The Shadow of the Economic Crisis Lingers in Canada

10 years ago

In President Obama’s State of the Union message that he delivered to a joint session of congress on Tuesday, January 20, he stated that the “shadow of the (economic) crisis has passed” in the United States. The very next day, the Governor of the Bank of Canada dropped interest rates by 0.25 percent “to stave […]

Managing the Uncontrollable Variables in your Supply Chain could Save your Company

10 years ago

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 […]

The “Virtual” Freight Broker has come to the Transportation Industry

11 years ago

This is the fourth in a series of blogs on Technology in Transportation. The three previous articles appeared in 2013 (http://www.dantranscon.com/index.php/blog/entry/quotemytruckloadcom-and-freightopolis-enter-the-automated-freight-brokeragefreight-portal-space, http://www.dantranscon.com/index.php/blog/entry/innovation-and-technology-come-to-the-freight-brokerage-industry, http://www.dantranscon.com/index.php/blog/entry/freightsnap–an-exciting-new-visual-tool-to-verify-the-density-of-ltl-freight) and featured 5 interesting companies, FreightSnap, Freightopolis, QuoteMyTruckload, BuyTruckload and Post.Bid.Ship. In this piece, I will examine two other innovative freight transportation companies, Zipments (https://www.zipments.com/) and DashHaul (https://www.dashhaul.com/) that are using technology […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

More on Shipper-Carrier Collaboration and Freight Bids

11 years ago

In last week’s blog, I shared some ideas from the recent SCL – CITA annual conference on how to improve shipper- carrier collaboration. Various suggestions were proposed by a panel consisting of two leading shippers and two major Canadian carriers. Some other thoughts were expressed during other tracks that day. The panelists presented some suggestions […]

Have you looked at Deferred Packaging and Transloading as a way to Reduce Freight Costs?

12 years ago

An article in the February 11 issue of Bloomberg BusinessWeek caught my eye and got me thinking about another way of reducing freight costs. Here is the idea. Hardys became Britain’s best-selling Australian wine brand by selling wine for as little as $5 a bottle, despite the 37 percent surge in the home country’s currency […]