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

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

Truckload shippers should brace themselves for rate hikes next year.(Management: an executive summary of industry news)
October 1, 2003... * Truckload shippers should brace themselves for rate hikes next year when the new hours-of-service rules kick in. That's the word from Bill Matheson, Schneider National's vice president of truckload services, who says shippers can expect rate...

Four LTL carriers have earned Carrier of the Year honors from NASSTRAC.(Management: an executive summary of industry news)
October 1, 2003... * Four LTL carriers have earned Carrier of the Year honors from NASSTRAC. At its fall meeting, the National Small Shipments Traffic Conference (NASSTRAC) awarded top honors to less-than-truckload carriers in four categories. Roadway Express won...

CLM has named a new slate of officers for the coming year.(Management: an executive summary of industry news)
October 1, 2003... * CLM has named a new slate of officers for the coming year. The Council of Logistics Management last month named Elijah Ray as its new president. Senior vice president of customer solutions at the Standard Corp., Ray oversees his company's...

Salaries for high-level logistics executives continue to top $100K.(Management: an executive summary of industry news)
October 1, 2003... * Salaries for high-level logistics executives continue to top $100K. The 2003 Ohio State University Career Survey, presented at last month's Council of Logistics Management annual educational conference, found that the median annual...

Two of Europe's largest airlines want to get hitched.(Management: an executive summary of industry news)
October 1, 2003... * Two of Europe's largest airlines want to get hitched. The boards of Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines have voted to place both carriers under a new holding company. Under the terms of the proposal, the Dutch airline would become a...

New container cranes are giving the Port of Hampton Roads, Va., some extra lift.(Management: an executive summary of industry news)
October 1, 2003... * New container cranes are giving the Port of Hampton Roads, Va., some extra lift. The port has installed four new "Suez Class" cranes that are designed to handle longer, wider ships. Built by ZPMC in China, the super cranes can span ships that...

Uncle Sam needs a national freight transportation database.(Management: an executive summary of industry news)
October 1, 2003... * Uncle Sam needs a national freight transportation database. That's the conclusion of a recent report from the Transportation Research Board (TRB). TRB says such a database would furnish timely information on the origin and destination of...

A leading organization for independent truckers has hit a major milestone.(Management: an executive summary of industry news)
October 1, 2003... * A leading organization for independent truckers has hit a major milestone. Executive Director Jim Johnston said the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) recently surpassed 100,000 members. Formed in 1973 during the Arab oil...

Ocean shippers briefly faced the threat of a tax on shipping containers last month.(Management: an executive summary of industry news)
October 1, 2003... * Ocean shippers briefly faced the threat of a tax on shipping containers last month. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) wanted to allow ports to tax containers as a way to fund infrastructure improvements and security services. Critics of...

Sales of radio frequency identification devices are projected to triple in the next four years.(Management: an executive summary of industry news)
October 1, 2003... * Sales of radio frequency identification devices are projected to triple in the next four years. The Wireless Data Research Group, an independent research and consulting firm, forecasts that the global market for RFID hardware, software, and...

Wireless communications provider Qualcomm's OmniTRACS product recently turned 15 years old.(Management: an executive summary of industry news)
October 1, 2003... * Wireless communications provider Qualcomm's OmniTRACS product recently turned 15 years old. The San Diego purveyor of the OmniTRACS satellite-based tracking system provides mobile communications for more than 2,000 truckload fleets in North...

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach clearly are the dominant trade gateways for the United States.(Management: an executive summary of industry news)
October 1, 2003... * The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach clearly are the dominant trade gateways for the United States. Statistics from the American Association of Port Authorities show that 45 percent of all loaded inbound containers shipped into the United...

The Mexican market appears to be getting hot, hot, hot again.(Management: an executive summary of industry news)
October 1, 2003... * The Mexican market appears to be getting hot, hot, hot again. A number of U.S.-based service providers have announced new offerings south of the border. Just a few of the items that have recently crossed our desks: G&P Trucking has launched...

Communication is job one.(Viewpoint)
October 1, 2003... WE LEARN FROM OUR EARLIEST SCHOOL DAYS bow important it is to communicate our thoughts clearly and concisely. Later in life, that message is repeated in management courses in college and hammered home at corporate training sessions. Yet,...

Logistics managers may be wishing trucking prices would slow down.(Trucking)
October 1, 2003... Logistics managers may be wishing trucking prices would slow down. In August, average prices for less-than-truckload increased 1.3% from the previous month--the fourth consecutive increase and the highest monthly gain since August 2002. Even...

