After two years of supply chain woes, the U.S. government is stepping in to try to alleviate some of the shipping bottlenecks that are key drivers of materials shortages and spiking inflation across the country.
The holiday shopping season is already in full swing, with customers placing orders at a record pace so far this year. Some part of that is due to early warnings about fulfillment backups — rather than risk a stressful last-minute waiting game, shoppers are getting all their holiday shopping done now.
Amazon Prime Day, which kicked off June 21, gave the shipping industry a bit of a preview of the upcoming holiday season. The big takeaway: Everyone needs to do their homework and prepare. Supply chain disruptions — including global shortages of labor, shipping containers, air freight capacity, and materials like semiconductors and plastic — as […]
Thanks to e-commerce giants like Amazon, lightning-fast fulfillment has become the standard in much of the U.S. and Europe. Free or low-cost next day and same day delivery options have shifted the window of customer expectations, putting pressure on competitors to employ an efficient and cost-effective delivery system in order to stay relevant. Speedy turnaround […]
Last mile delivery has long been one of the toughest challenges for ecommerce retailers. That hasn’t changed, but now that more buyers than ever are turning to online shopping channels to get the products they want consumer expectations for delivery speed and service are increasing rapidly. Even some of the biggest big box retailers are […]
Last mile delivery has long been one of the toughest challenges for ecommerce retailers. That hasn’t changed, but now that more buyers than ever are turning to online shopping channels to get the products they want consumer expectations for delivery speed and service are increasing rapidly. Even some of the biggest big box retailers are […]
The disruption that defined 2020 is still impacting most retail supply chains in the U.S. in significant ways. As the dust continues to settle, a number of trends will almost certainly transform the retail outlook in the years to come.
Container imbalance is a perennial issue that plagues the freight forwarding industry, but never before has it felt like such an insurmountable obstacle. The extreme circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic have pushed this slowly growing but persistent challenge to the forefront. If the global supply chain is to operate as efficiently as possible, intermodal containers […]
With the near certainty that Joe Biden will be the next U.S. president, eyes are turning toward carbon emissions regulations that will impact the freight industry. Experts predict a focus on vehicle emissions, specifically tight standards for trucks and incentives to replace fossil-fuel powered vehicles with electric ones. There is also the possibility of federal […]
COVID-19 has rocked the freight world in expected and unexpected ways, and many businesses have struggled to keep up. As we enter the final quarter of 2020, a lot of uncertainties about the future of the industry remain. One of those uncertainties is centered around transpacific freight. Right now, surging transpacific volume is causing problems […]