Construction has begun on a three-year $1.6bn overhaul of the largest container port in Australia, with Victorian state government saying the work is necessary to avoid capacity constraints and adding that it will create around 1,100 jobs.

Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, Del Monte Foods and MGM Resorts are among some 25 companies that have joined an Ecodesk campaign to improve supply chain efficiency and transparency, and make it easier for businesses to measure so-called Scope 3 emissions.

CEVA Logistics, a global supply chain management company, today announced the launch of a new China-to-Europe railway service that connects Suzhou with the Netherlands.

The latest version of Isotrak's vehicle tracking solution enables fleet operators to improve trailer utilization and cut operational costs and fleet size by as much as 10 percent, the manufacturer says. The Active Transport Management System (ATMSi) gives round-the-clock visibility of all the trailers in the fleet, identifying those in use and those underutilized.

IBM announced a new predictive analytics solution to help enterprises identify and root out problems that could lead to asset failure. These new business consulting services and software are aimed at helping decision makers predict and prevent damaging supply-chain disruptions.

Retailers will drive demand for up to 270 million square feet of warehouse space in Europe, including 33 million square feet for e-commerce, according to a report by Jones Lang LaSalle.

U.S. distributors and freight haulers have held down diesel consumption even as their business recovers from recession by making thousands of small changes to their operations. Improved driver training, restrictions on idling and careful route planning to reduce deadheads are all reducing consumption of expensive diesel while helping companies promote their green credentials.

Saudi Logistics, a subsidiary of Banaja Holdings, has rebranded itself as Tranzone, it announced this week. Saudi Logistics is an exclusive logistics company for the healthcare industry in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but management wants to leverage the reputation of the company's sister entity, UAE-based Tranzone, in a bid for regional expansion.

South African companies, particularly bigger enterprises, are making significant progress in optimizing their supply chains; however, opportunities for further enhancement do exist even for the most advanced practitioners.