MC Shipping is owned by an investment fund managed by Irving Place Capital, an affiliate of private equity firm Bear Stearns Merchant Banking. MC Shipping knows the rap when it comes to ocean freight transportation. The company's fleet of more than 20 vessels consists mainly of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) carriers; it also includes containerships. MC Shipping leases its vessels on time charters, bareboat charters (in which the lessee provides its own crew), and spot charters. Day-to-day operation of the company's fleet is overseen by independent ship-management companies. It has offices in Indonesia, London, Monaco, and Singapore.

A diversified transportation services company, NFI Industries operates through subsidiaries such as truckload freight carrier National Freight, warehouse operator National Distribution Center, and NFI Interactive Logistics. It provides both over-the-road transportation and dedicated fleet services; overall, it maintains a fleet of about 2,500 tractors and 6,900 trailers. NFI also has about 18 million sq. ft. of warehouse space in almost 60 facilities throughout the US. Catering primarily to the retail, beverage, and food and grocery sectors, the company also owns and manages some 7 million sq. ft. of real estate. Established in 1932 by Israel Brown, NFI is owned and run by members of the founding Brown family.

Pioneer Railcorp owns and operates railroads in the United States. It operates railcars and locomotives, as well as provides railcar storage, railcar repair, railcar cleaning, businesses with railroad switching, and railroad equipment leasing services. The company was formerly known as Pioneer Railroad Company, Inc. Pioneer Railcorp was incorporated in 1986 and is based in Peoria, Illinois with additional offices in Monroeville and Andalusia, Alabama; Evansville and Elkhart, Indiana; Fort Smith, Arkansas; Garden City, Kansas; Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; Keokuk, Iowa; Holly Springs, Mississippi; Cairo, Vandalia, and Assumption, Illinois; and White Pigeon and Paw Paw, Michigan.

Maersk Line has offices in about 125 countries around the globe. Maersk Line knows how to contain itself. The company, a unit of Denmark-based A.P. Moller - Maersk, is one of the world's leading container shipping companies. Maersk Line maintains a fleet of more than 500 containerships with an overall capacity of about 1.9 million TEU (twenty-foot-equivalent units). In addition, the company arranges ground transportation of containerized freight through affiliate Damco. Maersk Line combines the operations of the former Maersk Sealand and Royal P&O Nedlloyd N.V., which was acquired by A.P. Moller - Maersk in 2005.

JR East's "shinkansen" (bullet-train) lines connect metropolitan Tokyo with other major cities. Besides its transportation-related operations, JR East gets revenue from leasing restaurant and retail space in its stations and from managing shopping centers and office buildings on property that has been developed near its stations. If you want to ride the rails into Tokyo, you could find yourself cruising at 168 mph aboard a bullet train operated by East Japan Railway, known as JR East. East Japan Railway company carries passengers on more than 7,525 km (4,665 miles) of track in the eastern half of the Japanese mainland, including the Tokyo area.

With a clear focus on transportation, The Shevell Group is far from disheveled. Headed by Myron "Mike" Shevell, the group consists of a number of companies in the real estate, warehousing, and LTL and TL (less-than-truckload and truckload) transportation and logistics industries. Subsidiaries include New England Motor Freight, Eastern Freightways, Carrier Industries, and Apex Logistics. The Shevell Group's various subsidiaries offer transportation services across the northeastern US and Canada, parts of the Midwest, and Puerto Rico. Its fleet consists of 10,000 vehicles. Myron Shevell founded the group in 1977 and is the principal shareholder in the family-owned and -managed company.

Pick a point on the compass -- Western Express Holdings isn't limited to a single direction when it comes to hauling customers' freight. The company's main subsidiary, truckload carrier Western Express, will go west, but it does most of its business in the eastern and midwestern US, concentrating on short to medium-length hauls of between 500 and 1,000 miles. The Western Express fleet consists of about 2,500 tractors and 4,500 trailers, including dry vans and flatbeds, which haul cargo for a diverse customer base. President and CEO Wayne Wise and his wife, Donna Wise, own a controlling stake in Western Express Holdings.

ITAL Logistics is a British freight company with Italian flavor. The firm began by specializing in shipping freight between the UK and Italy, but has since expanded its service to include Spain, Greece, Portugal, and about a half dozen Western European countries. ITAL Logistics provides weekly scheduled and expedited (within 48 hours) freight transport. Within each country, it partners with other regional logistics companies to provide ground and ocean shipping services. Though headquartered in the Manchester area, ITAL Logistics has a depot in the Midlands and in the South of England to provide complete coverage throughout the UK. ITAL Logistics was founded in 2000.

Crete Carrier Corporation's flagship business, Crete Carrier, provides dry van truckload freight transportation services in the 48 contiguous states. It operates from some two dozen terminals, mainly in the midwestern and southeastern US. The company's Shaffer Trucking unit transports temperature-controlled cargo, and Hunt Transportation (no relation to J.B. Hunt Transport Services) hauls heavy equipment and other cargo on flatbed trailers. Overall, the companies operate more than 5,300 tractors and more than 12,400 trailers. Family-owned Crete Carrier was founded in 1966 by chairman Duane Acklie; president and CEO Tonn Ostergard is his son-in-law.

Central Japan Railway sends bullets flying all over Japan. Bullet train operator Central Japan Railway, known as JR Central, provides passenger transportation over a network of about 1,970 km (1,221 miles) of track. The company's shinkansen (high-speed) line connects the metropolitan areas of Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka; 12 conventional lines provide connections to surrounding areas. JR Central also earns revenue from retail and food sales as well as real estate development operations built near its train stations. JR Central was one of seven companies formed in the privatization of the former Japanese National Railways.

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