After a winter marked by tight capacity and high rates across the U.S. freight market, spring is bringing a respite for shippers across several areas. While no one factor is entirely responsible for this shift, one clear cause that supply chains are slowing down, now that the race to stockpile inventory ahead of the Chinese […]
In March, Italy became the first G7 country to formally join China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The deal, confirmed during a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping laid the groundwork for a preliminary $2.8 billion in Chinese investments in Italian projects, including infrastructure improvements at Italian ports in Trieste, Genoa, and Palermo. The announcement […]
After years of one-upmanship, ocean shipping’s appetite for bigger and bigger mega-ships may have finally reached its peak. At least, that’s the message from some of the world’s biggest carriers, though others continue to place orders for these giants of the sea. While shipping lines contemplate an end to the arms race, shippers, logistics professionals, […]
In 2018, the United States’ trade deficit in goods climbed to an historic high of $891.3 billion, up from $807.5 billion in 2017. During this time, the merchandise deficits with China, Mexico, and the EU all hit record highs, and total containerized exports dropped 0.2 percent. (The overall deficit is $621 billion, offset by the […]
When longtime LTL titan New England Motor Freight (NEMF) announced it was filing for bankruptcy in February, the news was greeted with shock, sadness, and plenty of blame. For its part, NEMF largely blamed its employees’ union for refusing to make contract concessions. Many industry observers blamed NEMF’s biggest customers, especially Amazon, for forcing the […]
Every cybersecurity expert’s favorite axiom is that security is only as strong as its weakest link. This truth makes supply chains particularly vulnerable, since they frequently involve hundreds or thousands of contracts, stretching over multiple continents. Managing information flow across these systems is a challenge, since a manufacturer may not even know who their second […]
After years of non-stop headlines, it’s possible that the only person on Earth who isn’t tired of hearing about Donald Trump is Donald Trump. Nevertheless, President’s Day at the (probable) midpoint of Trump’s first term is a good time to consider how this presidency has affected the American economy in general and supply chain management […]
As of this writing, the United States is still in the midst of the longest government shutdown in national history (Update: on January 25th the shutdown was put on hold for three weeks pending congressional approval of funding for a border wall). Of course, given the erratic state of our current political moment, the partial […]
Chinese New Year is almost upon us, and despite being one of the most predictably disruptive annual occurrences in logistics, it always seems to sneak up on us. This year’s official festivities will run from February 5-19, kicking off the Year of the Pig. Chinese New Year is the most important holiday for the world’s […]
It’s a time-honored tradition in the world of logistics: after the holiday decorations are all taken down and the last of the cookies are eaten, the season of returns begins. Brick and mortar retailers are used to post-holiday returns, but for online retailers, this season increasingly lasts all year. Reverse logistics–the complicated science of feeding […]