Logistics Technology News

Insurance technology provider Loadsure plans to use an $11 million funding round to expand in the US freight market and serve forwarders managing international shipments.

The FMC has temporarily exempted Expeditors International from tariff filing obligations to allow the beleaguered forwarder to recover following a ransomware attack on its systems two weeks ago.

Drayage provider NEXT Trucking is piloting a peel pile program in Southern California that links vessel stowage at origin with quick unloading of containers at warehouse destinations to narrow total transit times for shipments.

A digitally oriented forwarder tied to the Bolloré Group has opened a North America office to tap into burgeoning US demand as the race to attract online-oriented shippers gathers steam.

Digital forwarder Forto has smashed through the $2 billion valuation barrier with a new round of funding that it will use to grow its presence in Europe and Asia.

The Port of Oakland and the Northwest Seaport Alliance have lent support to a Long Beach initiative designed to capture and make available container milestone information.

E2open has made its fifth acquisition since 2018 with the addition of parcel fulfillment provider Logistyx as it seeks to ride e-commerce and small shipment growth for its customers.

Supply chain partners who share shipment data that is filed with US Customs via a common platform can help terminal operators build “peel-off” piles that help to reduce trucker turn times.

The Federal Maritime Commission is being urged to implement processes that would allow US shippers to easily get accurate data on ocean freight.

A provider of technology to help brokers understand appropriate spot pricing has nabbed funding from an array of notable investors, including Tiger Global and Cambridge Capital.

As it prepares to go public, Transfix is looking to derive more revenue from non-transactional shipper services, including its drop trailer program, and to draw smaller shippers to its platform.

Expeditors International has yet to fully recover from a cyberattack over the weekend that forced the forwarder to shut down its entire computer network.

A mystery shopper survey by forwarding technology provider RPA Labs found that the vast majority of forwarders can’t automate quotes for a new ocean customer.

Kerry Logistics’ plan to buy The Topocean Group will further consolidate the booming trade among non-vessel-operating common carriers able to provide end-to-end services on the eastbound trans-Pacific.

FourKites has partnered with e-commerce technology specialist Narvar to link predictive freight visibility with post-purchase solutions for retailers and brands aspiring to fulfill orders online.

The Pilot Freight acquisition gives Maersk not just last-mile delivery capabilities, but the “middle-mile” backbone needed to speed freight to the final mile.

Descartes is adding to its in-house roster of trade compliance tools with the $40 million purchase of online customs broker software provider NetCHB.

Paris-based visibility provider Shippeo is eyeing North America as it seeks to expand the competitive landscape of the fierce global predictive cargo visibility market.

The $1.6 billion acquisition of Pilot Freight Services gives Maersk greater power to integrate ocean, air, and land-based services from the first to last mile.

Freight brokerage technology vendor Parade has landed a venture capital round to build out its tools to help truckload intermediaries automate the sourcing and management of capacity.

Leaf Logistics has turned growth of its forward truckload contract and procurement optimization products into a new funding round that it will use to double its headcount and expand its product suite.

Traxens has received a cash infusion from its existing investors, a shot in the arm that enabled the Marseilles-based container tracking provider to acquire French competitor NEXT4.

High profile forwarder Flexport has landed more than $900 million in new venture capital to fuel its growth, an amount sure to fuel debate about whether it is fundamentally reshaping the nature of global logistics.

Logistics technology provider BlueX Trade, known for building online quoting tools for liner carriers, has waded into the realm of electronic payments with a new platform designed to ease the reconciliation of freight bills.

An agrichemical shipment from South Korea to Bangladesh using an electronic bill of lading is a test of TradeLens’ ability to connect banks, shippers, and logistics providers through its platform.

Loadsmart is the latest digital intermediary to use SoftBank venture funding to surpass the $1 billion valuation barrier after announcing a $200 million round Tuesday.

A need for mid-market forwarders to compete with digital upstarts and well-capitalized incumbents has fueled a new round of investment into Logixboard’s customer interface-focused model.

San Francisco-based Passport said it will use $39 million in new funding to expand its outbound parcel platform for US e-commerce sellers looking to manage logistics and trade compliance on international orders.

BasicBlock has turned traction from small truckload carriers for its factoring and payment solutions into a large round of debt and equity funding to broaden the scope of its financial services.

Container line members of the Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) are not adopting the very standards they have set out to develop, speakers said during a JOC webcast last week.

A lack of information on import and export flows through ports isn't as big a constraint as untimely and inconsistent data, high-profile cargo owners told the Federal Maritime Commission this week.

A $7.5 million funding round into Australia-based forwarder Explorate continues to demonstrate venture capital’s regional backing of the digital forwarder model.

Forwarder shifl has joined a growing list of providers aiming to arm cargo owners with a means to simplify and digitize payments to vendors, a topic of increasing importance as shippers wrestle with cargo holds and penalties.

Singapore-based drayage technology provider Haulio has landed an investment that it plans to use to grow its footprint in Southeast Asia.

FourKites’ acquisition of European trucking and rail data provider NIC-place enhances its ability to get granular data on shipments in an increasingly competitive landscape for visibility.

Transporeon is adding a transportation management software provider focused on automation and a tool for carriers to optimize truckload capacity, the latest acquisitions in a run that started in fall 2020.

Customer growth, geographic expansion, and supply chain disruptions in 2021 helped multi-modal visibility provider project44 secure $420 million in new investment, its third multi-million-dollar funding round in 13 months.

Expansion in the Netherlands follows a $1.7 billion funding round that will propel growth as Lineage Logistics builds its global food chain.

Blume Global’s acquisition of a sourcing collaboration platform gives it more upstream visibility into manufacturing activity after a year in which component shortages hampered international supply chains.

Logistics providers are largely embracing a buy-and-build approach to serve their shipper and carrier ecosystems, realizing that internal development resources aren’t usually enough to cater for all their software needs.