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Welcome to issue 3 of FORWARDER USA We will be releasing new issues in an alternating cycle alongside the original, global edition of FORWARDER, which is now on its 76th issue. We plan to print the next US edition, early in the new year. So please get involved and let us know if you would like to feature your company in the magazine.
If it flies and it's freight, we'll feature it.
SEA FREIGHT
If it floats and it's fr... you get the idea.
ROAD FREIGHT
By far the largest share of cargo transport in the USA.
RAIL FREIGHT
The second stalwart; road's right-hand man.
PROJECT CARGO
Oversized, heavy, high-value or mission-critical stuff.
AIR & SEA PORTS
Gateways to the wider world.
TECH & DIGITISATION
From data to drones. Welcome to the future.
From promo to expo, don't risk FOMO.
If only COVID had been subject to this...
INDUSTRY SERVICES
Everything from freight forwarding to insurance.
CRISIS RESPONSE
The latest emergency, from money to monkeypox.
RECRUITMENT & TRAINING
Growing, perfecting, and certifiying your business.
The other way to grow your company.
This is a vital industry. Let's shout about it!
Environment. Fundraising. Charity. The feel-good stuff.
Atanak...p65
ForwardingJobs...p84
Headford Group...p86, p119 Freight Mergers...p93 Freight Solutions...p102
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FORWARDER directory...p108
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6th edition of the DHL Logistics Trend Radar brings together 40 trends that will help shape the direction of businesses, societies, and technologies for the global logistics community in the next decade
• Megatrends and macro forces such as Covid-19, climate change, urbanization and geopolitical events ‘are accelerating the speed of transformation in logistics’
• Sustainability continues to drive innovation, with decarbonization and alternative energy solutions having the most potential in transforming logistics in the near future
• Supply chain resilience ‘is now more important than ever and encourages supply chain diversification, with big data analytics identifying opportunities’
• Growth in consumer demand pushes for more automation and efficiency, with indoor mobile robots and stationary robots to help increase productivity, report highlights
Decarbonization, big data, robots, supply chain diversification, and alternative energy solutions will have the biggest impact in transforming logistics in the next decade, according to a new major logistics trends study by DHL. The biennial DHL Logistics Trend Radar report is the result of an extensive analysis of macro and micro trends as well as the insights from numerous customer engagements and a large partner network including research institutes, tech players, and startups.
In the 6th edition of the DHL Logistics Trend Radar, DHL brings together 40 trends that will help shape the direction of businesses, societies, and technologies for the global logistics community in the next decade. Of those, decarbonization, robots, big data, supply chain diversification, and alternative energy solutions will have the biggest impact in transforming logistics, the report concludes.
The events in the last two years have shown us the importance of having robust supply chains and logistics. We are therefore seeing businesses transform logistics from a quiet, back-end operation to a strategic asset and value driver. We believe that being successful in the future requires inspiration and innovation, open exchange, and intense collaboration. By sharing the 6th edition of the DHL Logistics Trend Radar, we again invite our customers and partners to jointly shape the era of logistics.
Katja Busch, Chief Commercial Officer DHL & Head of DHL Customer Solutions and Innovation
The report highlights how supply chain diversification leads to greater resilience, with visibility playing a key role, noting, As climaterelated disasters and geopolitical interferences become more prevalent, organizations look into diversifying their supply chains in an effort to make their operations more resilient. Multisourcing, the partnering with multiple competing suppliers, and multishoring, the selecting providers in more or different countries or regions, are some of the strategies that organizations can take, the report highlights.
Broadening the supplier ecosystem and expanding manufacturing and distribution networks can achieve increasing resilience, agility, responsiveness, and competitiveness. 76% of businesses surveyed are planning to make significant changes to their supplier base within the next two years to ensure supply chain resilience.
The report stresses that the key to building resilient supply chains is having visibility, noting: In this case, big data helps to analyze large quantities of data to reveal past patterns, highlight real-time changes in the status quo, and create predictions and forecasts for the future. Those organizations at the forefront and seeing the greatest gains in their supply chains are those capable of analyzing vast quantities of quickly accruing, unstructured data, while those who only look at core transactional data are missing out on visibility opportunities. Digital twins, another emerging trend to help with business visbility, can reinforce predictive maintenance procedures in operations, reducing industrial breakdowns by 70% and keeping supply chains running. Computer vision – another example – enables more efficient processes and more secure operations.
The topic of environmental sustainability continues to gain relevance in the world, and this year’s report further delves into specific sustainability trends, expanding into systems and processes and not just technologies. The new trends that have emerged carrying a significant impact are decarbonization, alternative energy solutions, circularity, and environmental stewardship, the report notes.
In the trend of decarbonization, the World Economic Forum recently found that a net-zero supply chain will, on average, increase prices by no more than 4%. With many customers now willing to pay extra for more sustainable options, companies are investigating the various existing decarbonization solutions for their supply chains, the report highlights.
85% of consumers have become ‘greener’ in their purchase behavior in the last five years, and 65% are making modest to total lifestyle changes, pushing companies to inspect ways to make their products greener, often focusing on their supply chains.
Regarding alternative energy solutions, the report recommends that companies should investigate in planning an electric fleet, noting, Of the $755 billion invested in the energy transition in 2021, 36% was invested in electric transport.
One trend that has the potential to change business models is circularity, the report highlights, noting that currently, only 8.5 per cent of society’s total material consumption is recycled or reused. Logistics organizations face major opportunities in all supply chain segments to improve their sustainability effort with circularity principles, and thus respond to the needs of their customers.
The report also highlights how, in order to keep up with growing consumer demand, companies will need to start looking into automation and efficiency technologies to help with productivity. Important trends to mention here are indoor mobile robots and stationary robots, further extending a hand to staff on the ground. Indoor mobile robots have greatly diversified over the years with continual technological advancements. These indoor mobile robots can now move goods from one point to the other, help with loading and unloading containers or trucks and even assist in facility support with cleaning and security.
Stationary robots, on the other hand, can be placed strategically in warehouses or hubs to optimize processes. In the future, it will be impossible to imagine logistics without automated processes using collaborative robots, the report predicts.
Klaus Dohrmann, VP Head of Innovation Europe, DHL Customer Solutions & Innovation, said the DHL Logistics Trend Radar is used like the North Star to navigate the future by our customers, partners, and colleagues” and has now been in existence for nearly 10 years. “In this year’s edition, we introduced new trends that became more relevant to the logistics industry like Computer Vision, Interactive AI, Smart Labels and DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging), while the many other trends are further clarified from the previous edition to offer more detail. For example, the fifth-edition trend Sustainable Logistics – which was the hottest topic of last year – is further split into circularity, decarbonization, alternative energy solutions, and other trends. Sustainability is definitely still a top-of-mind topic for our customers today but ensuring resilience in the supply chain is taking center stage in the transformation of logistics. The supply chain status quo narrative of efficiency and operational excellence is now being complemented by an understanding that the supply chain is an essential driver of tangible value creation.
DHL has four Innovation Centers in Germany, Singapore, the USA, and the United Arab Emirates, pioneering the future of logistics and driving customer-centric innovation around the world. These creative hubs host workshops, innovation center tours, events, and collaborative innovation projects to better understand customer needs and identify actions to solve key supply chain challenges. It takes a focused, user-centric, and systematic thought leadership approach to identify upcoming developments, new best practices, potential industry applications and the impact of these trends on logistics.
Published every two years, the DHL Logistics Trend Radar illustrates the most important social, economic and technological trends for the logistics industry, tracking their evolution. Since 2015, it said over 70,000 visitors have come together at the company’s four DHL Innovation Centers to exchange with DHL experts and each other – partly due to successful virtual events during the pandemic. These findings are consolidated and reflected on the DHL Logistics Trend Radar, which acts as a strategic and unique resource for the global logistics company to help shape the direction of businesses and technologies, the company said.
The sixth edition of the DHL Logistics Trend Radar, including information on deep dives and projects, is available for free download at www.dhl.com/logistics-trend-radar
In response to growing customer interest, ‘LATAM Star’ freighter operation expanded to three times per week between HSV and VCP, with connections to other destinations in Brazil and South America
DSV and LATAM Cargo are expanding their collaboration by increasing the frequencies of their ‘LATAM Star’ BrazilHuntsville, Alabama freighter route operation to three times per week, just five months after its successful relaunch, in response to growing customer interest.
The initial once-weekly B767 freighter operation on Mondays will see the addition of two more departures on Wednesdays and Fridays, with direct cargo service for DSV Air & Sea from Huntsville International Airport (HSV) to Viracopos, Brazil with connections to other destinations in Brazil and South America. From HSV, DSV has regular chartered freighter services to its European air hub in Luxembourg.
DSV uses Huntsville as the main US hub for its air charter network, describing it as an optimal origin and destination point for clients as a less congested option to more traditional cargo facilities in the nearby area.
Mads Ravn, Executive Vice President of DSV with responsibility for the global freight forwarder’s air charter network, commented: With the addition of two additional frequencies to the DSV Charter Network, we will now be able to offer unmatched transit times from the US South East as well as in-transit cargo from Asia and Europe.
LATAM Cargo’s agile approach, to adapt to our customer’s needs in a challenging market, has been instrumental. With the option to connect to LATAM’s network in South America, we offer our customers faster transit time and savings on trucking to Miami by stopping at the DSV Hub in Huntsville, Alabama for direct uplift to all of Latin America.
LATAM Cargo said the implementation of these new frequencies reaffirms LATAM Cargo’s commitment to adapt to the needs of its customers, taking advantage of its network’s flexibility to offer customized solutions.
LATAM Airlines Group and its affiliates are the largest group of airlines in Latin America, with presence in five national markets in the region –Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru - in addition to international operations inside Latin America and between Latin America and Europe, Oceania, the United States, and the Caribbean.
LATAM Cargo Chile, LATAM Cargo Colombia and LATAM Cargo Brazil, the cargo subsidiaries of LATAM Airlines, have access to the belly of the group’s passenger aircraft and have a fleet of 15 freighters that will gradually expand until reaching between 19 and 22 freighters by 2023. They operate within LATAM Group’s network as well as on cargo-only international routes.
Will Waters, contributing editor, FORWARDER magazine
The Airforwarders Association and the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America have issued a whitepaper of recommendations following a nationwide survey of air cargo stakeholders
The Airforwarders Association (AfA) and the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) are calling for a State or Federal-backed ‘Air Cargo Support Fund’ to tackle the infrastructural crisis facing the US air cargo industry.
The recommendations form part of a whitepaper following a major national survey of 400 air cargo stakeholders in the public and private sectors undertaken by the organizations, identifying the critical issues and the airports where the challenges are greatest.
With airports and airlines experiencing substantial revenue shortfalls over the past two years, the situation is becoming critical with potentially severe impacts on the economy and jobs throughout the country. Because of the lagging financials, airports will be allocating the monies of the Infrastructure Act* to passengers, security, and safety, leaving insufficient funds to sustain air cargo operations. Additional funding, specifically dedicated to air cargo, is urgently needed.
Brandon Fried, Executive Director, AfA
The whitepaper, called Safeguarding the future of air cargo: its economic importance and critical need for investment, warns that the negative fallout from a lack of investment could include job losses, as well as delays to shipping time-sensitive products by air, and higher costs to all elements of the logistics chain from shipper to buyer.
The findings in the whitepaper demonstrate major concern from both NCBFAA and AfA members. We have worked hard to present clear recommendations but these will come at a cost and it is vital that the USD25 billion that airports will receive by way of the Infrastructure Act is allocated across all areas of airport development.
Donna Mullins, Vice President, Kale Info Solutions, and Air Freight Subcommittee Chair, NCBFAA
The recommendations include implementing airport community systems, encouraging better recruitment and retention through improved compensation packages, and a new industry-wide training program.
Failure by the US legislature to act on its recommendations, said the whitepaper, risked: escalating costs for modernization of airport facilities and infrastructure; continued adverse environmental impacts; industry consolidations and overall job loss; higher costs to all elements of the logistics chain from shipper to buyer; and a continued inability to meet anomalous challenges, such as the global pandemic.
The full whitepaper can be found at airforwarders.org.
*The Infrastructure Act is a US bill which includes the largest federal investment in public transit in history. The bill includes spending figures of USD105 billion dollars in public transport. Airports received USD25 billion in the Bill, without any specific allocation or requirement that funds be used for air cargo area development.
Airforwarders Association’s Brandon Fried to sit on the TSA’s Aviation Security Advisory Committee
The Airforwarders Association (AfA) is to advise the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on the commercial concerns and requirements of US freight forwarders as it enters the second year of its two-year term on the TSA’s Aviation Security Advisory Committee (ASAC).
I am honored to continue participating on this important federal advisory committee, especially assisting TSA in implementing its Air Cargo Security Roadmap to secure the air cargo system throughout the next five years. Twenty-one years have elapsed since the 9/11 attacks, and the Airforwarders Association, with the Indirect Air Carrier community, remain committed to responding to new and emerging threats to aviation, while still ensuring the efficient flow of commerce.
Brandon Fried, Executive Director, AfA
ASAC is a statutory committee that furthers TSA’s security mission through consultation with key partners on aviation security matters, including the development, refinement, and implementation of policies, programs, rulemaking, and security directives pertaining to aviation security.
AfA’s presence on ASAC underlines its influence and political sway, representing the interest of the US air freight forwarding community as key security decisions are debated.
US security is always at a premium, but it is vital for AfA to be the voice for the US air freight forwarder as commercial reality must form part of any security policy.
The ASAC was initially established in 1989 following the bombing of Pan American World Airways Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), in collaboration with its wholly owned subsidiary Cargo Network Services (CNS), announced that the modernized CASSLink has been successfully deployed in the United States air cargo market. CASSLink is an invoicing system for billings and payments between airlines and freight forwarders which are participating in the Cargo Accounts Settlement System (CASS). More than 15,000 freight forwarders use CASSLink.
We surveyed the market about what additional features they’d like to see, and we’ve delivered them in the new CASSLink. It is an efficient, secure, transparent and cost-effective solution for airlines, cargo agents and freight forwarders. We are excited to bring it to the US, the largest CASS market worldwide.
Laura Pullins, President, CNS
New CASSLink features include:
• Friendly and intuitive user interface
• Self-service functions to configure data processing, reports and user management, etc.
• Real-time reporting and on-line dispute resolution
• Accommodation of bilateral commercial arrangements as well as IATA resolutions requirements
• New tax calculation mechanism
• Risk assessment tool
• New payment options
IATA worked with IBS Software to develop the new CASSLink. It will be rolled out to all other CASS markets beginning this quarter and continuing through 2023. At the end of 2021, 97 CASS operations were serving more than 230 General Sales and Service Agents and over 240 airlines worldwide. CASS processed $57.4 billion, with an on-time settlement rate of 99.999% in 2021.
New CASSLink is designed to meet the billing and payment requirements of the air cargo value chain, today and in future. It is the most price competitive solution in the market, with no charge to agents and forwarders.
Muhammad Albakri, Senior VP, Financial Settlement & Distribution Services, IATA
Still no signs of any Q4 seasonal uplift, with the downward trend of the last several months continuing into the second week of November – when peak season is usually in full flow
There are still no signs of any fourth-quarter (Q4) seasonal uplift in air cargo demand or pricing, with the downward trend of the last several months continuing into the second week of November – when peak season is usually in full flow.
Following a steep decline in the week to 6 November (week 44), reported by WorldACD last week, the latest preliminary figures from WorldACD Market Data show that weakening trend continue in this week’s report –although the drop was less steep on a week-over-week basis.
Figures for week 45 (7 to 13 November) show a further 1% drop in worldwide flown tonnages from the previous week, and a stable average price. But comparing weeks 44 and 45 with the preceding two weeks (2Wo2W), tonnages were 7% below their level in weeks 42 and 43, while average worldwide rates decreased by 1%, in a decreasing capacity environment (-1%) – based on the more than 350,000 weekly transactions covered by WorldACD’s data.
Across that two-week period, outbound tonnages dropped from all the main regions, most notably ex-Europe (-12%), ex-Asia Pacific (-5%) and ex-North America (-5%). On a lane-by-lane basis, strong decreases were recorded between Europe and North America (-12% westbound and -10% eastbound) and between Europe and Asia Pacific (-7% westbound and -14% eastbound).
There were also double-digit percentage drops in tonnages from Europe to Central & South America (-15%) and to Africa (-11%), while intra-Asia Pacific volumes fell by 7%. Chargeable weight growth outbound from Middle East & South Asia to Asia Pacific was the only significant positive exception (+6%), on a 2Wo2W basis.
Comparing the overall global market with this time last year, chargeable weight in weeks 44 and 45 was down 18% compared with the equivalent period in 2021, despite a capacity increase of 2%. Notably, tonnages ex-Asia Pacific are 25% below their strong levels this time last year, and Middle East & South Asia origin tonnages are 23% below last year. But there were also double-digit percentage year-on-year drops outbound from both North America (-18%) and Europe (-13%), despite higher capacity.
Capacity from all the main origin regions, with the exception of Asia Pacific (-8%) and Central & South America (-6%), is (significantly) above its levels this time last year: North America +9%, Middle East & South Asia +6%, Europe +2% and a double-digit percentage rise from Africa (+11%).
Worldwide rates are currently 22% below their levels this time last year at an average of US$3.34 per kilo, despite the effects of higher fuel surcharges, but they remain significantly above pre-Covid levels.
With ocean freight demand now back below pre-pandemic levels, October saw a continuation of the developments which had already been underway for several months, highlights Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime
Ocean freight rates in the main global spot markets continued to decline sharply in October, most severely in the Asia to US West Coast market where the levels are now rapidly approaching pre-pandemic levels, in what is essentially a continuation of the developments which had already been underway for several months, according to container shipping expert Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime.
He notes that Asia to US East Coast spot rates have also been declining, but at a slightly slower pace, and therefore the spread between the two is increasing, highlighting that there are two fundamental reasons driving this development.
One is the continuing congestion problems in major ports on the US East Coast which still acts to ‘soak up’ capacity from the market. The other is the shift in demand, where cargo owners continue to favour the East Coast when possible, Jensen noted in a briefing for the Baltic Exchange’s FBX Newsletter. This shift was originally done to avoid the West Coast congestion but is now increasingly a risk mitigation effort.
He believes there are two major risks facing shippers using the US West Coast in the near-term future, noting: One is the increasing risk of labour action on the US West Coast as the port workers’ union ILWU who have still not entered into a new agreement with the terminals’ organisation PMA. Secondly, there is still a risk of a rail strike in the US which would impact shippers who have cargo entering – especially the US Pacific Northwest for rail carriage further east. Hence a shift of cargo, where relevant, away from the West Coast and over to the East Coast is a prudent risk mitigation measure. But this is in turn causing the aforementioned congestion problems.
Jensen said the Atlantic head-haul trade was still holding firm in terms of spot rates, and this was to a large degree due to the US East Coast congestion – which has had the side-effect of also reducing Atlantic capacity.
On the topic of near-term risks, he said there was increasing concern related to both price and availability of diesel fuel in the US. The reserves are down to a level matching only 25 days, which is lower than anything seen in more than 70 years, and as consequence prices are escalating rapidly. This will impact both trucking and rail within the US. If this leads to de-facto capacity reductions on inland movements, it will create a ripple into the container terminals where congestion would again start rising.
