Traffic World articles from May 2004

Traffic World archives from May 2004

Inflated expectations.(Editorial)
May 31, 2004... Anyone who has bought milk at a grocery store recently can tell you where transport prices are heading. The gallon that cost $2.90 a few weeks ago is now up to $3.35, a glaring example of how the skyrocketing cost of oil is being passed...

Zollars' next challenge: Yellow Roadway's chief looks beyond last year's merger to new markets, new opportunities and, by the way, $300 million in cost-saving synergy.(Cover Story)
May 31, 2004... No one has ever run a larger long-haul trucking concern than William D. Zollars, the chairman, president and CEO of Yellow Roadway. Zollars oversees a $6.5 billion transportation conglomerate, the third-largest ground transport provider in...

Dredging for dollars? New waterways caucus has likeminded lawmakers barging into transport funding debate.(Washington)
May 31, 2004... Several members of the House and Senate members are trying to channel Congress' transportation attention to waterways. Hoping to fight off attempts to cut funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the lawmakers from various regions...

Tagging the progress: Wal-Mart gives thumbs up to RFID tests, vendors release additional RFID products.(Logistics & Technology)
May 31, 2004... Wal-Mart says its far-reaching project to have its major suppliers outfit all shipments with radio frequency identification tags is off to a good start even though many shippers say they are questioning whether they can implement the retail...

Mission to Baghdad: violence slows shipments to Iraq but Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, other transporters, still deliver.(Logistics & Technology)
May 31, 2004... Escalating violence in Iraq is slowing but not stopping the shipment of military and commercial cargo to the troubled country. Logistics operators say they have to be careful and "creative" to deliver freight safely in a country where...

Tesco's one-stop strategy: Britain's leading grocery chain changes distribution network to oblige its fast-growing nonfood business.(Logistics & Technology)
May 31, 2004... A growing number of grocery chains pressing a one-stop shop for their customers are asking logistics providers to provide them the same thing. The strategy of selling everything from afghans to zucchini has distribution specialists...

C3 Solutions.
May 31, 2004... C3 Solutions introduced a new version of its yard management software, Yard Smart. The new version includes technology to enable yard managers to schedule and monitor incoming and outgoing trailers, tractors and drivers; automated receiving;...

Post Fulfillment Online.
May 31, 2004... Post Fulfillment Online, a subsidiary of Australia Post and provider of warehousing, pick-and-pack and delivery of fresh, frozen and dry groceries for Coles Myer's Coles Online business in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia, is using warehouse...

Vocollect.
May 31, 2004... Vocollect, a provider of voice directed distribution systems, introduced Vocollect VoiceManager, a Web-based application. VoiceManager automates and distributes "Vocollect's distribution dialogs including order selection, receiving, put-away,...

Voice-based.
May 31, 2004... Voice-based logistics solutions provider Voxware released its VLS-410 wearable wireless computer and VLS Smart Charger. The new computer has more memory, a faster processor and longer battery life. VLS Smart Charger simultaneously analyzes...

Paying for reliability: the nation's leading LTL carriers sky total compensation must rise 25 percent or more to ensure availability of capacity.(Special Report: Top Trucking Companies)
May 31, 2004... How do you get good in trucking? Easy. Don't be like everybody else, eschew the heavy discount game and provide better service than the competition. Oh, by the way, keep your ever shrinking pool of drivers happy by paying them ever...

Top trucking companies.(Special Report: Top Trucking Companies)
May 31, 2004... Top Trucking Companies Traffic World's Top 50 trucking companies, prepared by SJ Consulting PRIVATE/ CARRIER NAME AND BRAND NAME PARENT COMPANY PUBLIC...

Red star shut down: USF closes money-losing Northeastern regional LTL unit following brief Teamsters' strike.(Trucking)
May 31, 2004... USF's sudden shutdown of its Red Star unit following a brief work stoppage telegraphs a new "get-tough" policy with the Teamsters union targeting the Chicago-based conglomerate. USF Red Star, which had been losing money for several years,...

