New Century Transportation is bringing a different style of less-than-truckload (LTL) delivery to the new century. A transportation services company, New Century offers LTL services (where carriers consolidate freight from multiple shippers into a single trailer) to industrial, chemical, food, and other companies. Unlike many LTL carriers, the company offers a signature LTL service it calls "Load-to-Deliver," which involves delivering freight directly to customers rather than to a hub. It operates a fleet of more than 980 tractors and 2,100 trailers in the northeastern US, as well as across other parts of the US and Canada. The company -- formed at the turn of the century in 2000 -- filed to go public in 2010.

Family-owned and operated, Coppersmith was founded in 1948. L. E. Coppersmith Inc. isn't a metalworker -- it earns its coppers by providing international freight forwarding services. Coppersmith arranges the transportation of import and export cargo by air and sea. L. E. Coppersmith Inc. also provides customs brokerage and warehousing and distribution services. It operates from 10 offices in major US trade gateways. Along with handling general cargo, Coppersmith specializes in handling shipments of cotton, produce, and hunting trophies. Coppersmith extends its reach through membership in World Cargo Alliance, a group of some 1,000 independent freight forwarders.

FastShip is developing a high-speed container vessel that would allow the company to transport freight across the Atlantic in less than four days. Finding money to build the ships has taken much longer, however. Once financing has been arranged, Spanish shipyard IZAR is to begin construction of the first three vessels. Loading systems and terminals have been designed for the FastShip system; plans call for the first two terminals to be in Philadelphia and Cherbourg, France. FastShip hopes eventually to serve other shipping lanes, as well.

Bruce Oakley provides road and river (barge) transportation of dry bulk commodities, as well as grain storage and bulk fertilizer sales. The company's trucking division, which uses both end-dump and pneumatic tank trailers, serves the continental US, Canada, and Mexico. Overall Bruce Oakley operates some 450 trailers. It maintains about half a dozen ports in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Missouri on the Arkansas, Mississippi, and Red rivers, and the company's river barge transportation unit operates on those and other inland and intracoastal waterways. Grain storage services are available in five ports in Arkansas. Bruce Oakley was founded in 1968.

Cassens will be happy to transport your car, sell you a car, or insure your car -- Cassens company operates a car-hauling business, a car dealership, and an insurance agency. Cassens Transport, the company's largest venture, delivers new vehicles from manufacturers to dealerships. It operates a fleet of about 1,300 tractor-trailer rigs from terminals in 10 US states and in four Canadian cities. Cassens' car dealership, Cassens & Sons, sells Chrysler vehicles in Glen Carbon, Illinois. Cassens Insurance Agency sells auto, home, and other policies in Edwardsville, Illinois.

Omega Navigation Enterprises Inc. provides marine transportation services through the ownership and operation of double hull product tankers worldwide. Its product tankers transport refined petroleum products, including gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene, naphtha, gas oil, and heating oil. The company’s fleet includes 12 hull product tankers with a carrying capacity of approximately 680,000 dwt, of which 2 double hull product/chemical tankers with a capacity of 47,000 dwt and 2 double hull product/chemical tankers with a capacity of 37,000 dwt are owned through equal partnership joint ventures with a subsidiary of Glencore International, A.G. Omega Navigation Enterprises Inc. was founded in 2005 and is based in Athens, Greece.

The seafaring side of energy giant BP is BP Shipping. BP Shipping Limited company operates a fleet of about 60 vessels to carry crude oil, refined products, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) worldwide. Bases of operation include the US, the UK, and the Asia/Pacific region, where it owns a facility for laying up ships. BP Shipping Limited company transports Alaskan crude through Alaska Tanker, its joint venture with OSG Ship Management (part of OSG America). In China, BP Shipping holds a 40% stake in China LNG Shipping, a ship management service for LNG carriers. BP Shipping Limited company also provides ship-vetting services to assess ships for their suitability to operate for BP, inspecting their capabilities in management, operations, crewing, and structure.

Matheson helps the Post Office keep its promise of working through snow, rain, heat, and dead of night. The company, a major United States Postal Service contractor, hauls mail for the nation's mail carrier. Its Postal Services unit provides long-haul and local trucking services while its Mail Transportation unit serves Northern California. The company's Matheson Fast Freight unit offers overnight and second day less-than-truckload (LTL) freight transportation in the West and Midwest. (LTL carriers combine freight from multiple shippers into a single truckload.) Matheson Flight Extenders provide terminal handling and ground support services. Robert B. "Brownie" Matheson founded Matheson Trucking in 1962.

Part of a diversified collection of transportation businesses, Sodrel Truck Lines provides truckload freight hauling services, primarily in the midwestern US. Its services include truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), and hazardous materials haulage. (LTL carriers consolidate freight from multiple shippers into a single truckload.) Sodrel Truck Lines' fleet includes more than 300 tractors and 500 trailers. Customers have included the United States Postal Service, the US Department of Defense, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The company also offers warehousing and distribution services. Multiple generations of the Sodrel family have owned Sodrel Truck Lines, which was founded in 1929.

ASTAR Air Cargo helps DHL take on delivery giants FedEx and UPS on their own turf. Hiring the carrier's fleet of about 40 aircraft enables DHL and other customers, including the US Department of Defense and the United States Postal Service, to achieve overnight delivery of virtually any kind of cargo. ASTAR's service includes scheduled as well as chartered flights. In January 2009, ASTAR suffered a blow when -- in order to cut down on costs -- DHL was forced to shut down its express operations within the US. (Through ASTAR and other carriers, DHL still offers international shipping services to and from the US). An investment group led by CEO John Dasburg controls ASTAR.

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