Briefs
Staff -- Purchasing, 11/4/2004
- While it may not be a tremendous surprise to some shippers, a recent report from Morgan Stanley found that volumes at California ports have more than doubled and congestion is higher than expected. Morgan Stanley analyst James Valentine said volume in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach was up nearly 10% in August from a year earlier as peak demand shipping season comes into play. It now takes seven to eight days to get a ship through the port, compared with the three to four days considered normal, according to Valentine. He went on to say congestion can prolong the traditionally heavy fall shipping season and cause retailers to spend more to move goods before the holidays.
- UPS has entered into a deal to buy the Menlo Worldwide Forwarding business from CNF for $150 million in cash, plus the assumption of approximately $110 million of debt. Menlo Worldwide Forwarding (formerly Emery Worldwide) has been part of the Menlo Worldwide operating group of companies since 2001. The deal includes Menlo Worldwide Forwarding's air and ocean operations, its North American services and facilities, its operations hub in Dayton, Ohio, and its Expedite and Worldwide Trade Services businesses. CNF will retain its Worldwide Logistics, Worldwide Technologies, Vector SCM and Con-Way Transportation Services units.
- Deutsche Post World Net has repackaged its recent acquisitions —SmartMail Services and QuikPak— under the name DHL Smart & Global Mail. The new brand includes the services of its former Deutsche Post Global Mail. DHL Smart & Global Mail and DHL Express will remain separate business units under the parent company, Deutsche Post World Net.
- Logistics service provider Universal Express has completed the acquisition of air cargo provider Alpine Air. Richard Altomare, chairman and CEO of Universal Express, said the deal will allow his company to utilize the management team of Alpine to advance ongoing discussions with additional cargo airlines.
- With intermodal volumes booming, BNSF announced it will build a new transload facility outside San Bernardino, Calif. The new facility will provide services for dimensional commodities such as lumber and steel; commodities that require warehousing such as consumer goods; and bulk commodities, which are loaded directly from rail to truck or truck to rail. Construction is to begin late this year and be completed by 2005.
- The Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported in October that the Transportation Services Index (TSI) for freight from increased 0.3% in July from the June level, following two consecutive monthly declines beginning in April, when the Freight TSI hit an all-time high. The July level is 6.9% higher than the July 2003 level.
- According to a recent survey of logistics and supply chain executives, more than three-quarters of them currently use 3PL services and more than eight in 10 feel their 3PL relationships are successful. However, the study by CapGemini and Georgia Tech professor C. John Langley also found that demands for 3PL performance and sophistication are also on the rise, making improvements and investment in those areas imperative. RFID was a top priority among 3PL users and most frequently outsourced services were (in order): outbound transportation, warehousing, inbound transportation, customs clearance and customs brokerage. In all regions, the four biggest reasons why nonusers did not use 3PL services were: logistics is a core competency; logistics is too important to outsource; costs would not be reduced; and control would diminish.
- The American Trucking Associations recently established the Intermodal Motor Carriers Conference (IMCC).
The goal of the new conference is to provide "a greater voice for a large and growing sector of the industry before federal, state and local governments, with private entities and within ATA," according to John Drewes, president of Devine Intermodal and newly named chairman of the IMCC.
LTL carrier A. Duie Pyle has received the Outstanding Service Award from DuPont Logistics.
Pyle was DuPont's only core carrier to receive the award.
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