CLIFF NOTES 
Top Logistics Headlines This Week

Domestic Freight Management

Winter Weather Impacts Southern Supply Chains

Various interstates and ports across the southern portion of the United States have been closed early this week due to Winter Storm Inga. State of emergency declarations have also temporarily suspended the hours-of-service regulations for truck drivers operating in certain states. Click here to read more. 

FTR Confirms Strong Outlook for 2018

The FTR Transportation Intelligence is the latest trucking research entity to reiterate that 2018 will once again be a strong freight year. The research shows the market is very close to full capacity with load demand exceeding the number of available drivers. Click here to read more. 

15 Largest Ocean Carriers Capture Additional Market Share 

Data from Drewry and Alphaliner show that the top 15 ocean carriers' combined share of the global market increased from 78.6 percent to 85.1 percent during 2017. These top 15 carriers expanded their capacity from 16.27 million TEUs (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units) to 18.32 million TEUs. Overall, global capacity increased by 3.9 percent last year to reach a total of 21.51 million TEUs. 

Maersk and IBM Announce New Joint Venture

Maersk Line and IBM recently announced the intention to establish a new joint venture that will use blockchain technology to create a revolutionary global trade platform. The digitization is aimed at improving supply chain visibility, decreasing transportation costs and removing inefficiencies due to paper-based processes. Click here to read more. 

Industry Continues to Urge FMC to Establish Demurrage Guidelines

The global shipping community continues to urge the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) to set up guidelines for demurrage and detention charges when delays are outside of a shipper's control. One trade group is advocating for the creation of specific guidelines that cover extreme weather, labor disruptions, system outages, infrastructure issues, high volumes and carrier bankruptcies. Click here to read more.

Retail Consolidation

Select Sam's Club Locations Could be Converted to E-commerce DC's

Walmart recently announced it is closing 63 of its Sam's Club stores, however, 10 to 12 of these locations are expected to be converted into e-commerce distribution centers. While the stores are about 136,000 square feet, this size is much smaller than many of the company's existing DC's. Click here to read more. 

Recap from NRF's Big Show  

This week retail enthusiasts gathered at the Big Show, an annual National Retail Federation (NRF) event held in New York City. Technology was front and center once again this year as well as predictions about the future of brick-and-mortar stores. Click here to read all of the recap articles.