Runaway e-commerce growth reshaping air freight: Part II

Today, we conclude our two-part analysis of the ways in which surging demand from e-commerce is changing how participants across the air freight supply chain operate, and what the future of air freight in a logistics world built around e-commerce might look like. Part II examines how e-commerce marketplaces are making moves toward offering their […]

• Caryn Livingston
• September 12, 2018

Walmart, JD.com invest $500 million in Chinese online delivery company

Walmart and JD.com will invest $500 million in the Chinese online delivery company Dada-JD Daojia. The company was formed from the merger of JD.com’s JD Daojia online-to-offline business and Dada Nexus, the crowd-sourced delivery company. JD Daojia partners with retail stores to provide one-hour delivery services for groceries and other items, and Reuters estimates JD […]

• Caryn Livingston
• August 10, 2018

Is Google looking to expand beyond final-mile delivery?

In recent weeks, Google has been doubling-down on its retailing efforts, most visibly through a strategic partnership with Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com which aims to develop new e-commerce products and services for global markets. As part of the agreement, Google is expected to draw on JD’s supply chain expertise to expand its e-commerce businesses. Back […]

• Charles Kauffman
• June 27, 2018

Google looks to e-commerce in partnership with China’s JD.com

Today, Google and JD.com announced a strategic partnership leveraging one another’s areas of expertise, to develop new e-commerce products and services for global markets, including Southeast Asia, the United States, and Europe. As part of the agreement, Google is investing US$550 million in Beijing-based JD.com, which will issue discounted Class A shares to the Silicon […]

• Charles Kauffman
• June 18, 2018

Overheard at Cargo Facts Asia Part I: It’s Safe to be Bullish

SHANGHAI – A record crowd of senior air cargo executives gathered for Cargo Facts Asia 2018, held at the Mandarin Oriental Pudong. Once again, the crowd was enlightened with presentations and discussions from some of air cargo’s best and brightest while enjoying focused networking opportunities with the people shaping the air freight industry. The opening […]

• Caryn Livingston and Charles Kauffman
• May 7, 2018

CAAC grants first commercial drone operation license to SF subsidiary

Yesterday, the eastern bureau of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) granted Jiangxi Fengyu Shuntu Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of SF Holdings, the first domestic UAV Aviation License. With the license, SF Logistics now has the legal authority to operate and expand the scale of its delivery drone delivery pilot operations, which began […]

• Charles Kauffman
• March 28, 2018

JD Logistics launches domestic rail freight pilot program

Yesterday we reported that JD.com, Inc. was selling a 19.6% share in its subsidiary JD Logistics, in a deal valued at US $2.5 billion. You can read about that here. In the post, we questioned if the new capital would enable JD to follow Amazon’s lead and build its own air network. Although a crystal […]

• Charles Kauffman
• February 15, 2018

JD Logistics’ new multi-billion-dollar investors

Earlier today, Beijing-based e-commerce giant JD.com, Inc., announced it was selling a 19.6% stake in the logistics subsidiary it spun-out as a standalone company last April, in a deal valued at US$2.5 billion. Following US-based Amazon’s launch of an own-operated air freight network (operated by subsidiary carriers of ATSG and Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc.), […]

• Charles Kauffman
• February 14, 2018

JD Logistics adds second major airline partner, who’s next?

Last year, Chinese consumers bought more fresh fruits, vegetables, seafood, meats, and other perishable products through online channels than any other country in the world — and demand shows no sign of letting up. In order to accommodate this demand, the logistics subsidiary of Beijing-based JD.com, JD Logistics, has been actively expanding its domestic last-mile […]

• Charles Kauffman
• January 19, 2018

Driven by e-commerce, 2017’s peak arrived earlier, lasted longer

The growth of e-commerce around peak shopping season is no longer a new story, but 2017’s peak season did raise some eyebrows for getting off to an unusually early start, with sales from 1 November to 22 November up 17.9%, year-over-year in the United States, according to Internet Retailer’s report on the peak shopping season. […]

• Charles Kauffman
• January 2, 2018