Logistics Technology News

TNT Express, the Dutch parcel delivery company being acquired by its larger U.S. rival FedEx, almost halved its third-quarter operating loss but remained under pressure from economic volatility in Australia, Brazil and China.

XPO Logistics Chairman and CEO Brad Jacobs spoke with Alessandra Barrett, senior content editor, at the JOC Inland Distribution Conference in Memphis, Tennessee, about his company’s fast growth through about $7 billion in acquisitions this year. Jacobs, a keynote speaker at the conference is close to completing the acquisition of U.S. trucking and logistics company Con-way for $3 billion.

Blue Dart Express, India’s leading express air and logistics service provider, posted a 74.5 percent jump in net earnings in the second fiscal quarter, as operating revenue grew robustly, helped by lower fuel costs and new business strategies.

Gati Ltd., India’s leading express distribution and supply chain solutions provider, reported its group net profit in the second quarter of fiscal 2015-16 fell 16.5 percent year-over-year to $892,000 from $1.07 million.

China’s logistics and courier services are preparing for Alibaba’s annual Singles Day online shopping frenzy on Nov. 11 that last year saw 278 million orders placed in just 24 hours and sorely tested the mainland’s distribution network.

Intermodal logistics giant Container Corporation of India reported its net income surged 21 percent in the second fiscal quarter from a year earlier to $36 million.

European Union antitrust regulators will not challenge FedEx’s 4.4 billion euros ($5 billion) acquisition of TNT Express, the companies said.

Panalpina’s operating profit shrank nearly 8 percent in the third quarter on lower ocean and air traffic and negative currency movements.

UPS has announced rate increases effective Dec. 28, 2015 that will raise costs for shippers using the services of the world’s second-largest transportation provider.

Kuehne+Nagel’s third-quarter operating profit grew 9 percent year-over-year as lower costs and a switch to the U.S. ocean container market from the troubled Asia-Europe trade more than offset negative currency movements.

The U.K. has sold its remaining stake in Royal Mail, raising 591.1 million pounds ($910 million) for a 13 percent shareholding and ending the state’s involvement in the 499-year old postal company.

The world's second-largest transport operator is adding more than 41,000 postal codes to its international guaranteed package service, expanding its delivery footprint in Asia and other regions.

Under XPO, Con-way Freight will offer economy as well as priority service, and XPO will pursue opportunities to leverage trucking networks on both sides of the Atlantic, Jacobs told the JOC Inland Distribution Conference.

Orbcomm, a technology company with a focus on asset tracking, has purchased WAM Technologies as it seeks to bolster its maritime presence.

Poste Italiane, Italy’s state-owned postal company is expected to start selling shares in its initial public offering next week and make its debut on the Milan stock exchange at the end of October or early November.

The coming "data explosion" could help make transportation networks much more efficient — if we can agree on what information to share and with whom to share it.

UPS is expanding its footprint in China with offices in 13 new cities, a reflection of the parcel giant’s confidence in the Chinese market despite the recent economic slowdown there.

A new, centralized supply chain software platform will help food service distributor Canadian Paper keep track of perishables moving from "farm to fork."

DHL Express has promoted a veteran African logistics executive to managing director of Sub-Saharan Africa operations for the global parcel giant.

CEVA Logistics claims changes to its less-than-container-load export system and the use of trucks instead of rail have cut local transit times for U.S. exports by as much as 14 days compared with the schedules of rival operators.

CEVA Logistics, the world’s sixth largest third-party logistics provider, has won a $50 million contract to handle Continental’s U.K. operations for the next five years.

Geodis, the 10th largest global third-party logistics provider, has appointed a new head for its industrial project operations in Southeast Asia and created a similar position in Europe.

When it comes to the business of moving goods from one point to another, there’s one firm that insiders say is shaking up the logistics industry — and it’s not even in logistics.

The express parcels industry is coming under pressure “as never before” as e-retailing, technological disruption and macro-economic upheaval drive fundamental changes in the market, according to a leading logistics consultancy.

The third-party logistics provider Transplace has acquired M33 Integrated for an undisclosed sum, the latest acquisition taking the industry by storm and one that will beef up the Texas-based company’s chemical handling capabilities.

Weak demand in the less-than-truckload market and higher-than-expected operating costs in its ground segment spurred FedEx to trim down its earnings outlook for 2016.

In a landmark pilot project that began in 2013, Interstate Batteries demonstrates how the installation of passive RFID systems can help manage consignment or vendor-managed inventories in remote locations.

The “hype cycle” about radio-frequency identification technology climaxed after it became clear the technology was too costly and difficult to implement. But item-level RFID technology is playing a much more important role for many retailers, especially in apparel and footwear, according to RFID innovator Dean Frew, who founded software maker Xterprise in 2002, and is now president of SML Intelligent Inventory Systems.

The likelihood of UPS pilots striking is low, but while shippers will likely dodge service disruptions, they could be hit by higher costs if the parcel giant gives into union demands, analysts told JOC.com.

A Hong Kong startup has launched a private beta version of a new online platform that is being billed as the “Expedia for freight shipping.”

The prospect of a major disruption to UPS domestic and international air cargo services came closer after the union representing pilots at the parcel giant asked its members to authorize a strike.

Hervé Montjotin, who led Norbert Dentressangle before its acquisition by XPO Logistics earlier this year, has abruptly resigned from the position of CEO of XPO Logistics Europe.

By snapping up the remaining shares of Van Dieren Sweden, multimodal logistics operator Samskip aims to strengthen its European intermodal rail links and gain business from shippers.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide has appointed Jeroen Eljsink, an executive with extensive experience in European logistics, as the head of its European operations.

$10 billion industrial supplies distributor W.W. Grainger acquired a British company, Cromwell, that will help scale its online offerings in Europe,

Menlo Logistics will open a new logistics center in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, early next year, as growing e-commerce sales, both domestic and cross-border, are forcing changes in European supply chains and logistics networks.

Transplace has appointed Brian Kenney, a long-time logistics industry executive, as senior vice president of Transplace Capacity Services.

SEKO Logistics has appointed Rick Lee, an industry veteran who most recently led global logistics at a technology company, as chief operating officer.

DHL Express will invest $20 million in sub-Saharan Africa this year to increase its footprint, taking the German logistics giant’s total investment in the continent to more than $50 million in the last year.

CEVA Logistics is developing its global consolidation operations and less-than-container-load services, and has announced the launching of a weekly LCL offering from Singapore to New York.