Articles
Transportation
Dealing With Demurrage, the Dreaded D-Word
Every industry endures a topic no one wants to discuss. It’s usually too painful or tedious to confront, although it probably will never vanish. For shippers and receivers who transport by rail, that topic is the dreaded demurrage. Demurrage is the fee charged for the extended use of a railroad-owned or privately held railcar. When […]
Read MoreImproving Shipper/Carrier Relationships
From shippers, receivers, and purchasing agents to carriers and third-party logistics companies, everyone has an opinion on how to reduce trucking costs. But they all agree that to help save money, shippers should build strong relationships with their less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers. Mark Hamblin, vice president of sales, west, for LTL carrier Saia, offers some advice […]
Read More
Trends—May 2015
U.S. Ports Critical to Sustained Economic Growth Transportation budgeting at the state and federal levels has become a contentious battleground as politicians and private sector lobbyists search for new funding mechanisms to execute much-needed infrastructure upgrades. One point of consensus is that U.S. ports are key to sustained economic growth—and therefore should be a priority […]
Read More
Global Logistics—May 2015
China Picks Pakistan for Trade Corridor China’s "global diplomacy" holds few bounds. From Central and South America to Africa, the country has been aggressively asserting its influence and injecting capital into new infrastructure developments that also pave the way for further commodity sourcing. But China’s impact in Asia is far greater, especially as it relates […]
Read More
The Driver Shortage—Not Just a Carrier Issue
Q: The transportation industry’s nationwide driver shortage is getting worse. What is the cause? A: Tougher regulations, a lack of interest by younger workers, and the graying of today’s drivers are contributing to the driver shortage. The problem will continue to grow over the next several years—especially as freight volumes increase. Despite the fact that […]
Read More
How Amtrak’s Supreme Court Case Affects Freight Shippers
Track-sharing among railroads has long been a complicated issue. The U.S. Supreme Court recently reviewed a case determining whether Amtrak has the authority to regulate privately owned freight railroads with which it shares rail. The Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970 was supposed to reinvigorate a national passenger rail system. The legislation created Amtrak to […]
Read More
Five Ways to Mitigate a Truckload Capacity Crunch
Many factors have led to increased costs for truckload services, and created challenges to the freight pricing status quo for shippers. In the wake of the disruptions caused by the current capacity crunch, many are asking: "Am I overpaying? And if I am, what can I do about it?" To avoid paying too much for […]
Read More
Riding the Rails
America’s great rail intermodal sites serve as vital hubs in the logistics landscape.
Read MoreMaximizing Intermodal Efficiency
Intermodal transportation was developed to improve efficiency as U.S. consumer demand and shipment volume grew. When a trucking entrepreneur realized it would be more efficient to use the same conveyance for different shipping modes, without having to handle the cargo, intermodalism was created. The resulting interoperability of the assets themselves—containers, chassis, railcars—is evidence of improved […]
Read More
Trends—April 2015
Supply Chain Modeling: Believe It! The supply chain sector is increasingly adapting and deploying technology to better understand the unknown. Big data provides a wealth of information and historical precedent to benchmark and optimize current and future events. Modeling and design software similarly affords users the latitude to engineer and plan for potentialities before they […]
Read More
Global Logistics—April 2015
Larger Ships, Larger Losses? When Maersk Line introduced its Triple-E class of containerships in 2013, it raised the bar for the ocean shipping industry. China Shipping Container Lines and Mediterranean Shipping Company have since brought vessels online that top the 19-thousand TEU threshold. But now France’s CMA CGM SA, the third-largest container line in the […]
Read More
Choosing to Be a Shipper of Choice
Q: In the face of increasing capacity issues, rising equipment costs, and new regulations, carriers prefer to work with shippers that will support their business needs. How can companies become "Shippers of Choice"? A: In a word, it’s about partnerships. Q: Are there best practices for achieving this goal? A: Yes. Pre-planning helps carriers anticipate […]
Read More
Strategic Shipping Solutions
Q: How is predictive modeling reshaping logistics? A: Predictive modeling is changing the dynamic that exists between the carrier and the shipper. It’s creating more of a collaborative environment, where the carrier and shipper can now talk openly about their goals with the transparency required to create and maintain a great relationship. The shipper now […]
Read More
Offshore vs. Outsource for Transportation & Logistics
Many transportation and logistics professionals hear outsourcing and think offshoring, but there is a big difference.
Read More
Collaborative Distribution: Taking Off the Training Wheels
To break the cycle of needless, duplicative logistics costs, many competitors are choosing to work in tandem.
Read More
Freight Transport in Alaska: The Haul of the Wild
Because of Alaska’s remote location and precarious weather, transport providers carrying freight on land, sea, and air have developed special expertise to buck the challenges.
Read More
Five Customs Compliance Tips for Aerospace Companies
Aerospace manufacturers and distributors who move shipments across international borders face an often-complicated, high-stakes process as they navigate export rules and local customs regulations. Fines for non-compliance can amount to millions of dollars. That makes understanding guidelines a vital business priority. For some companies, the hassles associated with customs can dissuade them from expanding into […]
Read More
Trends—March 2015
Learning the ABCs of DCs To be competitive in today’s dynamic retail space, online companies need to rethink distribution networks that were built to serve the brick-and-mortar store model, suggests research conducted by supply chain faculty at the University of Tennessee’s (UT) Haslam College of Business. Supply chain faculty surveyed more than 200 companies, and […]
Read More
Preparing Your Company Today to Hire for Tomorrow
The logistics sector will create more than one million jobs through 2016, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. To complicate matters, there is a skills gap in logistics, so recruiting proven and experienced professionals has become a priority for many companies. With competition for talent increasing, organizations must attract candidates who will be the […]
Read More
Georgia: Super Hub of the Southeast
Manufacturers and service providers locating new or expanding operations in Georgia gain strategic business advantages, competitive efficiencies, and a whole lot more.
Read More