Forwarding

Much criticism has been leveled at the digital forwarding model, but steep declines in topline revenue during a year of weak demand are a sign that digital forwarders have had trouble differentiating themselves from the pack.

Estes Forwarding Worldwide, a subsidiary of the LTL trucking provider, is buying Superior Brokerage Services, a step that increases Estes’ ability to offer end-to-end logistics services as other providers look to do the same.

Richard White said in an interview with the Journal of Commerce the logistics industry is stuck in a pattern of tackling small problems instead of viewing international trade as a large, connected system.

Washington is urging NVOs and forwarders to “know their customer,” a steep challenge for co-loaders who bundle multiple shipments for multiple customers into a single container, writes Journal of Commerce Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.

The gains in spot rates for ocean freight are eroding again as US importers see little need to book more space ahead of the holiday shopping season.

As many have observed in disparaging the notion of a “digital” forwarder, of which Flexport was the prototype, forwarding at its core is a business of people solving real-world problems for which there is not — and probably never will be — a technology solution, writes Peter Tirschwell.

Sanctions imposed on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine continue to limit the attractiveness of transport times as low as 12 days offered by forwarders on the China-North Europe rail network.

Flexport founder and CEO Ryan Petersen refused to pin the blame for the company’s abrupt change in leadership on waning freight demand, saying the forwarder “has been through worse macro environments.”

A difference of opinion over Flexport’s strategic shift toward fulfillment aimed at small businesses has prompted CEO Dave Clark to depart the company only a year after he came aboard.

The German-based forwarder remains the largest and most attractive takeover target in a cash-rich industry where the main players are all looking for opportunities to consolidate.

Development of trade finance tools for small and medium-sized shippers continues to grow, evidenced by OOCL Logistics launching a trade finance platform with fintech provider Stenn.

Supply overcapacity coupled with mediocre freight demand has the top 25 trans-Pacific non-vessel-operating common carriers deciding whether to chase lower margin business or suffer volume losses.

The CMA CGM subsidiary’s latest acquisition will significantly increase its presence in South Asia that is growing in importance as supply chain routes shift across the region.

Getting shippers to commit to premium-priced, low-emissions shipping services is a hard sell for ocean carriers and forwarders as cargo owners enjoy rates that are now mostly below pre-pandemic levels after two years of record highs.

A study of global logistics professionals around hurdles to technology investment found that respondents were uninterested in linking financial rewards with software adoption.

Spot rates in the eastbound trans-Pacific continue to move higher, although a planned general rate increase this week could be the last one for a while, as carriers are scheduled to add a significant amount of new capacity into the global fleet beginning later this year.

Shippers and forwarders recently surveyed by Freightos believe artificial intelligence will reduce headcounts in the logistics industry, even if they have yet to figure out how best to use the still-emerging technology.

Maersk has invested $10.5 billion in its logistics and services business to date, but results are falling behind plan after last year’s volumes evaporated.

Forwarders have an opportunity to reduce labor costs and improve margins using artificial intelligence (AI), but managing the transition away from a human workforce could prove difficult.

The CEOs of DSV and Kuehne + Nagel, shrugging off heavily distorted year-over-year comparisons, described their second-quarter results as “solid” and reflective of the evolving normalization of the air and ocean markets.

Research by ECU Worldwide found that about half of ocean freight bookings are made via email, highlighting the importance of connecting booking platforms to email systems.

Sedna’s approach of allowing companies to retain their email systems while extending their value has won new forwarding and bulk customers and a fresh capital infusion.

A return to normal freight demand is part of the reason for layoffs across the logistics technology sector, but just as important is investor focus on cost controls and a path to profitability.

The expected declines followed a drop in demand for marine containers due to weakened economic and trade growth this year, both companies said in filings to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

A variety of technology providers are aiming to arm forwarders with AI-backed tools that help with areas like customer service and rate quoting, while others are focused on technology enabling internal operational efficiency.

Growing partnerships between software vendors and integrators with expertise in their solutions and their customers systems highlight the importance of the technological plumbing that underpins logistics networks.

ChatGPT made so-called generative AI more accessible to the general public, including logistics professionals, and some software vendors believe it will change how humans interact with core transportation systems.

Zim said the financial products are particularly needed amid a slowdown in freight demand as small and mid-sized businesses continue to battle significant financial friction.

Nuvocargo will use the new funding to expand its service footprint to all major over-the-road border crossings between the US and Mexico.

Chain.io CEO Brian Glick’s initial vision for the company centered around the idea of making logistics system connectivity open to all vendors to allow shippers and logistics companies to better utilize their software.

With most new trans-Pacific service contracts in effect only since late May, container lines are already nudging shippers to meet their minimum quantity commitments instead of taking advantage of spot rates that have been cratering for approximately three weeks, sources say.

Non-vessel-operating common carriers handle a growing percentage of US imports from Asia, but that hasn’t stopped traditional asset-owning companies from attempting to leverage core assets in a bid to differentiate themselves, writes Peter Tirschwell.

An emerging trend of sending smaller shipments more frequently is leading to growing demand for LCL services across the major trade lanes.

Price is once again on the side of shippers, with excess ocean capacity allowing them to extract lower rates from service providers.

Flexport has lured a key figure in the development of Uber Freight and Coyote Logistics in a move likely to shake up the domestic third-party logistics market.

With import volumes sharply lower than last year, trans-Pacific carriers are more willing to consider requests for fixed-rate pricing and inland transportation bookings in 2023-24 service contracts, sources say.

The growth in participation in FLOW is a signal that the private sector views the voluntary nature of the project as more amenable than governmental data-sharing mandates or legislation.

Bolloré said it will bring the carrier’s $5.5 billion offer to the rest of the group for consideration after an exclusivity period for negotiations expired Monday.

More than half of forwarders have migrated completely to cloud-based software, a study of 70 global logistics services providers has found.

Tethering purchase order technology to operations can help expedite drastic decisions, but pure software vendors offer a level of neutrality that logistics providers can’t.