Logistics technology

News and analysis of logistics technology startups, venture capital, solutions, management, impact

The latest Logistics technology News & Analysis

Magaya gets cash infusion to fuel customs-led international growth

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Jan 31, 2023, 10:25 AM EST

The software arms race taking place in the global forwarding space shows no signs of relenting, with Miami-based Magaya getting growth capital to fuel its international ambitions.
Logistics technologyForwarding

Investors fuel drayage software provider PortPro with $12 million in funding

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Jan 27, 2023, 2:49 PM EST

Investors see drayage as an area rife for technological improvement, with software provider PortPro the latest startup to secure funding to empower port truckers.
Logistics technologyPortsDrayageTrucking

FourKites aims to turbocharge shipper analytics efforts

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Jan 26, 2023, 2:18 PM EST

The need for shippers to contextualize freight status data led visibility provider FourKites to build a data connectivity tool for enterprise shippers.
Logistics technologyContainer shippingPortsTruckingSupply Chain

Freightos goes public on NASDAQ in first measure of logistics tech value

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Jan 25, 2023, 5:00 PM EST

Freightos’ public listing on the NASDAQ will be the first test of how public investors value one of the more prominent logistics technology companies to emerge over the past decade.
Logistics technologyContainer shippingForwardingAir CargoAir cargo carriersAir cargo forwardingSupply Chain

WiseTech makes US drayage play with acquisition of Envase

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Jan 25, 2023, 10:14 AM EST

WiseTech Global, owner of the most widely used forwarding software product, has acquired a prominent vendor of drayage management software, capping a year of takeovers for the company.
Logistics technologyForwardingPortsDrayageSupply Chain

Electronic bill of lading ‘green shoots’ emerge in wake of pandemic

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Jan 24, 2023, 4:47 PM EST

Pandemic-driven acceleration in the usage of its digital shipping document product is a sign that blockchain does work in niche applications in global logistics, according to CargoX.
Logistics technologyContainer shippingSupply ChainTransport, trade and regulation

Big Flexport layoffs offer potential clue to its future identity

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Jan 20, 2023, 3:47 PM EST

Scrutiny over Flexport’s job cuts earlier this month points to a long-term issue for the venture-backed logistics company: a perceived lack of identity in a market that has long been skeptical of its differentiation.
Logistics technologyForwardingTrans-Pacific

Lack of data leaves shippers reliant on 3PLs to reduce Scope 3 emissions

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Jan 20, 2023, 8:00 AM EST

Pressure on shippers to take a more active role in bringing down so-called Scope 3 emissions covering the activities of a company’s third-party vendors — including transportation — has increased in recent years.
Transport, trade and regulationContainer shippingContainer linesForwardingLogistics technology

Terminal49 lands investment to pursue visibility automation

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Jan 19, 2023, 8:45 AM EST

Demand for ocean visibility surged through the pandemic, including among software providers needing real-time container milestone data, an area that software vendor Terminal49 has targeted in recent years.
Logistics technologyContainer shippingContainer linesPortsNorth American portsInternational ports

ECU parent forms investment partnership with logistics-focused VC firm

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Jan 18, 2023, 10:00 AM EST

A partnership between venture firm Northstar and India’s Allcargo Group is meant to formalize their joint investment plans into logistics-focused startups over the next year.
Logistics technologyContainer shippingForwardingSupply Chain

Zim wades into trade finance market with startup investment

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Jan 12, 2023, 12:13 PM EST

Zim has joined a growing group of companies that see potential in giving small importers and exporters access to digital finance tools through an investment in an Israel-based startup.
Container linesSupply ChainLogistics technology

Declining freight demand prompts Flexport to cut 20 percent of global staff

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Jan 11, 2023, 1:46 PM EST

Falling demand for ocean and air freight services is driving headcount cuts across the logistics sector, with forwarder Flexport the latest to announce layoffs.
ForwardingTrans-PacificLogistics technology

C.H. Robinson searching for new CEO — and new course for growth

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor | Jan 3, 2023, 4:31 PM EST

