Logistics

A change at the top is coming for Greeneville, Tenn.-based asset-light freight and logistics services provider Forward Air, with the company announcing today that company Chief Executive Officer and President Tom Schmitt has left the company. The company added that Schmitt is also no longer a member of the company’s Board.

Minneapolis, Minn.-based global third-party logistics (3PL) services provider and freight forwarder C.H. Robinson said today it has rolled out a new technology offering focused on touchless appointments, which it said “creates a major efficiency in freight shipping.”

Chicago-based Uber Freight is rolling out a pilot program based on a new scheduled application programing interface (API), which it said will represent the “first activation” of the Scheduling Standards Consortium (SSC) Technical Standard.

The company’s expansion in Nashville is part of an ongoing effort to invest in its facility infrastructure and demonstrate its commitment to its customers, its associates and its future, adding that Averitt wants to be on the leading edge when it comes to technology, equipment and facilities.

Quarterly revenue, at $24.9 billion, saw a 7.8% annual decrease, and adjusted earnings per share, at $2.47, were off 31.8%. Consolidated quarterly operating profit came in at $2.5 billion, which was off 22.5% annually on an adjusted basis.

Bozeman discussed his acclimation to C.H. Robinson, coming over from Amazon, where he served as Vice President of Amazon Transportation Services, and leadership roles at Caterpillar Inc., Harley-Davidson, and Ford Motor Company prior to that. Other topics covered in this wide-ranging interview included: the freight econonomy; various initiatives C.H. Robinson has focused on in recent months, and the increasing role of the supply chain, among others. Their conversation follows below.

Following a previous announcement earlier this week, in which key financial terms of a previously-announced deal were amended, Greenville, Tenn.-based asset-light freight and logistics services provider Forward Air said its acquisition of Dallas-based Omni Logistics, an asset-light, high-touch logistics and supply chain services provider owned by Ridgemont Equity Partners, is now official.

Fast-forwarding nearly six months later to this week, it appears that the transaction will now come to fruition, with Forward Air saying that the terms of the agreement have been amended.

Memphis-based global freight transportation and logistics services provider FedEx rolled out a new data-driven commerce platform, which it said connects the entire customer journey. Entitled fdx, company officials explained that it provides various customer benefits, including: growing demand; increasing conversion; optimizing fulfillment; and streamlining returns.

Battle-tested logisticians need help to cope with growing freight levels as the nation rebuilds its infrastructure amid an economic boom, one of America’s top third-party professionals told Congress last week.

It is fair to say that the topic of inventory management has always had a permanent seat at the table, so to speak, when it comes to mapping out logistics and supply chain planning and operations processes. That theme became especially heightened, as we all well know, during the height of the pandemic nearly four years ago.

The current state of the business relationship between Memphis-based freight transportation and logistics services provider FedEx and the United States Postal Service (USPS) received a fair amount of attention on the former’s fiscal second quarter earnings call late last year.

With an eye on further driving its strategic priorities, Minneapolis, Minn.-based global logistics services provider and freight forwarder C.H. Robinson said last week it has made an executive hire, for its senior leadership team. The company announced it has hired Jim Reutlinger, a Continuous Improvement and Lean methodology expert, to launch its new Program Management Office. Reutlinger’s official title is Vice President, Enterprise Strategy Program Management.

While the 2023 holiday season is now officially in the rearview mirror, it is full speed ahead for the subsequent reverse logistics season.

In this space, at this time of year, I would typically put together a column that takes a look back at some key logistics trends and themes over the course of 2023 (which was a lot) and also takes a look at what may be in store for 2024. While it was my intention to get this written up before using up some banked time off for the rest of 2023, that ultimately did not come to fruition, so here we go, with...