Given the severe drops in spot rates, he pointed out that contract rates are now in some cases as much as US$4-5,000/FEU higher than spot rates. This has led to the completely predictable result that many contracts either have been or are in the process of being amended. Over the past few weeks, there have been cases of major carriers proactively approaching some customers and suggesting amending the contracts to a lower rate level in the Pacific.
He said such behavior from the carriers was a good indication of the weakness of demand. From a carrier perspective, you would normally see a shipper gradually reduce volumes booked on contract as they begin to shift to the spot market. Eventually the shipper would ask to amend the contract rate and the carrier would likely comply. However, during this period the carrier is losing volume. Pro-actively approaching this from the carrier side is only done if the overriding objective is to safeguard cargo volumes.
Demand levels lower than pre-pandemic Jensen said demand was currently “indeed weak”, highlighting that Container Trade Statistics data from August shows that global demand measured in TEU Miles declined 5.5% compared to the same month a year ago. It also shows that demand measured in TEU Miles was down 2% compared to August 2019, and hence we are now for the first time in 2022 at a demand level which is lower than pre-pandemic.
Jensen concluded: All in all, the sharp decline in spot rates was inevitable – at some point the market was going to normalise. However, the very weak demand developments add further strength to the reductions and it is likely that we will see spot rates in the coming months temporarily drop below pre-pandemic levels before coming back up to normality.
Will Waters, contributing editor, FORWARDER magazine
Container Rates and prices look set to drop below pre-covid levels, with depot space becoming a big issue and lines continuing to cancel blank sailings, highlights Container xChange
The fall in China’s exports in September, the global economic downturn and the innumerable repercussions of the endless impacts of the war, the lockdowns in China and the port strikes have been the highlight of the monthly container logistics report published this month by Container xChange, an online platform for container logistic companies to book and manage containers while also managing payment and related services.
What we now see is not unforeseen. The slowing down of demand, and the glut of oversupply of containers are all a consequence of the disruptions caused since the outbreak of the pandemic. It is like the classic boom and bust cycle. There is a relatively low orders-toinventory ratio. The retailers and the bigger buyers or shippers are more cautious about the outlook on demand and are ordering less. On the other hand, the congestion is easing with vessel waiting times reducing, ports operating at less capacity, and the container turnaround times decreasing which ultimately, frees up the capacity in the market.
Christian Roeloffs, cofounder & CEO, Container xChange
Another key trend is the early signs of companies trying to diversify their sourcing strategy with Vietnam emerging as one of the key sourcing hubs.
Based on Container xChange’s data, the price of a cargo-worthy 40 ft HC container in Ho Chi Minh City on September 22 was $3,643, the third highest on the platform. This indicates a high demand for 40 ft HC
containers at the port. Not just the prices, the average pick-up rate of a cargo-worthy 20 ft from the port of Ho Chi Minh to the US dropped from $321 to $117 as well. For container users, it’s perhaps the right time to leverage these rates as the country gears up in enhancing its export growth.
All in all, on Container xChange trading platforms, the prices for cargoworthy 40 DC boxes in the ports of China have seen a steady decline in 2022 – almost becoming half of what they were at the beginning of the year. And though the ports of India and Vietnam too have seen similar decline, the trading prices seem to have stabilized over the last two months showing an increase in demand for these boxes at the ports of Mundra, Nhava Sheva, and Ho Chi Minh City.
As shippers started favoring the US East Coast ports for importing cargo to the US, the PU charges from China to these ports fell dramatically. For cargo-worthy containers (20 ft, 40 ft, and 40 ft HC), the PU charges fell from $1,473 in August to $940 in September for the Port of New York. At the same time, for the Port of Savannah, the drop was from $1,211 to $874.
The PU charges from China to the ports on US West Coast were running high in the beginning of the year, nearing $3000. As the logjams in these ports began clearing up, the PU charges too started falling slowly. For cargo-worthy containers (20 ft, 40 ft, and 40 ft HC) from China to Los Angeles, the PU charges fell from $1,664 in August to $1361 in September. The drop was from $1,514 to $1,156 for the port of Oakland.
Container xChange is a technology company that offers a container trading and leasing platform, payment infrastructure and efficient operating systems to manage the end-to-end container movement across the globe for container logistics companies worldwide.
AAL Shipping (AAL) has added further vessels to its owned multipurpose cargo vessel (MPV) fleet. This month saw the delivery of the 2010 ‘AAL Gunsan’ (ex-BBC America) and her sister vessel, the 2009 ‘AAL Geelong’ (ex-BBC Valparaiso) – the latter taken a few months ago. These are the last of four 25,800 deadweight (DWT) multipurpose heavy lift sister vessels (classified by AAL as G-class) secured through an acquisition transaction penned back in 2021 by AAL / Schoeller Holdings Group.
During the summer, the AAL / Schoeller Holdings Group further acquired the ‘AAL Moon’ – a 33,000 DWT multipurpose vessel built in 2010 (classified by AAL as W-Class) and having previously served within the AAL fleet under commercial management since 2017.
These acquisitions are perfectly in line with our continued fleet strategy to employ large MPVs which, through their significant cargo intake volumes, offer our shippers greater economies of scale on every sailing. Indeed, AAL is one of the leading ‘large tonnage’ MPV operators in the market. They also expand our multipurpose operating fleet to 864,800 DWT, of which 90 percent is now fully controlled by AAL /
Schoeller Holdings Group. This authority that AAL has over its operating fleet is important to the long-term sustainable expansion and deployment of our vessels; the strengthening of our global service model; and the frequency and flexibility demanded by our diverse global customer base. The vessels are being positioned across the world, in service of our monthly liner, regular trade lane, and tramp chartering operations. Kyriacos Panayides, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), AAL
Despite a challenging 18 months of global market upheaval due to COVID, the container boom, and geo-political unrest, AAL has remained steadfast in support of its traditional breakbulk and multipurpose cargo customers – adding tonnage to, and improving frequency on, its core global trade lanes between the Americas, Africa, Europe, Middle East, India, Asia, and Oceania.
In 2022, AAL has been recognised for its service by the multipurpose shipping community through two prestigious global carrier awards: ‘Ship Operator of the Year 2022’ at the Heavy Lift Awards and ‘Best Shipping Line – Project Cargo’ at the AFLAS Awards.
Freight rates for 40' containers moving from China to the port of Los Angeles fell to $1,825 in October, which is equivalent to the pre-pandemic peak season level, report from Shifl highlights
Ocean freight spot rates for 40' containers moving from China to the port of Los Angeles fell to $1,825 in October, which is equivalent to the pre-pandemic peak season level, a new report from freight forwarder Shifl has highlighted.
Even as vessels continue to queue outside East Coast ports, freight rates between China-US East Coast are declining, with freight rates for 40’ containers on the China-New York trade corridor dropping to a rate of $5,550, which is still higher than the peak season rate pre-pandemic, according to SHIFEX, the only forwarder-driven container spot freight rate index.
While falling consumer demand and a drop in shipment orders are compelling reasons for the headwind in freight rates, this price movement across the China-West Coast trade lane is also supported by shipper concerns on the ongoing International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) contract negotiation with the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) , Shifl noted. The ILWU represents over 22,000 port workers across the West Coast, and with the contract having expired in July, a worker strike at the port complexes will bring freight movement to a screeching halt.
The fall in freight rates can also be explained by a ‘shift’ in peak shipping season over this year, reflected in extremely strong import TEU volumes over the second quarter, the forwarder said.
With delays being the norm during last year’s peak shipping season, shippers and retailers seem to have ordered products several months earlier this year, to avoid getting their freight stuck in transit, This could explain the tipping import volumes now, considering shippers have already stocked up their inventories.
Shabsie Levy, CEO & Founder of Shifl, commented: While the
Fed has increased rates and inflation still remains high, it is expected that the fall in spot freight rates will eventually alleviate inflation. It remains to be seen whether the rates will stabilize at pre-pandemic levels or will fall lower than that.
This is seen in the divergence of transit times across the US West and East Coasts. The China to LA/Long Beach transit time has continued to improve, dropping 60% from its highs in Dec 2021. The transit time yardstick from the pre-pandemic days is 16 days, and at the current transit of around 20 days, the West Coast has done well to close the gap from a disastrous situation a year before, Shifl noted.
The same cannot be said of the East Coast ports like New York/New Jersey. Transit times from China to New York/New Jersey in September ‘22 increased 13% from the highs in December 21 and is currently sitting at around 45 days compared to a prepandemic normal of 27 days. So, there is a long way to go for the East Coast to gain a semblance of normalcy, Shifl added.
Import container gate out times has also stabilized at around four days at both coasts, which is close to pre-pandemic levels. That said, empty containers are continuing to be a challenge, especially across the East Coast, it noted.
Meanwhile, the port of New York has announced that it will start levying tariffs on long dwelling empties, as they stifle capacity availability within the port premise. Lack of space reduces port efficiency, delaying loading/unloading operations and gate out times.
Falling freight rates have led to an increase in blank sailings from container liners, which look to find a bottom to the fall in rates by constricting capacity. This has largely not been as effective as anticipated, with maritime spot rates of the China-US eastward trade route continuing to tank, Shifl noted.
As per data from project44, blank sailings were recorded at 39% in the first week of October, a steep increase from 28% in August.
Products coming in at cheaper prices and lowered consumer demand will put a tremendous strain on importers sitting with excess inventory imported at expensive freight prices resulting in considerable loss, said Levy.
Some container liners like MSC are suspending entire services across the Transpacific route due to an unexpected fall in demand.
However, liner profits for legacy carriers will continue to stay higher than pre-pandemic levels for a while as they are still carrying cargo negotiated at higher long-term contract rates and some high spot contracts especially to the East Coast, Shifl said.
Members of the major shipping alliances continue to have a larger percentage of their capacity across contracts and so will make record profits for a second consecutive calendar year.
Levy commented: I think it will be rougher seas for new carriers who entered the market driven by the high spot freight rates, compared to legacy carriers who have more contract rates and enough cash reserves to sustain the reduction in rates for a while.
• Spot Freight rate = The freight rate charged by the carriers from port to port on a spot basis, (non-contract basis).
• Transit time = The time taken for containers from loading at Port of Load till discharge at Port of Discharge
• Container Gate Out = The time taken for import full containers to be cleared at customs and moved out of port to the customer’s warehouse
Waters, contributing editor, FORWARDER magazine
Expansion of logistics services will bring relief to customers waiting for goods
ContainerPort Group (CPG®), a transportation organization specializing in intermodal drayage and logistics, announced the launch of its Expedited Services team, as part of its larger Logistics unit. The Expedited Services team will focus on finding solutions to move customer-critical containers that are not easily accessible or otherwise detained at rail yards and container yards across the country.
Customers continue to have difficulty getting their freight delivered on-time due to a number of factors. It could be tied up with detention and demurrage charges, overweight for a certain carrier, or perhaps a lack of available chassis. Expedited Services is all about getting creative to free those containers and finding a solution to get it where it needs to go. Mike Williams, Executive VP, head of CPG Logistics & Commercial, CPG
Many providers are struggling with a lack of equipment needed to get containers moved from storage areas, or a lack of available space at the destination facility. Customers needing immediate assistance can leverage CPG Logistics’ broad network of carrier partners to free their freight from whatever circumstance, no matter the location.
At CPG, we can cover every port and every rail. Our experience and existing relationships give us the flexibility to handle whatever issues the customer is facing. This Expedited team will explore every possible avenue to find a solution that works for the customer and gets their freight moving.
The Expedited Services team is equipped to handle a wide range of freight, including overweight containers, out-of-gauge, reefers, hazmat, and more. They have experience handling issues including excessive demurrage, transloading, and more.
This new team adds another unique service to CPG’s already broad array of transportation solutions. The Logistics team works closely with CPG’s 26 terminal locations, and provides coverage nationally by utilizing connections with carriers in locations where CPG does not have a physical presence.
Customers with questions or in need of assistance can contact the Expedited Team via email at expedited@containerport.com or call (877) 863-5715.
Electric truck fleet expansion targets customers looking to accelerate decarbonization efforts in their supply chains
Volvo Trucks is lead partner for Performance Team’s Electric Vehicle (EV) fleet with first deliveries in operation since Q3 2022
California Air Resources Board (CARB) regulations require diesel trucks to transition to zero emissions by 2030
Performance Team has deployed its first Class 8 battery-electric trucks from Volvo Trucks North America in Southern California in response to customer demand for sustainable short-haul warehouse and distribution center operations. The Volvo VNR Electric trucks are designed to handle local and regional distribution with a range of up to 275 miles on a single charge.
Performance Team expects to deploy 126 Volvo Electric trucks in North America by Q3 2023. By the end of October 2022, 30 Volvo VNR Electric trucks will be in operation, including 16 in Performance Team’s Santa Fe Springs, California distribution center and 14 in Performance Team’s Commerce, California distribution center. The rest of the 126 Volvo Trucks VNR Electric order will be filled by Q3 2023, and future deployment locations will be determined by customer demand and location needs.
Customers are looking for more tangible, sustainable options in their supply chain to satisfy their long-term climate change goals and their immediate business needs in short-haul trucking. So, we’re working closely with our partners at Volvo Trucks North America and TEC Equipment on electromobility solutions to define a new supply chain eco-chapter in our operations.
Jason Walker, Executive Vice President Operations, Performance Team
Performance Team worked closely with the sales team at TEC Equipment – Fontana, a Volvo Trucks’ Certified EV Dealership, and Volvo Trucks North America to identify the ideal Volvo VNR Electric configurations needed to run their daily freight routes. In addition, the partners leveraged Volvo Trucks’ Electric Performance Generator (EPG) tool, which simulated Performance Team’s real-world routes to determine which ones were best suited for the Volvo VNR Electric trucks, taking into consideration environmental factors such as speed, payload, terrain, and ambient temperature. The EPG also considers specific route details, including traffic patterns, to determine if an opportunity charge would be required.
Introducing any new technology into your fleet operations can come with a learning curve, which we are definitely seeing as customers make the switch from diesel to battery-electric trucks. It is inspiring to see our very first Volvo Trucks Certified EV Dealer working side-by-side with the largest Volvo VNR Electric fleet in the world, both of which are fully committed to facilitating the widespread adoption of zero-tailpipe emission transportation solutions. TEC Equipment and Performance Team are taking a trailblazing role in demonstrating how a dealership and customer can collaborate to maximize the benefits of battery-electric trucks when they are deployed into fleet operations at scale.
Jared Ruiz , acting head of electromobility sales for North America, Volvo Trucks North America
The scaled deployment of zero-tailpipe emission Volvo VNR Electric models is part of the company’s environment, social and governance (ESG) strategy to decarbonize logistics. Its California-based fleet operates 215 trucks, which Performance Team intends to fully transition from diesel to battery-electric trucks. The 126 Volvo VNR Electric trucks are the first step in that plan, as well as creating new charging infrastructure to support its battery-electric fleet.
Both Volvo Trucks and TEC Equipment continue to go above and beyond to support Performance Team’s growing battery-electric fleet. One example is the ongoing training they are providing to help our drivers optimize the range of the Volvo VNR Electric, including how to leverage regenerative braking benefits to add power back to the battery. Overall, our drivers have had a very positive experience with the Volvo VNR Electric Trucks.
Michael Gallagher, head of indirect sourcing, North America, Performance Team
Performance Team is also taking advantage of the Volvo Gold Contract, Volvo Trucks’ premier service offering for the VNR Electric model, a turn-key solution for the first six years of ownership that allows customers to have operational peace of mind knowing they have access to 24/7 support, including tow services, should any issues arise. As part of the Volvo Gold Contract, TEC Equipment provides comprehensive services to Performance Team’s fleet including scheduled and preventative maintenance, towing and vehicle repair including the vehicle’s energy storage unit and the complete electromobility system, to ensure peak vehicle uptime, performance, and productivity.
As a Certified Uptime Dealer, TEC Equipment has a goal of diagnosing customer trucks within two hours of being brought in for service to minimize downtime and get trucks back on the road quickly. The Uptime Services bundle from Volvo Trucks has been enhanced for the Volvo VNR Electric to include a battery monitoring service that further supports customer uptime and peak operating conditions.
TEC Equipment is dedicated to providing our customers with a seamless transition to battery-electric trucks. It’s exciting to help Performance Team move beyond just a few battery-electric trucks to a full fleet and figure out how to make that functional and costeffective. We have a customer-focused approach at all of our dealer locations and collaborate with customers on an ongoing basis to ensure they are prepared and supported along every step of their electromobility journey.
Tracey Craik, regional sales director, TEC Equipment
Prologis – a warehouse partner of Performance Team has installed an electric charging station at Performance Team’s Santa Fe Springs, California site in Q2 2022 and will add a charging station to Performance Team’s Commerce, California’s site in November 2022. More details will be shared in time.
Performance Team ordered 126 Volvo VNR Electric trucks earlier this year as part of an ambitious order of 450 electric trucks to learn more about EV operations and battery technology that support Maersk’s global decarbonization goals. Maersk’s Environment Social Governance (ESG) strategy is to decarbonize logistics. The strategy is a key driver for zero carbon operations in trucking and an important part of Maersk’s goal of enterprise-wide, carbon neutral operations by 2040 with significant steps to be taken by 2030. In the State of California, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has regulations that require diesel trucks to transition to zero emissions by 2030.
All fleet managers understand the importance of regular maintenance. Experienced managers also know it’s better to perform these repairs proactively instead of running to failure, but even standard preventive care can fall short. As winter approaches, fleets should consider remote diagnostic tools.
Remote truck diagnostics solutions analyze vehicle health factors and transmit them wirelessly through telematics. They can be a crucial tool for keeping trucks in optimal condition and fleets should implement them before the winter weather begins. Here are five reasons why.
The most important reason to implement remote diagnostics is it protects drivers and others on the road. Even the most efficient in-person maintenance system requires substantial time between diagnostic checks.
Truckers may be on the road for up to 11 hours before having any off time. Even then, they may not be near a facility that can check their truck’s state of repair. That leaves a considerable time for potentially dangerous issues to arise. Remote diagnostics can find problems as truckers drive, helping resolve them before they become hazardous. This data is sent to an administrator who can determine if the issue is a minor or major concern. If it’s a major concern, the administrator might reroute a truck to the nearest service station.
This safety is even more critical in the winter, when poor road conditions may turn otherwise minor issues into significant hazards. Preventing equipment failure can protect truckers and other drivers their failing trucks may endanger.
Remote diagnostic tools also minimize equipment downtime. The conventional process can add considerable time to already time-consuming maintenance stops. Technicians must take time to pull codes and inspect engines, take more to determine if they need immediate attention and — in some cases — order parts.
Accessing diagnostic information while the truck is on the road removes a lot of this downtime. Telematics solutions can report diagnostic codes in real-time, so technicians can prepare accordingly while the truck is away. They can determine how serious the issue is, order any necessary parts and schedule a repair before the vehicle comes in.
This simultaneous action means trucks can get the service they need as soon as they pull into the workshop. Both regular maintenance and unexpected repairs will include less downtime as a result.
These efficiency and safety improvements are beneficial at any time of year, but they’re vital for the winter. Fleets must implement remote truck diagnostics before the weather changes because their maintenance concerns will rise in the colder months.
