I spent the week out in Chicago at the LeanLogistics ClientConnect conference. It was a great week – great content at the conference, a great event at Pinstripes (I bowled a 119), and great weather for a run through Millennium Park and the lakefront trails. This marked my third consecutive week attending a conference. So while I miss my family, it at least gives me the opportunity to learn from my peers, network with clients and prospective case studies, and accrue significant points on JetBlue. I’ll have more to report on the conference in my column next Wednesday, but for now, let’s move right on to the news.
- First US gas shipment en route to Europe
- Food delivery app Postmates looks to retail as the next on-demand frontier
- CVS invests in Curbside
- BJ’s launches chain-wide click and collect
- Traffic cost trucking industry nearly $50B in 2014
- Shipping volume falls at East and West coast ports
- Global trade in fake goods worth nearly $500 billion
The first tanker loaded with US natural gas is on its way to Europe. The tanker left Louisiana for Portugal this week, which could shake up the European market. The 970-foot long Creole Spirit, carrying liquefied natural gas, is expected to arrive by the end of April. The market has long been dominated by Russia, and the influx of US gas is expected to drive down prices and help the struggling European economy. The US first began selling Gulf Coast gas abroad in February, with the first shipments heading to Brazil and then Asia. It will be interesting to see how the export of US gas shapes the export market and what impact it will have on global economies.
On-demand delivery service Postmates is looking to retailers to expand its network. Mostly known for food delivery, Postmates is partnering with online fashion retailer Revolve in a program to expand its service. One of Revolve’s lines is the “Festival Shop,” which includes all the clothes and accessories one could need for a festival. For this partnership, Revolve is getting its Coachella collection in the hands of customers as quickly as possible, with delivery timeframes under 60 minutes New York City, Dallas, San Francisco, L.A. and Orange County. With the first weekend of the festival over, concertgoers at the second weekend (which begins today), can get their last minute orders delivered directly to the festival by Postmates staff on the ground in Palm Springs / Coachella Valley. Talk about service.
CVS, the second largest US pharmacy retail chain, is moving into curbside pick-up. The company is investing in Palo Alto-based shopping startup Curbside, along with plans to further roll out to CVS’s 9,600 retail pharmacy locations curbside pickups powered by the service. The new curbside pick-up option is part of the newly branded CVS Express, which will be accessible within its own CVS mobile application. The program allows customers to place items in their cart through the mobile app and then have them delivered curbside at the CVS of their choice. The customer receives a notice when the order is ready, and Curbside’s geo-location technology again alerts the staff who will bring the order out to the car.
BJ’s Wholesale Club announced that it is launching a “pick up and pay” online shopping option at all of its 213 locations. To use the system, members can sign onto the company’s website and select items, which are then hand-picked by BJ’s employees and placed in a cart at the member services desk. The member is notified by email when the order is ready, and can then pick up and pay for the order. The big draw for BJ’s members is clearly the price point, but it also has “guaranteed product availability.” Orders placed before 1 p.m. will be available the same day.
According to new data released by the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), traffic congestion cost the trucking industry an extra $49.6 billion in operating costs in 2014. The analysis indicates that the average cost per truck is $26,625 per 150,000 miles. The research also revealed that 88% of the congestion costs were concentrated on only 18% of network mileage. While traffic congestion cannot be avoided, this puts the reality of the problem into a measurable way. So just how bad is it? ATRI found congestion caused delays totaling more than 738 million hours of lost productivity, which equates to 264,500 truck drivers sitting idle for an entire working year. This is even scarier given the driver shortage the industry is facing.
The impact of last year’s labor strike at West Coast ports is still being felt, and not just on the West Coast. Shipping volume has fallen at both Long Beach and Virginia ports. Cargo volume dropped at California’s Port of Long Beach in March to its lowest level in over a year. That was down 35% from the same month last year when dockworkers cleared the backlog from the labor stoppage. On the East Coast, the Port of Virginia reported a 7% drop in March cargo volume from the same month last year. There is some optimism, however, as declines were expected given that March 2015 was especially strong.
According to new studies, global trade of counterfeit goods is worth nearly $500 billion. This number represents about 2.5% of global imports. In a previous 2008 OECD study, fake goods accounted for up to 1.9% of global imports. The report puts the value of imported fake goods worldwide at $461 billion in 2013, compared with total imports in world trade of $17.9 trillion. The top countries whose companies had their intellectual property rights infringed in the 2011-13 seizures were the United States (20% of the knock-offs), Italy (15%), and France and Switzerland with 12% each. Japan and Germany stood at 8% each while China was affected by 1%. Postal parcels are the top method of shipping bogus goods, accounting for 62% of seizures over 2011-13, reflecting the growing importance of online commerce in international trade.
That’s all for this week. Enjoy the weekend and the song of the week, The Passenger by Iggy Pop.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLhN__oEHaw
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