Logistics layoffs signal industry-wide culling, leave seasoned talent available
Recent layoffs at big-name logistics companies could be the start of a wider culling of supply chain jobs amid economic uncertainty, according to experts, leaving plenty of talent available for firms still hiring.
Freight forwarder Flexport laid off 20% of its workforce last month, citing a macroeconomic downturn that is hurting its customers. Other seasoned industry names including C.H. Robinson and DSV are also relying on layoffs or hiring freezes as a way to reduce their labor costs.
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Global oil trade shakes up after fires at U.S. fuelmakers
Refinery outages in the U.S. are rippling through the global export markets for oil and forcing producers in Canada to find new buyers to process their crude.
Canadian oil sands producers have been pumping at record levels to fill supply needs left after western economies put sanctions on Russia. Canada typically sends crude to refiners in the U.S., where two plants were forced to halt production after fires.
The winner in the shake-up appears to be refiners in Asia, who are seeing shipments from Canada surge to the highest in more than a year.
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Sanctions effect begins
Tanker investors have been getting cold feet this winter. Spot rates are down sharply from November and stocks are off earlier highs. Yet the bullish tanker thesis — war-induced trade inefficiencies, post-COVID reopening, new vessel capacity that’s about to fall off a cliff — hasn’t changed.
After spot rates “began to ease from highs that were completely unsustainable” came “the predictable selloff in the equities,” said Evercore ISI analyst Jon Chappell in a research note on Friday.