The airline industry pushed through some substantial price hikes.(Air)
October 1, 2003... The airline industry pushed through some substantial price hikes for cargo and mail in July but had to throttle back a bit in August. Prices for mail on scheduled flights fell 3.7% during that time, while prices for other types of cargo inched...

Calm seas prevailed for water carriers in August 2003.(Water)
October 1, 2003... Calm seas prevailed for water carriers in August 2003. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, overall water transport prices remained unchanged from July to August. Still, thanks to a 2.2% hike in July and a surprising 5.7% jump in May, we...

If rail freight prices are any guide, then an inflationary breeze is now blowing.(Rail)
October 1, 2003... If rail freight prices are any guide, then an inflationary breeze is now blowing across the manufacturing landscape. In August, prices rose just 0.2% from July and were up 2.2% from August 2002. But shippers that use boxcars for agricultural...

Focus on shipping containers and packaging.(Price Trends)
October 1, 2003... The prices you pay for shipping containers and packaging may not have increased much yet, but that could soon change. The reason lies in an upsurge in production costs for those items. Over the last 12 months, 22 of the 46 industries that make...

FedEx, USF, Con-Way roll out money-back programs: guaranteed time-definite delivery at no extra charge signals a new trend in LTL service.(News & Analysis)
October 1, 2003... When three of the nation's biggest less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers come out with nearly identical, guaranteed-delivery programs within a day or two of each other, it's no coincidence--it's clearly a trend. At the beginning of September,...

CN's intermodal backlog chokes supply chain.(Intermodal)
October 1, 2003... Simmering tensions between Toronto-area cartage companies and the Canadian National Railroad reached the boiling point last month when a power blackout created a five-day logjam that led to hours-long wait times at CN's Brampton intermodal...

Put that away!(News Capsule)
October 1, 2003... A recent survey released by The Logistics Institute at the Georgia Institute of Technology looked at, among other things, how warehouses are storing pallets. More than 120 companies and 220 warehousing operations took part. Here's how they...

Roads and bridges get failing grades.(Infrastructure)
October 1, 2003... If America's infrastructure were a student, it would have spent the last several months in summer school. Two years after receiving an overall grade of D+ in the American Society of Civil Engineers' (ASCE) 2001 Report Card for America's...

For the record.
October 1, 2003... In our August 2003 issue, we inadvertently omitted bulk motor carrier Miller Transporters Inc. from the list of 10-year "Quest for Quality" winners. The Jackson, Miss.-based carrier has won for the past 11 years.

P&O Nedlloyd.(Services)
October 1, 2003... P&O Nedlloyd, a global provider of ocean shipping and logistics services, has teamed up with LOG-NET, a provider of international trade information services, to launch a joint venture in Shanghai, China. The new company, LOG-NET Shanghai Data...

Nippon Express USA.(Services)
October 1, 2003... Nippon Express USA is now offering the Web Shipper's Letter of Instruction (WEBSLI) on its Web site (www.nipponexpressusa.com). This free order-entry system is designed to save time and money by eliminating the need for repeat customers to...

Estes Express.(Services)
October 1, 2003... Estes Express has launched Estes AirTransportation Services to provide customers with airfreight forwarding services throughout the continental United States. Shippers can choose from Same Day/Next Flight Out, Next Day Priority A.M. or P.M.,...

NYK Line's Margarita Express.(Services)
October 1, 2003... NYK Line's Margarita Express now travels from Long Beach, Calif., to Central America with stops in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Colombia. Cargo unloading at the Port of Manzanillo, Mexico, is relayed to...

SIRVA, Inc.(Services)
October 1, 2003... SIRVA, Inc. has acquired Scandinavia-based Scanvan, a provider of domestic and international relocation services for corporations, governments, and consumers throughout the region. SIRVA will add the century-old company to its comprehensive...

Datebook.(Logistics Briefing)
October 1, 2003... Oct. 19-21. The Loss Prevention Conference 2003 Fall Meeting. Atlanta. SMC3. 770-486-5869 or www.lpclink.com. Oct. 21. "Recurrent IMDG-Navigating the IMDG Code-Amendment 31." Secaucus, New Jersey. International Vessel Operators Hazardous...

A new twist in guaranteed LTL services.(Bohman on Pricing)
October 1, 2003... Over the past two to three years, more and more less-than-truckload (LTL) general commodity motor carriers have begun offering a guarantee to deliver shipments within a specified period of time or the shipper pays nothing. These special...

Blocking & tackling and beyond: by emphasizing the basics, NCH has elevated its customer service to new levels.(NASSTRAC: shipper of the year)
October 1, 2003... Football coaches say that focusing on the basics--"blocking and tackling" in football parlance--wins ballgames. The same could be said about making small shipments. That's certainly been the experience of NCH Corp. of Irving, Texas, whose...

