6 DC VELOCITY NOVEMBER 2014 www.dcvelocity.com inbound

More than 2,600 supply chain professionals packed the halls of the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas, from Sept. 21 to 24 for the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals’ (CSCMP) Annual Global Conference.

With more than 120 track sessions, the annual conference is one of the world’s largest supply chain educational events. It’s also the association’s annual business meeting, where CSCMP presents awards and announces its elected officers and board members for the year.

The following awards were presented at the meeting:

b Mike Regan, TranzAct Technologies Inc.’s chief of relationship development, received the 2014 Distinguished Service Award for significant achievements in logistics and supply chain management.

b Susan Conley, program specialist at Caterpillar Inc., and Mengxiao (Michelle) Zhang, team lead, lean logistics and operations at LeanCor Supply Chain Group, received the Emerging Leader Award, which recognizes outstanding supply chain professionals age 30 and under.

CSCMP also announced this year’s elected officers. Theodore (Ted) P. Stank of the University of Tennessee was elected chair. Heather L. Sheehan of Danaher Corp. was named immediate past chair. Kevin F. Smith of Sustainable Supply Chain Consulting is the new board chair elect. Mary C. Long of Domino’s Pizza LLC was named board vice chair. Remko van Hoek of Walt Disney Co. is the new secretary and treasurer.

CSCMP announces new officers, award winners

With the introduction in mid-September of its newest electric pantograph reach truck (manufactured under the Jungheinrich brand), Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America Inc.’s (MCFA) 10-month-old manufacturing facility is running at full production.

The new reach truck, the ETR 340-335 D series, was developed at the Jungheinrich Design Center in Houston and is being manufactured only steps away at MCFA’s recently expanded manufacturing plant. The 60,000-square- foot expansion, completed in November 2013, is dedicated to the company’s electric products and sits next door to an older plant that is now dedicated to internal combustion (IC) forklifts.

The expansion reflects MCFA’s expectation that the overall market for electric forklifts will continue to grow as the IC market shrinks. This growth is being driven by environmental concerns and electric’s improved performance versus IC, as well as by electric-powered trucks’ energy and cost-efficiency benefits, said Kent Eudy, MCFA’s executive vice president of sales and marketing, at a press conference.

The plant expansion also aligns with MCFA’s strategic shift toward regional manufacturing. The lift truck manufacturer and distributor has been working steadily to bring more manufacturing and product design into the U.S.

MCFA making more trucks in the USA

With manufacturing and construction on the rebound, demand for forklifts, pallet trucks, and aerial lifts is rising— and that’s pushed prices up, according to Jeffrey Cohen, a business research analyst at the research firm IBISWorld Inc. In a recent study, Cohen found that over the past three years, prices for pallet trucks and forklifts have risen at estimated annualized rates of 2. 9 percent and 2.0 percent, respectively. Related costs, such as operator training, maintenance, and fuel, have also ticked upward during that time.

The good news is that there are steps buyers can take to hold down some of these ancillary costs, Cohen writes in a synopsis of his research. For instance, they might be able to cut their maintenance expenses by switching to electric vehicles. While the actual cost of annual maintenance depends on a host of factors, a reasonable average for trucks with 2,500 operating hours a year would be about $500 for an electric truck and about $1,500 for a gasoline-powered forklift, he said.

It also pays to look at costs for fuel and fueling equipment, such as pumps. A liquid petroleum gas-powered truck that accrues 2,500 operating hours per year could see annual fuel costs of $5,000, but a higher-priced electric with the same number of operating hours would cost about $2,000 to power annually. In other words, a gas-powered truck may have a lower purchase price but will likely cost more in the long term, Cohen said.

Companies that plan to use the equipment for a limited time can save big by opting to rent or lease rather than buy, Cohen noted. IBISWorld estimates that the average cost of renting a forklift is about $900 per week. That’s a small sum compared with the $38,000 average purchase price of a new truck—and there are no long-term maintenance costs to worry about.