Correction.(Trucking)(Correction Notice)
May 31, 2004... In the May 24 issue, Traffic World misstated the base pay at Con-Way Central Express. The actual pay rate is $21.35 per hour.

Different routes to rating: LTL carriers look beyond annual GRIs, base rates for new ways to recoup costs, price services.(Trucking)
May 31, 2004... Trucking companies are showing shippers there's more than one way to raise rates. While some LTL carriers are taking general rate increases earlier than usual this year, others are eschewing across-the-board hikes to focus on pricing for...

Sheridan Garrison dead: American Freightways founder, FedEx board member, industry leader, dies in apparent drowning accident.(Trucking)
May 31, 2004... F.S. "Sheridan" Garrison, the garrulous founder of American Freightways whose folksy demeanor masked an intense knowledge of the trucking industry and shrewd business acumen, died in an apparent drowning accident on a lake in his home state...

Railing over rates: railroad price increases anger shippers as record freight levels test track, cars, terminal capacity.(Rail & Intermodal)
May 31, 2004... Top rail industry officials say it will take innovation and collaboration to move the record amounts of freight forecast for this year and beyond. But some shippers say the only innovation by the railroads so far has been limited to figuring...

Mulvey, Buttrey confirmed for STB: new surface transportation board members expected to be sworn within two weeks.(Rail & Intermodal)
May 31, 2004... The Senate on May 21 approved Frank Mulvey and Douglas Buttrey as Surface Transportation Board commissioners. When sworn in they will join Chairman Roger Nober, the STB's sole member since May of last year. Mulvey, a Democrat from...

Canadian National Railway reached a tentative collective agreement with the Canadian National Railways Police Association, which represents 67 CN police officers in Canada.
May 31, 2004... Canadian National Railway reached a tentative collective agreement with the Canadian National Railways Police Association, which represents 67 CN police officers in Canada. Details of the three-year labor contract were withheld pending...

Towne Air drops ACI: air freight trucker says linehaul middleman has new strategy to compete for forwarders' traffic.(Air & Express)
May 31, 2004... Towne Air Freight, a major contractor to the Air Cargo Inc. linehaul trucking operation run for U.S. airlines, is pulling out of the network because of growing tension over ACI's changing business strategy. Towne Air Freight officials...

Russia bridges cargo service: Volga-Dnepr subsidiary opens first scheduled all-cargo service with Beijing-Luxembourg flight.(Air & Express)
May 31, 2004... Russia's first scheduled International all-cargo airline began service this month hoping to create a new path for freight between Asia and Europe. AirBridge Cargo, a subsidiary of the Volga-Dnepr Group oversized cargo specialists, flew...

Electronic banking hurts AirNet: carrier of checks and bank documents looking for business to replace declining bank services cargo.(Air & Express)
May 31, 2004... AirNet Systems is moving to find new lines of business to replace the bank checks and other financial documents that are disappearing front the specialized carrier's system at something like Internet speed. With electronic check...

DHL adds U.S. express to Intel.(Air & Express)
May 31, 2004... DHL calls a large new express contract the carrier won with semiconductor giant Intel an important victory for the operator's ability to sell services across a range of cargo businesses. DHL officials said the two-year, $15 million...

Eva Air and Austrian Airlines.
May 31, 2004... Eva Air and Austrian Airlines extended their cargo networks through a code-sharing agreement. Taiwan-based Eva now provides approximately five tons of lift three times per week for Austrian Airlines customers on a Vienna-Bombay-Taipei route....

Lufthansa Cargo.
May 31, 2004... Lufthansa Cargo began a joint venture with the Shenzhen Airport Co. on an air freight center in southern China. They will jointly operate the international terminal with each company having a 50 percent ownership stake. The terminal will...

A Gulf Coast boom? Gulf Coast container market is on the rise with port, ship TEU capacity to soar in 2006.(Maritime)
May 31, 2004... Expansions at three Gulf Coast ports and the partial openings of three proposed major terminals could boost the region's container market by more than 50 percent between now and 2007, port officials and shipping line executives say. ...

