Ocean Shipping—Maersk Sealand has deployed a larger vessel than the one it has traditionally used in its U.S. Gulf-Central America service, which offers twice-weekly sailings from New Orleans. The company also added a third vessel to its "Fashion Express" service, which connects Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean to South Florida ports. Hamburg Süd will deploy six new 3,800-TEU ships in its U.S. East Coast–South America service over the next 12 months. Smaller vessels will be withdrawn from the service to avoid overtonnaging. Hamburg Süd and Hapag Lloyd have also announced that they will become partners in several trade routes between Europe and South America. Navieras/NPR has introduced its NAVITRX container-management system, which will optimize routing, repositioning, and utilization of ocean containers while providing information online to connecting carriers and customers. Lykes Lines now offers customers in the United States and Canada the ability to download bills of lading from the company's Web site. That service will soon be extended to customers in Mexico and Europe.

Freight Forwarders/Third-Party Logistics—Exel has acquired Werthmann + Köster of Germany, a supplier of logistics services to the automotive industry. The company has operations in several German cities as well as in the Czech Republic. Exel also has expanded into Switzerland with the establishment of Exel Logistics Switzerland Ltd., which will serve existing customers and new clients in growing high-value markets. As part of the continuing consolidation of AEI and Danzas, Danzas has taken control of the former AEI Lebanon SAL joint venture and has renamed it Danzas AEI Lebanon SAL. The existing management will remain in place. Meanwhile, Danzas has acquired the international logistics business of Deca Express, the former agent for AEI in Chile, and will fold it into the new Danzas AEI Chile S.A. Wilson Logistics Group has acquired Port Adelaide Warehouse & Distribution Service in Australia and KEL Logistics BV, a warehousing and distribution firm headquartered in Maastricht, the Netherlands. The company has also expanded its facilities in Kotka, Finland; Marseilles, France; and Northampton, U.K. Schenker Inc. has launched a weekly consolidation service between Milan, Italy, and New York. On-forwarding options are available to all major U.S. inland destinations. PBB Global Logistics will lead a private trade mission to China April 5–21. The mission is designed to introduce U.S. and Canadian manufacturers to important decision makers in China.

Online Services—Oceanwide.com has been chosen by FIATA International, the international freight forwarders' organization, to design, develop, host, and maintain the group's new Document Delivery System, which will enable electronic communication between members in 150 countries. InsureCargo.com, an online provider of international cargo insurance for single-trip exposures, will provide those services to members of WorldCatch Inc., an online marketplace for the seafood industry. CargoNow.com, an Internet-based marketplace for transportation services, has added worldwide trade lane timetables to its offerings. Finland's Novo Group and Go2map, a Chinese provider of Geographic Information Systems, have introduced a mobile, Internet-based tracking and communications system for logistics operations in China.