Top Logistics Companies of 2017

January 10, 2016 by

Logistics Management recently posted the top logistics companies of 2017 as provided by the ever trusted Armstrong and Associates.

While it has been shaping up to be a stable year in terms of continued mergers and acquisitions and creation of massive multi-national logistics providers; there are already rumors starting of Home Depot looking to acquire XPO logistics

2017 Rank Third-party logistics provider (3PL) Headquarters Square feet, 2017 (millions) Number of Warehouses (2017)
1 DHL Supply Chain North America (Exel) Westerville, Ohio 119 673
2 XPO Logistics Greenwich, Conn. 81.6 392
3 Ryder Supply Chain Solutions Miami, Fla. 43.7 246
4 GEODIS North America (OHL) Brentwood, Tenn. 38.2 150
5 Americold Atlanta, Ga. 38 145
6 FedEx Supply Chain Cranberry Township, Pa. 34.5 129
7 NFI Logistics Cherry Hill, N.J. 33.5 100
8 Kenco Logistic Services LLC (KLS) Chattanooga, Tenn. 28 90
9 Lineage Logistics Irvine, Calif. 26 114
10 DB Schenker Logistics Americas Freeport, N.Y. 23.7 91
Filed Under: 3PL Services, Logistics Services

A Thanksgiving Logistics Story

November 23, 2015 by

A short and simple story about the logistics process undergone by a turkey fryer in time for the Thanksgiving holiday:

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and all I want is a deep fried turkey, a beer or two and a day celebrating with friends and family. Besides beer, I need two ingredients: turkey and a deep fryer. My local department store sells a turkey deep fryer for $69, and it looks sufficient.

thanksgiving-logistics

After purchasing the fryer I look at the bottom of the package. It reads:  “Beijing, China”. As we all know, Beijing is the industrial garden of the world, but it doesn’t have a port. My turkey fryer was, after it was finished in the factory, transported 120 miles over land, by truck to the nearest port of Tianjin. In Tianjin my fryer was probably put with many other products in one container, with as a final destination: Boston. In Tianjin, my container is loaded on top of a container vessel by a giant crane. This container vessel, is a called a feeder, and relatively a small one, in the container vessel family.

My fryer leaves from Tianjin to Shanghai, the main port of China for international shipping. It’s a 1,000 (land) miles journey. When arrived, the container is put together with all other containers on a bigger container vessel of the type New Panamax. This type of ship can contain up to 15,000 containers, and has a maximum length of 366 meters. One meter extra is not allowed, otherwise it won’t fit through the (new) Panama Canal. It is exactly 9335 miles to the Panama Canal. Although you would maybe expect that my turkey fryer would go through the Panama Canal, something else happened. The container is offloaded in the port of Balboa, right next to the Pacific entrance on the Canal.

The container is then put on a train, and railed to the Atlantic side of Panama. In the harbour of Colón, the container is put on a smaller container vessel most likely carrying only containers for North America. The container ship now heads straight north for the next 2200 miles to arrive in the big port of Newark, New Jersey. After a trip of almost 13.000 miles my turkey deep fryer will be delivered by truck from Newark to Boston, offloaded in a warehouse, and distributed to the department store. What a trip, and it takes only 3 weeks. I feel incredibly rich that something comes from so far to give me and my family a wonderful thanksgiving dinner.

Now I’ll fire up the deeper fryer, drop in the turkey, and if you don’t mind, open my well-deserved beer. Happy Thanksgiving from your friends at Logistics List!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Ecommerce: Logistics & 3PL Trends for 2016

October 5, 2015 by

With the ascendance of Amazon, major Ecommerce players and changing consumer/B2B purchasing behavior; the logistics landscape is forever changing

According to a recent study by ComScore 78% of of the US population purchased an item online last year and that is only expected to increase. And with the rapid expansion of same day delivery and even delivery within 1-3 hours, ecommerce is changing what logistics is capable of, while opening up major opportunities both for manufacturers, marketers and 3PL companies to better connect with their clients.ecommerce logistics 2016

Today on average e-commerce accounts for 11.85% of North American 3PLs’ revenue, according to the 2016 3PL Study. The CEOs of the leading 3PL companies project that in the next year this will increase to more than 20% of overall revenue with the continued focus and importance on next day delivery and the partnering with 3PL’s for last mile delivery. At the same time a growing share of last mile service is also starting to be taken over by the “sharing economy” with initiatives such as Amazon Flex and companies like Uber getting into the delivery space.