The change in leadership is likely to accelerate strategic changes in planning and capital spending at C.H. Robinson that have been under way since last March at the urging of investors.
SurfaceForwardingTruckloadLogistics technology

Small forwarders, technology vendors link up in pursuit of new products

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Dec 30, 2022, 11:40 AM EST

Partnerships between small forwarders and early-stage software vendors offer a symbiotic opportunity to shape product direction that is not possible with more established technology providers.
Logistics technologyForwarding

Roadrunner launches new driver app as part of broader tech overhaul

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Dec 27, 2022, 8:12 AM EST

US less-than-truckload carrier Roadrunner is arming drivers in its network with a booking application that feeds into its new internal operational systems.
LTLTruckingLogistics technology

Forwarding tech providers push into US trucking market

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Dec 21, 2022, 1:53 PM EST

The need for forwarders to tether quoting and tracking in international freight modes to US surface modes has been highlighted by new offerings from ECU Worldwide and Freightos.
TruckingForwardingTruckloadLTLIntermodal providersAir cargo forwardingLogistics technology

Pilot project shows interoperability of eBL products

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Dec 14, 2022, 3:14 PM EST

The test was meant to demonstrate that different electronic bills of lading products can be used by various parties involved in the movement of a container, alleviating a nagging concern in the nascent evolution of eBLs.
Logistics technologyContainer shipping

GSBN executive sees promise in post-TradeLens world

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Dec 8, 2022, 10:05 AM EST

The head of the Global Shipping Business Network, long seen as a rival to the now-defunct TradeLens, said the demise of the Maersk-led technology platform could eventually boost use of blockchain-backed tools in shipping.
Logistics technology

Major US freight brokers unveil appointment scheduling standards

Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe | Dec 5, 2022, 10:47 AM EST

J.B. Hunt, Uber Freight, and Convoy are partnering to develop and drive broad industry adoption of a standard process for truckload appointment scheduling.
Logistics technologyTruckingTruck brokers

Turbo-charged logistics tech faces reckoning: analyst

Lars Jensen, CEO & Partner, Vespucci Maritime, and JOC Analyst | Dec 2, 2022, 8:00 AM EST

The unprecedented infusion of cash into supply chain technology development over the past two years was akin to putting the sector on a diet of steroids, writes JOC analyst Lars Jensen.
Logistics technology

Heightened final-mile expectations drive investment into OneRail

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Nov 30, 2022, 10:41 AM EST

OneRail has channeled the need for shippers to access final-mile capacity and service level consistency into a large venture capital funding round.
Logistics technologyContainer lines

Maersk, IBM shutter TradeLens in surprise move

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Nov 29, 2022, 4:49 PM EST

TradeLens’ failure to gain traction after four years was due to several factors, not least of which was trying to convince ocean carriers and their customers to provide sensitive data to a technology platform partly owned by Maersk.
Logistics technology

Retailers bank on themselves to handle final mile

Cathy Morrow Roberson, JOC Analyst, and Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Nov 25, 2022, 9:00 AM EST

Retailers that have seen final-mile costs more than double during the pandemic are increasingly making investments in their last-leg delivery networks.
Logistics technologyContainer lines

ERD delay variance hampers US exporters: study

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Nov 16, 2022, 4:06 PM EST

Data from visibility provider Portcast shows US exporters struggle to manage changes to early return dates as well as variances in ERD data formats from different terminals.
PortsLogistics technology

Raft partners with PayCargo in forwarding payment efficiency move

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Nov 15, 2022, 1:39 PM EST

PayCargo has extended its reach into the forwarding industry via an integration with software vendor Raft that minimizes PayCargo’s need to directly connect with CargoWise.
Logistics technology

Truckload volatility prompts fresh investment in pricing startup

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Nov 15, 2022, 11:13 AM EST

Greenscreens.ai has seen its roster of truckload broker customers grow to 70 this year, with previous investor Tiger Global putting another $5 million in the Florida-based software vendor.
Logistics technologyTrucking

