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<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Despite a COVID-19-driven construction slowdown and a complex permitting regime, the second wave of breakbulk cargo will soon begin delivery to the $40 billion LNG Canada project. 
 </div>

Despite a COVID-19-driven construction slowdown and a complex permitting regime, the second wave of breakbulk cargo will soon begin delivery to the $40 billion LNG Canada project.

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<div>Shipments of massive high-and-heavy construction equipment bound for one of the largest industrial projects in the world, the $40 billion LNG Canada gas processing and export facility, are on track despite construction slowdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.During the first half of 2020, British Columbia-based Spruce Hollow Heavy Haul moved 194 heavy-duty excavators, each weighing from 40 metric tons to 54 mt, almost 1,000 miles from the Port of Tacoma, Washington, to the Kitimat, BC, region to build LNG Canada and the 420-mile long pipeline that will supply it. Phase two, the transport of another 80 or so pieces of...

Shipments of massive high-and-heavy construction equipment bound for one of the largest industrial projects in the world, the $40 billion LNG Canada gas processing and export facility, are on track despite construction slowdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. During the first half of 2020, British Columbia-based Spruce Hollow Heavy Haul moved 194 heavy-duty excavators, each weighing from 40 metric tons to 54 mt, almost 1,000 miles from the Port of Tacoma, Washington, to the Kitimat, BC, region to build LNG Canada and the 420-mile long pipeline that will supply it. Phase two, the transport of another 80 or so pieces of high-and-heavy construction equipment into Canada, begins in late August. LNG Canada, the largest energy project in Canadian history, will require as much as one million freight tons of project and breakbulk cargo . While many planned industrial projects are in jeopardy due to the oil price crash , those already under construction such as LNG Canada are seeing delays rather than cancellations. At the Kitimat site, a “measured resumption” of construction activities is under way after cutting back about 750 workers, or half of its workforce, in March, according to the LNG Canada website and CBC news. The LNG export facility’s developers are Shell, Malaysian state-owned Petronas, PetroChina, Mitsubishi, and Korea Gas Corporation. Engineering, procurement, fabrication, and construction of the project is being done by joint venture partners Fluor and JGC, based in Houston and Yokohama, Japan, respectively. Forty of the high-and-heavy excavators were transported by Spruce Hollow Heavy Haul on behalf of Anderson Trucking Services (ATS) of St. Cloud, Minnesota. “Because [Spruce] is a local BC carrier, they knew the permitting restrictions, and they had the equipment readily available,” Jake Black, ATS' heavy haul customer service representative, told JOC.com ATS oversaw logistics planning for their client, a European construction equipment manufacturer. Spruce produced the route maps and handled all permitting for the moves, according to Ron Madill, principal and general manager of Spruce Hollow. In addition to the 40 excavators moved for ATS, Spruce Hollow moved the remaining 154 excavators for Japanese heavy equipment manufacturer Komatsu and several other Asian construction equipment manufacturers. Madill told JOC.com that the heavy equipment, loaded in Japan, China, South Korea and Belgium, was transported by roll-on, roll-off (ro-ro) carrier Wallenius Wilhelmsen and discharged and briefly stored at the Port of Tacoma. The port has a 10-year agreement with WWL to handle all their oversized cargo in the Northwest, said Bob Meyer, director of operations for the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA), which includes the ports of Tacoma and Seattle. “We’re the first port of call eastbound from Asia and the last port of call westbound from Europe,” he said. Meyer said the excavators arrived every three weeks at the port's East Blair One Terminal as “fully assembled, fully functioning, self-propelled machines that roll down the ro-ro’s monster ramp without need for lifting or towing.” On the road Spruce Hollow picked up the excavators after offloading at Tacoma and delivered them to Spruce's Abbotsford yard, just over the Canadian border, where they were staged for delivery to their final destination. “From loading [at Port of Tacoma] to final delivery usually took seven days,” Black said. “The only real challenge we had came after the first three units were delivered, when nasty weather came through that washed out an access road and caused a 10-day delay,” he said. “Fortunately, we were staging at Spruce’s yard, so we were not stranded.” During the cold months, moving the heavy excavators over snowy and, later, thawing roads, presents major challenges. According to Madill, each load required different trailering configurations to meet varying “frost band” requirements. These high-and-heavy project cargo moves are “100 percent weather dependent,” said Marty Brix, corporate account manager for Anderson Trucking’s Specialist Division. First, the “ permit turn time on each load is two to four weeks for approval , so there was a lot of pre-planning and pre-permitting by Spruce Hollow for both the BC and US permits. Then all the northern states put spring weight restrictions — the frost bands — on oversized loads from April to May.” Ambient temperatures rise during the spring thaw and create soft road conditions, Brix said. That’s when the state will reduce the “allowable weight per axle to 20 to 30 percent of the normal summer weight of 20,000 pounds per axle. The solution is to add more axles by using a bigger trailer,” he said. “We normally use seven- to nine-axle removable goose neck [RGN] trailers because we are only allowed 34,000 pounds [about 15 mt] per axle for over-dimensional loads any time of the year,” Madill explained. “But when it snows and then melts, we have to reduce the loads to 80 percent of the normal gross axle weight, which means we have to go up to 10- to 12-axle trailers to redistribute the weight of the biggest excavators.” Contact special correspondent Chris Barnett at chris@cbarnmedia.com .

High-and-heavy hits the road to LNG Canada project

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The shipbuilding interest would follow the carrier’s recent trio of container vessel reflaggings in India as it looks to develop a stronger profile in the subcontinent market. </div>

The shipbuilding interest would follow the carrier’s recent trio of container vessel reflaggings in India as it looks to develop a stronger profile in the subcontinent market.

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<div class="phx-topic">CMA CGM is set to become the first major ocean carrier to build container ships in India, ordering three short-haul box ships with Cochin Shipyard Ltd. (CSL), India’s largest facility, industry sources tell the Journal of Commerce. While the final details are still being worked out, the planned newbuildings will most likely be liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered vessels. An official announcement is expected in the coming weeks. But a CSL executive who did not want to be identified confirmed ongoing talks with CMA CGM, who did not respond to a request for comment. The shipbuilding interest builds on the carrier’s recent trio of container vessel reflaggings in India, with the CMA CGM Vitoria, CMA CGM Manaus and CMA CGM Diamond now part of a regional India-Red Sea “BIGEX” loop it runs jointly with two Middle East-based feeder operators. <h3>Government investing in shipbuilding </h3>The Indian government has been seeking industry support to rev up the country’s shipbuilding ecosystems through liberalization policies and incentive schemes, a push turbo-charged this week with the announcement of a whopping $8 billion maritime investment package. “The package introduces a four-pillar approach designed to strengthen domestic capacity, improve long-term financing, promote greenfield and brownfield shipyard development, enhance technical capabilities and skilling, and implement legal, taxation and policy reforms to create a robust maritime infrastructure,” an official statement from the government said. CSL has already agreed to collaborate with South Korea’s HD Korea Shipbuilding &amp; Offshore Engineering on shipbuilding projects, with those efforts having yielded some positive results. Maersk in early 2025 struck a deal with CSL for ship repair/drydocking services in a near-term diversification strategy, with the potential to pursue shipbuilding opportunities in the longer term. ”Our partnership with CSL is progressing well,” a Maersk spokesperson said. “We endeavor to have our first ship repair soon.” Still, shipbuilding is not a “low-hanging fruit” opportunity for India to reap quickly because of its vast infrastructure and cost gaps with traditional marketplaces in East Asia, industry observers say. “Except for two yards, none of the [Indian] yards have a capacity of more than 10,000 deadweight tons, so the ships that we build will be limited to that size only,” said a local ship owner who did not want to be identified. “We have made some inquiries and found that our yards are completely priced out.” Contact Bency Mathew at <a href="mailto:bencyvmathew@gmail.com">bencyvmathew@gmail.com</a>. </div>

