Latest Transportation News and Press Release

Discover Opportunities in the Middle East Rail Sector

Fleming Gulf will organize the 3rd Annual Middle East Rail Opportunities conference - after two highly successful and well attended events - scheduled to take place on 8-9 May 2012, in Doha.

Ken Hall Joins CURE Leasing and Maintenance as Vice President of Maintenance and Call Center Operations

Hall joins CURE with more than 23 years experience in fleet maintenance management.

New Careers in Transportation Industry based on Technology Changing the Industry

According to Milton Collier TranZcenter, LLC changing the Transportation Industry with technology, the need for Transportation Management System (TMS)!

Milton Collier with TranZcenter introduces their NEW TranZJobs Employment Network program

Job seekers can get their FREE Employment Webpage! TranZJobs system is designed to expose their Job Openings to thousand of qualified candidates. TranZJobs is a directory of professionals and companies.

Sea-Tac Obtains International Award For On-Time Performance

Sea-Tac managing director Mark Reis says that the airport terminal spent million dollars to further improve its procedures and features to build extra efficiencies on the airport terminal, airfield, and also driveway operations.

Continental Transportation Services Secures New Warehouse Space

Continental Transportation Solutions (a CTL Global, Inc. company) announces the opening of a new warehouse in Bensenville, Illinois. This modern facility provides more than 3.1 million cubic feet of flexible production and storage space supporting various clients with the three business units of CTL Global. In addition to the space, CTL Global gains the ability...

Milton Collier a Retired Military Veteran receives the Transportation Industry Excellence Award.

President of Operation for TranZcenter, LLC Milton Collier truly understands the value of technology in the transportation industry. Developments in technology, such as transportation management system, satellite communication, and the internet, have contributed too many improvements within the industry.

SGS welcomes New Members in SGS CORREL Rail Team

SGS CORREL Rail welcomed four new members to its consulting team on January 9, 2012. Phil Taylor, Richard Bexon, Simon Lawson and Wendy Morgan will enhance the existing capability and support the continued growth of the SGS Global Competence Center for Rail.

COWs Mobile Storage Containers Now Available In Richmond County North Carolina

COWs - Container on Wheels® announces the opening of their 30th dealership. COWs will be partnering with Martin Mini Storage and Rentals to bring COWs mobile storage containers to Richmond County North Carolina and the surrounding areas.

Ring of Kerry and Liam O'Connor Show with Wild Kerry Daytours

This marvellous special offer combination has the best of both worlds to keep your interest and attention for the full day. The Liam O'Connor show begins at 8.30pm with doors opening at 8.00pm on the evenings outlined - allowing adequate time to recharge the batteries, refresh and have dinner after the Ring of Kerry tour.

Transportation Science current issue

Robust Airline Scheduling Under Block-Time Uncertainty

Airline schedule development continues to remain one of the most challenging planning activities for any airline. An airline schedule comprises a list of flights and specifies the origin, destination, scheduled departure, and arrival time of each flight in the airline's network. A critical component of the schedule development activity is the choice of flight block-times, which depend on several factors. Many airlines decide schedule block-times based on fixed percentiles of block-time distributions built from historical data, however, such techniques have not resulted in significantly improved on-time performance (OTP) of the schedule during operations. Thus, from a passenger's perspective, the service-level guarantee of an airline's network continues to be low. We first define two service-level metrics for an airline schedule. The first one is similar to the OTP measure of the U.S. Department of Transportation and we define it as the flight service level. The second metric, called the network service level, is geared toward completion of passenger itineraries. We then develop a stochastic integer programming formulation that optimally perturbs a given schedule to maximize expected profit, while ensuring the two service levels. We also develop a variant of this model that maximizes service levels, while achieving desired network profitability. To solve these models, we develop an efficient algorithm that guarantees optimality. Through extensive computational experiments, using real-world data, we demonstrate that our models and algorithms are efficient and achieve the desired trade-off between service level and profitability.

Designing Mechanisms for the Management of Carrier Alliances

When cargo carriers form an alliance, sharing network capacity in order to improve profitability, a key issue is how to provide incentive for carriers to make decisions that are optimal for the alliance as a whole. We propose a mechanism that allocates both alliance resources and profits by appropriately setting resource prices. Clearly, it is important to understand the impact of these prices on the behavior of an individual carrier. We analyze the performance of our mechanism using a modeling approach that makes use of realistic control parameters, investigating theoretical and practical properties of profit allocations obtained. Experimental results confirm that our proposed mechanism is robust with respect to variability in alliance composition and cargo demand, yielding solutions that retain a high proportion of optimal profit and achieve a stable distribution of revenue across members of the alliance. We also study an alternative modeling approach in which we assume that each carrier can make load selection decisions for other carriers. We find that changing assumptions about the degree of carrier control can significantly impact the feasibility of routing decisions made by individual carriers when operating under our mechanism, as well as the properties of the profit allocations.

