The Friday Five: CHAINalytics sells FMiC to DAT

CHAINalytics Sells FMiC to DAT - JOC

Making headlines on Monday, DAT announced the purchase of transactional shipper data from CHAINalytics’ Freight Market Intelligence Consortium, better known as FMiC.  The purchase of FMiC adds $50 billion of contract data to DAT’s already existing $68 billion in annual spot market data. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

FMiC was founded in 2003 as a static, quarterly model-based benchmarking consortium which quickly grew subscriptions to approximately 200 shipper members, including many Fortune 500 companies. The shipper members provided FMiC with transactional pricing data on a weekly, monthly, or annual basis and in return, CHAINalytics provided the shippers with insightful, tangible market analysis and benchmarking data often used to inform procurement events.

Going forward, FMiC will now operate as a unit of DAT’s IQ rates and analytics business as they expand its business intelligence and analytics business. 

US-Mexico truck crossings decline 22% at Port Laredo in April - American Shipper 

Mexico’s exports to the United States totaled $23.4 billion in April, the lowest amount since 2010.  Total commercial truck crossings were down 21.7%, totaling only 148,447 vehicles, in April compared to the same time last year and Laredo’s bridge revenue for April was down 36.3% from $5.6 million in April 2019 to $3.6 million. 

Many factories across Mexico began to slowly reopen on Monday. Laredo’s outbound tender volume was up 66% since May 25, signaling market conditions are improving for carriers, according to FreightWaves’ SONAR platform. Some of Port Laredo’s top imports from Mexico include motor vehicle parts, passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, tractors, and computers. 

Poultry industry execs fixed prices, Justice Dept. says - WSJ 

The Justice Department on Wednesday indicted four top poultry industry executives on charges of price-fixing on grocery store and restaurant products between 2012 and 2017. The wholesale cost of poultry increased 11% from mid-2012 through 2018, per the WSJ, but it did fall 27% between January 2019 and the end of February 2020. The indictments of Pilgrim's Pride CEO Jayson Penn and former Vice President Roger Austin, along with Claxton Poultry Farms President Mikell Fries and Vice President Scott Brady, are part of an ongoing federal criminal antitrust investigation. The U.S. chicken landscape is dominated by five major players that control 61% of production. Pilgrim's and Claxton are suppliers for KFC and Chick-fil-A, respectively. And Pilgrim's is the country's No. 2 producer.

‍Ocean shipping shrinks as pandemic pummels retailers - Reuters 

Some of the world's largest shipping lines are canceling sailings, reducing speeds and taking longer, less costly routes to cut expenses as retailers deal with a glut of inventory amid the coronavirus pandemic and decreased consumer demand. Some retailers are storing excess products on slower vessels, while high-demand businesses such as Walmart and Amazon are hurt by the delays. A lack of space on ships is leading to more “rollovers”, where containers are bumped from packed vessels to later ones, like passengers on oversold flights, according to importers. 

Amazon’s Air Fleet Expands - Supply Chain Dive 

Amazon Air will expand its fleet of Boeing 767 cargo planes by 12. The converted passenger aircraft will be leased from Air Transport Services Group the company announced on Wednesday. All the used 767-300s have been converted from passenger to cargo aircraft. With this addition, Amazon’s air cargo fleet will surpass more than 80 cargo aircraft next year. Amazon will open a new regional hub at Lakeland Linder International Airport in Florida later this summer and at San Bernardino International Airport in California next year, along with the central Amazon Air Hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in 2021.

 
Thanks for reading! Stay healthy, stay safe. 

Don’t forget to check out last week’s news.  Come back next week for our next Friday Five roundup!