Articles

Supply Chain

Good Question: To address the truck driver shortage, should we lower the minimum driver age to 18?
| | | |

Good Question: To address the truck driver shortage, should we lower the minimum driver age to 18?

I agree with lowering the age restriction for getting an interstate CDL to 18. Currently, commercial drivers between 18 and 21 can operate with a CDL as long as they don’t cross state borders. Think about that—a 19 year old can legally operate a commercial rig between Miami and Pensacola, Florida (670 miles apart), but […]

Read More
Sean Wilcox
| | | | |

Shipping and Delivery: How to Get it Right

Thanks to the rise of e-commerce and heightening customer expectations, shipping and delivery have become key drivers of overall customer satisfaction. An e-commerce company’s ability to meet customer expectations can be a source of competitive differentiation. Executing against the wrong strategy—or not having a strategy at all—is a recipe for higher costs and lower customer […]

Read More
Keith Biondo
| | |

Conserving a National Resource

Everyone has an opinion about how to combat the truck driver shortage—from boosting pay and benefits to lowering the age for getting a CDL (see Good Question, page 10) to self-driving trucks. But one valuable weapon you don’t hear much about is driver wellness programs. Carriers can implement these programs quickly, and net near immediate […]

Read More
| | |

Who’s Running the Ship?

Norway is testing a new way to make ocean freight transportation more sustainable: autonomous electric ships. Norwegian fertilizer manufacturer Yara International has commissioned the Yara Birkeland, which will be the world’s first autonomous electric containership. The company plans to use the freighter between ports to eliminate the use of diesel-powered trucks. The electric ship should […]

Read More
| | |

Holy Mackerel! Oslo Reels in Seafood Center

Norway’s Oslo Airport is positioning itself as a preferred cargo hub by adding seafood transportation to its menu. Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) and Sjømatterminalen AS will operate the new Seafood Center at Oslo Airport, which will handle up to 250,000 tons of seafood annually. The facility is designed to meet industry requirements for cool chain […]

Read More
| | |

Reducing CO2 Emissions: Close But No Cigar

Carbon dioxide emissions from 22 of the world’s leading ocean container carriers, representing 85 percent of global containerized shipping, continued to fall in 2017, but more innovation and collaboration across the value chain are needed to achieve ambitious global climate goals, reports BSR’s Clean Cargo Working Group. The Clean Cargo Working Group compiles its annual […]

Read More
| | | |

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 […]

Read More
| |

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 […]

Read More
| |

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 […]

Read More
Neil Hamilton
| | |

Using IoT to Move From Push to Pull

Customers want more and they want it now. If you are unable to meet expectations, they will go elsewhere. The supply chain model often used in retail distribution is outdated and broken. Using Internet of Things (IoT) and vertically integrated order processes can achieve a leaner supply chain and help you say goodbye to out […]

Read More