Flexport

Flexport lays off 600 workers amid difficult freight market 

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Flexport is implementing Friday a 20% workforce reduction teased a week ago and notifying employees...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/flexport-lays-off-600-workers-amid-difficult-freight-market

Zerobroker raises $6.5M to bring shippers closer to carriers

FreightTech platform Zerobroker announced Wednesday it has raised a $6.5 million seed round to support the company’s technological and customer growth as it aims to bring shippers and carriers closer together.

The round saw participation from freight forwarder Flexport, FundersClub, Streamlined Ventures and other undisclosed contributors. The company has raised close to $7 million since being a part of YCombinator’s (YC) winter 2021 cohort.

The Zerobroker product launched in February to oversee...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/zerobroker-raises-6-5m-to-bring-shippers-closer-to-carriers

Flexport founder says ousted CEO lost customer focus, spending discipline

Last week’s dismissal of Dave Clark as Flexport’s chief executive officer was prompted by his neglect of customers and freight growth to focus on expensive technology development for Amazon-like last-mile delivery, reinstalled CEO Ryan Petersen told FreightWaves. 

The Flexport founder stressed the leadership change doesn’t mean the company is returning to being a nuts-and-bolts freight forwarder and will continue its transformation into an end-to-end logistics provider, aided by the June acquisit...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/flexport-founder-says-ousted-ceo-lost-customer-focus-spending-discipline

Flexport names Uber Freight chief to lead digital truck unit

Cross-border logistics provider Flexport is developing a truck brokerage business to take care of the domestic transportation leg for imports in one supply chain ecosystem after acquiring the e-commerce fulfillment and final-mile delivery assets of Shopify.

The company has hired Bill Driegert, a former Amazon executive who previously headed Uber Freight, to develop Flexport’s trucking product, new CEO Dave Clark said in an internal memo to employees on Thursday that the company shared with...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/flexport-names-uber-freight-chief-to-lead-digital-truck-unit

Flexport acquires Shopify’s fulfillment business

Digital-oriented freight forwarder Flexport has agreed to acquire the logistics arm of publicly traded Shopify Inc. and Deliverr, the tech-enabled shipping services provider Shopify bought last year for $2.1 billion, moving the emerging import-export firm into e-commerce fulfillment and last-mile delivery.

In exchange for its fulfillment assets, Shopify will receive a 13% stake in Flexport and a seat on the board, Flexport CEO Dave Clark told FreightWaves.

The deal is the first since Clark, who...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/flexport-acquires-shopifys-fulfillment-business

La negociación de los contratos de transporte marítimo transpacífico de contenedores, en horas bajas 

La temporada anual de contratos llega a su recta final en el mercado del transporte marítimo transpacífico. Los costos de importación de EE.UU., la rentabilidad de las líneas marítimas y la fiabilidad del servicio dependen de cómo se establezcan los precios de los contratos en las próximas semanas. 

El giro argumental de este año es que la ronda anterior de contratos anuales se firmó a niveles históricamente altos y el momento de la actual temporada de solicitud de contratos coincide con un...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/la-negociacion-de-los-contratos-de-transporte-maritimo-transpacifico-de-contenedores-en-horas-bajas

Crunch time for trans-Pacific container shipping contract talks

a chart showing trans-Pacific spot rates; current spot rates are negatively affecting contract rates

The annual contract season is down to the final stretch in the trans-Pacific shipping market. U.S. import costs, liner profitability and service reliability all hinge on where contract prices settle in the next few weeks.

The plot twist this year is that the prior round of annual contracts were signed at historically high levels and the timing of the current contract RFP season coincides with a period of still-sinking spot rates.

Import demand remains weak due to bloated inventories, with inbound...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/crunch-time-for-trans-pacific-container-shipping-contract-talks

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