The Experts’ Choice of the Top Online Logistics Resources
If you’re like me, staying up to date on supply chain news is critical.
But for every online “aha” I wade through dozens of yawns.
So I went straight to the source and asked consultants, trade reporters, Wall Street Journal reporters and others, what their go-to logistics and supply chain sources were. This was the result.
Click on the boxes to the left to get started!
Experts’ Choice: Supply Chain and Logistics Email Newsletters
If it’s not in front of you, it’s not going to happen. Which is why email newsletters just work – delivered to your inbox each day (usually) bringing a limited selection of top stories in condensed form.
This is the experts’ selection – but if we had to choose just one, our go-to read is the fast-rising WSJ Daily Logistics Report.
| Name | Focus | Frequency | Register | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ti Logistics Briefing | Transport Intelligence, the well-respected U.K. consultation firm, runs two ‘Logistics Briefing’ newsletters: Global (weekly) and Mergers & Acquisitions (monthly). | Weekly/Monthly | @Ti_Research | |
| Today’s Top Supply Chain and Logistics News From WSJ | The newest addition to the scene, the WSJ’s Daily Logistics Report combs through the business and logistics articles published by the WSJ team, providing a daily email at 6am EST with key information. If you read one newsletter, it should be this. | Daily | @wsjlogistics | |
| JOC Daily Newswire | Journal of Commerce (U.S) is one of the industry’s most respected logistics sources. The JOC newsletter spans the globe, providing information targeted at carriers, shippers and forwarders. | Daily | @joc_updates | |
| gCaptain | American based gCaptain provides maritime information to some 600K unique monthly viewers, with a focus on commercial marine and offshore energy. | Daily | @gCaptain | |
| Shipping Gazette Daily News | One of the most comprehensive daily summaries, and by far the leading Asian-based summary, China’s Shipping Gazette provides daily information about carriers, forwarders and technology. | Daily | None | |
| Logistics Management | Part of Peerless Media’s impressive stable of industry magazines, including Supply Chain Management Review, Modern Materials Handling and Material Handling Product News. | Weekly | @LogisticsMgmt |
Experts’ Choice: Supply Chain and Logistics News Sites
These news websites vary from general to very specific (e.g. global fresh produce). Not as pre-packaged as an E-update, so more effort required.
The experts’ chose a long list. We like them all, but it we had to select only one, we’d go for The Loadstar – a great balance of tech, readability and original content.
| Logo | Site | Focus | Free/Paid | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Loadstar | @theloadstar | UK-based logistics website with exceptional content and unique opinion pieces, often centered around shifting technology trends. | Free | |
| Air Cargo World | @ACWmagazine | This American based niche news site specialises in air cargo. So much so that it is split into seven topics – aircrafts, airports, capacity and demand, carriers, freight trends, traffic and viewpoints. | Free | |
| SupplyChainBrain | @SCBrain | This online information hub serves executives across the entire supply chain, from carriers to forwarders and shippers. Updated frequently with great multimedia content. | Free | |
| Inbound Logistics | @ILMagazine | Perhaps one of the most popular logistics magazines, Inbound Logistics has 30 years of experience, 12 annual print issues and frequent thought leadership pieces from industry leaders. | Free | |
| American Shipper ($) | @AmericanShipper | Since 1974 with industry-leading expertise in, well, American shipping. Expect great trends pieces, as well as a focus on US domestic political and economic processes, that redefine the supply chain. | Paid Premium | |
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Transport Topics | @TransportTopics | With over 60,000 monthly viewers, Transport Topics is a prime destination for freight buffs, especially those who specialize in trucking. | Paid Premium |
| Journal of Commerce (5 a month) | @joc_updates | The JOC needs no introduction. Likely the most well-known trade magazine, it provides data-rich material relevant across the supply chain. With reporters across the world, no region is neglected. | Paid | |
