Articles
Global Logistics
E-commerce Retailers Target Germany
Germany is the most important European future market for U.S. brands expanding their e-commerce business (see chart), according to Internationalizing Your Brand in 2017, a study of e-commerce retail decision makers commissioned by Arvato and conducted by the Worldwide Business Research Digital agency. Companies that focus consistently on omnichannel and offering convenient, flexible, and reliable […]
Read MoreFashion Supply Chain: What to Where
While most fashion and apparel executives are optimistic about the 5-year outlook for the industry, the percentage fell from 92.3 percent in 2016 to 71 percent in 2017, a record low for the United States Fashion Industry Association’s annual Fashion Industry Benchmarking Study, which surveyed executives from leading fashion and apparel brands, retailers, importers, and […]
Read MoreNAFTA: Should We Stay or Should We Go?
Many Americans see the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as a contributing factor to the growth of the U.S. economy over the past 20 years and to the proliferation of high-skilled jobs, and believe the focus of the NAFTA negotiations should be modernizing the agreement, not withdrawing from it. Though it is often portrayed […]
Read More
IBM: Working on the Blockchain Gang
Security. Transparency. Efficiency. These buzzwords have circled the supply chain for years as consumers demand more responsible supply chains, forcing shippers and providers to explore new ways to make these terms reality. Alongside these buzzwords, another word surfaces as a potential solution to many major concerns: blockchain. IBM aims to make this solution tangible for […]
Read MoreDoes Multimodal Logistics Have a Future in Europe?
When it comes to multimodal logistics moving freight by combining two or more transport modes Europe still lags the more advanced U.S. market, but has made steady progress, according to Colliers International’s latest industrial research for the EMEA. The future drivers of multimodal traffic in European corridors include: Mega projects. Infrastructure is vital to enhancing […]
Read More
Docked and Loaded: 5 Trends Turning the Tide Of North American Shipping
Only one year after opening, the $5-billion Panama Canal expansion is already having a major impact on North American shipping. As a result, industrial real estate demand around East and Gulf Coast ports is escalating, finds a new report from JLL, a commercial real estate services company. The JLL report notes five major trends that […]
Read MoreUnder Contract
Key takeaways from TI’s Global Contract Logistics 2017 report: The global contract logistics market grew by 3.9 percent in 2016, up from 3.7 percent in 2015. Asia Pacific has overtaken Europe as the biggest market for contract logistics. Seven of the 10 largest markets grew at a slower rate than in 2015. The market is […]
Read MoreGlobal Business Leaders Feel Effects of a Riskier World
Nearly three quarters (72 percent) of business leaders in companies in Canada and around the world say their companies are increasingly impacted by risk and they believe we are living in a riskier world. That’s according to the BDO Global Risk Landscape Report, which surveyed 500 C-suite leaders, board and audit committee members from all […]
Read More
U.S. Online Shoppers Click With International Retailers
Nearly half of avid U.S. online shoppers bought items from international retailers, demonstrating the need for retailers to offer more personalized services as a way to compete against lower prices, according to UPS’ sixth annual Pulse of the Online Shopper study. Almost all avid U.S. online shoppers (97 percent), made purchases on marketplaces, up 12 […]
Read More
Global Supply Chain Suffers Disruptions Amid Diplomatic Crisis
Disagreements in the Middle East left the supply chain reeling as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Libya, and Yemen cut political and business ties with Qatar and accused the small Middle Eastern nation of supporting radical Islamic terrorism in the region. As part of efforts to sever contact, the countries shut down […]
Read More
Could Self-Driving Ships Become Reality by 2020?
"This is happening. It’s not if, it’s when. The technologies needed to make remote and autonomous ships a reality exist." So said Oskar Levander, vice president of innovation for Rolls Royce, at Amsterdam’s Autonomous Ship Technology Symposium in 2016. He wasn’t wrong about the technology, considering the United States and China already have unmanned naval […]
Read More
Consumers: No Patience For Supply Chain Fails
Seventy-eight percent of consumers want to receive updates on the status of their orders when purchasing goods, and they won’t hesitate to switch brands if supply chain performance fails to meet their expectations, according to a global survey conducted by YouGov and sponsored by Infor, a provider of industry-specific cloud applications. The survey polled 6,285 […]
Read More
President Trump’s Trade Policy To-Do List: Top 10 Priorities
President Donald Trump’s early days in office have been busy ones for trade policy. It is too early, however, to assess the impact of these changes, according to global trade data company Panjiva. Here’s how Panjiva prioritizes the President’s trade policy task list. 1. Light up Lighthizer. Senate approval for Robert Lighthizer’s appointment as U.S. […]
Read MoreSupply Chain Visibility: Closer Than You Think
Running a sustainable company isn’t as simple as it looks. "Compliance and recycle/reuse is about knowing what’s in your product—materials, chemicals, substances," says Christoph Wilfert, CEO of London-based everycs, developer of a technology solution—currently in beta testing—that screens global supply chains for risks and impacts. "But suppliers, like chemical companies, hate formula or percentage composition […]
Read MoreAsia Accelerates Contract Logistics Growth
The overall contract logistics market grew by approximately 3.9 percent in real terms in 2016, according to TI’s Global Contract Logistics 2017 report. Despite stronger global growth in 2016, many developed markets struggled to match even the modest growth rates seen in their contract logistics markets in 2015. This reflects trends in the global economy, […]
Read MoreWill Stagnant World Trade Hurt Air Cargo?
Global airfreight demand, measured in freight tonne kilometers, grew by 3.8 percent in 2016 compared to 2015, according to data released by The International Air Transport Association (IATA). This was nearly double the industry’s average growth rate of 2 percent over the past five years. Freight capacity, measured in available freight tonne kilometers, increased by […]
Read More
New Rail Service Will Link the UK and China
Details of the trade future between the United Kingdom and the European Union may be uncertain, but the UK’s trade with China is on track—literally. The Chinese government’s "One Belt, One Road" initiative checked off another milestone in April 2017 as a freight train left London’s DP World London Gateway, bound for Yiwu in eastern […]
Read MoreWhere Global Logistics Brands Stand
UPS remains the world’s most valuable logistics brand at US$22 billion, while TNT Express’s brand value dropped 42 percent, making it the fastest-falling brand in 2017. That’s according to valuation and strategy consultancy Brand Finance, which values the brands of thousands of the world’s biggest companies. The company first evaluates brands to determine their power/strength […]
Read More
Trade With China: A Question of Balance
President Trump hasn’t been shy about his desire to put America on more equal trade footing with China, but business leaders have traditionally fought against efforts to force the trade rival into an agreement that’s more equitable for both sides. Dissent is growing, however, according to the American Chamber of Commerce in China’s (AmChamChina) 2017 Business […]
Read More
Can Forwarders Survive an App Attack?
With rumors that Uber and Amazon may be about to launch their own global freight brokerage businesses, traditional forwarders and brokers are understandably nervous. But the British International Freight Association (BIFA) reacts to current speculation by underlining "the vastly challenging and circuitous landscape" that forwarders and brokers operate in daily. Uber has already soft-launched Uber […]
Read More