CMA CGM is set to become the first major ocean carrier to build container ships in India, ordering three short-haul box ships with Cochin Shipyard Ltd. (CSL), India’s largest facility, industry sources tell the Journal of Commerce. While the final details are still being worked out, the planned newbuildings will most likely be liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered vessels. An official announcement is expected in the coming weeks. But a CSL executive who did not want to be identified confirmed ongoing talks with CMA CGM, who did not respond to a request for comment. The shipbuilding interest builds on the carrier’s recent trio of container vessel reflaggings in India, with the CMA CGM Vitoria, CMA CGM Manaus and CMA CGM Diamond now part of a regional India-Red Sea “BIGEX” loop it runs jointly with two Middle East-based feeder operators. Government investing in shipbuilding The Indian government has been seeking industry support to rev up the country’s shipbuilding ecosystems through liberalization policies and incentive schemes, a push turbo-charged this week with the announcement of a whopping $8 billion maritime investment package. “The package introduces a four-pillar approach designed to strengthen domestic capacity, improve long-term financing, promote greenfield and brownfield shipyard development, enhance technical capabilities and skilling, and implement legal, taxation and policy reforms to create a robust maritime infrastructure,” an official statement from the government said. CSL has already agreed to collaborate with South Korea’s HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering on shipbuilding projects, with those efforts having yielded some positive results. Maersk in early 2025 struck a deal with CSL for ship repair/drydocking services in a near-term diversification strategy, with the potential to pursue shipbuilding opportunities in the longer term. ”Our partnership with CSL is progressing well,” a Maersk spokesperson said. “We endeavor to have our first ship repair soon.” Still, shipbuilding is not a “low-hanging fruit” opportunity for India to reap quickly because of its vast infrastructure and cost gaps with traditional marketplaces in East Asia, industry observers say. “Except for two yards, none of the [Indian] yards have a capacity of more than 10,000 deadweight tons, so the ships that we build will be limited to that size only,” said a local ship owner who did not want to be identified. “We have made some inquiries and found that our yards are completely priced out.” Contact Bency Mathew at bencyvmathew@gmail.com .

CMA CGM eyes shipbuilding plans for India in trade diversification strategy: sources

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">But the expansion of data processing power and storage to facilitate AI algorithms and cloud data will not be an explosive game changer in the manner of e-commerce, according to analysts. </div>

But the expansion of data processing power and storage to facilitate AI algorithms and cloud data will not be an explosive game changer in the manner of e-commerce, according to analysts.

<div class="phx-topic">Fast-growing demand for cloud infrastructure and the development of huge artificial intelligence (AI) data centers around the world is helping air cargo to offset the loss of e-commerce volume on the trans-Pacific. China-US cross-border e-commerce from January through August is down 16%, according to data from Sydney-based research consultancy Trade and Transport Group. The US in May eliminated its “de minimis” exemption for imports valued at under $800 from China and <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/elimination-of-us-de-minimis-rule-hits-smes-hardest-6078319">extended the removal of duty-free access to low-value products</a> to all its trading partners in August. While the drop in China-US e-commerce is being compensated for by a sharp increase in low-value traffic to other parts of Asia and Europe, the rising demand for components to support the AI industry is also feeding into air cargo demand. Tim van Leeuwen, vice president and head of consulting at air cargo analyst Rotate, said the growth in demand for data processing power and storage to facilitate AI algorithms and cloud data storage was boosting air cargo volumes. ”Data processing racks and servers are flown due to their high value and the often-urgent demand for the products,” van Leeuwen told the Journal of Commerce. The sheer scale of investment being poured into AI-related infrastructure, particularly in the US and China, by tech giants is a welcome growth pipeline for air freight after the US elimination of the de minimis exemption turned off the lucrative e-commerce spigot on the trans-Pacific. Dozens of freighters serving the China-US corridor every day had to be relocated to other trade lanes as the Chinese online platforms saw demand tumble. But Frederic Horst, managing director of Trade and Transport Group, cautioned that growth in air cargo volume from the rapid expansion of AI and its high-tech components will not be explosive in the manner of e-commerce. Horst pointed out that the bulk of shipments required to construct data centers will be moved by ocean. “For sure it will drive traffic, but the key issue is that the supply of hardware will be an orderly process, so speed doesn’t matter,” he told the Journal of Commerce. “The reason sea is important is because given the time it takes to build a data center, there is not really a huge requirement for air – if you are looking at 12 months or so for construction and fit out, there is no hurry to get things in.” <h3>Forwarders targeting tech-focused business </h3>Still, technology majors are pouring billions into information and communication technology (ICT), developing vast networks of data centers that provide on-demand computing, storage and advanced services like AI and machine learning on an international scale. It is an area being targeted by global forwarders such as Kuehne + Nagel, whose CEO Stefan Paul said recently that K+N was actively growing the tech-focused part of its business. “This vertical...is growing significantly and we expect it will bring high single-digit growth to the air freight business going into the fourth quarter,” Paul said during an August earnings call. Supply chain and e-commerce service provider Arvato has opened a new 10,000 square meter high-tech logistics center in Frankfurt that specializes in handling hyperscalers and high-tech businesses. Hyperscalers refers to cloud computing providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud that operate the global data processing and storage centers providing advanced AI services. Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang said in a recent statement outlining a collaboration with Intel Corporation that global spending on AI infrastructure will surge from $600 billion this year to as much as $4 trillion by the end of the decade. “AI is powering a new industrial revolution and reinventing every layer of the computing stack – from silicon to systems to software,” Huang said. For their part, Nvidia and Intel will jointly develop multiple generations of custom data centers and PC products aimed at accelerating applications and workloads across the hyperscaler, enterprise and consumer markets. Oracle chairman and CTO Larry Ellison said the company’s MultiCloud database revenue from hyperscalers Amazon, Google and Microsoft grew by 1,529% year over year. ”We expect MultiCloud revenue to grow substantially every quarter for several years as we deliver another 37 data centers to our three hyperscaler partners, for a total of 71,” Ellison said during an earnings call earlier this month. Oracle invested $27.4 billion in capital expenditure in the past 12 months and $8.5 billion has been earmarked for the first quarter of fiscal 2026, with a significant portion directed towards cloud infrastructure and AI-related projects. <h3>Chip demand on the rise </h3>At the heart of AI processes are air cargo-friendly semiconductors; the world’s leading manufacturer of these chips is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. Huge demand for the AI chips saw its revenue for January through August increasing 37% compared to the same period last year to $80 billion, the company said. A regional competitor in this sector is Malaysia, which controls 7% of the global semiconductor market with six out of the 12 largest semiconductor companies globally operating in the country. The National Semiconductor Strategy (NSS) launched by Malaysia in 2024 aims to capitalize on investment in the sector that grew 18.7% year over year in the first half of the year to $45.2 billion. Malaysia’s market share is expected to increase because of the US-China trade war and ongoing fears of a Taiwan takeover by Beijing, with semiconductor players worldwide turning to Southeast Asia for stable microchip supply chains. Competition in the chip-making business is also expected to come from Vietnam. Although the country only has a small share of the global business and is mostly involved in packaging and testing semiconductors, significant investment from industry majors like Intel and Amkor Technology, supported by government initiatives, aims to expand production. Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications has forecast that the ICT industry will achieve US$169.3 billion in total revenue in 2025, up 11.4% year over year. Hardware and electronics exports are expected to grow by 12.3% this year, reaching $148.5 billion. Contact Greg Knowler at <a href="mailto:greg.knowler@spglobal.com">greg.knowler@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