Investor group sells Horizon Lines: change of ownership will not affect Horizon 'service and reliability,' company chief says.(Maritime)
May 31, 2004... The Carlyle Group signed an agreement to sell Horizon Lines to another private equity firm for $650 million, more than double what Carlyle paid CSX for the 16-vessel ocean transport operator little more than a year ago. Horizon Chairman...

Global Transportation Solutions.(People Watch)
May 31, 2004... Global Transportation Solutions, a provider of next-generation terminal management software appointed Susan Coffey vice president of sales and marketing. Coffey succeeded Tom Butler who resigned. A logistics industry veteran since 1986,...

Econocaribe.(People Watch)
May 31, 2004... Econocaribe, an international transportation carrier, named Sam Corley Northeast import manager. Corley has relocated to Econocaribe's New Jersey office to lead its import operations in the Northeast. He has worked for the company for over...

Nippon Cargo Airlines.(People Watch)
May 31, 2004... Nippon Cargo Airlines, Japan's all-cargo airline, appointed Vito D'Anna director of freight services--USA, D'Anna has worked at NCA for the last 18-years and will be based at JFK International Airport.

Parsons Brinckerhoff.(People Watch)
May 31, 2004... Parsons Brinckerhoff announced that Jeff Morales, former director of the California Department of Transportation, has joined its organization as a senior vice president and also will be a principal consultant with PB Consult. Morales will be...

Mercury Air Cargo.(People Watch)
May 31, 2004... Mercury Air Cargo promoted Clive Langeveldt, a 22-year veteran of the air cargo industry, to executive vice president for Hermes Aviation, Mercury's general sales agent division. Langeveldt has been with Mercury since 1999 directing the...

Exel.(People Watch)
May 31, 2004... Exel appointed Thomas Heydorn as seafreight director for Europe, Middle East and Africa. Heydorn has 19-years experience in the logistics industry and began his career with Rohde & Liesenfeld as a seafreight traffic manager.

Watkins Motor Lines.(People Watch)
May 31, 2004... Watkins Motor Lines promoted Johnny Owens to manager at its Charleston, S.C., terminal as well as Savannah, Ga., substation. Owens, an 18 year sales and operations management veteran, previously was operations manager for Watkins' Atlanta...

Wilbur Smith Associates.(People Watch)
May 31, 2004... Wilbur Smith Associates hired Jeffrey J. Hockmuth as principal ITS engineer for its transportation technology and operations division. Hockmuth will manage and lead technical activities on several projects, including the Mexico National ITS...

Lynden Air Freight.(People Watch)
May 31, 2004... Lynden Air Freight promoted Joel Seay to district operations manager. Seay, a 14-year transportation industry veteran, previously served as international operations manager. In addition, Shelli Cox and Chris Marino joined Lynden's Dallas...

UniGroup.(People Watch)
May 31, 2004... UniGroup named 20-year veteran Jan R. Alonzo general counsel. Alonzo succeed Morton I. Golder who retired. Prior to joining the company, she served as bank and finance group vice chairman and as a partner at Thompson Coburn in St. Louis.

Pilot Air Freight.(People Watch)
May 31, 2004... Pilot Air Freight named Bill Curtis and Shelly Brick national account managers. Curtis, who will represent Pilot in the Midwest and be based in Milwaukee, spent 19 years at Airborne Express. Brick will represent Pilot in the Northwest and be...

UPS.(People Watch)
May 31, 2004... UPS named Jose Acosta, a 26-year veteran of the express parcel and supply chain giant, vice president of operations for UPS in Latin American. A former hub manger in various posts in the UPS network, Acosta had been UPS's South Florida...

Alaska Airlines.(People Watch)
May 31, 2004... Alaska Airlines appointed Sam R. Sperry director of corporate communications. Sperry, a veteran Seattle newspaperman and public relations consultant, most recently worked for the consulting firm of Gogerty Stark Marriott. He also held the...

DHL.(People Watch)
May 31, 2004... Jerry Hempstead, vice president of national accounts at DHL, received the Mailcom postal group's Franklin Award in recognition of his contributions to mail communications. DHL said Hempstead had "helped pioneer some of the most innovative...

