Freight

One thing which stood out while I was out of the office is how prevalent supply chain and global trade is, no matter where you are.

The report explained that imports hit a new record this spring, with volume over the first half of 2021 pegged to be up by one-third annually, or 33.9%, driven by the economy continuing to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

It stands to reason that when assessing the current state of many supply chain-, freight- and logistics-related trends and themes, that, in many cases, there is more uncertainty than certainty. That is somewhat of a blanket statement to be sure, but it does not lessen its credence either.

In this webinar, Convoy will explore how network insights help shippers optimize operational spend, improve facility performance, reduce carbon emissions, and become a shipper of choice.

The NMC, which project44 officials said is the sole application in the logistics sector that can fully automate the North American and European truckload carrier onboarding process, was initially launched in 2017 in Europe and has been available for U.S.-based customers since late 2019.

If mitigating uncertainty and risk was the preferred pre-COVID approach, what does a post-COVID-19 world look like for shippers who now realize risk mitigation isn’t always possible?

For more than a little while, much has been made of what has been viewed as strong economic growth. To what degree, though, varies based on the person or the source. According to President Trump, as per his State of the Union speech in February, the economy is experiencing “an economic miracle,” whereas others note that while things have been relatively solid and stable, there are also some causes for concern.

The ATA’s advanced seasonally-adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index for February, at 117.4 (2015=2000) fell 0.2% in February after heading up 2.5% (revised up from an original 2.3% reading) from December to January, which came in at 117.6. Compared to January 2018, SA tonnage rose 5.4%, which trended down from January’s 5.8% annual spread.

In this webinar experts will share practical advice for selecting solutions that provide quick time-to-value while readying your supply chain for long-term success.

A recent Logistics Management reader survey of more than 120 logistics and supply chain professionals had somewhat of a measured view of the impacts of tax reform, to date. Nearly 16% viewed it as positive, which, on the surface, appears low, but only 6.6% viewed it as negative. It was the more ambivalent respondents that comprised the bulk of the survey’s respondents, with 35.2% saying it has had no impact, and 42.6% saying they are unsure.

November shipments, at 1.162, eked out a modest 0.6% annual gain and were down 5.1% annually, and November expenditures, at 2.849, saw an 8.4% annual increase, for its 23rd straight annual gain, and were down 2.4% compared to October.

First quarter freight spend, at 187.8, was up 1.4% compared to the fourth quarter and 24.5% annually, as well as being the highest-ever quarterly reading, according to U.S. Bank. The report explained that the surge in freight spend was largely attributed to the ongoing truck driver shortage, which, in turn, led to rising rates in tandem with increasing demand.

Figuring out appropriate freight movements on the high seas has always been a bit of a chess match for global shippers. And as readers of Logistics Management have learned over the past year, the game could get even more complicated as shippers try to make sense of quickly shifting ocean carrier alliances and partnerships.

Over the past two years, so much of our ocean freight and ports coverage centered around the labor/management struggles at the U.S. West Coast ports as well as the pending opening of the expanded Panama Canal.