Another major area of growth noted in the study is international e-commerce. For example European ecommerce accounted for around 5% or North American 3PL revenue, but is projected to grow to 9 percent in the next three years. The APAC region will also continue to explode in the coming years as well. (China’s current economic woes notwithstanding)

There is a tendency to see the biggest opportunity being having the opportunity to partner with Amazon. That said longer term, ecommerce companies are looking to build out their global supply chains outside of Amazon and move to direct to consumer models. Especially in these formative years, 3PLs will play a major role in helping companies expand in their international market coverage

What are the keys to ecommerce success for logistics companies moving forward? An increased focus on providing innovative order fulfillment services, keeping up to date with the nimblest logistics software and providing reliable, disciplined same day delivery services.

It is an interesting time to be in the logistics industry for sure!

Filed Under: 3PL Services, Logistics Services

The Self Driving Truck

May 26, 2015 by

A recent thought provoking article by Scott Santens on Self Driving trucks brings some interesting projections and thoughts on the future of the trucking industry.

Today, Truck Driving is the most common job in the United States having overtaken secretaries and manufacturing jobs over the last 30+ years due to trucking being immune from the two of the biggest trends affecting U.S. jobs: globalization and automation.

Truck driving is just about the last job in the country to provide a solid middle class salary after the notable volume of manufacturing jobs were sent overseas.

Self Driving Truck impact on trucking

The boom in ecommerce and the need for more efficient, reliable shipping across nearly all industries B2B and B2C will continue to lead to a further surge in the need for trucking services.

The trucking industry projects to see 21% more trucking jobs by 2020 while continuing to be plagued with a shortage of drivers.

Enter the self driving truck.

The article suggests that self driving trucks will decimate local economies and lead to countless unemployed truckers.

It is fair to say that self driving trucks will become a reality and will change the role of truck drivers on some level. But will it ever be possible for a semi truck to operate completely autonomously without the need for the truck driver?

If a truck breaks down, has a software malfunction, or gets into an accident how is the freight retreived, secured and taken off the road when it is between distribution centers?

When the self driving truck becomes ubiquitous what will it mean to be a truck driver?

For one the massive network of CDL training schools will need to evolve from training traditional truck driving to including management, troubleshooting and overriding of the self driving software.

The cost of self driving trucks will also likely be significantly higher than a traditional semi truck at least in the beginning which will likely notably change the economics of commercial truck leasing

Lastly what does this mean for the Owner-Operator. With about 350,000 Owner-Operators in the US according to estimates this is a significant factor in the trucking industry. Will the self driving truck lead to logistics companies relying less on owner operators because they will be able to hire less skilled labor to sit in trucks while computers do the work? Will it make it easier for Owner Operators to expand their small business and hire their own employees?

In the case of the self driving truck there are more questions than answers, but it is clear that it will not be a simple transition and while the technology will be disruptive, will it ever allow logistics companies to hire less skilled labor to sit along for the ride or will the operation of this software and the driving of the truck when it matters lead to higher salaries for truck drivers?

Filed Under: Trucking Services

3PL Industry Growth 2015

March 3, 2015 by

For years industry insiders have predicted that the logistics sector is on the brink of commoditization, relegating 3PL companies to mainly short-term contracts for execution based services at the lowest price. While this is a trend happening in many industries and certainly the logistics industry is seeing some of this, the reality is more complex. Drastic shifts in the business landscape and technology have led more companies than ever to outsource their logistics activities and the services and expectations of logistics service providers in warehousing, trucking, and integrated providers have never been higher.

According to recent estimates by Armstrong and Associates, the cost of logistics services accounts for 8.5% of United States GDP, 9.2% for Europe, 11% of South America and more than 17% for Greater China.

Third Party Logistics revenue is estimated to increase 6.4% from 2013-2016.

The biggest industries projected to be key drivers of this growth:

  • Industrial- 10.6%
  • Healthcare – 8.9%
  • Technology – 8.6%
  • Foods/Grocery – 8.2%

With the dynamic nature of logistics and the increasing needs of organizations to manage their supply chains, the 3PL industry seems poised to continue its expansion.

Filed Under: 3PL Services

The Difference Between a Freight Forwarder & Customs Broker

November 2, 2014 by

Like all specialties in logistics there are often blurred lines between disciplines but there are key differences between Freight Forwarders and Customs Brokers that are important to understand.

Photo by Glyn Lowe

Photo by Glyn Lowe

Freight Forwarders focus on the movement of cargo from one country to another by either sea or air serving as a middleman between the shipping lines and air freight companies helping the importer/exporter to book space and to receive and load cargo. Freight forwarders also specialize in advising importers/exporters on freight costs, port charges, consular fees, costs of special documentation, insurance costs, and handling fees.

Customs Brokers on the other hand traditionally serve as agents of the importers/exporters providing their expertise in the clearance or “clearing” of goods through international customs checkpoints. As you can imagine customs clearance is a very technical and high regulated activity focusing on the entry and admissibility of merchandise; its classification and valuation; the payment of duties, taxes, or other charges assessed; or the refund, rebate, or drawback thereof.

