Container Shipping & Trucking Transortation Trends for 2017 Lead to Further Industry Consolidations

Freight forwarding startups attracted roughly $1 billion in investments over 18 months in 2014 and 2015, according to the Wall Street Journal, more than double the amount invested over the previous five years. This August, Uber, C.H. Robinson and Honeywell all inked deals to purchase startups and improve their offerings.

Whether it's Uber's drive for self-driving trucks or Honeywell's supply chain software expansions, both symbolize large companies' increased willingness to bet on startups as a way of outsourcing innovation. We will see several startups here in Savannah that will continue this growth in distribution & distillery production of spirits.

In 2015 acquisitions, transportation and logistics 3PL ;">XPO Logistics scooped up motor carrier Con-way Inc., ABF Transportation Logistics Company bought Smart Lines Transportation Group & CRST International acquired Pegasus International Inc. UPS, Celadon Group Inc., Maverick USA Inc., Roadrunner Transportation Systems Inc. all made purchases as well.

PWC stated in the 2nd quarter of this year, they tracked 51 global transportation and logistics-related mergers and acquisitions, more than half were in Asia. Just eight were in North America. In September, transportation company CRST International Inc. acquired Gardner Trucking, Inc., California’s largest truckload carrier. This summer, trucking giant Schneider National Inc. purchased last-mile home delivery specialists Lodeso Inc. and Watkins & Shepard Trucking Inc.

We will see 2016 and 2017 with a continued focus by 3PL's of oversight regulations and easier trucker or shipper responsibilities.  At first review, many of the regulatory measures, such as ;">electronic logging devices, may seem extensive & overreaching. But these newer technologies and regulations are designed to enhance the overall workflow for truckers & shippers, which will improve safety and reduce the potential, negative impacts from incidents or accidents. But this will lead to some truckers that are still on paper logs going out of business. Because many smaller firms have not made the technology investments & will either sell or cease to exist.

A federal rule to require truck operators to use electronic logging devices to keep records of duty status is slated to be published in the Federal Register on Friday, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has announced. The rule will take effect Dec. 16, 2017, giving carriers and drivers a two-year window to comply with the rule’s requirements.  Upon beginning use of an ELD, drivers will no longer be required to keep and maintain paper logs. They will, however, be required to maintain supporting documentation and submit them to their carrier or, for owner-operators, keep them on file.

The rule requires drivers currently required to keep paper logs to use ELDs, with a few exceptions (see them below). The mandate, however, will not apply to drivers of vehicles built before the year 2000 — a change made from 2014’s proposed version of the rule.  The rule also spells out safeguards against driver harassment via the devices, hardware specifications of the devices and supporting documentation drivers must continue to keep after the mandate.

Steamship Updates

Mandhir Singh, COO at Castrol,  has said, “The main growth in shipbuilding will come from Asia-Pacific countries in 2019.  These nations, are well positioned to supply ultra-large vessels, which shipping-companies are increasingly demanding for their fuel efficiency and economies of scale.  Traditional shipbuilding nations, like Germany and the UK, will need to up their game if they’re to compete with the colossal shipyards and deep ports of the Asia-Pacific region.”

Based on the report, Hong Kong seems to be the biggest success story, overtaking South Korea and China to become the world’s second largest ship-parts trading nation. It is one of the few top 10 trading nations in the sector to see a rise in forecast growth since the last report.

Although China’s forecast annualized export growth to 2019 has dropped from 10.05% to 8.08%, the economic powerhouse has displaced South Korea as the world’s top exporter of ship parts. The dip in growth may be associated with China’s ongoing policy to move away from export-led growth towards domestic consumption.

Regards,

Bill Stankiewicz

Regional Vice President

Office: 1.404.750.3200

bstankiewicz@askinard.com

www.askinard.com

CC: *

*Story excerpts received from https://www.trucks.com/2016/07/19/trucking-rates-decline-fleets-grow/

*https://worldmaritimenews.com/archives/179125/shipbuilding-industry-set-to-pick-up-after-2017/