Calendar.(Calendar)
May 31, 2004... JUNE 1-2. Air&Port Security Expo Asia 2004 (Simply Group Ltd.), Hong Kong. +44 208 542 9090 or www.airportsecurityexhibition.com 1-5. Transportation Lawyers Association's 2004 Annual Conference, Palm Beach, Fla. (913) 541-9077 or...

Logistics seminars and courses.(Calendar)
May 31, 2004... JUNE 2. RFID Overview (webcast) (Warehousing Education and Research Council). (630) 990-0001 or www.werc.org or jhill@werc.org. 2-4. Preparing Dangerous Goods for Transportation by Aircraft (initial training)(Dangerous Goods Advisory...

DOE diesel price index.(Update)
May 31, 2004... [GRAPHICS OMITTED] National & Regional Averages: May 24 United States $1.761 East Coast $1.707 Midwest $1.684 Gulf Coast $1.671 Rocky Mountain $1.955 West Coast $2.198 Note: Table made...

Weekly traffic of major U.S. railroads: for the week ending March 15, 2004.(Update)
May 31, 2004... Weekly Traffic of Major U.S. Railroads for the week ending March 15, 2004 Traffic Originated Week 19 ...

Carrier publishes wrong rates.(Q & A)
May 31, 2004... Q: I perform post audits for various clients. Recently, I filed more than $20,000 in overcharge claims on behalf of a client against a motor carrier. The basis of my claims was the tariff I was given by my client, showing the rate level to be...

Sick jokes.(The Back Page)
May 31, 2004... Roger Nober, chairman and sole member of the Surface Transportation Board, had a few down days this month when he was nursing a case of strep throat that left the country's railroad industry dangerously unregulated for a few days. Association...

DeRailed.(The Back Page)
May 31, 2004... Speaking of rails, University of Maryland logistics professor Bill DeWitt has a vision of the not-too-distant future of freight rail transportation--two transcontinental railroads owned and operated by UPS and FedEx. Surely the strep will be...

Commuting.(The Back Page)
May 31, 2004... One shipper at the National Industrial Transportation League-hosted forum in the San Francisco Bay area to discuss Union Pacific service woes seemed a bit put out by the trek to Burlingam, Calif. Couldn't they have scheduled it, he wondered,...

Joy of Shipping.(The Back Page)
May 31, 2004... At a recent rail shippers conference, rail consultant Herk Wolfe stood up and said he was so enamored of the AASHTO freight report--the one that estimates huge increases in volume in the next 20 years--that, at his age, reading it was better...

Galley Chat.(The Back Page)
May 31, 2004... When airlines design new planes, they often take into account cargo space or other such amenities. So when Airbus designed its new A340-500, it included a "corpse cupboard" on the main deck. Every so often, a live passenger becomes, well,...

Pressed.(The Back Page)
May 31, 2004... There may have been something important for mobile asset management solutions provider Symbol Technologies to announce at its press conference at the recent Distribution/Computer Expo 2004 in Chicago. Unfortunately, Symbol marketing chief Gil...

Regulating shippers.(Editorial)
May 24, 2004... At the National Industrial Transportation League's spring legislative forum held just outside Washington a couple of months ago, federal truck safety regulators conceded they hadn't considered that they would he regulating shippers with the...

Completing the cycle.(Shippers Tools & Tactics)
May 24, 2004... Over the last several weeks, I have used this column to encourage the auditing of all the parts of your logistics operation, honestly evaluating the positive and negative aspects with the goal of implementing measurable improvements to the...

'Trucking is fun' again: with capacity tight, carriers honing on 'sweet spot' in rates, yields, profits.(Cover Story)
May 24, 2004... This is probably the best time to be in the trucking business in 10 years. Truckload rates are rising by high single digits, some $3 billion in capacity has left the LTL market and some shippers appear spooked about availability of trucks...