| Logistics Management | @LogisticsMgmt | Logistics management has a combined reach of over 100,000 readers across both print and digital channels. The magazine and site focus on logistics services, technology and equipment. | Free | |
| Lloyd’s Loading List | @lloydsloading | 150 years of Lloyd’s helps back this new website, which includes frequently updated information on freight and shipping information. | Free | |
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American Journal of Transportation | @AJOT | With a circulation of over 30,000, AJOT has been keeping transportation industry managers up to date with the news since 1919. | Paid Premium |
| Supply Chain Quarterly | @TheQuarterly | Official magazine of the American Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. The news is split into several topics. Check out Logistics, but also Finance and Technology. | Free | |
| About (> About Money >Logistics/Supply Chain) | @spplychainrosco | About.com is top dog of the many general-info websites. The supply chain section is written by an experienced logistics professional who creates content helpful for both newbies and experienced SCMs. | Free | |
| Voice of the Independent | This 2011 newcomer differentiates by providing content tailor-made for SME freight forwarders, who together constitute over 60% of the global logistics market in terms of volume. | Free | ||
| Bloomberg | @Bloomberg | The businessman’s news source of choice, global export and import volumes (as well as buying trendings) are key to informing supply chain professionals. | Free | |
| WSJ | @wsj | The Logistics report keeps up with the high standard of what is THE American business daily paper. | Paid | |
| The Economist (Business and finance section) | @TheEconomist | Specializing in economic trends, it provides sharp insights into current processes and future trends. Not at all limited to logistics, but it should be regular reading for logistic professionals. | Paid | |
| Reuters Business & Financial News section) | @Reuters | World famous news agency established in 1851, with a slant toward business news, it operates in 94 countries and 20 languages. Nearly every newspaper in the world relies on Reuters for content. | Free | |
| Splash24/7 | @Splash_247 | Ocean freight is split into 14! sections in this Singapore-based niche news site. Plenty of interesting reading (like Piracy, Bunkering) even to those outside the industry. | Free | |
| Cargo Business News.com | @CargoBusiness | U.S. based niche site, covering air, sea, rail and road cargo news. Check out their ports handbooks as well. | Free | |
| Arabian Aerospace | @ArabianAeroNews | Niche-based as the title suggests. But within that, it has a very broad scope covering, not just air cargo, but all aviation, aerospace and space news. | Free | |
| Air Transport World | @ATWOnline | It’s been around for nearly 50 years. This niche site focusses on all things Aviation, with plenty of air cargo news. | Free | |
| ch-aviation | @chaviation | This Swiss news site does not really cover air cargo, but otherwise keeps you up to date with civil aviation news. | Free | |
| Fresh Plaza | @FreshPlaza_com | Fresh (pardon the pun) from the Netherlands, covering the global fresh produce market, including fresh produce cargo news. | Free | |
| Automotive Logistics | @Auto_Logistics | If automotives and logistics are both your niches, you should be reading this. News item are more of a supply chain than a freight focus. | Free | |
| Logistics Manager | @LogisticsManagr | Yes it is niche and although some articles could only appeal to U.K. Logistics managers, many of the articles are of a much broader appeal. | Free | |
| Nieuwsblad Transport (Transport Newspaper) | @NTnl | In Dutch, but well worth the effort of using Google Translate. It has an European focus, but covers global issues of concern to European readers. | Paid | |
| DC Velocity | @DCVelocity | Popular news site serving managers in Large Distribution Centre (hence the initials “DC”) operations and ancillaries, such as 3PLs. | Free |
Experts’ Choice: Supply Chain and Logistics Social Media Influencers
Ready to get your Twitter on? Get live content updated from the top Logistics Personas on Twitter, each with their own take on the news. Raw, concise, ephemeral, this is as much about personality as content.
And for the Twitter afficiandos – click the button to follow our Logistics Persona list!
