01/19/2005 16:18:50

Huntington Beach, Ca. - Freightgate(R), a leader in providing technology solutions for contract rate management, in transit inventory visibility, shipment scheduling and supply chain optimization tools for global shippers today announced the enhancement to its Tariff-Trek contract rate management and FMC compliance system. Tariff-Trek!, already the industry's most advanced solution to the challenge of managing complex multi-modal international transportation rates and providing customers with dynamic rate quotes, now takes the next natural step to enable seamless NSA compilation and filing with the FMC.

Freightgate introduces this new functionality in direct response to the FMC's December 15, 2004 ruling allowing NVOCC's to enter into confidential service contracts (NSAs) with shippers. The new ruling, effective January 19, 2005, will re-level the playing field for NVOCCs and VOCCs -- a playing field that had tilted in vessel operators' favor with the onset of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA) of 1998. Introducing the enhancement in direct step with this regulatory shift is typical of Freightgate's commitment to market driven innovation. "Offering the functionality our customers need, when they need it, is one of our driving principles", said Martin Hubert, President and CEO of Freightgate. "When rumors first started circulating last summer that the FMC was looking into NSAs, we immediately began analyzing the impact on our NVOCC partners and their customers. We quickly realized the need to develop a solution that ensured they would be first to market with automated NSA capability when the final ruling came down from the FMC. Today we are happy to announce that we have accomplished that objective", Hubert added.

The new NSA functionality integrates fully with Tariff-Trek!, capitalizing on its industry leading five leg rating and routing engine. This provides a major advantage for existing customers because their underlying contracts and processes remain intact, providing the foundation for NSA generation. One NVOCC customer said, "This is just great for us because we have been anticipating this ruling with mixed emotions for some time. We were happy for the opportunity to sign NSAs with our key customers, but concerned about the administrative burden the new filing requirements would create. With this enhancement to Tariff-Trek!, Freightgate has erased all of those concerns. Our staff is excited because they already enjoy the benefits Tariff-Trek! provides -- now those benefits have been extended into a whole new competitive realm."

About Freightgate(R):

Based in Huntington Beach, California, the Freightgate(R) team has developed Internet solutions, such as its industry-leading PLTX Suite, for the freight industry since 1994. PLTX includes I-Trek(R) for Internet Supply Chain Collaboration & Visibility; GTM-Trek! for RFQ and tender management; Tariff-Trek! for service contract and quote management; FMC-Trek! for fulfilling FMC publishing requirements; Pay-Trek! for invoice auditing and approval; and WISA, the dynamic supply chain optimization tool. Other Freightgate suites include I-Train! for training and educational requirements, and eLogistic, the perfect extension for online exchanges to provide interactive shipping services to users. Freightgate's customer portfolio includes companies such as Alliance International, CaroTrans, GeoLogistics, Menlo Worldwide Forwarding a UPS Company, Naca Logistics, Panalpina and Primary Freight. Freightgate is ISO 9001:2000 certified.