Hi Tech

Trade war and tariffs fail to slow growing surge of US imports from China

US west coast ports, and rail and road links to the interior, are currently struggling with a surge of imports from Asia, mostly from China.
Despite all the fiery rhetoric and tariffs, the flow of goods from China to the US has not slowed down.
“We have not seen a major slowdown in business with China, it’s pretty steady, if not growing,” said Bob Imbriani, vice-president international services of forwarder Team Worldwide.
If …

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Zim develops early detection software for cargo misdeclarations

Containership fires caused by misdeclared cargo is a clear and present danger and the industry has witnessed a number of serious incidents in recent years .
Often the problem stems from the ignorance of shippers, incompetent practices or both, and the ubiquitous multi-coloured box can be a ticking time-bomb of chemical reaction.
Ocean carriers that in the past were reluctant to take a heavy hand to their customers have lost patience and …

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Gary O’Connor appointed managing director of Ireland for Geodis

Geodis has appointed Gary O’Connor (pictured above) as its new managing director of Ireland.
His brief is to focus “on developing business in the healthcare sector while growing the company’s influence over well-established verticals, including e-commerce, high tech and FMCG”.
Mr O’Connor joins the group from Ceva Logistics, where he was also managing director for Ireland from late 2008 until June this year. From 2001 he was operations director at Eagle Global Logistics …

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As UK freeport consultation ends, Teesside eyes ‘investment and jobs boost’

The UK government will on Monday end industry consultation on proposals to build up to 10 freeports around the country following its formal departure from the EU.
According to partners at UK law firm Dentons, the government has three main aims from the development of freeports: to serve as national hubs for global trade and investment across the UK; to promote regeneration and job creation; and create hotbeds of innovation.
A freeport is …

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$28bn invested in freight start-ups since 2015 – most in last-mile and B2C

Venture capital funding into the logistics industry has amounted to nearly $28bn since 2015, research from McKinsey shows.
And although US digital freight forwarder Flexport has taken many of the headlines during this period, it is actually the last-mile and B2C logistics sectors that have received the overwhelming proportion of that finance.
Ocean and air freight platforms – in which McKinsey classes Flexport – follow far behind.
And, somewhat surprisingly, given the focus …

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China shipments stuck at India ports show casualties of standoff

Following the deadly clash of Indian and Chinese troops along the disputed border in the Himalayas, numerous reports out of India suggest that customs officials have been told to physically inspect every ex-China import container unloaded at Indian docks. According to BNN Bloomberg: “From active pharmaceutical ingredients that go into the world’s most-consumed drugs to the innards of popular mobile phones, Indian companies purchase Chinese raw materials that feed their …

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Retail begins its long fight back, but the shift is away from bricks and mortar

Citing surging online sales and the migration of its product portfolio to digital offerings, Microsoft announced on Friday it would close its retail stores.
On the same day, H&M revealed it would end 2020 with 40 fewer stores in its chain, and throttle back on new branch openings as it steps up its efforts in e-commerce.
The retail sector is witnessing a massive shift to online selling, in many cases hand in …

The post Retail begins its long fight back, but the shift is away from bricks and...

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Maersk to double frequency of sea-rail AE19 service for capacity-hit shippers

Maersk is to double the frequency of its AE19 rail-sea service between South Korea and Northern Europe, as shippers and forwarders on the trade continue to struggle to secure ocean and air freight capacity.
The service, operated in cooperation with South Korean freight forwarder Pantos Logistics, will move from monthly to fortnightly and will now include a backhaul leg – so far it has only run westbound.
“Frequent cancellations and congestion in …

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Congestion looms at US ports as shops and factories close and imports pile up

The repercussions of Covid-19 have begun to hit US imports.
As retail outlets, as well as many manufacturing operations, in North America are shuttered, anticipation of a surge of imports to compensate for China’s extended lunar new year hiatus are quickly disappearing.
Instead, as more containers arrive, there are concerns about mounting storage costs.
US importers have not wasted time in shifting gear – having tried to speed-up deliveries from China a few …

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Surging South-east Asian flows a boost for operators like DB Schenker

For DB Schenker, Vietnam has been a strong market over the past year.
One factor in this was the repercussions of the trade conflict between the US and China, which accelerated the migration of manufacturing from the middle kingdom to neighbouring countries, noted Robert Reiter, chief executive of the South-east Asia Cluster of the logistics provider.
Vietnam has been a major beneficiary of the exodus from China: in the first 10 months …

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