It’s also important to understand that there are also firms which offer both freight forwarding and customs brokerage services. In these cases, these firms will typically have completely separate team/departments handling these activities due to the differences in the skill sets and expertise needed.

Filed Under: Logistics Services

The 20 Busiest Container Ports in the World

September 29, 2014 by

As supply chain and logistics activity continues to pick up speed worldwide we are seeing aggressive surges in traffic in the APAC region over the last decade. China, Port of Shanghai9 out of the top 20 busiest business container ports are based in China. Curiously only 1 out of 20 of the busiest ports is based in the United States with the Port of Los Angeles coming in 16th.  Singapore continues to be a major container port coming in 2nd, but Shanghai has been continuing to grow and will likely remain the World’s largest port for the foreseeable future.  Note: Traffic measurements are conducted in TEUs or “twenty foot equivalent unit” (the closest measurement to the size of a standard shipping container.)

The Busiest Ports in the World 

Rank Port Country TEUs
1 Shanghai China 32,530
2 Singapore Singapore 31,650
3 Hong Kong China 23,120
4 Shenzhen China 22,940
5 Guangzhou China 17,740
6 Busan South Korea 17,040
7 Ningbo-Zhoushan China 16,830
8 Qingdao China 14,500
9 Dubai United Arab Emirates 13,300
10 Tianjin China 12,300
11 Rotterdam Netherlands 11,866
12 Port Klang Malaysia 10,001
13 Kaohsiung Taiwan 9,781
14 Hamburg Germany 8,863
15 Antwerp Belgium 8,635
16 Los Angeles United States 8,078
17 Dalian China 8,063
18 Tanjung Pelepas Malaysia 7,494
19 Xiamen China 7,202
20 Jakarta Indonesia 6,217
Filed Under: 3PL Services, Logistics Services

The Top Books on Logistics

February 24, 2014 by
The best logistics books

Image credit: Alberto G.

Whether you are a seasoned logistics practitioner or an undergraduate student working towards a degree in logistics it is always valuable to stay up to date on the latest trends in logistics and supply chain management.

In order to advance your career in logistics it is important to first master the fundamentals and then continue to evolve by reading/exploring more challenging concepts and trends and look for opportunities innovate within your organization.

For those looking for some good books and resources to get started we’re happy to share our new list of some of the Best Logistics Books available out there today. Check it out here

Filed Under: Logistics Services

Chicago, The Nation’s Logistics Hub

November 17, 2013 by

Chicago is well known as one of the most important logistics and transportation hubs in the United States. With its superior access to all major modes of transportation and its central location and proximity to one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country it has long been a sought after location for distribution hubs.

chicago-logistics

Image credit: Seth Anderson

Trucking Services
With 6 interstate highways that cross the region, connecting both east and west for more than 2,000 miles there are only two states in the US that have more interstate highway miles than Illinois. (California and Texas) Chicago is also conveniently located within a day’s drive of 70 percent of the country’s population making it a very common location for companies to locate their main distribution centers and is home to most of the country’s leading logistics companies in at least some capacity.

Rail Transport
Chicago is home to six of the seven major railroads and more than 50 railroads in total, accounting for a quarter of all rail traffic in the US.

Water Transport
Chicago is one of the largest inland cargo ports in the country and is the world’s third-largest handler of shipping containers (after Hong Kong and Singapore) with the Port of Chicago

Air Transport
86 million passengers and nearly 1.6 million tons of cargo pass through Chicago annually with two highly trafficked airports in O’Hare and Midway.

Warehousing and Distribution
With more than 1.3 billion square feet of warehouse property, Chicago easily has one of the largest concentrations of industrial space in the United States. As with any major metropolitan area, the costs of maintaining a physical distribution center in Chicago proper tend to be prohibitive so it is very common for companies to locate their distribution centers in the suburbs of Chicago as part of what locals call “Chicagoland.” It is also not uncommon for distribution centers to be located as far away as Indiana.

There is no question that over the years there are a number of different key cities in the US that can lay claim to being one of the most important from a logistics perspective at a particular moment in time but from a strategic level Chicago will endure as one of the top markets that just about anyone working in the logistic and supply chain function will end up engaged with at least on some level one way or another.

Filed Under: Logistics Services

Top 10 Supply Chain Technology Trends

July 24, 2013 by

Technology continues to change the supply chain in profound ways, as mobile and wireless technologies take root in everyday work streams and innovative approaches to warehouse management emerge. 10-supply-chain-trends

Learn about the top 10 logistics and supply chain trends that are changing the way logistics companies do business in this new white paper from Intermec.

Drawing on over 40 years of experience, the Intermec team has identified the top technology trends in mobile, industrial and supply chain environments. Learn how they apply to supply chain operations and hear results from users who have adapted the technologies to improve their businesses.

Download FREE Top 10 Supply Chain Technology Trends Whitepaper

Filed Under: Logistics Services
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