| Picture | Name | Description | Followers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loretta Chao WSJ Reporter |
Loretta is the WSJ’s New York-based supply chain and logistics reporter, and a great curator of the most important WSJ logistics articles on Twitter. | @LorettaChao | 5292 | |
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Paul Page WSJ Deputy Editor Logisitcs Report |
A deputy editor at the WSJ, Paul does the industry a great service by managing the daily logistics report that the WSJ distributes. | @PaulPage | 2187 |
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Brian Baskin WSJ Editor Logisitcs Report |
Brian sits at the top of the WSJ’s logistics section, religiously tweeting all relevant content as well. | @BrianJBaskin | 1235 |
| Erica Philips | L.A. based Erica is the WSJ reporter specializing in global supply chain, transportation and distribution. | @EEPhillips_WSJ | ||
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Lora Cecere Founder and CEO of Supply Chain Insights. SME blogger (Supply Chain Shaman) |
Renowned passionate advocate for more connected, intelligent, supply chains. Like her book, Bricks Matter which advocates predictive analytics). This proliferate tweeter runs her own consultancy, Supply Chain Insights. | @lcecere | 6303 |
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Peter Tirschwell Senior Director, Content, at IHS Maritime & Trade |
JOC’s Group chief content officer, Peter is a prominent thought-leader in maritime transportation and founder of one of the world’s largest shipping events – the annual TPM conference. | @petertirschwell | 4226 |
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Jeff Ashcroft Business Development at SCI Logistics |
Developer of the concept of matrix commerce, Jeff is a true influencer across several media. He has a very strong following on Twitter, runs the SupplyChainNetwork blog (handily indexed and with useful external link lists), and has set up ten specialised LinkedIn groups under the SupplyChainNetwork banner. | @jeffashcroft | 13700 |
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Jim Tompkins CEO of Tompkins International Supply Chain Consultancy. |
Global supply chain & business strategy expert; this CEO is also a noted speaker, and authority on logistics, material handling and leadership. | @jimtompkins | 6420 |
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Trevor Miles VP Product Innovation at Kinaxis |
Trevor has come up with some cool names – “milesahead” on Twitter, and “VP for Thought Leadership” on the Kinaxis Supply Chain blog – to counterbalance the gravitas of his work. | @milesahead | 1162 |
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David W. Weaver Online Marketing Manager, INFORM GmbH |
Online marketing enthusiast and an inventory and supply chain optimization devotee, David covers both ends of the supply chain at his Supply Chain Inventory & Supply Chain Optimization blog. | @Weaver_davidw | 4977 |
| Steve Keifer VP Marketing, OpenText (web content management startup) |
Tech Marketing VP passionate about inbound marketing, growth hacking and new technologies. Steve authored the book Herding Geese, which is about B2B E-Commerce from the supply chain perspective. | @stevekeifer | 681 | |
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Kevin O’Meara Senior Vice President Operations, Interline Brands |
Kevin effectively puts his logistics skills to task juggling senior management responsibilities, logistics tweeting and editing the Logistics Industry Daily. | @Logisticsexpert | 7867 |
| Richard Cushing Sr. Consultant, RKL eSolutions |
Coming more from the IT side, as an ISCEA Certified Demand Driven Planner, and Senior Solutions Architect at RKL eSolutions, Richard has a very strong following on Twitter. | @RDCushing | 46200 | |
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Cathy Roberson Logistics and Research Analyst, Spend Management Experts |
Until recently the Senior Analyst at Transport Intelligence, Cathy recently created her own consultancy company at Logistics Trends and Insights. | @cmroberson06 | 2321 |
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Bruce Hartman Professor of Logistics at University of St. Francis |
An academic with Logistics management experience, Richard is a true news hunter, with a broad interest across supply chain issues. | @bruceosm | 129 |
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Eric Johnson IT Editor & Research Director, American Shipper. Also Principal Consultant at BlueWater Reporting |
Eric Johnson is a digital ninja who happens to be the technology editor for American Shipper. Focus is on the US but he covers global trends. | @AmShipEric | 9036 |
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Greg Knowler Senior Asia Editor at Journal of Commerce (JOC) |
The senior Asia reporter for the Journal of Commerce, Greg was previously the editor of Cargo News Asia and has over 25 years of experience as a reporter. | @greg_knowler | 325 |
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Dan Telime XL Logistics blogger. Logistics Logic Times news aggregator |
You may know him as the news aggregator Logistics Dan on Twitter, but he is also Blogger Dan (check out his XL Logistics blog). | @LogisticsDan | 967 |
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MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics Educational research into cargo and freight |
The MIT is a top ranking university, as is it’s Supply Chain and Logistics M.A program. More of the same from its Center for Transportation & Logistics. | @mitsupplychain | 16400 |
Experts’ Choice: Logistics and Supply Chain Blogs
The supply chain blog ecosystem has taken off in recent years.
