Transport and logistics giant FedEx Corp. said Wednesday it had acquired Northwest Research Inc., a provider of inventory management solutions that FedEx says could help it handle rapidly growing global e-commerce volumes.
Neither FedEx nor Salt Lake City-based Northwest Research described how that technology works. Asked for additional details, a FedEx spokeswoman said the acquisition would improve FedEx' ability to ensure successful outcomes for challenging shipments, helping it to gain a strategic competitive advantage in the market.
Details of the acquisition will be worked out by both companies over the coming months, she said.
The overall national industrial real estate vacancy rate edged higher in the fourth quarter, although it still remains well below pre-pandemic levels, according to an analysis by Cushman & Wakefield.
Vacancy rates shrunk during the pandemic to historically low levels as e-commerce sales—and demand for warehouse space—boomed in response to massive numbers of people working and living from home. That frantic pace is now cooling off but real estate demand remains elevated from a long-term perspective.
“We've witnessed an uptick among firms looking to lease larger buildings to support their omnichannel fulfillment strategies and maintain inventory for their e-commerce, wholesale, and retail stock. This trend is not just about space, but about efficiency and customer satisfaction,” Jason Tolliver, President, Logistics & Industrial Services, said in a release. “Meanwhile, we're also seeing a flurry of activity to support forward-deployed stock models, a strategy that keeps products closer to the market they serve and where customers order them, promising quicker deliveries and happier customers.“
The latest figures show that industrial vacancy is likely nearing its peak for this cooling cycle in the coming quarters, Cushman & Wakefield analysts said.
Compared to the third quarter, the vacancy rate climbed 20 basis points to 6.7%, but that level was still 30 basis points below the 10-year, pre-pandemic average. Likewise, overall net absorption in the fourth quarter—a term for the amount of newly developed property leased by clients—measured 36.8 million square feet, up from the 33.3 million square feet recorded in the third quarter, but down 20% on a year-over-year basis.
In step with those statistics, real estate developers slowed their plans to erect more buildings. New construction deliveries continued to decelerate for the second straight quarter. Just 85.3 million square feet of new industrial product was completed in the fourth quarter, down 8% quarter-over-quarter and 48% versus one year ago.
Likewise, only four geographic markets saw more than 20 million square feet of completions year-to-date, compared to 10 markets in 2023. Meanwhile, as construction starts remained tempered overall, the under-development pipeline has continued to thin out, dropping by 36% annually to its lowest level (290.5 million square feet) since the third quarter of 2018.
Despite the dip in demand last quarter, the market for industrial space remains relatively healthy, Cushman & Wakefield said.
“After a year of hesitancy, logistics is entering a new, sustained growth phase,” Tolliver said. “Corporate capital is being deployed to optimize supply chains, diversify networks, and minimize potential risks. What's particularly encouraging is the proactive approach of retailers, wholesalers, and 3PLs, who are not just reacting to the market, but shaping it. 2025 will be a year characterized by this bias for action.”
The three companies say the deal will allow clients to both define ideal set-ups for new warehouses and to continuously enhance existing facilities with Mega, an Nvidia Omniverse blueprint for large-scale industrial digital twins. The strategy includes a digital twin powered by physical AI – AI models that embody principles and qualities of the physical world – to improve the performance of intelligent warehouses that operate with automated forklifts, smart cameras and automation and robotics solutions.
The partners’ approach will take advantage of digital twins to plan warehouses and train robots, they said. “Future warehouses will function like massive autonomous robots, orchestrating fleets of robots within them,” Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia, said in a release. “By integrating Omniverse and Mega into their solutions, Kion and Accenture can dramatically accelerate the development of industrial AI and autonomy for the world’s distribution and logistics ecosystem.”
Kion said it will use Nvidia’s technology to provide digital twins of warehouses that allows facility operators to design the most efficient and safe warehouse configuration without interrupting operations for testing. That includes optimizing the number of robots, workers, and automation equipment. The digital twin provides a testing ground for all aspects of warehouse operations, including facility layouts, the behavior of robot fleets, and the optimal number of workers and intelligent vehicles, the company said.
