Independent On-Board Courier

GlobalX Airlines accuses shareholder of undermining cargo business. Lawsuit alleges Ascent Global Logistics failed to award expedited charter flights under freight broker partnership. · Tuesday, June 02, 2026 Global Crossing Airlines has sued Ascent Global Logistics for $30 million in damages alleging the former investment partner reneged on an agreement to steer air cargo business its way and instead assigned charter work to USA Jet Airlines, its expedited on-demand freighter subsidiary with a large roster of automotive clients. Ascent Global Logistics was the largest shareholder in Global Crossing, a startup carrier based in Miami that operates passenger and cargo charter service, until selling its shares to other investors last year. Despite an exclusive freight brokerage agreement to refer charter transportation requests to GlobalX, Ascent essentially froze out its partner from the ad hoc, expedited market in North America by only tendering a few token flights while giving USA Jet hundreds of flights, according to a complaint filed last month in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court. "Ascent knowingly and intentionally abused this position of trust and control. Rather than fulfilling its obligations as GlobalX's exclusive broker under the agreement, Ascent embarked on a deliberate, concerted campaign to sideline, weaken, and inflict severe operational and financial harm on GlobalX's cargo operations. Ascent perceived GlobalX's modern, fuel-efficient Airbus A321 freighter fleet as a competitive threat to its own airline (USA Jet) and to the rates it could extract from the market," Global Crossing said. GlobalX earlier this year indefinitely parked two of its four A321 converted freighters because of severely limited demand that made it uneconomical to operate them. USA Jet Airlines has eight active McDonnell Douglas MD-88 narrowbody freighters, with an average age of about 35 years, one 36-year-old MD-88 and a 45-year-old Boeing 727-200, according to aviation databases. Ascent, which was spun off from Roadrunner in 2020, is owned by H.I.G. Capital. It is the 35th ranked domestic transportation management firm based on gross revenue, according to Armstrong & Associates. In May 2023, GlobalX appointed Ascent as its exclusive broker for expedited ad hoc business in the North American manufacturing sector and agreed to refer any business opportunities to Ascent, which in turn agreed to refer charter work to its partner. Ascent awards hundreds of charters per month worth between $10 million to $15 million, but has only referred about $1 million in charter flights to GlobalX over the past three years, according to the complaint. Between March 2023 and August 2024, Ascent only provided GlobalX with 24 expedited ad hoc cargo charters. In the same time period, Ascent fulfilled About 400 expedited flights using its own airline. Under the arrangement, Ascent initially provided a $2.5 million prepayment to GlobalX to perform air cargo flights for its customers. GlobalX, for its part, agreed to credit 50% of the amount billed for each flight toward the prepayment until the prepayment was paid in full, after which Ascent was required to pay the full amount of any undisputed invoice. GlobalX viewed the prepayment as a way to incentivize Ascent to award charter business to the airline. Although Ascent didn't make any minimum volume commitments, GlobalX said it "reasonably expected that Ascent would provide reasonable opportunities to GlobalX while acting as GlobalX's exclusive broker - particularly given the fact that GlobalX was referring business opportunities presented to it to Ascent. The entire purpose of the contract hinged on this tradeoff." Efforts to find a formula for sharing cargo business with GlobalX were largely ignored by Ascent, according to the complaint. On July 26, 2024, after repeated discussions, Ascent CEO Paul Martins agreed in an email to modify the agreement by committing to give GlobalX one flight per week when there is a need for aircraft similar in size to the A321 and pricing is competitive, yet Ascent failed to follow through, GlobalX alleged. GlobalX said it subsequently forwarded business opportunities to Ascent that GlobalX would have been qualified to fulfill, but Ascent didn't refer any of those charters to GlobalX and never attempted to meet the new commitments under the volume amendment. From August 2024 until the agreement terminated in May, Ascent only awarded GlobalX nine more charter flights. The agreement and volume amendment constituted a valid contract, according to the lawsuit. Financial harm. GlobalX alleged that Ascent used its dominance in the on-demand charter market and the prepayment agreement to effectively "choke off" GlobalX as a competitor, which was most notably accomplished by Ascent not providing the airline access to its proprietary bid board. In addition to awarding jobs to USA Jet, Ascent gave work to other air carriers. The bid board is a web-based freight marketplace that allows carriers to bid on freight moves, while allowing shippers multiple quote options. Ascent did a disservice to its primary customers, such as General Motors, Ford Motor Co., John Deere, Polaris, Nissan and Stallantis, by denying them access to GlobalX bids. GlobalX said Ascent is now demanding the remaining $1.94 million balance of the prepayment, which it characterized as a sign of Ascent's "predatory intent." GlobalX said it incurred $30 million in damages from the breach of contract, including profit it would have made from Ascent flights as well as losses from maintaining a fleet to meet its obligations to Ascent. In one month alone, GlobalX claimed it lost hundreds of thousands of dollars by having to keep aircraft and crews on standby for Ascent flights that never materialized, which often resulted in GlobalX having to adjust its schedule or turn down other opportunities for its cargo aircraft. In an interesting twist, GlobalX Executive Chairman Chris Jamroz was the CEO and chairman of Ascent Global Logistics when it was sold to H.I.G. in 2023. Ascent and H.I.G. officials did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication. Upcoming FreightWaves Events Supply Chain AI Symposium Past the hype. Join operators, founders, and enterprise leaders figuring out how to deploy AI in supply chain. July 15, 2026 The Old Post - Chicago, IL FreightTech F3: Future of Freight Festival Industry-defining keynotes, rapid-fire technology demos, and industry leaders networking in experiences across Chattanooga - plus the inaugural F3 Awards Dinner featuring the FreightTech and Shipper of Choice reveals. October 27, 2026 - October 28, 2026 The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo - Chattanooga, TN

