Logistics Management Magazine Archives

January 2019 Logistics Management

In this Issue:

  • 2019 Rate Outlook: Pressure builds
  • How to shop for a freight payment company
  • TMS keeps pace with the times
  • Key trade topics for 2019
  • Special Reports: U.S. Ports Update: Infrastructure shortfalls driving innovation
  • 2018 Virtual Summit WrapUp: Navigating new realities
January 10, 2019 · In 2019, the world economy will enter a third straight year of broad-based growth, but many economists feel that a combination of rising interest rates and ongoing trade protectionism will continue to create unexpected turbulence—and lead to even higher freight rates. How likely is this to derail the ongoing global expansion?
January 9, 2019 · Manufacturers, dealers and users of lift trucks are jointly navigating a brave new world of lift truck integration with broader systems and processes.
January 9, 2019 · The booming freight market has created new opportunities for data analytics, but experts say beware of companies offering too much depth and not enough expertise.
January 9, 2019 · Indeed, it’s rare that we find a year when global trade has such an unsettling effect on domestic inventory levels, port volumes and capacity demands to handle the influx at those gateways.
January 9, 2019 · The transportation management systems market is growing right along with the number of challenges that shippers face in today’s hectic freight transportation environment.
January 8, 2019 · Shippers who are current on the global trade landscape are assets to their service partners and clients. Our global trade expert provides us with a review of three key trade topics that should be top of mind as we enter 2019.
January 8, 2019 · Our latest Virtual Summit tackles the most serious transportation issues facing shippers and explains what companies can do to operate smarter and more efficiently in the tightest freight environment in more than a generation. You can attend on-demand today at supplychain247.com/virtual
January 8, 2019 · Seaports on West, East, and Gulf coasts are all poised to compete on one major imperative: investment in transformational technologies.
January 8, 2019 · The real answer will come from more sophisticated pricing models that allow the shipper and carrier to adjust for all of the classification elements as well as day of shipment and even time of day.
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Latest in Logistics Management

Shipment and expenditure decreases trend down, notes Cass Freight Index
March’s shipment reading, at 1.113, fell 3.6% annually, down from February’s 4.5% decrease and January’s 7.6% decline.

March trucking tonnage trends down, reports ATA
The ATA’s advanced Seasonally Adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index fell 2%, to 113.4 (2015=100), following a 4% February gain, to 115.7, and a 3.2% January decline.

FTR Shippers Conditions Index enters negative territory
For February, the most recent month for which data is available, the SCI reading came in at -1.4, below January’s 3.4, which was 3% below December’s 6.4 reading and also below November’s 6.3.

DAT March Truckload Volume Index sees modest March gains
From February to March, the the van TVI, at 260, was up 4%, with the refrigerated TVI, at 200, up 2.6%, and the flatbed TVI, at 242, up 4.4%.

National diesel average, for week of April 22, is down for the second straight week
For the week of April 22, the national average fell 2.3 cents, to $3.922. This followed a 2.3-cent decrease, to $4.015 per gallon, for the week of April 15, which was preceded by a 6.5-cent increase, to $4.004, for the week of April 8.

UPS reports first quarter earnings decline
Quarterly consolidated revenue, at $21.7 billion, fell 5.3% annually, and adjusted earnings per share, at $1.43, saw a 35.0% annual decline. Consolidated quarterly operating profit came in at $1.6 billion, which was off 36.5% annually.

LM Podcast Series: Assessing the freight transportation and logistics markets with Tom Nightingale, AFS Logistics
During this podcast, Nightingale provided a detailed overview of the new Cowen/AFS Freight Index report and variuous market issues.

Investor expectations continue to influence supply chain decision-making
More shareholders are expecting supply chains to become resilient to protect the bottom line.

Sponsored Content
The Next Big Steps in Supply Chain Digitalization
Technology continues to advance and new developments are building on the foundation that is now in place in many supply chains. Here are five of the most significant advances shaping the next wave of digitalization.

Under-21 driver pilot program a bust with fleets as FMCSA seeks changes
The FMSCA says only 113 motor carriers have applied for its under-21 truck driver apprenticeship program since July 2022. That is a very disappointing turnout for an initiative that the government had expected to recruit up to 1,000 carriers and 3,000 drivers.

Diesel back over $4 a gallon; Mideast tensions, other worries cited
Diesel prices are back over $4 a gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) weekly, on-highway survey of prices at 73,000 service stations and 9,500 truck stops around the country. Average diesel prices rose by 6.5 cents, increasing to $4.06 per gallon as of Monday, April 8. The Western states of Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington saw the highest average price increase for the period, rising 11 cents to $4.26 per gallon.

Four U.S. railroads file challenges against FRA’s two-person crew mandate, says report
Following the issuing of a final rule by the United States Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) earlier this month, establishing establishes minimum safety requirements for train crew sizes, with the new rule requiring a second crew member on all trains, four U.S.-based railroads are calling on federal appeals courts to toss out the rule, calling it “arbitrary, capricious, and an illegal abuse of discretion,” according to an Associated Press report.

XPO opens up three new services acquired through auction of Yellow’s properties and assets
XPO opened up three of the 28 service center locations it acquired through an early December court-supervised auction, in which a dozen trucking companies bought properties that resold about three-fourths of Yellow’s properties for a total of just under $1.9 billion.

FTR’s Trucking Conditions Index weakens, due to fuel price gains
For February, the most recent month for which data is available, the TCI reading came in a -5.31, down from January’s -1.41, which was ahead of December’s -4.3.

U.S. rail carload and intermodal volumes are mixed, for week ending April 6, reports AAR
Rail carloads, at 209,142, were off 4.5% annually, and intermodal containers and trailers, at 241,000 units, increased 7.6% annually.


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