As we head deeper into autumn and ever closer toward peak season, the airfreight traffic numbers for August provided some pockets of good news, but offered little encouragement that the current air cargo stagnation has abated. According to reports from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), WorldACD and Drewry, August 2015 provided only the slimmest of indications of hope for better performance at the end of the year.

Upon mention of the Caribbean, most people think of idyllic white-sand beaches, Hollywood pirates, the magical sound of steel drums, a handsomely crafted rum cocktail. But the region ringed by Central America, the northern coast of South America and an arc of island nations stretching toward the tip of South Florida – is more than a picturesque vacation spot. It is becoming a key jumping-off point for cargo flights between the Americas and the rest of the world, including Europe, Africa and now the Middle East.

TNT has enhanced its service to Nordic countries, with improved air connections to Sweden and Finland, and additional last-mile delivery capacity in large business centers.

Attention, supply management professionals: Is there a young (30 or under) "rising star" at your company who is making a big impact? ThomasNet and the Institute for Supply Management are inviting the industry to recognize these achievers as "30 Under 30 Rising Supply Chain Stars." The nomination deadline for the second annual recognition program is Oct. 30, 2015.

John Lower, director of strategic carrier management with Transplace, discusses the big issues that carriers and shippers are grappling with today, including new regulations, tightening truck capacity and the concept of the "preferred shipper."

The U.K. arm of Air Menzies International Ltd. (AMI), a trade-only wholesaler of airfreight and express capacity, has launched an online Quote&Book portal.

Shift Freight, a less-than-truckload carrier, has added outbound, east-to-west service to the Midwest, and southeast to California.