Freight volumes are continuing to impact the economics of logistics, with two closely-watched indices showing contraction in the market as demand for goods remain challenged ahead of Q4 restocking. Average daily spot rates from China/East Asia to the West Coast were $1,324 per 40-foot container on June 7, down from $14,000 a year ago, while the Logistics Managers Index is in contraction territory.
DHL eCommerce Solutions, addressing growing demand for its USPS consolidator business, has transferred operations from St. Louis to Kansas City, MO, as part of a national expansion plan. By the time the $330 million project is completed in mid-2024, DHL eCommerce will have a 19-node, 2.3 million-square-foot U.S. network.
West coast ports from Los Angeles to Seattle faced slowdowns on Monday, a continuation of job actions by dockworkers that began Thursday, leaving goods stranded and flows disrupted, as the union and the port owners continue to wrangle over renewing a contract that expired in July.
The California assembly voted in favor of a bill to ban driverless autonomous trucks, which now goes on to the state senate and then to the governor. It seeks a pause that would require a human onboard for at least five years while safety data is compiled, according to The Los Angeles Times and other media.
Gently hopes to become a disrupter of urban fulfillment and major retailers with multi-billion-dollar networks, offering a same-day, nano fulfillment model using small nodes located around a city, tapping a predictive analytics engine to stock and position inventory in anticipation of demand.
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy detailed how his team is working to implement an extreme makeover of the U.S. Post Service’s distribution and delivery network, in an effort to “unwind” past mistakes that created inefficiencies and hobbled its ability to execute on its mission.
Geodis, a provider of freight forwarding and logistics, has added drayage at southern and gulf ports with the acquisition of Southern Companies, following its 2022 purchase of Need It Now Delivers. Southern Companies provides drayage, container deconsolidation and consolidation, trucking and warehousing services at ports in Miami, Tampa, the Everglades, Houston, Charleston and Savannah.
Many will argue whether the pandemic was a White Swan or Black Swan event. In either case, the supply chain impacts did not create new trends or problem categories. Instead, they amplified underlying instabilities and dramatically accelerated the pace of change. Supply chain organizations and the companies that support them need to prepare for a world that is less predictable, less stable and faster moving.
All signs point to a muted retail peak outlook for 2023, with many shippers booking later sailings than in the past as they continue to burn through inventory, figure out demand signals and determine what new products to introduce for end-of-year holidays, Seko Logistics executives said on a media day call. The company’s CEO still sees “green shoots” of optimism with ordering picking up.
Retailers and CPG companies have had a symbiotic relationship for decades, teaming up to offer customers more choice in convenient in-person and ecommerce storefronts. As both take on each other’s challenges, they must learn from the other’s processes and best practices to sustain new revenue streams in the long term based on evolving consumer behaviors, preferences and spending habits.