Freight Forwarding News

Global Transport Solutions (GTS), a logistics service provider specialized in supply chain solutions for the maritime industry (through the brand Marinetrans), has acquired Ship Spares Logistics (SSL) (formerly part of Burando Maritime Services), a marine logistics specialist providing barge deliveries, warehouse consolidation and freight forwarding services. The combination of the two companies will elevate service offerings in marine spare parts logistics, creating a synergy that leverages the combined strengths…

Stolt-Nielsen said that, after 23 years as Chief Executive Officer, Niels G. Stolt-Nielsen will step down from his role as CEO on September 1, 2023, and will assume the role of Chairman of the Board of Stolt-Nielsen Limited. He will be succeeded as CEO by Udo Lange.Lange, who will join Stolt-Nielsen as Chief Executive Officer on September 1, 2023, has more than 20 years of experience in the international trade industry, with expertise in freight forwarding, express and parcel logistics and airline catering.

Average container prices have declined to more than half from the last year in August as China picks up containerized trade volumes more recently, according to an analysis published by Container xChange, a technology marketplace and operating platform for container logistic companies. The analysis is a part of the monthly container logistics report published by Container xChange titled ‘Where Are All The Containers’.The decline in average container prices and leasing rates offer…

Liberty Green Logistics LLC, (Lake Success, NY) formed an offshore wind supply chain consortium to provide "Factory to Farm" logistical support and integrated supply chain services to the U.S. offshore wind industry. The consortium is on a non-exclusive basis and available as a one stop shop for developers, OEM’s, and EPC contractors, providing services ranging across ports & terminals, vessels, and supply chain logistics. Since the inception in May 2021 Liberty Green has enrolled 17 consortium members…

Xeneta, a leader in ocean and air freight rate benchmarking, market analytics platform and container shipping index, announced the appointment of two new sales executives. Scott Irvine joins Xeneta as VP of Freight Forwarding and Laura Finbow will serve as Director of Sales Enablement. Scott Irvine has worked in the logistics industry for over two decades holding senior leadership roles across both shippers and freight forwarders. Most recently Scott was the VP of Air & Ocean for Zencargo, a leading digital freight forwarder.

The Biden administration recently issued a sweeping Executive Order [1] aimed at protecting and enhancing competition, and the transportation sector—including air, ocean, and rail—is among the industries specifically identified and likely to see heightened antitrust scrutiny under the new directives. This executive action was soon followed by the long-awaited announcement of Biden’s pick to lead the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (Division), Jonathan Kanter, who…

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. on Wednesday announced the creation of a new subsidiary, Ship4wd, a digital freight forwarding platform offering an online self-service end to end shipping solution.Launching October 18, 2021, Ship4wd is intended to be a one-stop-shop international shipping service targeting U.S. and Canadian small and medium-sized businesses importing and exporting from China, Vietnam and Israel, ZIM said. The Ship4wd platform consists of both sea and air shipping services up to the final destination…

Oman's state-owned Asyad is considering buying ports and terminals abroad and could divest assets outside its core logistics business, such as a college and project management operation, its chief executive said on Thursday.The plans by the company, which is owned by the Oman Investment Authority, align with the small oil producing Gulf state's broader strategy to reduce reliance on crude revenues and expand its non-oil industries.Chief Executive Abdulrahman Salim Al Hatmi told…

If suppliers in China fail to pick up freight containers to fill an order for MediaShop, Marcel Schneider gets an alert via a digital freight system, allowing the retailer to reach out and fix the problem swiftly.Before July 2020, Austria-based MediaShop’s deputy supply chain director says he would discover problems in his supply chain only when containers failed to arrive in Hamburg as scheduled.“It was like being in a tunnel where you had only a limited view of what was going on…

Maersk will cut jobs in a major shake-up that will affect a third of the shipping giant's staff as it seeks to integrate its seaborne container and in-land logistics businesses, it said on Tuesday.Maersk, which handles about one in five containers shipped worldwide, has been under pressure from investors to speed its transformation from an unwieldy conglomerate but has proved resilient in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.Cost cuts and its reinstatement of more upbeat guidance last month have helped to double its share price since March and the shares were trading 0.9% up at 9,652 crowns by 08

Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS) CEO Frank Olsen opens up on the challenges of COVID-19, the benefits of a global network, and a fundamental shift in the established ships agency marketplace. Change, he says, is coming.“I haven’t spent this much time in Norway, without international travel, since I was at school,” laughs ISS CEO Frank Olsen over a call on Microsoft Teams.With a career that’s taken in seven years at sea, mostly on RoRos with Wallenius Wilhelmsen, living in Costa Rica (where he briefly captained a dive vessel)…

Global logistics software group, WiseTech Global has announced the acquisition of Ready Korea, a customs, bonded warehouse and trade compliance solutions provider in South Korea.Headquartered in Seoul, Ready Korea offers a cross-border compliance solution, which facilitates the lodgement of electronic transactions to the Korean Customs Service, including customs brokerage and refunds and Free Trade Agreement verification, along with bonded warehouse management.Ready Korea also provides a trade administration solution to facilitate the generation and submission of electronic import/export documentation. Customers of Ready Korea include FedEx…

Bourbon Marine & Logistics announced on Monday that it has been awarded an integrated logistics contract from Total to support the supermajor's deep offshore exploration campaign in South Namibia in 2020. The project scope covers provision of logistics base, freight forwarding, custom clearance, material storage & warehousing, handling and lifting, marine port visits support along with tank cleanings and logistics operations planning and conduct (material and personnel).Bourbon…

