CH Robinson flexes muscle to wrangle PPE supply chains

The struggle to procure PPE has led states and hospital systems to lean on the procurement and logistics skills of private players.

By Emma Cosgrove • June 18, 2020

DHL Express expands hiring as peak season volumes continue through summer

The carrier is opening 400 full- and part-time positions at three major airports to cope with double-digit increases in parcel volume.

By Morgan Forde • June 15, 2020

Explore the Trendline➔

Top 5 stories from Supply Chain Dive

Here’s how companies are navigating rising costs, network changes and logistics disruptions across global supply chain networks.

By Supply Chain Dive staff

UPS expands healthcare footprint, shifting focus to vaccines

The carrier is working with many of the major players developing vaccines to protect against the new coronavirus and companies working toward treatments.

By Matt Leonard • June 10, 2020

Airfreight capacity falls 42%, 'damaging' global supply chains

The drop has resulted in longer shipping times and higher costs for companies moving cargo by air.

By Matt Leonard • June 5, 2020

Amazon Air's fleet expansion is a bid for logistics domination

The company announced plans to add an additional 12 aircraft to its fleet, bringing its total size to 82 planes by the end of 2021.

By Matt Leonard • June 4, 2020

Alibaba integrates freight procurement into B2B e-commerce site

Shippers using Alibaba's platform will be able to compare rates on ocean and air shipments, and track them in real time. 

By Matt Leonard • June 2, 2020

Drones and delivery trucks could work together, but regulatory hurdles remain

Using drones and trucks for a hybrid delivery system can leverage the best elements of both modes within a shipper's network, according to a recent MIT research paper. 

By Morgan Forde • May 28, 2020

FAA exemption allows cargo to travel in passenger seats

Airlines for America, a trade association, filed for the exemption April 23, arguing it would open up more capacity for airlines to transport critical medical supplies.

By Matt Leonard • May 22, 2020

Research conflicts on drone delivery costs, efficiency as parcel carriers scale operations

While Gartner estimates drone fleets could reduce operations costs by 70%, some research indicates drone operations, at scale, could be up to 10 times less energy efficient than vans.

By Morgan Forde • May 21, 2020

Coronavirus adds to complications heading into hurricane season

Analysts anticipate risk to manufacturing and expect reduced trucking hours at ports to have a knock-on effect on cargo movement. 

By Matt Leonard • Updated May 21, 2020

Freighters grapple with high demand as airfreight capacity drops 23% in March

With belly cargo disappearing, freighters are figuring out how to make up for the loss, resulting in higher prices for shippers.

By Matt Leonard • April 30, 2020

UPS negotiates pricing 'customer by customer' as shift to residential delivery hits profits

The company removed $1 billion in capital expenditures from its 2020 plans, but still pledged to have 100% of parcel volume flowing through automated sorting by 2022.

By Emma Cosgrove • April 28, 2020

USPS ships mail by sea as airfreight crunch continues

This is not the first time the Postal Service has made such a move due to the COVID-19 outbreak, a USPS spokesperson told Supply Chain Dive. 

By Emma Cosgrove • April 24, 2020

Inside Ceva Logistics' approach to managing GM's ventilator supply chain

Retooling production from semiconductors to ventilators requires Ceva and GM to work with hundreds of new suppliers. 

By Matt Leonard • April 23, 2020

UPS adds more than 200 flights in April for US, Europe coronavirus relief

The move follows FedEx's announcement of 150 additional flights for COVID-19 relief in April. 

By S.L. Fuller • April 17, 2020

FAA offers safety guidance for passenger planes ferrying cargo

Global air cargo supply relies heavily on the belly space of passenger planes and with the vast majority of commercial flights canceled, the industry has lost capacity and demand is high.

By Emma Cosgrove • April 17, 2020

FedEx adds 150 flights in April to shuttle PPE from Asia to the US

The carrier plans to redeploy aircraft it had parked, according to Bloomberg. FedEx has been cutting airfreight capacity since September. 

By S.L. Fuller • April 13, 2020

Global air cargo capacity falls for first time in 3 years

Freight capacity fell 4.4% year-over-year in February driven mostly by cancellations from airlines in the Asia Pacific region.

By Matt Leonard • April 6, 2020

United, American Airlines begin cargo-only flights as rates double between Europe and US

As the number of global consumer flights dwindles, so does a large slice of the global airfreight capacity that existed in the belly of those passenger planes.

By Emma Cosgrove • March 23, 2020

FedEx 'attacking costs' as coronavirus dashes forecast

FedEx has been in cost-cutting and efficiency-seeking mode for several quarters, as it seeks to recapture tumbling profitability.

By Emma Cosgrove • March 17, 2020

Airfreight rates from China to US climb 27% in 2 weeks as demand surpasses capacity

Flight cancellations out of China have removed 5,100 tons of capacity from China per day on average, which has led to a 36% year-over-year decline in total airfreight capacity out of mainland China.

By Matt Leonard • March 12, 2020

EU travel restrictions to decrease transatlantic air cargo capacity

Though cargo-only flights are not restricted, removing belly cargo space from commercial flights will take a significant bite of out of market capacity on the affected routes. 

By Emma Cosgrove • March 12, 2020

UPS taps former Home Depot CFO Carol Tomé to succeed David Abney as CEO

Tomé will be UPS' twelfth CEO in its 113-year history and the first woman to hold the position​.

By Morgan Forde • March 12, 2020

Coronavirus adds hurdle for air cargo industry saddled with demand slump

Airfreight demand was down YoY for 2019 and the full impact of the COVID-19 outbreak won't show up until the February numbers are released next month, according to the International Air Transport Association.

By Matt Leonard • March 9, 2020

Costco: It could take weeks to reach routine supply chain operations

The COVID-19 outbreak is affecting multiple parts of Costco​'s supply chain, not just its procurement and in-store operations.

By Matt Leonard • March 6, 2020