A Message from Lineage’s President & CEO
At Lineage, we think about our customers in everything we do. We are relentlessly focused on delivering exceptional service, anticipating your needs and exceeding your expectations as we work together to help feed the world. No doubt, communication is key to the success of our partnership. Accordingly, I’m thrilled to share the first edition of our Lineage Intelligence Bulletin — a quarterly publication curated specifically for you, our valued customers. Each edition will feature impactful news and insights, including industry and socioeconomic trends as well as critical news from across the Lineage network. As you browse our Q2 2021 edition, we welcome you to share suggestions for future topics — after all, our goal is to provide the utmost value as you make decisions surrounding your business. Enjoy this edition of the Lineage Intelligence Bulletin!
All the best,
Greg
Greg Lehmkuhl
President & CEO, Lineage Logistics
Industry Insights
Curating the hottest news with the greatest potential to impact your business.
The Ever Given was pulled free from the Suez Canal after cutting off traffic in the vital waterway for six days, but experts say the disruptions to global trade will continue to be felt. The effects include congestion at ports as well as vessels not being in the right place for their next scheduled journey. Most importantly, it further exacerbates supply chains already reeling from a container shortage amid the COVID-19 buying boom.
President Biden sought to build public support for an expansive view of what it means to bolster U.S. infrastructure, dismissing Republican arguments that his roughly $2.3 trillion plan devotes too little to projects like roads and bridges. Biden has included spending proposals to build recharging stations for electric vehicles, expand care for the elderly and close gaps in the nation’s broadband network.
Restaurants are struggling to hire enough workers to keep up with a surge in sales amid a broader U.S. economic recovery. One CEO described the staffing situation as a “total nightmare,” further noting that the most recent stimulus check and unemployment benefits have been a catalyst for people to stay at home instead of looking for work.
Brexit continues to pose challenges for exporters and some importers three months since Britain left the single market and customs union. The trade in goods remains the focus for a lot of the difficulties, as official figures for export of goods to the EU during January are down by 41% overall. For food, they were down 63%, while meat was down 59% and seafood by 83%.
About 17% of global food production may go wasted, according to the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Food Waste Index Report 2021, with 61% of this waste coming from households, 26% from food service and 13% from retail. Coverage noted that there are measures at every level, from household to business to government, that can address this global problem.
The pandemic boosted online spending by $183 billion over the past year, and it has permanently accelerated e-commerce. Americans are on track to spend a record amount of $1 trillion online, according to a new report. Notably, the report found that in a three-week period in February 2021, the online grocery shopping category grew by 230% compared to a pre-pandemic three-week period in January 2020.
Lineage Headlines
Growing our network to serve your supply chain – how, where and when you need us.
On March 11, Lineage announced it had raised $1.9 billion in equity from new and existing strategic partners. This followed Lineage’s $1.6 billion equity raise announced last September and is the largest funding round since its founding in 2008, which brings the total equity raised since January 2020 to $4.3 billion. Watch the Bloomberg interview with Lineage President & CEO Greg Lehmkuhl for additional coverage.
Lineage is thrilled to announce the expansion of our Jourdan Road facility in New Orleans, LA! Our complex at Jourdan Road along the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal will grow from 160,000 square feet to 304,000 square feet and create an estimated 50 new jobs in the area.
Constantly expanding to meet our customers' demand.
EXPANSION: Stevens Point, WI
Lineage's recent expansion at our Stevens Point, Wisconsin, facility not only adds an additional 22,000 pallet positions, but also adds quick thaw freezers and on-site boxing and processing to its list of available services.
EXPANSION: Charleston, SC
Lineage’s Charleston-Palmetto Commerce location recently expanded to include 21,000 new pallet positions and 105,000 sq. ft. of new freezer space while adding approximately 6.3MM cu. ft. of additional freezer space.
EXPANSION: Charleston, SC
Lineage’s Charleston-Palmetto Commerce location recently expanded to include 21,000 new pallet positions and 105,000 sq. ft. of new freezer space while adding approximately 6.3MM cu. ft. of additional freezer space.
EXPANSION: Heywood, UK
Lineage's expansion in Heywood adds an additional 3,677,316 cubic feet and 22,500 pallet positions to create additional space for customers in a critical logistics hub.
Welcoming the industry’s most respected teams into our Lineage family.
Lineage adds an additional three locations in the Columbus, Ohio, market with the acquisition of Dick Cold Storage.
The acquisition of Win Chill Cold Storage marks Lineage’s first facility in South Dakota, which includes 7.7 MM cu. ft. of space.
The acquisition of Great Lakes Cold Storage adds two new locations to the Lineage facility network in Solon, Ohio, and Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania.
The addition of these two buildings in the Chicago metro market add to Lineage’s presence of more than 12 facilities in the region.
Lineage enhances e-commerce capabilities through the acquisition of Crystal Creek — the leading, national mission-critical e-commerce fulfillment and logistics provider offering frozen, refrigerated and dry logistics solutions.
The twelve transactions include twenty locations spanning over 2.5MM sq. ft. and 90MM cu. ft. of capacity across five European countries — The Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Poland and Norway.
Lineage bolsters presence in Canada with the acquisition of Marc Villeneuve adding a warehouse location in the Montreal metro market.
Check out our dynamic network of cold storage facilities across the globe.
Making the advantages of rail more accessible for our customers.
At Lineage Logistics, we never stop growing and innovating to better serve our customers and their needs — it’s in our DNA. With our recent acquisition of Cryo-Trans, our customers now have access to the largest private fleet of refrigerated and insulated railcars in North America, all within Lineage’s industry-leading global facility network.
Making an Impact
Working together to help feed the world.
When Feeding America® saw the need for mobile food pantries in five communities, they found the right partners in Lineage, Penske and Darden Restaurants.
Lineage is proud to support numerous organizations doing essential work for the good of our communities — and our Team Members around the globe are giving back in ways big and small. In honor of Volunteer Month, Lineage’s COO & President Western US Operations Jeff Rivera and his family share how they got started volunteering together as a family and the importance of giving back to the community.