The reception at the aquarium was hosted by the Alabama State Port Authority, which is slated to host AAPA’s 101st annual convention Oct. 21-25, 2012, in Mobile.

On Tuesday, May 31st at the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) hosted a reception to celebrate the inauguration of American Feeder Lines’ “Halifax-New England Shuttle” service, which is scheduled to begin June 14th. 130 attended the event representing a wide variety of New England shippers, forwarders and NVOs as well as Port of Boston service providers such as tow boat operators and longshoremen. Among the dignitaries were Rudy Mack, COO of American Feeder Lines, Andrew Haines, Vice President-Line Management for American Feeder Lines and Mike Leone, Massport Maritime Port Director.

Transportation, logistics, and supply chain management professionals gathered in Orlando on April 17th for NASSTRAC’s annual logistics conference. The event is tailored to industry professionals that wish to learn and network with leading experts in the industry. NASSTRAC provides education, advocacy, connections and solutions for professionals involved in all areas of transportation, ranging from full truckload and LTL to containerization and global logistics.

On April 28th shippers and transportation professionals from all over the Northeast gathered in Boston to celebrate the opening of Shipco’s newest office. Shipco Transport is one of the world’s leading neutral NVOCCs with more than 60 offices worldwide.

The American Association of Port Authorities’ spring conference drew some 150 port industry leaders from throughout the Western Hemisphere to Washington for two days of meetings and informal interactions, including a March 21 reception in the Crystal Room of the historic Willard InterContinental Hotel, in the shadow of the White House.

The reception was hosted by the Port of Seattle, which is slated to host AAPA’s 100th annual convention Sept. 11-15. The convention coincides with the 100-year anniversary of the establishment of the Port of Seattle.

By Paul Scott Abbott, AJOT

By George Lauriat, Editor-in-Chief, AJOT - The WCA Family of Logistic Networks hosted the 13th Annual WCA Worldwide Conference (February 20-23) and the 3rd WCA Family Annual Worldwide Conference (February 24-27) at Ho Chi Minh City. The event drew over 1700 delegates from over 100 countries to Vietnam for a week of networking.

At the heart of the conferences was the unique thirty-minute, one-on-one sessions. The one-on-one sessions are booked prior to the conferences through a proprietary system and enable members to have face-to-face business meetings with colleagues from around the globe. This year an estimated 50,000 one-on-one sessions took place in the SECC (Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center). Among the announcements was David Yokeum’s presentation of WIN (see related story), the portal being developed by the WCA for the independent forwarder...read more

The Tampa Port Authority hosted the 22nd Annual Port of Tampa Steel Conference, February 24-25, at the Westin Harbour Island, in Tampa. Around 280 conference attendees enjoyed a successful networking reception Thursday evening, followed by Friday’s very informative speakers forum, featuring an esteemed panel of industry experts. Featured this year were Mario Longhi, with Gerdau Ameristeel; Jim Tumulty, with Raymond James and Associates; Nicholas Boyan, with ArcelorMittal Long Carbon North America; and Mark Breckheimer, with Namasco. David Phelps, with American Institute for International Steel (AIIS), returned again this year to moderate the expert panel.

The Containerization & Intermodal Institute (CII) presented 2010 Connie Awards to J. Russell Bruner, Chairman and CEO of Maersk Inc., and James I. Newsome III, President and CEO of the South Carolina State Ports Authority at The Newark Club that also commemorated the 50th anniversary of CII. The Newark Club event was in addition to the Connie Awards on September 30 presented in Long Beach, Calif., honoring Ronald Widdows and Jon Hemingway. The recipients were honored for their significant influence in containerization in worldwide trade and transportation.

 A special Founders Award was also presented to the Institute of International Container Lessors (IICL), recognizing that the founding organizations of CII were the then-fledgling container leasing companies. Steven Blust, IICL President, and Warren Serenbetz, a founding member a half-century ago, accepted the award. Fifteen students from four New York and New Jersey-based colleges were also presented with a total of more than $90,000 in scholarships donated by industry businesses committed to ensuring the success in the future of logistics and supply chain management.

By Paul Scott Abbott, AJOT
Attracting more than 150 high-level executives in maritime transportation and related fields, the fourth annual Shifting International Trade Routes Workshop, co-sponsored by the American Association of Port Authorities and U.S. Maritime Administration, was hosted Feb. 1-2 by the Tampa Port Authority. In addition to the day-and-a-half program of business sessions (see report here), a Feb. 1 evening reception – co-sponsored by the Tampa Port Authority and Ports America – provided workshop participants an opportunity to engage in informal interactions at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay. (Photos by Paul Scott Abbott, AJOT)

The 43rd Georgia Foreign Trade Conference was held from Jan 30 – Feb 1 at The Cloister on Sea Island, Georgia. The event continues to be one of North America’s premier annual networking events with over 300 attendees. Speakers, from companies such as Lowe’s, Phillips Van Heusen, Kia Motors, Caterpillar, NYK Line, CSX Rail, Jones Lang Lasalle, Moffit & Nichols, created a multi dimensional forum that attracted a wide range of transportation professionals from every level of management. The main focus was incorporating strategy with operations to explore the best practices in service provider performance.

On December 9th the Foreign Commerce Club of Boston hosted its 78th Annual Christmas Party at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. Hundreds of shippers and transportation industry executives attended the event and a great time was had by all!