newsworthy
Intermodal rates hit seven-year
high in June
Rail intermodal base rates hit seven-year highs in June, propelled by
demand from shippers looking for alternatives to get their freight
moved in a tightening truckload market and from motor carriers
seeking a more efficient way to get their customers’ goods to market,
according to one of the nation’s leading freight bill audit and payment firms.
However, intermodal pricing could fall over the next few months
as a decline in diesel fuel prices prompts some shippers to switch
back to truckload service for relatively shorter lengths of haul,
according to Cass Information Systems Inc., which audits and pays
$17 billion a year in freight invoices on behalf of its customers. Cass
publishes the report in conjunction with investment firm Avondale
Partners LLC.
In addition, intermodal increases could be held in check for a
period of time by an increase in container equipment capacity and
by aggressive pricing from carriers looking to gain market share in
the intermodal segment, according to the index’s authors.
Per-mile base pricing for intermodal transport—which excludes
fuel surcharges and other so-called accessorial fees—hit 100.8 percent in June, a 0.6-percent increase from June 2011 levels and the
highest levels since 2005, according to the index.
Cass’s truckload linehaul index showed rates rising 4 percent year
over year but staying flat through 2012 in part due to the shift to
intermodal transport. As with the intermodal index, the truckload
index excludes fuel surcharges and accessorial fees. ;
Cost control remains top supply chain
goal for manufacturers
For manufacturers, the top supply chain objective continues to be
cost reduction.
A survey by research firm IDC Manufacturing Insights found that
80 percent of 350 manufacturers polled considered the reduction of
overall costs to be their number one supply chain priority for the
balance of the year.
In a report titled “Business Strategy: 2012 Supply Chain Survey-Manufacturing Priorities and New Technology Adoption,” IDC said
that the respondents’ number two goal was striving for agility in
their supply chains. The third objective was improving product quality and safety, cited by 52 percent of survey takers.
Survey respondents also said that “big data analysis” was the new
technology most relevant to their business. “Big data analysis”
involves the use of sophisticated software to sift through large
amounts of disparate information to find connections or patterns.
Second on the list was “mobility,” which refers to the use of
devices like smart phones that allow workers and managers to
access data from anywhere. ;
short takes
Crown Equipment has surpassed 5 million
square feet of global brownfield development. In the past year alone, Crown
undertook three significant brownfield
developments: a vacant 937,000-square-
foot former manufacturing plant in New
Castle, Ind.; a 75,000-square-foot brownfield facility in Minster, Ohio; and a
37,000-square-foot brownfield site in
Basingstoke, England. Crown is also opening a new company-owned branch in
Fresno, Calif., as well as its first company-owned operation in Brazil. … Saddle
Creek’s new compressed natural gas (CNG)
fleet celebrated its millionth mile on the
road in June. The 3PL began operating a
fleet of alternative fuel vehicles earlier this
year and built a $2.2 million fueling station to service them. … Wynright Corp.
has made a number of upgrades to
WarehouseEquipmentStore.com, its
online site for purchasing equipment and
supplies for DCs, warehouses, factories,
and related operations. … The American
Logistics Aid Network (ALAN) is launching
a new capabilities mapping tool that will
enable ALAN to geographically target
companies with the potential to provide
necessary resources during disasters. The
project is funded by grants from The UPS
Foundation and the Regional Catastrophic
Preparedness Grant Program, Project on
Supply Chain Resilience. … RMT Robotics
is celebrating seven years of its automatic
guided vehicle ADAM’s being used as a
tire-handling solution. ... President Barack
Obama has named the Port of Miami’s
Deep Dredge Project as one of seven U.S.
seaport infrastructure improvements of
“national significance.” As such, it will be
expedited by federal agencies overseeing
the projects. … The storage, organization,
and transport product maker Akro-Mils
has donated $1,000 in platform carts to
the charity organization Mercy Ships,
which provides free surgical procedures to
patients in West Africa. … Ceva Logistics
has launched its first mobile app, Ceva
Mobile, which enables customers to track
the exact location of their shipments using
their iPhone or iPad.
