Logistics Management Magazine Archives

March 2020 Logistics Management

In this Issue:

  • E-Commerce Logistics: The speed of now
  • 2020 Parcel Express Roundtable
  • Get ready for WES 2.0
  • GE Appliances' digital transformation
  • Quarterly Transportation Market Update: LTL Full Recovery on the horizon.
March 3, 2020 · It’s not only the growth of e-commerce, but also the ever-tightening delivery timeframes that have logistics pros eyeing emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence, blockchain and the Internet of Things. The challenge is to determine which of these can alleviate concerns like spiraling transportation costs and pulling together final-mile delivery resources.
March 2, 2020 · Logistics professionals now need to leverage diverse systems and new ways of thinking in an effort to improve carrier partnerships and increase speed and efficiency. With that in mind, the editorial staff of LM has put together a collection of features to help readers push that pace of change inside their organizations.
March 2, 2020 · Thanks to the inexorable growth of e-commerce, the reverse loop has never been so prominent in global supply chains. Now, social media contributes to the complexity.
March 2, 2020 · Three of our top parcel industry sources bring us up to speed on the fastest moving, most dynamic service sector in logistics.
March 2, 2020 · The first generation of warehouse execution systems (WES) brought a new level of orchestration to automated warehouses. The next generation promises to bring a new level of optimization and productivity to the conventional warehouse. Get ready for WES 2.0.
March 2, 2020 · GE Appliances may not have taken all of the touches out of its distribution processes, but it has reduced them to a bare minimum, increased the velocity of product moving through its facilities and sped up training time. The key: A digital transformation with next-generation technologies like IoT, AI and VR.
March 2, 2020 · A recovering industrial economy, “improving” inventory levels and higher rate forecasts buoy top LTL carrier optimism for 2020.
March 2, 2020 · For shippers, the importance of “know your service provider” has never been more relevant. You must understand how your freight will be delivered. You are the one who promises “free next-day service,” and the buyer assumes you have figured out how to do this.
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LM Podcast Series: Assessing the freight transportation and logistics markets with Tom Nightingale, AFS Logistics
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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.

LM Podcast Series: Examining the freight railroad and intermodal markets with Tony Hatch
In this podcast, Tony Hatch offered up his views on various aspects of the freight railroad and intermodal sectors, including: market conditions, service levels, volumes, and nearshoring, among others. 

Supply Chain Stability Index sees ‘Tremendous Improvement’ in 2023
While 2023 proved to be a comeback year, there's still a ways to go before a return to pre-pandemic normalcy.

TD Cowen/AFS Freight presents mixed readings for parcel, LTL, and truckload revenues and rates
The new edition of the TD Cowen/AFS Freight Index, which was recently released by New York-based investment firm TD Cowen Inc. and Shreveport, La.-based 3PL and freight audit and payment company AFS Logistics LLC, was somewhat mixed, with less-than-truckload (LTL) and truckload rates steady, and parcel rates being impacted by fuel surcharge increases and various accessorial charges amid lower demand.

Descartes March Global Shipping Report highlights ongoing steady volume momentum
From February to March, the report observed that U.S.-bound container import volumes eked out a 0.4% increase, to 2,145,341 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), while posting a 15.7% annual gain, ahead of pre-pandemic 2019 by 20.6%. Descartes explained that the timing of the week-long Lunar New Year in Asia, which commenced on February 11 may have held import growth back, as the subsequent impact on U.S. import numbers was not realized until the last two weeks of March.

U.S.-bound import growth track remains promising, notes Port Tracker report
Amid various supply chain issues, United States retail container ports are expected to see imports top the 2-million mark in May for the first time since October, according to the new edition of the Port Tracker report, which was issued today by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and maritime consultancy Hackett Associates.

Norfolk Southern announces preliminary $600 million agreement focused on settling East Palestine derailment lawsuit
NS officials said that should this agreement be approved by the court, it will resolve all class action claims within a 20-mile radius from the derailment and, for those residents who choose to participate, personal injury claims within a 10-mile radius from the derailment.


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