Topic: Special Reports

Maersk caused a stir last summer by raising its full-year profit forecast for 2014 due to higher freight volumes and lower costs. Industry analysts wonder, however, if many of the other Top 30 carriers will exercise the same discipline to achieve similar goals.

The supply chain software market is evolving toward platforms that optimize end-to-end processes and juggle constraints at all levels. Here’s how several leading suppliers are making progress on this vision.

With most economists forecasting robust growth in U.S. manufacturing, global freight intermediaries must be prepared for a spike in new business - and concurrent expectations for higher levels of performance.

Carriers are enjoying a solid 2014, but warn of a pending capacity crunch as driver availability worsens amid tighter federal regulations. Bottom line: Shippers who choose not to collaborate with their carriers and streamline operations will most certainly be hit with higher rates.

The much anticipated Panama Canal expansion has promised a great many enhancements for U.S. shippers waiting to book cargo on the new generation of “mega” container vessels. But a few lingering questions are also troubling some industry analysts who question U.S. port readiness to accommodate these huge loads.

Finding the right third-party logistics provider (3PL) always involves considerable due diligence, contend industry experts. But it may also mean leaving an existing partner for a set of collaborators that can deliver on the promise of a seamless global network.

Our team of market leading consultants offers global shippers a strategic approach for optimizing air freight expenditures in a way that simultaneously improves service and capacity.

With the Panama Canal expansion planned to meet its deadline in late 2015, shippers are busy determining which top gateways will best serve their future needs. Meanwhile, even more strategic complexity has been introduced with further consolidation of ocean carrier services. Are niche ports ratcheting up their game to catch residual volume?

Common denominators of our 2014 Top 50 include strong leadership, a growing list of diversified service offerings, and the desire to partner with their shipper customers—all essential characteristics for continued success in the new era of tightened capacity.

Pent-up demand, depleted inventories, and a greater overall sense of economic security are converging in 2014. If so, ocean cargo carriers will be determined not to miss that opportunity to make rate hikes stick.

With more than 750 exhibitors, three keynotes, and an extensive educational program, Modex 2014 is adding 50,000 square feet of show floor space. Here’s a guide to every inch.

Co-located with Modex 2014, Supply Chain & Transportation USA, the nation’s newest transportation and logistics show, promises something for everyone who is in charge of moving freight.

With interest in supply chain education at an all-time high, now is the time to use it to expand your own team’s skills, knowledge, and capabilities.

Optimizing a fleet is not an exact science. Although technology can help, it’s often the culture on the floor that makes or breaks a fleet management program.

Whether they are opening new DCs, improving inventory control, or turning to 3PLs to improve processes, survey respondents tell us that there’s no one prominent way to keep costs in check while simultaneously improving service levels.

LTL executives are looking to drive relentless cost increases out of their operations—and they’re telling shippers to prepare for rate increases in the 3 percent to 5 percent range. Here’s why rates are rising and what shippers should expect in 2014.

The combination of financial necessity and commercial reality is further forcing top ocean carriers to shed their integrated logistics offerings and return to their core competencies. Meanwhile, a new alliance promises to further disrupt the global marketplace.

It’s early in the game, but warehouses and distribution centers are looking at new ways to use Big Data to maintain equipment, deliver services, and manage processes.

While the first half of 2013 showed some signs of cautious optimism, the Euro crisis is still hampering the European logistics and transportation landscape. However, measures are currently underway to stabilize the region—including plans for a closer partnership with the U.S.

Logistics managers and non-vessel operators expect that, as ocean carriers’ cash flow gets tighter, the charter market will increasingly be used for newer, fuel-efficient vessels. The payoff for shippers will be sustainable service.