Deep Dive: Page 2

Industry insights from our journalists


  • A UPS worker delivers packages on December 26, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois.
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    Scott Olson/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    FedEx, UPS 2024 rate increases: What shippers should know

    The variances within the carriers’ price hikes indicate what services are seeing the most pressure from competitors, experts say.

    Max Garland • Nov. 8, 2023
  • Top-Down View: In Warehouse People Working, Forklift Truck Operator Lifts Pallet with Cardboard Box. Logistics, Distribution Center with Products Ready for Global Shipment, Customer Delivery
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    gorodenkoff
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    By the numbers: How retailers stack up on inventory

    Going into Q3, many major players cleaned up their inventories after last year’s surge in stock levels, with benefits to margins. Not everyone fared equally, however.

    Ben Unglesbee • Oct. 17, 2023
  • An aerial view of shipping containers on a ship docked at the Port of Oakland in Oakland, California.
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    5 ways fashion brands can reset their supply chain strategies

    Port disruptions, labor negotiations and other shipping industry upheavals have forced apparel companies to develop new solutions to enduring challenges.

    Howard Ruben • Oct. 10, 2023
  • The European Parliament building is pictured with flags waving outside.
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    Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    The ambitious regulations cleaning up fashion’s supply chain

    From pollution to human rights violations, new European laws are holding global fashion brands accountable for collateral damage.

    Lauren Schenkman • Sept. 28, 2023
  • An Amazon driver loads packages into a delivery van at an Amazon delivery station on November 28, 2022 in Alpharetta, Georgia.
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    How Amazon Shipping could shake up the parcel delivery industry

    While not yet a heavy hitter against FedEx and UPS, the service could entice small- and medium-sized businesses with its straightforward fees, experts say.

    Max Garland • Aug. 30, 2023
  • UPS employees participate in a practice picket.
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    Courtesy of International Brotherhood of Teamsters
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    What’s behind the summer of supply chain labor unrest?

    From port disruptions to UPS and Yellow's dust-ups with the Teamsters, disputes between unions and employers are a recurring threat to the steady flow of goods.

    Max Garland • Aug. 16, 2023
  • Solar power station and solar energy panels on the green field in Chester, New Jersey.
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    Alex Potemkin via Getty Images
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    Who will pay to decarbonize the supply chain?

    Some brands are helping their suppliers reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Others are dumping new requirements on vendors without shouldering any of the costs.

    Ben Unglesbee • Aug. 15, 2023
  • A UPS driver makes a delivery on June 30, 2023 in Miami, Florida.
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    Joe Raedle via Getty Images
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    Why some UPS shippers haven’t diverted volume even as a potential strike looms

    As many businesses firm up contingency plans, others are maintaining their current delivery activity with UPS, according to parcel shipping experts.

    Max Garland • July 24, 2023
  • Teamsters President Sean O’Brien speaks during a rally in Orange, Calif., on April 15, 2023.
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    Aude Guerrucci/Reuters

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    UPS’ chances of averting a strike are shrinking. How should shippers prepare for the worst?

    Experts say an Aug. 1 strike isn't a certainty, but customers should still solidify alternative carrier options.

    Max Garland • July 5, 2023
  • A worker organizes packages at a FedEx facility on December 21, 2022 in Houston, Texas.
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    Brandon Bell/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    Deliveries keep getting faster. Will it last?

    Shippers adjusted to pandemic-related disruptions to reach customers faster. But shifting shopper preferences and cost-cutting efforts may slow things down.

    Max Garland • June 12, 2023
  • A woman in a yellow safety vest walks in a warehouse with boxes showcasing digital readings.
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    gorodenkoff via Getty Images
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    AI opens new frontier in supply chain planning

    The pandemic showed that forecasting is more important — and difficult — than ever.

    Ben Unglesbee • May 23, 2023
  • People at work in a large warehouse full of boxes.
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    kupicoo via Getty Images
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    After last year’s inventory tidal wave, where do retailers go from here?

    Bare shelves are still a recent memory, but many are learning to live on leaner inventories after overstocking in 2022.

