Freight Forwarders | Air Cargo Next

DHL expands US pharma sites with $200M investment

Courtney Blackann — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 23:50:48 +0000

DHL Supply Chain will grow its life and sciences facilities in the United States to 40 sites from 35 and invest $200 million to expand its presence in Pennsylvania and North Carolina by the end of the year. In conjunction with a growing demand for domestic weight loss and diabetes medications, DHL is planning to […]

Rock-It Cargo adds digitalization to the party

Courtney Blackann — Fri, 23 Feb 2024 22:52:47 +0000

Rock ‘n’ roll is here to stay, but Rock-It Cargo is changing its tune. The Los Angeles-based freight forwarder, a subsidiary of Global Critical Logistics, issued and processed the first electronic merchandise passport in the United States this week. The company says it is the largest specialty cargo operator in the U.S. The passport, […]

Expeditors earnings fall 46% in 2023

Yael Katzwer — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 21:53:50 +0000

Expeditors today reported $9.3 billion in revenue for 2023, a decrease of 46% year over year. THE BIG PICTURE: Like other forwarders in the air cargo industry, Expeditors was impacted in the fourth quarter and 2023 by high capacity and low demand, which drove down rates. Part of the blame was also attributed to the […]

Maersk logistics revenue drops 8.2%

Courtney Blackann — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 22:55:53 +0000

Denmark-based shipping giant Maersk today reported fourth-quarter revenue of $11.7 billion, a 34% year-over-year decline. Its logistics and other services revenue dropped 8.2% YoY to $3.5 billion. THE BIG PICTURE: While demand remained stable throughout the year and volumes increased, freight rates remained low, contributing to overall revenue losses, Maersk leaders said in an earnings […]

DSV airfreight revenue falls 44.1% in 2023

Courtney Blackann — Thu, 01 Feb 2024 22:34:57 +0000

Denmark-based 3PL DSV announced fourth-quarter revenue of 36.5 billion kronor ($5.3 billion), a decrease of 28.7% year over year. The forwarder’s airfreight revenue decreased in 2023 by 44.1% to $7.3 billion and its airfreight gross profit decreased in Q4 by 25.5% YoY to $440 million. THE BIG PICTURE: Marked by global trade hardships in sea, […]

C.H. Robinson revenue falls 28.7% in 2023

Yael Katzwer — Thu, 01 Feb 2024 21:52:19 +0000

C.H. Robinson reported $17.6 billion in 2023 revenue, down 28.7% year over year, which the freight forwarder primarily attributes to lower pricing in its ocean and truckload services. “Our fourth-quarter results did not meet our expectations as we continue to battle through a poor demand and pricing environment,” C.H. Robinson President and Chief Executive Dave […]

Flexport to slash 20% of workforce

Courtney Blackann — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 22:48:27 +0000

Days after Flexport Chief Executive Ryan Petersen announced a $260 million investment from Shopify, Flexport is preparing to cut another 20% of its workforce. Flexport did not respond to requests for comment. Flexport’s plans to cut 20%, or about 500 jobs, from its budget, were first reported by The Information on Jan. 26. The digital […]

Shopify’s $260M Flexport funding comes after rocky year

Courtney Blackann — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 22:52:37 +0000

Flexport Chief Executive Ryan Petersen is saying a $260 million investment from longtime partner and e-commerce giant Shopify will help Flexport “return to profitability” following a rocky year for the digital freight forwarder. The news came via a Jan. 19 post on X, formerly Twitter, just three months after Petersen told employees in an internal […]

Podcast: Aircon CEO on benefits, challenges of airfreight consolidation

Yael Katzwer — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 22:11:04 +0000

A Dallas-based airfreight consolidation company is using AI and machine learning to offer a platform that helps smaller freight forwarders consolidate shipments, which increases efficiency, saves money and reduces the industry’s carbon footprint.

Chris Condon

Aircon was founded in 2021 and has more than 800 clients. The company aims to eliminate the need for manual, paper-based operations, opting instead for a tech-forward approach.

Aircon Chief Executive Chris Condon discusses the benefits and challenges of airfreight consolidation and how technology can help smaller freight forwarders compete with large forwarders in this episode of “On Air with Air Cargo Next.”

If smaller freight forwarders don’t consolidate cargo, “then I don’t think they’re going to survive long-term,” Condon says. “If you think of tech from the airline standpoint, you know, some of these airlines have already connected directly [with], let’s say, Kuehne+Nagel or Expeditors. … But they’re not going to do that to all the thousands of freight forwarders around the U.S. They’re going to be selective on who they connect directly with.”

Listen to the full episode below.

Deutsche Bahn begins DB Schenker sale process

Air Cargo Next Staff — Tue, 19 Dec 2023 21:38:23 +0000

Deutsche Bahn has launched the sale process for its logistics subsidiary DB Schenker. A condition for the sale is that “it must have apparent economic advantages for Deutsche Bahn in all respects,” according to a release today from Deutsche Bahn (DB Group). “The international logistics market offers excellent prospects for long-term growth,” DB Group stated. […]