Logistics Management (Highlands Ranch, CO) articles from September 2004

Logistics Management (Highlands Ranch, CO) archives from September 2004

Keep the HOS rules in place for six more months.(Management update: an executive summary of industry news)
September 1, 2004... Keep the HOS rules in place for six more months. That was the Justice Department's response to a recent court decision vacating the controversial hours-of-service (HOS) rules for truck drivers. In January the federal government had implemented...

Meanwhile, the HOS controversy could end up putting an electronic eye in every truck.(Management update: an executive summary of industry news)
September 1, 2004... Meanwhile, the HOS controversy could end up putting an electronic eye in every truck. Two days after asking the appeals court to stay its order vacating the new hours-of-service rules, FMCSA proposed using on-board electronic recorders to...

There's a lot more to the "Masters of Logistics" survey results than we could print in this issue.(Management update: an executive summary of industry news)
September 1, 2004... There's a lot more to the "Masters of Logistics" survey results than we could print in this issue. You can get the complete story at the Council of Logistics Management's annual conference, slated for Oct. 3-6 in Philadelphia. The research team...

Just about everyone agrees that freight rates will rise next year.(Management update: an executive summary of industry news)
September 1, 2004... Just about everyone agrees that freight rates will rise next year. The question is, by how much? Transportation industry pundit Mike Regan (a.k.a. CEO of TranzActTechnologies) has issued his predictions. If Regan is on the mark, then shippers...

Maersk Sealand will go its own way in the eastbound trans-Pacific trade.(Management update: an executive summary of industry news)
September 1, 2004... Maersk Sealand will go its own way in the eastbound trans-Pacific trade. The giant Danish carrier has resigned from the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement, a group of ocean carriers that discusses and recommends freight rates and surcharges...

Want to learn about the latest supply chain and logistics developments in the comfort and convenience of your own office?(Management update: an executive summary of industry news)
September 1, 2004... Want to learn about the latest supply chain and logistics developments in the comfort and convenience of your own office? Then sign up for the 2004 Global Supply Chain Conference. Top-notch educational sessions will be just a click away on...

Frequent LM contributor and legal authority William Augello will host a series of seminars on transportation law this fall.(Management update: an executive summary of industry news)
September 1, 2004... Frequent LM contributor and legal authority William Augello will host a series of seminars on transportation law this fall. Augello will conduct seminars based on his textbook, Transportation, Logistics and the Law, on the following dates: Sept...

Cross-border truckers have been put on notice.(Management update: an executive summary of industry news)
September 1, 2004... Cross-border truckers have been put on notice: Dates for mandatory advance electronic cargo filing are coming up fast. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) last month issued a schedule for motor carriers to submit that data through an approved...

The federal government will begin testing biometric devices for identifying transportation workers at ports and airports.(Management update: an executive summary of industry news)
September 1, 2004... The federal government will begin testing biometric devices for identifying transportation workers at ports and airports. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) last month awarded $12 million to the consulting firm BearingPoint to...

Automatic identification giant Symbol Technologies has made a play to enter the red-hot RFID market.(Management update: an executive summary of industry news)
September 1, 2004... Automatic identification giant Symbol Technologies has made a play to enter the red-hot RFID market. Last month Symbol reported that it had reached a deal to buy Matrics Inc. for $230 million in cash. Rockville, Md.-based Matrics designs and...

Need an explanation of gear ratios? How about some tips on payload-weight distribution?(Management update: an executive summary of industry news)
September 1, 2004... Need an explanation of gear ratios? How about some tips on payload-weight distribution? Then you may want to pick up a copy of The Truck Equipment Handbook, published by the National Truck Equipment Association. The pocket-sized book is filled...

Well-known logistician Gen. William ("Gus") Pagonis has a new tour of duty.(Management update: an executive summary of industry news)
September 1, 2004... Well-known logistician Gen. William ("Gus") Pagonis has a new tour of duty. Pagonis has joined the board of directors of Pittsburgh-based GENCO, a provider of reverse-logistics systems and services. Pagonis formerly was a senior vice president...

