Supply chain

The U.S. Senate today passed S. 601, the Water Resources Development Act of 2013, in an 83-14 majority vote, with three members abstaining. The bill now moves to the House.

Crane Worldwide Logistics has leased 150,000 square feet of industrial space in Houston from property owner Levey Group.

CenterPoint Properties has broken ground on an 87,975 square foot build-to-suit redevelopment in Elk Grove Village, Ill.

The U.S. Grains Council; National Corn Growers Association; MAIZAR, representing Argentina producers and the maize supply chain; and ABRAMILHO, the Brazilian Association of Corn Producers, have signed...

The Irish presidency of the European Union and European Parliament negotiators have informally agreed on specifications for a new generation of digital tachographs for trucks and buses to boost compliance with hours-of-service requirements.

In March, Germany exported €94.6 billion (about US$121.8 billion) worth of goods and imported $97.6 billion worth of goods.

Demand uncertainty, price volatility and shorter product cycles have focused corporate attention on transportation strategies like never before, according to a senior executive at C.H. Robinson Worldwide.

The European Commission is warning China that it is ready to begin antidumping investigations and subsequently levy sanctions against Chinese telecom equipment makers...

The U.S. Surface Transportation Board has approved final mediation and arbitration rules that establish a new arbitration program for shippers and railroads.

BMW has selected DB Schenker to operate a new spare parts warehouse on Japan’s main island of Honshu.

New regulations for the non-tank vessel response plans will be discussed at the 2013 National Maritime Salvage Conference, taking place from Sept. 9-12 at the Key Bridge Marriott Hotel in Arlington, Va.

Yusen Logistics’ Americas division will officially open its new 229,000 square foot warehouse in Chicago on May 20, 2013.

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.