3PL

By Roberto Michel · April 12, 2018
A panel of supply chain leaders and technology experts gathered at the MODEX show in Atlanta this week to discuss the findings of the newly released 2018 MHI Annual Industry Report, citing 11 key technologies that are driving next generation supply chains, while also naming top barriers such as cyber-security and framing the business case for the technologies.

By Jeff Berman · April 12, 2018
March shipments, at 858,809, were down 0.2% annually, marking the first annual decline going back to February 2017’s 7.7% annual decline, with both of these months volumes impacted by the timing of the Asian Lunar New Year, with Panjiva noting that the resulting shortfall in products arriving on U.S. shores in the following weeks. For the first quarter of 2018, Panjiva data indicated that shipments were up 6.9% annually at 2,816,997.

By LM Staff · April 11, 2018
Rate gains for both truckload and intermodal activity remains an ongoing theme, based on data in the the most recent editions of the Truckload Linehaul Index and Intermodal Index from Cass Information Systems and Broughton Capital.

By Jeff Berman · April 11, 2018
The survey is based on feedback from a comScore survey of more than 18,000 global online shoppers and was issued over the first three quarters of 2017. UPS said this study evaluated consumer shopping habits from pre-purchase to post-delivery, with respondents having made a minimum of two online purchases over a three-month timeframe.

By Jeff Berman · April 11, 2018
XPO Connect provides shippers with what the company calls a single point of entry for visibility across various transportation modes in real time, which, in turn, helps shippers identify both time- and cost-saving opportunities.

By Jeff Berman · April 10, 2018
While railroad service issues clearly presented internal challenges for the Class I’s and external issues for rail shipper customers, it is the opinion of one industry observer that having the Class I’s offering up written responses to the STB does not really do a whole lot in terms of the big (service) picture.

By Bob Trebilcock · April 9, 2018
While much of the action has been in mobile collaborative robotics, piece picking robots are finding their niche.

By Roberto Michel · April 9, 2018
Logistics professionals heard about supply chain priorities and technology from one of their peers at Monday’s keynote at MODEX in Atlanta, when Juan Perez, CIO and chief engineering officer for UPS, took the stage. In a talk titled, “Anticipating Tomorrow’s Supply Chain Challenges—Today,” Perez advised “we need to disrupt ourselves” with technology that improves the customer experience.

By LM Staff · April 6, 2018
Rail carloads increased 3.6%, or 36,157 carloads, to 1,050,653, and intermodal containers and trailers headed up 5%, or 102,308 units, in March compared to the same period a year ago at 2,132,892.

By Jeff Berman · April 5, 2018
While the United States warehousing market currently has quite a bit working in its favor in the form of things like tight vacancy rates, strong absorption rates, and rent levels, in some ways it is also a victim of its own success, due to the ongoing strength of e-commerce. That was one of the main takeaways from a report from commercial real estate firm CBRE, which observes that a high percentage of U.S. warehouse inventory is outdated and not properly equipped to meet the needs and demands that e-commerce activity requires.

By Jeff Berman · April 5, 2018
Ocean container volumes in Northern Europe are seeing decent volumes, coupled with anticipated growth throughout 2018, according to the most recent edition of the the Global Port Tracker report from maritime consultancy Hackett Associates and Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics. But at the same time, the report said that a fair amount of uncertainty and overcapacity remains.

By Jeff Berman · April 2, 2018
In its monthly Manufacturing Report on Business, ISM said that PMI, the report’s key metric, fell 1.5% in March to 59.3 (a reading of 50 or higher indicates growth). This marks the 19th consecutive month of PMI growth, with the overall economy now having grown for 107 straight months.

By Jeff Berman · April 2, 2018
With the calendar officially having shifted into April, one thing that comes with it, along with springtime, is the full enforcement of the electronic logging devices mandate (ELD) for commercial motor carriers. Motor Freight regulation news, Freight Truck Tracking, Hours of service regulations, Motor Freight Safety

By LM Staff · March 30, 2018
Rail carloads headed up 2.5% annually to 265,756, and intermodal trailers and containers increased 0.3% annually to 260,765 units. Rail Freight Volume Update, Railroad

By Josh Bond · March 30, 2018
Chattanooga Tennessee-based 3PL Kenco recently hosted a roundtable of supply chain leaders from companies including Coca-Cola, Chevron Technologies, Georgia-Pacific, Kids II, and Sealed Air. The open-ended discussion produced four key themes, outlining a blueprint for companies looking to drive meaningful supply chain innovation.