Batteries and wipers wear out faster in the cold and trucks must pay closer attention to fluid ratios and levels. Even if nothing goes wrong, these regular maintenance steps take time and money. If fleets already have a remote diagnostics system in place, they can reduce that impact when they need it most.
Unexpected issues are also more likely to arise in extreme weather conditions. Consequently, there’s no better time to have real-time insight into rising maintenance concerns.
Another reason fleets should implement remote diagnostics before the winter is this season is often busier. In the past two holiday seasons, demand outpaced supply by millions of packages a day. While those peaks may not be as high as pandemicrelated issues fizzle out, this season is consistently busy.
High demand means fleets can’t afford to keep trucks down for long. That — combined with the increased likelihood of emergency repairs — means fleet managers must embrace all the proactive maintenance measures they can.
Amid these peak seasons, fleets can’t overlook the reduced downtime remote diagnostics enable. If they adopt these systems, they can minimize repair-related downtime, making it easier to manage surging demand.
Fleets need remote truck diagnostics for the resulting cost savings. Getting real-time alerts about maintenance needs can reduce expenses in two ways. First, it helps resolve equipment issues before they become prominent, costlier problems. Secondly, minimized downtime improves productivity.
With remote diagnostic tools, fleet managers can learn about truck maintenance issues as they arise. These early warnings let the company schedule time to fix them before they cause significant damage or become harder to repair. As a result, predictive approaches to maintenance can lead to a 10% reduction in overall repair costs.
As fleets rely on these systems to manage maintenance, they’ll also save through improved uptime. When trucks don’t have to stop as long for repairs, fleets can use them for longer in a given period. Consequently, they can complete more work in less time, minimizing losses from lost productivity.
As the weather becomes more extreme and shipping demand rises, these benefits become increasingly hard to ignore. Fleets need to capitalize on remote truck diagnostics if they want to make the most of the winter season.
Remote diagnostic systems will only become more accessible and functional as technology advances. That means they’ll deliver even further on these advantages, helping fleets optimize their operations regardless of the season.
FTL pricing has softened over the past quarter and looks set to dip further in 2023, but LTL pricing continues to increase and looks set to remain reasonably stable next year, with select increases, reports US freight giant C.H. Robinson
From around week 13 of this year to now, the truckload market has performed with more balance than many predicted. The market corrected in the second half of the first quarter. Since the correction, the spot market developed a pattern of oscillating above and below the five-year average for DAT’s load to truck ratio (LTR) for both dry van and refrigerated truckload.
Those experienced in the logistics industry understand that while the market follows a cyclical pattern, the experience and time it takes to cycle fully varies. Eventually, the inevitable occurs and the cycle starts all over again. The graphic below shows the full cycle as well as highlights the current status of the market.
C.H. Robinson forecasts indicate this intersection of market and cost of operations for the U.S. truckload dry van spot market will occur in April 2023.
During the last quarter of 2022, it is likely there will be some normal cyclical uptick in the spot market. This will be caused by some reduction in active capacity as drivers take vacations for Thanksgiving and end of year holidays.
In the first quarter of 2023, expect a typical drop off in tension and pricing due to lower freight volumes associated with historical shipping patterns and the continued impact of the cooling economy. As this occurs, the shift to oversupply will become more evident and the cost per mile will reach the C.H. Robinson estimated cost per mile to operate a truck.
Further out, C.H. Robinson forecasts for 2023 show some familiar seasonality to pricing with the year ending about where it begins. The market will likely take 2023, and perhaps into 2024, before the upcycle returns again.
During this phase of the market cycle, drivers and tractors tend to drift toward larger carriers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports growth in trucking labor at a time of a softening spot market.
This is likely accounted for by small carriers voluntarily revoking their operating authority and driving as an employee for a larger company where the BLS can better identify trucking labor from payroll records. September BLS figures reported a contraction of 11,000 trucking jobs. One month does not make a trend, so we will be watching the balance of the year.
Looking at DAT’s LTR and the performance of shipper route guides from TMC, a division of C.H. Robinson, today’s market is holding firm. The market will eventually shift to oversupply. When that happens, spot market pricing will reach the average estimated cost per mile to operate a truck.
Often, participants in the trucking market focus on the economy and correlated freight volumes. As the market gets closer to the cost of operations, investment tends to taper off in the form of new and used tractor purchases. Fleets may still purchase newer tractors to improve the age of their fleet, but at a level of stagnation or even contraction.
Eventually either the economy produces more freight or active capacity reduces to a point where carrier profitability returns to a level that supports investment and growth. This occurs during the period of the cycle after the bottoming of the spot market at estimated cost of operations per mile. That is the ‘late cycle’ phase shown in the visual above, which may not occur in 2023, but rather 2024.
Little has changed since September regarding the LTL market in the United States. For the remainder of 2022, forecasts estimate a a range between 10% and 14.2% Y/Y increase, which is flat to slightly up from forecasts last month. Unlike truckload, which has seen softening over the past quarter, LTL pricing continues to increase.
With continued supply, equipment, and labor challenges at crossdocks and for drivers, pricing discipline is expected to help ensure profitability and support attracting people and expand crossdocks. Along with carrier pricing discipline, for the line haul element of LTL, expect adjustments to accessorial fees for services that do not fit will in operations.
Pricing forecasts for the upcoming year range from -4% to 1% Y/Y, according to FTR and ACT Research. Thus far however, recent general rate increases (GRI) have been more aggressive in the mid-single digits, this before customer-specific pricing negotiations.
LTL volume growth is decelerating to flat. Manufacturing’s Purchasing Managers Index from the Institute of Supply Management (ISM-PMI) again showed expansion, but at the slowest growth rate in 28 months. Both this historical foundation freight for LTL along with the continued expansion of ecommerce middle mile are key to volume forecasts for LTL.
With recent increases of freight volumes not materially threatened to a degree that would significantly shift the balance of the LTL market from supply to demand, transportation managers should consider the LTL market to retain some reasonable pricing stability with select increases. Forecasts for contracting pricing in 2023 at this time might be considered uncertain.
There seems to be quite a bit of anxiety amongst supply chain professionals over talk that California’s AB5 law could be implemented on a national basis. Remember that little transportation policy will be addressed until well into the middle of 2023, when a new session of Congress is seated. Further, the industry has seen little direct impact to rates in California since the recent Supreme Court decision to let the AB5 rule stand. This is a good reminder that macro-economic conditions regularly overwhelm regulatory issues regarding their impacts on freight markets. Let’s check back in on this issue in the middle of January once the new Congress is fully seated and committee chairs are named.
Edited from C.H. Robinson’s Transportation Market
and Freight Trends (Updated on 20 October 2022)
CargoBeamer, the leading operator of rail connections for noncraneable semi-trailers in Europe, is expanding its network. Since October, the Kaldenkirchen - Rostock route adds to the portfolio as the first line operating exclusively in Germany. On a total of six roundtrips per week, CargoBeamer enables the transport of craneable and non-craneable semi-trailers as well as P400, refrigerated, silo, and container units by train.
On average, the transit time between Kaldenkirchen and Rostock is 18 hours. Per transported unit, 64% of CO2 emissions are saved compared to road transport, with the remaining 36% being compensated by CO2 certificates, enabling CargoBeamer to operate the line entirely carbon neutral. HSL Logistik GmbH serves as the traction partner.
Maritime and train connections to Scandinavia and Southern Europe
The line runs between the rail terminal in Kaldenkirchen and the port of Rostock. From the latter, there are connections by ferry to various locations in Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, and Sweden, with semi-trailers also transported without the accompaniment of a driver or tractor unit. In a southerly direction, CargoBeamer offers gateway connections via Kaldenkirchen to Perpignan in southern France and Domodossola in northern Italy.
The addition of Kaldenkirchen - Rostock is the first step in our plans to expand CargoBeamers network with numerous new lines by the end of 2023. With unaccompanied long-distance transport from the Baltic Sea via western Germany to Italy or the French-Spanish border, we are creating a new, attractive offer for our customers. On the historically strong axis from the Iberian Peninsula via Central Europe to Scandinavia, this will provide a new opportunity to shift from road to rail, which will realize further CO2 savings.
Boris Timm, Chief Operating Officer, CargoBeamer
Cargo owners and freight railroads are urging Congress in intervene after a fourth rail union rejected the tentative agreement brokered by the Biden administration among labor unions and freight railroads
Representatives of US cargo owners and freight railroads are urging Congress in intervene to prevent strike action on US freight railways in December, with some labor unions yet to agree to proposed new contract terms despite months of negotiations.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) on 21 November called on Congress “to take action to avert a catastrophic rail strike” following the announcement that a fourth rail union had rejected the tentative agreement brokered by the Biden administration among the labor unions and freight railroads.
NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay said millions of Americans rely on the freight rail system for their jobs and the economic security of our country. A nationwide rail strike during the peak holiday season will be devastating for American businesses, consumers and the US economy.
He said American businesses and families are already facing increased prices due to persistent inflation, and a rail strike will create greater inflationary pressures and will threaten business resiliency. Congress must intervene immediately to avoid a rail strike and a catastrophic shutdown of the freight rail system.
Shay continued: Smooth and stable operations on the rails is absolutely crucial this holiday season and should not be derailed by a rejection of the contract. Eight of the 12 unions have ratified the agreement, while four have rejected it. The parties must work out the issues and ratify the contract without a disruption to the system. If not, Congress must step in to prevent a strike before the end of the cooling off period on December 8.
According to a report from the Association of American Railroads, a nationwide rail shutdown could halt nearly 7,000 freight trains and cost more than $2 billion a day.
The National Carriers’ Conference Committee (NCCC), which represents the nation’s freight railroads in national collective bargaining, on 21 November confirmed that the union BLET, which represents engineers and trainmen, had successfully ratified its recent collective bargaining agreement with the nation’s freight railroads. But membership voting results at the union SMART-TD, which holds two separate contracts, were split, with the largest segment of the union, “by a margin of less than 1%”, voting not to ratify the agreement –despite SMART-TD’s national negotiating committee having strongly recommended approval of the agreements.
NCCC said Nine of thirteen agreements covering about half of all rail employees in the bargaining round have been successfully ratified and are now in effect. All of these agreements were based on the framework recommended by Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) 250.
NCCC pointed out that the four unions that have not fully resolved the bargaining round – SMART-TD (with respect to only one of its contracts), BMWED, BRS, and IBB – are subject to an agreed-upon cooling-off period until early December, adding: Although leaders of these unions initially endorsed the agreements – and all the unions presented themselves as a unified group throughout the PEB process with common proposals – at least three of these unions now demand terms that exceed those recommended by the PEB and that have been accepted by all the other rail unions. They have threatened to strike if the additional demands are not met.
NCCC stressed that a national rail strike would severely impact the economy and the public. The continued, near-term threat of one will require that freight railroads and passenger carriers soon begin to take responsible steps to safely secure the network in advance of any deadline.
It stressed that US railroads remain willing to enter agreements that are based on the PEB-recommended framework. Should the unions without ratified agreements remain unwilling to do so, they are expected to strike and Congress may need to intervene – just as it has in the past – to prevent disruption of the national rail system.
Congress has historically intervened Fellow US rail representative body the Association of American Railroads (AAR) commented: While railroads remain committed to reaching agreements with the remaining unions, the timeline for those to occur is short. Congress has historically intervened to prevent rail system disruptions. If the four unions remain unwilling to enter agreements within the bounds of the PEB’s framework, Congress must be prepared to act and institute the terms supported by the majority of the unions, guaranteeing certainty for rail customers and the broader economy.
AAR estimates that about 467,000 additional long-haul trucks per day would be needed to handle the freight in the event of a US national rail strike. Neither the trucks nor the truck drivers necessary to meet this demand are available.
Hopes of a deal that would avoid strikes rose in August after the Presidential Emergency Board (PEB), a panel of arbitrators appointed by President Biden, released a set of recommendations in August that included significant wage increases, immediate lump sum payments for back pay and bonuses, and improvements to health benefits for rail workers.
AAR commented: Eight of the 12 unions have already gotten this historic deal across the finish line. Railroads continue to talk in good faith with the holdout unions within the parameters of the PEB recommendation to finalize this round of negotiation and provide well-deserved raises for the rail workforce and certainty for our customers.
Waters, contributing editor, FORWARDER magazine
Intermarine joins forces with project and breakbulk cargo specialist WeShip Projects to launch Intermarine Asia and strengthen Intermarine’s position in Europe. Torben Reinhard and Lars Steen Rasmussen, partners in WeShip and well-known names in the industry, join Intermarine’s commercial team as part of the deal.
Intermarine and WeShip have already partnered successfully for over a year now in the Asia-Pacific trade, and we are very excited to combine our organizations to jointly grow the Intermarine presence in Asia and Europe.
Svend Andersen, CEO, Intermarine
Since its relaunch in 2020, Intermarine has successfully developed its business within breakbulk and multipurpose shipping, having grown its fleet from six vessels in late 2020 to 25 in 2022. In 2021, Intermarine opened its second office outside the USA in Sao Paulo, Brazil, followed by the establishment of a European base in Odense, Denmark in early 2022.
I have known both Torben and Lars for many years, and I have been amazed with the business they have built at WeShip over the past four years. That we can now launch Intermarine in Asia under the leadership of Torben, makes me tremendously proud and happy. Having Lars as part of our European operations significantly strengthens our setup here, as well.
Under the combined setup, Intermarine will represent all cargo chartering activities, whereas the WeShip brand will continue as representation for port agency and logistic services in Thailand and neighboring countries.
Our journey with WeShip has been incredible, but we could also see that the opportunities with Intermarine would be far greater than what we could built up ourselves. We have a strong network of clients and contacts throughout Asia and adding a quality product like Intermarine will only propel our presence in the region. I am truly looking forward to being part of the Intermarine team and to collaborating with colleagues in the broader SAL Heavy Lift and Harren Group constellation to which Intermarine belongs.
Torben Reinhard, now Managing Director of Intermarine Asia
To combine the tremendous know-how that sits within the Intermarine organization with the relationships that WeShip has built over the years makes in my eyes a really strong commercial setup and a journey that I am really looking forward to embarking on.
Lars Steen Rasmussen, now COO of Intermarine Denmark
The development of Intermarine has simply been amazing – thanks to the dedicated and passionate teams in the organization. I am very proud to see Intermarine taking this next step in its journey and expanding towards Asia, not only strengthening its own business, but also adding to the global portfolio and presence of our entire group. I am very happy to welcome Torben, Lars and the WeShip team to our family.
Dr. Martin Harren, CEO, the Harren Group
We are pleased to introduce members in the Dominican Republic with Agencias Navieras Rannik. They are experts at handling project cargo, breakbulk, chartering, marine agency and stevedoring. The company are over 100 years old and hold numerous certifications including ISO 9001:2015, BASC and OEA (AEO).
We are also pleased to report Project Manager at Agencias Navieras Rannik, Roberto Elías will be attending the PCN 2022 Annual Summit taking place in Dubai very soon on 27-29 November. Meeting face-toface and building closer relationships (and friendships) is a valuable tool which shouldn't be underestimated, and we are delighted the network can welcome our latest new members at the event. Please contact us ASAP if you are interested in joining us in Dubai.
809-793-7000
809-523-5555, 809-793-7211
809-581-3961/581-4050
Roberto introduces the compan: Rannik was founded in 1919 and is a leader in the Dominican maritime and logistics industry, connecting the country with the entire world. Our team is comprised of experts in port logistics and cargo transportation services and we have offices located in the country's principal ports. Agencias Navieras Rannik is the principal company within the group, offering project cargo, breakbulk, bulk and container transport as well as chartering, storage, customs handling, air cargo and door-to-door services. We are committed to offering scalable and creative solutions that are integrated and customised to meet specific needs. Our Chartering and Projects Department features a group of maritime sector professionals with significant experience in the management of cost-effective solutions for the transportation of special & OOG cargo as well as chartering negotiations and agreements.
Topline Express Logistics, our members from China, recently arranged the urgent transportation of a 114-ton vacuum tank from China to the Caribbean.
The cargo was measured at dimensions of 27.32 (L) x 5.55 (W) x 5.10 (H) meters.
Within 3 days of receiving the ocean carrier’s notification of space availability on the 31st of October, TEL completed all tasks including contacting the shipper for packing arrangement: booking of truck, cranes, barge, docks for barge loading and preparation of export procedures.
The transportation challenges they faced during this operation were caused by road construction, as well as the limited space on the dock for barge loading and the short cut-off time for the ocean vessel. TEL raced against time and accomplished the mission of exporting this shipment swiftly! Thanks for the support and close cooperation of our partners participating in this operation. We are also proud of our team for their high efficiency!
C.H. Robinson recently reported the successful delivery of compressor train components from Japan to the U.S. Two pieces were imported from Japan and shipped by ocean on a part charter to the Port of Houston.
Once in Houston, the pieces were used to build a compressor train weighing 79.8 metric tons and measuring 10.67 x 4.62 x 4.62 meters.
Since that size freight qualifies as a superload, C.H. Robinson utilised their broad carrier network to secure the specialised heavy haul equipment needed to transport the compressor train. With the use of a THP Modular trailer, the compressor train was trucked 25 miles from the port to a plant in downtown Houston.
Timing was key to this project’s success. The equipment needed to be delivered within a specific window because the refinery had to shut down operations to be able to install it.
To ensure everything went smoothly, the project logistics experts at C.H. Robinson took care to properly plan the loading and securing of the compressor train the day before so that transport time would be reduced.
Careful planning and ongoing communication with our contract carrier were key to staying on schedule with this time-sensitive project.
Any place where persons and merchandise are allowed to pass, by water or land, into and out of a country and where customs officers are stationed to inspect or appraise imported goods.
Related topics Cargo handling Container terminals Drayage
South Florida Container Terminal (SFCT) located in the Port of Miami, welcomed the new CMA CGM Medgulf service. The weekly service offers Florida supply chains a first port of call to/from the West Med before proceeding into the U.S. Gulf and Mexico. The new route also offers an improved transit time from the Indian Subcontinent via Tanger, with 29 day transit to Miami.
The service started end of September 2022 and calls Tanger, Genoa, Valencia, Miami, Veracruz, Altamira, Houston and Tanger. Six vessels will operate the service including the CMA CGM NAVEGANTES that called SFCT on October 19th.
To prepare for future cargo growth and larger ships, SFCT is announcing an order for more cargo handling equipment at the port. 12 electric, emission-free, rubber tire gantry cranes have been ordered from Kalmar for delivery in Q2 2023.
The order comes on the heels of a three-year modernization project that transformed the facility into a more sustainable operation with new, electric rubber tire gantry (RTG) cranes and added cargo storage space, using a densification model which allows 33% more usability in the container yard than before. This will increase capacity to approximately 300,000 lifts per year.
Miami’s business center strength and Florida’s growing consumer market are creating excellent business opportunities for supply chain planners. We’re excited to welcome the new CMA CGM Medgulf service and also announce the next phase of our terminal improvement plan. Hugh Healey, Head of SFCT
New, touchless gate kiosks were added in 2020 to improve the trucker experience. Truckers enter and exit through weigh-in-motion scales with the help of ILA Clerks and Mechanics, processing their cargo information as they safely and efficiently move through the terminal.
