Deep Dive: Page 3

Industry insights from our journalists


  • Two people with hard hats walking past bales of plastic scrap.
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    Natalie Behring via Getty Images
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    Sustainable packaging goals challenged by supply chain realities

    As CPGs set targets to cut virgin plastic use, chaotic forces like the pandemic, poor weather and war complicate the timeline.

    Samantha Oller • June 9, 2022
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    Ethan Miller/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    Carriers, shippers grapple with how to cut emissions in airfreight

    The airfreight industry is rolling out environmentally-minded initiatives. Will it be enough for shippers to stick with the emissions-heavy mode?

    Max Garland • May 18, 2022
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    Furniture retailers forge new supply chain practices as backlogs, delays prevail

    Improved inventory management is just one practice — executives are also looking at new sourcing destinations to mitigate risk.

    Ben Unglesbee • April 25, 2022
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    Oli Scarff via Getty Images
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    Amazon is slowing down its fulfillment center spend. What's next?

    Heightened demand put Amazon's distribution buildout into overdrive. To speed up delivery and limit costs, it will have to invest more.

    Max Garland • March 16, 2022
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    Retail supply chains were made to be broken. Will brands adapt — or revert?

    The past two years have laid bare vulnerabilities that have long existed in the system, including a lack of capacity and geographic concentration in manufacturing.

    Ben Unglesbee • Feb. 11, 2022
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    Courtesy of Johnsonville
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    Food suppliers wade into logistics as trucking rates soar

    Businesses can't evade the trucking market, but there are strategies they can adopt to lessen the impact of market forces.

    Shefali Kapadia • Feb. 9, 2022
  • Darrin Masters poses alongside Jenny Ramos, head trainer at Advance Auto Parts' Kutztown distribution center.
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    Advance Auto Parts has a program to hire people with disabilities at 16 of its 44 distribution centers. Darrin Masters (right), who was hired via the program, poses alongside Jenny Ramos (left), head trainer at Advance Auto Parts' Kutztown distribution center. Advance Auto Parts granted permission to use this image.

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    Disability inclusion programs help warehouses hire overlooked talent

    Retail and logistics companies are accelerating their commitments to workers with disabilities as a labor crunch hampers operations. Experts say the programs have sizeable benefits.

    Colin Campbell • Feb. 8, 2022
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    How grocers are managing the twin pressures of supply chain disruption and inflation

    Companies need to be particularly "agile" in 2022, one expert said, as high demand and shortages can make inflation appear quickly.

    Jeff Wells • Jan. 31, 2022
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    LeoPatrizi via Getty Images
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    Delivery firms deepen restaurant relationships as growth slows

    Major aggregators are rolling out white labels, subscription programs and data tools to retain partners as more diners order from operators directly. 

    Julie Littman • Jan. 31, 2022
  • A woman is checking her receipt thoroughly, after she'd stored her catch in the trunk. She bought everything she needs, time to go home.
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    LukaTDB via Getty Images
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    Grocers are experimenting with delivery fees. Here are 8 key factors to consider.

    Experts said they expect — and encourage — grocers to continue testing strategies for dealing with delivery costs.

    Catherine Douglas Moran • Jan. 18, 2022
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    George Frey via Getty Images
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    'Insult to injury': Record rail demurrage adds to shipper costs

    Storage fees skyrocketed in 2021 after an import surge snarled transportation networks. The ballooning revenues have shippers and railroads at odds over who's at fault for congestion.

    Sarah Zimmerman and Edwin Lopez • Jan. 12, 2022
  • Hain Celestial, tea
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    Permission granted by Hain Celestial
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    CPGs grapple with a murky 2022 outlook as inflation, supply chain weigh on operations

    Uncertainty is making it hard for CEOs to determine whether they should raise prices or take other actions.

    Christopher Doering • Jan. 11, 2022
  • Employees prepare orders at Amazon's San Bernardino Fulfillment Center on October 29, 2013 in San Bernardino, California.
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    Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    7 charts show Southern California's warehousing crunch

    Easing the chokepoint is a "balancing act" of labor, warehouse space and goods movement, one expert said.

