short takes

Ryder System is acquiring nearly all of the assets of Gator Leasing, a full-service truck leasing, commercial truck rental, and fleet services company based in Miami, Fla. ... Estes Air Forwarding has joined the Environmental Protection Agency's voluntary SmartWay Transport Partnership, a program designed to increase fuel efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the freight industry. ... Toyota Material Handling, U.S.A. recently sponsored a recreational hub near company headquarters in Southern California. ... By September, all power equipment operated at the Port of Charleston will use cleaner ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel. The EPA has mandated that all off-road equipment make the switch to ULSD by 2010, but Charleston will beat that deadline by two years. ... All of the roads within Rickenbacker Global Logistics Park, a multimodal facility near the Columbus, Ohio, airport, have been designated as an overweight hauling zone. The designation enables companies with special intermodal hauling permits to operate overweight vehicles and move overweight loads within the park. ... FKI Logistex has formed a new global accounts team to optimize service to its parcel customers internationally. ... The Port of Tacoma and the city of Tacoma, Wash., have launched a pilot project aimed at expanding exports to China and attracting foreign direct investment to the Tacoma region.