October 8, 2008
The leaders of the Bush administration's Environmental Protection Agency may bee understating the beneficial effects of increasing fuel economy requirements for cars and trucks. As the Democrats have been repeatedly noting, the EPA remarked in certain statements lodged with the Department of Transportation that the Department of Transportation would have done better using substantially higher projections for future fuel and diesel prices when it set forth its proposal to have the average fuel economy of truck and cars increased by over 30 miles per gallon by the year 2015.
The EPA expressed many issues and problems with the DOT report, especially with the methodology implemented to ascertain the relative beneficial impact and expense with respect to the alternative fuel economy solutions analyzed and presented. The EPA also expressed concern that the DOT insubstantially evaluated the social plusses of a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by freight shippers and users of automobiles if mileage performance was boosted.
The debate over the impact of green shipping policies will continue to be heard in Washington, as the debate over the impact of greenhouse gases and global warming continues to intensify....
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October 7, 2008
Truckload carrier Priority Transportation was forced to close its doors are a result of pressures from rising operational costs caused in large part to substantial fuel increases, weak truckload freight demand, and an ever tightening credit market. Trucking operations in New York and Indiana will be phased out as the company shuts down. In addition to truckload services, the freight company offers less-than-load (LTL) and freight brokerage services.
In 2006, Priority pulled in over $250 million in revenue, which at the time ranked the company in the top 100 list of the largest freight carriers in the United States. The company ran over 1000 tractors, over 2000 dry-van trailers, and over 500 reefer trailers at its peak....
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September 25, 2008
During the week of Sept. 8, fuel prices for diesel dropped over 2 cents a gallon, the seventh such decline in as many weeks reports the Department of Energy. Unfortunately, the Gustav hurricane did cause refining disruptions, so that a nominal fall in crude oil prices did not affect fuel pricing substantially.
Senior economists report that the small decline is a signal that there may be no future diesel fuel price declines in the near future. Despite the recent 44 cent drop over the past several weeks, diesel fuel is still almost 89 cents more expensive that it was at the same time last year....
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July 28, 2008
A recent report comparing freight transportation alternatives was recently prepared and presented by the Center for Ports and Waterways. Of notable interest for freight shippers was the statistical data that demonstrated that United States rivers currently transport an amount of cargo that is equal to almost 60,000,000 over the road truckload trips annually.
The key waterways mentioned in the report include the Ohio, Tennessee, Missisippi, Cumberland, and Columbia rivers and river systems. According to the research model, if the Illinois and Mississippi rivers in the area of St. Loouis, MO, were closed, there would be over a 200% increase on highway truckload traffic, and an over 400% increase in freight shipping delays....
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June 17, 2008
Roadrunner Dawes continues to grow and improve its service offerings. The company is now focusing on business concepts of "Adaptability" to customers' changing needs, and "Reliability" in terms of freight shipping performance demanded.
Roadrunner Dawes' new business model will focus on improved JIT (just-in-time) freight shipments and lower claims volumes. Importantly, company employees will be given a wider range of discretion to make decisions at the terminal level, allowing them to adjust to customer expectations.
Roadrunner Dawes expects that its new focus will help the company continue to grow....
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May 19, 2008
Rising fuel costs are forcing freight shippers of all sizes to explore new options to move their freight. One such option is rail, or, as its known, "intermodal". Essentially, this means that the freight is picked up by a truck, moved for the longhaul distance by rail, then put on a truck for delivery to the final destination.
Industry experts report an increasing demand to move freight by rail. This increased demand comes after years of lower demand and huge layoffs in the railroad freight industry....
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April 28, 2008
As if the fuel surcharge situation couldn't get worse for freight shippers, the price of crude oil hit a record high today, fetching $119.00 per barrell on global markets. Analysts are predicted $200.00 in the future.
"Fuel price increases will have an impact on Carriers' bottom lines....
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April 14, 2008
Despite susbtantial fuel surcharge increases, LTL freight pooling entities might still have some luck negotiating better rates for 2008. These pooling entities, including warehousing groups, trade associations, and third party logistics companies, pool together LTL purchases in order to gain leverage in negotiations with carriers.
On pool logistics buyer comments, "LTL carriers know that folks need to save money on their freight shipping. That is why freight companies need to get competitive in the first place. Add a tough economy and lower demand to the table, these LTL carriers need to be reasonable in their rate structures....
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April 10, 2008
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced that Estes, a leading LTL carrier, is now approved for air freight transportation. All key personell involved in managing air LTL freight are now qualified according to TSA specifications and designations
Estes management explained that security is important to Estes, and that's why the put the extra effort and time into gaining compliance with the TSA. Now, company employees have been trained in the areas of visual freight inspections, maintaining secure vehicles at all times from pick up to delivery to air carrier, and ensuring verification that freight has only moved through authorized hands.
What this means for freight shippers is that Estes is now a company that can deliver a broader range of LTL freight services than every before. This allows freight shipping businesses of all sizes to have more options for moving their freight, especially with on-time, demand shipments....
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April 2, 2008
Nationwide, hundreds of independent truckdrivers have announced that they are temporarily on strike. What does this mean for shippers? In the short term, it means that freight shippers could wind up spending substantially more for their freight. This is because freight companies and freight brokers will be forced to use more expensive transit options.
"Fuel prices are just out of control," says Mack Smith. "And the shippers just don't want to absorb the increased costs of moving their freight....
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March 10, 2008
Many of the nation's leading LTL carriers have seen a substantial hit to their stock prices over the past few months. YRC stock (Roadway, Yellow Freight) is way off last year's highs. Experts believe the main reason for this is the obvious reason - the economy is trending towards a recession.
"There is no question that LTL carriers are looking for good freight to haul," explains Reif Garret, a logistics consultant for small to mid-sized businesses. "Still, at the same time, for smaller freight shippers the LTL carriers might not be so excited about giving great discounts for lower volume....
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