Australia-New Zealand Direct Line

Company History: Australia-New Zealand Direct Line announced it is merging with Union Shipping of New Zealand. In the short term, this will expand ANZDL's presence in the trans-Tasman trade between Australia and New Zealand, but within a year, it should lead to an ANZDL service linking Australia-New Zealand with Asia.''It's all part of the broader trend toward consolidation in the shipping industry today,'' said Michael Beard, ANZDL's chief executive. Mr. Beard said ocean carriers today cannot survive by being tied to one trade lane. ANZDL's goal is to have a presence in all three legs of the North America- Australasia-Asia triangle.

Brief History: Australia is a country and continent surrounded by the Indian and Pacific oceans. Its major cities – Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide – are coastal. Its capital, Canberra, is inland. The country is known for its Sydney Opera House, the Great Barrier Reef, a vast interior desert wilderness called the Outback, and unique animal species like kangaroos and duck-billed platypuses.