Spending by U.S. shippers fell to a two-year low in January, reflecting plunging fuel costs and a sluggish freight market, according to a survey by Cass Information Systems Inc.
With a score of 45.9, the January edition of the Stifel Logistics Confidence Index has marked a monthly recovery in an otherwise gloomy tale of decline.
Analyst Insight: Implementation time-lines for transportation management outsourcing continue to shrink thanks to cloud-based systems, process standardization, and features like automated carrier contract management. This is not the case for facility start-ups. With 10+ key milestones, hundreds of key tasks and sub-tasks, time-line slippage and cost overruns can quickly extend the time to value for both 3PLs and shippers. – Valerie Bonebrake, Senior Vice President, Tompkins International
Shipping emissions in ports are substantial, accounting for 18 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, 0.4 million tonnes of NOx, 0.2 million of SOx and 0.03 million tonnes of PM10 in 2011, according to an International Transport Forum's report. Around 85 percent of emissions come from containerships and tankers. Containerships have short port stays, but high emissions during these stays.
Import cargo volume at the nation's major retail container ports is expected to see a final surge and set a new monthly record in October as the holiday season approaches, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
Global airfreight volumes continued with robust growth in August, according to the International Air Transport Association. Measured by freight tonne kilometers (FTKs), volumes rose 5.1 percent compared to August 2013. Capacity grew at a slower pace of 3.4 percent from the previous year. This is the second strong month for cargo volumes in a row, following the 6.1 percent year-on-year rise recorded in July.
Over the past few decades, the electronics components industry has seen countless companies pursue production overseas in an effort to reduce costs. OEMs have gone abroad to find the best value-added locations for building boards via offshoring: mainland China, Southeast Asia, and more recently Eastern Europe. However, this trend is shifting.
Any company which can boast a 168-year history has to be doing something right, especially when involved in the diversities of providing complex supply chain products.
Barcoding Inc., a provider of enterprise-wide mobility solutions, has completed the acquisition of Miles Technologies Inc. in order to increase its presence in the central region of the United States and expand its radio frequency identification capabilities.