Supply chain

Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Co. have completed the self-assessment of their proposed “2M” vessel-sharing agreement for European regulators, ensuring compliance with European Union law.

Logistics property developer GLP has completed the second and final tranche of its $2.5 billion agreement with a group of state owned companies and financial institutions in China that gives the company greater access to strategic property sites in one of the world’s fastest developing markets.

DB Schenker (India) has opened a 55,000-square-foot logistics facility in Ahmedabad, India, to serve customers in the western region.

CEVA Logistics opened a new branch office in Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi to tap into opportunities for growth in the country’s northern region.

The U.S. Commerce Department set duties on 53-foot dry intermodal containers from China after a preliminary determination concluded manufacturers received unfair subsidies from the Chinese government

Kuehne + Nagel, the world’s largest sea freight forwarder, said it is targeting the trans-Atlantic container trade to offset slowing Asian exports to Europe.

China’s logistics industry is expected to show double-digit growth over the next five years, continuing a trend of 21 percent compound annual growth since 1991 and driven by rising online shopping and a growing trend of outsourcing non-core activities.

U.S. diesel prices slipped 0.6 percent or 2.3 cents to $3.778 per gallon on Sept. 22, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, which brought the price to its lowest level since July 16, 2012.

A bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives would prevent the publication of safety scores for trucking and bus companies and revamp the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s CSA scoring system.

Near-shoring of manufacturing from China to Mexico, tight U.S. transportation capacity and competition from Amazon as a logistics provider were prominent topics in an annual survey of 27 third-party logistics CEOs sponsored by Penske Logistics and released today.

Air and ocean freight are expected to see “good” trade volume growth through the third and fourth quarters of 2014, especially in air freight, given a strong peak season outlook and a number of high-profile tech product launches, according to a new survey from the investment firm Stifel Nicolaus.

Even as air freight space out of China is has tightened because of the launch of the Apple iPhone 6, the typical air freight surges associated with major electronics product launches are not what they used to be.

Kerry Logistics aims to tap growing trade between Asia and Oceania, and between Australia and New Zealand through a joint venture with a New Zealand-based global freight forwarding company.

Container lines will continue to expand their share of the refrigerated cargo market, but specialized reefer carriers can survive if they diversify and pick their niches carefully, Drewry Maritime Research says in its annual analysis of the reefer shipping market.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has ordered Ken’s Trucking company, based in Grand Ridge, Florida, to immediately shut down following a federal investigation that revealed numerous violations of safety regulations.

Canadian National Railway faces a fine from the Canadian government after failing to obey Ottawa’s order to move a minimum amount of grain weekly.

A powerful U.S. resource that backers say helps many American exporters stay competitive globally will likely survive another nine months after the U.S. House of Representatives granted a funding extension for the U.S. Export-Import Bank on Wednesday. The Senate is expected to vote on a companion bill today.

U.S Senate investigators said Wednesday that computer networks of transportation companies that work for the U.S. military were broken into 20 times in one year by hackers with links to the Chinese government, highlight the growing cyberattack risk to shippers and carriers.

U.S. containerized exports will grow in the next five years on the back of a strong construction demand around the globe, JOC Group Economist Mario Moreno says.

Strong domestic volumes in the air and on the ground delivered double-digit profit growth for FedEx in the first quarter of its new fiscal year.

The newly appointed head of international trade at U.S. Customs and Border Protection said she wants to streamline regulation, make better use of data and improve employees’ analytical skills to improve cargo trade facilitation. As a result, the agency will be able to better focus its attention on high-risk cargo, giving safe shipments faster clearance.

Low prices invariably generate increased demand, so exports of corn, soybeans and energy products derived from those commodities will do quite well in the coming year and beyond, said David Hightower, principal at Hightower Associates in Chicago and publisher of the Hightower Report on commodities.

Research firm Gartner identified 15 European companies with the best performing supply chains, based on metrics including inventory turns, return on assets and revenue.

In a sharp turnaround from previously proposed rules, forwarders and non-vessel-operating common carriers in the U.S. wouldn’t have to post larger bonds under the Federal Maritime Commission’s revised ocean transportation intermediary rule overhaul proposals.

India’s merchandise exports in August rose 2.35 percent year-over-year to $26.95 billion, the lowest growth rate in five months.

Given the slightly stronger-than-expected first half, and that economic conditions in the U.S. are improving, JOC Group Economist Mario Moreno is upgrading the 2014 imports projection to 6.7 percent annual growth, up from the March projection of 5.9 percent.

An estimated 300,000 40-foot reefer containers are expected to be added to the global fleet by 2018 as strong demand for perishables drives the business and improving technology enables their long distance transport.

Fast-growing third-party logistics companies are tuning into and tapping broad trends driving logistics growth in the U.S. and globally, including increased cross-border trade and the expansion of intermodal rail. Here are seven trends picked by XPO Logistics CEO Bradley S. Jacobs.

U.S. inventory and sales data released by the Commerce Department this week point to increased need to restock already lean inventories heading into the fourth quarter.

The European Union has opened the bidding for a record 11.9 billion euros [$15.5 billion] of funding for projects to improve transport links and remove logistics bottlenecks across the 28-nation bloc.

A methodology known as “predictive analysis,” an increasingly important byproduct of the Big Data revolution with a forward-looking focus on accurate data from the past, exploits the growing capability of today’s more powerful computers to deploy advanced mathematical algorithms to identify patterns otherwise hidden within the ever-expanding explosion of data generated by today’s ubiquitous electronic devices.

Three global funds will invest $700 million in XPO Logistics, accelerating the fast-growing company's acquisition plans for 2014.

China’s logistics property investment is continuing at a rapid pace as retailers sign leases for specialised distribution centres to support their mainland expansion plans.

With the U.S. Congress back in session after the August recess, a coalition of shippers and freight transportation providers is wasting no time letting legislators and the Obama administration know what they want out of the next federal highway bill.

Interest in using liquefied natural gas as vessel fuel is highlighting the need for regulatory policies and operational and safety standards, according to a new Maritime Administration study on LNG bunkering.

Chinese factories are still expanding production even though most orders for the holiday season in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere have already been shipped, suggesting global demand is building.

Canadian Pacific Railway and BNSF Railway said Thursday that requiring them to add railcars or even allow other railroads to operate on their lines — as some officials and shippers have asked the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to require them to do — would hamper needed rail service improvements.

Nine marine terminals at Santos earmarked for a new concession process that would eliminate them may soon be given an official stay of execution following moves by Codesp, the local port authority.

International freight forwarders that qualify for VAT exemption in China are complaining that the new system is unclear, drastically increases their administration work and leaves them with mountains of documents to file with the China Tax Bureau.