Global Logistics

Second quarter revenue rose 12% annually to $2.3 billion, for a new company record. And the company reported $25 million of net income attributable to GXO, down from $37 million a year ago, and $158 million of adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.49, topping Wall Street expectations of $0.44. Operating income came in at $42 million, up 14% year over year compared with $37 million for the first quarter 2022.

A recently-released report by Brookfield, Wisc.-based supply chain consultancy Armstrong & Associates highlights the pandemic-driven swings the pandemic has had on the third-party logistics (3PL) sector, from various perspectives, including revenue, costs, and services, among others. Entitled, “Downshift: Latest Global and Regional Logistics Costs and Third-Party Logistics Market Trends and Outlook,” the report is replete with 3PL market data and analysis, taking a look at the recent past and what may be in store, in the coming years, too.

Supply chains worldwide will continue to be caught between politics, economics and ecology in the future. Whether there will be more regionalization or nearshoring remains to be seen. The question will linger: Who will win and who will lose in this increasingly tense competition?

With the help of its 3PL partner, Musco Family Olive Co. converted its manual processes to an automated transportation management system, allowing the shipper to lower its total spending by more than 10% in the first year. Here’s how this shipper implemented new solutions for age-old problems.

When looking at the global supply chain, China’s role and influence on operations and processes cannot be understated. That was made clear by a pair of supply chain experts in a session at last week’s SMC3 JumpStart 2023 conference held in Atlanta.

Quarterly revenue—at $24.161 billion—increased 4.2% annually, and adjusted earnings per share—at $2.99—increased 10.3% annually and beat Wall Street estimates at $2.89 per share. Quarterly operating profit rose 7% to $3.113 billion.

FedEx Express has expanded its FedEx International Connect Plus (FICP) offering to four Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa (AMEA)-based region, including: Indonesia, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

The paramount importance of 3PL partnerships.

The report said that DSV is looking to expand in North America, adding that CHR’s global forwarding business would provide DSV with what it called critical access to trans Pacific ocean trade lanes, with the global forwarding business potentially having a $9 billion price tag.

GEODIS said that this acquisition will significantly increase the company’s contract logistics footprint and e-commerce fulfillment services in Singapore and Southeast Asia.

Earlier today, the boards of directors of Greenwich, Conn.-based global contract logistics services provider GXO Logistics Inc. and London-based Clipper Logistics plc, a provider of omni-channel retail logistics services, said that they have come to terms on a recommended cash and share acquisition, in which Clipper will be acquired by GXO.

Following a news leak, which indicated that Greenwich, Conn.-based global contract logistics services provider GXO Logistics was acquiring London-based Clipper Logistics plc, a provider of omni-channel retail logistics services, the companies said on February 20 that their respective boards announced in a joint statement “they have reached agreement on the key terms of a possible cash and share offer for Clipper by GXO.”

The raise follows years of uninterrupted growth for the company, particularly in the last twelve months, with Flexport’s revenue more than doubling in 2021 as it moved nearly $19 billion in gross merchandise for its clients across 112 countries.

It’s clear that the pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of global supply chains—a problem the logistics industry will continue to face this year. A high degree of flexibility and close cooperation between all parties in the supply chain is required to be well prepared to respond to the crisis and, hopefully, to a post-COVID era.

Entitled FedEx International Priority, company officials said that this service provides AMEA shippers with the flexibility to schedule delivery by 10:30 AM to select global destinations. And FedEx added that with FedEx International Priority, the company now provides a wider range of time-definite international shipping options for customers.