Articles

Trends

In the Eye of the Storms

As the 2018 hurricane season continues to blow through, DHL Resilience360 offers these risk mitigation measures: Pre-position essential material and stocks. By monitoring storm forecasts in real time, companies can assess potential locations and routes at risk, and initiate efforts to minimize disruption such as increasing inventory to bridge short-term supply shortages; storing fuel reserves […]

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Great(er) Expectations: Meeting E-Commerce Consumer Demands

Consumers prioritize convenience, experience, and quality when making online purchases, according to an annual e-commerce study conducted by third-party logistics provider Dotcom Distribution. Data from more than 1,400 online shoppers indicates a shift from previous years, when consumers placed higher value on gift-like packaging and fast delivery. Results also demonstrate a change in how consumers […]

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Hello, Good Buy

Hello, Good Buy

Today’s retail environment is more complex than ever, given the rise of e-commerce and a rediscovery of the age-old truth that the customer is king. As retailers across the globe struggle with demands for both personalization and convenience, balanced with consumer skepticism on data privacy, JDA Software and Centiro explored consumer trends in key markets […]

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Bye, a la Mode

As part of a business plan to centralize operations and move away from independent owner-operator networks, Hub Group sold its Mode Transportation subsidiary to an affiliate of York Capital Management, a diversified investment manager, for approximately $238.5 million, with about $20 billion under management. Hub’s primary focus is intermodal, and it has sold a 3PL […]

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Trucking Generates $700 Billion

The U.S. trucking industry generated $700.3 billion in economic activity in 2017, a 3.5-percent increase over the $676.2 billion generated in 2016. That’s according to the American Trucking Associations’ trucking industry data report—ATA American Trucking Trends 2018. Among the findings in this year’s edition: Trucks moved 10.77 billion tons of freight, 70.2 percent of all […]

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The Gig is Up

In the new gig economy, workers are individual contractors—they are mobile, can work from any place, and save their companies time and resources. The paradigm shift from having full-time workers to individual contractors is not that easy to manage when considering companies that have full-time employees, especially in logistics. To decide if a model like […]

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Tariffs Go Nuts

Almonds are an especially lucrative product for California—the state’s almond industry currently supports more than 100,000 jobs and accounts for approximately $11 billion of the state’s economy. Instead of being roasted and seasoned with salt, however, almonds are being roasted by escalating Chinese tariffs. Earlier in 2018, President Trump implemented steep tariffs against offshore aluminum […]

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Home Depot Builds New Supply Chain

Home Depot Builds New Supply Chain

Home Depot will spend $1.2 billion to overhaul its supply chain to offer faster delivery for consumers and businesses. Walker Sands’ 2018 Future of Retail report offers the home improvement retailer some advice: To compete with Amazon, Home Depot should focus not only on delivery speed, but transparency as well. Only 30 percent of consumers […]

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Big Apple Polishes Freight Transportation System

Big Apple Polishes Freight Transportation System

New York City plans to overhaul its aging freight distribution systems through strategic investments to modernize maritime and rail assets and create new distribution facilities. Freight NYC is a $100-million plan with the ultimate goals of creating nearly 5,000 good-paying jobs for New Yorkers and a more sustainable and resilient supply chain network. New York […]

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IoT Clears the Air for Transportation Companies

The Internet of Things (IoT) is set to help transportation and logistics providers significantly reduce emissions, enabling compliance with clean air targets. It will also improve worker health and safety while maximizing resource efficiency and reducing expenses. That’s according to Inmarsat’s 2018 research project, which analyzes IoT adoption across the transportation and logistics sector. The […]

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