Supply chain

Africa’s inland freight network is so troubled that it costs roughly seven times more to ship a container from Mombasa, Kenya, to Burundi, in central Africa, than to ship a container from Shanghai to the major Kenyan gateway, an APM Terminal executive said.

Japan’s trade surplus with the United States expanded by a whopping 20.4 percent in November on a year-on-year basis, as exports grew relatively strongly while imports fell, according to preliminary trade figures released by the Japanese Finance Ministry on Wednesday

World Shipping Council President and CEO Chris Koch in late July will hand over the reins of the trade group representing major container lines.

A preliminary reading of an index shows Chinese manufacturing activity in December shrank for the first time since May, the latest sign of weakening European and broader global demand.

With the acquisition of GENCO, everything old is new again for FedEx — or at least resellable.

A compound annual growth rate of 24.7 percent is welcome in any business sector, but when that business is e-commerce in China, the numbers being generated quickly reach incredible levels.

The Mexican Congress is expected to approval legislation this afternoon that would protect concessions held by the country’s three largest railroads and create a rail regulatory agency.

Federal regulators are proceeding with a negotiated rule-making on minimum national truck driver training standards, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said Dec. 12.

U.S. ports and other major freight links in supply chains are poised to get less help from Uncle Sam next year after Congress reduced funding for a popular grant program by $100 million.

The $80 million acquisition of an Australian courier company by SingPost subsidiary Quantium Solutions (Australia) last week was all about securing last mile capability in a fast growing market, a critical component of the e-commerce operation.

Opposition by Democrats and some Republicans to the $1 trillion, rider-festooned spending bill is keeping Washington on edge as the legislation nears a midnight deadline.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., has joined a New Jersey state senator in calling for abolition of the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection pilot project that allows shippers to reimburse the agency for additional staffing during normal hours and overtime work could help seaports deal with the growing threat of congestion.

Growing domestic consumption in China has seen four companies expanding their Global Logistic Properties warehousing space by 700,000 square feet in six locations across the country.

APL Logistics is moving closer to the checkout queue with three companies reportedly on the shortlist to buy the NOL Group logistics unit, one based in Korea and two U.S. firms.

A road improvement project will help make the industrial development around BNSF’s relatively new intermodal rail terminal in the Kansas City area more attractive when work is completed in 2016.

The likelihood that truck drivers will have different hours of service rules next year is increasing, as Congress wraps language that will change suspend some 2013 HOS changes into its $1 trillion spending bill.

CEVA Logistics has become the latest global supply chain company to expand its warehouse presence in Singapore with the a new facility at Jalan Buroh near Jurong Port in the west of the city state.

Despite the resignation of CEO Eric W. Kirchner and a $34 million loss in its latest quarter, UTi Worldwide has passed a turning point, new CEO Edward G. Feitzinger said Dec. 9.

Starting Dec. 18, U.S. truck drivers in most cases will no longer have to file a report if an inspection of their equipment shows no maintenance issues and safety defects, saving the industry nearly $1.7 billion annually, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

An amendment that would suspend the current 34-hour restart provision in the truck driver hours of service rules pending further study is buried deep within the omnibus spending bill being crafted by Congress. Will it survive as Congress struggles to pass spending legislation before midnight Dec. 12 to avoid a government shutdown?

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission will launch a website soon that will serve as a clearinghouse for port congestion surcharges, following industry confusion over planned U.S. West Coast surcharges, Commissioner Michael A. Khouri said today.

Part of the reason South Atlantic ports haven’t seen as much congestion as their Northeast and Southern California counterparts is because the operating port model is more prevalent there, Federal Maritime Commissioner Michael Khouri said today.

DB Schenker, the logistics arm of Germany’s Deutsche Bahn, has opened a new sales office in Vapi, India, to serve its customers in the country’s western region.

CenterPoint Properties plans to expand its Pacific Northwest footprint beyond the nearly $50 million it recently spent on two properties adjacent to the Port of Seattle.

Descartes Systems Group has acquired two companies for about $11.8 million that will help the Waterloo, Ontario-based transportation technology provider expand its European reach.

Transplace is expanding in Western Canada and Quebec as U.S.-Canada cross-border traffic speeds up, along with the U.S. and Canadian economies.

Singapore-based Global Logistic Properties took a break from its rapid China expansion to partner with GIC in acquiring one of the largest logistics real estate portfolios in the US for $8.1 billion.

WASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., lashed out at the Jones Act during a Friday panel at the Heritage Foundation, saying the 94-year-old maritime law is an anachronism that hurts U.S. farmers and manufacturers at the expense of foreign rivals.

Brazil’s trade deficit narrowed for the third month in a row in November as the economy continues to face headwinds.

Logistics is a booming business in the Belgian city of Genk, not far from the Dutch and German borders and home to the newest Menlo Logistics distribution center in Europe.

Transportation technology provider Descartes increased its net income 91 percent year-over-year in the third quarter, citing the industry's growing reliance on logistics technology to handle increased trade regulation.

President Obama on Wednesday severely downplayed the chances of hiking the federal fuel tax to provide more stable surface transportation funding.

Two U.S. senators are objecting to a provision in a House-passed Coast Guard reauthorization bill that they say will require more U.S food aid shipments to be carried on U.S.-flag ships.

Global third-party logistics providers DSV A/S and UTi Worldwide said they are no longer discussing a merger or acquisition.

India’s fast growing e-commerce market is facing some formidable challenges, with nation-wide distribution among the key issues logistics services providers must overcome.

UTi Worldwide Inc. has created a strategic partnership with the largest auto logistics provider in China in a move that will position both companies for an expected increase in the exporting of finished vehicles to overseas markets.

Low barriers to entry and soaring demand are stimulating fierce competition in China’s domestic courier business, but for half the companies in the market it will be a race to the bottom.