Drewry Maritime Research and CargoSmart Limited will introduce a wider range of container key performance indicators to help importers and exporters benchmark their carriers' service levels.

The market for RFID transponders, readers, software and services will generate $70.5bn from 2012 to the end of 2017. The market was boosted by a growth of $900m in 2011 and the market is expected to grow 20 percent year over year per annum. Government, retail, and transportation and logistics have been identified as the most valuable sectors, accounting for 60 percent of accumulated revenue over the next five years.

U.S. import shipment volume for March, measured in TEUs, increased 11.9 percent from February, according to trade intelligence company Zepol.

Import cargo volume at the nation's major retail container ports is expected to increase 3.2 percent in April compared with the same month last year, and year-over-year gains should continue through the end of summer, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

Livingston International has completed the acquisition of the customs and trade-compliance services of the Global Trade business of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.

UPS has introduced CrossBorder Connect, a ground freight service between the United States and Mexico designed to significantly ease heavyweight freight supply chain challenges for companies investing in cross-border trade.

Damco, the freight-forwarding and supply-chain management division of the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, has joined the Cargo 2000 quality-management system for international air cargo.

Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. has opened its second container-drayage facility in California.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released global traffic results for February 2012 showing an 8.6-percent improvement in passenger demand and a 5.2-percent rise in cargo demand compared to the same month in the previous year.

LOT Polish Airlines has launched an all-cargo flight between Chicago and Katowice, Poland. According to CEO Marcin Pirog: "Chicago was selected for the all-cargo service because it's the top destination where cargo is transported to and from Poland. Nearly 70 percent of airfreight between Poland and Chicago is transported by LOT." The cargo flight is operated as a wet lease with Cargo Jet twice weekly with a B767-200.