Fast-growing demand for cloud infrastructure and the development of huge artificial intelligence (AI) data centers around the world is helping air cargo to offset the loss of e-commerce volume on the trans-Pacific. China-US cross-border e-commerce from January through August is down 16%, according to data from Sydney-based research consultancy Trade and Transport Group. The US in May eliminated its “de minimis” exemption for imports valued at under $800 from China and extended the removal of duty-free access to low-value products to all its trading partners in August. While the drop in China-US e-commerce is being compensated for by a sharp increase in low-value traffic to other parts of Asia and Europe, the rising demand for components to support the AI industry is also feeding into air cargo demand. Tim van Leeuwen, vice president and head of consulting at air cargo analyst Rotate, said the growth in demand for data processing power and storage to facilitate AI algorithms and cloud data storage was boosting air cargo volumes. ”Data processing racks and servers are flown due to their high value and the often-urgent demand for the products,” van Leeuwen told the Journal of Commerce. The sheer scale of investment being poured into AI-related infrastructure, particularly in the US and China, by tech giants is a welcome growth pipeline for air freight after the US elimination of the de minimis exemption turned off the lucrative e-commerce spigot on the trans-Pacific. Dozens of freighters serving the China-US corridor every day had to be relocated to other trade lanes as the Chinese online platforms saw demand tumble. But Frederic Horst, managing director of Trade and Transport Group, cautioned that growth in air cargo volume from the rapid expansion of AI and its high-tech components will not be explosive in the manner of e-commerce. Horst pointed out that the bulk of shipments required to construct data centers will be moved by ocean. “For sure it will drive traffic, but the key issue is that the supply of hardware will be an orderly process, so speed doesn’t matter,” he told the Journal of Commerce. “The reason sea is important is because given the time it takes to build a data center, there is not really a huge requirement for air – if you are looking at 12 months or so for construction and fit out, there is no hurry to get things in.” Forwarders targeting tech-focused business Still, technology majors are pouring billions into information and communication technology (ICT), developing vast networks of data centers that provide on-demand computing, storage and advanced services like AI and machine learning on an international scale. It is an area being targeted by global forwarders such as Kuehne + Nagel, whose CEO Stefan Paul said recently that K+N was actively growing the tech-focused part of its business. “This vertical...is growing significantly and we expect it will bring high single-digit growth to the air freight business going into the fourth quarter,” Paul said during an August earnings call. Supply chain and e-commerce service provider Arvato has opened a new 10,000 square meter high-tech logistics center in Frankfurt that specializes in handling hyperscalers and high-tech businesses. Hyperscalers refers to cloud computing providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud that operate the global data processing and storage centers providing advanced AI services. Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang said in a recent statement outlining a collaboration with Intel Corporation that global spending on AI infrastructure will surge from $600 billion this year to as much as $4 trillion by the end of the decade. “AI is powering a new industrial revolution and reinventing every layer of the computing stack – from silicon to systems to software,” Huang said. For their part, Nvidia and Intel will jointly develop multiple generations of custom data centers and PC products aimed at accelerating applications and workloads across the hyperscaler, enterprise and consumer markets. Oracle chairman and CTO Larry Ellison said the company’s MultiCloud database revenue from hyperscalers Amazon, Google and Microsoft grew by 1,529% year over year. ”We expect MultiCloud revenue to grow substantially every quarter for several years as we deliver another 37 data centers to our three hyperscaler partners, for a total of 71,” Ellison said during an earnings call earlier this month. Oracle invested $27.4 billion in capital expenditure in the past 12 months and $8.5 billion has been earmarked for the first quarter of fiscal 2026, with a significant portion directed towards cloud infrastructure and AI-related projects. Chip demand on the rise At the heart of AI processes are air cargo-friendly semiconductors; the world’s leading manufacturer of these chips is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. Huge demand for the AI chips saw its revenue for January through August increasing 37% compared to the same period last year to $80 billion, the company said. A regional competitor in this sector is Malaysia, which controls 7% of the global semiconductor market with six out of the 12 largest semiconductor companies globally operating in the country. The National Semiconductor Strategy (NSS) launched by Malaysia in 2024 aims to capitalize on investment in the sector that grew 18.7% year over year in the first half of the year to $45.2 billion. Malaysia’s market share is expected to increase because of the US-China trade war and ongoing fears of a Taiwan takeover by Beijing, with semiconductor players worldwide turning to Southeast Asia for stable microchip supply chains. Competition in the chip-making business is also expected to come from Vietnam. Although the country only has a small share of the global business and is mostly involved in packaging and testing semiconductors, significant investment from industry majors like Intel and Amkor Technology, supported by government initiatives, aims to expand production. Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications has forecast that the ICT industry will achieve US$169.3 billion in total revenue in 2025, up 11.4% year over year. Hardware and electronics exports are expected to grow by 12.3% this year, reaching $148.5 billion. Contact Greg Knowler at greg.knowler@spglobal.com .

