In this Issue:
- Logistics Labor: Thinking outside the box
- Private fleets get stronger and greener
- Navigating the cross-border surge
- Give your WMS a boost
- Ocean carrier update
- Top 50 3PLs
Logistics Management Magazine Archives
June 2024 Logistics Management
June 3, 2024 · Smart companies are doing everything they can to minimize turnover, improve employee engagement, and maximize the value of their human workforces.
June 3, 2024 · The modern LMS has come a long way since replacing industrial engineers who used stopwatches and clipboards to conduct time-and-motion studies on the warehouse floor. Today, LMS helps companies get more out of their workforces while also supporting a more flexible work environment for employees.
June 3, 2024 · Private fleets are changing the trucking landscape by gaining market share and improving freight management discipline. As we head toward this year’s peak ground transportation season, let’s examine how private fleets perform compared to their common carrier rivals—and what shippers can learn from some best practices of the best-run fleets.
June 3, 2024 · Cross-border movements are surging as U.S.-based companies seek to shorten supply chains exposed for over-reliance on Far East manufacturing during and after the pandemic. Shippers are advised to plan early to avoid congestion and keep up with every shifting Customs procedure. Amid all the complexity, here’s how to win at cross-border moves.
June 3, 2024 · New types of third-party software solutions can enhance WMS in many ways, including gains in inventory accuracy, better tools for creating workflows and user interfaces for task execution, and simplified integration with mobile robots and other forms of automation.
June 1, 2024 · As carrier executives examine negative earnings reports and contemplate the future impact of changing freight demands and surging freight costs, carriers and shippers alike need to keep a close eye on any sudden shifts that could take them off course.
June 1, 2024 · Most global and domestic 3PLs faced huge challenges last year as shippers adjusted to ongoing issues related to inventory optimization and geopolitical risk. To keep pace, the top 3PLs are now amping up their collaboration with carrier partners and implementing as much cutting-edge automation as they can to improve customer service—but will it be enough?
June 1, 2024 · The RMS Titanic's sinking in 1912 highlighted the enduring volatility and challenges in the ocean freight industry, which, despite various efforts and consolidations, continues to face unpredictable pricing and capacity issues exacerbated by global disruptions, prompting ongoing debate about the feasibility of achieving market stability.
June 1, 2024 · The Annual Salary Survey by Logistics Management reveals that despite economic challenges, salaries in logistics remained stable with increased job satisfaction driven by a sense of accomplishment, relationships, location, and benefits, highlighting progressive company practices and technology to enhance employee engagement and retention.
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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.