An Integrated Model for Berth Template and Yard Template Planning in Transshipment Hubs

This paper studies two tactical level decision problems arising in transshipment hubs: berth template planning that is concerned with allocating berths and quay cranes to arriving vessels, and yard template planning that is concerned with assigning yard storage locations to vessels. These two tactical level decisions interact with each other. A mixed-integer programming model is proposed to integrate the berth template and the yard template planning with the aim to minimize the service cost that is incurred by the deviation from vessels' expected turnaround time intervals, and the operation cost that is related to the route length of transshipment container flows in yard. Moreover, a heuristic algorithm is developed for solving the problem in large-scale realistic environments. Numerical experiments are conducted to prove the necessity of the proposed model and also validate the efficiency of the proposed heuristic algorithm. For a set of real-world like instances, the heuristic algorithm can obtain good berth and yard templates within a reasonable time.

Strategic Design and Analysis of a Relay Network in Truckload Transportation

The truckload industry faces a serious and chronic problem of high driver turnover rate—typically more than 100%—with staggering associated costs. Among the major causes of this problem are extended on-the-road times where drivers handle several truckload pickup and deliveries successively; nonregular schedules and get-home rates; and low utilization, i.e., less mileage/unit-time per driver, which leads to low pay.

We consider the strategic design of a relay network that may potentially help to alleviate this problem by providing an efficient underlying network that facilitates an assignment of drivers to home bases (domiciles to which they stay close) and generation of more predictable schedules with continuity and higher get-home rates. In relay network design, we are interested in determining a number of relay point locations, assigning network nodes to these relay points (i.e., defining domiciles), and determining the actual route (from the origin to the destination) for each truckload on the network. In doing so, we explicitly consider driver tour lengths, load imbalance at relay points, and the percentage circuity constraints.

We develop an efficient Benders' decomposition-based algorithm that is significantly enhanced via strengthened Benders' cuts, cut disaggregation schemes, heuristics for improved upper bounds, and surrogate constraints. Our approach provides the ability to solve large size instances within reasonable solution times and very small optimality gaps. We also examine the effects of changes in the problem parameters on the performance of solution algorithms. Furthermore, in our computational experiments, we provide an analysis of the conditions for which relay network presents most benefits as well as incorporation of direct shipments within relay network operations.

Fleet Management for Vehicle Sharing Operations

Astochastic, mixed-integer program (MIP) involving joint chance constraints is developed that generates least-cost vehicle redistribution plans for shared-vehicle systems such that a proportion of all near-term demand scenarios are met. The model aims to correct short-term demand asymmetry in shared-vehicle systems, where flow from one station to another is seldom equal to the flow in the opposing direction. The model accounts for demand stochasticity and generates partial redistribution plans in circumstances when demand outstrips supply. This stochastic MIP has a nonconvex feasible region. A novel divide-and-conquer algorithm for generating p-efficient points, used to transform the problem into a set of disjunctive, convex MIPs and handle dual-bounded chance constraints, is proposed. Assuming independence of random demand across stations, a faster cone-generation method is also presented. In a real-world application for a system in Singapore, the potential of redistribution as a fleet management strategy and the value of accounting for inherent stochasticities are demonstrated.

Bayesian Demand Calibration for Dynamic Traffic Simulations

We present an operational framework for the calibration of demand models for dynamic traffic simulations, where calibration refers to the estimation of a structurally predefined model's parameters from real data. Our focus is on disaggregate simulators that represent every traveler individually. We calibrate, also at an individual level, arbitrary choice dimensions within a Bayesian framework, where the analyst's prior knowledge is represented by the dynamic traffic simulator itself and the measurements are comprised of time-dependent traffic counts. The approach is equally applicable to an equilibrium-based planning model and to a telematics model of spontaneous and imperfectly informed drivers. It is based on consistent mathematical arguments, yet it is applicable in a purely simulation-based environment and, as our experimental results show, is capable of handling large scenarios.

Call for Papers--Special Issue of Transportation Science: Energy and Transportation: Meeting the Challenge: Submission Deadline: January 13, 2012

No abstract available.

Volume 45--2011 Author Index

No abstract available.

Volume 45--2011 Subject Index

No abstract available.