The SFCT modernization project aligns with PortMiami’s master plan who is financing $38 million in port infrastructure improvements as well as applying for Federal Mega grant applications to achieve port decarbonization goals by electrifying yard handling equipment and yard trucks.
Miami is also the first port of call for Florida-bound cargo from Latin America and Asia. The port is the closest U.S. port to the Panama Canal and ideal for Latin America connections with close proximity to the Miami International Airport – for sea-air business and the Greater Miami Free Trade Zone. The Miami Customs District is one of the ten largest in the U.S., with total trade through its airports and seaports exceeding $100 billion annually.
With retailers well stocked after bringing in goods much earlier than normal this year, imports are slowing as the holiday season ramps up, National Retail Federation reports
US retailers expect a busy holiday season in November and December, but imports at the nation’s major container ports are expected to continue to slow from records set earlier in the year, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates.
Cargo levels that historically peak in the fall peaked in the spring this year as retailers concerned about port congestion, port and rail labor negotiations and other supply chain issues stocked up far in advance of the holidays. With a rail strike possible this month, there are still challenges in the supply chain, but the majority of holiday merchandise is already on hand and retailers are well prepared to meet demand.
Jonathan Gold, Vice President Supply Chain & Customs Policy, NRF
While consumers are still buying more, Hackett Associates Founder Ben Hackett said demand has fallen from peak consumption during the height of the pandemic.
We expect the flattening of demand that began around the middle of this year to continue into the first half of 2023, Hackett said.
This will depress the volume of imports, which has already declined in recent months. Carriers have begun to pull services and are looking at laying up ships.
US ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled a record 2.4 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units – one 20-foot container or its equivalent – in May, but volume has seen a mostly steady decline since then. Ports processed 2.03 million TEU in September, the latest month for which final numbers are available, down 10.2% from August and down 4.9% from September 2021.
Ports had not yet reported October’s numbers at the time of writing, but Global Port Tracker projected the month at 2.02 million TEU, down 8.5% year over year and more or less flat compared with the previous month. November is forecast at 1.92 million TEU, down 9.2% year over year and the lowest number since 1.87 million TEU in February 2021, the last time the monthly total fell below 2 million TEU. December is expected to drop to 1.9 million TEU, down 9% year over year.
The first half of 2022 totaled 13.5 million TEU, a 5.5% increase year over year. The forecast for the remainder of the year would bring the second half to 12.3 million TEU, down 5.3% year over year. For the full year, 2022 is expected to total 25.86 million TEU, barely changed from last year’s annual record of 25.84 million TEU.
January 2023 is forecast at 1.98 million TEU, down 8.4% from January 2022. February is forecast at 1.71 million TEU, down 19.1% from unusually high numbers last year, when backed-up cargo kept congested U.S. ports busy despite the annual Lunar New Year shutdown of Asian factories. With most congestion issues continuing to ease, the month is expected to be the slowest since 1.61 million TEU in June 2020. March is forecast at 1.99 million TEU, which would be an improvement from February but down 15.2% year-over-year.
The cargo data comes as NRF forecasts that 2022 holiday retail sales will grow between 6% and 8% over 2021 to between $942.6 billion and $960.4 billion.
Global Port Tracker, which is produced for NRF by Hackett Associates, provides historical data and forecasts for the U.S. ports of Los Angeles/ Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma on the West Coast; New York/ New Jersey, Port of Virginia, Charleston, Savannah, Port Everglades, Miami and Jacksonville on the East Coast, and Houston on the Gulf Coast.
Will Waters, contributing editor, FORWARDER magazine
Expanded footprint in strategic location near Chicago O’Hare Airport (ORD) with easy access to Maersk’s air cargo hub in Rockford International Airport (RFD) aims to accelerate air freight cargo ambitions.
70% of US population within overnight drive. Chicago, Illinois – October 12, 2022 press release – Maersk has inaugurated a new Chicago Air Freight Gateway near O’Hare Airport designed to offer direct planeside recovery with immediate transfers to the new facility. 70% of the U.S. is within an overnight truck drive enabling important shipments from Asia and Europe to speed to their destination when timing is essential. The new facility also serves Maersk’s air cargo hub in Rockford Intl. Airport – a 24/7, fast growing, air cargo hub.
We want to expand our air freight presence and logistics services in key locations and today’s Chicago inauguration is an important step in our integrated offering to customers. We want to create more routing options and flexibility for customers looking to improve their air cargo supply chains. Our new Chicago Air Freight Gateway offers an integrated supply chain solution to time critical shipments and order fulfillment deadlines.
Mike Meierkort , Regional Head of Maersk North America Logistics & Services
The new facility is a Bonded Container Freight Station (CFS) with U.S. Customs and operates as a U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Certified Cargo Screening Facility (CCSF) to ensure timely, secure handling of air freight. This enables priority handling and sorting of import and export cargo.
For import cargo, the time taken from arrival at ORD gateway to being ready for delivery is within 24 hours, pending customs clearance.
For export cargo, the time taken from arrival at ORD Gateway to tender and carrier is no longer than 24 hours, pending carrier booking.
The Chicago Air Freight Gateway news comes on the heels of Maersk’s recent acquisition of Senator International which added Transatlantic experience and assets to integrate into Maersk’s North America Air Freight service to customers.
• 60,777 square feet including 3236 square feet of office space
• 6x10 ft high dock doors with 15-ton levelers
• 2x12 ft high dock doors with 15-ton levelers
• 1 drive-in door with ramp
• Bonded Container Freight Station (CFS) with US Customs
• Certified Cargo Screening Facility (CCSF) with TSA
• 31 NDAA compliant CCTV cameras
• Fire suppression system
Omni Logistics' new footprint supports growing customer needs for warehouse space, cross-docking capabilities and local pick-up and delivery services
Omni Logistics, a technology-driven provider of global multimodal logistics solutions and specialized services, today announced the opening of a new warehouse and cross-dock facility near Los Angeles, CA. The announcement follows the recent opening of Omni Logistics' new facilities in Nashville and Portland, a Dallas-based three-building logistics campus, a renewables-powered corporate headquarters in Dallas, and extensive new warehouse and cross-dock facilities in San Francisco and Philadelphia.
Los Angeles has been a gateway for Omni Logistics and will continue to be as we expand our presence in the largest market in the United States. Los Angeles and Long Beach are both major economic drivers for the logistics industry and provide Omni Logistics the opportunity to expand our reach to customers on a local, regional, and national and international level. Our continued investment in Los Angeles will create additional flexibility to meet our customers' ever-increasing needs.
JJ Schickel, Chief Executive Officer, Omni Logistics
Details on Omni Logistics' new location include... Strategically located near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), with easy access to major highways, including Interstate 405, Interstate 110 and US Route 91, this new warehouse and cross-dock facility offers 42 dock doors, 10,000+ pallet positions and spans 251,606 square feet.
Capabilities include support for imports, exports, drayage, linehaul, cross-dock, transloads, time critical transportation, white glove delivery, freight forwarding and warehousing and distribution.
The facility is an ideal final mile location, supporting local pickup and delivery options with Omni Logistics' fleet of sprinter vans, straight trucks and box trucks. The facility is ISO9001:2015 registered and CTPAT certified.
Aeroterm, North America’s largest third party on-airport developer, has selected Lödige Industries, the world's leading provider of cargo terminal solutions, to install a state-ofthe-art automated cargo system at John F. Kennedy International Airport‘s new 350,000-square-foot cargo facility. Lödige’s system will be exclusively used by Worldwide Flight Services (WFS), the main cargo handler at JFK.
The new cargo facility, which is being built on a 26-acre site, will include greater ramp capacity to handle three of today’s large modern air cargo freighters (Group VI aircraft) simultaneously. It will also have more than 50 dock doors for the efficient transfer and tracking of goods through the facility.
Lödige’s system will feature two elevating transfer vehicles with a ULD storage rack for 218 ULD positions and three-level ULD racks to ensure high storage density in WFS's new terminal and free up space for other handling activities, amongst other things. This advanced level of automation guarantees efficient throughput and high safety standards, as well as optimal operational processes, areas that are very important for WFS. The equipment also includes three truck docks, a castor deck area and 14 elevating workstations.
When completed in early 2024, JFK’s new cargo facility is expected to handle an annual throughput of approximately 350,000 tonnes.
Our new cargo facility, equipped with Lödige’s state-of-the-art systems, is designed for maximum efficiency. Thanks to this market-leading cargo handling technology, we are ideally equipped for future growth and can offer our customers the best possible service at all times.
Jeffrey Bounds, SVP Program Management & Center of Excellence|The Americas, WFSAs the first new cargo facility built at JFK in two decades, this project is an essential step in revitalising JFK as a cargo hub. On each development project, Realterm partners with both local and global groups for best-inclass expertise in design, construction and specific air cargo equipment. We are excited to partner with Lödige on this development.
BryanRosenberger, VP Design & Construction, Aeroterm
The US cargo industry is showing a great sense of optimism this year and we are proud to contribute to JFK's ambitious modernisation programme. We are confident that our high-efficiency cargo handling solutions and years of local experience will support WFS in achieving its quality, speed, and safety goals and continue to grow through increased efficiency in the new facility.
Jonathan Hardy, Managing Director USA, Lödige Industries
Digitalisation: leveraging digitisation to improve business processes. (Digitisation: converting information from a physical into a digital format. Digital Transformation: the use of new, fast and frequently changing digital technology to solve problems.)
Sponsored by
Dark ship detection solution is essential to identify and locate vessels suspected of unlawful activities, such as evading sanctions, illegal fishing and human trafficking
Spire Global, a leading global provider of space-based data, analytics and space services, unveiled a dark shipping detection solution to track vessels that manipulate their reported position in order to conceal nefarious activities.
The Automatic Identification System (AIS) on a vessel helps avoid collisions at sea, track global shipping trends and monitor individual vessel activity; but crew members on board can manipulate the system by turning off the transponder to go dark or ‘spoofing’ the AIS to report false positions. Typically this is done in order to hide activity that is illegal or could have negative consequences to the ship owner, such as illegal trading, loading or unloading sanctioned goods, or illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
Spire’s near real-time, global geolocation position validation service can uncover suspicious activity and pinpoint a vessel without the need for an approximate location. The applications are critical to governments, intelligence and security agencies, and nonprofit organizations’ efforts to identify and locate vessels that are breaking international law.
WiseTech Global (ASX:WTC), provider of world-leading logistics execution platform CargoWise, has added Air Canada Cargo to its network to enable freight forwarders to efficiently choose, book, confirm and change shipments, in real-time from within the CargoWise platform. Air Canada Cargo becomes the first North American air carrier to offer direct data integration with CargoWise.
The direct data connection with Air Canada Cargo’s platform allows CargoWise customers, which includes some of the world’s largest freight forwarders, direct access to Air Canada Cargo’s schedules, rates, capacity and inventory.
We are continually seeking ways to enhance the services we offer to the freight forwarding community and are happy to integrate CargoWise into our network. This delivers an efficient and simplified booking experience for our cargo customers.
Matthieu Casey, Managing Director, Commercial, Air Canada Cargo
Air Canada Cargo is leading the way for North American air cargo operators to offer a more efficient cargo booking and management experience via direct data integration with CargoWise. The easy access to timely information to make informed decisions with transparency at every stage of the process improves efficiency and flexibility for the airline and their customers. CargoWise now enables direct data exchange with most API connectable airlines, including Air Canada Cargo. Our vision is for CargoWise to be the operating system for global logistics, increasing productivity, visability and data security across the end-to-end ecosystem.
Jorre Cobelens, VP Logistics Data & Connectivity, WiseTech Global
The airline is upgrading its advanced multi-channel digital distribution model by adding cargo.one’s booking functionality alongside its own successful myCargo offering.
This global partnership follows an extensive initiation phase with cargo. one that broadened reach and relevant customer traction.
cargo.one and Air France KLM Martinair Cargo today unveiled a partnership, bringing capacity from one of the world’s largest combined cargo airlines to one of the leading marketplaces for digital air cargo bookings. The additional, high-quality digital booking option for Air France KLM Martinair Cargo will benefit many freight forwarders and offer ideal support for the carrier’s extensive network connectivity. The airline will use this augmented distribution setup to reach more customers across most of its markets.
Combining the fleets and capabilities of two national carriers and a renowned air cargo operator, Air France KLM Martinair Cargo aims to provide seamless connections across the world. Offering 295 shipping destinations across 110 countries, its 500 aircraft fleet carried over one million tonnes of cargo in the past twelve months. Its dual hubs of Paris Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol offer freight forwarders market-leading speed and reliability.
The airline has utilized digital distribution as a suitable extension of its mission “here to connect” – since its pioneering launch of myCargo in 2018, Air France KLM Martinair Cargo has delivered a full spectrum of digital services that allows forwarders to book, share, cancel and modify bookings online. The airline is continuing to build an extensive multichannel distribution strategy focused on deriving maximum customer value from its strong network and capabilities.
Through its partnership with cargo.one, AFKLMP Cargo intends to continue expanding its digital presence and offer customers an additional booking option alongside its own myCargo online booking portal. The customer experience that cargo.one offers aligns perfectly with the high standards that AFKLMP Cargo sets.
The partnership began with an initiation phase in one of AFKLMP’s main markets, meant to expand visibility and utilize the leading digital buying journeys to improve the efficiency of digital sales handling by local airline teams. Close monitoring and evaluation of the partnership benefits showed that cargo.one has indeed expanded the reach and exposure of Air France KLM Martinair Cargo’s existing digital offering, making it a valuable addition.
Implementation will proceed market-by-market, based on customer demand. The expanded offering will make the airline available digitally to more freight forwarders in every corner of the globe and will scale the advantages of partnering with a user-focused marketplace to benefit more of the airline’s local teams.
The cooperation with cargo.one fits in with our overall channel strategy. We have our own full-service platform, myCargo, where we offer all of our services, including our most recent feature, Modify my Booking. We are investing significantly in our digital offering and expect to launch some unique new services soon in myCargo. Based on customer traction, we have decided to extend our cooperation with cargo.one by connecting our booking option. We believe this channel compliments our own online platform. We have been cooperating with third-party portals for some time now and we are delighted to add this new partnership. For us, it is key to be where our customers are!
Gertjan Roelands, SVP Sales & Distribution Air France KLM Martinair CargoI am delighted that Air France KLM Martinair Cargo sees demonstrable value in working with us globally for its distribution. After a successful start, and gains in incremental revenue and operational efficiency, it is exciting that our teams will now continue to work closely to iterate on the industry-leading technical infrastructure, processes and expertise that the airline and cargo.one can combine in this partnership.
Moritz Claussen, Founder & Co-CEO, cargo.one
cargo.one also has the digital sales enablement expertise inhouse to help the airline’s teams win more business. As partners, both companies will now expand upon their proven methods of collaboration to roll out the new channel to both central and local Air France KLM Martinair Cargo sales teams.
More than ever, large airline groups, combined airlines and smaller players alike are turning to cargo.one to help accelerate their trajectory with digital cargo sales. No other external sales platform has the proven capability to help airlines boost their bottom line revenues and navigate the necessary technological and organizational changes.
US developer completes the first hover flight of its RH-1-A ‘Rhaegal’ vertical takeoff UAV, lifting a record-setting payload of 829 pounds
US cargo drone developer Sabrewing Aircraft Company has completed the first hover flight of its RH-1-A ‘Rhaegal’ vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) air cargo drone, while lifting a world record-setting payload, the company has reported.
This pre-production air vehicle, also known as the RG-1-A ‘Alpha’ model, was able to lift a record-breaking 829-pound (374kg) payload, shattering the previous world record for the ‘dead-lift’ of any commercial, vertical takeoff, uncrewed air vehicle (UAV)”, Sabrewing reported. It describes the Rhaegal Alpha aircraft as “the world’s first autonomous cargo aircraft capable of both vertical and conventional take-off and is designed to take tons of cargo to any location on earth, in almost any weather.
This is only a fraction of what this aircraft can carry. But it proves, on our maiden flight, that we’re able to lift more cargo than any previous cargo UAV that has ever flown.
Ed De Reyes, chairman & CEO, Sabrewing
The pre-production prototype aircraft weighed just over 2,700 pounds for the first flight and is capable of a maximum gross weight (with payload) of up to 3,100 pounds at altitudes up to 22,000 feet and 200 knots. When taking off conventionally, this aircraft has enough thrust to carry over 2 tons of cargo with the same range, altitude, speed, and efficiency, Sabrewing said.
It’s been a long journey to get here, but we were unwilling to compromise safety or design. Our design and tests teams – and our development partners – invested tens of thousands of hours to make this milestone such a history-making success.
The Rhaegal aircraft uses a turbo-electric drivetrain based on Safran’s Helicopter Engines turbine-based motor, the Ariel 2E. The Ariel can use 50% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and turns an electric generator which produces nearly 1 megawatt of electric energy which in turn then powers electric motors in each of the four ducted fans.
Design improvements to the blades, ducts, and shape of the shroud of the aircraft’s ducted fans has allowed each duct to produce 30% more thrust than it was originally designed to provide. These improvements contributed to the aircraft’s ability to lift the record-shattering payload, Sabrewing noted.
We’re able to generate more propulsive energy – much more efficiently – with a turbo-electric drivetrain and ducted fans than with batteries or directly driven by the turbine. The Safran motor is currently cleared to use 50% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). We expect to be one of the first aircraft manufacturers to use hydrogen when Safran completes testing on their motor in the next couple of years.
Oliver Garrow, Chief Technology Officer, Sabrewing
The next planned version of the Rhaegal, the RG-1-B ‘Bravo’ production aircraft, is designed for first-, middle- and last-mile cargo deliveries. Sabrewing said it can lift over 10 times more cargo than its closest competitor, fly 5 times farther, and operate in any airspace – from the most congested city to the most remote location.
It is understood that the production aircraft will be capable of transporting a cargo payload of around 5,400 pounds (2,450kg) a distance of up to 1,000 nautical miles.
With such a long range and payload capability, Sabrewing said both Rhaegal models “are excellent for disaster recovery and humanitarian missions – such as in Ukraine. The Rhaegal ‘Bravo’ is the only cargo UAV that is capable of carrying over ten different Unit Load Device (ULD) cargo containers – the same kind used by airlines for cargo.
The Rhaegal can even power refrigerated cargo containers – known as ‘reefers’ – both on the ground and in the air – and has over 675 cubic feet (19 m3) of cargo space.
Sabrewing currently has purchase orders for 28 of the aircraft –destined for the World Food/World Health programme – and another 102 firm orders, and letters of intent for over 400 aircraft; these orders represent a $3.2 billion order book over the next 6-7 years. The first 28 aircraft are due to begin deliveries to the first customer by December of 2023.
Sabrewing also has contracts with the US Air Force to study the use of autonomous cargo delivery to austere environments, and even a demonstration of casualty evacuation for up to 8 injured persons.
As the aircraft nears certification (Sabrewing was the first VTOL company to reach a ‘Basis of Certification’ agreement with the FAA in October of 2019), Sabrewing has also been working with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to begin certification flight testing of its aircraft.
The aircraft was developed in partnership with Safran (turboshaft motors), Leonardo Aerospace (avionics), Toray (composite materials), Garmin (navigation), Attollo Engineering (LIDAR), Spider Tracks (remote positioning), US Cargo Systems (cargo floors) as well as software development by Cal State Channel Islands, The Ohio State University, UCLA and Oklahoma University.
