Supply chain

As the U.S. economy came screeching to a halt in the first quarter — at least those parts that contribute to gross domestic product growth — UPS improved revenue, shipment volumes and profit, a sign that things may not be as bad as the economic indicators seem to say.

Global Logistics Properties (GLP) this week signed new lease agreements in China totaling more than 1.5 million square feet with retailers and third-party logistics providers.

The acquisition of French logistics giant Norbert Dentressangle will create new global opportunities for XPO, boosting its annual revenue to $8.5 billion.

The WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement, when ratified, will simplify and harmonize the flow of trade information from shippers and other supply chain partners into agencies responsible for monitoring and regulating trade.

There used to be few alternatives to manufacturing in China, but this infographic details how rising production costs in the "Factory of the World" is allowing sourcing competitors to threaten that dominance.

TNT Express posted an operating loss and shrunken comparable revenue in the first quarter, warning that it faced tough times in the run-up to its planned acquisition by larger U.S. rival FedEx in 2016.

General Mills will be the first tenant at a tri-modal logistics facility near Manchester, England, set to open next year. The inland port will offer rail, truck and short-sea shipping links.

Available warehousing and distribution space is getting harder to find and more expensive as demand outpaces construction, according to Jones Lang LaSalle.

At its worst, the months of congestion and gridlock at West Coast ports left beneficial cargo owners nearly blind in trying to pinpoint where their shipments were in the supply chain. Unlike the visibility it has given industry stakeholders under normal conditions, technology couldn’t even save the day. The sophisticated electronic tools shippers use to manage and track their cargoes just didn’t work as advertised.

A graduated licensing program for commercial drivers is needed to bring younger people into the trucking industry, ATA executives said.

Progress is being made to protect the U.S. maritime industry from cyberattacks that could sabotage a container terminals cranes and allow organized crime to import illegal drugs undetected.

Panalpina’s earnings jumped 10 percent in the first quarter as a market-beating increase in ocean container volumes more than offset sluggish growth in air freight.

The U.S. Maritime Administration has reminded U.S. shipbuilders they must use U.S.-flag ships to carry at least half of the foreign-sourced components they use to build vessels with aid from federal loan guarantees.

An enormous amount of money, energy and time is being spent by retailers and consumer goods manufacturers on improving their omni-channel sales capabilities, but only 16 percent are finding profitability in this fast developing e-commerce sector, a JDA Software study has revealed.

The number of job openings for transportation, warehouse and utility workers rose sharply from a year ago in February, as a milder winter created more opportunities in logistics businesses.

One-third of U.S ports need at least $100 million in landside upgrades, both intermodal rail and road connections, to handle projected 2025 freight volumes, according to a report from the American Association of Port Authorities. Where ports will get that money was anyone’s guess at the AAPA’s annual springtime conference in Washington, D.C. Tuesday.

International trade supports nearly 6.9 million U.S. retail jobs, according to a study commissioned by the National Retail Federation in support of free-trade initiatives.

Third-party logistics provider C.H. Robinson Worldwide has opened the doors at two new global forwarding offices: one in Ho Chi Minh City and another in Antwerp.

The chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping warned that regional maritime regulations on ships’ emissions and ballast-water discharges threaten conflicts with global maritime rules.

The American Trucking Associations is urging the Department of Transportation to move forward with a rulemaking that would require electronic speed limiters on all large trucks.

In a major setback for the new Narendra Modi-led Indian government’s aggressive effort to rev up the economy, the nation’s merchandise exports for fiscal year 2014-15, which ended March 31, fell far short of the targeted $340 billion, according to preliminary trade figures released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Kerry Logistics has formed a strategic partnership with China’s state-owned rail operator as it begins to tap into Beijing’s One Belt One Road national trade strategy that was announced in March.

U.S. diesel prices have fallen to a low not seen since Avatar raked in hundreds of millions of dollar at movie theaters across the country.

The Transportation Intermediaries Association wants truck safety data generated by a controversial federal program — the CSA program — immediately removed from public view.

New legislation unveiled Thursday would give U.S. President Obama “fast track” authority to negotiate an ambitious trade accord with 11 other Pacific nations and set the course for what will be one of the toughest battles of the president’s last 19 months in office.

Weak exports from China are driving Asia-Europe container freight rates down to new record lows, according to the world’s largest shipping association.

A U.S. senator is asking Congress’s watchdog to study the labor-related disruption at U.S. West Coast ports, the latest sign of Congress getting more involved in curbing marine terminal congestion that threatens the nation’s economic growth.

U.S. maritime regulators have approved an agreement allowing terminal operators and equipment managers on the West Coast to work with shipping lines, trucking companies and railroads to tackle congestion.

U.S. exports of logs and lumber via ocean container declined year-over-year in January for the fourth consecutive month, partly because of declining demand from China and unfavorable exchange rates.

China’s west, central and northeast regions are witnessing the country’s fastest growth in logistics space as supply chains develop in response to the continued shift in manufacturing activity inland from the coast and the growth of lower-tier retail markets, according to real estate management firm JLL.

The world’s 50 largest logistics companies generated nearly $248 billion in revenue last year, up nearly 5 percent from 2013’s $237.4 billion, according to Pittsburgh-based research and consulting firm SJ Consulting Group.

The rising cost of China labor is the most common reason producers of lower value goods give for shifting part of their production from the mainland to Southeast Asian countries, and a look at wage trends in the mainland reveals the extent to which the payroll has risen.

Within the massive growth of e-commerce in China is the rise of what is being called “bonded online shopping”, the cross-border element of online shopping via government approved websites that enables Chinese consumers to buy products from overseas at lower tax rates.

U.S. Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Mario Cordero on Tuesday said the agency is “taking the temperature” on alleged unreasonable demurrage and detention fees. But the agency doesn’t have a timeline on when it will act -- whether that’s through an investigation, a fact-finding mission or something else -- nor is there a guarantee it will.

The U.S. House and Senate may have to act to preserve changes to a controversial restart provision in 2013 truck driver hours-of-service rules if a report on those rules isn't ready by Sept. 30, NASSTRAC officials told shippers.

Africa may be the future frontier for apparel sourcing, but with infrastructure and industry on the continent still lacking, apparel manufacturers say they’re staying put in Southeast Asia for the time being.

Net earnings at the world’s largest ocean freight forwarder crept up in the first quarter, but revenue dipped.

A U.S. Federal Maritime Commission report on port congestion impact on demurrage and detention fees stopped short of recommending agency action and invited the industry to provide evidence of allegedly unreasonable practices.