Social Media have become huge in the last few years. There are new Social Media that pop up every day. I have been personally involved with social media for about ten years and have found them to be helpful to our freight consulting business. Here are few thoughts on how to make effective us […]
Developing a Social Media Strategy for your Freight Business
Some companies have strong leaders with good strategies and good systems. Unfortunately, they don’t put the pieces together and therefore deliver less than stellar freight management results. In other words, the execution isn’t there. Projects are identified but they don’t produce the desired results. Some companies seem to adopt a “flavour” or “mission” of the […]
Becoming a Best in Class Shipper – 7. Strategy
9 years ago
Success in business comes from crafting and executing effective business strategies. The attainment of strong financial performance comes from integrating and aligning the various strategies of the business into a cohesive force. A company’s supply chain strategy, of which transportation strategy is a key component, is often a critical piece of the company’s business strategy. […]
As we approach the end of February, most truckers would acknowledge that this is a good year for the North American motor carrier industry. Business volumes remain strong, in fact stronger than they have been during the first few months of prior years. Supply and demand remain in pretty good balance. Capacity is tight as […]
Some Takeaways from the 2014 Surface Transportation Summit Part 2 – Shipper-Carrier Collaboration
10 years ago
At the 2013 Summit, Jacquie Meyers, President of Meyers Transportation Services, made shipper-carrier collaboration a “hot topic” with an impassioned plea to both sides to take a more enlightened approach to working together. Her argument was that this is the best way to reduce freight costs. Since this plea resonated so well with the attendees, […]
A few weeks ago, I gave a presentation to a group of transportation professionals at a Best Practices in Cross-Border Freight Transportation conference in Buffalo, NY, sponsored by SMC3. I made the point that changes in just one variable, Currency Exchange, could make or break a company. As I look back over my lifetime (I […]
Thankfully, the first quarter of 2014 is behind us. The challenging winter across Canada and the northeastern USA and capacity shortages, brought on, in part by the weather, created a difficult environment for both carriers and shippers. Are we in the clear now? With the winter behind us and with the economy improving, can we […]
Best Practices in Intermodal Transportation
11 years ago
The term intermodal refers to moving a container or trailer by more than one mode of transportation—generally truck plus rail, ocean plus rail, ocean plus truck, or all three modes. Some recent freight industry trends—such as long-haul trucking capacity shortages, higher fuel costs, and a drive to reduce environmental impact—have sparked new interest in intermodal, […]
Time for Some New Business Models to Spur More Competition in the Canadian Freight Industry
11 years ago
Two developments over the past five years have reshaped the Canadian Freight Industry. The Great Recession in the late 2000s caused many Canadian trucking companies to shrink in size or leave the freight industry. During the past couple of years, there has been considerable consolidation in the small parcel, domestic LTL over the road and […]
Will your trucking company be around in 5 years?
11 years ago
If your trucking company hasn’t been purchased or doesn’t get purchased by TransForce, will it be in business in five years? That is the question that came up in a recent discussion with a long time industry colleague. The response I received was that he didn’t think his company would survive. I was a bit […]