Supply chain

WASHINGTON — In response to mounting criticism of a domestic ocean shipping law that some say is preventing the transport of emergency road salt to New Jersey, Acting Maritime Administrator Paul Jaenichen today said his agency helped state officials identify available U.S.-flag barges to ship the cargo.

U.S. shippers on average expect that for the first time in roughly two years freight growth in 2014 will steadily outpace the expansion of the general economy,

WASHINGTON — The likelihood that the U.S. federal government will have to inject money into the Highway Trust Fund so that highway, bridge and road construction funding doesn’t grind to a halt in August is steadily increasing.

Using pallet-sized, battery-powered, temperature-controlled containers, Averitt Express is changing its refrigerated less-than-truckload delivery model.

The e-commerce division of India’s leading express distribution and supply chain solutions group grew at a rapid rate in the latter half of 2013...

Craig Meyer, president of Jones Lang LaSalle’s industrial brokerage team, advises clients that are looking for warehouse space in hot markets such as Southern California, Northern New Jersey and Dallas to focus on the property that best suits their needs and to move decisively to close the deal.

It’s not hard to see why major shippers are setting up shop or expanding their distribution operations in Calgary. Roughly $3.5 billion will be spent on infrastructure over the coming year.

ATLANTA — Home Depot yesterday opened the first of three new direct fulfillment centers designed to speed online orders to consumers through distribution channels across its supply chain.

Shippers are expected to make bolder moves in recalibrating their supply chains’ real estate footprint this year, even if many traditional retailers are still determining how to take advantage of the e-commerce rush.

FedEx Trade Networks has appointed James R. “Jack” Muhs as its new president and CEO.

WASHINGTON — The P3 Network could be sailing past any U.S. regulatory hurdles by late March...

Kansas City Southern Railway said Friday it will aggressively defend its concession agreement in Mexico but declined to say whether it would pursue legal action against a bill aimed at opening the country up to railroads other than the two existing concession holders.

WASHINGTON — Two months before sponsoring a bill this week aimed at reforming the Federal Maritime Commission, Rep. Duncan Hunter, the California Republican who chairs the House Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee, urged the FMC to consider industry criticism of a proposed overhaul of rules for ocean transportation intermediaries and “design the least intrusive regulation possible.”

Con-way reported net income in the fourth quarter of 2013 was $11.7 million, slipping 0.9 percent year-over-year from $11.8 million...

Third-party logistics providers have gone from the fringes of supply chain management into big-time players that serve an estimated 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies. With so much market penetration, how much more can 3PLs grow?

Major Japanese international freight forwarder Kintetsu World Express Inc. (KWE) said its net profit fell 4.3 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters of fiscal 2013, which started on April 1, 2013, to ¥6.5 billion ($63.6 million) on a consolidated basis.

The frigid winds of January, which brought snow, ice and unusually cold temperatures to a large swathe of the United States, could have a longer lasting chilling effect on the economy and overshadow the first quarter.

DSV’s ocean container traffic grew by a market-beating 6 percent in 2013, and the global freight forwarder is targeting an increase of up to 5 percent in the current year.

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of Congressmen today introduced a bill that backers said would reform the Federal Maritime Commission and require the Maritime Administration to create a National Maritime Strategy.

Ryder System reported its profit in the fourth quarter jumped 20 percent from $53.8 million in 2012 to $64.6 million in 2013...

Truck shipments, which have grown much more slowly than tonnage in recent years, should pick up in 2014, rising 2.3 and 2.7 percent, according to ATA's chief economist.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide reported its net income in the fourth quarter of 2013 was $93.0 million, plummeting 63.7 percent year-over-year from $256.4 million...

Widespread severe winter storms and colder than typical weather are slowing deliveries and cutting into manufacturing activity — but a thaw is coming, eventually.

WASHINGTON — The prospects of raising the fuels tax to avoid the impending bankruptcy of the main engine of surface transportation funding took a major hit today after House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster said it wasn’t time, citing a slow economic recovery.

State-owned rail operator Container Corp. of India reported its net profit in the third fiscal quarter, which ended Dec. 31, 2013, was $40 million, rising 5.4 percent year-over-year from $38 million.

Major Japanese international freight forwarder Yusen Logistics Co. said that its group net profit plunged 38.9 percent in the first three quarters of fiscal 2013, which started on April 1, 2013, from a year earlier to ¥913 million (US$8.95 million) despite a big jump in operating revenue.

WASHINGTON — The types of questions posed by Surface Transportation Board commissioners to railroads and shippers in late March could give some indication on how the trio, particularly its newest addition, views a controversial competitive switching proposal.

Embarrassed by late deliveries that lowered profits this holiday season, UPS lays out its strategy for improved forecasting, collaboration with shippers and package delivery at the next holiday peak.

After 20 rounds of talks, the U.S., Japan and 10 other Pacific Rim countries are poised to deliver the text of the far-reaching Trans-Pacific Partnership. The TPP could become reality this year, but will the reality match the hype?

Maersk Container Industry has teamed up with Primaira, a Boston-based technology company, to develop a high ozone air cleaning system for refrigerated containers...

The largest U.S. transportation and logistics company increased its profit dramatically in 2013, though holiday delivery disruptions took a bite out of fourth-quarter earnings.

Trucking and logistics giant Transport Corp. of India reported its net income in the third fiscal quarter, which ended Dec. 31, 2013, was $2.3 million, jumping 27 percent year-over-year from $1.8 million.

The industrial real estate market in Southern California’s Inland Empire — the most sought-after location in the country for warehouses and distribution centers — is in near-perfect harmony right now.

President Obama touched on trade, transportation infrastructure, water resources, natural gas fueling networks and trucks in his State of the Union address, pledging to use executive orders to advance his agenda where possible.

Shippers and trucking companies need to clearly spell out detention policies and penalties in contracts and tariffs if they want to avoid federal regulation, a transportation attorney warns.

Menlo Worldwide Logistics has opened a new warehouse in Selangor, Malaysia, as part of its expansion plans.

Gauging whether China will allow the proposed P3 Network is complicated by the opaqueness of Chinese regulatory procedures that often lead to proposals being rejected less on legal grounds and more on the government’s interest in protecting state-owned industries.

SHANGHAI — China has clarified its new value-added tax on logistics services to allow second-tier forwarders, not just those who sign contracts directly with the carriers, to deduct payments of the tax imposed Aug. 1.