The main US arm of Toronto-based company Vitran, Vitran Express provides less-than-truckload (LTL) freight transportation services. (LTL carriers consolidate freight from multiple shippers into a single truckload.) Vitran Express operates from a network of about 110 terminals in about 30 states in the midwestern, mid-Atlantic, southwestern, and western US. The company extends service elsewhere in the US through alliances with other LTL carriers. In addition, Vitran Express partners with its parent's Canadian LTL unit to offer cross-border service.

Alianca Navegacao e Logistica sails around the globe to deliver the goods. Alianca Navegacao e Logistica provides sea transportation services, maintaining a fleet of some 20 container ships and four tramp ships (ships without a fixed schedule). Alianca Navegacao e Logistica also offers logistical services and coordination of road and rail transport from port to final destination. Its coastal shipping service includes 13 Brazilian ports. The company, which serves markets in Latin America, as well as North America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, and South Africa, caters to the automotive, chemicals, and food industries, among others. Alianca Navegacao e Logistica is a subsidiary of German marine transportation titan, Hamburg Sud.

Watkins & Shepard Trucking offers less-than-truckload (LTL) and truckload freight hauling throughout the US from about 20 terminals, mainly west of the Rockies. (LTL carriers consolidate cargo from multiple shippers into a single trailer.) The company's fleet consists of about 630 tractors and 1,600 trailers. Standard dry vans account for the majority of the company's trailers; Watkins & Shepard also uses flatbed trailers. In addition, the company arranges intermodal transportation, which involves hauling freight by multiple methods, such as road and rail. CEO Ray Kuntz and president Steve Williamson own Watkins & Shepard, which was founded in 1974 as Stan Watkins Trucking.

Knight Transportation drivers don't drive long hours into the night. The truckload carrier instead focuses on short- to medium-haul trips, averaging about 500 miles. From some 35 regional operations centers, mainly in the southern, midwestern, and western US, Knight carries such cargo as consumer goods, food and beverages, and paper products. It has a fleet of about 3,700 tractors and 8,500 trailers, including some 700 refrigerated trailers. Besides for-hire hauling, Knight provides dedicated contract carriage, in which drivers and equipment are assigned to a customer long-term. It also offers freight brokerage services. Four members of the Knight family collectively own about 30% of the company.

USF Holland doesn't have time to stop and smell the tulips. Once a subsidiary of USF, the company is the largest regional less-than-truckload (LTL) freight hauler operated by YRC Regional Transportation, a subsidiary of YRC Worldwide. (LTL carriers consolidate freight from multiple shippers into a single truckload.) USF Holland does business in more than 20 states in the midwestern, northeastern, and southeastern US, as well as in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Providing service to additional regions through sister company USF Reddaway, it operates a fleet of some 4,500 tractors and 8,100 trailers from a network of about 60 terminals. USF Holland was founded in 1929 in Holland, Michigan.

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.

Hamburg Sud is part of the diversified Oetker Group. One of Germany's largest marine transportation companies, Hamburg Sud operates a fleet of about 175 vessels, including some 115 containerships with an overall capacity of about 290,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU). The Hamburg Sud fleet also includes dry bulk carriers and tankers. Scheduled liner services for containers make up about 85% of the company's revenues. Hamburg Sud also offers tramp shipping (nonscheduled) for other freight, including refrigerated cargo, runs its own full-service travel agency, specializing in cargo ship travel and leisure cruises, and offers cargo ship management and logistics services to outside customers.

State-owned China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company, known as COSCO Group, is one of the world's leading marine transportation companies. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, COSCO Group operates a fleet of about 800 containerships, bulk carriers and other vessels with an overall capacity of 50 million deadweight tons. In addition, the company is engaged in freight forwarding, logistics, real estate, ship building and repairing, container manufacturing, and terminal operations. It maintains facilities in more than 160 countries around the world. COSCO Group should not be confused with a rival state-owned marine transportation enterprise with a similar name, China Shipping (Group) Company.

Old Dominion Freight Line still makes its stand in Dixie, but the trucking company serves the rest of the US, as well. It transports general commodities in less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments, in which freight from multiple shippers is consolidated into a single truckload. Old Dominion operates a fleet of some 5,000 tractors and more than 20,000 trailers from around 200 service centers. Founded in 1934, Old Dominion directly serves the 48 contiguous states of continental US and offers service elsewhere in North America, Central America, South America, and Asia. The founding Congdon family controls Old Dominion.

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.

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