Friday, January 19, 2018
Logistics IndustryAmazon Begins to Act as Its Own Freight Broker
Transport Topics, Jan 17
Over the past two years Amazon.com Inc. has dabbled in the transportation and logistics industry. But recently, the e-commerce behemoth began to directly broker freight to truck drivers, rather than solely rely upon third-party firms such as C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Transport Topics has learned.
Shippers facing tight capacity, few options
FreightWaves, Jan 16
A strong economy, little available capacity, and a lack of drivers combined with the requirement of electronic logging devices (ELDs) have contributed to skyrocketing shipping rates. Spot rates are hovering near record highs and contract rates saw steady increases late last year during bid season, even double digit increases according to some carriers. For fleets that spend time operating on load boards, it’s been a good time to be in business. For shippers, though, it’s been a challenging time as they have been forced to adjust to a new era in trucking.
Transportation Predictions That Will Shake-Up the Supply Chain Industry In 2018
SupplyChain247.com, Jan 11
Dan Clark, Founder and President of Kuebix, gives his annual vision of what he sees happening in the transportation and supply chain industry including; tax reforms, decreased capacity, higher rates, and digital transformation. The digital transformation of the supply chain will change everything – for the better. These are the innovative technologies that I predict companies must use to undergo this transformation within their supply chains…
E-commerce reshaping supply chains end-to-end
Journal of Commerce, Jan 11
As it grows every year at rates that vastly exceed brick-and-mortar store sales, e-commerce is leaving no mode or segment of the international logistics chain unaffected. From air freight to ocean to trucking, e-commerce is exerting palpable influence on the various transport markets, affecting shippers irrespective of how deeply their businesses are tied to e-commerce revenue.
Transportation Markets
Truck Posts Jump Following Holidays
Jan 7 - 13 - Rates edged down slightly for all three equipment types last week. The national average van rate stepped down 2¢, and reefer and flatbed rates dipped 1¢. Those lower rates are still higher than at any point in 2017, however. Truck posts were up significantly following the two holiday weeks, but snowstorms in the East, plus drivers adjusting to ELDs, continue to affect productivity.
Source: DAT Trendlines™
DAT: Spot rates decline slightly as truckload capacity returns
Fleetowner, Jan 16
National average spot truckload rates declined as the number of available trucks jumped 52% during the week ending Jan. 13, according to DAT Solutions, which operates the DAT network of load boards. Spot van, refrigerated, and flatbed freight rates remain higher than at any point in 2017, however. The number of available loads posted was up 17%, a sign that freight patterns have normalized after two weeks of holidays, disruptive weather, and more rigid schedules imposed by the use of electronic logging devices.
Tight Capacity, Rate Increases Projected to Continue
Truckinginfo.com, Jan 12
Truckload capacity will remain tight and rates high, but both may moderate somewhat as market forces come into play, according to FTR analysts. The ELD mandate is still a wild card, with the economy and tax reform playing a part as well. FTR cited Truckstop.com's Market Demand Index, which measures how many available trucks there are vs. how many loads on the spot market. That index "really accelerated" once we got past the first quarter of 2017 after a somewhat depressed 2016, explained FTR Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Starks in a recent webinar.
When it comes to trucking market conditions, change is in the air
Logistics Management, Jan 16
For more than a while, we have seen slow and steady economic improvements that have manifested themselves in many ways through things like improving retail sales, United States-bound imports, modal volume, and some signs of sustained GDP growth. Now, take those factors and consider what is happening in trucking, with things like the recently implemented electronic logging device mandate, still-tight capacity coupled with increased demand, the ongoing difficulty regarding hiring and retaining truck drivers, and carriers now having the upper hand on the pricing side, and it creates a whole host of market pressures, some good and some not so good, depending on which side of the shipper-carrier fence you reside on.
Air freight capacity stretched thin as e-commerce flourishes
SupplyChainDive, Jan 16
Shippers and carriers always view the holiday season with concern, if not dread. Do we have enough staff? Vehicles? Inventory? Are we ready for the online purchases and, later, the returns? One issue that seems to have accompanied the new year is a global air freight shortage. Where once capacity exceeded demand, that’s been reversed, said Stuart Lund, VP of Global Air Freight, UPS Global Freight Forwarding. Over the past 16 months, he said, multiple factors have contributed to the shortage.
LTL rates seen zooming in excess of 5 percent this year, veteran truckers say
Logistics Management, Jan 15
Less-than-truckload (LTL) shippers are facing what top trucking executives are calling a “new era” in LTL pricing because of a combination of pent-up demand, surging e-commerce deliveries and a tightening capacity due to increased government regulations and a shortage of qualified drives.
Economy & Supply Chain
How to navigate the sharing economy in 2018
SupplyChainDive, Jan 17
In today’s world, the sharing economy is becoming the norm. Items such as bicycles, cars and even homes can be rented or offered through peer-to-peer exchange. This type of marketplace is generally cost effective and gives others the flexibility to find accommodations wherever they go.
U.S. Consumer Comfort Rises to Highest in Almost 17 Years
Bloomberg, Jan 11
Americans’ confidence began 2018 by rising to an almost 17-year high on greater optimism about the U.S. economy and buying climate, according to the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index released Thursday. The improvement in sentiment at the start of the new year shows Americans are optimistic about economic conditions as unemployment remains at the lowest since 2000 and stocks continue to rally.
