All Entries

Wednesday, November 03, 2010

FedEx announced earlier today that its FedEx Express subsidiary will acquire the logistics, distribution, and express businesses of India-based AFL Pvt. Ltd. and its affiliate Unifreight India Pvt. Ltd. Financial terms of the deal, which is expected to close by February 2011, were not disclosed.

The Institute of Supply Management’s (ISM) Non-Manufacturing Report on Business for October continued the momentum it showed in September. The ISM’s index for measuring the sector’s overall health—known at the NMI—was 54.3 in October, a 1.1 percent gain from September.

While surfing through the cable news channels on Election Night, it became pretty clear that Congress would be turning from a Democratic-led entity to a divided one, with Democrats retaining a slim margin in the Senate and Republicans making a strong showing in the House to take control. Given the possibly unprecedented level of political acrimony in recent years, it is no surprise that things went the way they did last night. So, the big question now becomes, what happens now?

Tuesday, November 02, 2010

UPS announced that new rates will kick in, effective January 3, 2011. Company officials said that 2011 rates will include a net increase of 4.9 percent for UPS ground packages and a net increase of 4.9 percent on all air express and U.S. origin international shipments.

Following the recent attempt by terrorists to send explosives to the United States on cargo and passenger planes, Massachusetts Representative Edward J. Markey (D) said he plans to introduce legislation requiring 100 percent screening of all cargo on cargo planes.

Coming on the heels of the ratified labor agreement by Teamsters employees at less-than-truckload (LTL) transportation services provider YRC Worldwide (YRCW), LTL player ABF Freight Systems announced it is taking legal action against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and various YRCW subsidiaries, as well as other entities.

The average price per gallon of diesel gasoline remained above the $3 per gallon for the fifth straight week, according to data released this week by the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration.

Monday, November 01, 2010

Coming off of September which showed a nearly 2 percent sequential decline, the most recent edition of the Institute of Supply Management’s Manufacturing Report on Business showed signs of improvement in October.

Following two straight months of growth, the October edition of the Cass Information Systems Freight Index fell in October.

U.S. retailers and manufacturers continue to increase their reliance on air cargo from Asia, said a leading supply chain authority.