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LogisticsLogistics

Warehouse Markets Resilient; Migrant Surge Hits Freight; FedEx’s Demand

By Paul Page

 

The amount of warehouse storage available remains historically tight, experts say.

PHOTO: TANNEN MAURY/SHUTTERSTOCK

Real-estate markets may be in a doom loop, but you couldn’t tell that from the warehousing sector. Companies from e-commerce retailers to third-party logistics providers are leasing less new warehouse space and vacancy rates are ticking up again after reaching historic lows. The WSJ Logistics Report’s Liz Young writes that the market for industrial real estate hasn’t completely cooled off after three years of frenetic expansion, and that space remains tight by long-term measures. Logistics operators leased about 205 million square feet of warehouse space in the second quarter. That was down from the 235 million square feet leased in the same period last year, but CBRE says it was still far ahead of the 135 million square feet in the second quarter of 2019. Experts say the trend toward nearshoring is driving some new demand for warehousing, particularly near the U.S.-Mexico border. Companies in burgeoning electric-vehicle supply chains are also adding storage.

  • DHL added a 307,000-square-foot e-commerce distribution center near the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. (Business Journals)
 
 
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Economy & Trade

Migrants in Huehuetoca, Mexico, this week. PHOTO: EDUARDO VERDUGO/ASSOCIATED PRESS

The surge of U.S.-bound migrants is starting to hit supply chain operations at the U.S.-Mexico border. Mexican railroad company Ferromex suspended freight operations on several lines serving border cities such as Ciudad Juárez as growing numbers of migrants jump on the trains. The WSJ’s Anthony Harrup reports that the unit of Grupo Mexico had stopped 60 freight trains on northbound routes where authorities have reported numerous incidents, including deaths, mutilations, and emergency child births. Mexico says some railroad workers have been stopping trains in train yards, allowing migrants to evade authorities. Ferromex says it counted 1,500 migrants on trains and in the train yards at one of its sites. Last Friday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection closed one of the truck crossings in El Paso, Texas, so that field officers could be sent to help process migrants. Truckers say the suspension had minimal impact on the flow of goods.

 
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Quotable

“The ecosystems in the West and China are growing apart. That means we have to clearly adapt to the situation.”

— Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume, on the carmaker’s growing investment in China amid rising geopolitical tensions.
 

Transportation

FedEx Express revenues declined 9.4% last quarter. PHOTO: BING GUAN/REUTERS

FedEx isn’t getting much help from shipping markets as it looks to reset its operations. Cost cuts helped the package and express giant boost its profit about 23% from a year ago in the quarter ended Aug. 31. The WSJ’s Esther Fung and Ben Glickman report that slowing shipping demand continued to dampen FedEx’s revenue, which fell over 6% to $21.7 billion. The decline came despite strong revenue growth in the FedEx Ground unit, which the company is merging with its Express business in a bid to get more efficient. But the business got little help from its FedEx Freight business. The country’s largest less-than-truckload operator didn’t appear to get much of a bump from the collapse of rival Yellow during the quarter. The average daily shipment count was down more than 13% from last year and revenue at the business fell nearly 16% from the year before.

  • The U.S. Postal Service won’t impose peak-season surcharges for the first time since 2019. (Retail Dive)
  • United Parcel Service named company veteran Bill Moore as head of UPS Airlines. (Louisville Courier-Journal)
 

Number of the Day

6 Billion

Approximate U.S. exports of petroleum products, in barrels per day, in the first half of 2023, up 2% from the same period last year and the highest level for exports in records dating to 1981, according to the Energy Information Administration.

 

In Other News

Federal Reserve officials held interest rates steady but signaled they were prepared to raise rates again. (WSJ)

Iran’s oil exports have surged since the U.S. and Tehran stepped up the negotiations that led to Monday’s release of five Americans. (WSJ)

Quarterly sales at General Mills expanded on easing inflation and supply chain pressures. (WSJ)

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pushed back a ban on the sale of new gasoline and diesel cars by five years. (Financial Times)

Japan’s exports fell for a second straight month in August. (Bloomberg)

The U.S. is boosting access to commercial product tankers as part of an effort to safeguard oil shipping in times of crisis. (Reuters)

Sea-Intelligence says container lines are preparing to cancel large numbers of Asia-Europe services next month. (Journal of Commerce)

Container freight rates have hit a four-year-low ahead of Asia’s Golden Week holidays. (TradeWinds)

Alphaliner says Chinese companies now own stakes in 31 European port terminals. (ShippingWatch)

French police arrested 13 members of a criminal network that steals luxury vehicles and ships them through European ports to West Africa in shipping containers. (The Loadstar)

Combined loaded container imports into the ports of Seattle and Tacoma fell 19% in August from last year. (Port Technology)

German autonomous electric yard truck startup Fernride raised $50 million in a series A funding round. (DC Velocity)

Japanese auto parts supplier Toray has seen growing sales in China of its vegan-friendly car upholstery. (Nikkei Asia)

 

About Us

Paul Page is editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Reach him at paul.page@wsj.com.

Follow the WSJ Logistics Report team: @PaulPage, @bylizyoung and @pdberger. Follow the WSJ Logistics Report on X at @WSJLogistics.

 
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