Logistics Management (Highlands Ranch, CO) articles from March 2003

Logistics Management (Highlands Ranch, CO) archives from March 2003

Truckers are getting hosed at the pumps. (Management Update).
March 1, 2003... The national average price of diesel fuel has reached its highest level since October 2000, thanks in part to an explosive leap of 12 cents a gallon in a single week in February. At press time, the going rate had climbed to $1.70-up from $1.40...

Shippers and carriers have had a lot to say about U.S. Customs' "straw man" proposals for advance notice of import and export shipments. (Management Update).
March 1, 2003... One of the most interesting comments has came from The National Industrial Transportation League (NITL). Its suggestion: Rather than notifying the agency so many hours prior to loading a truck, Customs should base the reporting window on the...

Not everybody thought the Super Bowl commercials were amusing. (Management Update).
March 1, 2003... The trucking industry was riled by an ad from Monster.com, the online job recruiter. The commercial showed a driverless tractor-trailer careening through a cornfield before swerving across a crowded highway and crashing into a billboard....

Tighter security regulations are forcing many shippers to increase their cycle times. (Management Update).
March 1, 2003... A survey of exporters around the globe conducted for international logistics provider BDP International and its Centrx consulting unit found that nearly 30 percent of respondents are increasing their order-cycle times in order to comply with...

Quality management could offer some help for shippers struggling with new security rules. (Management Update).
March 1, 2003... Stanford University professor Hau L. Lee and Michael Wolfe of the North River Consulting Group make that case in their article "Supply Chain Security Without Tears" in the January/February issue of Supply Chain Management Review. By applying...

Two leaders in supply chain research have teamed up to create a new "laboratory" for advanced supply chain practices. (Management Update).
March 1, 2003... IBM and Michigan State University's Eli Broad College of Business have established the Center for On-Demand Supply Chain Research. IBM will fund d~ e center and give researchers access to its software technologies. Students will be able to...

Need more information on hazmat transportation in this age of increased security? (Management Update).
March 1, 2003... Then consider attending the annual meeting of the Conference on Safe Transportation of Hazards Articles (COSTHA), scheduled for April 6-9 in Austin, Texas. This year, the conference will feature two days of training in such subjects as 49 CFR...

A battle over truck safety may be brewing between two government agencies. (Management Update).
March 1, 2003... The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) last month chastised the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Agency (FMCSA) for failing to do the lob of policing new truckers entering the marketplace. In particular, the Safety Board charged that FMCSA...

The once-proud Emery name is no more. (Management Update).
March 1, 2003... CNF Inc. last month jettisoned the last vestiges of the former Emery Worldwide group of companies when it retired the Emery name from its freight forwarding subsidiary. Emery Forwarding now becomes Menlo Worldwide Forwarding, a name that will...

A changing of the guard at Roadway Corporation puts familiar faces in higher places. (Management Update).
March 1, 2003... Well-known industry executive Michael W. Wickham will step down as chief of Roadway Corporation, but stay on as chairman of the holding company's board. The current CEO of LTL carrier Roadway Express, James D. Staley, will take over the reins...

The head of the Surface Transportation Board will step down later this spring. (Management Update).
March 1, 2003... In an interview with The Washington Post, Linda J. Morgan said she will leave the STB before her term of office expires. Morgan also noted that shippers, the railroads, and Congress have been increasingly polarized over the future direction of...

The agency shuffle has begun in Washington, D.C., as the federal government revs up the Department of Homeland Security. (Management Update).
March 1, 2003... On March 1, the Transportation Security Agency, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Customs Service, and the Border Patrol were among the federal agencies that officially transferred into the new department. Customs' trade and revenue functions and...

Measurement--the right way. (Viewpoint).
March 1, 2003... You can't manage what you don't measure. It's one of the most time-honored management maxims. Yet as with all such wisdom, it's as often ignored as it is adhered to. The feature article in this issue on labor standards for forklift...

Trucking. (Price Trends).
March 1, 2003... According to surveys of motor carriers, prices for truckload service aren't moving much, but watch out if you're in the less-than-truckload market In January 2003, TL prices stood unchanged from the previous month and were up just 1.4% compared...

Water. (Price Trends).
March 1, 2003... "Rough seas" may be the catch phrase for shippers of containerized cargo. Almost across the board, the U.S. Labor Department price indices showed January 2003 prices that were dramatically higher than they were a year ago . Average prices for...

Rail. (Price Trends).
March 1, 2003... Average prices for rail freight inched up just 0.1% from December 2002 to January 2003. Not every shipper got as much of a break: prices for intermodal transportation during that same period increased by 1%. For non-intermodal business,...

