Nov
6
M&A Activity Picks up in Logistics Industry
While Q3 saw a slight dip in deal activity, overall, the logistics industry has seen a steep incline in M&A deal volume over the past year. Factors contributing to this trend include smaller “mom and pop” shops choosing to cash out as opposed to investing and larger companies merging as a growth strategy. The ease of outsourcing transportation needs through 3PL has spawned an extensive buyer pool and the industry is being set up for very high levels of growth and expansion over the next few months, with M&A as a strategy to do so. Mega-deals, or deal valued at $1 billion or more, saw a slight decrease in Q3 but accounted for around 63% of total deal value for the quarter, or $18.3 billion dollars. Read more…
FedEx Predicts Record Year for Holiday Shipping
FedEx is preparing for a record-breaking holiday rush this year, with an estimate of 317 million packages shipped, a 12.4% increase from last year. FedEx is also expecting package volume to be double its daily average on Cyber Monday and the first two Mondays in December. FedEx plans to hire 55,000 seasonal employees to cope with the holiday rush, up from 50,000 last year. Major retailers like Macy’s are also preparing for the Holidays, with this major retailer hiring 85,000 seasonal employees. Shippers have to find just the right balance between preparation and over-estimating, with UPS over hiring last year and hurting the Q4 performance. Read more…
German Manufacturing on the Decline
Europe’s largest economy may be feeling the impact of China’s recession and the overall slow in global grow, with orders down for the third consecutive month in Germany. Experts claim that September’s 1.8% drop in orders is due to the weak demand from outside of Europe, prompting companies to rethink their budgets and forecasts for the coming year. Manufacturers are predicting only a 1.9% for German Manufacturing until 2017. Read more…