canal in 2015 will help South American economies increase their global exports, but the big ships that will transit the canal will create a demand for deeper harbors and improved infrastructure in the region, according to Moffatt and Nichol’s chief economist Walter Kemmsies.

Cold Train is expanding its express refrigerated intermodal service from Portland, Ore., to complement its existing expedited service out of Quincy, Wash.

C.H. Robinson reported its net income in the first quarter of 2013 was $103.3 million, falling 3.0 percent from $106.5 million in the first quarter of 2012.

In seasonally adjusted terms, Australia had a goods and services trade surplus of A$307 million (about US$312.5 million) in March, a turnaround of $425.5 million on the deficit in February...

Growth in Latin America and the Caribbean is set to pick up from 3 percent in 2012 to 3.5 percent in 2013...