UP: it's getting worse: service problems extend to Pacific Northwest, interline partners; improved conditions in California.
May 24, 2004... Union Pacific Railroad executives said that congestion problems on its system in the Pacific Northwest and Houston are getting worse, according to attendees at special forum in which the railroad addressed shippers increasingly angry about...

Highway bill's off ramp: pessimism grows among industry, government officials over passage of a highway bill this year.(Washington)
May 24, 2004... Ed Hamberger didn't hesitate when asked at a recent public event to pick a date when the long-delayed highway bill might finally get through Congress. "September 30," said the head of the Association of American Railroads, "... 2005." ...

Helping intermodal grow: AAR's Hamberger calls for unified national transport policy supporting intermodal growth.(Washington)
May 24, 2004... The rapid growth in the country's intermodal business isn't being matched by understanding of intermodalism in public policy. The lack of a unified view of transportation at the national and local levels is a roadblock to greater efficiency...

Borrowing truckers' time: HOS rules force shippers, 3PLs to consider changes from loading dock to distribution strategies.(Logistics & Technology)
May 24, 2004... Shippers that aren't responding to the new hours of service rules are living on borrowed time--the hours truckers spend handling their freight instead of hauling it. Although enforcement of the new HOS rules began only in March, shippers...

Descartes' System crash: blame falls on many shoulders as logistics technology provider falls on hard times.(Logistics & Technology)
May 24, 2004... Descartes Systems tries to sell shippers and logistics operators on technology to piece together supply chains but some believe the icon of the modern shipping era could use some of those solutions in its own business. Descartes became...

Airports invest in IT: air cargo shippers, airlines, freight forwarders may save money using new airport IT facilities.(Logistics & Technology)
May 24, 2004... Air cargo shippers could see costs drop within the next few years as technology investments at global airports lower the expense of doing business. The savings will come from airport-installed technologies that shippers, airlines and freight...

IBM expands use of Menlo: Menlow Worldwide to manage North American ground transportation logistics network for IBM.(Logistics & Technology)
May 24, 2004... IBM, the world's largest technology company, is expanding its use of Menlo Worldwide to manage its North American ground transportation logistics network. "What we have expanded is a very important lane from Mexico into the United...

Simmons Foods.
May 24, 2004... Simmons Foods is using Total Logistics Control, a subsidiary of Total Logistics, to operate a new dedicated distribution center connected to its production facility in Van Buren, Ark. Under the 10-year contract, TLC will provide warehousing...

X-Change.
May 24, 2004... X-Change and its wholly owned subsidiary Airgate Technologies launched Web sites to provide information on radio frequency identification technology. Information on X-Change is available at www.x-changecorp.com. RFID information and solutions...

Distribution software solution.
May 24, 2004... Distribution software solution provider Aperum added PDA Warehouse to its TakeStock solution. The new mobile application enables distributors to use handheld personal digital assistant devices to collect and access information throughout the...

ProLogis.
May 24, 2004... ProLogis, a global provider of distribution facilities and services, signed an agreement with NYK Logistics to develop a 323,000 square foot distribution facility at ProLogis Park Hamburg Dradenau in Hamburg, Germany. This will be NYK's...

Crown Cork & Seal USA.
May 24, 2004... Crown Cork & Seal USA, a manufacturer of packaging products, extended its services agreement with ICG Commerce, a procurement services provider, to lower purchasing costs. The two companies began working together in 2000. "Since that time,...

Hutt Trucking.
May 24, 2004... Hutt Trucking of Hamilton, Mich. is using Maddocks Systems' TruckMate for Windows to have a Windows-based dispatching system, said Jim Hutt, president of Hutt Trucking. Hutt operates a fleet of over 50 power units and 90 refrigerated...

Supply Chain Resources.
May 24, 2004... Supply Chain Resources of Carol Stream, III. formed the Supply Chain Resources Group to provide customers with global supply chain software including domestic and Pacific Rim warehousing and distribution, shipping, retail logistics, product...

Eastman Kodak.
May 24, 2004... Eastman Kodak extended its sourcing agreement with Procuri, which it first began using in 2001. "Procuri facilitates simplicity in our sourcing processes," said Gary Frainier, e-sourcing manager for Kodak. Kodak will double the number of...