Rising demand for AI technology feeds into air cargo demand

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">Cost pressures are raising inventory management to new levels at shippers, highlighting the need for integration of multiple fulfillment channels, says ITS Logistics. </div>

Cost pressures are raising inventory management to new levels at shippers, highlighting the need for integration of multiple fulfillment channels, says ITS Logistics.

<div class="phx-topic">Higher tariff costs are pushing US retailers toward leaner inventory management at the same time that consumers are still seeking faster delivery of goods through more fulfillment channels. Target, for example, announced last week it will expand next-day delivery of online orders <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/target-expands-next-day-delivery-to-compete-with-amazon-walmart/">to 35 US markets</a> by the end of October. Amazon in June said it will <a href="https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/transportation/rural-small-town-america-us-prime-same-next-day-delivery">expand its same-day and next-day services</a> to more than 4,000 small towns and rural areas by 2026. Those dual pressures will reshape retail logistics in 2026, with even greater blending of multiple fulfillment channels forcing closer alignment of inventory and transportation management, said Kasia Wenker, vice president of solutions engineering at ITS Logistics. “We’re at a major inflection point,” Wenker told the Journal of Commerce. “Retail as we understand it is already becoming e-commerce fulfillment, and the variety of delivery methods is mind-blowing. Far more logistics support is needed to fulfill the needs.” ITS Logistics is launching a network of retail logistics hubs from existing facilities in Nevada, Indiana and Texas aimed at smaller retail companies. The hubs will use integrated inventory management and transportation systems for fulfillment and distribution. “The goal is to give them a network that allows them to compete with the big retailers who can deliver to customers within under an hour,” Wenker said. ITS plans to add additional retail logistics hubs in the next two to three years, and other types of hubs as well. The “inflection” Wenker sees is becoming evident as US retailers look to inventory management for help with rising costs induced by high US tariffs. In recent earnings calls, retailers highlighted a more “disciplined” approach to inventory management. “We did not repurchase any of our shares during the quarter, instead choosing to allocate capital to manage inventory,” Earl Carlton Ford, CFO of Academy Sports, said during an earnings call this month. “This decision led to a strong inventory position.” Many companies chose to build up stocks ahead of tariffs. US retail inventories were up 1.7% year over year in July, at $809.8 billion, and up 0.7% from April and the introduction of reciprocal tariffs, according to data from the US Census Bureau. Despite that build up, the average US retailer inventory-to-sales ratio (ISR) dropped to 1.29 in July from 1.32 a year earlier. The average merchant wholesaler ISR fell from 1.35 to 1.28 in the same period, indicating goods are flowing through warehouses faster. <h3>Drilling into costs, sales </h3>Home improvement retailer Lowe’s cut inventory by $499 million — about 3% — year over year to $16.3 billion in the second quarter. “We continue to manage our inventory replenishment in line with demand trends,” said CFO Brandon J. Sink. Speaking during an earnings call in August, Sink attributed that success in part to “tools and processes” that use data to align sourcing, inventory and sales. New planning tools are helping the retailer optimize inventory allocation across its network. Urban Outfitters is one retailer intentionally building higher inventory levels. “We ended the second quarter with slightly elevated inventory levels as we intentionally brought in product early to reduce the impact of announced tariff increases,” Melanie Marein-Efron, CFO of the apparel retailer, said during an earnings call in August. Besides pulling imports forward, the apparel retailer also said it localized inventory management and aligned it more closely with sales data, reducing markdowns. A tight focus on per unit costs and sales is key to keeping inventory in balance as tariff-induced costs rise. “Our inventory per store is elevated, with units per store up 4.6%,” Academy Sports’ Ford said in early September. “We have purposely pulled forward domestic inventory receipts at pre-tariff prices,” Ford said. But Academy Sports is also adding new stores and spreading goods drawn from domestic US and international sources throughout its retail network. All this requires increasing use of technology to contain costs while meeting customer demands for faster service across multiple fulfillment channels, Wenker said. “The biggest problem we see is fragmentation; you can’t have separate infrastructure for fulfillment from your stores and through e-commerce,” she said. There’s also a divide to be bridged at many companies between inventory and transportation management. “There are transportation people and there are inventory people and they don’t always have the same KPIs,” Wenker explained. That may be truer for smaller, regional retailers than larger, national companies with enterprise-wide supply chain systems, she added. Contact William B. Cassidy at <a href="mailto:bill.cassidy@spglobal.com">bill.cassidy@spglobal.com</a>. Journal of Commerce Research Editor Cathy Morrow Roberson contributed to this report. </div>

Higher tariff costs are pushing US retailers toward leaner inventory management at the same time that consumers are still seeking faster delivery of goods through more fulfillment channels. Target, for example, announced last week it will expand next-day delivery of online orders to 35 US markets by the end of October. Amazon in June said it will expand its same-day and next-day services to more than 4,000 small towns and rural areas by 2026. Those dual pressures will reshape retail logistics in 2026, with even greater blending of multiple fulfillment channels forcing closer alignment of inventory and transportation management, said Kasia Wenker, vice president of solutions engineering at ITS Logistics. “We’re at a major inflection point,” Wenker told the Journal of Commerce. “Retail as we understand it is already becoming e-commerce fulfillment, and the variety of delivery methods is mind-blowing. Far more logistics support is needed to fulfill the needs.” ITS Logistics is launching a network of retail logistics hubs from existing facilities in Nevada, Indiana and Texas aimed at smaller retail companies. The hubs will use integrated inventory management and transportation systems for fulfillment and distribution. “The goal is to give them a network that allows them to compete with the big retailers who can deliver to customers within under an hour,” Wenker said. ITS plans to add additional retail logistics hubs in the next two to three years, and other types of hubs as well. The “inflection” Wenker sees is becoming evident as US retailers look to inventory management for help with rising costs induced by high US tariffs. In recent earnings calls, retailers highlighted a more “disciplined” approach to inventory management. “We did not repurchase any of our shares during the quarter, instead choosing to allocate capital to manage inventory,” Earl Carlton Ford, CFO of Academy Sports, said during an earnings call this month. “This decision led to a strong inventory position.” Many companies chose to build up stocks ahead of tariffs. US retail inventories were up 1.7% year over year in July, at $809.8 billion, and up 0.7% from April and the introduction of reciprocal tariffs, according to data from the US Census Bureau. Despite that build up, the average US retailer inventory-to-sales ratio (ISR) dropped to 1.29 in July from 1.32 a year earlier. The average merchant wholesaler ISR fell from 1.35 to 1.28 in the same period, indicating goods are flowing through warehouses faster. Drilling into costs, sales Home improvement retailer Lowe’s cut inventory by $499 million — about 3% — year over year to $16.3 billion in the second quarter. “We continue to manage our inventory replenishment in line with demand trends,” said CFO Brandon J. Sink. Speaking during an earnings call in August, Sink attributed that success in part to “tools and processes” that use data to align sourcing, inventory and sales. New planning tools are helping the retailer optimize inventory allocation across its network. Urban Outfitters is one retailer intentionally building higher inventory levels. “We ended the second quarter with slightly elevated inventory levels as we intentionally brought in product early to reduce the impact of announced tariff increases,” Melanie Marein-Efron, CFO of the apparel retailer, said during an earnings call in August. Besides pulling imports forward, the apparel retailer also said it localized inventory management and aligned it more closely with sales data, reducing markdowns. A tight focus on per unit costs and sales is key to keeping inventory in balance as tariff-induced costs rise. “Our inventory per store is elevated, with units per store up 4.6%,” Academy Sports’ Ford said in early September. “We have purposely pulled forward domestic inventory receipts at pre-tariff prices,” Ford said. But Academy Sports is also adding new stores and spreading goods drawn from domestic US and international sources throughout its retail network. All this requires increasing use of technology to contain costs while meeting customer demands for faster service across multiple fulfillment channels, Wenker said. “The biggest problem we see is fragmentation; you can’t have separate infrastructure for fulfillment from your stores and through e-commerce,” she said. There’s also a divide to be bridged at many companies between inventory and transportation management. “There are transportation people and there are inventory people and they don’t always have the same KPIs,” Wenker explained. That may be truer for smaller, regional retailers than larger, national companies with enterprise-wide supply chain systems, she added. Contact William B. Cassidy at bill.cassidy@spglobal.com . Journal of Commerce Research Editor Cathy Morrow Roberson contributed to this report.

