Commentary

I have a claim with a less-than-truckload carrier where the carrier damaged a portion of the product on a prepaid shipment and where we don’t charge our customer for freight. We absorb the freight as part of the sale. Why is a shipper not entitled to recuperation of freight costs?

What's the best way to celebrate National Truck Driver Appreciation Week? 1) Raise pay; 2) Start to build a more 'driver-centric' business.

Of the multitude of business maxims I’ve been exposed to, I can think of no other that is more relevant, or more valuable to business operations in general, than: “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”

The largest truckload carriers are facing an acute driver and a capacity shortage, but there is reliable, long-term trucking capacity to be found, and plenty of it.

Omnichannel, driven by e-commerce, is the dynamic new business model to sell across channels for both business-to-business and business-to-consumer markets. Even more, it has created a new supply chain paradigm.

With the exception of Zim Integrated Shipping Services, all traditional east-west carriers now are entrenched in alliances that cover all three east-west trades. That’s never happened, and, although the day-to-day impact may not be noticeable, it represents the next stage in the war for survival among carriers, and could have wider impact on the pricing of services.

Those who don’t think truck driving is an important or worthwhile career should talk to Jeffrey Langenhahn. The Plover, Wisconsin truck driver has spent 28 years behind the wheel, the past 21 working for less-than-truckload carrier Con-way Freight.

The battle for truck drivers is raging on Interstate 81.

Think twice about suing a former employee for stealing trade secrets, as a recent case shows success is far from certain.

With economic conditions in the U.S. continuing to improve, the outlook for U.S. imports via ocean container from northern Europe remains highly favorable.

Today’s truck drivers are subject to a myriad of regulations, with every mile tracked by GPS and satellite, bound to tight schedules and routes. As a result, drivers are taking a cold, hard look at the profession and its rewards — and it isn’t pretty in many respects.

The Obama administration’s new cyber-security framework could become the new standard in guarding personal and corporate information.

Seattle port commissioners were thinking “out of the box” in picking the first CEO from the private sector in a half-century.

We recently discovered our broker had tendered a shipment to another broker, rather than to a carrier. This second broker set up the actual service. With our contract prohibiting re-brokering, our broker called it co-brokering. Can you clarify?

What does it mean if the largest container line in the world is making money while most of its peers are less profitable or struggling? Where will it lead?

Most of what I read about what 3D printing is, or of all the amazing things it is poised to accomplish, tends to reiterate how much this new technology is still in its infancy and, as such, will experience a unique set of growing pains and will require a unique supporting infrastructure.

Capt. Dick Jacobsen was a “giant” in the maritime industry, displaying leadership and influencing the industry in many positive ways.

Increasing connectivity for trucks is making possible an “Internet of Transportation Things.” What changes will that bring?

There is not enough investment in trucks to maintain a steady growth rate in step with rising demand, despite strong Class 8 truck sales this year.

During what some are calling planned protracted ILWU negotiations, shippers who fear disruption on the West Coast are making U.S. East Coast ports a priority, fearing disruptions on the West Coast. What are the short- and long-term effects of the switch?

The $75,000 bond requirement for motor carrier brokers is no better security than the old $10,000 bond mandate, a commodity trader says. So, why have this special rule?

Better operating margins are finally on the horizon for the less-than-truckload industry. LTL profitability has been dismal for years, with most large carriers reporting operating ratios above 95.

As the growth in the number of exports from Mexico to the U.S. shows no signs of slowing down, the challenges that come as a result of the trade imbalance will not go away. This cycle is not healthy for the transportation industry, and we need to find ways to encourage capacity into the market.

The protectionist tide that was spreading earlier this year is only growing under the weight of geopolitical conflict and a morass of bureaucratic red tape, threatening to derail a U.S. export recovery.

Canals used to be a sleepy topic. Suddenly, times have changed.

Truck-mounted cameras, especially those that capture video of the truck driver during an incident, may be a hard sell to some truckers, but as they realize the amount of control they have over the system — and see benefits — drivers will come around, according to Adam Kahn, senior director of marketing for SmartDrive.

John McLaurin, president of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, encourages those in transportation and trade to spare some time to think of the seafarers and the important work they do.

As a lead logistics provider managing forwarders and transactional shipments, we question if it matters who is listed as a consignee on a waybill, and who is listed as the notify party.

As of today, July 30, there is no U.S. West Coast longshore agreement in place, a month after the previous six-year pact expired. In any contract year, the time between expiration and agreement is especially volatile, because the risk of cargo-disrupting labor actions is at its highest. And the risk of disruption isn't diminishing.

In five years as Federal Motor Carrier Safety administrator, Anne S. Ferro has changed trucking.

Two economists at Northwestern University debate whether all of the great ideas have already been invented, this after a June dedication of a statue of inventor Charles F. Kettering in Loudonville, Ohio. Well, people are still intelligent and imaginative, and there are valuable things left to create.

Shippers are breathing a sigh of relief because there haven’t been any major disruptions at U.S. West Coast ports, nearly a month after a brief extension of the contract between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and employers represented by the Pacific Maritime Association expired. Both sides seem to understand that a shutdown of any kind wouldn’t be in their best interest.

An ocean forwarder will soon handle overseas shipments and questions liability impact of the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act and the Carmack Amendment regarding imports and exports.

Pressures on supply chain and warehouse operations have grown more critical as e-commerce market dynamics have evolved, led by Amazon and Wal-Mart.

I’ve been arguing since early this year that international transportation is headed for trouble because of a variety of transportation-specific problems exacerbated by an improving economy that’s driving faster volume growth and pushing capacity to the limit. With half the year over and the peak shipping season about to begin, those concerns are only deepening.

Managed services can be an effective alternative to internal staffing under the right conditions, with two of the most critical being the ability of the managed services provider to meet the customer’s service needs at a price point that would preferably be lower than it would cost to hire a person.

For months, we’ve been asking how North American infrastructure at ports, rail heads and on the roads would hold up when imports grew at sustained levels beyond the low-single-digit levels seen through the first quarter of this year. Well, the returns are starting to come in, and the news is anything but good for beneficial cargo owners.

Last winter’s supply chain disruptions were simply glimpses into what could become the new normal.

Maybe you’ve heard about China’s rejection of the P3 Network. In all seriousness, I’m hesitant to cover an issue such as this because of the overwhelming analysis and observation that has come before me. But I have strong feelings about why China refused to allow it and a lot of questions about the real outcome.