Supply chain

Forwarder uptake of application programming interfaces (APIs) has been hindered by data quality issues and a perception that existing EDI infrastructure needs to be discarded, a new report has found.

An exemption to the US’ large employer vaccine mandate granted to outdoor workers may cover truck drivers, the American Trucking Association argues. But it’s not clear that exemption would apply to all types of truck drivers.

Shippers distracted by a messy ocean freight environment are not focusing on correcting inaccurate invoices, often due to a reliance on general-purpose tools such as Excel and SharePoint to manage rates and tenders.

Tight LTL capacity and rates that have climbed by double digits are creating opportunities for more dynamic LTL pricing, if it can be shown to benefit shippers and carriers.

DSV has banked a highly profitable third quarter and is expecting an equally positive full year, with executives unconcerned about potentially losing business to a certain integrated carrier.

Despite a drop in total US containerized resin exports during the first seven months of 2021, volumes through Charleston, Virginia, and Savannah increased thanks to new packaging plants in those areas.

Stakeholders agree the US logistics sector is facing its biggest strains ever due to high consumer demand and inventory restocking after COVID-19.

International air freight and last-mile delivery saw the fastest revenue growth in the transportation sector last year, while industrial transportation suffered.

DP World continues to expand its basket of digital services to complement investments it’s made in physical assets, all designed to funnel volume into its terminal operating network.

Kuehne + Nagel and Blume Global are partnering to provide the forwarder a way to manage existing and potential drayage partners in a more efficient manner as shippers focus on their needs at destination.

US Customs and Border Protection is stepping up its efforts to reduce port congestion amid record imports by working with customs brokers to target illegal shipments, thereby freeing up staff and resources to expedite clearance of legitimate imports.

FourKites is helping its customers tackle the management of detention and demurrage charges through a dashboard that help them prioritize containers likely to incur free time fees.

The challenging conditions will continue to disrupt global supply chains into 2022, but forwarders have joined carriers in posting huge increases in profitability.

Flock Freight is the latest logistics technology company to reach so-called unicorn status after landing a $215 million funding round led by SoftBank to expand its pooled truckload model.

Forwarding software vendor Magaya sees potential in providing forwarders the ability to better manage allocations on behalf of their shipper customers.

A funding round into Paris-based Wakeo is further evidence that investors believe the market for multimodal visibility isn’t slowing down, and that there is room for multiple players.

FMC Chairman Daniel Maffei said the agency is still investigating issues around surprise surcharges and hopes to lay out better rules on detention and demurrage soon.

A partnership between Transporeon and Roambee to marry telematics data with sensor-visibility data is a sign of the growing need for shippers to manage condition-sensitive shipments amid a congested global environment.

Worsening port congestion is forcing western governments to realize that strong infrastructure is crucial to global trade and that migration rules need to be eased in order to fill supply chain jobs.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC) has standardized the code for all the container facilities it uses globally, the first carrier to use a facility code format developed in part by the Digital Container Shipping Association.

project44 is moving beyond freight visibility into booking through a new product that uses carrier location data to identify when truckload capacity is soon to be available for freight brokers to book.

Vendorflow, a new platform to harmonize communications between logistics providers and the carriers they use, has secured funding from a range of venture capital investors with previous logistics expertise.

Schedule volatility in the trans-Pacific, equipment shortages, and changing container delivery dates are preventing US agricultural shippers from capitalizing on what should be a strong year for exports.

Brick-and-mortar and online retailers are growing their warehousing footprint near ports as a method to more quickly receive and handle ocean freight, and further their e-commerce goals.

Warehouses at seaports and inland hubs are filled to capacity as operators find they must pay workers more competitive wages and benefits to attract the labor they need to handle peak season volumes.

Zim believes the efficiencies provided by its digital forwarding offering will help North American small and medium-sized businesses better manage shipments in the heavily disrupted trans-Pacific market.

Beacon’s $50 million funding round, backed in part by notable investors like Jeff Bezos and Salesforce founder Marc Benioff, continues venture capital’s fascination with the digital forwarding model.

A Chicago-based trucking platform focused on cross-border freight has launched a contract board for small carriers to find repetitive, complementary loads from large shippers.

SEKO’s takeover of Bansard is the latest in a string of high-profile acquisitions across the fragmented global logistics industry, where scalability offers a key competitive advantage.

If passed into law as currently written, the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2021 would bring about the most profound changes to maritime contracting since the 1998 version by allowing the government to weigh in on what constitutes a “reasonable” agreement.

The National Industrial Transportation League said that it will get a new executive director as it ends a management services agreement with an outside organization.

Logistics software vendor Cargobase has expanded its reach into the transportation management system market, driven by demand from its spot procurement technology customers.

Digital brokerage Loadsmart and Home Depot are launching an automated, supply-led flatbed booking platform that will help the retailer “share” its dedicated truck capacity with other shippers.

Transport associations, unions, and other industry groups have made an urgent call to the United Nations to lift restrictions that limit the cross-border movement of supply chain workers.

A demurrage dispute between a New York customs broker and Mediterranean Shipping Co. unmasks the degree to which key communication of shipment milestones is overly reliant on email.

Visibility provider FourKites has worked with consumer packaged goods customers to develop a way to connect orders to in-transit freight and yard data to improve supply chain planning.

Consolidation on one end of the forwarding software market is creating openings on the other end, especially for systems that provide lightweight tools for small forwarders.

A rapid evolution in how US shippers contract with truckload carriers is driving growth at Emerge and drawing $130 million in fresh private equity funding to its digital procurement platform.

Portchain has turned traction for its berth planning software into a cash injection intended to fuel its ability to help terminals better utilize resources as they grapple with port congestion.

Transfix’s announcement that it is going public will serve as a comparison against incumbent brokers and a reference point for other digital brokers and technology providers with public aspirations.