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Against the odds: Wayfair art thou, Romeo?

Online retailer Wayfair (W) from Boston’s Back Bay, ’the Amazon of all things furniture’ went public in 2014 attracting a valuation of $3bn. Attacking the $840bn home goods market, destined to grow to some $1.2trn by 2030, according to the company’s projections…
… co-founders Niraj Shah (CEO) and Steve Conine (both pictured below) have focused on gaining market share ever since 2002, when it was founded.
Now worth $15.6bn with its stock bouncing …

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Unilever opts for Maersk to manage its global ocean and air logistics

Maersk has signed a four-year contract with FMCG and food production giant Unilever to provide operational management of its global ocean and air freight transport.
The agreement will also see the carrier develop and manage Unilever’s International Control Tower Solution, which will build on the Virtual Ocean Control Tower debuted earlier this year and be underpinned by Maersk´s digital supply chain platform, NeoNav, a core part of the agreement.
“We are excited …

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Angry shippers call on EC to review ‘disturbing developments’ in box shipping

European shippers have again renewed calls for the European Commission to review its competition policy regulating the liner sector, as they continue to face equipment shortages, restricted vessel capacity and sky-high freight rates.
Today the European Ceramic Industry Association, Cerame-Unie, which represents members in 20 countries and covers sectors from construction products (bricks) and consumer goods to industrial process and cutting-edge technologies, issued a statement jointly with the...

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Carriers eye higher contract rates to hedge against spot market volatility

Container spot rates from Asia to Europe and Asia to the US eased back further this week from their record highs.
Nevertheless they are expected to stay at very elevated levels for some time.
According to today’s reading of the Freightos Baltic Index (FBX), the rate for a 40ft from Asia to North Europe declined 3.3% on the week, to $8,037, but for Mediterranean ports, the rate was off by just $37, …

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Aggressive carriers ‘biting the hand that feeds them’ as importers shun China

There are growing signs that the sky-high freight prices on the Asia-Europe trades may be beginning to structurally undermine it, as European importers begin to look for alternatives to sourcing from China.
Keith Gaskin, group commercial director of Seko Logistics in the UK, said: “I am seeing importers in the UK and Europe actively telling their merchandisers to look for near-shoring solutions, because the freight rates from Asia have reached such …

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Vaccines: a shot in the arm for economies – and retail forwarders

The UK is among those countries looking forward to an economic rebound when lockdown finally comes to an end – alongside expected newfound consumer confidence following a (literal) jab in the arm. With an extra £125bn holed up in bank accounts, as consumers have been unable to consume much, the Bank of England is expecting a nice fillip for the economy. And forwarders are gearing up for an influx of …

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Retailers sinking deeper as supply chain problems and cost challenges bite

Retailers are struggling to cope with the impact of the pandemic on their business – woes mirrored in their supply chains, which show serious deficiencies on multiple fronts.
But the overall pressure they are under affects their ability to overcome these challenges.
In a study published recently by LogiSource in partnership with Coresight Research, 88% of retail executives surveyed reported that the Covid-19 pandemic had at least a moderately negative impact on …

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UK shippers demand parliamentary inquiry into port congestion

Some of the UK’s largest shippers have written to MPs demanding a parliamentary inquiry into the port congestion crippling the country’s container supply chains.
A letter from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Food and Drink Federation (FDF) to Lilian Greenwood MP, chair of the Commons Transport Select Committee, and Angus Brendan MacNeil MP, chair of the Commons International Trade Committee, describes importers as facing “major challenges in building up stock …

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Flow of US imports continues to surge – now at twice the rate of exports

With no let-up in consumer demand, container imports into the 10 largest US ports soared by 25% last month, compared with the previous year.
And with the forward booking visibility of transpacific carriers indicating that the US import boom is set to continue to at least the Chinese New Year in February, import throughput is likely to stay high.
However, the intense focus on repositioning empty equipment back to Asia, to meet …

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Cainiao launches open tender for 2021 logistics services – but be quick

Cainiao Smart Logistics Network, the logistics arm of Chinese-e-commerce platform Alibaba, today launched an open tender for logistics services for next year.
It is calling on logistics providers in key markets including North Asia, South-east Asia, Europe, the Middle East, ANZ and the US.
However, those interested in bidding for the company’s business have just five days, as the deadline for submissions is 15 December.
The tender is segmented into B2C and B2B …

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