Logistics Management Magazine Archives

March 2023 Logistics Management

In this Issue:

  • E-commerce & Freight: Balancing new patterns of demand
  • 2023 Parcel Express Roundtable
  • The Evolution of WMS
  • WDC Equipment Survey: Tighter budgets prompt targeted spend
  • LTL volumes down, yields up
  • U.S. Ports: Challenges persist, volumes dip
March 14, 2023 · We speak with a number of logistics experts to capture their views on the overall impact that e-commerce is having on moving the nation’s freight. One thing is for certain: The current level and speed of churn has irrevocably altered the pattern so many had become accustomed to managing.
March 14, 2023 · Two of the trends making an impact on reverse logistics besides the increase of e-commerce and the increased focus on customer centricity—are the circular economy and robotics. Here are some suggestions for transforming your reverse process to meet today’s pressing demands.
March 13, 2023 · Three of our top parcel industry sources offer their respective takes on the most consumer-facing segment of freight transportation and logistics parcel and last-mile delivery. Even though pandemic-related conditionshave changed, high pricing remains, which is increasingly putting shippers in the position of carefully considering their options.
March 13, 2023 · A long-time mainstay in productive warehouse environments, WMS is more than proving its value in today’s resource constrained business environment.
March 13, 2023 · After a banner year for materials handling automation indicators last year, our annual equipment outlook survey reveals a more conservative approach to spending on automation, equipment and related software—however, the indicators didn’t decline drastically.
March 13, 2023 · Once again, we’re using the March issue of Logistics Management to take a closer look at how the ongoing growth of e-commerce continues to influence the various modes, services and operations practices that make our logistics and freight transportation networks function.
March 12, 2023 · After the pricing and service roller coaster ride is done, what will we do differently before the next black swan arrives?
March 12, 2023 · The LTL market’s surprising profitability and ability to not only exist, but to become the most lucrative and well-managed niche of the overall $830 billion trucking industry, is astounding to even veteran leaders in the sector. How is this happening?
March 12, 2023 · The long litany of headaches now includes ongoing labor negotiations on the West Coast that could quickly shift priorities of ports in the region. While the East Coast may continue to benefit from the uncertainty, the overall forecast for volumes in 2023 remains foggy.
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Latest in Logistics Management

Port Tracker report is bullish on import growth over the balance of 2024
For March, the most recent month for which data is available, Port Tracker reported that import volume, for the ports covered in the report, came in at 1.93 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEU), down 1.4% compared to February and up 18.7% annually, a period when Asian export activity was slow on the heels of Lunar New Year shutdowns, it noted.   

Varying opinions on the tracks regarding STB’s adopted reciprocal switching rule
Feedback regarding the recent adoption of the reciprocal switching rule by the Washington, D.C.-based Surface Transportation Board (STB), an independent adjudicatory and economic-regulatory agency charged by Congress with resolving railroad rate and service disputes and reviewing proposed railroad mergers, could be viewed as mixed.

National diesel average falls for the fourth consecutive week, reports EIA
The national average, at $3.894 per gallon, fell 5.3 cents, below the $3.947 national average, for the week of April 29.

New Descartes’ study examines consumer preferences, changes, and shifts in e-commerce home delivery preferences
A new study issued today by Waterloo, Ontario-based Descartes, a provider of logistics based on-demand, software-as-a-service offerings, showed some disparities in the intersection of online buying and home delivery processes. The study, entitled “Online Buying Grows But Too Many Customers Still Experiencing Delivery Woes,” was based on feedback from 8,000 consumers surveyed by Descartes and SAPIO Research, across Europe and North America over the first quarter. This is the third annual edition of Descartes’ e-commerce home delivery report.

Potential Canadian rail strike could damage the country’s economy
Over 9,000 rail workers poised to walk off job, disrupting critical transportation routes used by various industries.

C.H. Robinson highlights progress of its AI-focused offerings with a focus on automating shipping processes
Taking steps to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) in order to automate various types of shipping transactions conducted over e-mail, Minneapolis, Minn.-based global third-party logistics (3PL) services provider and freight forwarder C.H. Robinson (CHR) today heralded the progress it has made on that front, calling the utilization a key step in breaking “a long-standing barrier to automation.

UPS announces CFO Newman to leave company, effective June 1
Atlanta-based global freight transportation and logistics services provider UPS said that effective June 1, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Brian Newman will leave the company.

Preliminary April North American Class 8 net orders are mixed
FTR reported that preliminary April net orders, at 14,400 units, were off 25% compared to March and 12.5% annually. And it added that over the last 12 months, total Class 8 orders were at 267,700 units. ACT reported that April Class 8 orders, art 15,600 units, were off 1,800 units compared to March, while posting a 30% annual gain, in what it called a very easy year-ago comparison.

Senators take a close look at Amazon with Warehouse Worker Protection Act
The proposed legislation aims to regulate the use of productivity quotas and improve safety for workers.

Despite American political environment, global geopolitical risks could be easing
While there is plenty of danger around the world, the reality of interconnected supply chains may be prevailing.

Maryland DOT: $1.9 billion and up to four years to rebuild bridge sunk near Baltimore port
It will take just over four years and up to $1.9 billion to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge after it was hit by a cargo ship and fell into the Patapsco River, according to an estimate by the Maryland Department of Transportation. The state plans to build a new span by the fall of 2028, spokesman David Broughton said. He also said it will likely cost anywhere from $1.7 billion-to-$1.9 billion to rebuild the span after the container ship Dali lost power...

April Services PMI contracts after 15 months of growth, reports ISM
The Services PMI, at 49.4 (a reading of 50 or higher signals growth) fell 2.0%. The last time the index contracted was in December 2022, when it came in at 49 and prior to that the last month seeing contraction was in May 2020, when it came in at 45.4.

2023 industrial big-box leasing activity heads down but remains on a steady path, notes CBRE report
In the report, entitled “2024 North America Industrial Big-Box Review & Outlook,” CBRE said that Food & Beverage was the third most active occupier for big-box leasing activity, at 8.6%, with Automobiles, Tires & Parts, E-commerce Only, and Building Materials & Construction rounding out the top six, at 7.0%, 5.4%, and 5.3%, respectively.

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U.S. rail carload and intermodal volumes are mixed in April, reports AAR
Rail carloads, at 848,882, were down 6.5%, or 58,751 carloads, annually. Intermodal containers and trailers, at 1,018,569 units, increased 8.6%, or 80,471 units, annually.


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