Logistics Management Magazine Archives

November 2024 Logistics Management

In this Issue:

  • The Trucking Issue: Leveraging partnerships and technology
  • Trucking regulations update
  • Digital freight matching evolves
  • Staying compliant
  • Truckload Market Update: Overcapacity continues to cast a shadow
  • 2024 Warehouse/DC Operations Survey: Technology adoption on the rise
November 1, 2024 · These two companies are leveraging strong industry partnerships and technology to save money, improve service levels, and streamline their logistics and transportation functions for future success.
November 1, 2024 · As market conditions remain flat and capacity continues to loosen, digital freight matching (DFM) leaders are preparing for a technology-driven rebound, focusing on AI and automation to optimize future growth.
November 1, 2024 · Apparel company Cutter & Buck’s deployment of a robotic cube storage and order picking solution delivered labor efficiencies and faster picking cycle times, while improving the flow of product for its custom items, and ultimately, supporting and enhancing service levels.
November 1, 2024 · Our top trucking correspondent takes his annual look at what federal regulators are now seeking from trucking as well as the potential impact those changes will have on rates and costs.
November 1, 2024 · With all the regulatory changes over the past year, logistics professionals now have to jump, flip, twist, and stick the landing with the precision of an Olympic athlete. Our top compliance source suggests that shippers need to keep up on the training to stay compliant while waiting to see what springs up in 2025.
November 1, 2024 · Two of our top consulting sources take a look at where AI can help simplify and streamline the sourcing process by reviewing how it affects each portion of the transportation bid process.
November 1, 2024 · Is the truckload sector nearing the end of its longest downturn in 30 years? Our late-year analysis of the TL market uncovers the key factors shaping capacity and rates—and explores the strategies carriers are employing to navigate the cyclical boom-and-bust nature of TL freight volumes.
November 1, 2024 · Not only were capital expenditure budgets on the rise for respondents to our annual survey on Warehouse/DC operations and trends, so was increased usage levels for technology and software, while reliance on paper-based approaches plummeted.
November 1, 2024 · The 2024 Supply Chain Outlook Virtual Summit on December 12 will feature expert-led sessions covering AI in supply chains, TMS advancements, warehouse automation trends, and evolving shipper/3PL partnerships to help industry professionals navigate current supply chain complexities.
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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...