DC Velocity - October 2010

diesel-use index declines in August

The developers of a monthly index that gauges economic activity by tracking truck drivers’ fuel purchases said the index fell in August by 1 percent, a figure they said was disappointing but was not a harbinger of the widely discussed “double-dip” recession.

The Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index (PCI), published by the university’s Anderson School of Management, analyzes data from fuel credit cards swiped by drivers as they fill their rigs. The database, created by Ceridian, captures the location and volume of fuel being purchased. Because the information is tracked in real time, UCLA and Ceridian said the index paints an accurate picture of product flow across the United States and, by extension, overall economic activity.

The picture painted for August was not pretty, especially after July’s 1.7-percent increase raised hopes of a slow but steady recovery.

“The August data is obviously discouraging after the cautious
optimism created from July’s report,” said Ed Leamer, chief econ-
omist for the PCI, in a statement. Leamer said there “is not much
to feel good about” in terms of the July data’s raising hopes for a
stronger recovery and a drop in the unemployment rate, which
stands nationwide at 9. 6 percent. He added, however, that the
August index “remains far from double-dip territory.”
Through August, the PCI has grown by 6 percent year over year.
Although August represents the ninth consecutive month of
growth, the pace of expansion has been declining since June. ;

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has said it will continue its 17-month-long ban on allowing non-asset based third-party logistics service providers (3PLs) to join the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), one of the agency’s leading supply chain security initiatives.

In separate letters to a House lawmaker and to the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), the group representing the 3PL industry, Customs Commissioner Alan D. Bersin laid out essentially the same argument: that the agency’s C-TPAT resources are best allocated to validating companies with extensive international exposure, rather than to 3PLs whose operations are primarily domestic in nature.

Under C-TPAT, which was conceived following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, companies submit plans to CBP showing they have acceptable security measures in place across their supply chain. Those that pass a government audit receive expedited clearance of cargo entering U.S. commerce.

In January 2009, CBP denied eligibility to 3PLs that didn’t own any assets and who just did business in domestic U.S. commerce.

CBP has long said an international supply chain is at its most vulnerable at the origin point where a container is stuffed, and during the movement of cargo to the point of export to the United States. Most non-asset based 3PLs operate in U.S. commerce and exert little influence over the international supply chain, Bersin said. ;

C-TPAT: Non-asset 3PLs need not apply

ground breakers

; 3M has broken ground on a new 650,000-square- foot distribution center in DeKalb, Ill. The facility will feature 70 loading docks and parking for 400 trailers. Clayco Inc. will design and build the facility, while the project developer is Venture One Real Estate.

; Dr. Pepper Snapple Group has opened a new manufacturing and distribution center in Victorville, Calif. The 850,000-square- foot facility, which is expected to employ 200 people, will serve as the company’s Western manufacturing and distribution hub. The distribution section of the complex will cover 550,000 square feet.

; Penske Logistics has opened a 110,000- square-foot factory distribution center in Manaus, Brazil. The facility will store and ship Whirlpool brand air conditioners and microwaves for retail customers throughout Brazil.

; Agility Global Integrated Logistics has leased 25,500 square feet of space near Boston’s Logan Airport. The new facility features 27 cross docks. Agility is a provider of supply chain solutions for technology, retail, chemical, and other industries, with offices in 120 countries.

; VWR International has announced plans to build a 500,000-square-foot facility in Visalia, Calif., to service the Western United States. VWR, which supplies instruments and lab equipment to pharmaceutical and biotech companies, hopes to have the facility up and running sometime in 2012.

; Brightstar, a provider of wireless solutions, including cell phones, has opened a new operations center in Miami. The 65,000-square-foot facility, which has the capacity to store up to 2 million handsets, serves as the main wireless device distribution hub for Brightstar’s markets in Latin America.