Test your logistics IQ!

Think you're a logistics genius? Take our quiz and find out how much you really know.

By James A. Cooke, Executive Editor -- Logistics Management, 12/1/2004

You read industry publications, go to educational conferences, and share information with your colleagues. You think you're pretty up-to-date about what's happening in transportation and logistics. But are you? There's only one way to find out: Take our test and rate yourself against your peers. If you can correctly answer all of the questions below, then you're on top of the profession.

And if that describes you, then let us know! We've posted a copy of this quiz on our Web site at www.lmsurveys.com/quiz. Fill it out and submit it online, and you may qualify to win an Apple iPod digital music player. We'll conduct a random drawing for one winner from among entrants who score 100 percent. The deadline for entries is Friday, January 7, 2005.

By the way, all of the answers can be found in the January through November 2004 issues of Logistics Management magazine. So search our Web site, www.logisticsmgmt.com—and look for the answers in our next issue.

Logistics IQ
1. What does "HOS" stand for?
A. Hours of servitude
B. Hours of service
C. Hours of sincerity
D. Hours of serenity
2. In response to shippers' complaints last year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agreed to delay enforcement of a rule requiring ocean carriers to:
A. Electronically submit the name of the actual shipper
B. Electronically submit the name of the consignee
C. Verify the existence of each shipper prior to vessel loading
D. Inform the government of the freight rate
3. If you want to earn the highest salaries in logistics, you should choose to work in which region of the country?
A. Pacific Northwest
B. West Coast
C. New England
D. Mid-Atlantic
4. A combination of factors raised truckload rates this past year. Which of the following was not a factor in higher prices?
A. Higher fuel prices
B. New government regulations
C. Transportation management systems
D. Labor shortages
5. A warehouse postponement strategy involves delaying final assembly or packaging of a product in a distribution center until:
A. The customer pays the bill
B. The trucker shows up at the dock door
C. The customer complains
D. Just before a product ships to a customer
6. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court said Mexican trucks could enter the United States:
A. On Mexican holidays
B. Without the government conducting an environmental impact study
C. By paying highway tolls in U.S. dollars
D. Even if they didn't have permission from Congress
7. On January 1, the Council of Logistics Management will change its name to:
A. The Council of Supply Chain Gurus
B. The Council of Supply Chain Management
C. The Council of Supply Chain Leaders
D. The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals
8. A "passive" radio frequency identification (RFID) tag consists of an integrated circuit and a:
A. Radio antenna
B. Cell phone
C. Transponder
D. Magnetic strip
9. Which of the following are included in an "active" RFID tag, distinguishing it from a passive tag?
A. Encoded software
B. An onboard battery
C. a RAM chip
D. Frequency-hopping capabilities
10. A number of industrial truck makers are trying to develop forklifts that in the future will be powered by:
A. Hydrogen fuel cells
B. Rubber bands
C. Liquefied petroleum gas
D. Nuclear energy
11. The Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 1998 (OSRA) allowed shippers to:
A. Set up Web sites to monitor ocean carriers' performance
B. Set up prepaid shipping plans with foreign ocean carriers
C. Negotiate confidential contracts with ocean carriers
D. Hire more than one carrier to move their cargo
12. The Carmack Amendment says that the carrier is liable for the full value of goods lost in transit unless the shipper:
A. Fails to properly package the goods
B. Agrees in writing to a lower rate in return for a lower limitation of carrier liability
C. Agrees in writing to take a risk in exchange for time-critical delivery
D. Agrees in writing not to sue the carrier
13. Which two large European third-party logistics companies (3PLs) merged last year? Was it:
A. Christian Salvesen and Exel
B. Christian Salvesen and Wincanton
C. Exel and Tibbett & Britten
D. Christian Salvesen and Tibbett & Britten
14. In 2003, the U.S. logistics market was worth:
A. $188 billion
B. $1.8 trillion
C. $936 billion
D. $836 billion
15. Many experts say low pay is contributing to the driver shortage. How much does a truckload driver with a couple of years' experience make on average?
A. Between $20,000 and $30,000 a year
B. Between $30,000 and $40,000 a year
C. Between $40,000 and $50,000 a year
D. Between $50,000 and $60,000 a year
16. In the United States, the organization to enforce pallet-construction and management standards:
A. Does not exist
B. Is known as CHEP
C. Is the U.S. Council of Wooden Platforms
D. Is the National Pallet Council
17. On January 1, 2005, the Uniform Code Council will no longer support the current Universal Product Code (UPC) bar-code standard, which has:
A. 11 digits
B. 12 digits
C. 13 digits
D. 14 digits
18. Item 640 of the National Motor Freight Classification directs motor carriers to charge the entire pallet load at the highest class for any included article, unless the shipper:
A. Provides information that shows the cube weight exceeds the sum of the package weights
B. Provides data that shows the higher rate would constitute a hardship
C. Provides information that enables the carrier to apply the applicable class rates on each different commodity
D. Grants the carrier the authority to break packaging to verify the measurements and weights of individual articles
19. To increase its retail presence, FedEx in 2003 bought:
A. UPS
B. Airborne Express
C. Mailboxes, Etc.
D. Kinko's
20. How often do OSHA regulations require companies to train their forklift drivers?
A. Every year
B. Every three years
C. Every six months
D. Every two years
21. The U.S. Supreme Court this fall heard a transportation case involving:
A. Cargo liability for air shipments
B. Cargo liability in trucking
C. Cargo liability in barge shipping
D. Cargo liability in multimodal shipping
22. According to the results of LM's annual "Masters of Logistics" survey, shippers spent what percentage of their budget in 2004 on truckload freight?
A. 20 percent
B. 24.5 percent
C. 29.8 percent
D. 31.2 percent
23. The first round of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) clean-air regulations for trucks took effect in:
A. January 2004
B. January 2003
C. October 2003
D. October 2002
24. The acronym "C-TPAT" stands for:
A. Customs-Trade Protocols About Terrorism
B. Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism
C. Customs-Trade Planning Against Terrorism
D. Customs-Trade Protection Against Terrorism
25. The British government is considering a tax on motor carriers for:
A. Excessive shipment weights
B. Deliveries during holidays
C. Deliveries at night
D. Deliveries during rush hour

Answers will appear in the January issue of Logistics Management.