Air Freight

In a move geared towards bolstering its air freight forwarding and customs brokerage capabilities in Colombia and the broader Latin American region, global transportation and logistics bellwether FedEx said this week it has agreed to acquire international freight forwarder Cargex S.A.

Ongoing trade tensions, pricing volatility and slack demand have kept the air cargo market on hold for most of this year. However, industry analysts say that a new set of factors could reverse the trend by peak season.

When President Trump yesterday announced that the United States will be implementing a 10% tariff on $300 billion in Chinese imports, effective September 1, it understandably sent further shockwaves through the freight transportation and logistics sectors.

Learn about the 36th Annual Quest for Quality Award winners for Air Carriers / Air Freight Forwarders

The findings of a Logistics Management reader survey of roughly 120 logistics and supply chain professionals regarding 2019 Peak Season prospects was tempered compared to last year, with 33.3% expecting it to be more active than last year (down from 61% last year), 34.8% expecting it to be less active (up from 10% last year), and 31.9% saying they are not expecting a change (up from 29% last year).

Quarterly revenue–at $18 billion-was up 3.4% annually, with net income-at $1.685 billion-up 12%, and earnings per share $1.94 topping the $1.71 recorded last year and topping Wall Street estimates of $1.93 per share.

June shipments, at 1.181, decreased 5.3% annually, marking the seventh consecutive month of shipments declines.

Rail carloads, at 220,759, were off 8.2% annually, and intermodal units, at 227,700, saw a 6.9% annual decline.

Air cargo capacity outpaces demand as carriers regroup

In a move geared towards expanding its new services and technologies to support high-growth sectors like life sciences healthcare logistics, express delivery and logistics services provider DHL said this week that its DHL Global Forwarding group is taking several steps in that direction through some significant changes it has made at its 434,000 square-foot O’Hare airport facility in Chicago.

If the recent announcement made by FedEx in which it publicly stated it is no longer doing business with Amazon left any type of mark for Amazon, it looks like it did not phase the global e-commerce bellwether based on an announcement it made on Wednesday.

With global express delivery and logistics services provider DHL Express recently celebrating its 50th birthday, Logistics Management Group News Editor Jeff Berman recently caught up with DHL Express U.S. CEO Greg Hewitt to discuss various topics, including DHL’s growth in the U.S. and globally, the evolution of shipping, and logistics trends, among other topics.

FedEx made that clear late last week, when it announced it made a strategic decision not to renew the FedEx Express U.S. domestic contract with Amazon.com, Inc. as it focuses on serving the broader e-commerce market.

Airforwarders Association members are investing in their futures through technology enhancements, increasing global footprints, and expanding service capabilities.

Rail carloads, at 1,041,544, decreased 0.9%, or 9,130 carloads, annually, and intermodal, at 1,056,146, fell 2.1%, or 51,962 units.