Sabrewing claims the Rhaegal is the world’s best-in-class, most fuelefficient and maintenance-efficient cargo UAV on the market.
Will Waters, contributing editor, FORWARDER magazine
Arecent United Nations (UN) report states that emissions have accelerated across all sectors. Global warming is now twice the 1.5 C limit outlined by the Paris Agreement in 2015. Now, scientists warn that this might be our last chance to reach climate goals.
Transportation is the largest-emitting sector in the United States, accounting for 27% of the nation’s emissions in 2020. About 26% of those derive from medium- to heavy-duty trucks and include last-mile deliveries.
Sustainable solutions for last-mile deliveries are a significant undertaking for today’s supply chain leaders. However, they’re necessary to combat climate change and demonstrate corporate responsibility to meet sustainability targets.
Consumer demand for sustainable products and services has also pressured companies to adopt green business models. Companies that do this can enhance their reputation for fighting climate change and boost their profits through greater energy efficiency.
The question of feasibility remains, but new electric vehicles (EVs) are a promising advancement to significantly cut last-mile supply chain emissions.
The Biden administration’s ambitious goal for EVs to account for 50% of all vehicles sold by 2030 has spurred a manufacturing boom of domestic parts and production. Companies and supply chain professionals who seize the opportunity to implement EV delivery fleets can benefit in the following four ways.
Most companies have a set of sustainability targets they hope to achieve in the coming years. Part of those measures should comprise electrifying transportation to improve their carbon footprint.
Walmart is one of the earlier adopters of EV fleets for last-mile deliveries, partnering with automotive startup Canoo to purchase 4,500 EVs to fulfill online orders, with the option of purchasing up to 10,000. Walmart intends to utilize these Lifestyle Delivery Vehicles (LDVs) by 2023, which will help the corporation reach its zero-emissions goal by 2040.
Electric Last Mile Solutions Inc. (ELMS) is another commercial EV startup helping to green the last-mile supply chain. The company will distribute its first order of 1,000 units of commercial 1 EVs called Urban Delivery by September 2022.
Like federal and state incentives help offset the costs of residential energy-efficiency projects, ELMS units will be priced at $25,000 after federal rebates kick in. Last-mile deliveries with EVs are indeed the future, and there are ways companies can dive in at a reasonable cost.
As e-commerce sales grew exponentially throughout the pandemic, global carriers have struggled to keep up with fulfilling deliveries in cities with less parking availability.
FedEx has since been test-piloting electric carts for deliveries throughout 10 major cities in the U.S. and Canada. So far, the program has proved successful. Results have shown an increase in deliveries by 15%, substantially higher than traditional transportation models. Furthermore, FedEx estimates it could reduce its reliance on delivery trucks by 25% per day for each route using the electric fleet.
To say consumer demand has driven sustainability is an understatement. Google searches for sustainable goods saw a 71% uptick from 2016 to 2020, while 75% of millennials consider this factor before purchasing an item.
However, the ability of EVs to cut emissions for last-mile deliveries opens new doors for brands and the supply chain to boost their reputation from manufacturing to order fulfillment with a sustainable courier service.
Transportation emissions — for instance, nitrogen oxides (NO), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and particulate matter (PM) — are known for reducing air quality and leading to public health crises and mortalities.
About 7,100 deaths were attributed to vehicle emissions in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions in 2016 – 80% of which were from NO.
Electrifying delivery fleets is more critical than ever to protect the public from harmful vehicle emissions. The primary advantage of EVs is they produce zero tailpipe emissions when operated, which decreases noxious PM and ozone. Every aspect of logistics models can safeguard clean air to avoid public health implications and high mortality.
Many companies and supply chains demonstrate proactive environmental, social and governance (ESG) management when they opt for EV fleets to cut last-mile delivery emissions. This helps build stakeholder confidence for better risk surveillance and enhances investment opportunities.
Studies show that EVs will help lower last-mile delivery emissions by 17–26% through 2025 – an appealing endeavor for companies interested in their bottom line and investors looking to do green business.
Delivering a greener last-mile with EVs
Last-mile supply chains should harness zero-emissions EV fleets for their deliveries. Ultimately, greening all aspects of the logistics model is good for the environment and business overall.
Ship.Cars USA, a leading provider of cloud-based transportation logistics solutions for shippers and car hauling companies, is sponsoring a networking breakfast on October 12th at the Digital Dealer Conference & Expo in Las Vegas this year. A leader in the auto transport logistics technology space, the company product portfolio for shippers includes LoadMate™, LoadMate Pro, Market Load Board and Calcatron. Attendees at the networking breakfast will be treated to a video overview of LoadMate™ and its benefits.
Conference attendees can preschedule a time with Ship.Cars USA leaders to watch a demonstration of LoadMate™ and LoadMate Pro by clicking here: https://ship.cars/request-demo or contacting Ship.Cars USA through the Conference Attendee Portal.
We are excited to bring our car shipping logistics platform to the industry, combining a powerful transportation management system and market load board integrated with thousands of carriers. Dealers can quickly and easily schedule and execute the shipment of vehicles now. When LoadMate™ from Ship.Cars USA is implemented, dealers and other shippers realize they have extra time to focus on growing their business.
Eftim Eftimov, President, Ship.Cars USA
LoadMate™ helps dealers automate the vehicle shipping process. This cloud-based logistics platform streamlines workflow for shippers and brokers, automates time-consuming tasks, and provides real-time load tracking. A unique feature of LoadMate™ is its AI-based pricing tool which allows for savings on transportation costs. Shippers easily import loads, give pick-up and delivery details, and keep track of any restrictions, among other things. They can then post loads to the Ship. Cars® Market Load Board or dispatch it directly to an in-network carrier. The Ship.Cars® Market Load Board connects shippers to tens of thousands of carriers. Loads can be dispatched directly, and verified carriers can accept them instantly.
LoadMate Pro extends LoadMate™'s capabilities for load tracking and automated load pricing with instant quotes and open API architecture for platform integrations. This is an ideal solution for larger, wholesale shippers transporting high volumes of vehicles as it centralizes load management onto a single integrated platform. Additional functionalities include real-time inventory management, integration with 3PLs, and open API architecture for platform integrations.
The Digital Dealer Conference & Expo brings the automotive shipping community together to learn about new technologies and share best practices for enhanced sales, service, marketing, and operations. The Las Vegas conference takes place October 11 – 13, 2022, at The Mirage Hotel & Casino. The agenda covers 80+ sessions, impactful keynotes, networking opportunities, and expositions.
We hope to see you at our sponsored networking breakfast where you can learn more about LoadMate™ and LoadMate Pro.
The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) announced the results of the fourth edition of the Air Cargo Sustainability Awards, run in partnership with one of the leading industry IT solutions providers CHAMP Cargosystems. The Awards aim to recognize outstanding businesses and industry initiatives seeking to make air cargo more sustainable. There were two categories being judged, one for Start-Up/Small Business and the second for Corporate and established businesses.
The jury, comprised of 6 industry leaders and sustainability champions evaluated the submissions on a number of criteria, including impact on society and industry, ease of implementation, innovation and the wow factor.
Firstly, I want to thank all the organizations that submitted an entry, the jury was impressed and felt the entries were incredibly diverse and allowed us to see how focused and innovative the industry truly is. This made it difficult for the jury to select a single entry that stood out from the rest and shows promise for a sustainable air cargo industry. I would also like to thank the jury members for their time and dedication in reviewing the entries and the results of their deliberations. I look forward to announcing the Corporate winner and seeing the finalist presentations during the Air Cargo Forum in Miami.
Steven Polmans, Chair, TIACA
After the results were tabulated, the jury selected these three entries as the finalists based on the judgment criteria:
AeroVect GSE
Air cargo vacuum pallet
The Start-Up and Small Business category recognizes and encourages young growing businesses as well as small businesses building their presence in the air cargo industry and contributing to its sustainability transformation. The three selected finalists in this category and each will be invited to present at the Air Cargo Forum where the live audience will add their voice to selecting the ultimate winner. The winner will receive a USD 10,000 cash prize with the two runners up receiving USD 2,500 each.
Every year that we have supported the Air Cargo Sustainability Awards, the caliber of the submissions has grown. As we continue to foster these great new innovations, the selection process only grows more difficult for us. Sustainability and the pursuit of more sustainable practices can only benefit us all. We look forward to announcing the winners and the opportunity to meet the finalists at the Air Cargo Forum in a few weeks’ time.
Chris McDermott , CEO, CHAMP Cargosystems
An awards ceremony will be held during the upcoming Air Cargo Forum, in Miami Beach, November 8-10. The Air Cargo Sustainability Awards is a key part of TIACA’s Sustainability Portfolio which includes, the Sustainability Roadmap, the Sustainability Survey and Annual Insights Report and the BlueSky Program.
...from the entire supply chain world (from inbound logistics, to transportation, to warehouse operations & chips manufacturers) to help you thrive and explore best-in-class business strategies from the world’s largest brands & service providers.
‘Refreshingly different’ first gathering for logistics professionals in the UK last month will be followed by a second event on 26 January, plus further events held on a quarterly and monthly basis in the main hubs and cities around the UK
FORWARDER magazine has successfully launched its first dedicated networking event for freight industry professionals in the UK, with a second event planned for 26 January and further events to be held on a quarterly and monthly basis.
Several dozen senior logistics business leaders attended and reported positive experiences of the first event, held on 13 October at a prestigious London Heathrow hotel – attracted by the combination of the daytime speednetworking, meeting and discussion formats, plus the option of an evening social networking dinner featuring England rugby legend Martin Johnson.
Described as ‘refreshingly different’, the event was jointly organised with other businesses within Headford Group, including its Headford Recruitment freight and logistics executive search consultancy and its Freight Mergers advisory firm, attracting participants that ranged from business owners and directors to operations, sales, and business development managers and executives.
The daytime event was hosted by the multitalented TV presenter and networking specialist Jamie Breese, who guided participants in how to get the most value from a professional networking opportunity, during and after the event, including leading warm-up exercises, small-group discussions, and the intensive but fun and highly productive speed networking session. Guests were also encouraged to take part in various individual meetings of their choice with other members attending the networking event.
Small-group ‘mastermind’ discussions focused on debating the pros and cons of hybrid and remote working within various parts of the freight and logistics market. As well as serving as an excellent ‘icebreaker’, the participants explored and shared meaningful and often nuanced contributions and views relating to different roles, functions and scenarios, relevant to their businesses and those of their partners and fellow logistics stakeholders.
Most appreciated the positive aspects of remote and hybrid working during the heights of the Covid pandemic and continue to see value in the flexibility provided by some level of hybrid working for certain roles and functions. But many expressed reservations and concerns about the sometimes-negative impact of remote and hybrid working on various aspects of business productivity, efficiency, teamwork and mental health, observing that certain functions were more difficult or impossible to achieve remotely.
Those staying on for the evening networking dinner were joined by a fresh wave of fellow freight industry professionals and reported an enjoyable, productive experience in a relaxed, informal environment, where participants deepened their connections with new and existing business contacts.
We were really pleased with how the event went. The main feedback we got from clients was that it was refreshingly different to any other networking events they’ve attended.
Craig Headford, CEO, Headford Group
Although technology and digitalisation continue to transform and modernise the freight and logistics sector, Headford strongly believes that individual human relationships, connections and networks remain absolutely essential to the development, growth, sustainability and good health of freight businesses and the individuals at their heart.
As an organisation that specialises in connecting people and businesses – for example within our Headford Recruitment freight and logistics executive search consultancy, and our Freight Mergers advisory firm – we are acutely aware of the importance and value of networking and building positive new relationships for stakeholders throughout the freight and logistics sector, and its various suppliers and partners. These events are designed to build and consolidate those connections, in a professional but relaxed environment.
Following the success of the initial event, Headford now has a dedicated Events Coordinator starting with the company in January, who will be working on building the events to become bigger and better. Refinements include the addition of a lively panel discussion by industry leaders on a hot topic. The plan going forward is to run quarterly events similar to the January one in the main hubs around the UK, and smaller daytimeonly networking events, monthly, in different cities around the UK.
Headford concluded: We really enjoyed working with Jamie Breese and felt he made the day a success. We were pleased to have the evening arranged by Mark Jakeways from PLM to celebrate our 20-Year Anniversary, and it was a great honour to meet Martin Johnson. We were also joined by (former England rugby international) Mark Regan, who is a personal friend.
The next FORWARDER networking event will take place on 26 January at the Delta (Marriott) Hotel in Windsor, in the form of a networking event followed by a meal and a lively panel discussion by industry leaders. Those wishing to book places can do so here
We will begin the day with networking activities from 12pm-4pm, with a lunch break at 1.30pm, followed by an opportunity to continue the conversations over a drink at the bar. The evening entertainment will begin at 5pm and will include a hot buffet, panel discussion and Q&A session with leading freight experts in a fun and friendly environment, with the structured activities ending at 7pm, allowing networking to continue informally at the bar. This is a fantastic opportunity to work hard and play hard for the day and well into the evening. Come along and form new alliances during the day, then kick back and relax with like-minded freight specialists in the evening.
Jolie Dixon, Events Coordinator, Headford Group
A video of the highlights from the first event can be seen here Please contact Mark at mark@FORWARDER.events or +44 (0)1454 628 775 for more information about this and future events, or visit https://forwarder.events
Will Waters, contributing editor, FORWARDER magazine
From 1 January 2023, all traders who submit customs declarations in the Netherlands must submit them via a new digital system, DMS, highlights customs specialist DDC FPO
Big changes are coming to customs processing and customs clearance in the Netherlands.
All existing systems and databases for customs processing are being replaced by one new digital system called Douaneaangiften Management Systeem (DMS).
The systems being replaced include Aangiftesysteem (AGS) as well as Geautomatiseerde Periodieke Aangifte/Schriftelijke Periodieke Aangifte (G(S)PA) and VENUE, the simplified declaration system for e-commerce companies.
Starting 1 January 2023, all traders who submit customs declarations in the Netherlands must submit them via DMS. The final rollout phase began in April, so some companies have already transitioned to DMS.
Why is this change happening, and what does it mean for companies importing into or exporting from the Netherlands?
Complying with the Union Customs Code (UCC) Let’s start with why this change is happening.
The Union Customs Code (UCC) legislation, which updated customs requirements across the EU, came into force in 2016. Its primary goals are to digitise customs declarations and improve harmony in trading between EU member states. Since then, it’s been implemented through secondary legislation known as Delegated and Implementing Acts.
The Netherlands is transitioning to DMS to comply with the UCC, specifically Annex B, which states that all companies must only file returns digitally as of 1 January 2023.
Compliance is not the only reason for switching to DMS. The existing systems for customs declarations are outdated and highly manual. There is a hope that DMS will smooth out the process, provide greater visibility, and improve security for all parties.
Starting in January 2023, all traders who do not already do so must submit all customs declarations for the Netherlands via DMS. After 1 January, all old systems (including the AGS declaration system) will no longer be operational except to process pre-existing declarations.
There are two versions of DMS: DMS 4.0 and DMS 4.1.
• DMS 4.0 is for companies who previously used the normal declaration procedure in AGS
• DMS 4.1 is for companies who previously used G(S)PA
DMS 4.1 is still under development, and companies who previously used G(S)PA can defer using DMS 4.1 until 1 July 2023. Until that time, they must use DMS 4.0.
There’s one major process change in DMS compared to AGS, and it’s related to corrections. With DMS, Dutch customs authorities will no longer perform corrections themselves. Instead, declarants who receive a message about audit/inspection results in DMS must apply the corrections themselves. Goods will not be released until the declarant has corrected the declaration and Customs has fully processed it.
What will it take for businesses trading in the Netherlands to transition to DMS, and how can they mitigate risk during this process?
Making the switch to DMS requires updating your customs processing software and learning about the relevant rule and process changes. Customs brokerage software vendors should already have prepared to switch to DMS, but internal operations and training are up to the individual declarants.
There are several risks associated with this transition. Customs processing agents will need to learn how to work with the new database, and human error rates will likely be higher than normal as they adjust. In addition, new processes must be created for applying post-inspection corrections. Finally, there is a chance that bugs or errors with the database may present themselves after launch.
Human error, new processes, and software bugs can cause slowdowns and lead to capacity challenges.
To mitigate these risks, it’s important to be proactive. We recommend taking the following steps:
• If you haven’t already done so, contact your customs processing software provider and ask how they’re planning to support you and address potential issues during the transition process.
• Assess your team and determine whether you need to hire additional team members. Are you already operating at capacity before the transition? If so, you may need extra help to work through the transition period.
• Start training your team ahead of time to give your customs processing agents as much runway as possible to learn new rules and processes before making the switch.
• Consider outsourcing your international shipping declaration burden to a knowledgeable third-party provider like DDC FPO.
As of this writing, there’s still time to prepare for the transition to DMS. Get started as soon as possible to avoid future headaches.
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Airhouse, a next-generation fulfillment platform that simplifies ecommerce operations and logistics for modern brands, plans to help thousands of direct-to-consumer U.S. brands ‘go global’ by offering simple, cost-efficient cross-border ecommerce operations through a new international partnership with SEKO Logistics (SEKO), a leading global logistics provider.
Launched in June 2020, Airhouse offers brands an intuitive software platform that powers fulfillment from factory to front door. Its software automates dozens of workflows and integrations through a customizable solution. Once connected with a brand’s ecommerce platform, Airhouse’s software evaluates store data to create a holistic view of the business and where its customers are. Brands are then matched with warehouses in Airhouse’s partner network that make the most sense to ensure inventory is shipped to the partner facility as fast as the same day. From there, as new orders come in, the entire fulfillment process is efficiently and affordably managed by Airhouse. Through this partnership with SEKO Logistics, Airhouse customers will gain access to SEKO’s best-in-class facilities and expand their operations globally with the benefit of local fulfillment costs regardless of where they’re based.
We believe it should be easy for modern brands to get their products into the hands of customers, says Airhouse co-founder, Kevin Gibbon, who previously founded Shyp, a consumer platform aimed at taking the pain out of shipping. Over the past few years, a surge in ecommerce has brought us to a critical tipping point. While tools have emerged to run nearly every aspect of a consumer product business, how those products actually get to customers hasn’t kept pace. The traditional fulfillment format does not apply to modern businesses, so it’s time for one that does. Partnering with a global 3PL like SEKO is exciting for us and the smaller, emerging brands we’re working with because SEKO is one of the best direct-to-consumer 3PLs in the world.
Our customers will now benefit from access to best-in-class, modern warehouses across the globe that have historically been out of reach due to high order minimums. We’re leveling the playing field for these emerging brands to access such a high-quality partner.
Joining forces with SEKO is Airhouse’s biggest-ever 3PL partnership and the connection offers unlimited scope for growth for all parties, Gibbon added. Ultimately, Airhouse clients will have access to SEKO’s millions of square feet of warehousing in Europe and Asia as well as in North America. For small and fast-growing brands, working with traditional 3PLs is extremely time-consuming and takes up a lot of operational resources. Airhouse solves for the host of inefficiencies brands traditionally face: outdated and inefficient software, inconsistent and non-transparent pricing, poor and mismanaged quality control, and a fractured and unscalable fulfillment process. And the benefits aren’t limited to our customers—our partners benefit from our platform as well. For SEKO, we streamline the process of serving these types of ambitious, emerging customers, which can range from DTC start-ups to businesses doing up to $50 million in annual revenues.
