Container freight rates from Asia to South America have come down from record highs but are unlikely to fall any further due to sustained demand that has crimped capacity and container supply.
Monday March 1, 2021
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International Logistics
International Logistics
Logistics news, intelligence and analysis about the various components of the international logistics supply chain; including warehousing and distribution centers, refrigerated supply chains (“the cold chain”), advanced logistics technologies, and third-party logistics (“3PL”) providers around the world. Extensive coverage of companies in the JOC’s Top 50 Global Logistics listings, including DHL, Kuehne + Nagel, DB Schenker, CH Robinson, DSV, XPO Logistics, UPS Supply Chain, CEVA Logistics, Expeditors International and JB Hunt. [as ranked in the 2017 list, published in 2018]. Looking to the future, major global logistics firms are continuing to make significant investments in upgrading their technological platforms, so they can match the needs of shippers with the specialized capabilities of carriers. The major motivations for the adoption of new technologies continue to be a need to increase efficiency and lower costs despite the growing demands of customers for higher levels of customer service. JOC regularly publishes updated rankings of the major international logistics providers in terms of revenues.
News & Analysis
24 Feb 2021
The case for container lines to invest in sensor hardware to provide visibility to shippers has been made easier by a profitable 2020 and a greater need to track scarce container assets.
23 Feb 2021
US seafood exporters are among the hardest hit by stricter COVID-19 testing requirements in China that some shippers have decried as non-tariff trade barriers.
22 Feb 2021
A global scarcity of containers could push cargo owners to invest in so-called shipper-owned containers, but the majority of forwarders surveyed by container selling and leasing platform Container xChange weren’t able to supply such a service.
22 Feb 2021
Financial services group ODDO has invested in shipment management software provider BuyCo as part of a broader aim to tether logistics data to new trade finance products intended to provide an alternative to letters of credit.
19 Feb 2021
The head of Maersk’s venture capital arm, and his counterpart on the business side of the container line, are starting a new independent fund to invest in later stage supply chain and logistics startups.
18 Feb 2021
Relay Payments is expanding its "lumper payment" platform, allowing truck carriers and brokers to automate the settlement of cargo unloading fees to receiving facilities.
18 Feb 2021
The need to handle rising LCL and air freight volume within its network is behind the acquisition by Rhenus of a rival’s forwarding business in Germany.
17 Feb 2021
Texas is the epicenter of supply-chain damage caused by Winter Storm Uri, but the disruption is being felt nationwide. Mexican imports by truck may be delayed for days.
17 Feb 2021
A trade finance startup this week got $7.8 million venture capital investment to arm exporters and logistics providers in Mexico with access to working capital.
17 Feb 2021
The field to supply the shipping industry with container level visibility is getting more crowded, with Bay Area-based Vizion API getting seed funding to build more complete container status data.
16 Feb 2021
Cross-border carriers lack a load board analogous to the widely-used tools available to drivers on US domestic moves, something the broker and technology provider Forager is attempting to address.
16 Feb 2021
A growing gap between inventory and sales in many US business sectors is projected to drive replenishment, expedited shipping, and high levels of imports for months to come.
16 Feb 2021
Flexport has developed its own spin on an age-old forwarding solution, the purchase order management system, by focusing on messaging between importers and suppliers.
15 Feb 2021
DSV said it is becoming a sustainability consultant for shippers as it put forth carbon reduction goals last week that govern both emissions it controls and those it doesn’t.
12 Feb 2021
RIM Logistics turned to an early stage forwarding software provider to help it migrate internal data into customer dashboards so it could avoid losing business to forwarders with intuitive user interfaces
12 Feb 2021
Forwarders are viewing traditional backbone operating systems not as a one-stop technology shop, but rather as a vehicle to attach complementary tools that help them serve shipper customers better.
10 Feb 2021
SF Holdings’ acquisition of Hong Kong-based forwarder Kerry Logistics is a move by SF to expand its international presence.
10 Feb 2021
Instant freight quoting is becoming a divided market, with one end focused on large shippers and the other on small and medium-sized businesses, according to Freightos’ annual State of Online Freight Sales survey.
10 Feb 2021
Greater coverage of air and ocean markets through its acquisition of Panalpina has driven up profitability at DSV, and the forwarder is expecting an even better result this year.
10 Feb 2021
Investment continues to surge into technologies that enable small truckload carriers to improve administrative and operational aspects of their businesses, with SmartHop’s $12 million funding round the latest example.
09 Feb 2021
Through two pilot programs, US Customs Border and Patrol (CBP) is gathering additional information on potential high-risk shipments and also allowing for electronic document filing on international e-commerce shipments valued at $800 or less.
05 Feb 2021
E2open returned to the public markets Friday after a six-year absence, a move that will allow the supply chain software provider to continue to grow organically and through acquisitions.
05 Feb 2021
French and German consumers plan to either completely stop or order less goods online from the United Kingdom, according to a recent Pitney Bowes survey.
05 Feb 2021
Momentum toward digital quoting and booking in ocean shipping is undeniable, but it remains to be seen whether shippers and forwarders will demand — and container lines are actually capable of delivering — truly dynamic pricing.
04 Feb 2021
Container visibility provider ClearMetal said demand for its product aimed at helping shippers improve shipment delivery date accuracy ballooned in 2020 as “customer promise date” becomes a more important logistics metric.
04 Feb 2021
A new funding round for logistics automation software provider Slync.io is meant to enable the company to expand in Europe and Asia as it seeks to solve long-running manual process issues for forwarders and shippers.
03 Feb 2021
Fewer trucking companies are responding to shipper bids, as contract truckload pricing rises by high single-digit percentage rates, Transplace executives said Tuesday.
02 Feb 2021
A new technology-based parcel company, founded by an ex-Amazon and Walmart executive, emerged from stealth development Tuesday with aims on serving retailers spurned or inadequately served by UPS and FedEx.
02 Feb 2021
A significant number of truckload shippers delayed annual bids with the largest US truck freight broker in the fourth quarter to avoid spiking contract rates.
01 Feb 2021
Software providers say the proliferation of integrations between transportation management systems and domestic freight brokers in 2020 hints at a future in which a TMS will no longer be merely a static system, but a living platform.
28 Jan 2021
JAS Worldwide has purchased e-commerce specialist Tigers to expand beyond its traditional international freight forwarding services and better address its customers’ e-commerce needs
27 Jan 2021
Another new entrant in the small carrier TMS space, Dallas-based Axele, portends more market structure and available capacity for shippers to tap into.
26 Jan 2021
A surge in demand for Shipwell’s technology-focused managed transportation approach, with freight under management tripling in 2020, is a sign of shippers’ increased reliance on an outsourced approach to logistics.
26 Jan 2021
Additional acquisitions will fuel growth for both XPO’s transportation and contract logistics businesses, soon to be separate companies, chairman and CEO Bradley S. Jacobs said.
21 Jan 2021
Shippers sending goods across the English Channel will only have their cargo accepted by DB Schenker if all customs information is correct.
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Commentary
Amazon makes quiet move into customs clearance, compliance
Logistics relationships ace tennis tournament test
When logistics technology hurts more than helps
Word of the year: Supply chain
Planning (again) for Disruption