Report cards are in ...(Viewpoint)
September 1, 2004... LAST MONTH WE CELEBRATED the transportation and logistics companies that our readers selected as the "best of the best" in our annual Quest for Quality issue. Now that the confetti has been swept away, it's time to take a look at how readers...

Recent price trends in transportation services.(Price Trends)
September 1, 2004... In July our trucking industry price index increased 0.5% from a month ago and 4.1% from a year ago. Breaking down the price action, we see that less-than-truckload carriers continued to push through the biggest price hikes. Also in July, LTL...

Focus on transportation equipment.(Price trends: recent price trends in transportaion services)
September 1, 2004... U.S. steel mills increased average prices by 16.3% in the second quarter of 2004 and are forecast to end the year with prices up 27.2%. Producers of locomotives and railroad rolling stock will be hard hit. In June, this industry saw its costs...

Shippers are paying more for "last mile" deliveries: an exclusive LM survey finds that although it's costing them more, readers are generally satisfied with residential services.(News & Analysis)
September 1, 2004... Shippers may be paying more in extra fees this year for so-called "last-mile" deliveries, but they're generally pleased with the level of service that parcel and express carriers are providing. That was just one of the findings of an exclusive...

RFID-based investment planning underway.(Technology)
September 1, 2004... A new survey conducted by Boston-based market research firm Aberdeen Group, in conjunction with Logistics Management, has found that 60 percent of the 230 operations, customer service, and supply chain executives surveyed are actively planning...

FedEx buys Parcel Direct to expand ground service.(Transportation)
September 1, 2004... In an effort to expand its presence in the low-cost home-delivery market, FedEx Corp. has agreed to purchase Parcel Direct for $120 million. The division of Sussex, Wis.-based printer Quad/Graphics provides parcel-consolidation services for...

For the record.(News & Analysis)(Correction Notice)
September 1, 2004... The 2002 and 2003 net revenue figures for Con-Way Transportation Services on Page 35 of the July issue were incorrect. The numbers printed represented the net income for parent company CNF Inc., including the combined results of Con-Way, the...

Warehouse survey finds executive pay rises, hourly pay remains flat.(Compensation)
September 1, 2004... Logistics executives and senior managers saw a steady increase in their compensation levels over the past two years, according to the results of the Warehousing Education and Resource Council's (WERC) 2004 Warehouse Salaries and Wages report....

EU expansion to bring more Eastern European warehouses.(International)
September 1, 2004... Inadequate road infrastructure between Western and Central Europe and increasing relocation of manufacturing plants to the East will encourage companies to build more warehouses in Central and Eastern Europe, according to a report released by...

Averitt Express.(Services)
September 1, 2004... Averitt Express now offers around-the-clock customer support for all less-than-truckload and full truckload shipments. The new service was launched in response to an increase in customers' calls during non-traditional work hours. According to...

APL.(Services)
September 1, 2004... APL has launched a weekly service to accommodate Vietnam's expanding export trade. The Vietnam China Express (VCX) connects Vietnam with linehaul services in Hong Kong to North America's East and West Coasts, as well as to Latin America and...

Exel.(Services)
September 1, 2004... Exel will open a radio frequency identification (RFID) "Center of Excellence" in Harrisburg, Pa., by the end of this year. This 110,000 square-foot distribution center will allow Exel and its customers to test RFID technologies. The company...

Canada Maritime.(Services)
September 1, 2004... Canada Maritime has added calls at Yantian and Xiamen, China; Hong Kong; and Anchorage to its Pacific Gateway Route 1. Canmar has also added eastbound service from Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand on its Pacific Gateway Route 2....