Tariff costs, need for speed seen reshaping retail inventory strategies

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">California must immediately stop issuing CDLs to drivers not “domiciled” in the state and revoke the licenses of unqualified drivers or face the loss of federal highway funds. </div>

California must immediately stop issuing CDLs to drivers not “domiciled” in the state and revoke the licenses of unqualified drivers or face the loss of federal highway funds.

<div class="phx-topic">The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) on Friday said it is cracking down on state licensing of “non-domiciled” commercial truck drivers, threatening states with the loss of millions of dollars in federal funds unless they comply with USDOT requirements. “Moving forward, non-citizens will not be eligible for a non-domiciled CDL (commercial driver’s license) unless they meet a much stricter set of rules, including an employment-based visa and undergoing a mandatory federal immigration status check,” USDOT said. The department spelled out its requirements for new non-domiciled CDL applicants — drivers who don’t permanently reside in the state issuing the license — in an interim final rule that will be published in the Sept. 29 edition of the Federal Register. But the USDOT also took specific additional action against California, ordering the state to immediately stop issuing non-domiciled CDLs and to identify all unexpired non-domiciled CDLs that fail to comply with USDOT rules and revoke them within 30 days. “California must get its act together immediately, or I will not hesitate to pull millions in funding,” US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said in a statement. “To every other state around the country — find all improperly issued CDLs and revoke their licenses now.” <h3>Heightened enforcement effort </h3>The order is the latest push by USDOT to get states to adopt and enforce tougher driver licensing standards. Duffy in August gave California, Washington and New Mexico 30 days to <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/us-dot-presses-states-to-enforce-english-language-trucking-rules-6069884">adopt and enforce English-language proficiency (ELP) requirements</a> or risk losing funds. The USDOT’s latest move followed a nationwide audit of non-domiciled CDL licensing by states that found “systematic non-compliance" with federal rules across several states, including California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas and Washington. “In California alone, more than 25% of non-domiciled CDLs reviewed were improperly issued,” the USDOT said in a statement. An unspecified number of these non-domiciled licenses went to foreign drivers in the US illegally, according to USDOT. USDOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) launched its nationwide audit of non-domiciled CDLs in June. USDOT did not release data on how many drivers with non-domiciled CDLs it believes are unqualified or in the country illegally. Non-domiciled CDLs are not issued to Mexican or Canadian truck drivers. Commercial driver’s licenses from Mexico and Canada are recognized in the US. The US State Department has suspended certain visas issued to foreign truck drivers, including the H-2B, E-2 and EB-3 visas. Only a small number of truck drivers are believed to hold such visas, with about 1,500 truck drivers receiving H-2B visas each year. Trucking groups including the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and American Trucking Associations have been pushing USDOT to crack down on the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs, claiming thousands of unqualified drivers are obtaining them. Contact William B. Cassidy at <a href="mailto://bill.cassidy@spglobal.com">bill.cassidy@spglobal.com</a>. </div>

The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) on Friday said it is cracking down on state licensing of “non-domiciled” commercial truck drivers, threatening states with the loss of millions of dollars in federal funds unless they comply with USDOT requirements. “Moving forward, non-citizens will not be eligible for a non-domiciled CDL (commercial driver’s license) unless they meet a much stricter set of rules, including an employment-based visa and undergoing a mandatory federal immigration status check,” USDOT said. The department spelled out its requirements for new non-domiciled CDL applicants — drivers who don’t permanently reside in the state issuing the license — in an interim final rule that will be published in the Sept. 29 edition of the Federal Register. But the USDOT also took specific additional action against California, ordering the state to immediately stop issuing non-domiciled CDLs and to identify all unexpired non-domiciled CDLs that fail to comply with USDOT rules and revoke them within 30 days. “California must get its act together immediately, or I will not hesitate to pull millions in funding,” US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said in a statement. “To every other state around the country — find all improperly issued CDLs and revoke their licenses now.” Heightened enforcement effort The order is the latest push by USDOT to get states to adopt and enforce tougher driver licensing standards. Duffy in August gave California, Washington and New Mexico 30 days to adopt and enforce English-language proficiency (ELP) requirements or risk losing funds. The USDOT’s latest move followed a nationwide audit of non-domiciled CDL licensing by states that found “systematic non-compliance" with federal rules across several states, including California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas and Washington. “In California alone, more than 25% of non-domiciled CDLs reviewed were improperly issued,” the USDOT said in a statement. An unspecified number of these non-domiciled licenses went to foreign drivers in the US illegally, according to USDOT. USDOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) launched its nationwide audit of non-domiciled CDLs in June. USDOT did not release data on how many drivers with non-domiciled CDLs it believes are unqualified or in the country illegally. Non-domiciled CDLs are not issued to Mexican or Canadian truck drivers. Commercial driver’s licenses from Mexico and Canada are recognized in the US. The US State Department has suspended certain visas issued to foreign truck drivers, including the H-2B, E-2 and EB-3 visas. Only a small number of truck drivers are believed to hold such visas, with about 1,500 truck drivers receiving H-2B visas each year. Trucking groups including the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and American Trucking Associations have been pushing USDOT to crack down on the issuance of non-domiciled CDLs, claiming thousands of unqualified drivers are obtaining them. Contact William B. Cassidy at bill.cassidy@spglobal.com .

