Logistics Management (Highlands Ranch, CO) articles from February 2005

Logistics Management (Highlands Ranch, CO) archives from February 2005

More turnover at the top.(Management update: an executive summary of industry news)
February 1, 2005... Asa Hutchinson, second in command at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, has tendered his resignation effective March 1. As undersecretary for border and transportation security, Hutchinson oversees security initiatives affecting...

Switching airfreight forwarders and carriers may get easier.(Management update: an executive summary of industry news)
February 1, 2005... Under the government's "Known Shipper Program," airfreight forwarders and carriers must certify that every customer is a legitimate shipper. Packages or freight tendered by "unknown" shippers--such as new customers--are subject to X-ray...

Logistics managers negotiating to hold down rate hikes.(Management update: an executive summary of industry news)
February 1, 2005... Logistics managers negotiating to hold down rate hikes have a lot working against them these days. Higher energy prices have not only hiked transportation costs, they've also raised costs for transportation equipment and supplies, says...

The Canadian landscape for contract distribution will change.(Management update: an executive summary of industry news)
February 1, 2005... The Canadian landscape for contract distribution will change with PBB Global Logistics' acquisition of rival Unicity. PBB of Fort Erie, Ont., will buy Unicity Integrated Logistics (UIL) and Unicity Customs Services (UCS), based in Winnipeg,...

If you do business with China--or plan to in the future--you'll want to attend our online event, "The 2005 China Logistics Conference," scheduled for April 28.(Management update: an executive summary of industry news)
February 1, 2005... If you do business with China--or plan to in the future--you'll want to attend our online event, "The 2005 China Logistics Conference," scheduled for April 28. John Manners-Bell of the research firm Transport Intelligence will deliver the...

The U.S. Supreme Court will review a dispute involving Michigan's right.(Management update: an executive summary of industry news)
February 1, 2005... The U.S. Supreme Court will review a dispute involving Michigan's right to impose truck fees. Recently a Michigan state court upheld that state's right to impose a $100-per-truck annual fee for interstate and intrastate operations. The American...

Are shippers looking for more control over their 3PLs?(Management update: an executive summary of industry news)
February 1, 2005... Two recent deals may signal a trend in that direction. Last month, grocery chain SuperValu bought Total Logistics Inc., a third-party logistics company, for about $233 million. Milwaukee-based Total Logistics provides refrigerated and dry...

Mexican motor carriers are not on par with their U.S. counterparts.(Management update: an executive summary of industry news)
February 1, 2005... Mexican motor carriers are not on par with their U.S. counterparts when it comes to safety, a federal report has concluded. Last month the U.S. Department of Transportation's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) determined that the Mexican...

Amsterdam will play host to a gathering on European logistics this spring.(Management update: an executive summary of industry news)
February 1, 2005... The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals will hold its 2005 European Conference, "Coping with Dynamics in Global Supply Chains, a European Perspective," April 21-22 in the Netherlands. Procter & Gamble Vice President Peter Williams...

The federal government should protect the privacy of hazmat truck drivers.(Management update: an executive summary of industry news)
February 1, 2005... The federal government should protect the privacy of hazmat truck drivers who must be fingerprinted for background checks. That's the position of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), which represents independent truckers....

A new program offers online certification for supply chain professionals.(Management update: an executive summary of industry news)
February 1, 2005... Accenture, the global consulting firm, and the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) will offer a retail supply chain certification that focuses on inventory management. The 50-hour course contains modules on topics such as safety stock,...

Trading perception for reality.(Viewpoint)
February 1, 2005... THANKS TO CONSTANT COVERAGE in both the trade and general business press, Wal-Mart's RFID initiative has created such a stir that every time the retail giant opens its mouth, legions of anxious suppliers lean closer to absorb every word. ...

Trucking.(Price trends: pricing across the transportation modes)
February 1, 2005... The U.S. trucking industry overall did indeed boost average prices by 3.9% in 2004. That represents the largest annual price hike since 2000. For 2005, shippers can expect the annual rate of inflation for trucking services to peak in the second...

Air.(Price trends: pricing across the transportation modes)
February 1, 2005... In the final quarter of 2004, average prices for shipping on scheduled airlines took off, rising 5.4%. That's a sharp departure from the deflationary price picture we saw in the first three quarters of 2004. During that period, average prices...

