In this week's TT,  an article about East/NE states wanting to fine drivers for not sweeping the snow off their tractors/trailers.

While snow and/or any flying debris is a problem, this issue could create problems for shippers and receivers who do not have covered loading and unloading areas. If a law is passed that would fine a driver for moving a snow covered trailer... would the driver and the carrier be willing to take the fine and become liable under civil prosecution should an accident arise from flying snow/ice???  Maybe, but I think not. 

Would shippers/DCs become responsible for providing equipment that would sweep the snow from the trailer?  Would states have to provide ways for drivers to keep the snow and ice from building up during driving? During rest periods?

Will this keep bigger carriers out of the NE/...Read More

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How much should we invest to protect our assets? What are the odds an airline would ever need one of those 'ditch switch' thingies. And besides, if the plane hits the ground/water it's likely just to break apart so why would anyone waste their precious captial dollars a some "Ditch Switch"?

Well, for U.S. Airways, it looks like the 'Ditch Switch' was a great investment. It closed the vents that prevented water from entering the fuselage via the ventilation ports and helped keep the passengers alive and their investment from sinking.

The most important lesson that we can glean from this is that forward thinking companies are consciously making decisions to spend money for something that does not make an immediate return or perhaps may not ever provide a ROI because they wanted to take every opportunity to protect their investment and thei...Read More

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From November's issue of OOIDA's Landmine magazine an article on page 27 from their Government Affairs Committee on their key strategies for 2009.... The OOIDA plan will target operational efficency, pushing for greener docks by streamlining logistics/shipping practices and extending shipper's hours to 'get trucks in and get trucks out'. Our current system capacity is way inter utilized said [Howard ]Hart (board member from Spokane). Truckers work 24/7. But the places where we pick up and deliver have never worked on that schedule, so the industry is totally out of step. To make trucking a cleaner, more efficient, more profitable place, that boondagle has to get better. It is our position to push for those changes.

So here we have OOIDA's Goverment Affairs Committee planning to seek governmental support to force shippers to staff operat...Read More

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The odds, that your Percent of Logistics to Sales will soon be on the rise because of an Administration change, are more than likely....they're for sure!

The Employee Free Choice Act endorsed by Presidential Elect Obama will likely be enacted by congress early in his administration; and regardless of who becomes the Secretary of Transportation it is clear to me that all aspects of trucking and the transportation industry will soon be increased regulatory constraints which will quickly flow down to shippers and 3PLs in terms of prices, service and reduced capacity.

I expect HOS to be revised and perhaps even codified and I would not be surprised to see driving hours reduced to 10 based on a 12 hour work day. You should expect to see a mandatory fuel surcharge program and stronger enforcement of the EPA Model Anti-idling law; and many (not ...Read More

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The failure of the U.S. 4x100 Track Relay teams this week at the Olympics is a great example of how superior athletes can fail to deliver world class results because: they lacked leadership; were taught/self taught poor or different forms(processes); and didn't practice enough - tried it a few times and thought they had it down.  Well they had it down alright...and the women seeing the failure of the mens' team did the same thing.  It's amazing and sad at the same time.  How could this happen on the world stage? How could these talented people simply drop the baton?  Well it happens every day and it is happening in Logistics and Transportation as you are reading this article.

When I see this type of problem it is a strong indication that management has either assembled talented 'individuals' who are only interested in themselves and can't spell 'T...Read More

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Shippers/3PLs need to begin measuring themselves against  the "Perfect Shipment" if they want to identify opportunities for improving their productivity.  While there are a lot of elements that could be measured,  most shippers don't track and record 'all' of the process tasks...nevertheless a good start would be to measure the compound percentage of the following elements for all shipment for a month:

       *  Tender data sent/accepted by shipper's first choice carrier without date and time changes.
       *  Tender was sent completely - no calls from carriers seeking additional information.
       *  Shipment was not turned back to shipper after it was intially accepted by the carrier
   &...Read More

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Shipper and Brokers need to be alert to the real challenges facing the motor carriers around the issue of fuel and health care insurance both of which are placing many carriers in the red; and political leaders should not be interfering in the free enterprise system by proposing legislation that would mandate that brokers pass on the actual fuel surcharge paid by shippers to the Brokers.

Shipper and Brokers also need to be cognizant of the time lag between when the carrier is paying for the fuel and when they are being paid for the shipment; and the frequency of their DOE EIA updates.  With carriers unable to offset sizeable health care cost increases, the never ending waves of daily fuel spikes have brought carriers to the point where they just don't have the cash to bridge the cost and time differentials.

...Read More

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In a special news conference yesterday, the Easter Bunny, recognizing the need to hop around faster and more efficiently, formally endorsed the use of model contracts and the discipline to consistently execute them.  With new carriers presenting opportunities daily and shippers and 3PLs constantly on the lookout for chances to meet their 2008 productivity goals, 'Bunny' made a compelling argument that adminstration of these new opportunities requires a strong contractual model and the discipline to execute it with the minimum investment in precious human resource hours.

Over the past few years, shippers and 3PLs have been working to develop model agreements.  Specifically, the National Industrial Transportation League (NITL) and the American Trucking Association created a model for shippers and carriers to use; and just a fe...Read More

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Do you remember when either your teacher or parents told you to ‘just sit there and be quiet’?  And sometimes we really had something important to say, but were told to be silent?  Do you think it is the fault of our coaches, teachers, drill sergeants, and or parents when we see something we know is wrong and under the right circumstances could be harmful, that we remain silent and say it’s really someone else’s responsibility not ours?

Let’s take load securement for example.  Just the other day I saw a flatbed that passed me going in the other direction on a ramp with a load that did not have the proper securement on the front and back pallets; and I bet that many of us have seen the picture of sheet rock loaded on the roof of a small car. These are two great examples of the loaders and drivers being guilty of simple or gross...Read More

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One of our website readers wrote in with an interesting question regarding developing a career in logistics. Firas writes:

“I am a young IT Supervisor in a small financial services company and am interested in moving to the Logistics sector. I would appreciate your advice on how to plan for a career path as an IT Executive in Logistics in regards to what knowledge is crucial to gain for this field, recognized certifications, and essential training.”

There are a few things that you should do if you want to go into logistics. First, it’s all about understanding Logistics. I define it as the backbone of a company encompassing the disciplines of Material planning, Transportation, and Warehousing. It begins with inbound materials needed for production or redistribution; the storage and handling of those materials ...Read More

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In our haste to hit our annual productivity goals we inevitably take the fastest and least resistant approach….Mr. Carrier - Cut that rate!   While I subscribe to competitive rates that pay a carrier a fair rate of return, often the bigger savings can be found in how your product is being packaged for transport and subsequently stored by DCs and customers.

 
In a presentation last fall at CSCMP Jack Ampuja Executive Director – Niagara University Center for Supply Chain Excellence spoke on the impact of packaging design on supply chain cost.  He gave some excellent examples on box design which illustrated how poor package design negatively impacted its cost to produce, cube size, and in-transit damage.

From a transportation perspective pac...Read More

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The National Academies of Science, Transportation Research Board meets next week to discuss issues facing all modes of Transportation within the U.S.  The Committee on Size and Weight will be discussing what other countries are doing and what the impact would be on our Roads and Bridges. 

Some theorists say that Intermodal shipments are the answer and keeping heavier ‘permitted’ vehicles on state roads is the way to solve the issue of congestion and at the same time allow us to avoid costly changes to the Interstate Highway system which still restricts us to 80,000 lbs GVW (20,000 lbs behind other developed and competing countries).  Intermodal has not been proven to be effective under 700 miles both in terms of cost, time...Read More

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