Articles
Trucking
Driver Shortage Threatens to Slow Intermodal Growth
The shortage of qualified drivers threatens the intermodal industry’s continued growth. The challenge for intermodal is not only hiring enough professional drivers, but also retaining them. For many transportation companies, attracting and retaining drivers are the biggest challenges. The extreme number of multi-hour delays along the intermodal chain, combined with the impersonal treatment drivers receive […]
Read MoreOvercoming LTL Shipping Challenges
Less-than-truckload (LTL) transportation involves moving shipments that won’t fill a 48- or 53-foot semi-trailer. LTL could be half of a full shipment, a single pallet, or a single box. LTL shipping creates many challenges, and understanding how to overcome them is key to efficiency. Adam Robinson, marketing manager of third-party logistics (3PL) provider Cerasis Inc., […]
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Rise of the Machines: How Self-Driving Trucks Will Alter the Supply Chain
If you drive through Nevada on your family vacation this summer, you may glimpse what many believe is the future of trucking in this country. Daimler’s Freightliner division unveiled its first self-driving truck licensed for commercial use in Nevada, one of the first states to permit autonomous passenger vehicles and the only one to license […]
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Benefits of Partial Truckload Shipping
Q: What is partial truckload? A: You hear a lot about less-than-truckload (LTL) and full truckload, but an often overlooked mode is partial truckload, or volume LTL. This mode has benefits shippers should consider when looking for faster transit times, less handling, and a more cost-effective solution. Logistics professionals begin to look at partial truckload […]
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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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.
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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.
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Trends—January 2015
Truck Sizes and Weight: The Long and the Short of It Truck size and weight has long been a sensitive and divisive issue, pitting railroads and the motoring public against a trucking industry already beset by the full heft of regulatory burden. Proponents favor increasing the scale and scope of what trucks and trailers can […]
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Capacity Crunch
No, capacity crunch is not a cereal. It’s what almost every third-party logistics company (3PL) is dealing with today. It’s a shortage of trucks. Why are trucks in short supply? Let’s start with the economy. It’s pretty good right now. When the economy is good, it’s good for truckers. There are lots of goods to […]
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Trucking From the Driver’s Seat
From first mile to last mile, and every mile in between, truck drivers are the lifeblood of your supply chain. Meet some of these dedicated professionals.
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Regulatory Update: Playing by the Rules
Mark our words: Legislative and regulatory resolutions could spell trouble for shippers and carriers in 2015.
Read MoreReducing Freight Costs
Transportation prices have risen over the past year, but shippers can cut those costs through smart planning. Tim Benedict, senior director of transportation at APL Logistics, offers the following tips for reducing freight costs. 1. Don’t wing it. Electing to use international air instead of expedited ocean for the majority of hot shipments could leave […]
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Andy Yablin Goes Back to School
Andy Yablin is vice president, transportation at Scholastic Inc. in New York. He worked for the children’s book publisher from 2002 to 2008 and returned there in 2014 to take on his current role. Responsibilities: All transportation from manufacturing facilities to distribution centers, and from distribution centers to customers. Experience: Several positions, concluding with general […]
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Trends—November 2014
Competitive Switching: Between a Rock and a Railroad Competitive switching—a directive that would require railroads to switch a customer’s freight to a competitor’s line within a reasonable distance—has been a "third rail" conversation among captive shippers and railroads ever since the threat of re-regulation started ringing through Congressional hallways. More pressing safety and security concerns […]
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Modal Harmony in a Discordant Market
When U.S. gas prices hit all-time highs in summer 2008, surpassing $4 per gallon and $140 per barrel, shippers felt the pinch. For some, it pushed the needle in a new direction. Shippers such as Welch’s used the 2008 gas crisis as a burning platform to test intermodal solutions in certain lanes. It was a […]
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Trends—October 2014
UPS, Christmas 2014: ‘Fixed It!’ After the 2013 peak holiday season, e-commerce shoppers took to the phones and social media to tell e-tailers, and, ultimately express transportation companies, how they ruined Christmas. As it turns out, Santa actually drives a big brown truck, and he failed to get a substantial number of gifts under the […]
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Intermodal: Too Much of a Good Thing?
The growing popularity of intermodal transportation leaves more shippers planning their way around equipment shortages and traffic jams.
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Understanding Capacity Constraints
The trucking industry faces capacity constraints, but there are solutions available to help shippers minimize the impact.
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