Amazon’s Grocery Sales Increased After It Devoured Whole Foods
Wall Street Journal, Jan 14
Whole Foods’ brand items like bacon, coconut water and frozen blueberries helped Amazon.com Inc. gobble up more U.S. grocery sales last year. Products carrying the natural foods chain’s brand helped push sales at Amazon’s online grocery-delivery service, AmazonFresh, up 35% to $135 million in the last four months of 2017 over the previous four months, according to data analytics firm One Click Retail. Amazon bought Whole Foods last summer.
Why Empty Backseats May Be the Next Big Thing In Delivering Packages to Your Doorstep
Fortune, Jan 15
The world has a package problem. Deliveries of everything from Nike sneakers to Spider-Man figurines are expected to double to 25 billion annually in the U.S. within 10 years. But delivery trucks are already choking city streets and adding strain to overburdened highways. Proposed solutions, like delivery drones and sidewalk-hogging robots, are splashy, but years away from going mainstream or difficult to scale.
Technology & Innovation
TMS becoming 'must have' technology in the freight market
FleetOwner, Jan 17
A survey conducted by InMotion Global, Inc., finds that transportation management system (TMS) software is becoming a key technology tool now deployed by a majority large fleets, freight brokers, third party logistics (3PL) companies, and shippers. Yet that poll also discerned that small fleets and owner-operators remain reluctant to adopt TMS.
A battery revolution?
DC Velocity, Jan 12
Lithium-ion batteries may be on the verge of a breakthrough in the material handling market, as prices inch down and warehouse and DC managers seek lower-maintenance, higher-productivity solutions. Interest in lithium-ion (l-i) batteries for material handling applications has been growing over the last 10 years, but adoption of the technology in North America has been slow, to say the least.
Digitize or die: Transparency for transportation service providers trending high
FreightWaves, Jan 18
One transformative technology for new growth opportunity in 2018 lies in the Internet of Things (IoT) sector, according to firm IHS Markit’s report. “Pay particular attention to analytics-driven IoT platforms, computing at the edge, and data exchange brokerages (DEBs), as IoT influences everything from home security systems, to oil and gas exploration, to smart cities, to retail experiences, and beyond,” they write.
Freight visibility push to trigger automation
Journal of Commerce, Jan 18
The ability to track shipments as they move from mode to mode is a key goal for shippers, but the real benefit of that visibility will be automation across supply chains, says Tommy Barnes, president of project44, which specializes in transportation software integration and automation.
eCommerce Company uses Artificial Intelligence to Improve their Value Chain
Logistics Viewpoints, Jan 15
One of the hottest areas for subscription services right now are ingredient and meal-kit delivery services. Two of the companies in this space – Blue Apron and Plated – were both in the news. Blue Apron went public last year, raising $300 million in the process, and Plated was acquired by the grocery chain Albertsons. These companies make weekly deliveries of pre-measured ingredients with recipes and instructions on how to put the meal together. These meal-kit services have distinctive supply chains and difficult forecasting issues. Plated is using machine learning and artificial intelligence to improve their value chain.
Built-to-order freight payment networks are coming
FreightWaves, Jan 15
With blockchain, we will enter a world where we know everything about a company we are doing business with, while knowing nothing about them at all. This is an odd concept, but it’s a process that we are already familiar with. Take online credit card purchases as an prime example. When we buy a product online on a site we have never interacted with, the e-commerce retailer knows very little about us, but they are willing (and perhaps eager) to do business with us, having absolute confidence in the outcome--their ability to get paid.
Government, Regulation & Safety
Navigating drug testing requirements as state laws increasingly conflict with federal regs
CCJ, Jan 17
In one of the first laws of its kind, Maine has enacted rules that forbid the state’s employers from firing employees or refusing job applicants for testing positive for marijuana use. The laws, handed down by the state’s Department of Labor and slated to take effect in February, allow employees to file discrimination-based lawsuits should an employer fire employees or turn away applicants based on the results of marijuana-positive drug tests.
ELD Mandate Transition: 4 Takeways So Far
Truckinginfo.com, Jan 12
Since enforcement of the electronic logging device mandate started in mid-December, J.J. Keller reports that it is seeing problems with confusion whether a device is an ELD or a grandfathered automatic onboard recording device, as well as complaints about vendor support, and more drivers running out of hours due to delays.
DOT looks to ease path to autonomous vehicle deployment with updated policy
CCJ, Jan 12
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao on Wednesday announced the U.S. DOT is seeking public input on policies to hasten the deployment of self-driving trucks, buses and passenger cars, including vehicles that require no human input to operate. In three separate notices to be filed in the Federal Register in the coming weeks by various agencies within the DOT, regulators intend to glean input from developers of automated vehicles, end users, the public and other stakeholders to produce what Chao dubbed the Federal Automated Vehicle Policy 3.0.
Federal Agency in Design Phase of Long-Term Research on Truck Driver Health
Transport Topics, Jan 16
WASHINGTON — A federal research agency that focuses on the study of worker safety and health is in the design stages of a major longitudinal study to track changes in longhaul truck drivers’ health status and the factors associated with those changes. The study could, for example, use a combination of health-related records and truck stop surveys to trace driver health over a long period, perhaps as early as the start of their career to the present, or work backward from their current state of health to that when they began driving, Sieber said.
Supplements
- November 2017 Freight Transportation Services Index (TSI) – Posted Jan 10
- DATTrendlines™
- Cass Freight Index – (November Report Attached)
- Cass Truckload Linehaul Index™
- Cass Intermodal Price Index™
- Supply Chain Dive
- Logistics Management
- FreightWaves
- Transport Topics
- The Journal of Commerce
- Digital Commerce 360
- RetailDive.com
- DC Velocity
- Trucks.com
- CCJ Digital
- Truckinginfo.com
- WSJ Logistics Report
- DAT Industry Trends