Up Front

By Staff -- Logistics Management, 6/1/2000

For using its empty miles to help fill empty stomachs,

For using its empty miles to help fill empty stomachs, Dot Transportation, the private-fleet subsidiary of food redistributor Dot Foods, recently received the first Transportation Donor Award presented by America's Second Harvest. Dot Transportation used empty backhauls to provide free shipping of 400,000 pounds of food donated to the hunger-relief organization's network of food banks and food-rescue programs. America's Second Harvest distributes more than 25,000 trailerloads of food each year and created its Relief Fleet to encourage donations of empty backhauls to move the donated food to food banks. America's Second Harvest can be reached at (312) 263-2303.

A billion or so for defense:

A billion or so for defense: The federal Maritime Administration has awarded 33 contracts worth a total of $1.1 billion to nine U.S. ship-owning and -operating companies managing 74 ships. The five-year contracts for the Ready Reserve Force (RRF) are targeted to ships that would be useful for military purposes and can be activated quickly-that is, with four, five, 10, or 20 days' notice from the Defense Department-for military use. In recent years, RRF ships have supported both military and humanitarian operations in the Persian Gulf, Somalia, Haiti, and Bosnia.

Ever wonder why it takes so long to get a new federal regulation finalized and implemented?

Ever wonder why it takes so long to get a new federal regulation finalized and implemented? Alan Roberts, president of the Hazardous Materials Advisory Council, has revealed the secret. Before they can go into effect, all proposed federal regulations must be shown to comply with nine different laws, four Executive Orders, and four Presidential Directives and Memoranda, explains Roberts, who is also the former deputy administrator of the Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA), the U.S. Department of Transportation office that regulates transportation of hazardous materials. RSPA has developed a compliance checklist for clearing rulemakings through this bureaucratic gauntlet. At five and a half pages, the checklist is longer than some of the rulemakings it covers.

With the U.S. DOT and the Department of Justice stepping up their enforcement actions,

With the U.S. DOT and the Department of Justice stepping up their enforcement actions, shippers of hazardous materials-no matter how diligent in regard to regulatory compliance-must be prepared for the possibility that a DOT hazardous-materials inspector could ring their doorbells at any time. A new book published by COSTHA-the Council on Safe Transportation of Hazardous Articles-called What to Do When the DOT Hazardous Materials Inspector Calls walks shippers through the investigative process. COSTHA General Counsel Lawrence W. Bierlein details what shippers should do before, during, and after an inspection. The book also explains shippers' liabilities, the penalty structure, what constitutes grounds for an inspection, and more. The book is available to COSTHA members for $12 plus shipping, and to nonmembers for $17 plus shipping. Call (703) 451-4031 or send an e-mail message to Mail@COSTHA.com.

You've seen all those United Parcel Service and FedEx trucks

You've seen all those United Parcel Service and FedEx trucks zipping around with Web site addresses painted on their sides. URLs, in fact, have become pretty much ubiquitous on commercial vehicles of all sorts. Now, Web-address advertising has entered a new domain, so to speak: London-based Contship Containerlines says that in April, it became the first company to paint its URL on the sides of its containerships-"the biggest mobile advertising [medium] that is available to us," says Marketing Manager Mario Walther. Contship is no stranger to visual innovation; several years ago, the company became the first to paint a containership pink.

Long Beach once again led all U.S. ports in the value of the cargo

Long Beach once again led all U.S. ports in the value of the cargo it handled last year. The port handled cargo worth $89 billion, according to Maritime Administration figures reported by the port. That's a jump of 10.7 percent over 1998's figure. Mirroring the robust U.S. economy and troubles in Asia, the figure reflects a 15-percent increase in imports and a 7-percent drop in exports. Long Beach handled 4.4 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) during the year, making it the sixth busiest container port in the world.

Do you have an education or technology success

Do you have an education or technology success in your business that you believe deserves wider recognition? APICS, which dubs itself the educational society for resource management, has introduced a Corporate Awards of Excellence program to recognize corporations with outstanding successes in education, innovation, and technology partnerships. It will present awards in each of those categories at its annual conference in October. Both APICS members and nonmembers are eligible. Entries must be submitted by July 31. For more information and to obtain an application, call APICS customer service at (800) 444-2742 or check the group's Web site, www.apics.org, and look under Awards Programs.

Here's a milestone in transportation history:

Here's a milestone in transportation history: The Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. was founded a century ago. That company, now Bridgestone/Firestone Inc., grew rapidly after World War I as truck transportation caught on with the shipping public. Company founder Harvey Firestone himself was a major promoter of truck transportation at a time when most freight moved by rail. Among other things, his company sponsored a national Ship by Truck campaign beginning in 1918. The campaign included truck rallies at state fairs and national advertising.

More evidence that the Internet

More evidence that the Internet is likely to have a major effect on supply chain management comes from a recent report by Meritus Consulting and the Economist Intelligence Unit. The company asked senior executives at Fortune 500 companies about their views on the Internet. Eighty-two percent expect the Internet will have a major effect or totally transform supply chain performance over the next three years. Already, more than half of those surveyed say they prefer to communicate with suppliers over the Internet, and that number will rise to 75 percent over three years. The report, Moving the Supply Chain into the Digital Age: Integrating Demand and Supply, is available free of charge at the Web address www.eiu.com/latest/meritus.asp.

The National Transportation Atlas Databases 2000 (NTAD 2000) compact disc

The National Transportation Atlas Databases 2000 (NTAD 2000) compact disc is now available from the Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The NTAD 2000 is a set of national geographic databases of transportation facilities. These databases include geospatial information for transportation modal networks and intermodal terminals. The 22 data sets include the National Highway Planning Network, public use airports, and railway networks. To order a copy of the compact disc, contact BTS by phone at (202) 366-DATA, by fax at (202) 366-3640, or by writing to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. DOT, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20590. You can also obtain access to the data sets via the Internet at www.bts.gov/gis or order them by going to www.bts.gov/btsprod, then selecting the "Geospatial Information and Maps" link.