Europe 3PLs: Shippers should expect high trucking rates this year A shrinking supply of qualified truck drivers, combined with above-trend European GDP growth, is pushing the continent’s truck rates higher, and analysts had words-to-the-wise for shippers for the year ahead. (Above: Trucks travel on a highway in Berlin, Germany.) Photo credit: Shutterstock.com. Shippers of international […]
Read More →Brazil strike exposes inadequate rail network, shipper vulnerabilities
on July 2, 2018in Industry News
Brazil strike exposes inadequate rail network, shipper vulnerabilities Estimates of the strike’s cost to shippers, from beef exporters to white goods importers, range from $5 billion to $15 billion. Photo credit: Rob Ward. The more than week-long, nationwide Brazilian truck strike and blockade in late May laid bare the country’s inability to shore up its […]
Read More →Look for economies of service, as well as economies of scale
on July 2, 2018in Industry News
Look for economies of service, as well as economies of scale Having spent the last decade cutting costs to a degree that often disadvantages customers, container carriers have reached a point where they can’t slash costs more; even mergers will yield little if any additional value. Thus, carriers have no choice but to begin looking at ways […]
Read More →Carrier customer service will be first, visible change area, container exec says
on July 1, 2018in Industry News
Carrier customer service will be first, visible change area, container exec says Like the US airline industry earlier, the global container shipping industry has reached a point where cost cutting and mergers will yield little if any additional value. This is the view of a longtime carrier executive, who argues creating value for customers will […]
Read More →Crude is awakening, and truckers have felt it
on June 30, 2018in Industry News
Crude is awakening, and truckers have felt it With fuel prices rising and freight demand soaring, shippers, from Brazil to China, are reminded of just how dependent they are on truck drivers and how much rockier it can get in terms of securing cross-border moves, much less getting an in-country haul. The reasons for delayed or stalled truck delivery vary, but […]
Read More →Amazon’s third-party delivery network to redraw truck capacity
on June 30, 2018in Industry News
Amazon’s third-party delivery network to redraw truck capacity Amazon’s new network could help reduce shipper costs, and even aid other transportation providers, as volumes outstrip capacity. But as one might sense, Amazon’s latest play also will affect resources in an already beyond-tight US trucking sector. (Above: An Amazon facility in Nevada, United States.) Photo credit: […]
Read More →Shippers to benefit from Amazon’s third-party delivery network, experts say
on June 30, 2018in Industry News
Shippers to benefit from Amazon’s third-party delivery network, experts say Amazon’s new network could help reduce shipper costs, and even aid other transportation providers, as volumes outstrip capacity. But as one might sense, Amazon’s latest play also will affect resources in an already beyond-tight US trucking sector. (Above: An Amazon facility in Nevada, United […]
Read More →Kontainers powers Maersk booking platform
on June 29, 2018in Industry News
Kontainers powers Maersk booking platform Maersk Line has enlisted Kontainers, a small software company based in the north of England to develop something that could be transformative in its future relationship with shippers: a portal to make bookings and track in-transit shipments. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com. Container lines may have been late out of the gate […]
Read More →Rising fuel prices, volume set stage for more global truck strikes
on June 29, 2018in Industry News
Rising fuel prices, volume set stage for more global truck strikes Energy prices have risen, lowering the margins of a key supply chain performer, and that has implications for the container shipping industry. (Above: The scene in May 2018, when Brazil’s truckers went on strike, all but freezing road commerical transport in the country.) Photo […]
Read More →Pace of track, and track adoption, centers on who pays
on June 29, 2018in Industry News
Pace of track, and track adoption, centers on who pays As the technical hurdles standing in the way of such advances are resolved, the focus turns to whether ocean carriers, shippers, or logistics companies are willing to accept the technology and pay for it. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com. As the cost shrinks for sensor-based cargo tracking […]
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