Rhenus Logistics of Germany acquired Freight Logistics, which is based in Miami, Florida, Rhenus said in a news release. “The acquisition of Freight Logistics is an important step for us in expanding our business activities in the Americas region and follows our latest acquisition of Rodair in Canada in the beginning of 2019," said Jorn Schmersahl, CEO of Rhenus Air & Ocean Americas. "These steps enable us to consolidate our network there and to serve both North America and the Latin American region from Miami as our new gateway. This will help us live up to our goal of being globally oriented and we can establish more links between the continents.” Financial terms of the deal weren't released. Freight Logistics "specializes in supply-chain solutions, international transportation (air & ocean), customs brokerage, compliance, warehousing and distribution," Rhenus said.
Most of the world is shifting more of its imports to relatively nearby countries -- for instance, trade within Asia, or Western European Union countries importing from Poland, Morocco and Turkey -- according to a new report from the McKinsey Global Institute presented April 11 at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. The cost of managing far-flung suppliers across many time zones, combined with rising wages in China, proved "much higher than expected," according to Susan Lund, leader of the project. But the United States is an outlier. The proportion of North American trade that's done within the NAFTA countries is down over the last five years.
Near North Customs Brokers acquired two Canadian brokerages within the last month, the company said in an emailed news release. "Alliance Border Services of Delta, B.C., and ISL Customs Broker, a division of Island Shipping Ltd., of Nanaimo, B.C., were both acquired within weeks of each other" as part of a "strategic push to further strengthen its portfolio and reach across British Columbia," Near North said. Terms of the deals weren't released. All employees of Alliance Border Services and ISL employees joined Near North Customs, it said. ISL will continue to "function under its own name out of Nanaimo, a highly strategic location in the customs brokerage arena."
The Border Trade Alliance is lobbying lawmakers this week for U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement ratification. “While we certainly wish the disruptions at the border weren’t occurring, they have shined a bright light on the importance of cross-border trade to the health of the U.S. economy,” BTA board chair Paola Avila said. The Alliance says the USMCA makes "major and important" upgrades to NAFTA, including in the areas of e-commerce, intellectual property protection and enhanced agricultural access.
The U.S.-China Business Council released the results of a survey of American and Chinese business executives, finding that about half think business will return to normal after an agreement on trade between the two countries, but that Chinese executives were more likely to have that expectation. The April 5 release about the survey also said that more than 75 percent of the executives think only some of the issues will be resolved at the end of negotiations. Just over half said the trade war doesn't affect their ability to do business.
Livingston International will take part in blockchain pilot involving the Canada Border Services Agency, the company said in an April 3 news release. The pilot will use TradeLens, a "blockchain-enabled digital shipping solution jointly developed" by IBM and A.P. Moller-Maersk, it said. "Livingston will serve as the first customs broker to leverage the TradeLens platform for brokerage automation," the company said. "Livingston's role in the pilot will be to enter and access information on shipments and streamline internal procedures without compromising accuracy or security. The CBSA is participating in the TradeLens pilot to determine what role the platform could play in its business processes."
Noatum Logistics reached a deal to acquire MIQ Logistics, the companies said in a March 21 news release. MIQ's workforce will be integrated with Noatum, a division of Noatum Maritime of Spain, "as there is no geographical overlap except in Chile, where the services complement each other," the companies said. The acquisition is expected to close in the "coming weeks." Terms of the deal weren't released. MIQ is based in Kansas and has more than 60 offices in 19 countries. "Together, we will be able to grow more quickly, ensuring our employees and clients’ satisfaction at all times," MIQ CEO John Carr said. "This is the right move, at the right time with the right company.” MIQ is owned by private equity firm Austin Ventures.
Cummins CEO Tom Linebarger, who chairs the Business Roundtable Trade and International Committee, released a statement on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement after the Business Roundtable hosted President Donald Trump at its quarterly board meeting on March 21. “The CEO members of Business Roundtable, who lead companies with more than 15 million employees, strongly support congressional passage of USMCA implementing legislation this year. We stand united to preserve and modernize North American trade, which supports over 12 million jobs and a strong U.S. economy," he said. The Business Roundtable will work to build the necessary support to pass that bill, he added.
FedEx experienced “a significant amount of traffic that was put on the water” beginning in late summer as importers tried to beat the Jan. 1, 2019, increase in the tariff rate on List 3 of Chinese goods subject to Section 301 tariffs, CEO Fred Smith said on a March 19 conference call to discuss earnings in the third quarter of fiscal year 2019. Though President Donald Trump postponed the rate increase to March 1 -- and later delayed it indefinitely -- “there was a lot of inventory that was moved into the U.S.” in the calendar year Q4 and a subsequent slowdown in calendar Q1, he said. “So hopefully now with the anticipation of a trade deal, maybe we'll go back into a more normal cycle,” he said. FedEx estimates U.S. e-commerce numbers about 50 million packages in “average daily volume,” and forecasts that amount will double to 100 million by 2026, said Brie Carere, chief marketing and communications officer. “We expect one in four incremental e-commerce packages to be locally fulfilled between now and 2026,” she said. “Innovations” like the robotic FedEx SameDay Bot, unveiled last month, and the new FedEx Extra Hours program will help meet the trend, she said. Extra Hours “enables merchants to fulfill locally as late as midnight while enabling their customers to shop in the evening with next-day or two-day delivery,” she said.
The U.S. Council for International Business submitted its outline for how to improve the World Trade Organization to the Senate Finance Committee, which held a March 12 hearing on the WTO (see 1903120055). "Our recommendations for modernizing the WTO should not in any way be read as questioning the business support for WTO. Instead, they are intended to highlight areas for action that would strengthen the ability of the organization to more effectively meet the demands of a changing world," the trade group wrote.