    Ben Unglesbee • May 16, 2023
  • Image of an old fax machine, circa 1980.
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    luoman via Getty Images
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    Apparel suppliers out of vogue as they resist tech investments

    Tied to fax machines and Excel spreadsheets, many companies are resistant to change and slow to adapt to new ways of doing business.

    Krishna Thakker • May 12, 2023
  • An aerial view of  shipping containers and rail trackers behind a shipping port.
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    Courtesy of Port of Savannah
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    4 charts show how cargo diversions are playing out in the US

    Shippers have been diverting cargo for years now, but where exactly is it going? A few datasets provide a hint.

    Edwin Lopez, Alejandra Carranza and Jasmine Ye Han • May 3, 2023
  • A delivery robot crosses a busy street.
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    Carlos Osorio/AP

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    Why delivery robots face a regulatory ‘nightmare’

    Laws for sidewalk-roaming bots have taken hold across states. But variances in each bill complicate the industry's expansion plans.

    Max Garland • April 26, 2023
  • Piles of unsold multi-colored clothing in a large heap
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    Spencer Platt/Getty via Getty Images
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    An unglamorous solution to fashion’s sustainability problem: make less stuff

    Industry players are shifting to new strategies amid corporate responsibility pushes and efforts to stop the destruction of unsold goods.

    Lauren Schenkman • April 20, 2023
  • A photo of FedEx's roxo delivery robot shared with us OCt. 2020
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    Courtesy of FedEx
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    FedEx and Amazon still haven’t figured out sidewalk delivery robots. Will mass adoption ever come?

    Delivery giants' tests of autonomous bots fizzled out. But many industry insiders still believe that the technology can catch on.

    Max Garland • April 12, 2023
  • Person holding hamburger in a wrapper
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    hapabapa via Getty Images
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    Paper industry struggles to phase out PFAS

    Finding alternatives to toxic "forever chemicals" remains an ongoing issue within the packaging sector.

    April Reese • April 7, 2023
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    Allison Joyce/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    3 years later: How COVID-19 exposed the vulnerability of suppliers and workers to the power of big buyers

    A tidal wave of order cancellations in early 2020 had dire repercussions for laborers and their families. The consequences are still being felt.

    Ben Unglesbee • March 31, 2023
  • A DroneUp pilot overseeing drone delivery at Walmart store
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    Courtesy of Walmart press kit DroneUp announcement
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    What drone companies need to do to reach lofty delivery goals

    Zipline and Alphabet's Wing aim to scale up and reach more customers, but it will take more than their internal capabilities to secure long-term success and adoption.

    Max Garland • March 29, 2023
  • pepsico regenerative agriculture emissions
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    Courtesy of PepsiCo
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    Food companies say they can reduce their emissions this year. Experts are skeptical.

    Academics and environmental groups say CPGs’ reliance on regenerative agriculture and carbon credits may not be enough to realistically hit their time-based goals.

    Chris Casey • Feb. 6, 2023
  • Vita Coco
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    Permission granted by Vita Coco
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    Here’s how CPGs are bracing for more volatility in 2023

    Supply chain disruptions are prompting companies to revamp operations to weather a period of prolonged uncertainty.

    Christopher Doering • Jan. 19, 2023
  • The Marco Polo, the largest cargo ship to call at an East Coast port, arrives under the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and into New York Harbor on May 20, 2021
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    Spencer Platt via Getty Images
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    Amid strike fears, cargo diversion a key fixture in 2022’s supply chain playbook

    The shadow of negotiations clouds U.S. railroads and West Coast ports. Shippers have leaned on less-risky alternatives, despite some drawbacks.

    Max Garland • Nov. 16, 2022
  • A warehouse with rows of packages
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    Courtesy of Medline
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    Holiday hangovers: Retailers seek to clear out inventory piles as the season ramps up

    After declarations about “decisive” actions to clear excess goods earlier this year, levels are still high and markdowns rampant.

    Ben Unglesbee • Nov. 8, 2022
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    Thomas Cain via Getty Images
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    ESG backlash unlikely to derail SEC proposal requiring climate risk disclosures

    One expert said the agency has "vastly underestimated" the amount of money needed for businesses to comply.

    Jim Tyson • Nov. 3, 2022