US producer price indexes for August showed a marked jump in local trucking costs, likely due to increased demand for service between ports, warehouses, and distribution and fulfillment centers as e-commerce demand spurred imports.
Wednesday October 21, 2020
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Amazon has shippers concerned that the storied disrupter of brick and mortar retail is training its sights on logistics. The e-commerce giant has purchased thousands of trailers blazoned with its logos in the U.S., registered as a non-vessel-operating common and leased 20 U.S. domestic cargo jets as the company appears Amazon primed to expand into last-mile package delivery and beyond.
News & Analysis
11 Sep 2020
UPS and Amazon are expanding capabilities at smaller airports in Kansas City and Tampa, respectively, to speed up last-mile deliveries.
31 Jul 2020
With e-commerce demand surging during the COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon is taking steps to alleviate capacity constraints in its fulfillment facilities and last-mile delivery services.
10 Jul 2020
Cosco Shipping's partnership with Alibaba and the group’s finance arm Ant Financial, which will primarily focus on using blockchain to track containerized goods globally, fits into China’s larger goal of creating a digital silk road threading through its Belt and Road initiative.
09 Sep 2019
The Journal of Commerce has learned Amazon has acquired 53-foot containers, signaling an intention to tender intermodal volume directly to Class I railroads without an intermediary and marketing itself as an end-to-end supply chain solution for small retailers.
13 May 2019
Amazon’s logistics business needs to be regulated, but it’s not because Amazon is a bad company; on the contrary, it’s because the company is so exceptional, Freightos CEO Zvi Schreiber writes in JOC.com's The Industry Speaks series.
29 Apr 2019
Speculation has run rampant over the past three years that the e-commerce giant would eventually compete with the parcel carriers that move its freight, but it turns out Amazon actually has its sights set on the brokerage market.
20 Apr 2019
Although the e-commerce giant doesn't describe itself as a third-party logistics provider (3PL), Amazon has surpassed major global players such as DHL and Kuehne + Nagel in 3PL revenue.
09 Apr 2019
Eric Johnson, senior editor, technology, JOC,
25 Feb 2019
The e-commerce giant will need large and midsized shippers to grow its budding NVO business, but questions remain about whether such shippers will want to work with a company that is both a service provider and a competitor.
22 Feb 2019
The e-commerce behemoth is already exerting greater control over its internal supply chain, but if Amazon were to build out and market logistics as a distinct service, it would forever redraw the lines between ocean freight and the rest of the global supply chain.
12 Feb 2019
Jack Oney, CEO, Oney Consulting and panelist at 2018 JOC Logistics Technology Conference on why he feels the "Amazon effect" on cargo shipping is overblown, differentiating what customers want versus what they need in a transportation management system (TMS), and identifying bottlenecks at origin.
25 Jan 2019
Capacity may ebb and flow, but e-commerce will keep pressure on shippers to adopt technology and review supply chain strategies, says DHL Supply Chain’s Jim Monkmeyer.
24 Jan 2019
Many variables have affected capacity, but heightened economic activity has been the main factor squeezing US capacity since 2017.
23 Jan 2019
Shippers are starting to see the beginning of the pipeline of value-added services, but the rollout won’t make a splash like the deployment of a mega-ship.
15 Jan 2019
The business model goals of online marketplaces such as Amazon and Walmart involve more than showcasing retailers’ products online.
08 Jan 2019
A space shortage from high tariff-threat-induced volume has prompted shippers and 3PLs to seek alternative, nearby container space.
04 Jan 2019
Even with a US recovery in its 10th year, the transportation and warehouse sectors continue to register strong monthly job growth.
03 Jan 2019
Here are a few certainties shippers and their transportation providers can bank on for 2019.
18 Dec 2018
“The fact that tonnage rose in November after a strong October is impressive,” Bob Costello, ATA chief economist, said.
17 Dec 2018
The presidential task force on US Postal Service reform has focused on an important aspect of its business model, but unfortunately it has missed an opportunity to make a change that would truly make a difference for the Postal Service.
13 Dec 2018
“Absent a rebound this week, the anticipated holiday peak for van freight appears to be muted,” DAT said in a statement. Even so, another feature of the US economy continues to bode well for freight demand.
12 Dec 2018
Matt Kane hopes new services, including factoring and insurance, will draw more truckers and shippers to his ‘no-broker’ loadboard, MyRiteLoad.com.
05 Dec 2018
Of course, many factors can be involved in an air cargo volume uptrend, but this holiday season trade tension and the threat of higher tariffs certainly is one.
29 Nov 2018
Regionally, the Midwest and Northeast are hot spot truckload markets in late November, as freight moves off coasts and inland to distribution centers, stores, and consumers. Shippers appear to be making more use of contract capacity, however, which is a sign capacity overall is less tight.
27 Nov 2018
Even after a 2019 rate increase for first class mail, the US Postal Service remains a bargain, compared with rates for other national postal services in the developed world. And there’s additional good news regarding parcel select service rates.
15 Nov 2018
The changes across the US transportation landscape, from a trade war with mainland China to seemingly unstoppable e-commerce growth, require from logistics managers a drill-like precision and agility and closer collaboration with carriers.
12 Nov 2018
With consumers demanding ever faster delivery times, shippers are looking for space that helps them meet that demand, including nontraditional warehouse space.
09 Nov 2018
Every year, the expectation regarding “free” is that “free” gets faster and faster, and e-commerce players are a major factor. Thus, two-to-three-day click-to-delivery expectations are now the norm. And that’s upping delivery pressure on shippers.
09 Nov 2018
Three major online buying events — Singles’ Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday are coming — and when they are combined with the evolution of the three into global shopping and shipping events, it means more pressure on air freight pipelines.
08 Nov 2018
The triple threat of e-commerce retailers, logistics technology startups, and ocean carriers pushing into the logistics services space is creating pressure on forwarders to innovate in the way they adopt new technology and engage with shippers to maintain value in those relationships.
01 Nov 2018
A dynamic, demand-based pricing system similar to those used by airlines and hotels is one part of a broader plan that would affect how freight is shipped in the US LTL market.
31 Oct 2018
The acquisition of Canada’s largest privately owned transport operator will help Canadian National “lay down track” into new markets as intermodal revenue increases.
31 Oct 2018
Keep this in mind: Every innovation in technology and transportation since the fax machine was invented, that was intended to disrupt or to disintermediate, was adopted and deployed first by 3PLs and carriers. Hence, your action item lies with your 3PLs and their carrier partners.
30 Oct 2018
Strong demand for all classifications of US industrial space will continue in the coming months.
25 Oct 2018
Money can address some factors, but until several key checkpoints in a container’s journey address operational inefficiencies, bottlenecks will persist, consultants and industry executives said at the JOC Inland Distribution Conference this week.
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