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
Logistics Management Magazine Archives
July 2023 Logistics Management
July 10, 2023 · The latest report says that the era of building supply chains solely around cost-reduction considerations is over. Rather, a new value has taken hold—resilience.
July 10, 2023 · 3PLs continue to evolve with the times.
July 10, 2023 · Air cargo remains challenged by volatile conditions.
July 10, 2023 · More choppy waters ahead for ocean carriers.
July 10, 2023 · Rail/Intermodal volumes remain uneven as service improvements continue to take hold.
July 10, 2023 · Truckload market waits for “freight recession” to end
July 10, 2023 · LTL anticipating second-half bounce.
July 10, 2023 · Even though shippers are still benefiting from a low-rate environment, challenges are plentiful. Should demand levels head up and inventories continue to trend down, that could present a scenario that truckload carriers would welcome—and trigger a return to pricing power in tandem with tighter capacity.
July 10, 2023 · According to Gartner, 94% of businesses are now using the cloud in some capacity. Whether your company is overhauling current approaches or rolling out completely different solutions, there’s little doubt that the cloud is playing a huge role in these changes—driving even more growth.
July 10, 2023 · The latest robotics software trend is platforms that specialize in orchestrating interactions between different robotic systems and other “agents.” This multi-agent orchestration niche involves multiple players with varied approaches—but they all promise to smooth handoffs and speed up automation onboarding.
July 10, 2023 · The Department of Energy predicts an increase of 38% in electricity consumption by 2050, which will be a challenge tomeet, but the Environmental Protection Agency has recently addressed this and other “myths” commonly trotted out.
July 10, 2023 · Judging from all we know, it seems like Haddock is right. “The good news is that shippers continue to get smarter and closer to their carriers, enabling them to make better decisions faster,” adds Schulz. “It seems like there is no such thing as a five-year plan anymore. The reset is underway, and you better be ready now.”
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Latest in Logistics
Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern merger application is filed with the Surface Transportation Board
December 19, 2025
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
December 19, 2025
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
December 19, 2025
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
December 19, 2025
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
December 19, 2025
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
December 18, 2025
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
December 18, 2025
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
December 17, 2025
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
December 17, 2025
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
December 16, 2025
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
December 16, 2025
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
December 16, 2025
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
December 16, 2025
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
December 15, 2025
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
December 15, 2025
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.
