Quietly and sustainably on track 
Metrans has fitted its entire 3,000-container wagon fleet with what are known as “whispering” (composite) brakes. This means that the carrier has already implemented the ban on noisy freight trains in Germany. Metrans wagons are mostly lightweight flat wagons and especially... more
Combitras joins Gruber Logistics
Gruber Logistics - repre has acquired provider Combitras, thus adding two new branches to its network in central Italy. Combitras is a historically grown company with over 30 years of experience in part loads and integrated logistics and one of the major players in the region of... more
Slight setback in ports worldwide
In December 2020, the flash estimate for its container throughput index published by the German research body Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (RWI - Leibniz) and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) registered a light drop in world... more
155 PAX aircraft temporarily converted in 2020
Further to British aviation analyst Cirium, 155 aircraft had most if not all of their passenger seats removed last year in order to transport cargo in the cabin. Increased demand for PPE manufactured in Asia required fast distribution across the world. This coincided with... more
A future for young people?
Europa Worldwide Group, a specialist road, air & sea and warehouse operator, aims to support young people by developing its own career programme. The RAPID career development programme for school-leavers has been re-launched in 2021 with an extension that focuses on... more
HSF changes hands
Danish DFDS has acquired the cold chain logistics company HSF Logistics Group, which provides temperature-controlled services for food producers. The group operates four brands, with HSF Logistics being a major player in the Netherlands, Germany and UK. N&K Spedition and... more
Rotterdam: Innovation boosts railway
The C.RO Ports terminal in the Botlek in Rotterdam will be the first terminal to add ‘VEGA-VTG plates’ to its portfolio. These platforms can be used for transporting non-craneable trailers by rail. The trailer is driven onto the platform, after which it can be loaded on board... more
Jan de Rijk augments fleet
Dutch company Jan de Rijk Logistics, with headquarters in Roosendaal, is enhancing its fleet. Daniel Uijtdewillegen, its director for international transport, recently received the keys of the first batch of new trucks from Johan Claassen, sales manager with TB Bastianen.... more
Port of Brussels shows resilience
While waterway transport is under pressure because of the economic slowdown caused by pandemic, overall traffic in the port of Brussels moved sideways in 2020 (+0.3%). The port handled 4.95 million t of cargo for Brussels in 2020 (5.22 million t in 2019) and 1.7 million t in... more
Swiss hydrogen truck saves 80 t of CO2
Gebrüder Weiss has added a hydrogen truck to its vehicle fleet. Instead of using diesel, the Hyundai XCIENT Fuel Cell model delivered to the Altenrhein branch in Switzerland runs on what is called "green hydrogen", meaning that this commercial vehicle is able to save... more