Manufacturing & Logistics IT Magazine

Webinar – How to Penetrate the European Automotive Fleet Telematics Market

Telematics Update has announced that registration is now open for the free Webinar: 'How to Penetrate the European Automotive Fleet Telematics'.

Apex Plant selects Tracker Telematics

The latest figures from NFU Mutual confirm that plant theft has reached an all time high, increasing pressure on businesses operating plant fleets.

Descartes acquires GeoMicro

Descartes Systems Group, the logistics technology provider, has acquired GeoMicro, Inc., a California-based provider of advanced geographic information systems (GIS) and commercial turn-by-turn navigation.

Single-platform fleet management system hits 175,000 vehicle milestone

TomTom has hit another milestone by providing its fleet management system to 15,000 customers who actively manage more than 175,000 vehicles.

New system for processing the freight bookings launched

A new online booking processing system, Freibos.com – dealing with the price quotes, freight bookings and transport invoices – is now available.

FTX Logistics gains greater employee engagement with Boson web app

Heavy equipment transporter, FTX Logistics, recently launched a web-based timesheet management system as part of their new staff intranet developed by Bradford on Avon based Boson Media Ltd.

Skillweb introduces tracking enhancement for returns

Skillweb has extended its end-to-end parcel tracking system to enable couriers and parcel delivery drivers to handle ad hoc returns on behalf of online and catalogue retail customers.

Yodel clients streamline processes with NetDespatch shipping application

NetDespatch is helping Yodel, the UK parcel delivery company, to offer advanced on-line shipping solutions to its clients.

Isotrak's green soldiers stay fit while keeping the planet green

Isotrak is now offering the Bike 2 Work scheme to its employees as part of the Government's Green Transport Plan.

Quartix telematics is clear choice for Lancashire windows company

Affordable Windows and Conservatory Group has equipped its 18-vehicle fleet with Quartix telematics: now any member of staff can locate any vehicle round the clock.

Maritime News - Maritime & Shipbuilding News

Craig Group Invests $79m in New Vessels

North Star Shipping, a division of the family-owned global shipping and energy services firm The Craig Group, has been awarded a major new contract with Talisman Energy (UK) Ltd.

IMO Head Defends Ship Size, Regs

According to the head of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the world’s largest ships are well regulated and safe, Bloomberg news agency reported following an interview.

Alnmaritec Delivers Logistics Supply Vessel

Logistics Supply Vessel 'Montarik' was delivered at the end of 2011 to the ship service company Gibunco for operations in Gibraltar harbour. At 18m x 6m she is

HII Awarded Navy Funding

Huntington Ingalls, Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., is being awarded a $9,000,000 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-10-C-2229) for additional long lead

This Day in Navy History - February 6

1778 - Treaties of commerce and alliance are signed with France. This turns the American Revolutionary War into an international conflict. 1862 - A Union gunboat

Ship Pollution Control: MOL Demos Diesel Particulate Filter

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. has started a demonstration test of the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) system installed on the diesel engine used for power generation

First Ever Dual Drydocking of Aegis Destroyers

BAE Systems Ship Repair in Norfolk, VA., has performed the first ever tandem [or dual] drydocking of two U.S. Navy Aegis Guided Missile Destroyers. Both of the massive ships now rest back to back,

Ocean Rig: Three Year Drilling Contract

Ocean Rig UDW Inc. (NASDAQ:ORIG) signed a new drilling contract for its semisubmersible drilling rig “Leiv Eiriksson” with a consortium coordinated

Iran Sanction Proposal Targets Oil Companies, Tanker Fleet

A U.S. proposal to sanction Iran’s state-owned oil company and its main tanker fleet may ensnare any person or business in the world involved in purchasing or shipping Iranian oil,

Purfresh Names Westcott President and CEO

Proven executive to build upon Company’s leadership position and growth.   Purfresh, Inc., a provider of ocean transport and supply chain management

The Triton News

From the Bridge: You're fired. Why and how yacht captains fire crew

Drug use, fist fights and insubordination will get a crew member quickly fired from a megayacht. But so can an accumulation of small infractions or an owner's whim, said captains at this month's Triton From the Bridge luncheon."If it's major, there is no question," a captain said of the reasons crew are fired. "If it's minor, that's when it's more difficult."As always, individual comments are not attributed to any one person in particular so as to encourage frank and open discussion. The attending captains are identified in the photograph above. read more

Derecktor hires Morrison

Derecktor Shipyards in Dania Beach has hired Doug Morrison as sales development and client relations manager. Morrison was most recently with Drum Cussac, a maritime security company. Before that, he spent seven years with Med-Aire, the tele-medical service provider.Morrison will be based in Florida. He fills the position vacated in October when Patty Lengel left to join MTN Satellite Communications. Thumbnail Image:  A14-BIZ-morrison.jpg

