Supply chain

Drugstore chain Rite Aid Corp. plans to build a 900,000-square-foot distribution center in Spartanburg, South Carolina., that will consolidate three existing DCs and serve 1,000 stores in the Southeast U.S.

Rising container volumes and pricing pushed up C.H. Robinson ocean forwarding revenue in late 2014, and the logistics operator is considering expansion in new trade lanes, particularly Asia to Europe.

Major Japanese international freight forwarder Kintetsu World Express Inc. is still feeling the pinch of an antitrust class-action lawsuit in the United States, as it continued to bleed red ink in the first three quarters of fiscal 2014.

Global Logistics Properties (GLP) completed 6.8 million square feet of developments in China at a total investment cost of $308 million during the third quarter of its financial year.

Capacity constraints, particularly in its core U.S. truckload market, are pushing rates, revenue and profit higher for the largest U.S. logistics company.

U.S. agriculture and medical product shippers could gain a larger share of the Cuban market if a bill reintroduced by Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., is passed.

With new international ballast water regulations set to go into full force this year, the need for new and universal water treatment technology is more necessary than ever before, said World Shipping Council President Chris Koch.

Growing U.S. West Coast port congestion is getting more attention in Washington, D.C., and on Wall Street, as major shippers, including Tyson Foods and Cabela’s, complain about delays and warn about further economic pain if they continue.

Main drivers of industrial real estate — cargo volumes at seaports, rail freight volumes, gains in gross domestic product, increasing retail sales and a gradually improving housing market — all indicate net positive absorption will continue.

The port congestion crisis on the U.S. West Coast and changing retail delivery patterns inland both challenged UPS in the fourth quarter, the company said today.

Profits may have plummeted at UPS in the fourth quarter, rattling investors, but global demand for the integrated transportation company’s package and freight service increased as online shopping drove e-commerce transactions and shipments to new heights.

Container ship lines are pressing legislative and court efforts to kill a 3-year-old cargo facility charge at the Port of New York and New Jersey.

Like his past surface transportation budgets, President Obama’s most recent ambitious plan to boost funding won’t likely go far, but his proposal to tap more dollars for highway, roads and bridges through corporate tax reform has a shot, experts say.

The U.S. Congress is stepping up its pressure on the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association to reach a “swift resolution” to their 9-month-old contract negotiations.

Yusen Logistics Co.’s group net profit doubled in the first three quarters of fiscal 2014 — despite antitrust losses in the United States and Singapore — thanks to strong revenue growth and strenuous cost-cutting efforts.

Norbert Dentressangle’s 2014 revenue grew 15.8 percent from the previous year to 4.7 billion euros ($4.2 billion) as the French logistics and transport group accelerated its international expansion with a major U.S. acquisition.

Third-party logistics provider KW International has opened operations at a new container yard in Savannah.

Strong gains across multiple segments, particularly intermodal, fueled a 70 percent year-over-year increase in Gateway Distriparks Ltd.’s consolidated net earnings in its third fiscal quarter, which ended Dec. 31.

China once again delayed implementation of its advanced vessel manifest filing rule, putting off a requirement that if and when implemented will require shippers to submit shipping instructions to their carriers days earlier than they do currently.

Greece’s new radical left wing government is set to freeze the planned sale of the state’s stakes in Athens airport, the port of Thessaloniki and rail companies as it seeks to tear up some of the conditions of its 240 billion euro ($271 billion) bailout agreement.

Container carriers and logistics service providers in Asia are confident that the steady growth in exports from China will not be heavily impacted by a slowing of the mainland economy.

The world's largest ocean freight forwarder Kühne + Nagel has vowed to expand its leadership position as it launched a series of global events to commemorate its 125th anniversary in Bremen on Wednesday.

Greece’s new government, headed by the populist left wing Syriza Party, said it will scrap the planned privatization of the port of Piraeus, one of Europe’s fastest-growing container ports, fueling uncertainty over its stance toward the nation’s shipping community, which controls the world’s largest fleet.

A scarce supply of industrial land will continue to push up warehouse rentals in Hong Kong, keeping landlords in the pound seats while ramping up operating costs for third party logistics providers.

Demand for U.S. industrial property will remain strong for at least the next 24 months even though the market for manufacturing and distribution facilities has experienced four years of continuous growth, according to the latest U.S. Industrial Outlook published this week by CBRE Research.

Gati Ltd., India’s leading express distribution and supply chain solutions provider, on Tuesday said the growth of e-commerce helped increase net earnings by 60 percent in its third fiscal quarter, which ended on Dec. 31.

Associations representing truckers and motorists joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in asking the new Congress for a federal fuels tax hike to replenish the U.S. Highway Trust Fund before funding runs out May 31.

The U.S. formally accepted a landmark World Trade Organization agreement that could cut the cost of trade by up to 15 percent and inject up to $1 trillion into the global economy, providing a much-needed boost to sluggish international trade growth.

A European Commission proposal calling for carriers and forwarders to identify the buyers and sellers of imported goods in their customs filings has been slammed by the World Shipping Council (WSC).

SingPost has acquired a 90 percent stake in New Zealand forwarder Famous Pacific Shipping as the regional e-commerce logistics specialist expands its Asia-Pacific footprint.

With the global middle class set to grow by nearly 3 billion people by 2030, congestion threatens to choke trade and economic growth, economist Walter Kemmsies told the SMC3 2015 JumpStart conference last week.

A dramatic drop in U.S. oil and fuel prices is proving a temporary salve for shippers pinched by rising transportation costs. The relief is only be temporary, analysts warn.

UPS is considering "new pricing strategies," including targeted peak-season surcharge prices, after spending $200 million more than expected to deliver packages this holiday season.

Blue Dart Express is denying that its parent DHL Express Singapore Pte. Ltd. is negotiating to sell its holdings in the Indian subsidiary to U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon.

An Asia food inspection specialist has highlighted the enormous task facing China in improving its quality controls as the fragmented food production industry regularly generates high profile scandals

Kerry Logistics is planning to convert one of its basic warehouse facilities in Hong Kong into a columbarium that will store the remains of up to 100,000 people, according to a local media report, a move that would appear to be a significant money spinner for the group.

More “solid” and steady U.S. economic growth will increase freight demand and boost shipping costs and domestic transportation rates in 2015, economists and analysts said at the SMC3 JumpStart 2015 conference in Atlanta.