Category: Supply Chain

In a sign of the growing strategic significance of supply chain management for carmakers, two major manufacturers have appointed chief supply chain officers (CSCO) this month. Their appointments come after the industry has battled disruption to production and supply chains, shortages in semicondu... Read more

For many importers, the underlying problem that prevented them from pivoting their supply chain as the pandemic’s impact became more pervasive was lack of visibility and control upstream.  The food supply chain has stabilised since the pandemic, but new macro events continue to create d... Read more

Last year the shipping analyst Drewry’s forecast that the container shipping lines earnings would be down 64% for 2023, but added that there were strategic choices available to the carriers, to protect their revenues, with slow steaming a proven method of removing capacity, to protect rates and... Read more

The port of Nhava Sheva, is the second largest container port in India and repairs and replacement of gantry cranes are reducing terminal capacity by 50%, which is expected to possibly last until October or November. Container traffic through India's Nhava Sheva Port (JNPT) is facing bottlenec... Read more

The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply’s (CIPS) Procurement Futures conference brought together the most influential procurement professionals to figure out how to make supply chains more resilient, as buyers consider returning to just-in-time strategies, as port congestion eases. ... Read more

Negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and West Coast port employers, represented by the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) began last May and while talks continue, both are hopeful of reaching a deal soon, as US importers continue to divert cargo to Eastern a... Read more

The COVID-19 pandemic turned the public gaze towards supply chains and a previously unrecognised business sector became a household name, but after two plus years of navigating monumental challenges, supply chain executives, are faced with more challenges and need to secure their supply chains be... Read more

The sidewalk booths, where residents took compulsory COVID tests almost daily, have gone and queues are again forming outside restaurants, while face masks, which were omnipresent for nearly three years, have almost disappeared, but some challenges remain. China’s Centre for Disease Control ... Read more

Now in its 22nd year, the annual TPM conference, in Long Beach California, considers the pressing supply chain and freight challenges affecting shippers globally. TPM attracts the most senior-level audience in the industry, including an executive team from Metro and is considered to be the ‘Dav... Read more

There was no pre-CNY transpacific rush this year and with China re-opening, factories are expected to open again in the second half of February, which is why carriers have tried to maintain rates. The CNY has given US ports a respite and most are now clear, with hardly any ships waiting outside W... Read more

Shipping lines have cancelled almost 30% of pre and post Chinese New Year sailings from Asia, with THE Alliance cutting 36% to Europe and diverting backhaul sailings around the Cape of Good Hope, which adds two weeks transit time to China.  In a normal year, the weeks building up to China... Read more

If travel for the Lunar New Year holidays increases COVID transmission, we will see large numbers of infected workers having to quarantine, which will delay their return to work and factories, hauliers, terminals and ports that would traditionally restart operations by mid-February could be shut ... Read more