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Stord has secured a $400 million credit facility as the fulfillment startup prepares to scale its warehouse network and invest in robotics and AI.

The facility, led by Citi and backed by five other major banks, comes months after Stord raised $250 million in a Series F round that valued the company at more than $3 billion. The company operates roughly 30 fulfillment centers directly, with its broader network spanning about 100 facilities globally through partnerships.

Stord is betting that scale, automation, and faster delivery can help independent merchants compete with Amazon Prime.

Let's dive into the top news.

U.S. logistics costs continued to climb in September, with the Logistics Managers’ Index (LMI) rising to 70.2 from 66.6 in August, its second-highest reading in four years. The rise reflects higher transportation prices, increased inventory costs, and tighter warehouse capacity.

Key Details: Transportation prices rose 2.7% to 92.7, marking the fifth time in six months they have exceeded 90. Meanwhile, transportation capacity fell to 34.4, indicating a sharp contraction. Warehousing capacity also contracted sharply, dropping 14.2% to 39.3, its fastest decline in four and a half years.

Inventory costs climbed 1.3% to 79.9, while inventory levels rose 6.1% to 58.9. Researchers said the increase suggests more goods are entering the U.S. ahead of the fourth-quarter shopping season, although some inventory remains at the wholesale and distribution levels rather than moving through to retailers.

Big Picture: The index’s aggregate logistics costs reading rose 2.5% to 246.1, its highest level since April 2022. Researchers warned that readings above 240 typically signal supply-driven inflation, with current logistics costs reflecting shortages in both warehouse and transportation capacity.

Amazon has introduced two air freight options under Amazon Global Logistics to give sellers more control over inventory placement and replenishment ahead of peak season.

Key Details: Its Air SMP service lets sellers split inventory in China and ship directly to fulfillment centers across five U.S. regions via daily flights from Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Shipments are expected to arrive within seven to 10 days of pickup. Fulfillment by Amazon sellers pay no inbound placement fee, and the service carries no additional surcharges for apparel, electronics or lithium battery products.

The second option, Economy Air, offers lower rates than Amazon’s standard air freight service, with estimated transit times of 11 to 15 days from Shanghai or Shenzhen to Los Angeles. It trades speed for cost savings while remaining faster than ocean freight.

Ocean freight rates on China-US routes may have reached their post-Hormuz crisis peak, but shippers should expect elevated costs through the end of 2026, according to freight benchmarking platform Xeneta.

Key Details: Container spot rates from China have surged 344% on routes to the U.S. West Coast and 335% to the East Coast since February 28. Average rates now stand at $8,346 per 40-foot container to the West Coast and $11,523 to the East Coast, widening the price gap between the two routes to $3,177.

Xeneta expects rates to decline over the next three months, with East Coast prices potentially falling to $6,000–$7,000 per container and West Coast rates to $4,500–$5,500. However, the company cautioned that weaker demand is unlikely to trigger a sharp collapse in prices.

Continued Attack: Meanwhile, attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz remain a concern. Maritime security sources cited by Reuters reported at least 12 strikes on oil, LNG, and LPG tankers during the week of September 28 to October 5.

FedEx is ordering 2,000 electric medium-duty trucks from California-based startup Harbinger in a $300 million deal, with deliveries expected by the end of 2027. It is Harbinger's largest bulk order to date, and the company began production after being founded in 2022.

Power Deal: The order builds on an existing relationship between the companies. FedEx has already received 53 Harbinger trucks under an earlier order placed alongside the startup's $160 million Series C funding round, which FedEx led in late 2025.

Harbinger's strategy of concentrating on a single product—a medium-duty electric commercial truck chassis—has helped it reach production and generate revenue within a few years of its founding. The company is now expanding into hybrid emergency vehicles, autonomous driving technology, battery energy storage, and defense applications.

Flexport has launched an AI system that lets businesses use tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Microsoft Copilot to track shipments, identify customs holds, compare freight rates, and book cargo through natural-language commands.

