Logistics Management Magazine Archives

July 2019 Logistics Management

In this Issue:

  • State of Logistics: What's next?
  • 2019 Rail/Intermodal Roundtable
  • Easing the labor crunch with LMS
  • 2019 Truckload Brokerage Roundtable
  • Could-first supply chain strategy
  • Mobile robotics descend on warehouse operations
  • Special Report: Site Selection, demand for space has never been stronger
July 12, 2019 · Tight capacity, high rates, rapid e-commerce growth and a booming economy fueled an 11.45% rise in U.S. logistics costs over the course of 2018. However, new freight management innovations abound, and now nimbleness and efficiency are keys to good service as we roll through 2019.
July 12, 2019 · While trade tensions with China have already disrupted many U.S. supply chains, analysts suggest that a recalibration of shipping and sourcing destinations is long overdue. Emerging markets might finally live up to their potential and keep globalization on track.
July 12, 2019 · State of 3PL: More mergers and aquisitions on the horizon
July 11, 2019 · Air cargo capacity outpaces demand as carriers regroup
July 11, 2019 · Carrier alliances and slow steaming bear scrutiny
July 11, 2019 · Rail freight volumes trending down
July 11, 2019 · Truckload market grappling with excess capacity, lagging rates
July 11, 2019 · Rates up as carrier costs “go through the roof”
July 11, 2019 · We have so far seen three waves of technology making an impact on people and processes in logistics execution.
July 11, 2019 · Three prominent freight transportation experts put this quickly evolving market into perspective in an effort to help shippers keep pace with one of the most dynamic sectors of logistics.
July 10, 2019 · More companies are shifting toward the use of public, private and hybrid Clouds to run their supply chains.
July 10, 2019 · Robots, including autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), are seeing rapid uptake in warehouses. The labor crunch and the ability of AMRs to offload manual travel are central to their take-off, but there are other benefits to robotics besides reducing the labor requirement.
July 10, 2019 · The need to meet same-day and next-day expectations has had a major impact on how warehouse and distribution center (DC) space is sought, secured and managed.
July 8, 2019 · The official release of the report—which took place on June 18th at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.—sets our editorial staff on a quest to put context around the report and what it’s findings mean to freight transportation management in terms of service, capacity and rates.
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Latest in Logistics Management

National diesel average drops nearly 6 cents, for lowest reading since July, reports EIA
The national average, at $3.789, decreased 5.9 cents, following a 4.6-cent decline, to $3.848, for the week of May 13.

Baltimore Bridge Collapse: Dali cargo ship is finally on the move
Authorities aim to reopen the main shipping channel by the end of May.

Bloomberg/Truckstop 1Q24 Truckload Survey points to improving spot market sentiment
Despite 62% of carriers reporting lower freight volume in 1Q, 33% predict freight demand to increase in the next 3-6 months. Only 19% predict freight demand to decline in the same timeframe, which represents a 12-point percentage decline vs. the 4Q survey.

BlueGrace Logistics Confidence Index sees signs of stabilization for the third quarter
For revenues, the report viewed third quarter expectations as “an interesting paradox with shipper optimism on the rise, but the expected magnitude of growth has moderated greatly, with 70% of the report’s respondents expecting positive third quarter revenue growth, topping expectations for the first and second quarters, which each respectively came in at 65%.

FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index falls to lowest level since last September
For March, the most recent month for which data is available, the TCI came in at- 7.25, following February’s -5.31 reading.

U.S. rail carload and intermodal volumes are mixed, for week ending May 11, reports AAR
Rail carloads, at 209,319, fell 7.0% annually, and intermodal containers and trailers, at 254,429 units, rose 7.7% annually.

Cass Freight Index points to annual shipments and expenditures declines
April’s shipment reading, at 1.098, decreased 4.0% annually, and expenditures, at 3.227, were off 16.8% annually.

ALAN opens up its nominations for 2024 Humanitarian Logistics Awards
The American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN) has officially opened nominations for its eighth annual Humanitarian Logistics Awards.

U.S.-bound import growth remains intact in April, reports Descartes
From March to April, the report found that U.S.-bound container import volumes were up 3.0% compared to March and were up 9.3% annually, coming in at 2,208,849 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU). Descartes explained that the 3.0% gain was downwardly impacted by the effects of the Chinese Lunar Year, adding that when compared to pre-pandemic April 2019, volumes increased 15.1%.

Looking at a reshoring history lesson
A three-decade expert in supply chain, the Reshoring Institute’s Rosemary Coates explains how the reshoring trend has progressed.

NTSB: Ship lost power twice before slamming into Baltimore bridge, closing port
Twice the huge container ship Dali lost power and slammed into one of the bridge's support columns, causing the Francis Scott Key Bridge to fall into the waters outside Baltimore, killing six and causing the closing to maritime traffic of one of the busiest ports on the East Coast.

ISM May Semiannual Report points to growth in 2024, at a reduced rate
As was the case in its previous edition in December, the manufacturing and services sectors remain on diverging paths, to a certain extent, in May. One common theme the sectors share, according to the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) May 2024 Semiannual Economic Forecast, which was issued today, is that growth is expected over the balance of the year, albeit at reduced rates.

April retail sales are mixed, reports Commerce and NRF
Commerce reported that April retail trade sales were up 0.4% over March and were up 2.7% annually. And the National Retail Federation reported that NRF reported that February’s core retail sales, which it bases on Census data and excludes automobile dealers, gasoline stations, and restaurants, fell 0.2% on a seasonally-adjusted basis compared to March and were up 3.9% on an unadjusted basis annually.

LM Podcast Series: S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Rogers assesses 2024 import landscape
In this podcast, Logistics Management Group News Editor Jeff Berman interviews Chris Rogers, Head of Supply Chain Research for S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Following USTR review, White House announces tariff increases on certain U.S.-bound imports from China
The impetus for the increase in tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 on $18 billion worth of imports from China is due to various actions China has taken, according to the White House, including unfair trade practices concerning technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation threatening American workers and flooding global markets with artificially low-priced exports.


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