Logistics Management Magazine Archives

August 2023 Logistics Management

In this Issue:

  • 34th State of Logistics Report: Great Logistics Reset
  • 2023 Truckload Roundtable: Stuck in neutral
  • Steady march into the cloud
  • Software helps robots play nice
August 14, 2023 · Which carriers, third-party logistics providers and U.S. ports reached the pinnacle of service excellence over the course of the past year? Our readers have cast their votes, and now it’s time to introduce this year’s winners of the coveted Quest for Quality Awards.
August 14, 2023 · Stellar service steady through the storm
August 14, 2023 · High-level service through unsteady volumes.
August 14, 2023 · High-flying service prevails in turbulent market
August 14, 2023 · Top-notch service remains front and center
August 14, 2023 · Service levels rise in tandem with investment
August 14, 2023 · World-class service emerges from operational squalls
August 14, 2023 · World-class service prevails amid sharp falloff in demand.
August 14, 2023 · As always, the entire staff of LM and PRG would like to thank the thousands of readers who took the time to respond this year. It’s your time and insight that drives the Quest for Quality and keeps it the purest snapshot of carrier and service provider quality available.
August 3, 2023 · In this webcast, learn how aThingz stitches the financial elements of Logistics, right from planning through the invoice process.
August 2, 2023 · With more companies focused on improving their supply chains, ERPs are playing a starring role in many of their supply chain management software implementations—and diving deeper into AI to improve decision-making and personalize the user experience.
August 2, 2023 · Do you think you already have enough to worry about with the obvious and known risks and have no time to address hidden risks? Rethink that approach. The risk of doing nothing could be disastrous to your business.
August 1, 2023 · From labor shortages to demand for ever-improved operational flexibility, this typically ignored class of trucks offers a chance to rethink your processes and even how you approach materials handling.
August 1, 2023 · While there are several sides to this, and there will most assuredly be major issues to overcome, a tectonic shift is coming.
August 1, 2023 · After experiencing substantial growth in its e-commerce business, master distributor FORTPRO USA/World Truck Parts LLC called on a third party to help it get more out of its existing warehouse space, improve fulfillment throughput, and increase revenues.
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Latest in Logistics

Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger application is filed with the Surface Transportation Board
When the merger agreement was initially announced, the rail carriers said it would create the nation’s first transcontinental railroad—which will connect more than 50,000 route miles across 43 states from the East Coast to the West Coast and connect around 100 ports as well.

FedEx posts fiscal first quarter earnings growth
Quarterly revenue, at $23.5 billion, increased 7% annually, and operating income, at $1.38 billion, was up 31%. Earnings per share, at $4.82, beat Wall Street expectations, at $4.02.

U.S. rail carload and intermodal volumes are down, for week ending December 15, reports AAR
Rail carloads, at 224,620, fell 1.7% annually, and intermodal containers and trailer volume, at 294,284 units, decreased 1.2% annually.

DAT’s November Truckload Volume Index sees more mixed results
November’s TVI dry van freight reading—at 197—fell 18% compared to October, while falling 12% annually. The November refrigerated (reefer) TVI—at 172—was down 11% sequentially and off 6.0% annually. And the flatbed TVI—at 243—was down 22% sequentially and posted a 3% annual gain.   

November intermodal volumes see annual decline, reports IANA
Total November volume, at 1,456,259 units, fell 4.1% annually, following a 2.0% annual decline in October and respective 2.4% and 1.6% annual gains seen in September and August, respectively. Which was preceded by July’s 4.4% annual gain, which saw higher volumes due to the pulling-forward of goods being imported during the previous pause on the White House’s reciprocal tariffs.

Teamsters Rail Conference makes its case for the Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern proposed merger to not be approved by the STB
With a merger application for the proposed $85 billion historic merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern expected to be filed with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) this week, more than half of union employees at the railroads indicated they are not in favor of the merger. That is the word from the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen (BLET) and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees, whom collectively account for 53% of UP and NS union employees, with the two unions...

USPS bets on last-mile expansion to drive revenue and enable faster delivery for retailers and logistics providers
With a focus on expanding access to its last mile delivery network, the United States Postal Service (USPS) said this week that shippers of all sizes will now be able to access more than 18,000 USPS delivery destination units (DDU) across the country.

Cass Freight Index sees annual declines in November
The November shipments reading, at 1.004, fell 7.6% annually, in line with October’s 7.8% annual decline, and November expenditures, at 3.163, decreased 1.2% annually and were down 0.2% compared to October.

Zebra Technologies is looking at strategic options for its robotics automation business
Acquired in 2021 and enhanced since, Zebra's mobile robot collaborative order picking solution may be sold off.

ISM forecast sees a manufacturing rebound in 2026 as services maintain steady expansion
While economic conditions for the manufacturing and services sectors are mixed, both are expected to see growth in 2026, at different paces, according to the new edition of the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) Supply Chain Planning Forecast.

PwC report indicates transportation and logistics dealmaking activity is focused on strategy, not scale
The report observed that T&L dealmaking activity gained renewed traction over the second half of this year, with buyers prioritizing strategic alignment over scale. And it added that acquirers focused on subsectors offering defensible growth, operating efficiency, and exposure to high-barrier markets, with activity across what the firm called the full value chain, ranging from infrastructure to asset-light platforms, coupled with capital allocated for things like technology modernization, resilient supply chains, and specialized logistics services.

ShipMatrix reports strong Cyber Week delivery performance results
For Cyber Week, which ShipMatrix defines as the week of December 1-7‑and a period in which more than 100 million parcels per day are handled, with more than 80% of these parcels being holiday gifts and delivered to residences—the firm reported very strong performance results for FedEx, UPS, and the United States Postal Service (USPS).

National diesel average falls for the fourth straight week, reports EIA
With a 5.8-cent decline, the national average, for the week of December 15, came in at $3.607, following a 9.3-cent decline, to $3.758, for the week of December 1.

FTR’s Shippers Conditions Index shows modest growth
For October, the most recent month for which data is available, the SCI reading rose to 0.3, after September’s -0.5.

Trucking executives are set to anxiously welcome in New Year amid uncertainty regarding freight demand
Top trucking industry executives are hoping 2026 will—finally—be the year when pent-up demand translates into higher freight rates and a return to profitability in both the truckload and less-than-truckload (LTL) sectors.


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The warehouse workforce has more than doubled between 2015 and 2025. However, the labor gap is still growing, with the U.S. deficit projected...