Water.(Price trends: pricing across the transportation modes)
February 1, 2005... Rarely do we see a price trend that has turned the corner as sharply as the current trend in water transportation has done. In December our aggregate price index sat at 135.8 (based to 100 in 2001). By the end of 2004, the annual inflation rate...

Rail.(Price trends: pricing across the transportation modes)
February 1, 2005... The North American rail industry seems to be hiking prices with a full head of steam. In 2004, we saw average industry prices increase from year-ago levels by 3.3% in each of the first two quarters of the year, followed by a 4.2% gain in the...

Meet the new HOS rules, same as the old rules: FMCSA re-publishes rules to get feedback; still no evidence of impact on drivers' health.(News & Analysis)
February 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Under court order to re-examine the hours-of-service (HOS) rules for truck drivers, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) last month re-published the current rules for public comment. The agency is seeking...

Customs to ratchet up C-TPAT requirements for importers.(Security)
February 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- Industry trade groups and Customs officials are wrestling behind the scenes over proposed new requirements for importers that participate in the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program (C-TPAT). Some international...

U.S. warehousing market worth more than $25 billion.(Warehousing)
February 1, 2005... STOUGHTON, WIS. -- A first-of-its-kind study estimates that the U.S. commercial warehousing market earned some $25.7 billion in revenue in 2003. It also said third-party logistics company Exel was the largest operator of commercial warehousing...

Third parties ready to expand into Eastern Europe, Asia.(Outsourcing)
February 1, 2005... BOSTON -- The third-party logistics (3PL) industry has continued to globalize as users broaden the geographies they use for sourcing, manufacturing, and distributing their products. Studies of both users and providers of third-party logistics...

JPMorgan Chase acquires global trade software firm.(Technology)
February 1, 2005... NEW YORK CITY -- When banking conglomerate JPMorgan Chase bought Vastera, a vendor of global trade management software, for $129 million last month, analysts weren't exactly taken aback by the development. "It's not surprising," said John...

Addendum to the 2005 buyers guide.(News & Analysis)
February 1, 2005... Please add the following listings to your copy of Logistics Management's 2005 Buyers Guide, published in the December 2004 issue. Third-Party Services BNSF Logistics 4700 S. Thompson, Suite A202 Springdale, AR 72764 (877) 853-4756...

The Port of Tacoma and the Evergreen Group opened the Pierce County Terminal, a 171-acre container terminal located on the 51-foot-deep Blair Waterway.(New Services)
February 1, 2005... The Port of Tacoma and the Evergreen Group opened the Pierce County Terminal, a 171-acre container terminal located on the 51-foot-deep Blair Waterway. The terminal boasts a 12-track inter-modal yard capable of accommodating up to 72...

Watkins Motor Lines.(New Services)
February 1, 2005... Watkins Motor Lines has opened Regional Express hubs in Albany, N.Y., Thomasville, Ga., and Charlotte, N.C. This brings the number of Regional Express operations, which provide next-day service to terminals in the East and Southwest, to nine....

LOGISCO.(New Services)
February 1, 2005... LOGISCO, a third-party logistics provider, acquired an additional 813,000 square feet of warehouse space in the the AirTech Park facility in Plainfield, Ind. With the new space, LOGISCO now operates more than 2.1 million square feet in the...

AMB Property Corporation.(New Services)
February 1, 2005... AMB Property Corporation, a global developer of industrial real estate, has begun work on the Nash Logistics Center, an 80,000-square-foot distribution facility adjacent to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Tenants will benefit from...

Longevity requires a vision for the future.(Logistics Briefing)
February 1, 2005... It's not enough to turn over the engine and start driving. You need to know where you're going. You need vision. In 1955, our founder, Herald "Smitty" Smith looked down the road. He saw trucks hauling cattle from Cedar Rapids, Iowa to...

Datebook.(Calendar)
February 1, 2005... March 6-9. 67th Annual Convention of Truckload Carriers Association. Las Vegas. TCA. 703-838-1950 or www.truckload.org March 14-15. Masters Certification Seminar in Advanced Equipment, Fleet, and Shop Management. Las Vegas. NationalTruck...

Make sure your packaging is carrier-approved.(Bohman on Pricing)
February 1, 2005... Suppose your company has developed a new fiberboard box for shipping one of its products and has successfully made several test shipments. Should you go ahead and begin using it? Yes--but only if you've made certain that it is an "authorized"...

