The Top Stories in Freight Transportation in 2017

The Top Stories in Freight Transportation in 2017

7 years ago

Here is my annual report on the top stories in surface transportation in the United States and Canada over the past year. These stories are not listed in order of importance. Economic Stability, Political Chaos, and Tightening Freight Capacity This has been a positive year for the economies of Canada and the United […]

Will Uber take control of the market for Freight Matching Services?

7 years ago

Freight matching services or “freight exchanges” have become one of the hottest topics in Freight Transportation over the past few years. Venture capital funds, private investors and others have poured at least $200 million — and potentially substantially more — into dozens of on-demand freight start-ups, including Flexport, Transfix, Loadsmart, Convoy, Doft, Cargo Chief, TugForce, […]

Get your “House in Order” Before Conducting a Freight Bid

7 years ago

One of the most frequent complaints I hear from carriers, in person, on social media, or at conferences, is about the number and quality of freight bids that they receive. Carriers complain about the poor quality of the data, the number of carriers in the bid, and about the lack of professionalism in the […]

The Basics of Freight Transportation Financial Management

8 years ago

The Basics Freight Transportation is typically the single largest cost component of Supply Chain Management. Data from Logistics Management’s Annual Study of Logistics and Transportation Trends highlights that an average transportation spend is in the range of 10 to 11 percent of revenue for companies with less than $250 million in Sales and it is […]

The LTL Freight Industry in North America in 2017

8 years ago

The following is my annual report on the state of the LTL Freight Industry in the United States and Canada. Revenues Stagnated Again in 2017 Here are links to the top 100 carriers in Canada (http://www.todaystrucking.com/top100) and the top 25 LTL carriers in the United States (http://www.joc.com/sites/default/files/u48801/truck-tables_1_0.jpg). The strong surge in revenue that […]

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How to Bring Freight Costs Under Control

8 years ago

Much of the work we do at Dan Goodwill & Associates starts with a phone call or e-mail from a President, CFO or Vice President of Logistics or Transportation. One of the first questions that we are asked is can your firm help us reduce our freight costs. The answer is usually yes. Unfortunately, we […]

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Is there still Competition in the Canadian Freight Transportation Industry?

8 years ago

Last week I wrote about the consolidation that is taking place in the freight transportation industry in Canada. Thank you for the many positive comments and feedback. I hope the blog has stimulated some thought about the level of competition in the industry, in view of its domination by some very large players. One of […]

Canada Needs to Prepare for Negotiations on NAFTA

8 years ago

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), came into effect on January 1, 1994, creating the largest free trade region in the world. It was designed to generate economic growth and help raise the standard of living for the people of all three member countries. “By any measure the NAFTA has been a success by […]

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In this Period of Declining Freight Rates, Shippers need to be Smart, not Greedy

8 years ago

During this period of modest economic growth and ample capacity, freight rates have been in decline. This is confirmed by the various market indices that track freight rates. Lower energy prices that have translated in lower fuel surcharges have also helped keep freight rates in check. The data also indicates that some shippers are […]

Understanding the Canadian Freight Market – Part 1 – Demographics and the Economy

8 years ago

On July 1, Canada celebrated its 149th birthday. Just prior to Canada Day, I had the privilege of speaking to a group of industry professionals on the topic of the Canadian freight market during a Stifel conference call. For those of you trying to learn more about America’s neighbor to the north, this and […]