The conflict in Ukraine has accelerated the EU’s initiatives to speed up work on free-trade agreements. Nine countries, including Germany and Spain, plan to send a letter to the EU seeking to speed up the delayed talks. These countries want faster negotiations with New Zealand, Australia, India, and Indonesia, while speeding the implementation of accords agreed with Chile, Mexico, and the Mercosur bloc of countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay. Read More.
Chinese lockdowns will severely impact western ports and logistics operators this summer. As China lifts the restrictions, a stream of container ships is anticipated to reach the docks. The shutdown of factories and logistics operations has caused massive backlogs and a cargo pipeline. This pipeline could cause a surge in cargo inflow at the U.S. West Coast ports in the coming days. Read More.
With increased transportation capacity, US supply chain pressures seem to be easing. The Logistics Managers' Index (LMI), a measure of supply chain conditions in the United States and Canada, registered an all-time high. The increased transportation capacity has led to the record-setting territory for LOMI's monthly average, with six fewer points than March's previous peak at 64%. The transportation capacity subindex came in at 56.9, 11.2 percentage points higher than the March reading and a return to expansion for the first time since May 2020. Click here to read more.
Maersk, one of the world's largest shipping companies, has stated that $627 million of the Russian losses were write-downs, and $91 million were increases in operating costs. In an interview with Bloomberg, Maersk CEO Soren Skou said that the company's Russian assets are now valued at zero. Maersk has reported that its earnings for the past quarter were greater than expected. Depending on how well trade flows, they now see a 1% increase or decline in container demand worldwide. Read More.
As a part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in November 2021, the Biden administration has announced $3.16 billion in funding for domestic battery manufacturing and supply chains for battery materials. The minerals most relevant to electric vehicles and grid storage batteries are lithium, cobalt (a component used to manufacture lithium-ion cells), and nickel. The US has around four percent of the world's reserves but produces less than 2%. The most significant reserve is in Chile, while Australia holds a substantial portion. Read More.
Shopify intensifies competition with Amazon and other market players by announcing that it will buy Deliverr, an order-fulfillment specialist, for $2.1 billion. Shopify aims to provide smaller online retailers with an alternative fulfillment network. It has allocated $1 billion to build warehouses capable of delivering goods within two days across American territory to create Distributed Retail. Learn More.
Despite supply chain disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine and the pandemic, Volkswagen is confident in its outlook for 2022. The company is using its global production network to relieve stress from existing supply chain constraints. Currently, global car manufacturers face a severe scarcity of critical components to keep production lines running. However, CEO Herbert Diess mentioned, "We used our position as a truly global company to balance production across our markets and relieve pressure where there were supply issues and product shortages." Read More.
The Institute for Supply Management's data shows that it's taking an average of 100 days to receive production materials in the US, which is longer than any recorded period in history. For capital expenditures, the average commitment time rose to a whopping 173 days, that's broken all previous records. Manufacturers are battling another grave concern of not being able to recruit a workforce while the transportation and shipping delays continue to plague industries. Read More.
The collaboration between Google Cloud and SAP SE just got more seamless with the announcement of new integrations. With this native integration, customers can now connect core software designed to run all mission-critical processes in the cloud with collaborative capabilities offered through Docs/Sheets on google workspace. With these new integrations, customers will be able to take advantage of collaborative features within Google Docs and Sheets right from the SAP software workflow. Read More.
Accenture and SAP are introducing a new joint offering to help large enterprises move to the cloud and deliver continuous innovation. The latest joint offering from RISE and SAP has been augmented with new features that encompass Accenture's comprehensive suite of transformation services, including customised cloud solutions for large enterprises across industries. This as-a-service model delivered through their cohesive partnership will efficiently streamline the planning or implementing an enterprise deployment. Read More.
project44 has announced the launch of its new series, Supply Chain LIVE. From May 4th at 10 am CDT. This monthly event will provide industry professionals with the latest information on global happenings in supply chain management. The world's leading logistics and shipping executives joined project44 for a series of live discussions on LinkedIn. Hosted by project44's newly appointed Chief Industry Officer Bart De Muynck, the sessions featured insights into operational impacts, economic trends that affect the industry, and data collected across sectors within global supply chains. Read More.
FourKites has launched Universal Appointment Manager Solution, a Cloud-based solution that helps warehouses, distribution centers, and manufacturing facilities collaborate efficiently on pickup and receiving time slots. It also allows shippers and carriers to eliminate excess dwell time on site, scrap off detention fees and reduce carbon emissions. The solution also simplifies the daily administrative tasks for shippers and carriers by enabling real-time collaboration; book preferred appointment times while boosting overall productivity. Read More.