USDOT cracks down on ‘non-domiciled’ CDLs, targets California

<div class="phx-topic abstract-wrapper">The Port of Los Angeles is meeting with California state officials to promote its plan to extend the Vincent Thomas Bridge repair project to allow 23,000-TEU ships to call all six of its marine terminals. </div>

The Port of Los Angeles is meeting with California state officials to promote its plan to extend the Vincent Thomas Bridge repair project to allow 23,000-TEU ships to call all six of its marine terminals.

<div class="phx-topic">The Port of Los Angeles and its industry stakeholders are trying to convince the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to expand a key bridge project to allow ships up to 23,000 TEUs to call the other half of its terminals. The port says expanding the Vincent Thomas Bridge redecking project to include raising the height of the bridge by 26 feet will increase the total cost from $1.5 billion to $2.2 billion and extend its timeline — and, in turn, disruptions to truck traffic in and out of the port — from 16 months to 28 months. The Vincent Thomas Bridge is crossed daily by 53,000 vehicles, about 3,400 of which are heavy-duty trucks, according to Caltrans. But without the additional clearance under the bridge, access to three of Los Angeles’ six container terminals will remain limited to vessels with 15,000 TEUs of capacity. Increasing the clearance to 211 feet will allow super-post-Panamax vessels with up to 23,000 TEUs of capacity to serve Yusen Terminals, TraPac and the West Basin Container Terminal, according to Gene Seroka, executive director at the Port of Los Angeles. Terminal operators and industry representatives joined Seroka in Sacramento on Friday to discuss the details of the port’s proposal with Caltrans officials. “We believe they’re willing to listen. We began talking about this months ago,” Seroka told the Journal of Commerce Thursday, adding that he expects Caltrans to announce a decision “soon.” <h3>One fell swoop? </h3>Caltrans representatives in late May told the Propeller Club of Los Angeles the agency <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/la-port-stakeholders-warming-to-plan-to-mitigate-impact-of-bridge-project-6013847">must address the 62-year-old bridge’s structural defects</a>, which have been judged to be a safety hazard. Caltrans’ initial plans included resurfacing the deck of the bridge and replacing its railings, fences and median barrier. At the Propeller Club meeting, Caltrans representatives said construction would begin in early 2026 and would involve one-directional lane closures at night, followed by complete closure of the bridge from November 2026 to March 2028. The port estimates its proposal to raise the height of the bridge will delay completion of the project into 2029. However, Seroka said it would make more sense to do the bridge repairs and raise the structure all at once rather than having to return some years later to finish the job. He pointed to the project to <a href="https://www.joc.com/article/us-gulf-trade-momentum-puts-focus-on-houston-port-channel-widening-5251013">raise the height of the Bayonne Bridge</a> that connects New Jersey with Staten Island as the model that could be used in Los Angeles. Caltrans said it is well along in designating and repaving detour routes in the harbor area to prepare for when construction shuts down the bridge. Caltrans said it is also developing a real-time communications network to update motorists and truckers on traffic conditions. Seroka said access by the largest and most efficient ships in use today will not only increase the effective capacity of Yusen, TraPac and West Basin by 20%, but will also attract the newest, greenest vessels afloat. Those container ships are often equipped with fuel tanks that carry alternatives to traditional higher-emission bunker fuel, he said. As for the increased cost, Seroka said he has lined up commitments of private equity financing, including from banks, pension funds and industry sources, which he planned to detail at Friday’s meeting with Caltrans in Sacramento. Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at <a href="mailto:bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com">bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com</a>.</div>

The Port of Los Angeles and its industry stakeholders are trying to convince the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to expand a key bridge project to allow ships up to 23,000 TEUs to call the other half of its terminals. The port says expanding the Vincent Thomas Bridge redecking project to include raising the height of the bridge by 26 feet will increase the total cost from $1.5 billion to $2.2 billion and extend its timeline — and, in turn, disruptions to truck traffic in and out of the port — from 16 months to 28 months. The Vincent Thomas Bridge is crossed daily by 53,000 vehicles, about 3,400 of which are heavy-duty trucks, according to Caltrans. But without the additional clearance under the bridge, access to three of Los Angeles’ six container terminals will remain limited to vessels with 15,000 TEUs of capacity. Increasing the clearance to 211 feet will allow super-post-Panamax vessels with up to 23,000 TEUs of capacity to serve Yusen Terminals, TraPac and the West Basin Container Terminal, according to Gene Seroka, executive director at the Port of Los Angeles. Terminal operators and industry representatives joined Seroka in Sacramento on Friday to discuss the details of the port’s proposal with Caltrans officials. “We believe they’re willing to listen. We began talking about this months ago,” Seroka told the Journal of Commerce Thursday, adding that he expects Caltrans to announce a decision “soon.” One fell swoop? Caltrans representatives in late May told the Propeller Club of Los Angeles the agency must address the 62-year-old bridge’s structural defects , which have been judged to be a safety hazard. Caltrans’ initial plans included resurfacing the deck of the bridge and replacing its railings, fences and median barrier. At the Propeller Club meeting, Caltrans representatives said construction would begin in early 2026 and would involve one-directional lane closures at night, followed by complete closure of the bridge from November 2026 to March 2028. The port estimates its proposal to raise the height of the bridge will delay completion of the project into 2029. However, Seroka said it would make more sense to do the bridge repairs and raise the structure all at once rather than having to return some years later to finish the job. He pointed to the project to raise the height of the Bayonne Bridge that connects New Jersey with Staten Island as the model that could be used in Los Angeles. Caltrans said it is well along in designating and repaving detour routes in the harbor area to prepare for when construction shuts down the bridge. Caltrans said it is also developing a real-time communications network to update motorists and truckers on traffic conditions. Seroka said access by the largest and most efficient ships in use today will not only increase the effective capacity of Yusen, TraPac and West Basin by 20%, but will also attract the newest, greenest vessels afloat. Those container ships are often equipped with fuel tanks that carry alternatives to traditional higher-emission bunker fuel, he said. As for the increased cost, Seroka said he has lined up commitments of private equity financing, including from banks, pension funds and industry sources, which he planned to detail at Friday’s meeting with Caltrans in Sacramento. Contact Bill Mongelluzzo at bill.mongelluzzo@spglobal.com .