What’s Happening: The launch builds on a fleet of AI agents that Flexport says already automates 21 million tasks annually, including freight quoting. The company says its agents operate with audit trails and human oversight, routing exceptions to experts when needed.

Flexport also upgraded its Atlas global trade platform with multimodal routing across ocean, air, rail and barge; AI-powered monitoring of disruptions that could affect shipments; and per-container emissions estimates for ocean routes.

What’s More: The rollout extends beyond software. Flexport has opened its first fully automated e-commerce fulfillment center outside Chicago, equipped with more than 350 robots that bring inventory to workers. The company says the facility operates at twice the efficiency of a traditional warehouse.

Global airfreight demand rose 6% year-on-year in September, while spot rates climbed 27% to $3.10 per kg, according to Xeneta. Capacity grew just 2%, pushing utilization higher as seasonal demand and rising fuel costs added pressure.

Key Details: Shippers are responding by moving away from fixed annual contracts. 60% of new airfreight contracts signed in Q3 were for three months or less, up from 25% a year earlier. The share of 12-month contracts fell from 40% to 25%, as companies increasingly seek flexible pricing arrangements that adjust to market conditions.

The Change: Trade flows are also shifting. China-Europe e-commerce exports fell 40% year-on-year in August after the EU introduced a €3 customs duty on individual items in July.

Meanwhile, China-US e-commerce volumes rose 17%. China-Western Europe spot rates rebounded 10% in September to $4.26 per kg, partly reflecting stronger demand ahead of China’s Golden Week holiday.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has proposed new requirements for imports valued at $2,500 or less, adding compliance costs for ocean carriers, importers and logistics intermediaries. The proposal follows the Trump administration’s push to curb the de minimis exemption and improve compliance among non-resident importers.

Key Details: Under the proposed rule, commercial carriers transporting low-value shipments or international mail into the U.S. would have to include Universal Postal Union S-10 tracking numbers in electronic cargo manifests. CBP estimates the requirement would cost carriers $18.7 million in 2027 and more than $100 million between 2027 and 2034.

Additional Requirements: The proposal also requires ocean carriers acting as the consignee for low-value goods, without being the ultimate owner or purchaser, to appoint a licensed customs broker as the Importer of Record. Certain informal entries would also face additional data and bonding requirements and earlier electronic filing deadlines.

Puma and Columbia Sportswear are expanding their reliance on third-party logistics providers as fashion brands look to manage increasingly complex distribution networks without building larger in-house operations.

What’s Happening: Puma has expanded its partnership with Maersk, which will manage three automated U.S. distribution centers in California, Arizona, and Indiana.

The facilities span 2.3 million square feet and support the footwear brand’s retail, wholesale, and ecommerce operations. Puma is also introducing AutoStore robotics across the warehouses, using automated systems to retrieve inventory and bring it to employees for picking and packing.

European Deal: Meanwhile, Columbia Sportswear has signed a 10-year logistics partnership with GXO in Europe. GXO will take over operations at Columbia’s primary distribution hub in France for continental Europe, strengthening its role in the outdoor apparel company’s distribution network.

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has ordered COSCO Shipping to explain why it should not face up to $16.7 million in civil penalties for delaying a customer compensation payment by more than seven months.

What’s Happening? The case stems from a complaint Bridgewell Agribusiness filed in July 2025 over demurrage and detention fees charged on import containers in 2022. The FMC ordered COSCO to pay $24,328.80 in reparations by January 20, 2026, but the carrier did not pay until August 31, despite repeated requests from the customer and the regulator.

Key Details: Under federal regulations, the FMC can impose penalties of up to $14,988 per day for non-compliance, rising to $74,943 per day for violations deemed knowing and willful. Based on 223 days of potential non-compliance, the fines could range from $3.34 million to $16.7 million.

COSCO must respond to the FMC's order by December 1, 2026, explaining why it should not face civil penalties.