More than 60 turn out for USSA briefing

More than 60 yacht captains and senior crew attended the U.S. Superyacht Association's 7th annual Captains Briefing in St. Maarten last month, attending several informational sessions and networking events.Julie Liberatore of Maritime Professional Training and Michael French of International Yacht Training spoke on the changes to STCW and the implications of license requirements that took effect on Jan. 1. read more

Stanford's CFO testifies about slush fund

The chief financial officer of Texas businessman Allen Stanford’s Stanford International Bank in Antigua testified that Stanford kept a slush fund to pay for maintenance to his 100-foot yacht and fleet of jets and as bribes for an Antigua regulatory official, according to a story by Reuters news service.read more

Lessons learned: Titanic, no, but a night to remember nonetheless

Before I begin, let me first say that in spite of the odds against it, I suffered only a few bruises, some sore muscles and a fractured ego.On a Friday night in early September, I nearly died in a boating accident. read more

Overtemp expands

Overtemp Marine Dockside Heat Exchanger Cleaning has expanded to Palma de Mallorca to service its European clientele. The company also has offices in South Florida, Newport, and Sag Harbor.Overtemp Marine will also offer heat exchanger service on Dockwise Yacht Transport.read more

SYBA merges with AIMEX

Superyacht Australia, the representative body for the Australian Superyacht sector, has merged with the Australian International Marine Export group.AIMEX will set up a superyacht division and will appoint a committee of superyacht industry representatives to drive the issues affecting this sector.“AIMEX has been managing Superyacht Australia for 18 months, so it is a logical step now to move to a position of working as one entity,” said Alistair Murray, president of AIMEX.read more

Bristol Marine buys Somerset marina

Bristol Marine in Rhode Island has bought J&J Marine of Somerset, Mass., according to a story on eastbayri.com.The Somerset facility enables Bristol Marine to handle larger vessels, up to 90 feet. It has been renamed Bristol Marine.At the new marina, “we’re able to haul boats up to 85 tons and 90 feet, and provide in-water service for boats over 100 feet with 20-foot draft, which puts us into the large yacht service market,” Andrew Tyska, founder and president of Bristol Marine, told the East Bay RI publication. read more

Long-time captain of M/Y Seaquest dies unexpectedly

Capt. Greg Cunningham died unexpectedly Jan. 17 at his home in Ocean Ridge, Fla. He was 64.Capt. Cunningham was skipper on the M/Y Seaquest program for 18 years where he ran, designed, built, and managed the owners’ fleet, starting with a 65-foot Hatteras, moving up to an 82-foot Hatteras convertible, and then to a 90-foot custom Hatteras. His last command was a 112-foot Westport. read more

Sharks in the New River: They aren’t rare, but ‘it’s sure an eye-opener’

Each year, DJ Sexton gives his key employees the day off and sends them fishing in Ft. Lauderdale. On this year’s trip up the New River in January, a good run of landing jack ended when a six-foot bull shark helped himself.“We were up past Cable [Marine], almost to 441,” said Jeff Maggio, charter captain with Lunkerdog Charters. “We were fishing a big school of jack. We’d caught a half dozen already. He could feel the jack getting reeled in and came and got one.” Thumbnail Image:  A6-BULL04.jpg read more

NTSB Marine News

Update on Investigation into Carnival Splendor Cruise Ship Engine Room Fire

The investigation of the fire that occurred in an engine room of the Carnival Splendor on November 8 is being investigated by Panama, the country under which the vessel was flagged.

Update on Investigation into Carnival Splendor Cruise Ship Engine Room Fire

The investigation of the fire that occurred in an engine room of the Carnival Splendor on November 8 is being investigated by Panama, the country under which the vessel was flagged.

NTSB Releases Preliminary Report On Its Investigation Of Tour Boat Collision In Philadelphia

In its continuing investigation of a collision involving a barge and an amphibious passenger vessel, the National Transportation Safety Board has released a preliminary report as an update on the status of the investigation.

(SB-10-32) NTSB To Hold Fishing Vessel Safety Forum In October

Washington, DC - The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a forum on fishing vessel safety beginning Wednesday, October 13, 2010 at 9:00 am. The two-day forum will be chaired by NTSB Board Member Robert Sumwalt.

(SB-10-30) NTSB Issues Recommendations To Coast Guard On The Use Of Cell Phones And Wireless Devices While Operating Vessels

Washington, DC - The National Transportation Safety Board today issued two recommendations to the U.S. Coast Guard regarding the use of cell phones and similar wireless devices aboard vessels.

