Category Archives: Logistics

Rail/Intermodal: Still on track, but not immune to challenges

Posted on July 30, 2015 by | Leave a comment

So rail is asking for re-regulation?  Give me a break.  When things get tough they simply want government relief.

This article authored by Jeff Berman is interesting, and even more so taken with others in the issue.  Those talk about how the balance between long haul trucking and intermodal may be shifting.  Trucking costs are going up, and folks are shifting to intermodal.  This places a greater load on the rail network, and since rails don’t make the money on intermodal that they do on commodities, they are wary of making capital investments to speed up intermodal flows.  Are higher regulated rates the answer?  I doubt it.

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2015 State of Logistics Rail/Intermodal: Still on track, but not immune to challenges – Article from Logistics Management.

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Posted in Logistics, Rail, Supply Chains, Trucking

Drewry: Carriers Opt for Ships over Containers

Posted on July 28, 2015 by | Leave a comment

Port Technology reports that shipping companies are not buying as many containers as before.  maybe it’s temporary, maybe an attempt to get other parties to buy them..

Drewry: Carriers Opt for Ships over Containers.

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Posted in Logistics, Shipping

Who Really has a Supply Chain Strategy?

Posted on July 23, 2015 by | Leave a comment

Dan Gilmore reports on his mini survey about the slippery concept of supply chain strategy and it implementation.  I think it’s a really good question.  And what he found is provocative.

Who Really has a Supply Chain Strategy?.

It seems only a few firms have really embraced a far reaching strategic management approach to the integration of supply chains with corporate strategy.  And his data show that they are still focused on internal improvements, whereas most studies show the biggest leverage is connecting with customers downstream rather than with suppliers or with internal processes.   So I’m guessing there is a really long way to go.

While we have lots of tools for supply chain improvement, 3PLs have proved better at providing the information flows critical for integrating with customers or suppliers more directly.  I think that trend will continue, even in spite of the spate of mergers and acquisitions in the 3PL space.  It’s as if firms are seeing they don’t have the tools, let alone the glimmer of a strategy.

And this is true even of giants like UPS, which is rumored to be buying Coyote Logistics in a 1.8 billion deal.  It means we need software and we need user interfaces that can jump the corporate boundaries to connect the supply chain.

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Posted in Logistics, Supply Chains