Transportation and talent will be key issues for the coming year. Transportation costs continue to rise, and regulatory issues are impacting the industry, especially with the explosion of e-commerce. The transportation industry can expect to see new issues emerge throughout 2015, such as the shift from diesel to natural gas, tightening capacity, trucking industry consolidation, final mile innovation, and same-day delivery.
Finding and developing talent continue to be challenges. We have seen an increase in collaboration between industry and academia this year, and that trend should continue. The U.S. Department of Labor updated the Transportation Distribution Logistics Competency model to better align needs with education. Programs introducing the transportation logistics industry are being offered in more high schools throughout the country. This will help develop interest at an earlier age, prompting more students to community colleges and four-year degree industry-related programs. These steps will help with future talent needs; the more immediate needs will not be easily addressed.
We will see an increased focus on data analytics, which show business leaders where to direct their improvement efforts and financial resources. Also look for more Supply Chain Risk Analytics from shippers and logistics providers, such as analyzing climate risk. Major retailers will benefit from knowing probable weather patterns to better coordinate demand with supply.
Increased interest in analytics expertise has led to development of new undergraduate and graduate level programs. Better aligning all of our education programs with these new logistics needs will, of course, take time. Despite any short-term gap, we predict that the number of highly trained, certified logistics professionals will increase as we address more advanced and focused use of our logistics and transportation training to meet global competition.
Laurie Hein Denham, President, American Society of Transportation and Logistics