In this Issue:
- Kimberly-Clark optimizes transportation
- Alternative fuel and speed take trucking center stage
- Digital freight matching roundtable
- Global trade update
- Special Reports: 2023 WDC Operations Survey
- Truckload update
Logistics Management Magazine Archives
November 2023 Logistics Management
November 6, 2023 · As part of a larger effort to digitize its global supply chain, Kimberly- Clark is putting a combination of machine learning and optimization algorithms to work to optimize its transportation networks—and the savings are up into the multi-million dollars per year.
November 6, 2023 · If shippers think implications from pending truck regulation issues don’t affect them, they’d be wrong. Most of these proposed regs around alternative fuels and speed have a direct impact on truck capacity and costs—and eventually rates.
November 6, 2023 · With excess capacity and lower rates, the digital freight matching (DFM) market is keeping its eye on the ball as the segment ramps up to leverage AI to gain visibility and improve real-time monitoring capabilities.
November 3, 2023 · Having covered B2B markets for 30 years, I’ve been witness to dozens of trends being overhyped to the point where the mere mention of it is reduced to background noise—devoid of meaning due to the number of times it has been spoken or written into a headline.
November 2, 2023 · A leader in the home audio distribution space, Crutchfield is using on-demand packaging to get packages out the door and to save on labor and packaging costs.
November 2, 2023 · This month, I’m stepping away from my usual supply chain matters to provide a testimonial on a remarkable human being and my friend, William E. (Bill) Greenwood, former COO at Burlington Northern (BN). Bill passed away at age 85 on September 22.
November 2, 2023 · Rapidly diversifying truckload carriers are riding out a slump in long-haul ground freight. These “durable, diversified, and resilient” plans are paying off for those TL carriers willing to change with the economic headwinds facing the sector.
November 2, 2023 · This year’s survey found increasing levels of use for various automation and software technologies, while technology budgets held fairly steady. However, operations face continued challenges around labor scarcity, inadequate warehouse space, and the pressure to perform in line with customer expectations.
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Latest in Logistics Management
National diesel average falls for the fourth consecutive week, reports EIA
May 8, 2024
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
May 7, 2024
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
May 7, 2024
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
May 7, 2024
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
May 6, 2024
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
May 6, 2024
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
May 6, 2024
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
May 6, 2024
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
May 6, 2024
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
May 3, 2024
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
May 3, 2024
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.
Sponsored Content
Comau’s Advanced Solutions Drive The Benefits Of Automation For Diversified Industries May 3, 2024
Over the years, Comau has increasingly focused on implementing key technology enablers that transform conventional robotics into advanced robotics.
U.S. rail carload and intermodal volumes are mixed in April, reports AAR
May 3, 2024
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.
Q1 U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index sees shipment and spending declines
May 3, 2024
The report’s first quarter shipment index value, at 87.5, was off 7.8% compared to the fourth quarter and down 21.6% annually.On the spend side, the report observed that the first quarter reading, at 194.7, fell 27.9% annually and was down 16.8%, from the third fourth quarter to the first quarter.
Pitt Ohio exec warns Congress to go slow on truck electrification mandates
May 2, 2024
Taki Darakos, Pitt Ohio’s fleet manager who oversees the acquisition and maintenance of 1,550 company-owned tractors and box trucks, testified before Congress on the technological, operational and financial challenges fleets face as federal and state regulations mandate the adoption of battery-electric trucks.
