News from Nars 
At its annual meeting in May this year, the North American Rail Shippers Association (Nars) elected new officers, honoured industry professionals with two major awards and announced its 2023 scholarship recipients. The Nars offices for 2023–2024 are: president John Meyers,... more
239 stolen vehicles intercepted
US Customs and Border Protection officers (CBP) routinely inspect imports and exports to ensure that commodities comply with United States laws and safety standards, and international conventions. During fiscal year 2022, from 1 October 1 to 30 September 2022, officers... more
A joint venture to develop H2-locomotives
Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) and CSX are forming a joint venture for the building and deployment of hydrogen locomotive conversion kits for diesel electric locomotives. As an initial step, CSX plans to convert one of its diesel locomotives using a hydrogen conversion... more
First new widebody jet for Iraqi Airways
Now it has taken a few more weeks. After it seemed in April that the first B787 Dreamliner for Iraqi Airways was ready for collection (see ITJ 17-18/2023, p. 12), the transfer of the aircraft from Charleston to Baghdad finally took place only last week. The Iraqi flag... more
Converting Embraer in China
At the 54th Paris Airshow, the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer and the Chinese Lanzhou Aviation Industry Development Group signed a LOA for twenty E190F and E195F E-Jets P2F conversions. The companies plan to cooperate on establishing of E190F and E195F conversion... more
Fixing driver shortages
Worldwide, the chronic shortage of professional drivers is accelerating, impacting millions of road haulage workers, employers, and services. Around 11% of driver positions were left unfilled in 2022. With up to one third of drivers retiring within the next three years in many... more
A tool to improve capacity forecasting
With the recent renewal of its Skypallet contract with Wiremind, Westjet Cargo confirmed its the decision to take the digital collaboration further and explore capacity forecasting improvements. A proof of concept (POC) was initiated in April 2023 and will run for the next few... more
Setting up shop in Trinidad and Tobago
Software publisher Soget is continuing its international expansion by setting up an office in Trinidad and Tobago. Permanent secretary Ayleen Alleyne-Ovid and Soget’s chairman Hervé Cornède signed the contract for the implementation, maintenance, and operation of the PCS two... more
Air Algérie orders eight Boeing 737 MAX jets
Boeing and Air Algérie confirmed an order for eight fuel-efficient 737-9 jets at the Paris Air Show. The Algerian flag carrier also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for two 737-800 Boeing converted freighters (BCF) to meet increasing cargo demand in the region.... more
Small but potentially very serious
US Customs and Border Protection (CDP) agriculture specialists reported to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) a species of citrus root weevil intercepted exactly one month ago, on 22 May 2023, in a shipment arriving at Wilmington port. The invaded shipment of pineapples... more