Warehouse

Washington -- Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to slow down this month following record levels seen in September and October as retailers rushed to bring merchandise into the country ahead of a possible shutdown of West Coast ports, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
  

Customers and store associates at Sobey’s stores in Canada are seeing red after the operator of 1,500 stores became the latest company to use PECO Pallet’s distinctively colored pallets.

PECO said it added Sobeys to its growing list of authorized distributors in Canada so that Canadian and U.S. manufacturers and produce companies can now ship their products into Sobeys supermarkets throughout Canada on PECO’s wooden pallets.

Dan McNutt, Retail, Exel   With the holiday season right around the corner, the coveted shopping season is even closer with Black Friday and Cyber Monday merely weeks away. In years past, holiday shopping was targeted to brick and mortar, Black Friday foot traffic, but with the steady boom in e-commerce, the shopping frenzy is now taking place in the digital world as well.  

Atlanta –- United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) is reportedly forecasting that six days in the upcoming holiday season will be busier for shipping packages than its busiest day in the 2013 holiday season. According to Bloomberg, UPS predicts it will deliver 585 million packages in December, an 11% year-over-year increase.  

New York -- Congestion at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach (California) are causing logistical headaches for retailers that could turn into serious problems as they head into the holiday shopping season, according to the Los Angeles Times.  

New York --A group of 104 national, state and local organizations--representing farmers, manufacturers, retailers, transportation providers and others--signed a letter urging the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) “to quickly conclude a new labor agreement...to allay growing concerns of thousands of businesses who rely on West Coast ports for orderly and timely supply chain operations.”

Hoffman Estates, Ill. –- An inventory clerk at a Sears Holding Corp. distribution center in Logan Township, N.J., has reportedly been arrested for stealing merchandise worth $3.7 million in retail value and selling it for both cash and bartered services to a network of individuals in the tri-state area. According to the New Jersey Star-Ledger, following an investigation by Sears loss prevention officials and local and county police, Kim Watson, 32, was arrested on Friday, Oct. 17.  

Seattle – Amazon.com is creating 80,000 seasonal positions across its U.S. network of fulfillment and sortation centers for the 2014 holiday season in order to meet an increase in customer demand. In 2013, Amazon converted thousands of seasonal employees into regular, full-time roles after the holidays, and expects to do the same this year.