For a number of years, firms utilizing FedEx and UPS have experienced fairly modest annual increases of 3 to 5%. LTL increases have been in the same range, and the additional costs usually have been anticipated, begrudgingly accepted, and included in freight budgets. This year however, FedEx announced an additional change that can be somewhat […]

Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced the addition of 156,000 jobs in September, a sign that the growth in the economy, although modest, continues to generate additional employment opportunities. In spite of this growth however, for-hire trucking lost 3600 jobs. Warehouse and storage positions rose 5300, and other transportation related jobs rose by […]

Orlando, September 27, 2016 – I am in Orlando at the CSCMP Annual Conference among about 3000 other attendees from all disciplines of the supply chain. As most of the readers of this blog know, CSCMP, with its 8500 members from 67 countries, has been the leading supply chain organization for over 50 years. After […]

In my last blog I reported on the recent proposal of the DOT that would require governors to be placed on all new trucks weighing over 26,000 pounds. They are still undecided as to what the limiting speeds should be, and are considering 60, 65, and 68 miles per hour. Many large carriers have already […]

The Motor Carrier Act of 1980 eliminated virtually all economic regulation of the trucking industry. This long – sought legislation freed the nation’s truckers from 45 years of stifling government control.. In signing the bill, President Carter said, “The Motor Carrier Act of 1980 will bring the trucking industry into the free enterprise system where […]

There has been a lot of excitement in the country during the past couple of weeks. The summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and the presidential campaign have provided entertainment for a major portion of the population whether they are sports fans or political junkies. But both events have been marred by accusations of, or […]

The industry continues to be plagued of cargo thefts; and many of these, including the theft of entire trailer loads, have occurred on distribution center property. The mysterious disappearances are becoming more sophisticated, and often from what are thought to be secure facilities. In many other cases however, they are from warehouses that do not […]

During the past four years, the theft of food products has increased significantly, and food is now the favorite target of cargo thieves, surpassing thefts of electronics, pharmaceuticals, and tobacco products – the former “Big 3”. The reason of course, is that food products have become much more valuable. Drought and unusual weather in much […]

The outsourcing of warehouse logistics services is not a new concept by any means. Although it has become more sophisticated and gained renewed emphasis over the past several years, the practice can be traced back almost as far as one would care to research it. In Europe, a number of warehouse service providers can trace […]

Everyone who knows who Horatio Nelson Jackson is, please raise your hand. If we were all in a room together and could count the hands, I dare say there would be very few; but Jackson could be legitimately described as one of the pioneers in our industry. He was a 31 year-old medical doctor from […]