Liquid bulk shipping requires complex planning and scheduling. For many oil, gas and chemical companies, getting the business in shape to manage incoming and outgoing shipments drives competitive edge. As prices fluctuate on a daily basis, understanding the options on large crude oil vessels and having up-to-date market information is vital when bidding on spot cargo to accurately schedule your fleet. Being able to take all unassigned ships to a legal berth, with all constraints considered, is a logistic and economic challenge. So, how can companies maximize profitability and avoid unnecessary demurrage costs?
The number of container ships afloat has decreased in the first half of 2014 and could fall on an annual basis this year, for the first time in at least 20 years. Although the total TEU nominal capacity of the global fleet continues to increase by about 6 percent a year, this growth in capacity now comes solely from the increase in average ship size, not from having more ships.
Ports America is purchasing a 30-percent stake in International Transportation Service Inc., a terminal operating division of Japan's Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. ("K" Line) in Long Beach, Calif.
Third-party logistics provider Landair has developed Guaranteed Value Acceleration (GVA), a new service feature designed to give supply-chain managers greater confidence that outsourcing to a 3PL yields measurable financial, operations or customer-service improvements.
Huhtamaki Inc., a producer of consumer-goods and food-service packaging, was looking to expand its international activities. Scott Stuckenschneider, vice president of North American supply chain, is joined by Sheila Hewitt, vice president international with Transplace, to discuss how the company formalized its global logistics program.
John Sharkey, senior vice president for supply chain consulting at Spinnaker, discusses how Spinnaker's clients are employing inventory optimization and supply chain network modeling to meet specific service requirements without excess safety stock.
Observing its 20th birthday, NAFTA continues to play a key role in developing trade between the U.S. and Mexico. Troy Ryley, managing director of Mexico with Transplace, outlines the issues that shippers doing business in Mexico face today.
The trade relationship between the United States and Africa, as well as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) - which provides exporters duty-free access to the lucrative U.S. market - was recently put under the microscope at the U.S.-Sub Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum, which coincided with President Barack Obama's U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, both held in Washington last week.
The latest news, analysis, services and systems regarding global logistics and freight and their impact on global supply chains. Today’s companies are transporting and delivering perishables and manufactured goods faster and farther around the world than ever before through global logistics solutions. New technologies that provide information during global shipments are transforming the way companies do business - and allowing them to stay ahead of the competition in their industries. As transportation and distribution services continue to evolve, businesses are discovering new ways to increase efficiency and cut costs. Learn how companies are using global logistics solutions to power their supply chains.
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