Select Quality Carrier Partners to Prevent Capacity Shortages in 2018

Select Quality Carrier Partners to Prevent Capacity Shortages in 2018

7 years ago

Economic conditions are solid as we approach the first quarter of 2018. Unemployment is low and companies are hiring. Demand for freight transportation services should be strong during the first half of the New Year. Shippers need to contend with a range of variables that are shaping the supply and demand for freight transportation services. […]

Is it Time to Conduct your Next Freight Bid?

8 years ago

A little over a year ago, I wrote a blog entitled “How do you know when it is time to conduct a freight bid?” (http://www.dantranscon.com/index.php/blog/entry/how-do-you-know-when-it-is-time-to-conduct-a-freight-bid ). In that blog, I outlined a set of general conditions that shippers can use as a guide to reach this decision point. Half way through the first quarter of […]

How to Resolve the Current “Tug of War” between Shippers and Carriers

10 years ago

Over the past few weeks, there are a couple of items that have come to my attention that inspired me to write this blog. First, I had the pleasure of sitting in on the annual Masters of Logistics webcast, sponsored by Logistics Management. This is the 23rd year that these high quality researchers have surveyed […]

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As Freight Rates Go Up, an RFP is still one of the Best Ways to Control Freight Costs

10 years ago

This year, all signs point to rising freight rates. With driver shortages across North America, driver wages are on the rise. On an almost daily basis, there are reports of trucking companies offering signing bonuses and pay for performance (productivity) packages to attract more drivers (at a higher cost) to their firms. Capacity shortages, government […]

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, […]

Trying to Solve the Driver Shortage? – Focus on Health and Wellness

11 years ago

At the January 21 Driving for Profit Seminar in Mississauga, Ontario, the number 61 was placed on the screen. Glenn Caldwell, Vice President of Sales for NAL Insurance, asked the audience if they knew the significance of this number for the trucking industry. As we learned, the number 61 represents the average lifespan of a […]

The Top Freight Transportation Stories of 2013

11 years ago

As the year 2013 winds down, it is time to reflect on the major transportation trends of the past year. While I saw and read about a wide range of developments, these are the ones that resonated most with me. 1.Technology Comes to Freight Transportation Last year I predicted that we would see a flurry […]

What were the Biggest Freight Transportation Stories of 2013? / What will be the Top Trends in 2014?

11 years ago

At the end of each year, I like to take stock of the major freight transportation stories of the past twelve months and look ahead to the trends that will drive the industry in the coming year. The two blogs that I write are prepared from my perspective as a consultant to shippers and carriers. […]

State of Logistics Report Highlights “New Normal” in Freight Transportation

11 years ago

Last week the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals released its 24th annual State of Logistics Report. Last year, business logistics costs were once again 8.5 percent of U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the same level they hit in 2011, the new report says. That means freight logistics was growing at about the same rate […]

With the Unemployment Rate so high, why is there a Shortage of Truck Drivers?

13 years ago

Today we received some unexpected good news in the United States as the unemployment rate fell to 8.6%. In Canada the news wasn’t as good as the unemployment rate increased to 7.4 percent. Without counting those people who have given up looking for work or who are underemployed (e.g. performing a job below their level […]