Global Trade

As Americans celebrate Independence Day this week, logistics managers should be even more mindful of the “modern slavery” that continues to exist in U.S. multinational supply chains.

Leading industry analysts observe that there’s a host of new technologies opening up fresh emerging market opportunities for U.S. shippers. How to properly harness these solutions and third-party partners now becomes the chief challenge. When Gartner released its annual “Supply Chain Top 25” report last May, it did more than simply identify global industry leaders and best practices.

Despite the sabre rattling at top diplomatic levels regarding new trade policies and tariffs, The DHL Global Trade Barometer index continues to forecast a solid growth for global trade as the index hits 67, representing a slight increase (+1) compared to the previous release in March.

When looking at the last three-to-four years in the logistics and freight transportation sectors, it is clear that there has been an “unusual and high level of activity” occurring. That was a key theme of a keynote speech at this week’s SMC3 Connections conference held at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia by John Wiehoff, CEO of global logistics services provider and freight forwarder C.H. Robinson. In a wide-ranging speech, Wiehoff categorized some of the bigger...

Global logistics and transportation bellwether FedEx announced strong Fiscal Year and fourth quarter 2018 earnings results, which it announced late yesterday. Earnings per share for the fiscal fourth quarter, at $5.91, were up 41% annually, with fiscal year EPS up 27% at $15.31. The quarterly EPS topped Wall Street expectations of $5.68-$5.71 per share, as well as fiscal year expectations, which were estimated to come in at $15.05-$15.13 per share.

POLA said it processed 768,804 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEU) in May, which is down 3% annually compared to May 2017’s record of 796,216 TEU. POLB May volumes shined, with the port saying its 687,427 TEU represents its highest-volume May ever recorded in the port’s history.

For more than a while now, there has been a general consensus of “we will see what happens” among global supply chain, logistics and freight transportation stakeholders, when it comes to what actually happens, or what the eventual fall out will or would be as a result of the tariffs the United States planned to place on Chinese imports to the United States. Well, that time is now officially here, with the White House saying it is moving forward with...

New records are expected to be hit in three of the following months-with July at 1.88 million TEU for a 4.1% annual gain; August at 1.91 million TEU for a 4% increase; and September at 1.83 million TEU for 2.3% improvement-each expected to top the previous record of August 2017’s 1.83 million TEU for a single month.

Political bluster aside, logistics professionals on all sides of the border agree that careful planning, attention to detail and good partnerships are all key to continued, efficient cross-border transit—no matter who’s in the White House.

The economies in Asia and Latin America posted a relatively high growth rate in May, say analysts for Kuehne + Nagel Group.

Any thoughts that a “trade war” between the United States and China was not a possibility were put to rest earlier today based on an announcement coming out of the White House. The White House said that under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, “the United States will impose a 25% tariff on $50 billion of goods imported from China containing industrially significant technology, including those related to the ‘Made in China 2025’ program.”

The division is responding to strong growth in demand for air cargo, chiefly for outbound services out of Asia and on the conventional transpacific route, fueled by almost all industries.

POLA handled 703,536 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units) in April, which was down 1.3% annually compared to the 714,755 TEU recorded in April 2017, and POLB POLB April volumes were up 10.8% annually at 618,438 TEU. Imports saw an 8.4% annual gain to 312,376 TEU, and exports increased 22% to 141,799 TEU.

United States-bound waterborne shipments saw some growth in April, albeit not at the same levels it hit in previous months, according to data issued this week by global trade intelligence firm Panjiva. April shipments, at 955,956, saw a 0.3% gain compared to April 2017, getting annual shipment growth back on a positive track, following March’s 0.2% annual decline. March’s annual decline was the first one going back to a 7.7% annual drop-off in February 2017.

Over the past couple of months, the Wall Street Journal has published several articles that indicate CEOs are “suddenly” discovering that transportation and supply chain issues can drastically impact their profitability. When CEOs from large companies like John Deere, Tyson Foods, and General Mills publicly state that their financial performance has been hurt by increased transportation costs, it gets people’s attention.