LA port wants California to raise bridge to accommodate big ships

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In today’s competitive logistical landscape, efficiency is an absolute necessity for smooth operations. Yet, in the barge sector, many operators still rely on fragmented systems, delayed updates, and manual tracking methods that slow decision-making and increase operational risk. OpenTug’s new eBook, How Enhanced Visibility Transforms Barge Operations, reveals how unified, real-time data can become your competitive advantage leading to improved voyage management and more actionable insights. Drawing on industry best practices and real-world examples, it explores how operational transparency empowers teams to: ●	Reduce delays with accurate ETAs and proactive scheduling decisions ●	Improve asset utilization by identifying underused equipment and optimizing cargos ●	Strengthen safety and compliance through consistent, accessible documentation and reporting ●	Boost customer satisfaction with transparent status updates and faster response time You’ll learn how visibility can connect every part of your operation into a single, actionable view. The ability to see and act on real-time information transforms the way you plan, execute, and deliver. From managing a small regional fleet to running a large, national operation, this eBook will help you understand the measurable benefits of enhanced visibility and how technology like BargeOS is transforming the way barge logistics is managed. Get your copy today and see how clear insights lead to stronger performance, smarter decisions, and more profitable operations. <a href="https://9315820.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/9315820/eBook/Nav-theFuture-AJW-08.19.25.pdf" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link">Click here</a><span class="joc_admin__inline-image joc_admin__inline-image-aspect-ratio-16_9 joc_admin__inline-image-position-left joc_admin__inline-image-size-small" data-figure-size="small" data-figure-position="left" data-figure-aspect-ratio="16:9"><img src="/content-assets/1756152344211_Opentug%20logo.png" alt="" class="joc_admin__inline-image-inherit">

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Transform Barge Operations with Total Visibility

At SSA Marine Mexico, we firmly believe that business development must go hand in hand with social and environmental well-being. Our vision is not solely focused on operating efficiently, but also on creating a meaningful and positive impact in the communities where we are present. Since 1995, we have reaffirmed this commitment through tangible actions that reflect our core values of responsibility, solidarity, and sustainability. <span class="joc_admin__inline-image joc_admin__inline-image-aspect-ratio-3_2 joc_admin__inline-image-position-left joc_admin__inline-image-size-medium" data-figure-size="medium" data-figure-position="left" data-figure-aspect-ratio="3:2"><img src="/content-assets/1752584535914_Photo%201.jpg" alt="" class="joc_admin__inline-image-inherit"> A Year of Major Achievements Over the past year, we allocated more than $107,000 USD to the implementation of 60 social and environmental projects, positively impacting over 7,800 people across various regions of Mexico. Each initiative was designed with a holistic approach, addressing key areas that contribute to long-term community development. Education: Laying the Foundation for the Future Education is one of the most powerful tools to promote social mobility and equitable development. At SSA Marine Mexico, we support academic initiatives that inspire and empower the next generation of leaders. One of our most impactful partnerships was with the University of Colima, where we sponsored the “Reto Camp” program. This initiative encourages university students to develop innovative solutions in the fields of sustainability, logistics, and port operations, offering them mentorship, tools, and real-world challenges to solve. In addition, we donated microscopes, school supplies, and educational materials to institutions in underserved communities, helping to improve the learning environment and provide students with the resources they need to succeed. Health and Sports: Promoting Wellness We believe that healthy communities are strong communities. We have supported several local sporting events and provided direct assistance to talented athletes, enabling them to pursue their passions and represent their regions with pride. Beyond sports, we also strengthened our collaboration with critical emergency response organizations such as the Mexican Red Cross and Civil Protection. Our contributions helped enhance their readiness and capabilities in times of crisis, ensuring better outcomes for those affected by emergencies. Supporting Vulnerable Groups: Reaching Those Who Need It Most A core part of our social responsibility efforts is directed toward supporting vulnerable populations. We have contributed to a range of initiatives focused on children, migrants, and at-risk families. These efforts included donations to orphanages and shelters, as well as support for the National Institute of Migration and grassroots organizations dedicated to protecting and empowering people facing adversity. By standing with those in need, we reinforce our commitment to inclusion and social justice, values that are central to our identity as a responsible company. <span class="joc_admin__inline-image joc_admin__inline-image-aspect-ratio-3_2 joc_admin__inline-image-position-left joc_admin__inline-image-size-medium" data-figure-size="medium" data-figure-position="left" data-figure-aspect-ratio="3:2"><img src="/content-assets/1752584944645_Photo%202.png" alt="" class="joc_admin__inline-image-inherit">Culture: Strengthening Community Identity Cultural identity is a key element in building resilient and united communities. At SSA Marine Mexico, we actively participate in the organization and sponsorship of cultural events that celebrate local traditions and foster civic pride. Working alongside port authorities and municipal governments, we helped bring music, art, and heritage to the forefront, creating spaces for community engagement and intercultural dialogue. Environment: Investing in the Planet Our commitment to sustainability goes beyond operations—it’s a philosophy that drives every decision we make. We have partnered with environmental institutions to carry out reforestation campaigns, beach cleanups, and conservation efforts. In collaboration with the Institute for the Environment, we supported initiatives aimed at decarbonization, biodiversity protection, and environmental education. By involving our employees and local volunteers in these actions, we also foster a culture of environmental stewardship throughout our organization and our surrounding communities. Innovation for a Sustainable Future Sustainability is not just about doing good—it’s also about doing things better. In 2024, we invested $22 million USD in the acquisition of 11 state-of-the-art E-RTG cranes. These electric rubber-tired gantry cranes represent a significant technological advancement in port equipment. Seven of them are already operating on clean electric energy, resulting in a reduction of nearly 4,000 tons of CO₂ emissions and improving operational efficiency by 7%. The remaining four cranes are fully compatible with future electrification, underscoring our long-term strategy to modernize our operations in an environmentally responsible way. This investment is part of a broader innovation roadmap that includes digitalization, automation, and cleaner energy sources—all designed to ensure that our ports continue to grow without compromising the health of our planet. Building a Better Tomorrow, Together At SSA Marine Mexico, we understand that sustainability is a shared and ongoing responsibility. True impact requires collaboration across sectors, long-term vision, and unwavering commitment. That is why we continue to work hand-in-hand with local authorities, non-profit organizations, universities, and our own employees to create solutions that are both scalable and sustainable. Our journey is far from over. In the years ahead, we will continue to deepen our community engagement, explore cleaner technologies, and strengthen the social fabric of the regions where we operate. Each initiative, no matter the size, is a step toward building a future where business success goes hand-in-hand with human and environmental prosperity. We are proud of what we have achieved in 2024, but we are even more excited about what lies ahead. SSA Marine Mexico — Moving the World, Caring for People and Planet. LINK: <a href="https://www.ssamarine.mx/" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link">https://www.ssamarine.mx/</a>

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SSA Marine Mexico: True Commitment to Sustainability

