Month: May 2019

Hamburg-based container transport provider EUROGATE Intermodal (EGIM) has added new rail links to its portofolio. From 1 July 2019, it will offer three weekly direct connections each between the port of Rotterdam and the inland depots of Kornwestheim, Munich and Nuremberg.

EGIM says it is responding to increasing cargo flows via Western ports and the associated increase in demand for maritime transport intermodal services. As a multi-user port, Rotterdam is particularly well suited for these routes.

The services connect the sites in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg directly to the seaport terminals ECT Delta and Euromax on Maasvlakte I in the port of Rotterdam. The APMT and RWG terminals on Maasvlakte II are reached via the Rotterdam PortShuttle. Connections to the port of Antwerp are available on request.

The direct links support the EU’s goal to increase the share of container transports by rail or barge from 18% to 30% by the year 2030.

Meet EGIM next week at transport logistic in Munich at hall B4 stand 111/210.

Urban Logistics, a specialist UK logistics real estate investor, reported significant growth across its portfolio in the year to 31 March, predicting a ‘space race’ for the urban warehouses companies need to keep-up with consumers’ online spending, expected to account for 24% of all retail sales by 2022.

The Company unveiled a 12.6% rise in EPRA NAV of 137.96p per share and total dividends for the year of 7.0p, generating a 17.7% Total Accounting Return well ahead of its 10%-15% target range.

Nigel Rich, Chairman, said: “Three years on from the Company’s IPO we continue to build an increasingly diversified and high-quality urban logistics portfolio with secure income from our tenants. The fundamentals of our market remain attractive and we are confident of continuing to deliver consistent returns for our shareholders.”

Urban’s portfolio valuation at the year-end grew to £186.4m, driven by £48.0m of new acquisitions and £11.3m of disposals averaging Total Property Returns of 25.2%. Rental income leapt 93.6% to £10.8m on the back of new acquisitions and several tenancy reviews where rents averaged increases of 39.6%.

The company says that forward-thinking retailers and distributors are continuing to invest in distribution centres but supply of 20,000-200,000 sq ft logistics sheds has fallen by 36.0% since 2012, meaning rents are expected to rise by an average of 11.5% by 2022.

Looking ahead, Chief Executive, Richard Moffitt, said: “We have a high-quality acquisition pipeline and continue to assess the potential for additional equity financing to grow the business.”

Urban Logistics, a specialist UK logistics real estate investor, reported significant growth across its portfolio in the year to 31 March, predicting a ‘space race’ for the urban warehouses companies need to keep-up with consumers’ online spending, expected to account for 24% of all retail sales by 2022.

The Company unveiled a 12.6% rise in EPRA NAV of 137.96p per share and total dividends for the year of 7.0p, generating a 17.7% Total Accounting Return well ahead of its 10%-15% target range.

Nigel Rich, Chairman, said: “Three years on from the Company’s IPO we continue to build an increasingly diversified and high-quality urban logistics portfolio with secure income from our tenants. The fundamentals of our market remain attractive and we are confident of continuing to deliver consistent returns for our shareholders.”

Urban’s portfolio valuation at the year-end grew to £186.4m, driven by £48.0m of new acquisitions and £11.3m of disposals averaging Total Property Returns of 25.2%. Rental income leapt 93.6% to £10.8m on the back of new acquisitions and several tenancy reviews where rents averaged increases of 39.6%.

The company says that forward-thinking retailers and distributors are continuing to invest in distribution centres but supply of 20,000-200,000 sq ft logistics sheds has fallen by 36.0% since 2012, meaning rents are expected to rise by an average of 11.5% by 2022.

Looking ahead, Chief Executive, Richard Moffitt, said: “We have a high-quality acquisition pipeline and continue to assess the potential for additional equity financing to grow the business.”

Major 3PL Dachser says its vehicle mix for emission-free deliveries in Stuttgart city centre is now complete with the delivery of all-electric 18-ton Mercedes-Benz eActros.

As soon as employees have been briefed and completed all the requisite training, Dachser will integrate the eActros into its ongoing test operations in Stuttgart. As with the all-electric 7.5-ton FUSO eCanter, the truck will be used in professional driver training. “We’ll be using the eActros for transporting deliveries both directly to customers and to the microhub in the Heslach district of Stuttgart. From there, pedelecs are used for the last mile,” explains Markus Maurer, General Manager of Dachser’s Kornwestheim branch.

The eActros has a payload of 4 to 5 metric tons, depending on the design, and offers space for 18 pallets. With a range of 200 km, it is ideal for daily delivery transports in and around Stuttgart city centre. Its 240 kWh lithium-ion batteries charge in 2 hours at 150 kW. According to the Mercedes-Benz Trucks division, the prototype is set to go into large-scale production in 2021.

In conducting these test operations, Dachser is gathering the data and experience it needs to determine the right vehicle mix for sustainable deliveries of groupage shipments to city centers. In addition to Stuttgart, tests are also underway in Berlin, Freiburg, Karlsruhe, Cologne, Málaga, Mannheim, Paris, Tübingen, and Ulm.

“We’re not looking to take a one-size-fits-all approach; instead, we want to come up with a range of solutions, each of them focused on optimizing deliveries, routes, and times,” says Stefan Hohm, Corporate Director, Corporate Solutions, Research & Development at Dachser. Holm heads the City Distribution innovation project.

Global provider DSV has launched Lead Logistics, which it describes as “a market-changing way of providing intelligent lead logistics – or 4PL – to the world’s leading businesses”.

The objective for DSV, it says, is to seek out the most effective solutions through the new supply chain service.

In a statement the company said: “It is executed through a new modular logistics outsourcing solution. The modular approach allows us to tailor our services precisely to our customers’ needs. We are using cloud-based, state-of the-art technology, which supports supply chain design, implementation, and management across all modes, geographies, and currencies.”

The goal is to enable companies to compete more effectively in the global market through intelligent supply chain design and execution. As global logistics continue to become more complex, expensive, and time consuming, DSV says lead logistics is the next logical step in responding to the needs of its customers.

“We base the solution on an existing offering that we have in the US predominantly for the North American market. We have combined our lead logistics skills and experience with a state-of-the-art IT solution enabling us to offer a market-changing service,” says Group Commercial Officer Rene Falch Olesen.