Shanghai soften line
Shanghai soften line
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China’s Apparel Supply Chains
China’s Apparel Supply Chains
Read MoreNew Zealand Post and Salmat Limited of Australia – Joint Venture Proposal Confirmed
New Zealand Post and Salmat Limited of Australia confirmed today that they will proceed with a joint venture proposal for unaddressed mail distribution in New Zealand.
The two companies said Paul Forno, the current General Manager of Letterbox Channel, has been appointed Chief Executive of a 50:50 joint venture company.
As announced on 6 August 2007, the joint venture will bring together Letterbox Channel and Deltarg, the current unaddressed mail subsidiaries of New Zealand Post and Salmat respectively. The Commerce Commission gave regulatory clearance in September.
Letterbox Channel and Deltarg will continue their current business activities until a full operational merger between them and launch of a new, combined business during the first half of 2008.
Read MorePalletways: Local logistics company expands its business
Milton Keynes based logistics firm, Keyne Express Deliveries, has expanded its business to cover the Milton Keynes area, in order to meet the requirement for overnight palletised freight distribution throughout the UK and Europe.
Keyne Express Deliveries, a family run business, was founded in 1985 and operates a fleet of thirty vehicles. The company had previously covered the Hemel Hempstead – HP 1-3 and Milton Keynes – MK11 postcodes, and this expansion has seen them take on a further 17 MK postcodes.
Keyne Express Deliveries operates its overnight palletised freight distribution service through Palletways, the number one palletised freight network in the UK.
The company is one of more than 100 regional depots that make up the nationwide network, providing a range of express distribution services for small consignments of palletised freight, including next day, economy and timed delivery options.
By accessing the Palletways website and entering their unique login name, Keyne Express’s customers are able to go online and check the status and location of their consignment with track and trace.
Traffic Demand Strong Despite Economic Uncertainty
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released traffic results for September 2007.
International air freight demand grew 5.0pct in September, down from 6.0pct in August, but still well above the weak levels of growth seen in the first half of 2007.
Growth for the year-to-date has improved to 4.0pct.
Asia Pacific (7.0pct ) continues to drive the global improvement. Demand rose 8.2pct in the Middle East after a sharp fall in August (3.5pct ), although below the double-digit levels seen over the last two years. Africa freight demand contracted by 10.4pct continuing a 5-month downturn due to a fall in demand in southern Africa.
“Traffic demand remains strong despite the financial instability seen in recent months,” said Giovanni Bisignani, Director General and CEO of IATA. “But it is still early days. Corporations—particularly the financial service sector—adjusting travel budgets could impact premium traffic. And fuel prices rising to new record levels will add more pressure on efficiency. So there can be no let-up in the imperative to keep costs down and planes full.”
Read MoreABX Air to acquire Cargo Holdings International
ABX Air, Inc. announced that it has agreed to acquire Cargo Holdings International, Inc. (CHI), a privately held provider of outsourced air cargo services based in Orlando, Fla., in a transaction valued at approximately USD 350 million.
CHI is a leading provider of air cargo transportation and related services to domestic and foreign air carriers, and other companies that outsource their air cargo lift requirements to reliable, cost-effective independent operators. CHI also provides aircraft leasing, fuel management, specialized transportation management and air charter brokerage services. Its roster of more than 30 customers includes BAX/Schenker, the U.S. Government, DHL, the U.S. Postal Service, and UPS. CHI operates 32 aircraft, and also owns five Boeing 767-200s and one 757-200 all undergoing freighter conversion. CHI expects to report revenues of USD 300 million for the year ended December 31, 2007, and is a solidly profitable company.
By the closing of this transaction, ABX Air will create a new holding company structure; with ABX Air, Inc. becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of ABX Holdings, Inc. CHI will become a wholly owned subsidiary of ABX Holdings, Inc. The final equity purchase price of the transaction is anticipated to be USD 260 million, which will include an adjustment based upon the net assets on CHI’s balance sheet at closing. The transaction will be financed with the issuance of 4 million shares of ABX Holdings common stock and cash from a new USD 345 million senior secured credit facility led by SunTrust Financial and Regions Bank, a portion of which will be used to refinance CHI’s existing USD 100 million credit facility.
Read MoreDHL wins award for excellence in logistics
Express and logistics company DHL recently won the Technology Business Review (TBR) Asean Award 2007 for excellence in logistics.
DHL said yesterday the regional awards presentation had attracted nominations from companies in Asean, including multinational corporations, government-linked corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from different industries.
“This win reflects DHL’s strength as the dominant express and logistics provider that is able to provide integrated supply chain solutions across the entire logistics industry range,” it said.
DHL Express country manager (Malaysia and Brunei) Sam Leong said the award further strengthened DHL’s commitment to continually respond to its customers’ international and transportation logistics needs.
“We have not only introduced new services such as airport-to-door, which shortens cycle times for delivery while reducing overall business costs, but also implemented new technical solutions which significantly improve security and shipment processing, as well as the financial controls,” he said.
Leong said the rapid expansion of the DHL Servicepoint retail network provided customers with more convenience, greater accessibility and flexibility for sending their shipments.
“We are constantly introducing new service enhancements for our customers, specifically for SMEs, to ensure that transit times are minimised and new routes are established,” he added.
Read MoreSpringer and TNT in German mail deal talks
Publisher Axel Springer is in talks with Dutch mail and parcel group TNT about merging German mail services companies TNT Post and PIN Group.
The idea is to create a company that can challenge German market leader Deutsche Post once its domestic monopoly on letter deliveries ends at the start of next year.
The companies are talking about which strategic options they could take, and merging the number two and three in Germany is the most likely option.
Germany is due to abolish Deutsche Post’s letters monopoly and open the lucrative market to competitors.
Springer, publisher of Europe’s best-selling daily Bild, bought a majority stake in PIN Group for USD 735.7 million in June, upping its share to 63.7 percent from 23.5 percent.
TNT, the number two in Germany’s letter market, already owns 25.1 percent of German mail delivery firm ecoflash Briefservice.
The Dutch firm is seeking to compensate for shrinking mail volumes at home by growing abroad, particularly in Britain and Germany. It expects to benefit from European Commission plans to liberalise the European mail market by 2011.
The idea is to tap into the letter market business because it offers direct customer contact which is especially interesting in light of the booming mail-order business.
Delivery of subscription newspapers and magazines would also make Springer more independent from other logistic operations.
Deutsche Post and Springer have been at loggerheads since the dominant German mail company cancelled advertising worth around USD 1.2 million in Springer’s magazines and newspapers.
Springer called the move a punishment for media companies entering the postal delivery market.
Deutsche Post, Europe’s largest mail carrier, pulled the ads in reaction to a campaign by Springer to oppose the launch of a minimum wage in the postal sector, which it says would put Deutsche Post’s future rivals at a disadvantage.
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