Articles
Global Logistics
India Bales on Cotton Exports
India’s annual cotton output could drop 12 percent to the lowest in nine years as limited rainfall in the top two producing states has slashed crop yields, potentially cutting exports from the world’s top producer, according to a report in the Economic Times. Fewer cotton shipments from India will allow rivals such as the United […]
Read MoreSix of One: Merger Creates UK’s Largest Logistics Provider
Hong Kong private equity investor EmergeVest has consolidated ownership of six of the UK’s leading logistics companies to create EV Cargo, one of the country’s largest providers of transport, logistics, freight forwarding services, and logistics technology, and a global supply chain company operating in more than 120 countries. With £850 million (US $1.067 billion) of […]
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Weather Forecast: Supply Chain Disruptions Ahead
Global supply chain disruptions continue to grow at an alarming rate and the potential for financial or revenue impacts is the highest it has been in three years, finds Resilinc’s recent EventWatch Supply Chain Disruption report. In the first half of 2018, Resilinc notified a record 1,069 events within six months, the highest since the […]
Read MoreEconomic Nationalism Challenges Global Supply Chains
Sixty-six percent of manufacturers responding to a new survey of global senior supply chain decision makers by software company LLamasoft say they would change their supply chains in order to tackle economic nationalism. In addition, 50 percent of respondents say economic nationalist policies will increase operational costs, and 45 percent are considering alternative suppliers, representing […]
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Trade Wars, Cyber Threats Top Maritime Concerns
The global maritime industry is cautiously optimistic about the global business environment for world trade, but also concerned about the potential impact of trade tensions, cyber security, fuel costs, and other headwinds to industry recovery. Those are the findings of a new benchmark survey developed by the Business Performance Innovation Network, in partnership with Navis. […]
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Mail Merge: China Post, Lufthansa Enter Capacity Agreement
With the goal of jointly building a more stabilized and comprehensive channel of air mail transportation connecting China and Europe, China Post Group Corporation, the official postal service of the People’s Republic of China, and cargo airline Lufthansa Cargo are partnering on a strategic capacity agreement that adds one Boeing 777 freighter on the Shanghai-to-Frankfurt […]
Read MoreDo You Need a Larger Customs Bond?
The answer could very well be yes, according to information provided by Tennessee-based transportation company Averitt Express. A lot of new tariffs have come into effect in 2018, and more are scheduled. These increases are substantial, and if they affect the goods your company imports, you are well aware of how this impacts your business […]
Read MorePlastics Supply Chain Turns Off the Tap
HP Inc. and IKEA are joining the NextWave Plastics global consortium—a collaborative initiative that brings together leading companies to "turn off the tap" of plastic entering the ocean. The goal is not only to scale their own ocean-bound plastics supply chain efforts, but to also extend across industries to make it commercially viable for all, […]
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Panama Canal in the Zone
The Panama Canal closed its 2018 fiscal year with a record 442.1 million Panama Canal tons (PC/UMS), which represents a 9.5-percent increase from the previous year. This surpasses cargo projections of 429.4 million PC/UMS tons for FY 2018, as well as the 403.8 million PC/UMS tons registered in FY 2017. The transit of liquefied petroleum […]
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Click & Collect Not Clicking Yet
Fewer than half of retailers responding to an OrderDynamics survey provide shoppers with access to basic inventory visibility. Of the 2,000+ worldwide retailers participating in Omni-2000 Research: Global, only a surprising 38.1 percent show basic inventory visibility on product pages. A strict like-for-like, year-over-year comparison finds a 30.7-percent decrease in active online inventory visibility. This […]
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New NAFTA Winners and Losers
Although the recently announced trade deal between the United States, Mexico, and Canada is not likely to take effect until 2020, assuming each country grants final approval, many have been quick to seize upon the agreement in search of "winners and losers." The new deal, known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is poised to […]
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That’s a Latte Coffee
When it comes to coffee imports, Germany is way out in front of EU member states, with 2017 imports totaling 1.1 million metric tons (see chart), according to Eurostat’s most recent statistics. The Italians are also well known for their love of coffee and last year, they imported slightly more than 550,000 metric tons. Belgium […]
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Growth in the Line of Beauty
To serve its rapidly growing customer base in mainland China, Feelunique—Europe’s leading online beauty retailer with more than 32,000 products and 500 brands across makeup, skincare, haircare, and fragrances—is set to open a distribution hub in Hong Kong in partnership with SEKO Logistics, a third-party logistics provider based in Itasca, Illinois. The cross-border online retailer […]
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Strong Im/Ex Market Fuels South Korea Trade Growth
Air trade in South Korea will remain steady due to strong exports of high technology, basic materials, and machinery parts, as well as imports of industrial raw materials and machinery parts, predicts the DHL Global Trade Barometer, an early indicator of global trade developments calculated using artificial intelligence and big data. The Barometer also expects […]
Read MoreCargo Airports Do Brisk Business
Cargo airports were bustling in 2017, according to the Airport Council International’s finalized list of the world’s top 20 busiest cargo airports in 2017 (see chart). Total cargo volumes handled (loaded and unloaded freight and mail) increased by 7.8 percent from the previous year, to 50.6 million metric tons. Airports in the Asia-Pacific region continued […]
Read MoreBattleBots: Robots vs. Workers
The public is broadly fearful that automation will lead to significant job losses, with many populations skeptical that the technologies will boost economic efficiency, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey of 10 countries. Greece, South Africa, and Argentina express the highest degree of certainty that technology will displace human workers (see chart). But […]
Read MoreApple Seeds Clean Energy Fund for China
Apple will launch a new first-of-its-kind investment fund in China to connect suppliers with renewable energy sources. As part of the company’s commitment to increase the use of renewable energy within its supply chain, 10 initial suppliers and Apple will jointly invest nearly $300 million over the next four years into the China Clean Energy […]
Read MoreLaw and Border: 5 Ways to Boost Canadian Clearance Efficiency
To help businesses reach the Canadian market more efficiently, Purolator International offers these tips for minimizing the risk of having a shipment delayed at the border. 1. Don’t underestimate the border clearance process. Successfully moving goods into Canada—which also means exporting goods out of the United States—is a multistep process that requires detailed knowledge. Failure […]
Read MoreIs Your Freight Broker Legit?
Thousands of licensed freight brokers operate in the United States today, and more enter the market every year. With all this competition, it is critical to vet each freight broker you plan to work with. These simple steps will keep your supply chain moving forward efficiently, without harming the bottom line of your business or […]
Read MoreGlobal Air Freight in Slow Motion
Demand for global air freight, measured in freight tonne kilometers (FTKs), rose 2.1 percent in July 2018, compared to the same period the year before, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). This was the slowest pace of growth since May 2016, and well below the five-year average growth rate of 5.1 percent. Freight […]
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