Freight payment providers evolving from auditing to analytics

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Nov 11, 2022, 9:00 AM EST

Audit and payment vendors are moving beyond their traditional core business of ensuring accurate freight invoices and into business analytics and consultative services as shippers seek to turn invoice data into strategic supply chain intelligence.
Logistics technology

Expeditors expects air, ocean rates to continue falling into 2023

Michael Angell, Associate Editor | Nov 8, 2022, 2:36 PM EST

CEO Jeffrey Musser said shippers are still sitting on high inventories and so are pulling back on orders after front-loading their shipments from overseas earlier this year.
Logistics technology

Maersk, CMA CGM join $80 million funding round into project44

Kevin Saville, Managing Editor | Nov 3, 2022, 5:31 PM EDT

The investment by Maersk and CMA CGM into visibility provider project44 is notable as they continue to develop their end-to-end integrator strategies and prepare for more stringent environmental regulations.
Logistics technology

US 3PL Echo extends global forwarding reach

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor | Nov 3, 2022, 2:37 PM EDT

The acquisition of Fastmore Logistics will give Echo Global Logistics more access to international freight forwarders, linking domestic and international cargo networks.
Logistics technologyTruckingTruck brokers

WiseTech targets digital documentation market with Shipamax buy

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Nov 2, 2022, 11:11 AM EDT

WiseTech Global has resumed its acquisitive ways with the purchase of Shipamax, a UK-based logistics data extraction software vendor.
Logistics technology

MyCarrier offers lifeline to shippers affected by Kuebix closure

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Nov 2, 2022, 8:30 AM EDT

Shippers affected by the closure of a free less-than-truckload transportation management system in October have been given a pathway to migrate to another system connected to 15 LTL carriers.
Logistics technologyLTLTrucking

Newtrul nabs funding to expand load board ‘search engine’

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Nov 1, 2022, 4:10 PM EDT

The truckload market is still searching for a single platform that aggregates shipper loads and carrier capacity, a role that investors are backing Chicago-based Newtrul to eventually fill.
Logistics technologyTruckingTruck brokers

Shippers turning to spot market as demand, rates weaken: K+N

Greg Knowler, Senior Europe Editor | Oct 27, 2022, 11:40 AM EDT

The severe space constraints that drove container shipping rates to record levels over the past two years are over, easing shippers' reliance on long-term fixed rates.
Logistics technology

Geodis RFP effort a sign of growing automation adoption

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Oct 27, 2022, 9:00 AM EDT

A Geodis initiative around automating service requests from shippers is an example of growing consumption of robotic process automation in the third-party logistics industry.
Logistics technology

Shippeo investment a sign that visibility not yet a winner-takes-all market

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Oct 25, 2022, 3:30 PM EDT

A funding round into Shippeo shows that demand for visibility and fragmentation of the market continue to grow despite a slowing venture capital environment.
Logistics technologyBreakbulk shipping

DSV, K+N on track for record year as uncertain 2023 looms

Greg Knowler, Senior Europe Editor | Oct 25, 2022, 1:51 PM EDT

Volume and rates fell through the third quarter, but not enough to slow the highly elevated earnings reported by two of the world’s largest forwarders.
Logistics technology

US LTL group launches standard digital BOL

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor | Oct 24, 2022, 5:24 PM EDT

More than two years in development, a standard electronic bill of lading for less-than-truckload shipments promises to streamline the flow of data, providing greater visibility to shippers.
LTLLogistics technology

Confusion around ocean freight indexes limits their usefulness: shippers

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Oct 20, 2022, 12:14 PM EDT

Buyers of ocean capacity have long used freight rate indexes to gauge the direction of the market, but disruption and sky-high costs during the COVID-19 pandemic have elevated their prominence, often leading to difficult discussions with their executive leadership.
Container linesLogistics technology

Slync bets on industry pioneer Urban to turn page

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Oct 18, 2022, 10:30 AM EDT

Embattled software provider Slync.io has turned to GT Nexus co-founder John Urban in a bid to resurrect its fortunes following the ousting of former CEO Chris Kirchner.
Logistics technology