We like all of the experts’ choices, but love the wide range that Lora covers on Supply Chain Shaman the most.
| Name | Focus |
|---|---|
| LogisticsMatter | Martijn Graat is the founder of LogisticsMatter, an independent supply chain and logistics news aggregator and blogger. The blog site’s is also pleasingly stylishly designed, which is very refreshing in this industry. |
| Freightos | We are a Logistics technology company that is automating online freight sales, hence the passion for innovation and logistics. Like Cerasis, our excitement about logistics innovation spills over into blogging about logistics innovation. |
| Cerasis | Like Freightos, Cerasis is also a logistics software innovation company, caught up in the excitement of logistics innovation that spills over into their regularly blogging on the subject. |
| Logistics Viewpoints | A weekly overview of logistics news together with a gem of a music video. But the real meat comes during the week, when Adrian Gonzalez, Steve Banker (and occasionally a guest blogger) tout out real-life experience. The posts are short and sweet, which is always good. |
| The Logistics of Logistics | Joe provides the basics about nearly every component of logistics, making it an excellent introduction to the field for a newbie or a brushup for someone who’s been around for a while. Lynch is GM at Michigan logistics provider, Rock Solid Business Solutions. |
| The Lean Thinker | Mark Rosenthal is generally less technical, and gives sometimes subtle leadership and management advice. Influences include military commander experience and Kaizen (Japanese philosophy of constant improvement). Check out his “Heijunka” post and his video on leadership. |
| Supply Chain Shaman | Dr Seuss metaphor one day, expert analysis on the growth of EDI the next. Thats Lora’s Supply Chain Shaman daily blog. Great insights and Lora’s personal musings. She is an evangelist of early adopter software and is an expert technology consultant for enterprise companies. |
| Supply Chains Matter | Sure supply chains matter, but this blog proves it. Bob Ferrari, researcher and founder of the Ferrari Group, regularly publishes articles about technology, supply chain management, procurement and risk management. And check out his regular Supply Chain predictions. |
| Operation Rules News | Whether it is as co-author of the book, Managing the Supply Chain, or her blog Operation Rules News, Edith Simchi-Levi is literally writing the book on the field. The blog features great content from major newspapers about the logistics field, but also from broader sources. |
| Sourcing Innovation | Michael Lamoureux has a techie background and PhD in computer science. However mix in passions for LOLcats and the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy for varied, pithy, almost overwhelmingly informative, blogs. Check out his white papers and the Somali pirate song. |
| Freight Dawg | If you like freight, dogs and the Disney font, Eric Joiner’s blog, with 30 years of experience, will appeal. Very readable on many subjects, eg his love for aviation or marketing yachts , but really excels in providing hard information and contextualizing trends in an engaging and understandable manner. |
| Supply Chain and Logistics blog | Professor Bruce Hartman teaches logistics at the University of St Francis in Illinois. But it’s not all ivory tower. Bruce has experience owning and operating his own logistics business. Hartman knows how to hunt the right data be it government sources, newspapers, or elsewhere. |
Experts’ Choice: Unexpected Places
Good logistics news sources can also be found in unexpected places.
These sources are so good that they just had to make the listing. Call it their and our grab bag.
| Name | About | Site | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catherine Shu | Logistics doesn’t normally feature in tech blogs but when it does show up in TechCrunch, it’s usually by Catherine Shu. Worth a follow to stay up to date on tech in general but more so when Catherine writes about freight. | Link | @CatherineShu |
| NPR Planet Money | Despite it’s age, Radio is still thriving as a medium. Planet Money is one of NPR’s best business shows. Robert Smith, who runs the show, shares our love for logistics…and many episodes reflect this. | Link | @radiosmith |
| Rose George | Rose’s journalist background is well away from logistics, as is her first book. However, for a different perspective on logistics check out this noted TED speaker’s two most recent books – The Big Necessity, and Ninety Percent of Everything (UK title is Deep Sea & Foreign Going). | @rosegeorge3 | |
| Analytiqa | If you’re looking for data, look no further than the UK-based Analytiqa, which provides great data about logistics (and everything else under the sun). | Link | @Analytiqa |
| Edith Simchi-Levi | Supply chain entrepreneur who literally wrote the book on the subject. Not just blogging and tweeting, look for Edith’s answers about supply chains on Quora! | Link | |
| Adrian Gonzalez | Talking Logistics is an online weekly talk show worth checking out. Regular interviews of Thought Leaders and Newsmakers in the supply chain and logistics industry. | Link | @talkinlogistics |
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