Topic: Blogs

Josh Taylor, Senior Director of Professional Services, for San Diego-based Shipware, an audit and parcel consulting services company, told Newsroom Notes that in looking at the FedEx pilots situation, the main risk posed to FedEx by the potential for a pilots’ strike hasn’t been the threat of the pilots walking out, but the dissatisfaction of the pilots and the uncertainty it could have created with investors.

A CAGTC survey found that two-thirds of its member respondents have received funding through the legislation, which it deemed impressive. What’s more, it added that this served as an indication that while there are challenges in the process, 100% of CAGTC member respondents said they will continue to apply for federal funding through competitive grants.

Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by another quarter of a point (0.25%), in its most recent maneuver to continue to stave off the effects of still-high inflation levels on the United States economy and get inflation down to 2%. Yes, inflation is trending down, but many economists have indicated it is not occurring at a swift enough pace.

Could the possibility of a West Coast port labor deal between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) be finally inching to reality?

The U.S. industrial real estate market added 89 million square feet (MSF) of vacant supply, in the first quarter, which CBRE said represents the single largest quarter-over-quarter increase on record. What’s more, that subsequently led to the overall vacancy rate seeing an increase for the first time, going back to the second quarter of 2009, with a 50-basis point increase to 3.5% that still trails the 5.0% 10-year average.

A theme within freight transportation, supply chain, and logistics circles, which is always among the key “top of mind” themes, is the state of the economy, from various perspectives, whether it be, in our case, a freight or macroeconomic perspective.

With the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) earlier today rolling out new proposed federal vehicle emissions standards, with a two-fold objective of spurring on the country’s transition to a clean vehicles future and combatting the climate crisis, there is a lot to monitor on that front, especially as it relates to the trucking market, and, by extension, over-the-road supply chain and logistics operations.

In its forecast, NRF is calling for 2023 retail sales to see an annual increase between 4%-to-6%, coming in between $5.13 trillion-to-$5.23 trillion. This annual forecast, trails the 7% rate of annual retail sales growth seen in 2022, for a total of $4.9 trillion. And NRF said that the 2023 forecast tops the pre-pandemic, average annual retail sales growth rate of 3.6%.

A few weeks ago, in this space, I wrote a column, entitled “The only thing certain about the economy remains economic uncertainty.” Well, guess what, not much has changed, regarding that thesis, and that should surprise exactly nobody, really.

While the United States Postal Service (USPS) has seen what could be viewed as mixed fiscal year 2023 earnings results, in that it in February it reported 1.0% operating revenue gain and a $1.0 billion net loss, a trio of parcel experts told LM that the organizations is making inroads. These inroads come on the heels of its "Delivering for America 10-Year Strategic Plan” that was rolled out in March 2021 and focused on achieving financial sustainability and service excellence, in order to meet...

With inflation declining, while not at a brisk enough pace, coupled with things like still-high inventory levels, solid job numbers and retail sales growth, and manufacturing on a downswing, it is fair to say that the current economic outlook is very mixed. Those indicators—and others, like the housing market and the anticipated actions to be taken by the Federal Reserve—continue to leave things in an ongoing state of economic uncertainty.

There used to be a time when terms like supply chain, infrastructure, and others related to the logistics-focused worlds we live in would get little, if any, attention, in a State of the Union (SOTU) address. Well, it is fair to say, that has clearly changed and was on full display in President Biden’s address to the nation last night.

The hearing, which is entitled “The State of Transportation Infrastructure and Supply Chain Challenges," features leadership from various national organizations, including: Chris Spear, President and Chief Executive Officer, American Trucking Associations; Ian Jefferies, President and Chief Executive Officer, Association of American Railroads; Jeff Firth, Vice President, Hamilton Construction, on behalf of Associated General Contractors of America; Roger Guenther, Executive Director, Port Houston; and Greg Regan, President, Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO.

The Covid pandemic exposed a grim reality: Most shippers have supply chains that are completely unprepared to deal with catastrophic issues.

With 2023 underway, it is time to take a fresh look at where things stand, as they relate to key trends and themes germane to all things supply chain, logistics, and freight transportation. To be sure, things have changed on various fronts, especially when viewed against the backdrop of nearly three years ago (it is hard to believe it has been that long), at the onset of the pandemic. It is fair to say we all remember those times very well,...

When looking at the current state of the economy, specifically with a freight transportation and logistics focus, it seems like, in different ways, that there may be cause for optimism as well as concern. For one thing, while it remains at a high level, to be sure, inflation is heading down, which is good news. For the month of November, the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the annual inflation rate headed down...

While there is often a lot of talk about things like the need for, or even potential, for more standardized processes, when it comes to keeping truck wheels rolling and staying on schedule to meet tight deadlines, there is much more than meets the eye required to take that from a concept to a reality.

As the clock ticks towards December 9, the end of the status quo, or “cooling off” period, for the four remaining railroad labor groups yet to ratify the terms of the tentative agreements with United States-based Class I freight railroad carriers, President Biden yesterday called on Congress to pass legislation to “adopt the Tentative Agreement between railroad workers and operators—without any modifications or delay—to avert a potentially crippling national rail shutdown.”

What happens from here remains to be seen, of course. But let’s hope, as Yogi Berra noted, that it is not already getting late too early and that freight is able to keep rolling down the tracks without a strike getting in the way.

The holiday sales forecast numbers are encouraging, with NRF forecasting holiday retail sales to increase 6%-to-8% annually, coming in between $942.6 billion-to-$960.4 billion. In 2021, retail sales were up 13.5% compared to 2020, due likely to the timing of the pandemic in 2020, at $899.3 billion, setting a new all-time record. What’s more, it said that over the last 10 years, holiday retail sales have seen an average increase of 4.9%, with the caveat that pandemic-related spending over the last couple of years represented a large portion...