Air. (Price Trends).
March 1, 2003... Shipping via U.S. airlines got a tad less expensive as average prices for shipments on scheduled flights slipped 1.4% from December 2002 to January 2003. Compared to a year earlier, though, prices are still up by 6.7%. The problem for all air...

Carrier costs and demands affecting transportation service prices. (Price Trends).
March 1, 2003... FUEL PRICES At press time, the U.S. average retail price of gasoline stood at $1.70 per gallon, making the Department of Energy's forecast for gasoline prices to peak at $1.66 by spring hopelessly out of date. There already have been...

Teamsters avert strike, ink new contract with LTL carriers: analysts say increases in wages and benefits will raise costs for carriers, but won't translate into higher LTL rates. (News & Analysis).
March 1, 2003... With a strike authorization looming over the National Master Freight Agreement talks last month, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and unionized national LTL carriers reached a tentative agreement on a new five-year master contract....

Customs begins handing out "no-load" directives. (Regulation).
March 1, 2003... The grace period for compliance with U.S. Customs' 24-hour advance manifest mandate is officially and effectively over. In the first week of February, when compliance with the ruling became mandatory, the agency handed out 13 "no-load"...

Which commodities are most profitable for railroads? (News Capsule).
March 1, 2003... Which commodities are most profitable for railroads? Based on 2001 industry figures for revenue per ton-mile, transportation equipment was by far the most profitable commodity for railroads to haul. Transportation equipment ...

NVOCCs, carriers square off on confidentiality. (Customs).
March 1, 2003... Ocean carriers and consolidators, which are both collaborators and competitors, have never been the best of friends. That relationship is becoming even more tenuous as trade groups representing carriers and consolidators publicly disagree over...

Bloomington, Ind., selected as best warehouse location. (Warehousing).
March 1, 2003... If you've only got one warehouse and you want to ship all across the United States, the best place to have it is... Bloomington, Ind. That's according to a study conducted by Chicago Consulting. The annual study identifies the best...

ITA slams proposed changes to forklift seat-belt rule. (Warehousing).
March 1, 2003... The Industrial Truck Association (ITA) recently took the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to task for the wording of its proposed revision of the regulations for use of seatbelts in forklifts. In OSHA's draft, drivers would...

Shippers eye more security equipment purchases. (Material Handling).
March 1, 2003... An exclusive survey by Logistics Management of shippers' plans for buying materials handling equipment this year offers both disappointment and cheer for equipment manufacturers. A survey of nearly 200 logistics and warehousing managers...

Ocean carriers to charge for bills of lading. (Maritime).
March 1, 2003... Shippers are already paying a variety of surcharges for maritime transportation, and now they can expect to pay one more. A number of ocean carriers have filed notice with the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) that they intend to assess a...

House chair questions adequacy of DOT's 2004 budget. (Government).
March 1, 2003... The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is calling for a total operating budget of $54.3 billion dollars for fiscal year 2004, an increase of 6 percent over FY2003 figures. Even with that boost in funding, the proposed budget will leave...

Growing interest, but moderate sales ahead for RFID applications. (Technology).
March 1, 2003... Despite tough economic conditions, the market for radio frequency identification (RFID) equipment has grown by 8 percent annually since 2000. That's the assessment from market research firm Venture Development Corp. (VDC) of Natick, Mass....

Ready Reserve is ready for action. (Maritime).
March 1, 2003... With the threat of war with Iraq looming, shippers and carriers have been wondering if the government will invoke the Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement (VISA). Under VISA, the government can commandeer commercial vessels. But it looks like...

European Commission reviews stand against CSI. (For the Record).
March 1, 2003... The News Analysis item titled "European Commission reviews stand against CSI" in the February 2003 issue of Logistics Management should have made clear that European Union policymakers understand in principle the United States' decision to...

Ford Motor Company. (Winners Circle).
March 1, 2003... Ford Motor Company has recertified Canada Maritime for Q1 Quality Status for meeting the automaker's ISO quality standards. The certification requires that over a 12-month period the carrier deliver 99.8 percent of shipments damage-free and...

Kemira Chemicals Inc. (Winners Circle).
March 1, 2003... Kemira Chemicals Inc. has selected Con-Way Southern Express as its "Carrier of the Year." Con-Way was chosen for its commitment to the company's Midway plant, particularly in the area of safety. Kemira hands out the award based on a carrier's...

Kenworth Truck Company. (Winners Circle).
March 1, 2003... Kenworth Truck Company earned ISO 9001:2000 certification for the design, manufacture, and assembly of heavy-duty and medium-duty trucks. The company previously was certified under ISO 9001:1994 standards.

Blair Rubber Co. (Winners Circle).
March 1, 2003... Blair Rubber Co. recently named Betty Ramsey Small of Pittsburgh-based Pitt Ohio Express as its 2002 Sales Representative and Domestic Carrier of the Year. Ms. Small took the honors by meeting Blair's criterion of 100 percent on-time service,...

