Import volume at the nation's major retail container ports is expected to increase 3.3 percent in May over the same month last year, but growth could trickle to a standstill by the end of the summer, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

Globalization has had an overwhelmingly positive impact on supply chains. Purchasers can now search further afield for goods and services to achieve better value, quality, price or reliability. But for all their benefits, truly global supply chains are not without issues. The trends for reduced inventory, just-in-time ordering and end-to-end automation mean that many companies are hugely reliant on their IT infrastructure and underlying communication services.

UTi Worldwide, a global supply chain services and solutions company, has opened a multi-client logistics centre in New Taipei City, Taiwan.

A groundbreaking ceremony marked the start of construction for one of Switzerland's most advanced logistics centres, built by Schenker Schweiz AG. The new logistics hub will include office buildings, on a 38,500 square-meter property in Pfungen, Canton Zurich.