Articles
Supply Chain
Gulftainer Invests in Delaware and It’s a Pretty Big Deal
A new port deal represents the largest operation ever run by a United Arab Emirates (UAE) company in the United States, as well as the largest U.S. investment by a private UAE company. Gulftainer, the world’s largest privately owned independent port operator and logistics company based in the UAE, finalized a 50-year concession agreement with […]
Read MoreFlying in the Face of Danger: Lufthansa Handles World’s First eDGD
When Lufthansa Cargo handled a shipment from global healthcare company Abbott based in Wiesbaden, it was no routine transaction. It represented the world’s first dangerous goods shipment with an electronic Dangerous Goods Declaration (eDGD), using the INFr8 platform. Lufthansa Cargo, flew the shipment from Frankfurt Airport to Mexico City on board cargo flight LH8222. The […]
Read MoreGood Question: What recent supply chain development will have the greatest impact on your job
Tariffs create global challenges. The United States has taken a strong position in dealing with fair trade, but we have felt the same strong efforts by many governments around the world. Michael Ford Chief Compliance Officer BDP International The digitalization of the supply chain will provide the single biggest boost to transparency in what is […]
Read MoreChina’s Economy Stays Resilient
China’s railway freight volume, an indicator of broad economic activity, expanded at a faster pace in the first seven months of 2018, notes a Xinhua report. China’s railways carried a total of 2.3 billion metric tons of cargo between January and July 2018, up 7.9 percent from one year earlier, according to National Bureau of […]
Read MoreBye, a la Mode
As part of a business plan to centralize operations and move away from independent owner-operator networks, Hub Group sold its Mode Transportation subsidiary to an affiliate of York Capital Management, a diversified investment manager, for approximately $238.5 million, with about $20 billion under management. Hub’s primary focus is intermodal, and it has sold a 3PL […]
Read MoreThe Supply Chain in Brief
SEALED DEALS Electronic component maker Phoenix Contact awarded a small parts warehouse automation and expansion project to WITRON Logistik + Informatik GmbH. To help Phoenix meet an increase in pick volume driven by online ordering, WITRON added 10 multifunction ergonomic order-picking workstations (pictured), bringing the warehouse total to 31. Ben E. Keith, one the largest […]
Read MoreIN BRIEF: New Services & Solutions-October 2018
Transportation Air Italy started cargo routes between India, Thailand, and the United States and Milan Malpensa airport, utilizing the 10-ton belly capacity of its A330 fleet. Now represented by Globe Air Cargo USA for all its U.S. cargo operations, the airline plans to offer direct daily flights from Miami and New York to the Milan airport. […]
Read MoreReuse Service of Use to Container Shippers
CMA CGM and Hapag-Lloyd, two of the world’s largest liner shipping companies, now offer reUse, a container management service, in Mexico. The service is made available on the online platform of Avantida, an INTTRA company. It is the first time this service is offered in Mexico, and represents Avantida’s first foray into the North American […]
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6 Post-M&A Supply Chain Strategies for Success
The high-tech industry has experienced a season of acquisitions, and now it’s time to start thinking about supply chain optimization. According to the 2017 M&A Report, high-tech mergers and acquisitions totaled more than $700 billion in 2016, about 30 percent of the overall M&A market. This reflects a growth rate of 9 percent per year […]
Read MoreNews & Trends Impacting High-Tech & Electronics
it’s a beautiful day in GOOGLE’S neighborhood Toronto spells the site of Google parent company Alphabet’s planned $50 million high-tech neighborhood. Sidewalk Labs—Alphabet’s urban-innovation arm—will develop 12 acres of the city into a high-tech urban environment called Quayside. While the details aren’t yet finalized, a hint at what’s to come may be Sidewalk Labs’ previous […]
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6 Ways to Find Hidden Capacity
As shippers puzzle their way through a record truckload capacity shortage, they have to change how they do business to find the right truck at the right time for the right price.
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Beyond Table Stakes: Freight Payment Clients Hold All the Cards
Advances in technology, increasing globalization, and the growth of e-commerce are upending the traditional freight bill audit and payment industry.
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Good Question: To address the truck driver shortage, should we lower the minimum driver age to 18?
I agree with lowering the age restriction for getting an interstate CDL to 18. Currently, commercial drivers between 18 and 21 can operate with a CDL as long as they don’t cross state borders. Think about that—a 19 year old can legally operate a commercial rig between Miami and Pensacola, Florida (670 miles apart), but […]
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Good News From the Government! (Yes, You Read That Right)
In its second estimate of Q2 2018 Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the U.S. Census Bureau quoted growth at 4.2 percent, the best quarterly figure since Q3 2014. That comparison is important because 2014 was also the last time the truck market was tight. When GDP rises above four percent, freight grows and the truck market […]
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Shipping and Delivery: How to Get it Right
Thanks to the rise of e-commerce and heightening customer expectations, shipping and delivery have become key drivers of overall customer satisfaction. An e-commerce company’s ability to meet customer expectations can be a source of competitive differentiation. Executing against the wrong strategy—or not having a strategy at all—is a recipe for higher costs and lower customer […]
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Conserving a National Resource
Everyone has an opinion about how to combat the truck driver shortage—from boosting pay and benefits to lowering the age for getting a CDL (see Good Question, page 10) to self-driving trucks. But one valuable weapon you don’t hear much about is driver wellness programs. Carriers can implement these programs quickly, and net near immediate […]
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Driver Wellness Programs: The Right Thing to Do
Wellness programs keep drivers healthy, and carriers wealthy and wise.
Read MoreWho’s Running the Ship?
Norway is testing a new way to make ocean freight transportation more sustainable: autonomous electric ships. Norwegian fertilizer manufacturer Yara International has commissioned the Yara Birkeland, which will be the world’s first autonomous electric containership. The company plans to use the freighter between ports to eliminate the use of diesel-powered trucks. The electric ship should […]
Read MoreHoly Mackerel! Oslo Reels in Seafood Center
Norway’s Oslo Airport is positioning itself as a preferred cargo hub by adding seafood transportation to its menu. Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) and Sjømatterminalen AS will operate the new Seafood Center at Oslo Airport, which will handle up to 250,000 tons of seafood annually. The facility is designed to meet industry requirements for cool chain […]
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