Flying in the face of the Trump Administration’s isolationist trade policies, US imports are soaring, buoyed by strong consumer spending. Global Port Tracker projects that this summer, containerized imports will surpass last year’s records, topping 1.83 million TEU each month. That’s great news for retailers, but the brisk rate of trade threatens to run headlong […]
In April 2018, IBM and DHL released a joint report proclaiming that the time is ripe for logistics and supply chain management to embrace artificial intelligence (AI). “Furthermore,” the paper warns, “companies deciding not to adopt AI run the risk of obsolescence in the long term, as competitors seize and effectively use AI in their […]
Perhaps the most frequently repeated truism in logistics and supply chain management is that it’s all about relationships, and the supplier scorecard may be the best way to judge the health of those relationships. Designing a scorecard that accurately reflects your business’ needs and priorities is the most effective way to clarify your own expectations, […]
In 2018, American business leaders are grappling with several profound shifts in the economic and social landscape: sweeping demographic changes, uneasy international relations that threaten supply chains, the stunning rise of ecommerce, and a serious national discussion on the role of business in fostering social good. Taken together, these issues can seem overwhelming, but the […]
The long-awaited capacity crunch is here, with the national load-to-truck ratio hovering well above normal levels for this time of year, and shippers grudgingly accepting higher rates. Courtesy DAT Fortunately, the trucking industry is racing to add capacity, both by purchasing new equipment and hiring new drivers. Orders for new trailers skyrocketed by 36 […]
On April 26, the CEO of Maersk Shipping, Sǿren Skou, delivered a stinging indictment of government shipping subsidies, which he criticized as anticompetitive, and which threaten to stifle the carrier industry’s burgeoning recovery. Speaking at a Singapore shipping conference, Skou accused the subsidies of encouraging companies to build ships which are “not needed, for companies […]
In the weeks since the US and China released their dueling lists of tariffs, the world has gotten a glimpse of just how delicate and complex our supply chains have become. The US had already imposed steep tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, then specifically targeted China with heavy machinery, medicine, and 1,300 other items. […]
Few transportation topics have ever been as hotly debated as the federal ELD mandate, with shippers, truckers, and logistics professionals divided as to whether the law would represent a minor adjustment to the shipping landscape, or a full-blown catastrophe. After a four-month grace period, ELD enforcement began in earnest on April 1, and the industry […]
In recent months, anyone whose business takes them through US ports has faced an increasingly chaotic and expensive environment. Despite a robust economy and higher-than-expected export volumes, shippers are facing thinner profit margins as they run into a trucking bottleneck. Drayage rates are skyrocketing, fueled by a driver shortage and the demands of the ELD […]
In recent months, shippers and freight forwarders have noticed a precipitous drop in the reliability of transatlantic carrier schedules. According to JOC, in 2017, reliability on westbound transatlantic routes fell 10.5 percent to 67.4 percent, while eastbound routes fell 10.6 percent, to land at 70.2 percent reliability. The first few months of 2018 have been […]