Is there a chance the national gasoline tax is going to take a break?
June 21, 2022
Now, there is talk about President Biden “considering a gas tax holiday to ease high fuel prices,” through the end of September, according to a New York Times report published this week. Were this to come to fruition, it would require Congressional approval. Given the current political climate, it could well be viewed as a longshot, to be fair.
Economic concerns always have a direct tie to logistics and the supply chain
June 9, 2022
Concerns over the state of the economy are front and center these days, to be sure. From a supply chain perspective, that tale is not too difficult to tell, at the moment, given record-high gasoline (specifically diesel) prices, inflation at 40-year highs, a cooling off on the demand front, ongoing challenges related to exports, and looming concerns over inventory levels, too.
Gartner Global Supply Chain 25 again drives home the importance of best practices
May 31, 2022
Some of the biggest brand names across several verticals again received accolades from research firm Gartner Inc., in being named to its annual Global Supply Chain 25, which, according to Gartner, identifies leading supply chains and highlights their best practices.
NRF’s Shay pens letter to President Biden, calling for tariff relief
May 19, 2022
Not long after President Biden stated that the White House is discussing dropping tariffs levied against China by his predecessor Donald Trump, the Washington, D.C.-based National Retail Federation (NRF) penned a letter to Biden to “request immediate tariff relief to address the ongoing inflation facing American businesses, workers, and consumers.”
Biden floats possibility of dropping China tariffs
May 13, 2022
One issue, which prior to the pandemic was high on many stakeholders’ list, is tariffs, something that has since been ostensibly left to the wayside. But, now, there is a chance that could be changing, based on some comments recently made by President Biden. While his comments were brief, they were telling all the same, simply saying that the White House is discussing dropping tariffs levied against China by his predecessor Donald Trump.
Chinese shutdown continues to leave a difficult situation hard to navigate
April 25, 2022
As this situation moves on, there continue to be more questions than answers, to be sure. There is never a really opportune time for a crisis to emerge. That has never wrung more truly in logistics and supply chain than it has going back to March 2020, to be sure. Here is to hoping China’s operations get back to full-strength sooner than later. While we all hope it happens quickly, it is really hard to say if that will be...
Impact of inflation on logistics remains problematic and requires planning and patience
April 13, 2022
The March inflation figure issued yesterday in the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed yet another new high, rising 8.5% annually, and marking its biggest percentage gain going back to 1981. If this trend had not already been occurring then, yes, it would be surprising or cause some sort of head-fake, but that is not the case, as it is something we have been seeing, and dealing with for a while now. What’s more, the March tally...
White House sets its sights on true energy independence
March 31, 2022
One could make the case that the plan President Biden announced today to put one million additional barrels, from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), on average--every day--for the next six months does not come as a huge surprise. And there is no reason for it to be surprising, given the significant run-up in gas and oil prices since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with freight transportation and supply chain stakeholders, as well as consumers, feeling tremendous pain...
There is a lot to monitor at the USPS, with the Postal Reform Act looking to make changes
March 24, 2022
Now that the United States Senate followed the House’s lead in signing off on the Postal Reform Act legislation, which is focused on augmenting the financial health of the long-beleaguered United States Postal Service (USPS), earlier this month, questions regarding next steps still largely remain.
NRF issues bullish 2022 retail sales forecast
March 16, 2022
While there is more than a healthy share of uncertainty in logistics and the supply chain, one thing that remains certain, is the ongoing aggressive pace of United States retail sales activity, with consumers continuing to spend on whatever it is they may need, amid record-high gas prices, inflation, fears of a recession, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, among other factors. That was made clear in data issued by the Washington, D.C.-based National Retail Federation (NRF) this week, in...
ATA’s Spears calls on Biden and Congress to step up their games when it comes to energy independence
March 7, 2022
This objective laid out by the ATA’s top executive is very timely, considering that the national average price per gallon, for diesel gasoline, has topped the $4 mark over the last few weeks, coupled with both WTI and Brent Crude prices seeing steep increases over the same period, too, due, in large part to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Importance of logistics and the supply chain in the State of the Union address comes as no surprise
March 2, 2022
Given the onus on supply chain and logistics, at both a national and global level, it is not all too surprising that the State of the Union (SOTU) speech by President Joe Biden was replete with key directives and positions focused on our sector, which, as is well-known, has been under a spotlight, of sorts, for the last two years.
NRF’s Shay calls on ILWU and PMA leadership to begin negotiations on a new contract
February 24, 2022
In a letter to ILWU President William E. Adams and PMA Chairman and CEO James McKenna, NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay urged them to begin contract negotiations as soon as possible. Shay explained that NRF applauds the close partnership ILWU and PMA have achieved throughout the pandemic, coupled with the ability to deal with the unprecedented cargo surge over the past two years.
Ambassador Bridge blockade is another example of expecting the unexpected in the supply chain
February 17, 2022
Expecting the unexpected has become a core part of the logistics and supply chain playbook in recent years. It is fair to say that, at least initially, the disruptions at the Detroit-Windsor Ambassador Bridge fell into that “unexpected” grouping, to be sure.
Supply chain and logistics operations remain focused on the many tasks at hand
February 8, 2022
While the pandemic has brought about some major changes in how we view and approach certain things, there are other things that we were all keeping an eye on and monitoring that are still top of mind for many industry stakeholders today.
As time goes on, so do supply chain and logistics challenges and issues
January 17, 2022
As for the supply chain and logistics hurdles, there are, or remain, more than a few, in the form of—and in no particular order—the following: port congestion and related container backlogs; the ongoing need for more truck drivers to up over-the-road motor carrier capacity; inflation; and the labor outlook i.e. the need for more workers in order to increase throughput and production, among many others, too.
Transportation Insight executives assess logistics and supply chain challenges in 2022
January 5, 2022
While the rush of holiday gifts appears to have made it to their final destinations to end 2021 through myriad delivery networks, amid some unique challenges, 2022 has kicked off with its own new set of challenges, ones with familiar themes—winter storms on both U.S. coasts and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, specifically the Omicron variant—which are both creating issues for freight transportation and logistics services providers and shippers alike.
Note to CEOs: Your supply chain issues will not fix themselves!
January 4, 2022
2021 has exposed a sobering fact: several companies have taken their supply chains for granted. Truth be told, they have mediocre supply chains that are causing operational and/or financial challenges.
IDC research makes the case for AI-driven supply chain forecasting
January 3, 2022
IDC’s analysis of the need for improved forecasting pulls no punches, in explaining that manufacturers have been running supply chains for centuries, and, for nearly that entire period, it is something that they have agonized over, with this zinger to complete the working thesis: “The only thing that has been universally true about any forecast is that it will be wrong.”
ATA’s ‘U.S. Freight Transportation Forecast 2021 to 2032’ points to future trucking volume growth
December 29, 2021
While things are far from certain in freight transportation, supply chain, and logistics these days, a new report recently issued by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) presented a positive future outlook for the trucking sector.