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

Explore the Trendline➔

Top 5 stories from Supply Chain Dive

Here’s how companies are navigating evolving global trade and tariff policies, rising costs and operational uncertainty across supply chain networks.

By Supply Chain Dive staff

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

FedEx adds on-demand customs brokerage to Freightos

The partnership includes new digital services for multi-modal rate management and sales; air pricing, quoting and ebooking; and customs brokerage.

By S.L. Fuller • Feb. 28, 2020

UPS to spend $216M on expansion at Memphis airport

FedEx filed for its own $212 million expansion in Memphis in October.

By S.L. Fuller • Feb. 25, 2020

Shippers turn to air freight as Chinese factories come back online

The coronavirus outbreak led to a downturn in demand, but as commercial airlines cut capacity, carriers and freighters see an opportunity.

By Matt Leonard • Feb. 24, 2020

Coronavirus: A lesson in supply chain risk management

Companies are finding workarounds as COVID-19 cases and heightened e-commerce demand continue to disrupt supply chains.

By Matt Leonard • Updated June 21, 2022

FedEx to transfer some Express parcels to Ground for last mile

The aim is to improve parcel density and cost particularity for residential deliveries, FedEx said. 

By Morgan Forde • Feb. 10, 2020

Hyundai, Airbus stop production as coronavirus leaves manufacturers scrambling

Two Hyundai suppliers, Kyungshin and Yura Corporation, have announced plans to increase production outside of China to make up for supply shortages and plan to resume production Sunday at their Chinese locations.

By Matt Leonard • Feb. 5, 2020

Buoyed by record volume, UPS expands services to support e-commerce speed

A commitment to fast delivery, and the exit of FedEx from the running, allowed UPS to increase its business with Amazon in 2019 — now 11.6% of its revenue. 

By Emma Cosgrove • Jan. 30, 2020

Air cargo continues slump, down for 13th straight month

November is usually peak season for air cargo, but the ongoing trade war impacted volume in North American and Asian markets.

By Matt Leonard • Jan. 9, 2020

Investment in Hong Kong warehousing market falls 52% amid protests

The value of investment in the market fell to $719.9 million, down from $1.5 billion during the same period in 2018, a report from Real Capital Analytics found. 

By Morgan Forde • Dec. 18, 2019