Supply chain

A 2 percent gain by the world's Top 50 largest transportation service providers in 2014 marked a turnaround after the group’s combined revenue slipped 0.1 percent in 2013.

China’s crackdown on ocean carrier surcharges, seen by government officials as hurting exporters, is forcing container lines to lower certain charges at a time when their own profits are declining because of overcapacity and rate competition.

UPS assumed the top spot on the JOC-SJ Consulting Group list of Top 50 Global Transportation Providers in terms of 2014 revenue, pushing Deutsche Post DHL to the No. 2 position. Of the Top 50, 13 companies are located in North America, 19 in Europe, 16 in the Asia-Pacific region, and one each in India and Australia.

Nippon Express Co., Japan’s largest international freight forwarder, saw its group net profit decline in the fiscal first half on the back of sluggish revenue growth and extraordinary charges.

Damco’s recovery gathered pace in the third quarter with the Maersk Group’s freight forwarding and logistics unit swinging to a $20 million profit from a $68 million loss a year ago.

Allcargo Logistics Ltd., India’s leading international freight forwarder and port-based logistics provider, reported a 14 percent increase in consolidated net profit for the second fiscal quarter, despite flat revenue, the company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange on Friday.

A year after acrimonious labor negotiations snarled traffic at U.S. West Coast ports, lawmakers have unveiled draft legislation that could trigger federal intervention to head off future slowdowns.

Orbcomm swung to a $1.6 million profit in the third quarter after the asset tracking provider's revenue doubled to $46 million on growth from acquisitions and organic gains.

The U.S. trucking industry won one battle, but lost another in Congress this week. Lawmakers in the House of Representatives passed legislation that clears the way for teenage truck drivers after killing an effort to increase current limits on truck weight.

U.S. lawmakers took a serious step closer to a multi-year highway funding bill Thursday after the House of Representatives passed a six-year, $325 billion bill.

Trucking companies hauling more than 12 tonnes (13.2 tons) in Russia will have to pay new federal highway tolls starting Nov. 15 that could increase transport costs up to 15 percent.

Yusen Logistics Co.’s fiscal first-half net profit more than tripled thanks to robust revenue growth driven by solid cargo volumes, a weaker yen and the end of an antitrust lawsuit-related extraordinary loss in the United States.

Riding a flurry of acquisitions, XPO Logistics’ third-quarter earnings this year exceeded company targets and Wall Street expectations.

Revenues were down 3 percent to $1.7 billion and operating income was up 21 percent to $192 million year-over-year at Expeditors International of Washington in the third quarter.

Sojitz Corp., a major trading house in Japan, has acquired Illinois, U.S.-based MET Logistics Inc., commonly known as Juno Logistics, for an undisclosed sum.

Geodis has completed the $800 million acquisition of Ozburn-Hessey Logistics that gave Europe’s fourth-largest logistics and transport firm a strong U.S. presence.

Despite flat revenue, Transport Corporation of India’s net income increased 9 percent year-over-year in the second fiscal quarter to $3.6 million, aided by tight cost controls and growing express cargo demand driven by e-commerce growth in the country.

U.S. shippers expect muted freight volume growth through the third quarter of 2016 as they continue to pull from existing stocks before placing new orders after inventories ballooned during the gridlock at West Coast ports.

Customs brokers and forwarders are urging the federal government not to botch the late February roll-out of the ACE “single window” program, noting how Australia’s implementation of a similar system roiled supply chains in 2005.

Australia logistics firm Qube Holdings' $1.2 billion raid on Asciano, whose Patrick subsidiary is the country’s largest stevedore, has the blessing of shipping industry players and sounds the death knell to Canada management group Brookfield’s $6.4 billion takeover bid.

Container lines, U.S. shippers and logistics providers are coming together to figure out the best way to prepare for the July 1 start of new global regulations requiring the weighing of containers before they are allowed to be loaded onto a ship.

Deutsche Post DHL has written off 345 million euros ($380 million) of costs after deciding to abandon Net Forwarding Environment, a customized IT restructuring program aimed at turning around its troubled global forwarding unit.

U.S. infrastructure projects focused on improving freight movement got more backing from the federal government in the latest round of a popular grant program.

Too few shippers are ready to meet new global regulations requiring the weighing of containers before they are allowed to be loaded onto a ship, said Chris Welsh, secretary general of the Global Shippers’ Forum, the largest global shipper group. Welsh spoke with JOC.com Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi in late September about the risks of not complying with the rules set to take effect July 1, ways to meet the International Maritime Organization regulations and the complicated issue of who exactly is a “shipper.”

Even though global trade growth has slowed, there’s still plenty of opportunity out there as the list of the fastest-growing global transportation providers shows.

Despite softer demand in the North American truckload and ocean shipping markets, C.H. Robinson Worldwide increased freight volume, net revenue and net profit in the third quarter.

DSV, the Danish transport and logistics company acquiring U.S.-based rival UTi Worldwide, raised its 2015 earnings outlook after posting strong third-quarter results.

U.S. House legislators advocating the scanning all containers that come into the U.S. used a Tuesday congressional hearing on the threat of dirty bombs, or explosives using radioactive materials and conventional explosives, to reiterate their calls for the long-delayed federal mandate.

The U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday approved a three-year deadline extension for U.S. railroads to install new safety technology, avoiding a catastrophe that railroads have said would cripple the network fluidity intermodal shippers depend on.

UPS is expecting a short-term revenue bump from a double-digit increase in holiday shipments this year and a longer-term boost, to the tune of some $100 million, from its recent acquisition of freight broker Coyote Logistics, the company said Tuesday.

China’s economic slowdown threatens container terminal operators and container-backed securities, according to two new financial advisory reports.

TNT Express, the Dutch parcel delivery company being acquired by its larger U.S. rival FedEx, almost halved its third-quarter operating loss but remained under pressure from economic volatility in Australia, Brazil and China.

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission has voted to seek comments on possible changes to rules covering contracts that govern most ocean container shipments to and from the United States.

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission voted 4-1 to change licensing and financial responsibility requirements for ocean transportation intermediaries, despite objections from one commission member.

XPO Logistics Chairman and CEO Brad Jacobs spoke with Alessandra Barrett, senior content editor, at the JOC Inland Distribution Conference in Memphis, Tennessee, about his company’s fast growth through about $7 billion in acquisitions this year. Jacobs, a keynote speaker at the conference is close to completing the acquisition of U.S. trucking and logistics company Con-way for $3 billion.

Blue Dart Express, India’s leading express air and logistics service provider, posted a 74.5 percent jump in net earnings in the second fiscal quarter, as operating revenue grew robustly, helped by lower fuel costs and new business strategies.

Gati Ltd., India’s leading express distribution and supply chain solutions provider, reported its group net profit in the second quarter of fiscal 2015-16 fell 16.5 percent year-over-year to $892,000 from $1.07 million.

China’s logistics and courier services are preparing for Alibaba’s annual Singles Day online shopping frenzy on Nov. 11 that last year saw 278 million orders placed in just 24 hours and sorely tested the mainland’s distribution network.

Intermodal logistics giant Container Corporation of India reported its net income surged 21 percent in the second fiscal quarter from a year earlier to $36 million.

European Union antitrust regulators will not challenge FedEx’s 4.4 billion euros ($5 billion) acquisition of TNT Express, the companies said.