Schneider Logistics Inc. (Winners Circle).
March 1, 2003... Schneider Logistics Inc. has been recognized by General Motors' Service Parts Operations (SPO) with a Performance Award for supporting its 2002 business initiatives. The honor comes as a result of the company's work in reducing returnable...

Swift Transportation Corp. (Winners Circle).
March 1, 2003... Thanks to the efforts of five carriers, Schering-Plough Health Care Products was able to deliver its over-the-counter launch of Claritin allergy medication on time. In recognition of this, Schering-Plough presented plaques to Roadway Express,...

Murray Inc. (Winner's Circle).
March 1, 2003... Saddle Creek Copak Services is the recipient of Murray Inc.'s 2002 Warehouse of the Year and Advanced Logistics Technology awards. Saddle Creek supplies Wal-Mart with Murray's go-karts and mowers. The award is based on inventory accuracy, zero...

Graybar Inc. (Winner's Circle).
March 1, 2003... Fortune magazine has released its list of "America's Most Admired", companies. Included in this year's list are United Parcel Service (UPS) and Graybar Inc., a distributor of electrical, telecommunications, and networking equipment. UPS ranked...

Averitt Express. (Services).
March 1, 2003... Averitt Express has completed construction of its new "Super Service Center" near Atlanta, Ga. The 67,000-square-foot facility triples the size of the previous service center in the Atlanta area and is the company's third-largest with 130 dock...

Con-Way Transportation Services Inc. (Services).
March 1, 2003... Con-Way Transportation Services Inc. now offers automated email tracking of freight shipments. Using the "Power Tools" function of its Web site (www.con-way.com), shippers can select criteria that will trigger e-mail notifications to up to...

Ward Trucking Company. (Services).
March 1, 2003... Ward Trucking Company has introduced a new subsidiary, Forward Logistics LLC. The new venture, based in Altoona, Pa., offers brokerage, freight management, and other value-added services for customers with packaging, kitting, shipping, and...

Cast. (Services).
March 1, 2003... Cast has re-launched its Web site at www.cast.com. Along with simplified navigation, the site now offers the ability to request rates, make bookings, and download bills of lading. Sailing schedules are online, including a search function for...

The D.W. Morgan Company. (Services).
March 1, 2003... The D.W. Morgan Company has launched a Singapore-based subsidiary, D.W. Morgan Company Pte Ltd. Alfred Lim, a 14-year industry veteran, will lead the new company, which will handle exports to North America of products manufactured throughout...

Roadway. (Services).
March 1, 2003... Roadway's Sealed Divider service is now available for shippers with special security needs for any size LTL shipment. Loads are secured by two tamper-proof rod locks on a customized barrier inside the trailer, and are kept locked from pickup to...

Datebook.
March 1, 2003... April 6-9. 29th Annual Conference. Reno, Nev. Transportation Consumer Protection Council, in conjunction with the Transportation Loss Prevention and Security Association. www.tcpcinc.com or (631) 549-8984. April 7-8. "Supply Chain Strategy...

Inside charges can vary with type of location. (Bohman on Pricing).
March 1, 2003... Virtually all LTL carriers assess additional charges on shipments that require inside" pickup or delivery--that is, shipments that are picked up or delivered inside buildings and/or away from typical handling areas such as loading docks. These...

Sweet on intermodel: for Sweetheart Cup, relationships are the key to getting the right intermodal equipment at the right price.
March 1, 2003... Intermodal transportation isn't necessarily right for every shipper, nor is it tight for every situation. But when there is a good march, it can be a powerful transportation option that can cut costs and improve productivity--especially when...

Why it pays to share your 3PL: shippers are discovering that by sharing third-party services, they can save big on transportation and warehousing costs.
March 1, 2003... If you're a logistics manager, you're always on the lookout for new and better ways of' managing your operations. Yet because many logistics activities are nothing new -- some, in fact, are as ancient as civilization--today's "new" concepts are...

Solving cross-border roadblocks: step-by-step process mapping helped one shipper speed shipments across the U.S.-Mexico border.
March 1, 2003... A week, 10 days, two weeks... conventional wisdom says that's the norm for moving freight from the United States and Canada into Mexico. Years of stories about delays, corruption, and incompetence--some true, some apocryphal--have led many...

How labor standards lift productivity: labor standards can improve productivity of forklift operations, but unions are raising concerns about their fairness.
March 1, 2003... Grocers throughout North America are implementing productivity standards for lift-truck drivers, and they're seeing some impressive results. Take Sobeys Inc. of Stellarton, Nova Scotia, for instance. Over the past three or four years, the...

