A company on the fast track, MTR operates Hong Kong's commuter railway system. The company's network was expanded significantly in 2007 through a combination with the rail operations of Kowloon-Canton Railway. Overall, MTR operates about 210 km of track in Hong Kong, Kowloon, the New Territories, and mainland China, plus a light rail network in the New Territories, an airport express line, and bus feeder services. Although railway operations make up the bulk of its business, MTR also manages residential and commercial properties near its stations. Through its Octopus Cards subsidiary, the company provides smart card technology for fare collection. The Hong Kong government owns a controlling stake in MTR.

Before you can buy stuff at the store, the stuff has to get to the store, and that's where National Retail Systems comes in. The company provides less-than-truckload (LTL) freight transportation, along with logistics and warehousing and distribution services. (LTL carriers combine freight from multiple shippers into a single truckload.) It operates a fleet of about 1,100 trucks and about 4,300 trailers and maintains more than 1 million sq. ft. of warehouse space. To serve its retail clients, the company has both trailers and warehouses designed to handle garments on hangers. National Retail Systems was founded in 1953.

They are all things commonly found in the Nation's river systems. As one of the United States' largest inland carriers, Ingram Barge moves dry and liquid bulk commodities, such as ore, grains, and coal, through the Mississippi River System, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, and other US inland waterways. It operates a fleet of more than 130 towboats and about 4,000 barges, and offers storage and loading terminal services through third-party affiliates. A subsidiary of book wholesaler Ingram Industries, Ingram Barge has been managed by the Ingram family since its inception in 1946.

Federal employees and tourists who might otherwise have to bring their cars into downtown Washington, DC, can thank the Washington Metropolitan Transportation Authority for saving them stress and shoeleather. The Metro provides rail and bus transportation services throughout the nation's capital and in its Maryland and Virginia suburbs, a 1,500-sq.-mi. area -- the second largest rail transit system and sixth largest bus network in the US. Overall, passengers take about 350 million rail and bus trips on the Metro annually. The agency's rail system includes about 85 stations served by more than 105 miles of track, both underground and aboveground. Metro operates a fleet of more than 1,500 buses.

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.

Chevron Shipping transports crude oil, refined petroleum products, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and liquefied natural gas (LNG); it also provides marine-related technical support to other Chevron companies. The company operates from offices in the US, the UK, and Singapore. First you get the oil out of the ground, then you have to get it to the customer, and that's where Chevron Shipping Company comes in. The global marine transportation unit of oil giant Chevron manages a fleet of more than 45 vessels, including tankers of various types and sizes, both company-owned and chartered-in.

The prospect of moving freight is what makes this Panther pounce. Panther Expedited Services arranges the ground, air, and ocean transportation of time-sensitive cargo, primarily for companies in the automotive and other manufacturing industries but also for government agencies and for other transportation companies. The company transports its more than 10,000 customers' freight globally through a network of almost 1,100 owner-operated vehicles, 1,600 third-party ground-carriers, and an additional 500 ocean and air cargo carriers. It also offers warehousing and logistics services. Private equity firm Fenway Partners owns a controlling stake in the company. In mid-2010 Panther filed to go public.

A regional less-than-truckload (LTL) freight carrier, Pitt Ohio Express operates a fleet of more than 650 tractors and 1,700 trailers. (LTL carriers consolidate freight from multiple shippers into a single truckload.) Pitt Ohio also has about 400 straight trucks and vans in its fleet. The company operates from a network of about 20 terminals, primarily in the mid-West and mid-Atlantic US. Besides LTL freight hauling and logistics services, the company provides truckload transportation through ECM Transport. The family of company president Charles Hammel III owns Pitt Ohio, which has grown from a business established by Hammel's grandfather in 1919.

Tobu Railway was founded in 1897. Tobu Railway boasts the second-longest track network -- more than 460 kilometers (285 miles) -- of any passenger railroad in the Kanto region of Japan, which includes the Tokyo metropolitan area. (East Japan Railway has a larger network.) Although the company's railway passenger and freight transportation divisions make up the company's namesake business, Tobu Railway operates three other divisions: distribution, leisure, and real estate. The distribution division operates department and convenience stores.

The global economy and the U.S. economy are inter-dependent. U.S. manufacturers have largely become U.S. importers. While doing business internationally has become “second nature” to many, working with suppliers in other countries, other time zones, in other languages can create challenges. Global Link Logistics is well positioned to offer service bridging the span between the foreign manufacturer and the U.S. importer. Global Link Logistics (GLL) is licensed by the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) as an Ocean Transportation Intermediary (OTI) functioning as both a Non Vessel Operating Common Carrier (NVOCC) and Freight Forwarder.

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