Europe continues to fluctuate in and out of recession with ongoing economic austerity which is negatively impacting its output. Based upon its 2012 regional revenue, Armstrong & Associates estimates that 3PLs operating in Europe have penetrated 23 percent of the total potential market, so the trend to outsource logistics functions to 3PLs continues to provide for growth over and above the overall economy. The best European-based 3PLs have made acquisitions to globalize their operations and participate in developing markets with higher rates of growth.

Although tensions are high between the United States and Russia trade has remained consistent. Despite threats of trade sanctions by the United States, U.S. vessel imports from Russia have remained steady. TEUs (twenty-foot container) imports from Russia in March were actually up from February and totaled over 3,000 TEUs. So far in April, imports from Russia have still been consistent to the average volume of the past few months.

Many past decisions to offshore manufacturing were based on price alone. Today, manufacturers are looking at more than just price when considering sourcing decisions and production locations.

What are the biggest challenges facing the global apparel supply chain in 2014? One that stands out is the pressure to deliver on the omnichannel promise. There's a fundamental disconnect between the demands of an omni-channel retail environment working to give consumers immediate results, and an apparel supply chain that is getting longer, more fragmented and more difficult to predict.