The world of LTL is slow to embrace change. Business anachronisms permeate current supply chain processes. These vestiges of the way things used to work define the LTL freight transportation procurement process of many modern shippers.David Knuth, logistics specialist at IEWC, a global supplier of cable and wire based in Wisconsin, is happy to have modernized the RFP process, automating the entire LTL bidding procedure with Bid$ense, SMC³’s automated truckload and LTL freight transportation sourcing solution. But when prompted, he can still recall what once was.In his previous job, a large part of his duties were consumed by creating an intermodal bid package for carriers. In a spreadsheet, Knuth detailed the company’s volumes lane by lane, taking care to delete any errant keystrokes or misleading data. He would then email out the information to each carrier, taking time to respond to detailed technical questions about the spreadsheet data. Finally, he had to compile all the results, create an algorithm that would compare the carriers on each lane, and award the business.“It was a huge undertaking. It took about four months to do,” Knuth said of the old process. “It was almost a full-time job for that part of the year, every year.”In his new job at IEWC, he sat down with Bid$ense on day one and was amazed at the capabilities. Knuth had never before used a bid tool. SMC³’s latest versions of Bid$ense automate the process even further, taking truckload and LTL RFPs entirely online. The tool draws on RFP best-practices protocols to streamline the bidding communication process, enabling bidding carriers to respond accurately and promptly to shipper requests. The solution also does all the distribution work automatically, electronically submitting shipper bid data to carriers based on their actual service capabilities and performance records. Carriers are alerted with timely prompts for RFP deliverables, so shippers aren’t waiting by the phone for responses.Another benefit of automating the process is the data-cleansing assistance. When Knuth sent spreadsheets to carriers, data errors might cloud the bidding process; he might have to resend data or simply accept a price that did not truly reflect the costs of doing business. Data cleansing is incredibly beneficial, he said.The spreadsheet technique also made bidding analysis an onerous task. Since Bid$ense automates and streamlines the entire RFP process, intensive examination is now simple. SMC³ knows that each bid has more than one best outcome. With uniform responses from each carrier, shippers can quickly rank results and create an unlimited quantity of what-if scenarios to make the optimal procurement decision.Jesse Burnett of Central Garden &amp; Pet experiences many of the same benefits. Founded in 1980, Central Garden &amp; Pet has spent the last three decades growing from a small garden supply company to a provider of a range of products from dog chews and bird seed to soil supplements and natural insecticides. For much of its life, the company shipped these disparate goods via LTL and truckload carriers to retailers throughout the country, relying on each business unit to negotiate directly with their freight transportation providers. This arrangement worked fairly well for a small company, but as Central Garden &amp; Pet expanded, leadership decided to consolidate decision making.Burnett helped centralize the transportation decision making in 2015 with SMC³’s Bid$ense. Before Bid$ense, every business unit operated independently as far as negotiating with carriers.“There were a lot of different things just floating around,” he said. “We didn’t have master agreements in place; no national pricing at all. The pricing from carriers was just all over the place, depending on where you were.”The transformations he saw with Bid$ense were immediate. Burnett has been using the tool about every other year since its implementation at the company. Central Garden and Pet’s $19.6 million 2019 LTL bid saved the company just more than 9 percent when compared to its historical average. For Burnett, though, bid automation extends far beyond savings.“We knew that we weren’t getting the best pricing offer from our carriers just because nothing was centralized,” he continued. “We knew that if we combined everything from all these business units and paired it with one corporate offering, then it would drive some cost benefit with it.”When the company initially decided to centralize bid procurement, executives researched a number of different methodologies and technologies. In the end, though, Burnett found that Bid$ense was both widespread and well known, and that his carrier partners already knew how to use the application. Burnett also highlighted the data-cleansing process as a major benefit, saying the rigorous process ensures that carriers always return the best price.“It definitely has helped drive savings,” he said. “Any time you go out there and you drive that competitiveness with the carriers and they know they’re in a bid environment, it seems to sharpen their pencils.”Transportation procurement is an integral part of the modern supply chain. With Bid$ense, shippers can develop a strategic implementation plan that saves them time and money, but also helps them create strong relationships with their carrier partners. These carriers appreciate the solution’s data-cleansing process; when carriers receive a complete shipment history and future volume forecast, they don’t have to guess on pricing. Carriers that receive more data from shippers get a complete picture of that shipper’s freight, allowing them to accurately plan instead of simply preparing for the worst-case scenario. Clean data presented through an automated system can lead to both bigger shipment savings and a lasting partnership between carrier and customer.Whether customers are looking to streamline over-the-road transportation bidding by automating the RFP process or create an entirely new, centralized sourcing process, Bid$ense has the analytical horsepower to get the job done.SMC³ 2020 Customer Case Study

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Shippers save money, time with automated transportation bidding tools

If there’s one immutable truth in the world of logistics, it’s this: LTL is an inherently complex form of transportation. Tariffs, rates, DIM weights, transit times — it’s enough to confuse even seasoned logistics professionals. The solution to this knowledge gap has historically been on-the-job training or university supply chain education, but for a variety of reasons there is now a pressing need for third-party, remote LTL training that prepares logistics workers for transportation success. Global Scope Can Overlook Local Intricacies In the past, professionals looking to move into a supply chain career learned about the basics of supply chain from universities. However, many of these college supply chain programs are now global in scope, focusing on worldwide supply chain management instead of the intricacies of specialized domestic transportation. And even these programs, which used to be widespread, are becoming less common. LTL is not an industry of broad-brush strokes; supply chain professionals really need a pointillistic understanding of the logistics of LTL in order to excel in the industry. Accelerating Need for Dedicated LTL Education This lack of specified training put the onus on employers to prepare new hires with the LTL knowledge needed to do their jobs. Dedicated LTL study is a necessity, not a luxury. At the same time, changes in LTL and the broader supply chain world are accelerating. The reliance on e-commerce has ballooned since the start of the pandemic, and last-mile LTL shipments and related e-commerce strains on the supply chain won’t diminish once social distancing abates. That genie isn’t going back into the bottle. So supply chain employers need logistics workers that are fully versed in all aspects of the industry, ready to solve unique shipping and delivery problems based on their extensive supply chain knowledge But why care about LTL? It’s been reported that some shippers in today’s world are no longer concerned with what mode is used to ship their goods. A Multimodal Approach Ensures On-Time Delivery This mode agnosticism means supply chain stakeholders have to be well versed in all modes of transportation. As unforeseen weather events and other disruptions, such as protests, become more common, savvy logistics employees will need to be armed with familiarity of all modes, not just the most popular, to ensure that freight is delivered on time, without damage, and in the most financially expedient way possible. Offerings like SMC³’s LTL online education courses cover a wide range of topics from LTL basics and operations to more advanced concepts like pricing analytics and transportation law. The company also has plans to continually refresh content, adding new expert presenters and taking the feedback of students to make the courses even better as time goes on. Learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://logisticstrainingcenter.com/smc3-courses/" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link">SMC³’s LTL Online Education program</a>&nbsp;and view the 2021 hybrid schedule, featuring live industry experts,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.smc3.com/onlinelearning2021/" rel="noreferrer" class="joc_admin__link">here.</a>

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News and analysis of ocean containerized cargo movement, logistics, supply chains, technology, and end-to-end connectivity. Maritime news and analysis of containerized ocean cargo movement, breakbulk and roll-on and roll-off shipping from origin to destination.

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