Crate and Barrel.
May 24, 2004... Crate and Barrel, housewares retailer, is using software from 4R Systems to optimize its inventory. "We continue to be focused on innovative ways to improve profitability and efficiency and believe that through better analysis and use of our...

'Hoffa failed that test': TDU pounces on Stier resignation to show IBT 'not serious' about corruption.(Trucking)
May 24, 2004... The Teamsters union's effort to police itself appears to be collapsing amid the resignation of its top in-house cop and charges that union President James P. "Jimmy" Hoffa is ambivalent to cleaning up the IBT. Internal political foes are...

NYC teamster leader under fire.(Trucking)
May 24, 2004... Anthony Rumore, president of the 25,000-member Teamers Joint Council 16 and a 3,800-member local in New York City, is under internal investigation for allegedly skimming union funds for his personal use. Charges filed by the Teamsters...

NASSTRAC multipier effect: shipper group tweaks dues to encourage company colleagues, boost membership.(Trucking)
May 24, 2004... The National Small Shipments Traffic Conference, in a significant change to its dues structure, is making it easier to attract multiple officials from the same company. Under the new structure, organizations can enlist multiple...

LTL trucker shuts doors.(Trucking)
May 24, 2004... C&M Transportation, a Kansas City-based regional LTL carrier that employs about 200 workers, abruptly shut its doors after what local reports said were massive debt problems. The 25-year-old privately-held trucker had claimed $14 million...

Tracking PTC's benefits: government study indicates rail industry could get billions from positive train control; AAR doubts it.(Rail & Intermodal)
May 24, 2004... A study by the Federal Railroad Administration concludes that railroads and their customers would reap billions of dollars in benefits from technology that lets trains make better use of track space. But railroads so far are unwilling to foot...

Better, safer by remote.(Rail & Intermodal)
May 24, 2004... The Federal Railroad Administration issued a preliminary report demonstrating that using remote control locomotives in and around rail yards significantly improves safety. The report found that between May 1, 2003, to Nov. 30, 2003, the...

Nixing fixing FELA: AAR's Hamberger denies end-run in Congress to change FELA but complains unions won't talk.(Rail & Intermodal)
May 24, 2004... Railroads are again making efforts to change rail employee injury benefit law and labor is standing firm against it. The companies say the law fosters an adversarial relationship and the want to change that. Labor says changing the law would...

Way to run a railroad: partnerships with NS, CSX helps boost profits at Florida East Coast Railway.(Rail & Intermodal)
May 24, 2004... Florida East Coast Railway is riding the strong intermodal wave and the results are showing on its bottom line. Operating profit for FEC in the first quarter increased 26 percent to $11.1 million from $8.8 million a year ago. First quarter...

Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway invested.
May 24, 2004... Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway invested in additional grain carrying capacity, reduced certain charges, simplified car ordering and appointed an ombudsman to work directly with grain shippers during the 2004 grain harvest. The...

Federal Railroad Administration Administrator.
May 24, 2004... Federal Railroad Administration Administrator Alan Rutter told a congressional hearing on rail security that the most heavily traveled commuter systems, rail terminals and stations had the most extensive security measures and enhanced...

Grupo TMM, parent company.
May 24, 2004... Grupo TMM, parent company of Mexican railroad Grupo TFM, extended the deadline for its bond restructuring. The restructuring of two notes with principal amounts outstanding of $176.9 million and $200 million, respectively, will be...

Pacer Stacktrain subsidiary Pacer Cartage.
May 24, 2004... Pacer Stacktrain subsidiary Pacer Cartage selected Trinium Technologies to enhance its cartage operating systems. Pacer Cartage provides intermodal drayage, harbor drayage, container freight station pick-up, and local and regional full- and...

Canadian National Railway.
May 24, 2004... Canadian National Railway finalized its acquisition of Great Lakes Transportation, a $380 million deal that the Surface Transportation Board approved in April. The GLT package includes two small U.S railroads, a rail switching company and a...