American Railcar Industries, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets hopper and tank railcars in North America. It operates in two segments: Manufacturing Operations and Railcar Services. The Manufacturing Operations segment manufactures general service and specialty hopper railcars that are used to transport, load, and unload grains, cement, plastic pallets, and bulk powders; and non-pressure and high pressure tank railcars used in handling various commodities, including petroleum products, ethanol, asphalt, vegetable oil, corn syrup and other food products, chlorine, anhydrous ammonia, and liquid propane and butane. This segment also manufactures custom and standard railcar components that comprise tank railcar components and valves, tank heads, discharge outlets for hopper railcars, manway covers and valve body castings, outlet components and running boards for industrial and railroad customers, and hitches for the intermodal market; and aluminum and special alloy steel castings for the trucking, construction, mining, and oil and gas exploration markets, as well as finished machined aluminum castings and other custom machined products. The Railcar Services segment provides repair and refurbishment services that include light and heavy railcar repairs, exterior painting, interior lining application and cleaning, tank and safety valve testing, railcar inspections, wheel replacement, and conversion or reassignment of railcars; and fleet management services comprising maintenance planning, engineering services, field engineering services, regulatory compliance, mileage audit, rolling stock taxes, and online service access. The company serves leasing, railroad, industrial, and other non-rail companies. It sells its products directly, as well as through catalogs and the Internet. American Railcar Industries was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in St. Charles, Missouri. As of January 15, 2010, American Railcar Industries operates as subsidiary of Icahn Enterprises, L.P.

Established in 1978, the company is owned by the Canadian government. In Canada, you can get where you're going via rail. VIA Rail Canada is Canada's national passenger rail service. The company operates some 500 trains weekly and carries about 4 million passengers a year. Its tracks span more than 12,500 km (7,760 miles) from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the Great Lakes to Hudson Bay. With a fleet of about 80 locomotives and 400 passenger cars, the company serves more than 450 communities. VIA Rail offers travel packages aimed at domestic and foreign tourists, along with basic intercity transportation.

CTI transports commodities by truck all over the Southwest. The company's dry bulk division transports freight such as cement, fly ash, and lime, and its flatbed unit specializes in hauling block and roof tile. The company also owns a fleet of tank, clam, and pneumatic trailers. CTI's Chemical Transportation unit hauls containerized and bulk chemical waste, both solid and liquid. Overall the company owns 10 terminals and more than 400 trucks. Company president Gregg Gibbons owns CTI, which was founded by his father, G. L. "Rusty" Gibbons, in 1930.

One of the world's largest container transporters, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company doesn't limit its operations to the Mediterranean. The company's fleet of more than 375 containerships provides scheduled liner services to about 335 ports on six continents, covering the major global trade lanes. MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company's vessels have an overall capacity of more than 1.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU). CEO Gianluigi Aponte controls MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, which he founded in 1970.

Standard Forwarding specializes in less-than-truckload (LTL) freight transportation services. (LTL carriers consolidate freight from multiple shippers into a single trailer.) The company operates a fleet of about 300 tractors and 790 trailers from a network of more than a dozen terminals in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The company also offers freight transportation in Canada through partnerships. Farm equipment manufacturer Deere is a major customer, as it has been since Standard Forwarding was founded in 1934. As a result of experiencing higher-than-market operating costs in the midst of the recession, the company voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November 2009.

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.

Republic Airways Holdings Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides scheduled passenger services. The company also offers air cargo and charter services. As of December 31, 2009, it offered scheduled passenger services on approximately 1,600 flights daily to 121 cities in 44 states, Canada, Mexico, and Costa Rica; and operated a fleet of 290 aircraft. The company was founded in 1996 and is based in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Irish Continental Group (ICG) is a leading shipping, transport and leisure group. We transport passengers and cars, Roll On Roll Off freight and container Lift On Lift Off freight, on routes between Ireland, the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. We also operate container terminals in the ports of Dublin and Belfast. The Group comprises two main divisions; Ferries and Container & Terminal. Within these divisions there are a number of subsidiary companies.

Southwest Airlines Co. operates as a passenger airline that provides scheduled air transportation in the United States. As of December 31, 2009, it operated 537 Boeing 737 aircraft and provided service to 68 cities in 35 states. The company also sells frequent flyer credits and related services to companies participating in its Rapid Rewards frequent flyer program, including car rental agencies, hotels, restaurants, and retail locations. Southwest Airlines Co. was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

Trinity Industries, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides various products and services for the industrial, energy, transportation, and construction sectors primarily in the United States. Its Rail group manufactures and sells railcars and component parts, such as auto carrier cars, box cars, gondola cars, hopper cars, intermodal cars, specialty cars, and tank cars. This group also offers railcar parts used in manufacturing and repairing railcars, such as auto carrier doors and accessories, discharge gates, yokes, couplers, axles, and hitches. It serves customers, including railroads, leasing companies, and shippers of products, such as utilities, petrochemical companies, grain shippers, and construction and industrial companies. The company’s Railcar Leasing and Management Services group leases tank cars and freight cars, as well as provides management services. Its Construction Products group produces concrete, aggregates, and asphalt; manufactures highway products, as well as other steel products for infrastructure related projects; and distributes construction aggregates, such as crushed stone, sand and gravel, asphalt rock, and recycled concrete. This group serves customers, such as contractors and subcontractors in the construction and foundation industry. The company’s Inland Barge group manufactures various inland barges and fiberglass barge covers; dry cargo barges, including deck barges, and open or covered hopper barges that transport various commodities, such as grain, coal, and aggregates; and tank barges used to transport liquid products. This group serves commercial marine transportation companies. Its Energy Equipment group offers structural wind towers, tank containers and tank heads for pressure vessels, tank heads for non-pressure vessels, and propane tanks. The company was founded in 1933 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

Inviting Real Estate Agents, Job Placements Agents, Educational Institutes, Software Service Providers, Real Estate Builders, Marriage Bureaus, Travel Agents, Restaurant Owners, Health & Fitness Centers and other Local Businesses to Post a FREE Classified Advertisement on Cootera.com Classifieds Website.