Reshaping fulfillment: today's practices and priorities.(Byrne on Excellence)
February 1, 2005... Fulfillment--how a company responds to its sales orders--is a "core" supply chain capability. However, many organizations are now working to make fulfillment a leading-edge marketplace differentiator. They recognize that technology...

Slow but steady: Wal-Mart's suppliers are finding they can win the RFID race by taking it slowly and moving ahead one step at a time.
February 1, 2005... When Wal-Mart announced that it would require its top 100 suppliers to begin marking shipments to three Texas distribution centers with radio frequency identification (RFID) tags by January 1 of this year, most of those companies had to be...

The do's & don'ts of third-party contracts: be wary of potential pitfalls in contracts different types of intermediaries, warns our legal expert.(Logistics And The Law)
February 1, 2005... The challenges inherent in contracting with logistics and transportation intermediaries differ depending on the type of third party involved: an asset-based third-party logistics (3PL) company or a non-asset-based 3PL, a freight forwarder or a...

Airlines venture abroad: as airlines hit turbulence in their home markets, many are boosting international capacity to shore up revenues.(Transportation Trends)
February 1, 2005... The financial news regarding the airlines is grim. Bankruptcy filings, drastic cost cutting, and financial instability, particularly in the U.S. domestic market, has reached a critical stage, with large passenger airlines seeing their profits...

Ocean outlook: rough seas ahead: although the economy is improving, shippers should be prepared for rising rates, tighter capacity, and more congestion in 2005.(Global Logistics)
February 1, 2005... Last year was a challenging one for Steve Tanaka, who manages international shipments for Seattle-based Evergreen Hardwoods Inc. Evergreen does business worldwide, largely with Asia and Europe, with a small percentage in Latin America and...

Are your pallet partners cheating on you? Follow these guidelines to make sure you get back the pallets you gave.(Pallet Tracking)
February 1, 2005... Do you sometimes get the uneasy feeling that something about your pallets doesn't quite add up? You could be right. Maybe your customer isn't sending back the same number and quality of pallets that you left on its dock. Or instead of returning...

Weigh, price, and label with one unit.(New Products)
February 1, 2005... The redesigned WPL-1500x high-speed weigh/price/label system is a continuous-motion machine designed for food packaging. It utilizes a precision digital load cell to accommodate a variety of products. Importantly for food processors, the unit...

Ocean freight procurement service.(New Products)
February 1, 2005... A new managed services program to help importers and exporters strategically purchase, optimize, and manage ocean transportation services is available from GT Nexus. The program includes access to best-of-breed Web technology for global...

Forklifts optimize efficiency.(New Products)
February 1, 2005... Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks has made several improvements to its line of 3,000- to 6,500-pound capacity N-Generation cushion-tire forklift trucks. Available in eight different models with three fuel configurations, these trucks are designed to...

RFID technology controls gate access.(New Products)
February 1, 2005... An automated vehicle-access control system from AXCESS International Inc. is well suited for yard and fleet management applications. Based on active RFID technology, the system utilizes an underground antenna that automatically activates a tag...

Better data capture for route drivers.(New Products)
February 1, 2005... Cube Route, a provider of managed services for delivery and field-service operations, has added support for Intermec Technologies' 700 series mobile computer to its on-demand logistics services. The joint offering enables companies with...

Solar-powered trailer-tracking system.(New Products)
February 1, 2005... GeoLogic Solutions has added a solar-powered option to its TrailerMax asset monitoring system that combines satellite and terrestrial communications in a single solution. TrailerMax Solar contains all the functionality of TrailerMax, but it...

10 key challenges for the Chinese logistics industry: moving freight in and out of China is a dizzying mix of the promising and the perplexing. Here's a snapshot of what shippers are up against in one of the world's fastest-growing economies.(A Special Supplement)
February 1, 2005... CHINA'S ECONOMIC GROWTH SEEMS UNSTOPPABLE. Almost every statistic points to increasing momentum in sales revenues and market share; nearly every headline trumpets greater opportunity for foreign investors, much of it the product of the central...

Check the name, not the fingerprint.(Parting Shot)
February 1, 2005... To get a gun permit in my home state of Massachusetts, you need to be fingerprinted. Given the connection between firearms and crime, gun owners in the Bay State must accept that intrusion on their personal liberty. Thanks to the USA Patriot...