Shipbuilders, container lines and port operators feasted on China's rise and the global resources boom. Now they're among the biggest victims of the country's slowdown and the worldwide decline in demand for oil rigs and other gear amid the oil price plunge.
For many major B2B enterprises, logistics networks have never been more complex. The increasing prevalence of operations that are global - with growing numbers of production sites and clients that could be anywhere on earth - has introduced challenges that didn't exist to the same degree at an earlier time. The good news is that there has also never before been a moment when there were more tools and more opportunities to optimize logistics costs than now.
In a patent filed Feb. 9, Google forecasts potential interest in using autonomous, self-driving vehicles to deliver packages, a concept Amazon and Google have both been exploring with the use of drones.
Dacotrans Sweden AB, the Swedish member of the FPS Group of independent freight forwarders and non-vessel operating common carriers, has merged with GH Transport AB and Key Logistics AB.
On the back of low bunker prices and more newbuildings to be delivered in 2016, chemical shipping freight rates for both contracts of affreightment and spot cargoes will be under pressure throughout 2016, as there are some new operators looking to break into the long-haul trade routes, according to the latest edition of the Chemical Forecaster, published by global shipping consultancy Drewry.
