The economic recovery lies just around the corner, if predictions by the Colography Group hold true.

The Atlanta-based transportation research firm says the long-awaited business upturn should spark solid gains in shipping volumes in 2004 as record-low inventories combined with increasing demand drive growth in manufacturing and transportation. But the resurgence won't lift up all transportation segments equally. Colography's analysts contend that fundamental changes in distribution patterns and inventory management practices will benefit regional LTL and long-haul truckers at the expense of airfreight carriers. For more on Colography Group's predictions for the coming year, see the news story on Page 21.

Punish motor carriers that provide bum background info about drivers. That's what independent truckers are telling the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which is proposing to shield motor carriers from liability when they knowingly provide inaccurate information during driver background checks. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) told safety regulators that the proposal protects trucking companies that might manipulate information to retaliate against drivers who, for example, may have refused to violate hours-of-service rules. OOIDA wants the proposed rule to allow drivers to see the results of their background checks and have the chance to correct them. The group also says background investigations of drivers should be limited strictly to safety qualifications.

All the recent hoopla over screening air cargo on passenger flights

could be one reason why Massport, the agency that runs Logan International Airport in Boston, last month became the first airport in the country to screen air cargo before it was loaded on commercial flights. As part of a 30-day test program, authorities began using x-ray technology to scan trucks carrying air cargo for explosives. The Transportation Security Administration is expected to use test data to assess the feasibility of implementing similar programs at other airports. A number of critics, including Massachusetts Congressman Ed Markey, have complained that security officials check only a fraction of the cargo carried on passenger aircraft.

It's time once again for our annual salary survey.

As a reader of Logistics Management,

you can help us produce the most comprehensive scorecard of professional compensation in our industry by filling out the questionnaire that's wrapped around this issue. (All responses are anonymous and confidential.) In turn, you'll learn just what you should be earning in these tough times, and how your peers are being compensated. Look for the results of our 20th annual salary survey in the March 2004 issue.

In Great Britain, truckers are lining up against a proposal to impose a peak-time surcharge.

The Freight Transport Association, a motor carrier group, has come out strongly against a British Department of Transportation plan to alleviate traffic congestion by imposing higher tolls on trucks that use highways at peak traffic hours. The group says it's not opposed, though, to reducing tolls to encourage truckers to drive during off-peak hours. Similar plans are afoot throughout Europe: The city of London has already imposed a congestion tax on cars and trucks entering its downtown. And the European Union is considering the implementation of peak-time tolls for trucks in 2008.

Industry veteran Robert L. Shaunnessey takes over the helm of the Warehousing Education and Research Council this month. He succeeds Steve Bova as executive director of the group.

Shaunnessey comes from Sterling Logistics Corp., a third-party logistics company that he helped to found. Prior to that, he was president and CEO of Records Management Services, and was an executive at ITEL-GATX and DSC Logistics. Based in Oak Brook, Ill., WERC is a non-profit group serving distribution and warehousing professionals.

Procrastination may not help with finishing homework, but it does benefit the supply chain.

So claims a new study, which found that the majority of companies that have implemented postponement strategies are realizing significant improvements in customer satisfaction, inventory costs, and demand forecasting. Postponement enables manufacturers to customize and quickly assemble products once customer demand is known. By holding inventory closer to their customers, companies can reposition their supply chains from a "push" to a "pull," or demand-driven, model. The study, "The Adaptive Supply Chain: Postponement for Profitability," was conducted by software maker Oracle Corp., the consulting firm Cap Gemini Ernst & Young U.S., and APICS, the resource and inventory management educational group.

What do air shippers want?

Service reliability, competitive rates, and fast transit times scored as the three most important attributes in a new study conducted by the International Logistics Quality Institute. The institute, a joint venture of consultants MergeGlobal and Capital Consulting & Management, surveyed some 800 shippers, who said that security and customs regulations top their list of concerns today. Despite those worries, 45 percent of the respondents said they were satisfied with their international airfreight providers.

The UK government has turned to the private sector to handle some logistics operations for the military.

The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense has awarded a three-year contract for global freight operations to Exel. The London-based third-party logistics giant will oversee air, land, and sea transportation for the Defense Transport Movement Agency, part of the British Defense Logistics Organization. Exel will manage most of the agency's surface and airfreight forwarding to military bases around the world. Top brass is making the change because they believe rationalizing global freight forwarding operations will save money and result in more effective shipment tracking.

Do you know someone who deserves recognition for achievement in logistics? Then nominate that person for the Logistics Executive Achievement Award, to be handed out by conference organizer Richmond Events next May at its 2004 Logistics and Supply Chain Forum. An advisory board will select a winner based on leadership, creativity, accomplishments, and results as well as commitment to the industry. Nominations can be made by visiting Richmond Events' Web site (www.logisticsforum.com) and clicking on the award nomination form link. All nominations must be received no later than December 1.

Bar-code usage still lags in the food service industry, according to a new report. An annual study by Efficient Foodservice Response (EFR) canvassed six foodservice distribution facilities and found that only 77 percent of cases carried bar codes. Although that percentage rose from last year, it still falls short of the industrywide goal of 96 percent. EFR Executive Director Mark Allen says a critical mass of companies using bar codes is needed to ensure better product tracking, reduce invoice discrepancies, enable more accurate communications, and facilitate electronic capture of company and product information. EFR is a joint project sponsored by four industry associations.

You can get all of the benefits of some of APICS' educational programs even if you can't travel to educational conferences these days. The organization, which offers education, training, and research in inventory, production, and supply chain management, has made its five-part Inventory Control Workshop and seven-part Lean Manufacturing Workshop series available on CD-ROM. The programs can be purchased as individual sessions or as a full-length curriculum. For more information, contact APICS by phone at 800-444-2742, or visit the group's online bookstore at www.apics.org.