Ascent Global Logistics earns recognition as a John Deere "Partner-Level Supplier" for the 11th consecutive year. May 07, 2026, 09:00 ET BELLEVILLE, Mich., May 7, 2026 /CNW/ - Ascent Global Logistics ("Ascent") has earned recognition as a Partner-level supplier for 2025 in the John Deere Achieving Excellence Program, marking the 11th consecutive year the company has received this top supplier rating. The Partner-level status is Deere & Company's highest supplier rating. The Belleville, MI-based company was selected for the honor in recognition of its dedication to providing products and service of outstanding quality as well as its commitment to continuous improvement. Company employees accepted the recognition during formal ceremonies held on April 16, 2026 at the Deere & Company World Headquarters in Moline, IL. Ascent supports John Deere's North American production with time-critical inbound logistics, including ground expedite, airfreight, on-board courier and air charter. The company has earned multiple honors throughout its long-standing relationship with John Deere, including a Supplier Innovation Award (2015), Supplier of the Year (2016), Hall of Fame status in 2019 and 2024 and recognition in the John Deere Cost Reduction Opportunities Process (JD CROP) in 2022. "It is an incredible honor to accept our 11th consecutive Partner-Level Supplier award from John Deere," said Daryl Knight, Chief Commercial Officer at Ascent Global Logistics. "We're grateful for the relationship, but even more for what this recognition truly represents-our people and their passion for delighting our customers every day. This award is something the Ascent team has earned together, one shipment at a time, and we're deeply committed to this critical part of our customers' supply chains." Suppliers who participate in the Achieving Excellence program are evaluated annually in several key performance categories, including quality, delivery, process alignment, value creation and relationship. John Deere Supply Management created the program in 1991 to provide a supplier evaluation and feedback process that promotes continuous improvement. About Ascent Global Logistics Ascent Global Logistics, headquartered in Belleville, Michigan, is a leading global provider of expedited, time-critical logistics solutions and other direct transportation services. The Company connects customers to its extensive carrier network and its owned airline via its proprietary, digital PEAK(TM) freight marketplace, which provides robust carrier capacity and transparent pricing, backed by 24/7/365 logistics experts. The experienced Ascent team solves customers' most challenging logistics needs by providing industry-leading service and top-tier satisfaction. To learn more, visit www.ascentlogistics.com. SOURCE Ascent Global Logistics Media Contact: Kelli Finn, [email protected], 734.946.3681

Wesco International (NYSE:WCC), a Pittsburgh-based provider of distribution, logistics and supply chain services, has agreed to buy Ascent LLC, a Maryland Heights-based provider of data center facility management services, for $185 million.