What we’ve learned since SEKO became one of the first entrants in the increasingly global ecommerce fulfillment market back in 2011 is that a lot of brands grow extremely quickly. The beauty of Airhouse and SEKO is that we allow brands to focus on what they do best while they leverage our core technology, logistics, and fulfillment strengths. The market potential is vast. Airhouse estimates that only 10-15% of the thousands of brands it is working with are shipping internationally. Together, we are going to empower them to grow globally. It will allow UK customers to buy from these predominantly US based brands as if they were based in the UK because their shipping prices will be significantly lower.
David Emerson, Senior Vice President, SEKO EcommerceDHL Supply Chain, the global leader in contract logistics and part of Deutsche Post DHL Group, has been chosen by boohoo group plc to manage its first-ever U.S. distribution center.
DHL Supply Chain will provide boohoo, a U.K.-based fashion retailer generating annual sales of over $2.4 billion, with best-in-class warehousing solutions to enable the company’s expected growth in the U.S. market.
As boohoo’s popularity in the U.S. continues to grow, DHL Supply Chain will lead the operation of a new 1.1 million-square-foot distribution center, located in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, southeast of Harrisburg. The location, expected to open in early 2023, will allow the company to offer next-day service to the New York City metro region, a key customer area for the fashion brand.
Although boohoo has been servicing the U.S. through its existing network in the U.K. since 2006, the company’s growing order volumes and customer demand on this side of the pond in recent years made a U.S.-based distribution center for direct-to-consumer fulfillment a necessity. Their new facility will reduce transportation costs, improve service, and drive greater agility and speed, getting the latest trends into customers’ hands faster. We’re proud to partner with boohoo as they invest in the U.S. market and prepare for future growth.
Kraig Foreman, President eCommerce, DHL Supply ChainDHL Supply Chain will hire 1,000 associates in its first year at the stateof-the-art warehouse, with nearly 2,500 associates expected over the next three years. The site will feature several amenities, including a kitchen/canteen with fresh food prepared daily, as well as an on-site gym and activity area. The site also will include a recruiting and training center to allow for faster hiring and training of new associates. More information on hiring opportunities at the site can be accessed at www.
In line with its proven ability to apply emerging technologies to drive efficiency and productivity improvements for customers through its accelerated digitalization program, DHL Supply Chain plans to introduce highly automated solutions, like an Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS) and a high-speed pouch sorter at the boohoo site in the next three years. These systems work together to put away and replenish inventory in addition to providing picking and pack sortation. This will be one of the first sites within DHL Supply Chain’s operations to feature this technology and is one of the most cutting-edge warehousing solutions on the market.
We have a loyal and growing customer base in the US and want to provide them with a faster and smoother service than we can currently offer from the UK. Investing in our distribution network in the U.S. illustrates the confidence we have to grow our business in this important market. We chose DHL Supply Chain as our logistics partner because of their industry-leading expertise in managing highly complex e-commerce operations and their proven track record with successful startups in the space. Our inventory management is an extremely important element of our overall business and our commitment to a superior customer experience. We trust DHL Supply Chain to handle our operations at our new U.S. site, leveraging their commitment to advanced digitalization to ensure we meet our customers’ expectations.
David James, Supply Chain Director, BoohooSpeaking at the 48th Annual South Carolina International Trade Conference on the “Customer Strategy Post Pandemic” panel, Narin Phol – Maersk North America’s Regional Managing Director recommended building resiliency into supply chains, developing technology solutions and decarbonization solutions. The messages underlined this year’s conference theme “Elevating the importance of Supply Chains.”
Supply chain disruption is a constant, observed Mr. Phol, who added the past few years have elevated this reality and shown the importance of supply chains to everyone in the business community.
Don’t take anything for granted, he warned noting supply chains need to be resilient and customers need to have an end-to-end plan in place to navigate through the inherent challenges that surface.
Traditionally, supply chains have been complex and siloed networks capable of keeping up with capacity demand and optimizing for cost, efficiency and scale. Supply chains have been successful under optimal conditions but when tested by major unexpected events, including a pandemic, regional conflict, labor strife, port and landside congestion, potential obstacles are introduced. Today, logistics professionals need to work through an increasingly more complex patchwork of suppliers, systems and solutions from origin to final destinations.
To solve these customer challenges, we focused on helping customers find end-to-end solutions such as off-dock depots for storage, warehousing and transload facilities (into domestic trailers). Equally important, we invested in landside logistics capabilities to provide the end-to-end solutions to North American customers, added Mr. Phol.
Maersk North America has added significant depth to its supply chain scope the past few years: Performance Team offers warehousing and distribution/omni-channel fulfillment; Maersk E-commerce Logistics offers e-fulfillment; and Pilot offers last mile logistics services and delivery for B2B and B2C supply chains. Some customers were looking for more supply chain speed, so the Maersk Accelerate product was created– which fast tracks cargo within 48 hours of discharge at APM Terminals Pier 400 Los Angeles into L.A.-Long Beach warehouses.
Another point highlighted by Mr. Phol was the pandemic has accelerated and magnified the challenges that already existed in data visibility. The logistics industry will need to become more tech-driven. Technology will address the visibility problem that exists in supply chains today and enable better planning by all parts of impacted supply chains tomorrow, changing the situation from reactive to proactive planning. An example is digitizing the supply chain. A single container being transported can require up to 100 document exchanges per trip, significantly adding to shipping costs with many manual errors potentially delaying the cargo.
Urgent action is needed now to reduce the environmental impact of supply chains. Decarbonization is a collaborative, multi-year effort across the entire supply chain that requires tangible efforts now to deliver on climate improvement goals in the years ahead. Maersk has ordered 19 vessels that will use green methanol for its global fleet and has purchased over 400 electric trucks for North America amongst other sustainability initiatives.
Logistics companies use BPO services to increase efficiency in all business functions, operations and processes and improve customer satisfaction. Employees can thus concentrate on the core operational tasks and procedures, increasing productivity. A BPO outsourcing company provides technical assistance to the logistical functions. The use of improved technology and automation makes the documentation and management of business more accessible and increases the efficiency level. The Logistic industries are heavy users of BPO services with dedicated and professional experts who help carry out functions within the requested time frames.
Logistic BPO services can reduce operational costs and can obtain cost savings with regards to staff recruitment and other asset investments. The optimal use of technology and the expertise of BPO service providers is the main factor that results in cost savings.
The logistic BPO services experts handle all the data and the back office tasks so that the employee can concentrate on the production or operation processes, increasing productivity. BPO services often operate during out of work hours, which helps complete tasks on time and provides extra coverage, which helps improve business productivity.
The logistics industry utilizes the experience and expertise of BPO services, which can perform tasks within the time frames required and via significant technological advancements. BPO provides cost benefits, improved delivery, higher quality, and improved customer satisfaction. Logistic industries train staff which up skills them with the latest technology and provides more accurate outcomes. Experts in Logistics Process Outsourcing services helps to simplify business processes with an efficient service approach assisting clients to achieve maximum business benefits.
Logistics is an effective measurement of supply chain management. Excellent logistics services ensure that goods or services are delivered on time and maintains customer satisfaction. But as a logistic industry faces numerous challenges, BPO services provides access to support around the clock, which helps to manage expectations with delays and defects due to logistics services.
BPO Services in the Logistics Industry reduce the turnaround time as the functional teams are well-acquainted and have significant knowledge. BPO services more efficiently process clients’ freight bills with stringent quality checks and automation. They are wellequipped to handle the entire billing procedure and help companies eliminate errors such as incorrect billing amounts & pricing, double billing issues, overcharging, incorrect freight rates, and overdue invoices. Their dynamic processes ensure that clients experience shorter payment cycles.
The Logistics sector encompasses numerous functions such as packaging, supplies, transportation, stock inventory, etc. Due to the lack of time and resources, many logistics companies approach the concept of outsourcing BPO services. The logistics BPO services accelerate the growth of your business and will perfectly streamline the supply chain management. It will enable you to free yourself from dealing with unnecessary complications and will allow you concentrate on productive and revenue-generating activities which improve efficiency and performance simultaneously. BPO services will handle logistics documentation, data entry services, and high-quality back-office services, which are complex and time-consuming.
Safeguarding business data is one of the prime concerns for every business in the Logistics industry. High quality and affordable logistic BPO services can prevent your business from internal and external risk factors. Data protection includes safeguarding and securing confidential and private data of an industry. BPO companies follow strict data security regulations, protect against data theft and mishandling and ensure adherence to cyber security guidelines.
A secure communications network can also prevent data leakage. Cyber attackers aim to expose the communication network. To circumvent this, BPO companies must invest in software and tools that encrypt data, secure communication channels, and optimize data storage. It should raise alarms if any unusual activity is detected. All the computer systems used in BPO services should be monitored 24/7, so the IT team can find, detect, and eliminate malpractices or other data breaches.
Risk mitigation is one of the critical Business Benefits of BPO Services in the logistics industry. BPO service providers often have access to best-class technology and resources, which can help logistics companies improve their risk management capabilities. By outsourcing logistics operations to a reputable and experienced BPO service provider, companies can effectively mitigate risks associated with logistics management. This includes risks related to transportation, warehousing, and distribution. BPO service providers have the necessary resources, knowledge, and expertise to manage logistics operations effectively. They can also rapidly respond to changes in the marketplace and adapt their services accordingly. This ensures that companies can minimize disruptions to their logistics operations and maintain high efficiency. Outsourcing logistics operations can also help companies save money.
Business process outsourcing (BPO) services can significantly boost the logistics industry, improve efficiency and optimize costs, and offer other benefits such as access to new technologies and enhanced scalability. While logistics BPO services can provide many benefits to businesses, it's also essential to consider the potential drawbacks. These services can be expensive and may require companies to give up some control over their logistics operations. Additionally, logistics BPO providers may not have the same expertise or experience as an in-house logistics team. When considering whether or not to use logistics BPO services, businesses should carefully weigh the pros and cons to check if the benefits outweigh the risks.
Randy Gardner, Weir Consult
From money woes to monkeypox, from climate change to COVID, there's usually something going on that needs close monitoring. Here we'll report your stories about emergency management.
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After almost three years of supply chain chaos, global macroeconomic factors have left small and medium-sized importers and exporters uncertain whether to be concerned about reduced demand or about lacking sufficient inventory, Freightos study finds
• 87% of US and European Import-Export Businesses Financially
Impacted By Supply Chain Issues
• In run-up to holiday season, survey results highlight unprecedented level of uncertainty among small and medium size business
Almost three years of supply chain chaos plus new global macroeconomic factors have left most small and mediumsized importers and exporters with unprecedented levels of supply chain and logistics uncertainty, according to a new survey by international freight booking and payment platform Freightos.
The results of the survey highlighting the experiences and expectations of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with regards to the supply chain, current market landscape, and the upcoming holiday season. Findings show that on top of almost three years of supply chain chaos, global macroeconomic factors have left SMB importers and exporters uncertain whether to be concerned about reduced demand or about lacking sufficient inventory for increased demand.
According to the survey of over 1,200 small- and medium-sized importers on the Freightos marketplace platform, businesses have been hit hard by supply chain costs: 87% of respondents attributed reduced bottom lines to logistics costs. Businesses also reported dedicating larger percentages of operating costs to shipments: 22% of businesses currently spend over 20% of their operating budgets on shipping goods; compared to less than 13% of businesses prior to the pandemic.
Unpredictable consumer demand and volatile market conditions are currently top of mind for businesses, with an unpredictable market wreaking havoc on importer expectations: 74% of respondents are worried about how demand will impact their inventory or sales. Interestingly, 50% are concerned about the prospect of a reduction in demand during the holiday season, while 24% are worried that an unexpected surge in demand would leave them with insufficient inventory to meet demand.
Navigating the complexities of international trade is tricky enough for businesses without the added obstacles that have cropped up over the past few years. During the pandemic, 50% of businesses blamed the supply chain for their losses. Over the pandemic, importers have lost faith in the shipping network and now even when it’s running well, they are accumulating expensive inventory buffers. Now, just as we’re finally seeing the supply chain start to stabilize, importers are faced with a new variable – demand. Now, looking towards the holidays, the only thing they can predict is unpredictability.
Zvi Schreiber, CEO & founder, Freightos
Over the past three years, importer and exporter businesses have contended with unprecedented price fluctuations. According to Freightos.com data, between 2019 and 2022, the cost of shipping a full container of goods from manufacturing centers in China to a distribution center in the United States jumped from $3,500 in 2019 to $25,463 in late 2022, now having regressed to approximately $6,500.
Other key findings from the 2022 Freightos Small Business Survey can be found here.
both the volume and weight perspectives of cargo flown and available capacity. As falling demand meets rising capacity, load factors have been declining over the past 18 months. In October, the 61% dynamic loadfactor was -7% pts and -1% pts in comparison to 2021 and 2019 respectively.
October saw a second consecutive month of lower global airfreight spot rates below last year’s level. The slight uptick in week 3 was mainly caused by the rise of special cargo freight rates, while general rates continued their downward trend.
Christmas didn’t come early for the global air cargo industry as volumes declined -8% year-over-year in October and provided no current signals to indicate an upturn in 2023, as year-over-year demand fell for the eighth consecutive month, according to new weekly market data from industry analysts CLIVE Data Services, part of Xeneta.
The drop in demand, measured in chargeable weight, was also -3% below the pre-pandemic level in 2019.
Compared to last year’s levels, global air cargo capacity continued to recover in October but at a slower pace and remained -7% below the pre-covid 2019 level. This contributed to a more subdued ‘dynamic loadfactor,’ CLIVE’s measurement of airline performance based on
We are six weeks away from Christmas and there is no indication there will be a peak. Demand worsened in October over the -5% reduction we reported in September, but this is not likely to surprise the market given the global economic outlook, although it’s clear that rates remain at a higher level than some observers would have expected in the current conditions. Airfreight is certainly not currently suffering the decline of ocean, where Xeneta has recorded rate drops of 60%70% in the last nine months. Ocean freight is responding to the market conditions much faster than air is and normalising quickly from a rates point of view. The outlook for air cargo remains uncertain. We don’t see a pressure on capacity, and we don’t see an increase in rates.
Niall van de Wouw, Chief Airfreight Officer, Xeneta
Looking ahead, he expects more challenges and uncertainties for the air cargo market over the next 12 months. If you take the broader perspective, I see very few signals that would support an increase in general airfreight in 2023 – be that because people have higher personal bills or because people are spending more on services relatively to goods. It is also fair to assume that even if consumers in Europe and North America were to buy exactly the same amount of goods in 2023 as in 2022, which is unlikely, then a higher portion of the transportation in support of that, whether it’s the finished products or the hard materials to make those products, is likely to move by ocean as a response of the higher reliability returning on the sea. Airfreight received a boost in the last two years because of the incredible mess on the ocean side, but shippers are now likely to feel more comfortable moving back to ocean from a reliability point of view. With all these factors combined, I don’t see where a lot of general freight growth demand drivers will come from. On the supply side, the opposite is true. People are becoming more comfortable about flying again and routes are opening up, leading to a rise in belly capacity, and the freighters being ordered and cargo conversions will also be coming to the market. The only development I can see that would slow down the decline in rates is supply on the ground. If airlines and cargo handling companies continue to struggle to hire people and remain short-staffed, then the bottlenecks will create an upward pressure on rates because it will be difficult to get your goods through the value chain.
Airfreight rates on top volume corridors from Asia to Europe and Asia to the US continued to fall in October, while general rates fell more substantially on inbound US corridor routes than inbound Europe. This is attributed to added costs for EU routes, due to the closure of Russian airspace and lower spending by US consumers.
Europe to US airfreight spot rates stood at USD 3.11 per kg in October, down 27% from the 2021 level, while Asia to Europe spot rates fell USD 5.09 per kg, down 25% year-over-year. Asia to US registered the sharpest decline among the three top volume corridors, with the average spot rate down 45% from October last year to USD 5.87 per kg.
In comparison, the Latin America to US corridor showed more resilience to market headwinds, although its airfreight spot rate slid 11% to USD 1.38 per kg in October.
Shippers, however, may not be seeing long-term gains from falling airfreight rates right away, Niall van de Wouw says: There is a lot of uncertainty, so this is not a period where shippers will get an ‘attractive’ deal for the next year or two years, they will get lower rates for the next one to two quarters, but who knows what will happen beyond that.
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Streamlining from seven to five Sales Regions worldwide. Digital Sales defined as a key customer-facing function. New appointments to management positions.
Lufthansa Cargo’s Product and Sales department will see both personnel and structural changes effective November 1, 2022. These adjustments serve strategic purposes: From now on, seven sales regions are mapped into five, which will enhance the focus on the customer, simplify the structure to increase speed to market and support the new phase of growth of Lufthansa Cargo. The changes foresee both new appointments of personnel and adjusted responsibilities:
The sales regions of North and South America will be merged into one region America. Stephanie Abeler, formerly Head of “Sales & Handling Midwest USA”, takes over the responsibilities of the newly created region. The previous jobholders Bernd Kindelbacher and Carsten Hernig are devoting themselves to new tasks. Stephanie Abeler continues to be based in Chicago.
The Eastern & Northern Europe and Western Europe regions, which were previously managed separately, are now managed as a single European region in the future. New at Lufthansa Cargo, Oliver von Götz is responsible for this region as Head of "Region Europe LCAG", replacing the previous jobholders Annette Kreuziger and Thomas Egnolf. Prior to joining Lufthansa Cargo, Oliver von Götz was Head of "Corporate Airline Strategy and Business Development Lufthansa Airlines" within the Lufthansa Group. He is based in Frankfurt.
The previous region of Middle East & Africa will be expanded to include the markets of South Asia & the CIS region. As of now, this region is
headed by Dr. André Schulz as Head of "Region Middle East, Africa, South Asia & CIS". He is based in Frankfurt. Dr. André Schulz, who was previously General Manager Southern and East Africa in Johannesburg at Deutsche Lufthansa AG, succeeds Frank Beilner, who will be taking on new responsibilities.
Achim Martinka, who has headed Lufthansa Cargo's German sales as Vice President Germany since summer 2019, has expanded his area of responsibility to include the markets Austria and Switzerland, thus leading the newly created DACH sales region. The structure of the Asia Pacific region under the responsibility of J. Florian Pfaff from Singapore remains unchanged, except for the future management of the South Asia market region by Dr. André Schulz. Digital Sales, which was previously a head office function, is now enhanced and defined as a customerfacing function. Digital Sales is led by Marcel Kling. All managers of the Sales Regions as well Digital Sales will report to Ashwin Bhat, the Chief Commercial Officer of Lufthansa Cargo.
