Supply chain

The global cold chain is in the midst of rapid expansion. Stakeholders view refrigerated cargo as a growing and profitable segment of their business and sizable investments are occurring on multiple fronts to build and strengthen the integrated global cold chain.

Damco’s reduced first-quarter loss came at a price as the Maersk Group’s freight forwarding and logistics unit ceded more market share to its rivals.

In January, 10 boxes of Japanese carrots were imported into Hong Kong from Chiba prefecture in Japan through the Kwai Tsing container terminal and found their way to market in the city, part of 15,000 tons of annual fruit and vegetable imports from Japan.

A long-awaited Pacific trade deal between the U.S. and other Pacific Ring nations hangs in limbo now after failing to muster enough support in the U.S. Senate.

Sinda-Rio, the ship agents association for Rio de Janeiro, is protesting an effort by a group of port workers to do what they deem unnecessary work that will adds cost to shippers using Brazil’s third busiest port.

Samskip and VGB — the Dutch Association of Wholesalers in Floricultural Products — tested a refrigerated rail shipment of plants from the Netherlands to Sweden using a new flora container developed by Rotterdam-based UNIT45.

The Tampa Port Authority has approved a $20.8 million spending plan to build a new refrigerated warehouse in an attempt to win back perishable food shippers to Port Tampa Bay.

Deutsche Post DHL said it is reviewing the restructuring of its freight forwarding business, which it blamed for a dip in first-quarter profit.

Australia’s wine exports to China rose 20 percent in the 12 months ending March as China continued to shrug off austerity measures imposed in 2013 as part of Beijing’s corruption crackdown.

Global logistics provider Dachser grew its Asia-Pacific ocean freight by 20 percent in a solid first quarter as the company expanded its regional network.

The benefits of shipping through the Shanghai Free Trade Zone are starting to become apparent more than two years after Beijing first launched the pilot project.

Large-scale mergers and acquisitions in the global transportation and logistics industry posted year-over-year increases in value and number during the first quarter of 2015, PwC US reported.

Ben Garcia, a civilian investigator at the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, recovers stolen metals that often are exported from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

The U.S. Surface Transportation Board has announced plans for two public hearings on the country’s railways, a sign the federal agency is amping up efforts to address shippers’ frustrations with rail pricing.

Major Japanese international freight forwarder Kintetsu World Express Inc. saw its group net profit surge on the back of strong revenue in the fiscal year ended March 31, despite an antitrust lawsuit-related extraordinary loss in the United States.

Nippon Express Co.’s net profit remained almost flat in the fiscal year ended March 31, even as its revenue grew robustly on the back of a weaker yen and brisk exports of auto and electronics parts.

A new ship design could be just what the refrigerated shipping industry — and banana shippers, in particular — needs to remain in control of their supply chain.

Pressure is building on Congress and federal maritime regulators to more aggressively address the high demurrage and detention fees shippers are being hit with as a result of port congestion.

The World Shipping Council urged the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission not to apply a broad regulatory brush to highly specific disputes over demurrage and detention fees for late pickup or return of containers at congested ports.

Orbcomm's first-quarter revenue rocketed 149 percent as the acquisition of SkyWave and InSync kicked in to boost use of its asset-tracking services.

The next frontier in refrigerated cargo visibility is here, and it doesn’t involve just tracking a container. No, the latest technology, made possible by machine-to-machine communication and the Internet of Things, not only allows for that, but also for controlling a container remotely to protect its contents throughout the journey, and for an interactive environment in which assets communicate with each other and exchange data.

APL Logistics is not standing still while its acquisition by Kintetsu World Express (KWE) is finalized and today announced plans to expand its presence in Indonesia, the second major investment since being sold.

Hong Kong sellers using global e-commerce platform eBay have embraced overseas warehouses as a way of boosting sales and avoiding disruption and rising logistics costs during peak shipping seasons.

The speed to market requirement of online shopping means cross-border e-commerce has always relied on air transport, but easing import regulations at Shanghai’s free trade zone is allowing container shipping lines to participate in the fast growing sector.

Rail logistics provider Tiger Cool Express is making strides with equipment purchases and a growing customer base. Its success is all the more impressive given that service from Class I freight railroads experienced a difficult 2014 and continues to struggle. Cool Cargoes spoke with CEO Tom Finkbiner to get his take on where the intermodal rail industry is failing and how and where it can make improvements to better support time- and temperature-sensitive shipments such as fresh produce.

Logistics service provider Expeditors International of Washington said its first quarter operating income jumped 25 percent, aided by higher airfreight volume from West Coast port congestion.

One developer is betting big on BNSF Railway’s Kansas City logistics park. NorthPoint Development this week announced the construction of a 822,104-square-foot speculative building at the park.

U.S. lawmakers won’t likely pass a long-term highway bill before the June deadline, but when they do, shippers and transportation providers should expect the nation’s freight network to get added attention.

CEVA’s earnings were up almost a fifth in the first quarter higher air and ocean freight volumes and the benefits of a new business model offset significant exchange rate fluctuations

INTTRA is moving into a new market: selling data to the beneficial cargo owners that book cargo space through its e-commerce portal, to provide visibility into the movement of containers at every step on their ocean voyage..

Senate appropriators last year derailed Congress’ attempt to give U.S. ports the $1.2 billion for maintenance dredging and berth work — as set by the Water Resources Reform Development Act — by coming up $100 million short for fiscal year 2015.

Global contract logistics is forecast to expand at a compound annual rate of 6.8 percent through 2018, led by increases in Western Europe, the U.S, and China, according to a new survey by U.K.-based Transport Intelligence.

Major Japanese international freight forwarder Yusen Logistics Co. said that its group net profit more than doubled in the fiscal year ended March 31, as its revenue grew robustly and its strenuous cost-cutting efforts paid off.

The picketing by independent harbor truckers serving the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach got some attention in Congress after a congresswoman on Wednesday highlighted their efforts and asked whether the federal government could come to their aid.

The Federal Maritime Commission is helping to lead the charge to fight port congestion and to improve the competitiveness of U.S. ports.

The Philippines, one of the world’s fastest growing economies, wants to be known within the maritime industry for being more than the No. 1 provider of commercial seafarers.

Non-vessel-operating common carriers are asking the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission to lift “unnecessary, burdensome rules” governing their contracts with shippers.

Planned container-on-barge services on the Mississippi River system and between marine terminals in New Jersey and New York have won designation by the U.S. Maritime Administration as part of Marad’s marine highway initiative.

Indian logistics and trucking major Gati Ltd. says e-commerce growth helped drive consolidated net profit up 59 percent year-over-year in fiscal year 2014-15, which ended March 31.