In that approach, the digital twin doesn’t stop at simulating and testing configurations, but it also trains the warehouse robots to handle changing conditions such as demand, inventory fluctuation, and layout changes. Integrated with Kion’s warehouse management software (WMS), the digital twin assigns tasks like moving goods from buffer zones to storage locations to virtual robots. And powered by advanced AI, the virtual robots plan, execute, and refine these tasks in a continuous loop, simulating and ultimately optimizing real-world operations with infinite scenarios, Kion said.
Under terms of the deal, Sick and Endress+Hauser will each hold 50% of a joint venture called "Endress+Hauser SICK GmbH+Co. KG," which will strengthen the development and production of analyzer and gas flow meter technologies. According to Sick, its gas flow meters make it possible to switch to low-emission and non-fossil energy sources, for example, and the process analyzers allow reliable monitoring of emissions.
As part of the partnership, the product solutions manufactured together will now be marketed by Endress+Hauser, allowing customers to use a broader product portfolio distributed from a single source via that company’s global sales centers.
Under terms of the contract between the two companies—which was signed in the summer of 2024— around 800 Sick employees located in 42 countries will transfer to Endress+Hauser, including workers in the global sales and service units of Sick’s “Cleaner Industries” division.
“This partnership is a perfect match,” Peter Selders, CEO of the Endress+Hauser Group, said in a release. “It creates new opportunities for growth and development, particularly in the sustainable transformation of the process industry. By joining forces, we offer added value to our customers. Our combined efforts will make us faster and ultimately more successful than if we acted alone. In this case, one and one equals more than two.”
According to Sick, the move means that its current customers will continue to find familiar Sick contacts available at Endress+Hauser for consulting, sales, and service of process automation solutions. The company says this approach allows it to focus on its core business of factory and logistics automation to meet global demand for automation and digitalization.
Sick says its core business has always been in factory and logistics automation, which accounts for more than 80% of sales, and this area remains unaffected by the new joint venture. In Sick’s view, automation is crucial for industrial companies to secure their productivity despite limited resources. And Sick’s sensor solutions are a critical part of industrial automation, which increases productivity through artificial intelligence and the digital networking of production and supply chains.
He replaces Loren Swakow, the company’s president for the past eight years, who built a reputation for providing innovative and high-performance material handling solutions, Noblelift North America said.
Pedriana had previously served as chief marketing officer at Big Joe Forklifts, where he led the development of products like the Joey series of access vehicles and their cobot pallet truck concept.
According to the company, Noblelift North America sells its material handling equipment in more than 100 countries, including a catalog of products such as electric pallet trucks, sit-down forklifts, rough terrain forklifts, narrow aisle forklifts, walkie-stackers, order pickers, electric pallet trucks, scissor lifts, tuggers/tow tractors, scrubbers, sweepers, automated guided vehicles (AGV’s), lift tables, and manual pallet jacks.
"As part of Noblelift’s focus on delivering exceptional customer experiences, we are excited to have Bill Pedriana join us in this pivotal leadership role," Wendy Mao, CEO at Noblelift Intelligent Equipment Co. Ltd., the China-based parent company of Noblelift North America, said in a release. “His passion for the industry, proven ability to execute innovative strategies, and dedication to customer satisfaction make him the perfect leader to guide Noblelift into our next phase of growth.”
An economic activity index for the material handling sector showed mixed results in December, following strong reports in October and November, according to a release from business forecasting firm Prestige Economics.
Specifically, the most recent version of the MHI Business Activity Index (BAI) showed December contractions in the areas of capacity utilization, shipments, unfilled orders, inventories, and exports. But on the upside, there were expansions in business activity, new orders, and future new orders.
The report gave an array of reasons for those quantitative results, judging by respondents’ accompanying “qualitative responses.” That part of the survey included positive references to lower interest rates, the clear outcome of the election, and improved abilities to retain workers. But those were counterweighed by downside mentions featuring multiple references to tariffs, reflecting broad skepticism in the business community to trade threats made by the incoming Trump administration.
Looking into the future, forecasts for a drop in interest rates and a likely accompanying drop in the dollar are likely to support material handling and manufacturing, which have been held back in recent quarters by high interest rates and a strong dollar, the report from Austin, Texas-based Prestige Economics found.
Likewise, hiring ease was strong in the survey, as a record high 81% of respondents reported hiring in December was “easier” than in November. That improved ease of hiring will be particularly important as the “new orders” category is likely to rise in the year ahead, the report found.