The mergers of regions as well as the new appointments are vital adjustments for us to combine our strengths, exploit synergies and thus respond even better to market trends. Internally, we are simplifying our process structures, and externally we continue to be a strong partner for our customers. I am happy that we could attract and nominate new managers from within the Lufthansa Group. With their experience and diverse knowledge, I am confident we will continue to enrich Lufthansa Cargo’s leadership in the air cargo market in the years ahead. I would like take the opportunity to thank Annette Kreuziger, Bernhard Kindelbacher, Frank Beilner, Thomas Egenholf and Carsten Hernig for their leadership and contribution to the success of Lufthansa Cargo in the last years. Ashwin Bhat, Chief Commercial Officer, Lufthansa Cargo
SEKO Logistics is signaling their next phase of international airfreight growth with two global appointments to leverage opportunities from client demand for critical products, expansion of cross-border ecommerce, and new business from acquired companies.
Christopher Gregg joins SEKO as Senior Vice President Global Airfreight from his previous role as Vice President Airfreight, North America, at Hellmann Worldwide Logistics. His experience spans airfreight management roles with C.H. Robinson, Kuehne + Nagel, and Expeditors International. At SEKO, he is based in Atlanta, in recognition of the city’s role as a global airfreight hub, and its strategic importance to SEKO going forward.
Shawn Richard, appointed as SEKO’s first VP of Global Airfreight in 2018, has also been promoted to Senior Vice President International Service Centers (ISCs) and will remain based in New York. Richard joined SEKO four years ago, having formerly worked with DHL Global Forwarding, Geodis, and Delta Airlines.
SEKO has been transitioning from their legacy Airfreight Gateway structure to operational International Service Centers - which has facilitated and enabled tremendous growth in airfreight and ecommerce shipping service offerings. SEKO’s USA ISCs are currently operating in JFK and LAX and will be expanding into several other key markets over the next 6-12 months. SEKO ISCs are critical for ecommerce and air freight operations as they
are Certified Cargo Screening Facilities (CCSF), as well as an acting import CFS for inbound parcels from Europe and Asia. With a global remit to optimize SEKO’s current ISCs and to implement further ISCs across the U.S. and globally to meet the service requirements of airfreight clients.
These key global roles will enable SEKO to structure and grow our global airfreight product, build our global airfreight team, and drive our airfreight focus in the U.S., Asia Pacific and Europe, said Steen Christensen, who joined the company in June as Chief Operating Officer – International to lead SEKO’s Air and Ocean freight product growth.
Strengthening our airfreight leadership team with new people and new roles reflects the increasing importance this product is having on our organization. As we expand geographically – both organically and through acquisitions – we must have the appropriate leadership in place to manage the future development and expansion of our airfreight products. These new appointments for Chris and Shawn support the needs of our customers and airline partners, the growth of our volumes, and the new business we are gaining. Airfreight is one of our fastest-growing products, particularly as it pertains to our position in Asia Pacific and Europe. This is being driven largely by the significant cross-border ecommerce growth we are helping our clients to achieve.
SEKO will also be growing their carrier partnerships. We will continue to build our strong carrier relationships, while making room for new carriers to participate in our business going forward. We will also be working with carriers on products which are aligned to our sustainability goals over the coming years, Steen said.
SEKO LOGISTICS CHRISTOPHER GREGG & SHAWN RICHARD SENIOR VP GLOBAL AIRFREIGHT & SENIOR VP INTERNATIONAL SERVICE CENTERS
SEKO Logistics (SEKO), a leading global logistics provider, announced their hiring of Hans Hickler as President of the Americas. In this role, Hickler will have profit and loss (P&L) operating authority and responsibility for the Americas Region including people growth and commercial development, operations and customer experience, cash management and compliance and regulatory.
Hickler has worked with the company for the past seven years in an advisory role through Ellipses Advisors, a company he started in 2012, specializing in advising high performing CEOs and investing with and advising entrepreneurs. His international business experience includes CEO positions with three leading multinational ocean, express and 3PL companies. He has more than 30 years of experience in the transportation, express and logistics industry. Prior to starting his own business, Hickler served as CEO of Asia Pacific for Agility Logistics where he was responsible for more than 20 countries and 7,000 employees and served on Agility Logistics’ Global Management Board. He also previously served as DHL’s CEO for Global Customer Solutions, as CEO of DHL Express USA, CEO of APL Logistics, and served on the global boards of both organizations.
I couldn’t be more pleased to bring Hans into this role. It requires the right business leader, global thinker, thought partner and entrepreneur – and Hans is all those things, and more. He’s a recognized leader in the logistics and transportation industries and is known by many for his leadership skills in building effective and customercentric, cross-cultural and cross-functional teams and for achieving significant growth and profitability.
James Gagne, President & CEO, SEKOI’m excited to be at the company full-time after working with James and his team for several years as a strategic thought partner. I’m looking forward to being a part of such an aspirational and forward-thinking organization, said Hickler.
Based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Hickler will report directly to James Gagne and Steen Christensen, SEKO’s Chief Operating Officer – International.
was born in Bristol and have lived here all my life. I am optimistic and enjoy helping others where I can. My career is a big part of my life; it's my main focus and it will be for many years to come. Sport takes up a lot of my free time: I spend my weekends watching Bristol Bears or playing rugby myself. I also try to get a round of golf in when I can find some spare time.
Csilla Pap Chicago, Il & Los Angeles, CA 407 583 4352 csilla@forwardingjobs.com
Dom Roberts
New York, New Jersey, East coast 646 688 0455 dom@forwardingjobs.com
Andreea Cinciu Florida 407 583 4352 andreea@forwardingjobs.com
Luke Hatt Atlanta, GA 646 513 2733 luke@forwardingjobs.com
Levi Dixon
North & South Carolina 646 513 2733 levi@forwardingjobs.com
HOUSTON, TX
Salary: $50,000–$65,000
• Minimum 2 years’ experience
• Ocean Export
HOUSTON, TX
Salary: $18 per hour
• Assisting the Warehouse Lead in the clearance and documentation of shipments
• Warehouse experience: 7 years (Preferred)
• MUST have a current Forklift Certification. OSHA Storage Materials Handling and Hazards Safety Training Preferred
DALLAS, TX
Salary: $75k - $250k
• You must be adept at creating and managing a sales plan and executing that plan to success.
• You will be selling the company's core products, which include international transportation (air + ocean) with strong concentration on the ASIA/USA market, customs brokerage, trucking and other Logistics services.
• You will be responsible for creating a monthly sales report and you will participate in a weekly sales meeting.
EAST BRUNSWICK NJ
Salary: $50,000–$65,000
• Minimum 1 years’ experience
• Import Operations
• USDA, FDA, Pharma
VALLEY STREAM NY AND MANHATTAN
Salary: $65–$70,000
• Minimum 3 years’ experience
• Import Operations
• Multi Line Entries
• ISG filings
NEW YORK, NY
Salary: Circa $65,000–$75,000
• 3 years industry experience
• Ability to effectively present information and respond to client inquiries
• Effective communication skills
• Cargo Wise experience.
tony@
NEW JERSEY
Salary: up to $70k DOE
• Cargowise
• Freight Forwarding Experience
•
NEW JERSEY
Salary: up to $70k DOE
• Cargowise
• Freight Forwarding Experience
• 3+ years’ Experience
NEW YORK
Salary: up to $70k DOE
• Cargowise
• Freight Forwarding Experience
• 5+ years
DALLAS, TX
Salary: $50,000–$65,000
• Minimum 3 years’ experience
• Import Ocean & Air
• USDA, FDA and Public Heath
COLLEGE PARK, GA
Salary: Circa $55,000–$65,000
• Cargowise experience
• High School diploma or GED plus 3-5 years of Export experience in freight forwarding
• Export administration regulations – TSA, IATA , HAZMAT
NEW YORK
Salary: up to $70k DOE
• Cargowise
• Freight Forwarding Experience
• Project freight (not essential)
Dubai-listed logistics and transportation solutions provider Aramex has obtained all the necessary regulatory approvals and completed the acquisition of Access USA Shipping, LLC (MyUS), a global technology-driven platform that enables cross-border e-Commerce, for an all-cash purchase price of approximately USD $265 million. The transaction marks Aramex’s largest acquisition to date.
As a result of this acquisition, MyUS will be fully integrated into Aramex’s business, operating as a business unit within the Company’s Courier business segment. MyUS will retain its brand name and will be complementary to Shop & Ship, Aramex’s subscription-based last mile e-Commerce solutions platform.
Aramex said the acquisition will further strengthen Aramex’s crossborder express business by increasing shipment volumes, growing and diversifying its customer base, and expanding coverage in new origins and destinations. It said this transaction was also expected to be immediately value accretive for Aramex, providing strong growth in revenues, attractive profitability and superior cash conversion.
MyUS is a leading, US-headquartered, technology-driven and crossborder e-Commerce enabling platform, providing cost-effective package forwarding solutions. In 2021, the Company generated more than USD $100 million in revenue and delivered 1.1 million packages to customers who shop from retailers based in the US, UK and China. The Company has about 180 thousand active customers.
Over its 25-year history, MyUS has mastered a customer-centric business model that innovatively addresses the needs of e-Commerce shoppers worldwide, underpinned by cutting-edge proprietary software, scalable technology, and industry-leading expertise. The Company has 300 employees, the majority of who are based in the US.
With the successful close of our largest strategic acquisition to date, Aramex has become an even more competitive player in the crossborder e-Commerce space. Given how complementary MyUS’s business is to ours, we believe our wider stakeholder universe will realize the immediate and long-term positive benefits of this acquisition. Our shareholders will immediately see the impact on financial performance, and over the long term we can unlock further value through operational and cost synergies.
Othman Aljeda , Chief Executive Officer, Aramex
Our customers are set to benefit from further enhanced network coverage and service excellence from first to last mile. Our employees will benefit from knowledge sharing, further developing their expertise in the cross-border express business, including learning and adopting MyUS’s leading proprietary software. As we start the integration process, I would like to extend a warm welcome to MyUS’s employees and customers and look forward to growing further, together.
We at MyUS are excited to begin a new chapter of growth with Aramex. We are ready to take our products and solutions to new markets by leveraging on Aramex’s extensive global network, scale, knowledge and expertise in markets exhibiting very attractive characteristics such as the MENA region, the UK and Australia. Together with Aramex, we will work on developing a joint business plan to unlock revenue and operational synergies to help grow the cross-border e-Commerce business and bring customers the best solutions and services. Ultimately, our goal under Aramex’s ownership is to accelerate our growth in a fragmented multi-trillion-dollar global e-Commerce market.
Ramesh Bulusu, Chief Executive Officer, MyUS
The mergers and acquisitions market in the freight forwarding sector has become increasingly active in the past two years, despite the uncertain and turbulent conditions, thanks in part to strong revenues and profits achieved by 3PLs
Despite the uncertain and turbulent conditions in the past two years putting immense pressure on supply chains and logistics providers, the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market in the freight forwarding industry has become increasingly active, thanks in part to strong revenues and profits achieved among freight forwarding companies.
According to freight and logistics industry analyst Transport Intelligence (Ti)’s M&A database, the top 20 largest freight forwarders closed 15 transactions in 2021 and 2022, up from just 6 in 2020. And analysis by Armstrong & Associates indicates that there were an “astounding” 25 large M&A transactions among 3PLs in 2021 with purchase prices over $100 million. Armstrong & Associates said this was over eight times the number of large acquisitions made in 1999, when we first started tracking them, and over three times the number of transactions seen in 2020.
And sources close to FORWARDER magazine have confirmed that the M&A market has also been very strong in the last 12 months among smaller and medium-sized freight forwarding companies, for example in the UK and the US.
This robust M&A activity is likely attributable to various factors relating to record earnings among logistics players and supply chain dynamics, according to Ti’s recently published ‘Competitive Landscape in the Global Freight Forwarding Market’ report. It highlighted that freight forwarding, by definition, requires the management and coordination of other asset providers. As a result, with a few exceptions, companies in this horizontal sector typically make acquisitions to broaden their geographic scope or strengthen their ‘know-how’ and scale on a specific trade lane or in a vertical industry sector.
One of the fundamental reasons behind consolidation in the shipping industry and freight forwarding markets is the benefits of scale, Ti stressed, noting that scale provides forwarders with buying power in their dealings with the shipping lines. It not only allows them to get better rates than smaller competitors, but it is also more likely to guarantee that containers are shipped as booked. In times of high volumes and constrained capacity, as we have seen in the last year, shipping lines will provide the best service to their largest customers which include the leading freight forwarders.
The desire to achieve greater profitability is clearly one of the main incentives, or the main incentive, driving freight forwarders towards M&As. But the profits made by freight forwarders, particularly in the last two years, have also acted as a catalyst for further acquisitions, building out the geographic scope and providing for strength and capabilities in vertical sectors [which had] left many with the nice problem of what to do with the unexpected boost to incomes.
Freight M&A sources close to FORWARDER magazine have also confirmed that a key factor in the strong recent M&A market has been that lots of companies have made lots of money in the last couple of years, with freight rates being so high. Therefore, they are in a position to make acquisitions. Or it could also be that some business owners are looking to ‘cash in’ in the current (M&A) market. They stressed that this was because the M&A market was currently strong, not because of any rise in distressed companies looking for buyers.
Armstrong & Associates’ July 2022 report on the logistics and freight forwarding landscape (A Roaring 2021: Demand Drives 3PLs to the Best Growth and M&A Year on Record – Latest Third-Party Logistics Market Results and Predictions for 2022) highlighted that strong consumer demand, continued supply chain bottlenecks, and tight carrier capacity sent air, ground, and ocean transportation rates soaring to historic levels in 2021 as shippers leaned on Third-Party Logistics Providers (3PLs) to bolster inventories and avoid product stock outs.
It pinpointed International Transportation Management (ITM), which consists of air and ocean freight forwarding, customs brokerage, and complementary value-added services, as the lead driver of revenue growth among the various 3PL segments, noting: Overall, ITM realized an unheard-of 74.9% gross revenue gain in 2021, increasing to $122.4 billion, while underlying global ocean carrier container rates more than doubled from 2020 and air freight rates trended up, peaking in December of 2021. While having a lower growth rate than overall gross revenue due to a tight carrier capacity market and high spot market rates, net revenue increased a healthy 44.6% to $35.6 billion.
Access to “cheap money and the ability of financially strong companies to borrow very cheaply in capital market” has been another dynamic behind the acquisition boom, Ti also noted in its ‘Competitive Landscape in the Global Freight Forwarding Market’ report. It is too early to say to what extent recent rises in interest rates and the cost of borrowing will impact this part of the M&A equation.
But looking historically, Ti notes that Kuehne + Nagel and DSV Panalpina have been the most acquisitive forwarders in the past 10 years, adding: Although the company is strongest within its core European markets, Kuehne + Nagel has grown inorganically in the Asia Pacific rim and North America. As the years have progressed, Kuehne + Nagel has diversified its regional exposure and revenue streams through acquisitions, moving away from an EMEA dominated business to a business with a well-balanced geographical distribution.
Apex deal takes K+N to top spot Armstrong & Associates also highlighted that “the most notable” acquisition last year was Kuehne + Nagel’s purchase of Apex Logistics International for approximately $1.5 billion, noting that the combination not only made Kuehne + Nagel the largest global air freight forwarder, handling over 2.2 million metric air tons in 2021, it is also the largest 3PL globally, replacing DHL Supply Chain and Global Forwarding in both instances, and continues to hold its place as the largest ocean freight forwarder.
Armstrong puts Kuehne + Nagel’s Gross Logistics Revenue at US$40.8 billion, with DHL Supply Chain and Global Forwarding at $37.7 billion, followed by DSV on $28.9 billion and DB Schenker on $27.6 billion, followed by Sinotrans, Expeditors, and CH Robinson.
Ti’s analysis, examining freight forwarding activities and not companies’ respective contract logistics activities, places Kuehne + Nagel and DSV at the head of the global freight forwarding market, with revenues of €22.7 billion (US$22.9 billion) and €17.6 billion in 2021, respectively. It said that among the top 10, Kuehne + Nagel and DSV Panalpina have also seen the strongest revenue growth in 2021 (97.6% and 79.7% respectively).
Ti also highlighted that the two market leaders, Kuehne + Nagel and DSV, have successfully integrated acquisitions in recent years, which has helped both to top the list. Kuehne + Nagel fully benefited from integrating Apex International (the 17th largest air freight forwarder in 2020). Meanwhile, DSV’s integration of Panalpina, followed by the acquisition of Agility, allowed the company to rise to second place and ahead of DHL Global Forwarding for the first time.
DHL Global Forwarding dropped to third place in the ranking, with its revenue increasing by 44.5%, YoY, to €15.8 billion (US$15.9 billion). DB Schenker and Expeditors round out Ti’s top five, with Sinotrans and Nippon Express coming in at six and seven, respectively.
Examining the most attractive regions for M&As, Ti highlights Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East and North Africa as the most attractive regions. Europe has seen considerable M&A activity over the past 10 years, with logistics companies seeking to increase their presence and capabilities in the region. The reasons behind these acquisitions vary by company but have a unifying logic in reflecting the trends in the market for freight forwarding. Obtaining a recognised know-how in a specialised segment and new business seems to be the key rationale behind the acquisitions in Europe. For instance, out of its acquisition of J.F. Hillebrand, DP DHL has obtained a recognized know-how in a specialized segment but also a large amount of new business which should enable it to consolidate its own position in the industry. This is also the case with CEVA Logistics which will significantly expand its automotive logistics reach through the acquisition of GEFCO.
Ti highlights Asia Pacific as the second most attractive M&A destination which is unsurprising considering it is the single-mostimportant region for global trade and logistics activities. According to Ti market-sizing data, Asia Pacific remains the largest freight forwarding region, accounting for 35.3% of the global freight forwarding market in 2021. Hence, to expand and stay competitive, and seize the vast opportunities that this market offers, the largest freight forwarders have realised that they need to add Asia Pacific to their portfolio, Ti notes.
It says the Middle East and North Africa is the third most attractive region for M&A deals in the freight forwarding sector , with some countries in the region offering advantages including: free trade zones; easy customs procedures; open-sky policies; and modern facilities.
Ti noted: “It is an exciting time for logistics in the region and the accelerated economic diversification initiatives across the board are offering a new set of logistics opportunities which forwarders such as Kuehne + Nagel, DHL and CEVA are looking to seize.
Freight Mergers are specialists in selling owner-managed freight forwarding businesses. For most company owners, selling their freight forwarding business is the most important financial transaction of their life. To meet the challenge of getting a fair price for a business, we have developed a proactive approach to selling a business that connects buyers with sellers with the best synergy.
We have over ten years of experience in the freight forwarding sector and, due to our niche-specialist approach, can put you in touch with the best sellers for your business.
Omni Logistics’ new Dallas Campus offers shippers expansive space for cross-dock, warehouse, and distribution operations in a capacity-constrained market
Omni Logistics, a technology-driven provider of global multimodal logistics solutions and specialized services, today announced the official opening of its new, 366,711 sq. ft. Dallas Campus. The opening of this new facility follows the recent opening of Omni Logistics’ new, renewables-powered corporate headquarters in Dallas, new offices in Phoenix, and extensive new warehouse and cross-dock facilities in San Francisco and Philadelphia.
Omni Logistics’ new Dallas Campus is a direct response to our customer’s needs for new warehouse space and cross-dock facilities to support their growing businesses. We want to ensure that our customers have access to the facilities and specialized services they need. This new facility will empower our customers to be prepared for peak season and any supply chain disruptions that may arise.
