Katsumi Takeuchi, chairman of Daifuku Co. Ltd., passed away from heart
failure on Jan. 8 in Tokyo at the age of 73. … The board of directors of
Swisslog Holding AG has adjusted the group’s management structure.
Chairman Hans Ziegler has taken over as head of the executive committee. The executive committee also now includes Karl Pühringer as head of
the health-care solutions division, Joe Doering as head of the warehouse
and distribution solutions division, and Christian Mäder as chief financial
officer and head of the corporate center. This adjustment was prompted
by the departure of CEO Remo Brunschwiler. … Murphy Companies, an
asset-based logistics company, has announced the following five promotions: Paul Welna to chief operating officer, Jason Nesbitt to vice president
of transportation and business growth, Tom Griep to chief financial officer and vice president of IT, Greg Parupsky to vice president of client relations and business development, and Wendy Pigorsch to vice president of
talent development and communications. … Hauke Tiedemann has been
appointed head of the global Interroll Centre of Excellence for Industrial
Drum Motors in Baal, Germany. Bertrand Reymond has been appointed
head of the global Interroll Centre of Excellence for Dynamic Storage
Solutions in La Roche sur Yon, France. Helmut Maiwald was appointed
head of Interroll’s Research Centre in Wassenberg, Germany. …
International Asset Systems has named John Allen to the position of senior vice president, client services. … Ron Granville will become president
of Kane 3PL. … Chris Reynolds has been promoted to the position of
director of safety and security at Southeastern Freight Lines. … Michael
Redeker, vice president and chief information officer of Canadian Pacific,
was recently elected to Railinc Corp.’s board of directors. … Hillary Femal,
Jason Beardall as its new president. Beardall will succeed Josh England,
who was recently appointed chief financial officer of England Logistics’
parent company, C.R. England. … George J. Swartz Jr. has joined Sedlak
Management Consultants Inc. as practice director for distributed order
management and wholesale distribution services. … Santana Equipment
Trading Co. has hired Robert Walker as its new director of marketing and
public relations. … Entercoms Inc., a provider of aftermarket supply chain
services, has named Michael Smith chief commercial officer. … Andrew
Spears has been hired by Knichel Logistics as its new vice
president of strategic capabilities. … Fleet Advantage, a
specialist in truck fleet business analytics and equipment
financing, has appointed Scott Johnson regional vice president. The company has also promoted Mike Meehan to vice
president, sales and marketing. … Columbian Logistics
Network has hired Anne Schelling as director of business
development.
SNYDER
SCHELLING
newsmakers
International shipping
confidence index
shows signs of pulse
in January
A monthly confidence index of
international shippers and freight
forwarders operating on European-based trade lanes rose in January
for the third consecutive month.
The increase indicates a trace of
optimism among companies who
serve the beleaguered continent.
The survey, conducted by U.S.
investment firm Stifel, Nicolaus &
Co. and British research and consulting firm Transport Intelligence Ltd.,
measures the monthly expectations
of companies shipping by air and
ocean between the U.S. and Europe
and between Europe and Asia.
According to the survey, the overall
index in January stood at 48. 8, a 0.8-
point increase over December.
Despite the sequential increase,
the overall number is still below 50,
suggesting that market conditions
are weaker than seasonal norms.
The survey gauges confidence in
current shipping activity as well as
expectations six months from now.
January marked the first month
since last April that both the current and six-month outlooks
showed improvement.
The ocean freight index climbed
3. 5 percent to 51. 8, registering its
biggest improvement in current
expectations since last March.
Confidence in Asia-to-Europe activity registered the largest increase,
up 3. 1 index points from December,
according to the survey.
The international airfreight segment, which has been weak for
more than a year, continued to be
sluggish in January, according to
the survey. However, the index
measuring expectations six months
out rose sequentially in January for
the first time in eight months, the
survey said. ;