What price security? Carriers are hesitant to spend heavily on new security technology, unless it improves both safety and efficiency.
March 1, 2003... When terrorists hit New York and Washington, D.C., on September 11, 2001, Jevic Transportation Inc. of Delanco, N.J. was already equipped with sophisticated security technology. Like many U.S. motor carriers, Jevic had long deployed such...

Ports in progress: despite the perennial vagaries of the global economy, the ports of North America continue to invest in the programs and equipment needed to continue their ongoing expansion.
March 1, 2003... For the most part, 2002 was a fairly good year for U.S. and Canadian ports on bath the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Container traffic edged past the record 33.3 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of the previous year, and projects to...

Interest grows in "flow distribution". (Copacino on Strategy).
March 1, 2003... Cross docking has been used by manufacturers and shippers for the past 20 years, and it has long been at the heart of LTL carriers' operations. Now we are seeing more companies incorporate cross docking into an operating model called "flow...

Don't let checkpoints become checkpoints. (Parting Shot).
March 1, 2003... The cries of alarm that arose from the shipping community when the U.S. Customs Service announced its proposed advance notice rules in Washington, D.C., last month could be heard all the way up here in our offices outside of Boston. ...

Belt conveyor saves on maintenance, energy. (New Products & Services).
March 1, 2003... Featuring snap-together belting and a virtually maintenance-free direct-drive belt system, SmartMove modular plastic belt conveyors operate at speeds up to 200 feet per minute with a capacity of 400 pounds. These systems consume 80 percent less...

Adhesive keeps palletloads in place. (New Products & Services).
March 1, 2003... Lock 'n Pop aerosol palletload stabilizing adhesive is designed for low-volume use in rework stations or similar facilities or for jobs where stretch wrap is not available. Water-based, biodegradable, and nontoxic Lock 'n Pop is suitable for...

Fork-truck attachments fit all needs. (New Products & Services).
March 1, 2003... Vestil Manufacturing Company offers a wide variety of fork extensions in widths from 4 inches to 6 inches and in usable lengths from 48 inches to 96 inches. Styles include automatic lock, loop, round, triangular, pin, and rear spacers. The...

Allison transmission diagnostics for PDAs. (New Products & Services).
March 1, 2003... Allison Transmission has introduced Allison DOG for PDA, a diagnostic software application for personal digital assistants (PDAs). The software accesses diagnostic data from the transmission-control system of Allison's 1000,2000, and 2400...

BridgePoint upgrades supply chain software. (New Products & Services).
March 1, 2003... Version 6.0 of BridgePoint's supply chain software solution includes "application hooks" that allow a seamless flow of information with other applications, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer-relationship management (CRM), and...

Walkie blends manual, automated operation. (New Products & Services).
March 1, 2003... The HyBot combines features of an automated guided vehicle (AGV) system with those of a manually operated motorized pallet jack or "walkie." Through an agreement between FMG Technologies and Hyster Company, the unit incorporates FMC's...

Freight Glove prevents theft and water damage. (New Products & Services).
March 1, 2003... Freight Glove is a waterproof protective cover with a tamper-evident lock that's designed to prevent damage and increase security. Made of Dupont Tyvek Supra, Freight Glove fits over palletized goods and can be custom-tightened to ensure safe...

Voidfill converter reduces dunnage costs. (New Products & Services).
March 1, 2003... Designed for high-speed, high-volume applications, the FillPak voidfill converter uses an-fold, single-ply kraft paper to quickly produce an economic voidfill product for protecting products in transit. The converter can hold seven...

Telescopic forklift makes loading easier. (New Products & Services).
March 1, 2003... The JCB Teletruk is a 6,000-lb. capacity pneumatic-tire forklift truck that replaces the typical vertical mast with a telescopic boom. This design provides the operator with 78 inches of forward reach with a 3,500-lb. capacity, allowing a...

Easier slider-pin release mechanism. (New Products & Services).
March 1, 2003... The Flexi-Pull uses an innovative spring-assisted system to make it easier to manually release slider pins. The driver pulls the manual bar into the keyhole locking position, then jostles the trailer to get the system to retract the bound pins...

Flat-proof tires for skid-steer loaders. (New Products & Services).
March 1, 2003... Through a partnership with Arnco, a supplier of polyurethane flat-proofing fill for tires, the Bobcat Company now offers SuperFlex flat-proofed tires as optional equipment on all of its skid- steer loader models. SuperFlex has a durometer...

Medium-duty pallet holds 3,000 pounds. (New Products & Services).
March 1, 2003... At 32 inches by 30 inches, Buckhorn's new medium-duty plastic pallet offers a 3,000-lb. dynamic load capacity with a top cap and optional seatbelts. Molded from HDPE structural foam plastic, the pallet features a five-rail base for even load...