JJ Schickel, Chief Executive Officer, Omni Logistics
The Dallas Campus, strategically located 8 miles from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and 17 miles from Dallas Love Field Airport (DAL), has easy access to State Highways 183 and 121, making the pickup and drop-off process as seamless as possible for carriers. The campus is also 20 miles away from the Dallas Central Business District and 15 miles from the Fort Worth Central Business District, making this facility centrally located for shippers across multiple industries. The gated campus is CTPAT certified, protected by guards, and has a state-of-the-art security system which is ideal for shippers with highsecurity needs. Featuring a total of 83 dock doors, the new facility offers shippers and carriers an efficient and accessible option for warehousing and cross-docking.
Capabilities of the new Class A campus include:
Building A is dedicated to Omni Logistics’ cross-dock operations, featuring 34 dock doors to help accelerate the order fulfillment process.
Building B is dedicated to warehouse operations, featuring 35 dock doors to facilitate easy pickup and delivery.
Building C is dedicated to supporting eCommerce and retail fulfillment. This facility, which includes 14 dock doors, will enable Omni Logistics to quickly pick, pack and ship products on behalf of its customers.
Acquisition of US company will strengthen logistics group’s national freight distribution network and final-mile delivery, omnichannel and e-Commerce capabilities in the United States alongside its existing contract logistics and freight forwarding lines
Global transport and logistics group Geodis has completed its acquisition of American company Need It Now Delivers following regulatory approvals, significantly expanding its US presence in contract logistics and final-mile delivery and strengthening its end-to-end freight network domestically and internationally.
Based in Keasbey, New Jersey, Need It Now Delivers operates a major freight network in the United States —with a strong presence in the East — including over 65 company locations and more than 300 interconnected distribution points. Need It Now Delivers features a workforce of more than 2,000 employees and serves over 1,600 customers across a variety of high-growth sectors, including apparel, electronics, home furnishings, automotive products and medical supplies. In addition to omnichannel and final mile capabilities, Need It Now Delivers offers logistics services including white glove home delivery, direct-to-consumer parcel delivery, contract logistics and same day logistics.
The completion of the Need It Now Delivers acquisition will accelerate our continued growth in the US, which has become an essential market for Geodis, as we remain committed to building a fully integrated network of transport and logistics hubs globally. This acquisition allows Geodis to expand our offerings in a consolidating market and solidify our position as one of the world’s top 10 leading logistics providers.
Marie-Christine Lombard, CEO, Geodis
The company added that the acquisition will strengthen Geodis’s national freight distribution network and final mile delivery, omnichannel and e-Commerce capabilities in the United States alongside its existing contract logistics and freight forwarding lines of business in the country.
Geodis customers will now have access to expanded transportation management and warehousing capabilities in the US while Need It Now Delivers clients will have the opportunity to bolster their global supply chains with new access to Geodis’s international freight forwarding and contract logistics networks for a comprehensive solution.
Geodis acquired Need It Now Delivers due to its proven and dedicated team, expansive national network with a commitment to bestin-class service, and diverse and longstanding customer relationships in high-growth industry verticals. I am confident the combination of our two organisations will create a powerful set of end-to-end logistics solutions to best support our customers’ growth.
Mike Honious, President & CEO, Geodis in the Americas
With the completion of the Need It Now Delivers acquisition, Geodis now employs approximately 15,000 teammates in the US (with more than 17,000 employees in the Americas region) and operates over 200 locations totaling 52.9 million square feet of warehousing space domestically. The combined organisations would have generated $3.7 billion for full year 2021 in the US.
Geodis is a leading global logistics provider specialising in five lines of business: Supply Chain Optimization, Freight Forwarding, Contract Logistics, Distribution & Express, and Road Transport. With a global network spanning nearly 170 countries and more than 44,000 employees, Geodis generated €10.9 billion in revenue in 2021.
Worldwide Flight Services (“WFS”) has announced that SATS Ltd. (“SATS”) has reached an agreement to acquire WFS from an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management (“Cerberus”). The transaction is valued at an enterprise value of €2.25 billion.
The transaction will bring together WFS, the world’s largest air cargo handler with leadership positions in the Americas and Europe, and SATS, the leading provider of aviation services in Asia. This combination creates a first-of-its-kind global air cargo platform with scale and a network of stations across Asia, the Americas, and Europe. Customers will benefit from the combined platform’s broader suite of services, operational best practices, and integrated technology.
WFS has become the leading global air cargo logistics provider thanks to our commitment to customers, our experienced team, and our partners at Cerberus. As we look to our next stage of growth, this combination will deliver exciting benefits for our customers and our people. We have great respect for SATS and enjoy similar values. By bringing together our respective strengths, we will be able to build on our trusted relationships around the world.
Craig Smyth, CEO, WFS
WFS is an industry leader because it has dedicated people and an unwavering commitment to customers. Our proposed acquisition is a transformational opportunity for SATS and will create a global leader and a go-to provider of mission critical aviation services. In our newly combined markets, SATS and WFS will be at the heart of global trade flows, operating in the world’s busiest airports and supporting the biggest companies.
Kerry Mok, CEO, SATSFrom Cerberus, financial sponsor since 2018, Managing Director Craig Brooks commented: It has been a privilege to work alongside the talented WFS team and support the company in reaching new heights. Over the past four years, WFS has become a global leader by growing its network and investing in technology, operating capabilities, and customer solutions. SATS is a great partner for WFS and the combination will enhance growth and the value proposition for customers.
Following the close of the transaction, WFS will become a wholly owned subsidiary of SATS and the WFS management team will continue to lead the business.
The transaction is subject to customary regulatory and SATS shareholders’ approval and is expected to close by March 31, 2023.
In connection with this transaction, WFS was advised by Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC as exclusive financial advisor, Linklaters LLP as lead counsel and Deloitte LLP as tax advisor.
This global freight forwarder was founded 10+ years ago with a focus on air and ocean freight. The main shareholder is now looking at their exit with a view to staying on with the business for a period of time. The shareholders are open to both trade and private equity buyers. If this opportunity is of interest, please get in contact.
Revenue: $49m Gross Profit: $7.68 m EBITDA: $3.5m
Project Atlantic
Italy 2021: Revenue: $15.9m Gross Profit: $2.8 m EBITDA: $814 k
Ocean Export: 68.9% Ocean Import: 9.1% Air Export: 13.6% Project Cargo: 8.4%
Canada 2021: Revenue: $24.4 m Gross Profit: $2.9m EBITDA: $2 m
Ocean Import: 24% Air Import: 75% Customs: 1%
USA 2021:
Revenue: $6.5m Gross Profit: $1.1m EBITDA: $440 k
Air import & trucking: 9.5% Ocean Import: 90.5%
Dubai 2021: Revenue: $2.2 m Gross Profit: $880 k EBITDA: $260 k
Air Import: 0.9% Air Export: 0.2% Ocean Import: 62.9% Ocean Export: 12.9% Project cargo: 23.1%
This US-based company is seeking an active and experienced buyer who is in the market for a well-known traditional customs broker and freight forwarder. They are involved in various aspects of international transportation, specialising in the handling of sensitive and ‘special needs’ cargo including time-sensitive shipments, perishables, heavily regulated commodities, government cargo, hazmat, oversized/overweight and high-value merchandise.
• Est. 1982
• 2 shareholders
• A range of operating licenses:
- IATA, CNS
- TSA/DOT/FAA
- Licensed customs broker
- Duty drawback specialists
- ISO 9002 – 1994
- C-TPAT
- SAM
• NVOCC (Including DoD)
January to May 2021
Revenue: $10.8 m
Gross profit: $1.9m
Net profit: $ 875k
Forecast full year 2021
Revenue: $ 30 m
Gross profit: $ 4 m
Profit before tax: $2 m
2020 Revenue: $19.1m
Gross profit: $ 3.4 m
Net profit: $ 634 k
2019 Revenue: $12.5m
Gross profit: $2.6 m
Net profit: $130 k
• International transport LOCATION USA
• Warehousing: 3,000 sqft
Print is not dead. Nor is the postal system. Both work perfectly well, so let ‘s use them. In fact, in this digital age, high-end print actually stands out more than it used to.
• FORWARDERmagazine.com
• Advert design for your own use
• Postal mailshots
The average adult spends most of their day looking at a screen. Checking their news feed, in front of their computer, on social media, online shopping, watching TV. Be on those screens.
• FreightWebsite design
• eShot campaigns
• Social media
The ultimate in customer engagement. Mobile usage now outweighs desktop, so give your audience a focused, useful portal where you control the content and they remain interested.
• FreightApp.design
DHL remains BSD's premium and logistics partner for another four years
DHL is prolonging its partnership with the German Bobsleigh, Luge, and Skeleton Federation (BSD) for another four years, up to and including the next Winter Olympic Games 2026 in Italy. The premium and logistics partnership has been in place since the 2014/2015 winter season and includes logistics for all equipment during the seasons as well as branding on the sports equipment and clothing of the athletes. In the upcoming season, DHL will transport a total of 13 bobsleigh boxes and 11 skeleton boxes with a total weight of 10,700 kg around Europe and North America via truck and air freight. The year-long partnership even welcomed a retired bobsleigh athlete, Nico Walther, who today is a freight pilot for DHL aircraft.
Attributes such as speed, expertise, precision, teamwork, and innovation stand for both the sport of bobsleigh and sledding as well as for DHL. That's why BSD, with its athletes and their ambitions, is a perfect fit for us, and both our customers and our employees benefit from unique experiences with these great athletes and events. We also strive to make Deutsche Post DHL Group a first-choice employer, and we are proud to see Nico Walther, once athlete, now working as a freight pilot for DHL cargo.
Arjan Sissing, Head of Brand Marketing, Deutsche Post DHL Group
The sport of bobsleigh and skeleton has a long tradition in Germany, enjoys great popularity, and a high reputation. The German national teams (both men's and women's) are among the most prosperous nations in the world in this sport and have numerous successes to show. The BSD was the most successful team at this year's Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, winning 9 out of 10 possible gold medals. The prolongation of the partnership demonstrates BSD’s continued trust in DHL’s capabilities.
We are very pleased to prolong this solid partnership. With DHL, we have had a reliable logistics partner for years that ensures smooth operations during the season, always ensuring that our sports equipment and gear always arrive on time and intact on training and race days. It’s easy with DHL, we don't have to worry about that at all. Thomas Schwab, Chairman of the Board, BSD
Former four-man bobsleigh Olympian silver medalist Nico Walther has discovered his team's premium partner as a new employer after he decided to retire from the sport in 2020. After successfully completing his pilot training this year, he is now flying cargo planes for DHL, fulfilling his childhood’s dreams. Walther is employed by Aerologic, a German cargo airline that is a joint-venture between DHL and
Lufthansa Group. Based on Deutsche Post DHL Group’s sustainability roadmap announcement in March 2021, the company set targets for climate protection, corporate governance and social responsibility. That includes becoming a Great company to work for all. The Group offers various training programs and career tracks to encourage and empower potential and current employees.
Highway Transport driver Thomas “Tom” Frain, who earned national driver of the year honors from the National Tank Truck Carriers (NTTC), has had $2,500 donated on his behalf to a nonprofit that helps truck drivers who are out of work due to injury or illness.
Frain, who was recognized earlier this year as the 2021-2022 Professional Tank Truck Driver of the Year Grand Champion, had the donation made in his name by NTTC to the St. Christopher Truckers Development and Relief Fund (SCF) as part of the award. Frain drives for Highway Transport, which is headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, and operates 20-plus service centers in major chemical manufacturing zones across the United States.
The NTTC is pleased to provide this donation to the St. Christopher Truckers Development and Relief Fund on behalf of Mr. Frain. It’s important for us to recognize the leaders in our community while also giving back to those who move our industry forward. Our hope is that this funding will help SCF fulfill its mission to aid drivers and their families during a difficult season.
William Lusk, manager of education and government relations, NTTC
We want to congratulate Tom for his well-deserved national recognition and thank NTTC for its support. There are so many unknowns when a family member gets sick or is suddenly out of work, and these situations leave families stressed and confused on how to proceed with everyday life. Donations allow us to further enhance the health and well-being of semi-truck drivers and their loved ones when an unexpected illness or injury occurs.
Shannon Currier, Director Of Philanthropy, St. Christopher Fund
The Watkins family, owners of Highway Transport, have been longtime supporters of the St. Christopher Truckers Development and Relief Fund, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Its mission is to help over-the-road semitruck drivers and their families who are out of work due to a recent illness or injury. SCF’s assistance may be in the form of direct payment to providers for household living expenses such as rent/mortgage, utilities, vehicle payments, and insurance. The SCF also provides health and wellness programs such as diabetes prevention and smoking cessation.
It’s an honor to have a donation sent in my name to a group that gives back in such an impactful way to the trucking community. St. Christopher Truckers Development and Relief Fund does an outstanding job of assisting my fellow drivers and their families during hardships.
Frain and Lusk recently participated on SCF’s “Highway to Hope” podcast to discuss careers in trucking, the Driver of the Year program and the donation to the St. Christopher Fund. The podcast is available at truckersfund.org/scf-podcasts.
A leader in bulk chemical transportation, Highway Transport also earned the Responsible Care® Partner of the Year Award from the American Chemistry Council in 2019, 2021 and 2022. Highway Transport also has received recognition as a “Top Company” for women by Women In Trucking.
National Tank Truck Carriers (NTTC) is a trade association representing over 500 companies that specialize in transporting bulk or related services throughout North America. The tank truck industry generates roughly 5.1% of all truck freight revenue, but that represents 23.3% of all truck freight in terms of tonnage due to the heavy nature of the liquid bulk products handled.
Energy infrastructure supports electric truck fleet expansion. Charging stations integrated into warehouse operations.
Performance Team announces the installation and operation of two new electric vehicle (EV) charging stations In Los Angeles County. These stations will serve the current fleet of 24 EV trucks and 36 by the end of year. The Class 8 Volvo Electric trucks will be used in Southern California for short-haul warehouse and distribution center operations.
The new stations have been installed at Performance Team’s Santa Fe Springs, California and Commerce, California distribution centers designed to support the area’s 18 million consumer population.
The Santa Fe Springs facility went live in late summer 2022 with the capacity to charge 16 trucks at once. Charging is performed at the warehouse, enabling trucks to stay on their normal routes with no diversion or time loss.
The Commerce Transport Center started operations in late October and supports 22 trucks onsite at Performance Team’s facility.
San Francisco-based Prologis – a strategic partner of Performance Team, managed and installed both charging station locations as part of their Prologis Mobility solutions program, coordinating with the local utility, Southern California Edison.
We’d like to thank our logistics real estate partner Prologis for their efforts to support our decarbonization strategy goals. These new charging stations will enable faster turn times of our electric fleet while in our distribution centers and optimize our route deployment in sustainable ways.
Jason Walker, Chief Operating Officer of Performance Team.
Henrik
Regulatory compliance with climate change goals in California (and New York) brings new mandates for businesses to adhere to all new trucks to be zero emissions by 2045. The move to EV within commercial trucking is driven by forces in both the public and private sectors. On the public side, the State of California has a target of 100 percent of passenger and light-duty truck sales to be zero emissions by 2035, medium and heavy-duty trucks by 2045 and drayage trucks by 2035. California is the first in the world to require heavy-duty manufacturers to transition to zero-emissions by 2045. The State of New York has set similar goals.
Performance Team ordered 126 Volvo VNR Electric trucks earlier this year as part of an ambitious order of 450 electric trucks to learn more about EV operations and battery technology that support Maersk’s global decarbonization goals. Maersk’s Environment Social Governance (ESG) strategy is to decarbonize logistics. The strategy is a key driver for zero carbon operations in trucking and an important part of Maersk’s goal of enterprise-wide, carbon neutral operations by 2040 with significant steps to be taken by 2030.
As part of the strategy to decarbonize its customers’ supply chains, A.P. Moller - Maersk (Maersk) has entered a green* methanol partnership with U.S.-based project developer Carbon Sink LLC. This is Maersk’s 8th such agreement in the efforts to accelerate global production of green methanol.
The parties have signed a Letter of Intent covering the development by Carbon Sink of green methanol production facilities in the United States. The first facility will be co-located with the Red River Energy existing bioethanol plant in Rosholt, South Dakota, USA, and will have a production capacity of approximately 100,000 tons per year.
The commercial start is anticipated in 2027 and Maersk intends to purchase the full volume produced at the plant, with options for the output of subsequent Carbon Sink facilities at other locations.
Securing green fuels at scale in this decade is critical in our fleet decarbonization efforts. We have set a 2040 net zero target for our entire business – but importantly to stay in line with the Paris Agreement, we have also set 2030 targets to ensure meaningful progress in this decade. Partnerships are essential on this journey – and I am very pleased to welcome Carbon Sink on board.
Berit Hinnemann, Head of Green Fuels Sourcing, A.P. Moller – Maersk
Carbon Sink uses a commercially available technology to produce green methanol by combining green hydrogen from electrolysis of water using additional renewable electricity and biogenic CO2. The CO2 for the first project will be waste CO2 captured from the Red River Energy bioethanol plant, recycling those emissions into green methanol.
We are very pleased to be working with Maersk in support of their mission to decarbonize the shipping sector. Carbon Sink brings a vast wealth of knowledge, experience and partnerships to help them achieve their ambitious corporate goals. Our multi-project development strategy creates a pathway for the supply of significant volumes of green methanol to help meet the demand of Maersk’s growing dual-fuel ship fleet.
Steve
Meyer, CEO, Carbon SinkCarbon Sink joins seven other strategic partners working to secure the green fuel needed for the 19 container vessels Maersk currently has on order which are capable of operating on green methanol. In March, Maersk announced six partnerships with CIMC ENRIC, European Energy, Green Technology Bank, Orsted, Proman, and WasteFuel with the intent of sourcing at least 730,000 tons per year by the end of 2025. A seventh partnership with Debo was added in August.
* Green means fuels or energy that have low or very low greenhouse gas emissions on a total life cycle basis.
16 NOVEMBER 2022 | Source: MAERSK
Our television screens and newspaper front pages are full of pictures and words from the intense and bloody conflict in Ukraine. We can all see that this conflict is threatening the lives and livelihoods of millions of civilians across the country. Thousands are fleeing. People have been injured. Many lives have been lost.
Readers of FORWARDER magazine may feel helpless in responding to this crisis. That is why staff at FORWARDER magazine have created a positive channel for financial support from our readership to get money right to those who need it most in this crisis. We are completely behind the by Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal because the civilian population in Ukraine needs our help like never before.
DEC charities and their local partners are in Ukraine and across the border in the neighbouring countries are working to meet the immediate needs of all people fleeing with food, water, medical assistance, protection and trauma care. Every pound donated by the UK public, including big-hearted FORWARDER will be matched by the UK Government up to £20 million. Readers of FORWARDER magazine who donate to DEC through our donation page, can be reassured that a sum of £30 could provide essential hygiene supplies for three people for one month, £50 could provide blankets for four families to keep them warm while £100 could provide emergency food for two families for one month.
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We hosted our inaugural industry event in October, and it was very well received. The next one is (or was, depending on when you're reading this) on 26 January 2023, again in the Heathrow, UK area. We've chosen this location so as to be reasonably accessible for our international friends, so let us know if you would like to attend. Check it out using the QR code or at FORWARDER .events
