Maersk has begun operating Puma’s three North American distribution centers in California, Arizona and Indiana. Starting in 2027, Maersk will rent capacity at the Torrance, California, site to other brands. The site can handle roughly 20 million units a year.
A brand weighing whether to automate its own West Coast fulfillment now has a shared site in the Los Angeles area to price against from 2027.
The three sites are:
Torrance, California: about 672,000 square feet
Phoenix, Arizona: about 1.02 million square feet
Whitestown, Indiana: about 636,000 square feet
All three run AutoStore, a robotic system that stores inventory in bins stacked in a grid and brings them to pick stations. Torrance will be Maersk’s first AutoStore site in North America built to serve more than one brand. Maersk runs more than 70 fulfillment sites in North America, covering about 22.5 million square feet.
Puma has already used Maersk for ocean shipping, airfreight, customs clearance, inland transportation and European warehousing, per FreightWaves. “Many companies are looking for ways to get more value from the logistics infrastructure they’ve already invested in,” said Dave Hune, North America head of Maersk Contract Logistics.
The move comes as Puma’s North American business weakens. Sales fell 16.7% on a currency-adjusted basis in the second quarter, which Puma attributed mainly to weaker consumer demand. The company is also cutting wholesale accounts in the region, particularly mass merchants.
Puma opened the Arizona site in 2024 to serve its wholesale partners and Cobra Golf. It installed its first AutoStore system at Torrance in 2016, according to AutoStore. The Indianapolis grid holds up to 305,000 bins.
Levi Strauss has also moved from owning and operating its US distribution centers to a mix that includes a Maersk fulfillment center in Groveport, Ohio. Levi is closing its Hebron, Kentucky, DC, cutting about 303 jobs, per Supply Chain Dive.
