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Global Logistics—November 2009
Wagons West Chinas New Reckoning Sometimes adversity yields opportunity. When a major earthquake struck China’s Sichuan Province in May 2008, its magnitude was incomprehensible: 70,000 people killed, many more displaced, and widespread annihilation of infrastructure and socio-economic wellbeing. But a landscape literally wasted by nature is now quaking and awakening with the tremors of a […]
Read MoreTrends-November 2009
The green movement is many things to different parties. But the common element all environmentally conscious supply chain practitioners and consumers should take a vested interest in is transparency—from source to self. Environmental watchdog Greenpeace, whose mission is to bring clarity to environmental issues and threats, knows something about transparency. Proof to point, the organization […]
Read MoreGlobal Logistics—October 2009
Rotterdam Rules Inch Forward Most trade conventions come and go. Others linger. When 15 countries, including the United States, ratified the Rotterdam Rules recently in the Dutch port city, the new UN maritime convention updated global standards for transporting ocean cargo initially laid out in The Hague Rules (1924), the Hague-Visby Rules (1968), and the […]
Read MoreTrends-October 2009
Shippers and service providers have enough difficulty meeting customer demand despite encroaching time, service, and cost constraints without political bureaucracy getting in the way. But it does. Pitched battles over quality of life and the goods that bring quality to life are frequent and fervent—and serve as yet another reminder that domestic transportation policy and […]
Read MoreGlobal Logistics—September 2009
Demand and Strategy Drive India’s Retail Trade India’s retail industry is enjoying boom times as its economy continues to develop. As the country’s second-largest employer after agriculture, retail is estimated to reach US $590 billion in the next two years, growing at a 13-percent clip between 2007 and 2012. India’s consumer reckoning is largely a […]
Read MoreTrends-Sep 2009
Hormel Foods is adding a little zing to its U.S. product offering thanks to a joint venture with Herdez Del Fuerte, a Mexico City-based manufacturer and marketer of consumer-branded food and beverages. Together, they are launching a new brand, MegaMex Foods, to market Mexican foods in the United States. MegaMex Foods, which is expected to […]
Read MoreGlobal Logistics—August 2009
Brazils Broken Track Record Less Substance More Lines Brazil is a little late coming to the railroad turntable, a reality that has stifled transportation infrastructure and economic development dating back to the beginning of the 20th century. As rural and expansive as the country is, a major rail renaissance has been barely chugging along. For […]
Read MoreGlobal Logistics
Nationalism is alive and thriving, and that has some public and private sector interests around the world worried that inward-pressing cultural forces could scuttle past efforts to break down bureaucratic trade barriers. Look no further than the recent riots and long-simmering feud between ethnic Han and minority Uighurs in China—a conflict originally stoked by Uighurs’ […]
Read MoreTrends-July 2009
The allure of Central America and the Caribbean as a New World for exploration beguiled 16th-century European traders eager to exploit its wealth of natural resources and labor. Today, the region is attracting colonization of a new order and under its own terms—and U.S. trading partners are equally captivated. As China sourcing becomes more complicated, […]
Read MoreTrends-May 2007
It has been a tough year for the trucking industry with empty stores, trailers, and gas tanks casting their lot against carriers and motor freight buyers alike. Shrinking budgets, expanding carbon emissions and fuel efficiency standards, and steady competition from rail/intermodal providers have similarly pushed truckers and shippers into a sustainability strata that augurs a […]
Read MoreGlobal Logistics-June 2009
Ademand-driven logistics strategy can help companies save considerable time and expense flowing product through the supply chain. It can also save lives. Wayne, N.J.-based MAQUET Cardiovascular, a newly acquired division of German parent company MAQUET Medical Systems, recently expanded its relationship with third-party logistics provider Menlo Worldwide Logistics in Europe to manage inbound transportation for […]
Read MoreIN BRIEF: New Services & Solutions-May 2009
Products Shippers can fully utilize the space inside a trailer with the Ancra Cargo AutoDeck system, which adjusts the height of each beam to create a customized decking solution. The automated system reduces losses resulting from cargo damage because pallets don’t have to be stacked on top of each other, and increases load averages by 10 to […]
Read MoreGlobal Logistics-May 2009
“Not in my backyard” posturing has become a familiar obstacle to economic development interests wrestling with local citizenry over infrastructure projects. Recently, Canadian National’s nationally publicized and locally ostracized acquisition of the Elgin, Joliet, and Eastern Railroad, and intention to reroute rail traffic around Chicago to alleviate congestion, drew criticism and legal action from affected […]
Read MoreTrends-May 2009
Lean times call for equal measures. The U.S. automotive industry has been decimated by a slumping domestic economy and increasing global competition. While some cash-strapped manufacturers join government “bread” lines, still others are turning to their assembly lines. In what amounts to a corporate mandate to level production and lean out its supply chain, General […]
Read MoreGlobal Logistics-Apr 2009
The ocean shipping industry is awash in a sea of confusion. Some liners are putting vessels on furlough to squeeze capacity and offset operating expenses. Others are shifting assets to demand, leaving equipment shortages in underperforming lanes. Shippers beset with their own swelling costs continue to demand make-or-break pricing, while some carriers risk running aground […]
Read MoreTrends-2009
When consumer spending dips, few companies target high-income shoppers as a potential revenue stream. But few companies can walk in Walmart’s shoes, and the retailer has both attracted more consumers and convinced them to buy bigger-ticket items. With a fresh new logo to boot, Walmart is cleaning up in more ways than one. Its stores […]
Read MoreGlobal Logistics-March 2009
Distant are the days when Thomas Jefferson’s fledgling U.S. government launched a series of covert operations to chase North African pirates back to their Barbary Coast hideaways in an effort to protect maritime trade. Today, piracy is the common term for downloading music or videos without paying copyright fees. But a brash new breed of […]
Read MoreGlobal Logistics-February 2009
The threatening economic cloud hovering over the United States is spreading eastward and casting a pall over European trade as it continues its global path. The continent is bracing for a gloomy forecast as pressures build, consumerism wanes, and mandates to reduce transportation costs flood corporate boardrooms. The current global downswing will stress transport rates […]
Read MoreTrends-February 2009
Boeing is making supply chain management a critical pivot as it tries to steer its way out of an economic vortex. As demand for new aircraft ebbs, and a machinist’s strike and failed component installation hamper the launch of the 787 Dreamliner program, the company is reconsidering its global supplier network. The Chicago-headquartered aircraft manufacturer […]
Read MoreVR Training Combats Trucking Industry’s Critical Driver Shortage
To many of us, truck driving and virtual reality (VR) using simulation are at the opposite end of the technology spectrum. However, VR using proper simulation is the solution to a major problem that exists in the world of trucking and freight movement. That problem is replacing the professional drivers who are retiring. We will […]
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