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The Port of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, has become the first Middle East seaport to join the global Container Security Initiative (CSI). The initiative is aimed at protecting global trade lanes from being exploited by terrorists. Under the program, a team from US  Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will work with Dubai port officials to identify high-risk cargo containers destined for the US and prescreen them before loading them onto ships. There are currently 35 CSI ports in 18 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The World Customs Organization, the European Union and the Group of Eight (G8) most industrialized nations have all called for further implementation of CSI security measures in ports around the world…

Overnite Transportation Company, the Richmond, Virginia-headquartered less-than-truckload carriers, has reduced transit times to three days between Southern California and the Southeast. The new, cross-country transit improvements will bring Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee under the carrier's three-day umbrella covering locations from Fresno to San Diego in California, the company said. Overnite serves Southern California through a network of seven centers located in Fresno, Bakersfield, Simi Valley, Los Angeles, Fontana, Orange County and San Diego. The five southeastern states affected by the reduced cross-country transit times are home to 35 Overnite service centers. The company currently has routes linking all 50 US states and providing customers with direct access to more than 45,000 cities in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands, and Mexico…

The Union Pacific Railroad - one of the two major rail carriers serving California - is spending $1.3 billion this year on track improvements across its 33,000-mile system. During 2005, the company said, its crews are removing and installing 4.4 million ties, of which 3.7 million are wood, 355,000 concrete, and 215,000 composite; spreading 6.8 million tons of rock ballast to ensure a stable roadbed; replacing 1,055 miles of rail; and surfacing 7,800 miles. Athe UP also said it will also spend an additional $295 million to increase capacity on its Sunset Route in Ariz. and in the North Platte, Neb. area. The spending also includes construction of eight new sidetracks -- two each in Texas and Utah and one each in California, Oklahoma, Iowa, and Arizona.  Okla., Calif., Iowa, and Ariz. Plans also call for outlays of up to $220 million this year on commercial facilities including support tracks for the new Toyota assembly plant in San Antonio, Texas; intermodal yards in Wilner, Texas and Salt Lake City, Utah; and support tracks at ethanol plants in Iowa and Minnesota. In addition, the UP plans to acquire 315 new locomotives and over 4,000 railcars through short or long-term leases…

FedEx Freight , a subsidiary of the FedEx Corp. that offers regional and interregional less-than-truckload (LTL) services in the US has opened a new distribution facility in Gardena, California, near Los Angeles, and is advancing its plans to construct a major consolidation center near Sacramento by 2006. The Gardena facility covers 52,000-sq. ft. and has 92 service doors on a 13-acre site, more than double the size of the 40-door center it replaces. The company's Northern California presence will be enhanced significantly as it moves forward with plans to construct a 152-door facility on a 51-acre site in West Sacramento. The new 115,000-sq. ft. center will replace the current 17-acre, 127-door complex. More than 450 employees are assigned to the current Sacramento center. Both the new Gardena service center and the future West Sacramento complex "will enable FedEx Freight to build and coordinate the movement of more direct loads to other company facilities in the region and beyond, which will enhance service and reduce shipment handling," the company said; and…

Carson-based  Vanguard Logistics, has reportedly integrated bar coding and wireless handheld scanners into its supply chain management system. The company is a neutral warehouse operator in the USA and part of the NACA Logistics Group, a global Non Vessel Operating Ocean Carrier (NVOCC) service provider. The new technology "will improve Vanguards' service as a whole and allow for increased security and tracking of cargo" with wireless handheld scanners integrated into operations at all USA Vanguard Container Freight Stations (CFS) by this summer, the company said. NACA Logistics operates through a network of agencies in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and North and South America. Its Group includes Brennan International Transport, Direct Container Line, Conterm Consolidation Services and Vanguard Logistics Services.

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