All Features Entries

Wednesday, August 01, 2012

Unlike their brethren on the highways, ocean carriers will not be reporting capacity restraint issues from their unique position on the high seas over the next 12 months. As Executive Editor Patrick Burnson reported last month in our expansive State of Logistics Report, nearly 60 new vessels of at least 10,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) are being staged for deployment.

Due to the critical role our nation’s gateways play in the growth of global trade, the staffs of Peerless Research Group (PRG) and Logistics Management felt the need to bring the Ports category back to the Quest for Quality Awards survey after a more than 10-year hiatus.

The Great Recession didn’t slow it down, and now economic woes throughout Europe don’t seem to be impeding its progress. The global third-party logistics (3PL) industry just keeps rolling along, as merger and acquisition (M&A) activity heats up and the world’s providers report decent revenue growth.

As if navigating the Great Recession, earthquakes, tsunamis, terrorist threats, revolutions, volcanos, and high fuel prices over the past 24 months wasn’t enough, along comes the European economic crisis to tug on the wings of world’s leading air cargo carriers.

Global manufacturing and retail shippers now have their eyes firmly fixed on the tentative economic condition of Europe, attempting to calculate the eventual impact the situation will have on supply chain operations in the region and the rest of the world.

Our technology correspondent takes a closer look at what wireless technology is being adopted, how it’s being used, and what benefits logistics professionals are deriving from their mobile investments either inside the four walls or on the road.

Sunday, July 01, 2012

The logistics industry has yet to climb back to the profitability it hit in 2007–the precipice from which it dropped during the recession. According to the report’s author and industry analysts, it may be a while until the overall industry hits full stride again.

Adoption rates for transportation management systems (TMS) hover around 37 percent, yet the systems have proven to be game-changing, cost-saving freight facilitators. If you’re still dragging your feet, here’s some food for thought.

Our transportation law expert provides shippers with a refresher course in the basic legal principles relating to claims for cargo loss and damage.

More savvy lift truck fleet managers are realizing that buying, renting, or leasing practices set the tone for future savings.