Early in its history, Foremost shipped rice to Vietnam under contract with the U.S. government during the Vietnam War. The United Nations contracted with Foremost to deliver humanitarian cargo to Bangladesh during its war for independence in 1971. From 2012 to 2019 its fleet grew from 17 to 33 ships, valued at $1.2 billion, the most valuable of any dry bulk shipper headquartered in the United States. It ordered the construction of 10 bulk cargo vessels in 2017 and 2018, the majority from Japanese shipyards.