NTSB Launching Team to Investigate Pipeline Accident that Spilled Crude Oil Into River in Michigan

The National Transportation Safety Board has launched a go-team to investigate yesterday's pipeline accident and resulting oil spill in Marshall, Michigan.

NTSB Issues Update On Its Investigation Of Tour Boat Collision In Philadelphia

In its continuing investigation of a collision involving a barge and an amphibious passenger vessel, the National Transportation Safety Board has developed the following factual information:

NTSB Launches Team To Investigate Tour Boat Collision In Philadelphia; Press Briefing Tonight

The National Transportation Safety Board has launched a Go Team to investigate a collision involving a tour boat and a barge early this afternoon. Local officials have reported that 2 passengers are missing in the accident.

Update On NTSB's Investigation Of The May 8 Staten Island Ferry Accident

On Saturday, May 8, 2010, the National Transportation Safety Board launched a team to the New York City Borough of Staten Island to investigate an accident involving a Staten Island ferry. The passenger ferry, Andrew J. Barberi, departed Whitehall Ferry Terminal in lower Manhattan for its regularly scheduled voyage to St. George's Ferry Terminal, Staten Island. At approximately, 9:19 a.m. (EDT), the vessel struck the boarding apron and transition bridge on slip No. 5 of the pier on Staten Island. At the time of the accident, there were 18 crewmembers, 2 New York City police officers, 2 concessionaires and 244 passengers on the ferry. Forty-eight persons reported minor injuries. The NTSB's on- scene investigation was completed on Saturday, May 15. Below is an update on the Safety Board's ongoing investigation.

NTSB Launches Team To Investigate Staten Island Ferry Accident

The National Transportation Safety Board has launched a go-team to today's marine accident in Staten Island, New York. At approximately 9:22 a.m., the Staten Island Ferry Andrew Barberi collided into the St. George terminal pier.

Latest Maritime News and Press Release

Moxie Media Named Sole Provider of Online OSHA Maritime Training

New Orleans-based Moxie Media, Inc. has been named the nation's first and only authorized provider of online OSHA Outreach Training for the maritime industry by the United States Department of Labor and OSHA.

New Online Resource Explores The Ins and Outs Of RMS Titanic

It's only a few months away from the centenery of the sinking of RMS Titanic. Ben Johnson has launched his new web property onto the market to act as his own medium for his lifelong interest.

Leading Emissions Reduction in Global Shipping

Offshore Support Vessels (OSVs) are facing a key challenge - being operationally efficient in the face of rising demand and tighter energy efficiency regulations.

Weems and Plath Promotes Patricia Darnell to East Coast Sales Manager

Weems and Plath Promotes from Within - Darnell Responsible for Company's Largest Territory.

John Rosatti Takes a Break from His Many Businesses Attended the 52nd Annual Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show

Plaza Auto Group was voted by Wards Automotive as a 'Top 100' dealership. John Rosatti and his two super yachts, Nice N' Easy and Remember When, have been featured in a variety of yachting magazines.

Logistics Today Most Recent

Double-Stacked Train Project Wins $98M Grant

Work will soon begin on the National Gateway project that will allow double-stacked trains to move freely from northwest Ohio through Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland

Judge Dismisses ABF's Suit Against Teamsters and YRC

A federal judge has dismissed ABF's suit alleging the Teamsters made unfair concessions to YRC

Most Companies Are Seeing Benefits from Sustainability Strategies

Survey reveals that companies are enjoying reduced costs, more efficiency and new market opportunities from sustainability efforts, despite an overall lack of good information

Weber Distribution Changes Name to Weber Logistics

Weber, a national 3PL, will continue to offer the same menu of supply chain services to its customers

Deutsche Bahn and China Team Up on Rail Freight Projects

Deutsche Bahn and the Chinese Ministry of Railways plan to cooperate more closely in rail freight transport and in expanding the Chinese rail infrastructure

UPS Arranges $23M Loan for Airport Baggage Handling Systems

UPS Arranges $23M Loan for Airport Baggage Handling Systems

Ryder Acquires The Scully Companies

Ryder's acquisition includes Scully's fleet management and dedicated contract carriage services.

Supply Chain Council Releases SCOR Model 10.0

SCOR model 10.0 introduces people skills requirements to help organizations build supply chain competency and career paths.

Saddle Creek Acquires ProLog Logistics

3PL Saddle Creek has acquired ProLog Logistics, a warehousing and fulfillment company.

Retail Container Traffic Improved 17% in 2010

Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to be up 9% in December over the same month last year, and 2010 should end with a 17% increase over last year.