The Port of Marseille Fos (Grand Port Maritime de Marseille; GPMM) has just completed a blockchain pilot scheme to enhanced efficiencies at France’s largest seaport.The focus of the project for freight transportation on the  Mediterranean-Rhone-Saone (MeRS) corridor is to run a trial to evaluate the security of the digital transport chain. It will involve applying blockchain technology to supply chain logistics and freight forwarding, particularly where goods are transported in multiple ways such as sea and road.Results from trials held over recent months have now been reviewed at a meeting hosted by the port and demonstrated that harmonization of the digital transport chain improved fluidity…

Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation (Keppel T&T) has entered into agreements to divest its entire stakes in Keppel Logistics (Foshan) Co (KLF) and Keppel Logistics (Hong Kong) to Sinoway Shipping, a subsidiary of Sinotrans Limited, for about S$39 million.Expected to be completed in 2019, the proposed divestments are in line with Keppel T&T's strategy to unlock value and recycle capital, allowing the company more flexibility to pursue other opportunities.Thomas Pang, CEO of Keppel T&T, said, "The divestments are part of Keppel T&T's efforts to sharpen its focus and reallocate capital to grow other parts of its businesses. We would like to thank Sinotrans…

The world's biggest container shipping company AP Moller-Maersk delivers a 17% increase in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to USD 1.4 bn in Q2 compared to the same quarter last year.Revenue grew slightly to USD 9.6bn, which is on par with last year, and the underlying profit increased to USD 134mln from USD 15mln in Q2 2018.“Q2 was a quarter of solid progress. EBITDA was up 17% and cash flow improved 86% year on year, driven by continued recovery in Ocean,” says Søren Skou, CEO of A.P. Moller – Maersk. On the back of the increases in volume and freight rates, Ocean EBITDA in Q2 increased 25% to USD 1.1bn.

Matson reported net income of $18.4 million, or $0.43 per diluted share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2019. Net income for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 was $32.6 million, or $0.76 per diluted share. Consolidated revenue for the second quarter 2019 was $557.9 million compared with $557.1 million for the second quarter 2018. For the six months ended June 30, 2019, Matson reported net income of $30.9 million, or $0.72 per diluted share compared with $46.8 million, or $1.09 per diluted share in 2018.

U.S. furniture company RC Willey Home Furnishings is so concerned that new global clean air rules will cause transport disruption that it brought forward the shipment of arm chairs and sofas from China by two months.The tougher regulations, set by the United Nations shipping agency, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), come into force on Jan 1. Costs will rise for ships towards the end of this year and there will be a knock on effect for trucks and other transporters…

Associated British Ports (ABP) has secured new business handling 40,000 tonnes of steel each year at the UK’s biggest port, the Port of Immingham.Freight forwarding company R.M. Maritime, has chosen ABP to expertly handle steel destined to be used in the construction industry in the UK.The first shipment saw ABP successfully discharge over 12,579 tonnes of steel beams from the 147-metre-long New Age vessel.The steel imported from United Arab Emirates will be stored externally and then distributed by road to Rainham Steel based in Scunthorpe.Simon Bird, ABP Humber Director, said: “We’re proud to be able to offer our customers expertise…

Container shipping goliath CMA CGM announced the implementation of a global plan for 2019 to improve its operational performance with a cost savings objective of $1.2 billion through the optimization of lines and brands, and by further streamlining its processes. This after the company announced that 2018 annual revenue grew 11.2% to a record level of $23.48 billion.Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group, stated: "In 2019, despite persisting geopolitical tensions, trade perspectives are positive. We will continue our development with the objective of improving profitability. That is why we are launching a new $1.2 billion cost reduction plan.""In addition…

European logistics provider Rhenus Group has acquired South African freight forwarding and logistics specialist World Net Logistics (WNL).The takeover of the Johannesburg-headquartered firm WNL is still subject to approval by the relevant cartel authorities.In addition to having a dense network of business sites in South Africa, WNL also has several branches and partners in Asia and Germany.The acquisition by Germany’s Rhenus Group is the latest in a string of purchases around the world in the last few months alone, including Canada-based Rodair this month, British 3PL provider Core Management Logistics in January, Cesped in Italy last December…

Danish container shipping and logistics giant AP Moller – Maersk has closed the first quarter of 2019 with a 33% increase in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to USD 1.2bn while revenue grew by 2.5% to USD 9.5bn compared to Q1 2018. Operating cash flow improved significantly to USD 1.5bn and free cash flow was USD 3.5bn, including sale of shares in Total S.A.“We had a good start to 2019. In Q1, revenue grew by 2.5%, operating earnings improved by 33% and cash flow from operations doubled to USD 1.5bn. With a strong free cash flow of USD 3.5bn after the sale of the remaining shares in Total SA., we have significantly strengthened our balance sheet.

Fr. Meyer's Sohn (FMS), a global forwarding company for sea freight, announced that Trond Prestroenning will strengthen the management team as from September 1st, 2019.He will take on the position as ‘Regional CEO Americas’ and ‘President of Fr. Meyer’s Sohn North America, LLC’, said a press release.Tomas Jonson, previous ‘CEO of North America’ for Fr. Meyer’s Sohn, will be leaving the forwarder to pursue a new challenge in a different industry.Trond Prestroenning has been in freight forwarding for 25 years. Born and educated in Norway where he started his career in the ocean carrier industry.The last 14 years he lived in the United States where he has been working in senior leadership roles in companies such as Kühne+Nagel, Hellmann and DB Schenker.