    Max Garland • Dec. 8, 2021
  • An aereal shot of the San Pedro Bay ports, Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach, provided in a news release on Oct. 26, 2021.
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    Courtesy of Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach
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    Trucking's role in untangling the web of West Coast port congestion

    The driver shortage has become a "scapegoat" for bottlenecks as empty containers, low yard productivity, limited space and unavailable chassis converge.

    Jim Stinson • Nov. 24, 2021
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    Danielle Ternes/Construction Dive
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    Pricing insanity: Material costs escalate, driving contractor desperation

    Amid unprecedented supply chain challenges, firms locked into contracts based on last year's prices are feeling the heat.

    Robyn Griggs Lawrence • Oct. 28, 2021
  • Yantian-port from above from creative commons, downloaded June 2021
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    "Yantian port from above" by Gigel.atat is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
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    After years of ‘Made in China,’ supply chains consider alternatives

    The change in tone from U.S.-based supply chains is not a mass exodus from China. Instead, it's an approach that embraces diversification. 

    Shefali Kapadia • Oct. 14, 2021
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    Getty Images
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    The rise of LTL: How e-commerce changed the middle mile

    Businesses are shipping smaller quantities of freight more frequently, giving logistics professionals more to manage in increasingly complex networks.

    S.L. Fuller • Oct. 6, 2021
  • Workers prepare to offload an incoming FedEx plane at a FedEx global hub on December 16, 2014 in Newark, New Jersey.
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    Andrew Burton / Staff via Getty Images
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    Aircraft emissions present a roadblock to supply chain sustainability goals

    FedEx's Chief Sustainability Officer says true aviation sustainability "is an intractable problem." Will environmentally conscious shippers move away from airfreight?

    Max Garland • Sept. 8, 2021
  • Burnt down telecom antenna @ Annecy-le-Vieux 5G
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    Retrieved from Flickr user Guilhem Vellut on November 13, 2020
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    What 3G's sunset means for tracking, visibility tech

    Companies relying on IoT devices for their supply chains have a relatively tight window to upgrade to 4G.

    Deborah Abrams Kaplan • Aug. 31, 2021
  • An aerial view of TEU containers stacked at Virginia International Gateway
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    Courtesy of Port of Virginia
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    'You can pay or you can wait': How retailers are navigating a shipping crisis

    Consumer demand came raging back this year. The supply chain wasn't ready for it, and now retailers, brands and consumers are paying the price.

    Ben Unglesbee • Aug. 3, 2021
  • An XPO driver with his truck.
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    Courtesy of XPO.

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    From sapling to pure-play LTL: The story of XPO Logistics under Jacobs

    Bradley Jacobs is a relentless numbers man and a serial entrepreneur. And he's one thing neither XPO nor GXO can replace.

    Jim Stinson • Aug. 2, 2021
  • As PPE demand grew, organizations stepped up to the challenge — and fought fraud along the way

    Bad actors emerged during the pandemic, as a supply-demand imbalance in personal protective equipment left openings and vulnerabilities for fraud and counterfeits.

    Deborah Abrams Kaplan • July 15, 2021
  • Container ships and tankers are anchored close to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on February 1, 2021 in San Pedro, California.
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    Last year, the Transpacific was a 'nightmare.' It's only gotten worse.

    One shipper offered a carrier $6,000 for space. It was told $60,000 wouldn't even be enough.

    Matt Leonard • June 24, 2021
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    Sean Gallup via Getty Images
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    The misconceptions in the rare earth supply chain

    The problem isn't a shortage of raw materials. The problem is getting them out of the ground — and out of China.

    Emma Penrod • June 17, 2021
  • Firefighters set a backfire to protect homes and try to contain the Blue Ridge Fire on October 27, 2020 in Chino Hills, California
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    Photo illustration by Adeline Kon/Supply Chain Dive; photograph by David McNew via Getty Images
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    More frequent, severe wildfires threaten California's growing logistics network

    Fires can clog and cut off freight arteries, creating choke points for inventory traveling via truck and rail.

    Deborah Abrams Kaplan • June 1, 2021