Old Dominion Freight Line.(Services)
September 1, 2004... Old Dominion Freight Line now serves 100 percent of locations in Michigan, bringing the total of full-coverage states to 29. The LTL carrier provides next-day, second-day, and five-day service in 40 states. (www.odfl.com)

NYK.(Services)
September 1, 2004... NYK has launched NYK Logistics CIS, based in Moscow. It is the first company in Russia to operate a Web-enabled transport management system with a proactive track-and-trace function. (www.nyklogistics.com)

Datebook.(Logistics Briefing)(Calendar)
September 1, 2004... September 28--October 1. "World-Class Logistics and Supply Chain Strategy." Atlanta, Ga. The Logistics Institute at Georgia Institute of Technology. 404-385-3501 or www.tli.gatech.edu. October 3-6. CLM 2004 Annual Conference. Philadelphia,...

The buck stops where? LTL loading and unloading responsibilities.(Bohman on Pricing)
September 1, 2004... From time to time, questions arise concerning the obligations of drivers for less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers when it comes to loading or unloading shipments. Does that obligation extend only as far as the receiver's dock door? Or must the...

RFID: not just for Wal-Mart anymore.(Byrne on Excellence)
September 1, 2004... Retail powerhouses like Wal-Mart, Target, Tesco, and Metro now insist that their business partners get on board with radio frequency identification (RFID). Although this fact alone suggests that a large number of suppliers will soon be...

Paying more for less: our 13th annual Masters of Logistics survey finds that shippers are shelling out more for freight transportation while getting less in return from carriers.(Cover Story)
September 1, 2004... Shippers are paying more for transportation at a time when carrier performance is slipping. That message rings out loud and clear in the results of this year's Masters of Logistics survey, which polls logistics managers on their transportation...

Bracing for cleaner air: as motor carriers and truck makers begin to gear up for the EPA's new heavy-duty diesel rules, shippers should get ready to help pick up the tab.
September 1, 2004... Just before the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) first round of clean-air regulations went into effect in October 2002, Schneider National made a mad dash to buy new trucks that wouldn't be subject to the new emissions standards for...

New order at the border? Now that Mexican trucks can legally come North, some U.S. shippers may be expecting big savings in time and cost. It isn't quite happening that way.
September 1, 2004... When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that the Bush administration could open U.S. highways to Mexican trucks, it appeared that the last barrier to cross-border trade was being torn down. Since that decision, U.S. and Canadian...

Everything you always wanted to know about IRFID ... but were afraid to ask: no need to raise your hand, this primer will help you understand what it is and how it works, in the privacy of your own office.
September 1, 2004... As Logistics Management's editors made the rounds during the spring conference season, they noticed that it was nearly impossible to find an empty seat in any educational session that had "RFID" in its title. Pens flew across notebooks as...

Handle with care: Kraft cut in-transit shipment damage by 70 percent. Here's how you can, too.(Warehouse & DC: insights for today's distribution professional)
September 1, 2004... The photo said it all. Taken with a digital camera, it showed what dock workers at a Kraft distribution center saw when they opened a trailer from one of the company's manufacturing plants: A load of packaged dinners had shifted off its pallet...

Forwarding freight to the new Europe: before distributing in the expanded EU market, be sure your freight forwarder has worked the territory and can explain evolving regulations and ongoing problems at the borders.
September 1, 2004... The expansion of the European Union (EU) to include 10 additional nations this past spring represents both singular opportunities and complex challenges for U.S. companies and the freight forwarders who will represent them in this new, emerging...

Another ministerial exercise in the name of safety.(Parting Shot)
September 1, 2004... Come January, truckers hauling hazardous materials will be hit with more red tape in the name of public safety and security. That's when the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will implement a rule requiring carriers to apply...

Prospects brighten for supply chain software sales: after experiencing sales declines in 2002 and 2003, AMR research says, the supply chain management software market is expected to grow in 2004.
September 1, 2004... According to Boston-based AMR Research, there could be a light at the end of a long tunnel for supply chain management (SCM) software vendors this year. Coming off a 6 percent decline in 2002 and a 1 percent decline last year, the market...

Top 50 supply chain software vendors.
September 1, 2004... TOP 50 SUPPLY CHAIN SOFTWARE VENDORS Ranked by 2003 SCM revenue (includes estimated '04 growth) Revenue Revenue 2003 Revenue Rank/ Revenue, Revenue, Forecast,...