Trucking Archives - Page 19 of 23

September 20, 2013 | Trucking

Trucking Perspectives 2013

Shippers and carriers face myriad uncertainties as the economy slowly begins to recover. Will compliance with new regulations raise rates? Is a capacity crunch on the horizon? Do green mandates raise red flags? And what about a driver shortage? Inbound Logistics’ exclusive trucking market research survey provides some in-depth answers.

| Logistics I.T. | Trucking

Using In-Truck Technology to Cut Costs

Q: What cost factor should shippers prioritize during carrier selection? A: Invoice price is often the driving factor in carrier selection— which is logical, because everyone operates with very thin margins. But that may be flawed thinking. Instead, consider the total cost of utilizing a carrier. For example, administrative costs are a large part of […]

| Transportation | Trucking

5 Trucking Trends on the Table

Our Annual Trucking Issue offers a buffet of valuable information for you to chew on and digest. Here are five key takeaways that will whet your appetite for more: 1. Sharing of information, shipments, assets, and space is on the upswing. For example, OEMs and auto parts suppliers who were previously reluctant to divvy up […]

| Legislation, Public Policy, Regulations | Public Policy | Research | Trucking

Trends—September 2013

Hours-of-Service: A Question of Time Trying to wrap your head around the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Hours-of-Service (HOS) regulations that went into effect July 1, 2013, is a numbers game. Put simply: "You almost have to be a math major to understand the new Hours-of-Service rules," says Don Jerrell, associate vice president, risk […]

| Trucking

Building Capacity Through Specialized Truckers

Forming partnerships with specialized and diversified truckers can help secure capacity when there’s none to be found.

When Government Oversight of Motor Carriers Fails, Shippers Pay

While overall truck accident rates have been trending lower over the past several years, avoidable carrier accidents are still common. Comprehensive safety compliance reviews (CRs) by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) protect lives and property. In the year after a CR is conducted, crashes decrease 16.3 percent, according to […]

July 31, 2013 | Trucking

Aerodynamic Trailer Add-ons Make Fuel Savings a Breeze

High transportation costs were a drag for Anderson Hay & Grain, until it installed aerodynamic trailer side skirts to increase fuel efficiency.

| Specialized Logistics | Trucking

Polishing the Furniture Supply Chain

Faced with mounting logistics challenges, U.S. furniture manufacturers let specialized carriers and white-glove delivery experts handle the heavy lifting.

June 20, 2013 | Green Logistics | Trucking

Natural Gas For Long-Haul Trucking: Working Together to Get It Right

Q: The trucking industry is poised to increase its use of natural gas for heavy-duty, long-haul freight. Is this a good idea? A: Natural gas sounds like a dream proposition. It’s cheap, domestic, and, when it burns, it emits a quarter of the carbon dioxide (CO2) of diesel fuel—and few other pollutants. So it potentially […]

Global Logistics—May 2013

Did Hong Kong Strike Out? While Hong Kong’s season of labor discontent may augur an unsettling trend as Asia’s middle class continues to grow—along with discord concerning workers’ rights and compensation—the near-term implications serve as yet another reminder of the daily vagaries threatening supply chains. A lingering, month-long dockworker strike (as of press time) over […]

April 22, 2013 | Logistics I.T. | Trucking

Truckers and Shippers Prepare to Meet Over-the-Road Challenges

Q: What challenges do domestic transportation service providers face today as a critical part of the value chain for manufacturers and retailers? A: One of the most competitive segments of the trucking market, truckload (TL) companies also represent the core business of most asset-based, but diversified, transportation companies. Their most common concern, according to a […]

April 8, 2013 | Green Logistics | Trucking

CNG as a Transportation Fuel: A Fuel Manager’s Perspective

Since 2009, natural gas prices have followed a decidedly different path than gasoline and diesel prices. Natural gas prices have dropped 43 percent, while gasoline and diesel prices increased by more than 200 percent. These divergent price trends have created an opportunity to use compressed natural gas (CNG) as a transportation fuel. Based on the […]

January 31, 2013 | Logistics I.T. | Trucking

Loadboards & Exchanges: Finding the Perfect Match

Shippers seeking capacity and carriers looking for freight find love at first site.

December 19, 2012 | Transportation Management | Trucking

Cutting LTL Costs

Saving money on less-than-truckload (LTL) procurement is a laudable goal—except when operational problems eclipse savings gains. Shippers who prioritize securing the lowest price from carriers may actually end up paying more because of costs embedded in carrier expenses—resulting in problems such as service degradation and supply chain disruption. Danny Slaton, executive vice president of supply […]

November 20, 2012 | Air Cargo | Expedited Shipping | Trucking

Expedited Transport: It’s All in the Timing

Once cost-prohibitive for all but the most time-sensitive rush deliveries, today’s expedited services help shippers balance their need for speed with cost-effective solutions.

| Trucking

How to Make Driver Recruitment a Competitive Differentiator

One challenge the logistics sector faces is, well, finding new faces. While the U.S. recession largely suppressed a dormant truck driver shortage, the prospects of economic recovery are stirring old concerns. Adding to the problem, recent government mandates including the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Hours of Service and Compliance, Safety, Accountability rules threaten to […]

October 22, 2012 | Cross-Docking | Trucking

Crossdocking Streamlines Freight Movement

How can an organization eliminate or reduce waste and increase speed in their supply chain? One answer is to replace warehouses and/or manufacturing locations with crossdock facilities or “landing pads.” Tremendous pressure from global competition and just-in-time (JIT) operations in the marketplace has spurred many manufacturers to adopt a lean production philosophy—and a lean supply […]