{"id":1405,"date":"2017-07-26T15:06:55","date_gmt":"2017-07-26T15:06:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/midatlanticfreightgroup.com\/?p=1405"},"modified":"2017-07-26T15:06:55","modified_gmt":"2017-07-26T15:06:55","slug":"e-commerce-may-spur-more-trucking-acquisitions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/midatlanticfreightgroup.com\/?p=1405","title":{"rendered":"E-commerce may spur more trucking acquisitions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Logistics has become an \u201cintegral component\u201d of e-commerce business models as it is responsible for planning, control and flow of products from the point of origin to end-consumers, according to a\u00a0new report<\/a>\u00a0by global consulting firm\u00a0Research and Markets<\/a><\/p>\n

The firm predicts that the global e-commerce logistics market will expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.5% between 2017 and 2025.<\/p>\n

The proliferation of the e-commerce sector and consequent rise in cross-border and international e-commerce trading activities is also cited as one of the major factors driving e-commerce logistics market worldwide.<\/p>\n

Thus, rise in both intra-regional and cross-border trades are collectively contributing towards the growth of the e-commerce logistics market, Research and Markets said in its report. \u201cWith the expansion in breadth of offerings of e-commerce companies, reliable and robust logistic service is crucial for firms of all sizes,\u201d the firm noted.<\/p>\n

That trend is helping to spur more e-commerce focused acquisitions in trucking, such as the recent move by\u00a0<\/span>J.B. Hunt Transport Services<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>to buy Special Logistics Dedicated LLC (SLD) and its affiliated entities for a reported $136 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis acquisition will also allow our customers to deploy \u2018big and bulky\u2019 inventories into key markets, improving order fulfillment times for final mile deliveries and further enhancing our e-commerce delivery capabilities,\u201d noted John Roberts, president and CEO of J.B. Hunt, in a statement.<\/p>\n

SLD provides pool distribution services throughout North America using 14 terminals and fulfillment centers and a fleet of over 850 pieces of equipment. Its service offerings include: dedicated transportation at both dedicated and multi-use sites; cross-docking and contract logistics; less-than-truckload product consolidation; commingled pool distribution; and a Texas-based intrastate 57-ft. dry van highway service.<\/p>\n

Overall, e-commerce activity continues to increase rapidly, according to a report by\u00a0<\/span>Adobe Digital Insights<\/a>. Between November 1st<\/sup><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>and December 31st<\/sup><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>last year, the firm said, online sales hit $91.7 billion \u2013 up 11% from $82.5 billion during the same period in 2015.<\/p>\n

\u201cE-commerce is not new but it has reached critical mass; it\u2019s increasing 20% per year and is a destructive force most prominently in the retail sector,\u201d Marianne Rowden, president & CEO of the\u00a0<\/span>American Association of Exporters & Importers<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>(AAEI), explained in a recent conference call with reporters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe impact of this colossal growth on online sales is especially being felt in cross-border sales, affecting shippers, transport providers, and others,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

And those challenges are only growing, noted Gary Barraco, director of product marketing for Amber Road, on the same call.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pace of change is only accelerating \u2013 redefining what it means to be \u2018agile\u2019 in supply chain operations,\u201d he said. \u201cOnline [sales] grew by leaps and bounds [last year] especially emerging markets where low cost goods are hard to find in local shops.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barraco also noted sales of goods over the Internet is expected to be a $1 trillion business by 2020 and will comprise 13% of global trade by 2019. E-commerce alone will be worth $3.5 trillion by 2023, he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sheer size and potential of e-commerce sales are too lucrative to pass up,\u201d Barraco stressed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Logistics has become an \u201cintegral component\u201d of e-commerce business models as it is responsible for planning, control and flow of products from the point of origin to end-consumers, according to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/midatlanticfreightgroup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1405"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/midatlanticfreightgroup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/midatlanticfreightgroup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/midatlanticfreightgroup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/midatlanticfreightgroup.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1405"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/midatlanticfreightgroup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1405\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1406,"href":"https:\/\/midatlanticfreightgroup.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1405\/revisions\/1406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/midatlanticfreightgroup.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/midatlanticfreightgroup.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/midatlanticfreightgroup.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}