IAG Cargo has launched Critical, an emergency shipment service.

Take Supply Chain has enhanced its OneSCM software platform with the launch of OneSCM Intelligent Data Capture.

While sensor-laden containers, smart ships and 3D printing have grabbed the headlines, the start-ups making the biggest inroads are those working on something more basic - streamlining the interaction between shippers, freight forwarders and those actually transporting the goods.

A weak trend of improvement in the Stifel Logistics Confidence Index is evident, though the Index is still short of the neutral 50 point mark.

Recent events, such as the Hanjin collapse, have shone a spotlight on the deeply interconnected nature of today's container shipping networks and demonstrated how little visibility many shippers have into the whereabouts and status of their cargo as it moves through a complex web of service providers.