Last year, shippers were faced with increasing rates as carriers recovered from profit loss and limited space on vessels as carriers reduced capacity. The hope was that in 2010, things would pick up. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like that will be the case. As discussed in this opinion piece from Supply Chain Brain, carriers will [...]
Everyone knows that the economic downturn has struck the transportation industry hard, and now some of the world’s largest ocean carriers will be getting government bailouts from their home countries. Logistics Today is reporting that Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd will receive €1.2 billion ($1.8 billion) in state guarantees, and French CMA CGM is in talks to restructure its [...]
When the economy rebounds, we may be seeing a significant rise in air freight shipments. Deutsche Post DHL and the London School of Economics recently published a study that predicted air express industry to get a boost from rising demand for individualized health care, demand for documents transfer in international services industry and spare parts [...]
Today, the Journal of Commerce reported that last week, Hyundai took an order for the first container ship in over a year, anywhere in the world! Middle East oil tanker operator, Abu Dhabi National Tanker Company placed an order for two gearless box ships of 1,060 20-foot equivalent units capacity, the first order since October [...]
Although analysts are reporting that economic recovery is just around the corner, there are still significant risks associated with this recovery. Companies who have laid off employees and reduced spending in areas such as IT investment will face a tough road ahead. In a recent study done by AMR Research, 44 percent of executives surveyed believe the biggest risk [...]
As of late, economic conditions have forced carriers to reduce their rates to extremely low levels. Seemingly good news for shippers. However, now many carriers are saying that these rates have sunk to levels that are unsustainable, and they will be forced to raise them again in coming weeks. This could cause a couple of [...]
Business has picked up a bit for 3PLs in the second quarter. According to a market report done by the Transportation Intermediaries Association, total billings by third-party logistics providers were up about 7% in Q2 from what they were in Q1. Additionally, average volume was up in Q2. Hopefully this trend will continue in months [...]
According to Logistics Management, M&A activity in the transportation industry remained strong in 2008 and we are still seeing a modest deal flow in the first half of 2009, as buyers look to expand their service offerings. Please read the full story here: Merger activity shows vital signs.
With the economic downturn, it is no secret that the transportation industry has been hit hard. This in turn presents a risky environment for the shippers whose businesses depend on those suffering transportation providers. The Journal of Commerce recently ran a story highlighting the risks that importers and exporters face when selecting a carrier. While [...]
