Major container ports in the United States handled 1.63 million TEUs in July, up 3.2 percent from June and 0.7 percent from July 2015, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

The TMS provider has integrated LoadPay into its platform, which allows 3PLs, brokers and shippers to schedule automated payments to carriers, while offering the PayMeNow option, a fast payment solution for carriers that elect to receive funds quicker.

A counsel for the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association said the Federal Maritime Commission’s Bureau of Enforcement has been scrutinizing NVOs tendering co-loaded cargo for rate violations, but doesn’t have clarity as to why.

Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Mario Cordero said in a speech to the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America that the industry should be better prepared for future liner carrier bankruptcies.

Guy Courtin, vice president of industry and solution strategy at GT Nexus, said shippers should think of visibility as a tool to monitor and connect all of their trading partners, whether product suppliers or transportation vendors.

The container leasing company said as of Sept. 2, approximately 4.8 percent of its total owned and managed fleet, in terms of TEUs, was leased to the South Korean ocean carrier.

CRST International said the Gardner acquisition will add about $400 million in revenue, along with over 2,400 drivers and 500 non-driver personnel to CRST, which already has over 8,000 company drivers, independent contractors and office staff in the U.S.

As part of its integration with fellow state-run ocean carrier China Shipping, COSCO Holdings sold the vessels Na Xi He, Bu Yi He, Yu Gu He, Ha Ni He, and Jing Po He for a total of 90 million yuan renminbi (U.S. $13.5 million).

Vargo appoints former Target supply chain VP to president of its Vargo Adaptive Software division, while The International Air Cargo Association elects a board member and the European Community Shipowners’ Associations names legal affairs director.

Ocean carrier CMA CGM of France, Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd and Hamburg Sud, and MOL of Japan issued general rate increases on various trades.