Demystifying LTL pricing: understanding the factors that determine LTL rates can help shippers move their products more efficiently--and for less.
October 1, 2003... Here's a quick LTL pricing quiz for you. You're shopping for a motor carrier to take cartons of blister-packed Micro Widgets from Chicago to Atlanta. You've narrowed the selection down to two carriers. To get your business, both are offering...

Higher security hurdles confront forwarders: airfreight forwarders must comply with new regulations while keeping shipments on the fast track. Can they handle both shippers' and the government's demands.
October 1, 2003... Emphasizing their "can-do" attitude, airfreight forwarders say they can handle cargo security regulations as long as those rules aren't too onerous. The federal government's air cargo security rules are expected to take effect in January,...

Can you see me now? Motor carriers are expanding their use of tracking technology to provide more trailer visibility for their shipper customers.
October 1, 2003... Kevin Slaughter didn't know the exact location of his 1,500 trailers at any given time. The vice president of operations for James Brown Trucking of Lithonia, Ga., a regional dry-van and flatbed carrier, says his company relied on drivers to...

The return of the regional warehouse: local DCs are back in favor, especially for consumer goods manufacturers. Here's why.(Warehouse & DC: insights for today's distribution professional)
October 1, 2003... Regional distribution centers appear to be making a comeback. The first surge in regional warehousing resulted from the Motor Carrier Act of 1980, which freed truckers to serve whichever regions they chose without government interference....

Unique Party Favors pulls a fast move.(Case study: unique party favors)
October 1, 2003... There was reason to celebrate when Unique Party Favors, the Mississauga, Ontario-based subsidiary of Unique Industries, finished moving its entire warehouse with just hours remaining on its 10-year lease. "It was close," says Harry...

Survey says ... annual benchmarking survey reveals trends in the warehousing industry.(The 2003: Warehousing Benchmarking Survey)
October 1, 2003... MOST WAREHOUSING COMMUNICATIONS are still largely paper-based, although technologies such as barcode scanning and handheld RF terminals are gaining in popularity. While cross-training and productivity standards are widely used at most...

Covering the waterfront: port security since 9.11; despite shortfalls in federal funding and ongoing delays in clarification of regulatory requirements, U.S. ports are using all available resources to secure safe harbors for international commerce (case study).
October 1, 2003... Since the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, Port Authorities throughout the country have been frustrated by a bizarre bureaucratic 'Catch-22' scenario--many of their applications to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for...

Supply Chain Management Review presents the Global Supply Chain Conference.
October 1, 2003... NOVEMBER 12, 2003 11:00am-4:00pm ET Join Supply Chain Management Review on November 12th for the Global Supply Chain Conference, an intensive professional development forum. Learn from major practitioners and thought leaders who will share...

The service-parts opportunity.(Copacino on Strategy)
October 1, 2003... Most industrial equipment, consumer durables, and electronic goods manufacturers have placed heavy emphasis on their after-sale service businesses in recent years. These repair service and parts businesses generally are not subject to the...

Affordable handheld laser bar-code scanner.(New Products)
October 1, 2003... The Flic scanner is a handheld laser bar-code scanner that retails for under $150. It connects to POS terminals, PCs, PDAs, and mobile phones via a USB connection. It reads bar code types such as UPC, 39, and 128 from a distance of 2.5 inches...

Vertical lift module offers flexibility.(New Products)
October 1, 2003... The Shuttle Vertical Lift Module (VLM) is a system of vertically arranged trays, computer-driven controls, and an ergonomically designed extraction platform for companies using Remstar VLMs. Multiple pick windows link zones on different floors,...

Carrier routing directory lists for-hire companies.(New Products)
October 1, 2003... This annually updated database lists 2,700 for-hire trucking companies and 400 companies that operate exclusively under dedicated contract carriage arrangements. Equipment, accepted commodities, and states served are listed. Also available are...

Three-wheel electric forklift in three sizes.(New Products)
October 1, 2003... Available in 3,000 lb., 3,500 lb., and 4,000 lb. capacities, Komatsu's low-profile three-wheel electric lift truck features dual rear tires and an AC-drive engine for higher acceleration and deceleration torque. The brushless AC drive reduces...

So much for security.(Parting Shot)
October 1, 2003... A stowaway who shipped himself hundreds of miles in a crate last month has called into question the nation's laws and regulations governing air cargo security. Charles McKinley shipped himself from New York to his mother's house in De Soto,...