The number of "active, for-hire carriers" registered with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is 166,810, an increase of 8 percent, or 11,570 since February 2011, according to the State of the DOT report released by QualifiedCarriers.

Container lines have started reactivating their idle container fleets for the summer peak shipping season, which has resulted in a decline of almost a third in idle container ship capacity, according to Alphaliner.

DHL Global Forwarding has opened Life Sciences and Healthcare Competence Centers in Miami, Fla. and Atlanta, Ga.

Family Dollar Stores Inc. has entered into a strategic partnership with McLane, a major provider of grocery and food service supply chain solutions. Beginning in September, this partnership will enable Family Dollar to offer customers a broader selection of merchandise, including refrigerated and frozen food, across the retailer's more than 7,200 locations in 45 states.

Natural gas prices are at a 10-year low, and this has increased industry interest in the feasibility of natural gas vehicles for transporting freight. While compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles are appropriate for "return-to-base" vehicles like school buses, garbage trucks and local delivery trucks, liquefied natural gas (LNG) vehicles, because of their increased range, are currently a better option for long-haul, heavy-duty trucking.

There are many opportunities for logistics providers to enter the refrigerated transportation market in Africa, but while the continent needs better perishable supply chain services and "farm-to-fork" integration, barriers remain high.

Horizontal carousels are the most cost-effective technology for each picking, says Ed Romaine, chief marketing officer, Sapient Automation. Benefits include rapid ROI, and huge savings on floor space and labor. Smaller companies should be especially interested.

CargoSmart Ltd., a vendor of global shipping and logistics applications delivered under the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, has launched business-process outsourcing services for ocean carriers and logistics service providers (LSPs).