In this Issue:
- E-commerce Logistics: An endless array of challenges
- WMS: Intelligence intertwined
- Organize reverse logistics
- Warehouse/DC Management Outlook Survey
- Transportation Market Update: LTL
- Top 30 U.S. Ports
Logistics Management Magazine Archives
March 2024 Logistics Management
March 4, 2024 · While this year may be a close copy of 2023 in terms of supply chain execution as it relates to e-commerce moves, forecasting is more precarious. The instability and conflict have no upside, only more disruption—which inevitably leads to service and cost impacts across the board.
March 1, 2024 · If you thought our annual survey on the outlook for warehouse and DC equipment and systems spending would indicate off-the-charts spending plans, think again. However, you will find interest in goods-to-person robotics, labor management, as well as more respondents tapping third-parties for maintenance analytics as companies look for more efficiencies.
March 1, 2024 · The cessation of Yellow continues to have repercussions throughout the $58 billion LTL market. Now, a shuffling of the capacity equation is causing strategic changes, and shippers need to adapt to the new alignment of resources to find operational success.
March 1, 2024 · While managing significant volume swings driven by the pandemic and ongoing geopolitical issues, U.S. seaports continue to press forward with efforts to improve infrastructure and build in efficiencies an unwavering attitude that bodes well for the future.
March 1, 2024 · Whether manual, automated or somewhere in between, reverse logistics operations deliver maximum return only with an organized and efficient process. Don’t wait any longer to make your move.
March 1, 2024 · We explore the role that WMS plays in today’s e-commerce fulfillment centers and how it will continue to drive these busy operations in the future as it becomes more intelligent—and, in some cases, intertwined with other applications within the warehouse’s four walls.
March 1, 2024 · This is the first of two columns that visits the concept of “index-based variable-rate pricing” as a way to establish more market stability for both shippers and carriers.
March 1, 2024 · We’re running out of ways to describe how e-commerce has reshaped the logistics landscape. Nearly every feature we assign over the editorial year contains advice for logistics professionals on how to fine-tune operations through strategy or technology to meet these new, pressing demands.
Not a subscriber? Apply online today.
Latest in Logistics Management
Understanding the FTC’s ban on noncompetes
April 26, 2024
Crowell & Moring law partner Stefan Meisner discussed the recent decision by the Federal Trade Commission to ban noncompete agreements.
UPS rolls out fuel surcharge increases
April 26, 2024
Earlier this week, Atlanta-based global freight transportation and logistics services provider UPS announced it is increasing fuel surcharges for various service offerings, including UPS Ground Domestic, UPS SurePost, and UPS Domestic Air
U.S. rail carload and intermodal volumes, for week of April 20, are mixed, reports AAR
April 26, 2024
Rail carloads, at 216,945, fell 6.7% annually, and intermodal containers and trailers, at 257,599 units, rose 8.2% annually.
Baltimore suing ship that crashed into bridge, closing port, costing jobs
April 25, 2024
The city of Baltimore is suing the owners of the cargo ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing it to collapse and closing the Port of Baltimore for months.
Intermodal growth volume remains intact in March, reports IANA
April 25, 2024
Total March volume, at 1,464,782 units, increased 6.7% annually, below February’s 14.6% annual increase, while topping November, December, and January, which saw gains of 3.8%, 6.4%, and 5.5%, respectively.
Descartes announces acquisition of Dublin, Ireland-based Aerospace Software Developments
April 25, 2024
Earlier this week, Waterloo, Ontario-based Descartes, a provider of logistics based on-demand, software-as-a-service offerings, continued to flex its M&A muscle, acquiring Dublin, Ireland-based Aerospace Software Developments, a provider of customs and regulatory compliance service.
Amid ongoing unexpected events, supply chains continue to readjust and adapt
April 25, 2024
Expecting the unexpected going back to the onset of the pandemic in March 2020 has really been a part of supply chain and logistics lexicon. As we know, there were many logistics and supply chain “lessons learned” coming out of the pandemic, which clearly still remain intact today, especially including the need for supply chain resiliency and preparedness, as well as flexible and nimble deployment of labor, assets, and technology, among others.
Shipment and expenditure decreases trend down, notes Cass Freight Index
April 24, 2024
March’s shipment reading, at 1.113, fell 3.6% annually, down from February’s 4.5% decrease and January’s 7.6% decline.
March trucking tonnage trends down, reports ATA
April 24, 2024
The ATA’s advanced Seasonally Adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index fell 2%, to 113.4 (2015=100), following a 4% February gain, to 115.7, and a 3.2% January decline.
FTR Shippers Conditions Index enters negative territory
April 24, 2024
For February, the most recent month for which data is available, the SCI reading came in at -1.4, below January’s 3.4, which was 3% below December’s 6.4 reading and also below November’s 6.3.
DAT March Truckload Volume Index sees modest March gains
April 23, 2024
From February to March, the the van TVI, at 260, was up 4%, with the refrigerated TVI, at 200, up 2.6%, and
the flatbed TVI, at 242, up 4.4%.
National diesel average, for week of April 22, is down for the second straight week
April 23, 2024
For the week of April 22, the national average fell 2.3 cents, to $3.922. This followed a 2.3-cent decrease, to $4.015 per gallon, for the week of April 15, which was preceded by a 6.5-cent increase, to $4.004, for the week of April 8.
UPS reports first quarter earnings decline
April 23, 2024
Quarterly consolidated revenue, at $21.7 billion, fell 5.3% annually, and adjusted earnings per share, at $1.43, saw a 35.0% annual decline. Consolidated quarterly operating profit came in at $1.6 billion, which was off 36.5% annually.
LM Podcast Series: Assessing the freight transportation and logistics markets with Tom Nightingale, AFS Logistics
April 18, 2024
During this podcast, Nightingale provided a detailed overview of the new Cowen/AFS Freight Index report and variuous market issues.
Investor expectations continue to influence supply chain decision-making
April 17, 2024
More shareholders are expecting supply chains to become resilient to protect the bottom line.
