There are more than a few questions regarding the federal policies and producers surrounding day-to-day operation of electronic logging devices (ELDs) – especially how the data recorded by those devices will be provided to law enforcement officers and/or safety officials during roadside inspections.
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...Read the rest of this storyDescartes Systems Group has acquired MacroPoint, an electronic transportation network providing location-based truck tracking and other services.
Descartes said it will pay some $107 million for MacroPoint, broken down with approximately $87 million in cash and $20 million in shares. The share consideration is subject to a 12 month hold period, with 50% of the share consideration required to be held for at least 18 months. capacity data content, the company said.
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New economic reports this week paint a picture of a U.S. economy that continues to gain momentum following a slow start to the year, due in part to increased e-commerce – despite some bumps in the road for manufacturing and housing.
Fewer Car Sales Mean Sluggish Manufacturing NumbersIndustrial production rose 0.2% in July from the month before, following an increase of 0.4% in June, according to Federal Reserve figures issued Thursday morning
In July, manufacturing output edged down 0.1% as the production of motor vehicles and parts fell substantially, marking the third straight monthly drop. That decrease was mostly offset by a net gain of 0.2% for other manufacturing industries. When the manufacturing sector is compared to a year earlier, it is up 1.2%.
The indexes for mining and utilities in July rose 0.5% and 1.6%, respectively, from the month before.
At 105.5% of its 2012 average, total industrial production was 2.2% above its year-earlier level.
“This report, which is the first definitive look at July's factory sector, is unexpectedly flat and puts an end to the run of recently strong economic data,” said analysts at Econoday. “Vehicle sales were up in July, but it has been a tough year for the sector. And given the decline in this report's manufacturing component, the upward momentum that the factory sector was showing looks less certain now.”
The report follows a separate one earlier in the month focusing exclusively on the manufacturing sector. It showed factory activity in July continued growing but the pace was slower than it was during June.
Manufacturing is estimated to make up about 12% of all U.S. economic activity.
E-Commerce Growing by Leaps and BoundsA separate report released Thursday by the Commerce Department showed U.S. e-commerce in the second quarter grew significantly and faster than overall U.S. retail sales.
The 4.8% increase from the ...Read the rest of this story
TMW Systems announced new functionality for users of the company's Engage Series bid management platform that allows for tracking and analysis of shipper commitments.
Orders can now be processed through a user's transportation management system (TMS) or other solution to be matched with the corresponding bid award, helping Engage users ensure that shippers are meeting or exceeding their agreements. The application can be used with any TMS or other business management solution.
The Engage.Bid application allows transportation providers to streamline the freight bidding process by simplifying the analysis and storage of shipper requests for proposal (RFPs), providing easy access to rates and volume commitments, and providing a streamlined workflow for responding to RFPs. The application lets users process more bids, in less time, with fewer resources, while offering insight to lane rate, revenue potential, and other key metrics, according to TMW. The newly released Engage Series functionality allows users to join this bid intelligence with data for the actual freight delivered.
“Carriers, brokers, and 3PLs invest a great deal of time and energy in researching and competing for new business, yet too often lose sight of the actual outcome of many of those contracts,” said David Wangler, president of TMW Systems. “Engage helps make them more efficient and competitive on the front end of this process, while this new integration functionality helps ensure they realize the negotiated volume and revenue from each contract.”
Related: TMW Updates Billing, Planning, Business Tools
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...Read the rest of this storyFleets using TMW Systems' Innovative IES, Access, or AccessPlus transportation management solutions can now extend real-time order and shipping information to their customers with the IES Freight Tracker portal, an integrated customer service and dispatch.
Replacing TMW's Pressurize platforms, the new visibility portal enables carriers to improve customer satisfaction through accurate, transparent and timely order updates.
“More than ever before, transportation and logistics providers are facing pressure to provide customers with transparency into every step of the delivery process,” said Ray West, senior vice president and general manager of TMS solutions for TMW. “With the launch of the IES Freight Tracker portal, we are enabling Innovative IES users to meet these heightened expectations by giving them a way to provide customers with accurate, up-to-date load status whenever and wherever they want to access them.”
The IES Freight Tracker portal is designed to be a scalable and cost-effective customer support tool that integrates into a user's existing Innovative IES platform. The web-based solution allows carriers to view shipments from multiple customer codes and utilize drag-and-drop functionality to reposition shipment details.
Users can offer their customers configurable, secure access to real-time delivery details. Transportation providers can easily customize settings for each customer, allowing them to view orders based on type and to sort and filter shipment details. In addition, customers can use the portal to access shipment documents and related images, export shipment data to Excel, and create up to seven hyperlinks to important documents indexed by order number.
Implementation of the IES Freight Tracker portal requires the use of Innovative IES, Access, or Access Plus solutions in version R9.7 or later along with the Innovative Web Edition module. Other requirements include an internet-connected device with a web browser and business-quality internet bandwidth.
Related: TMW Updates Billing, Planning, Business Tools
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...Read the rest of this storyPhoto: Great Dane
">Photo: Great Dane
">The final trailer order numbers for the month of July have been released by transportation industry analysts FTR and ACT Research, showing a steep decline from the previous month, but an increase overall compared to last year.
FTR found that trailer orders hit 13,400 units, falling 29% from June but up 40% compared to last July. Order activity met expectations in most segments, according to FTR.
“Orders usually fall as fleet managers take a break and turn their focus to next year,” said Don Ake, FTR vice president of commercial vehicles. “The bright spots this month are the strong flatbed orders, and that production did not fall much from June's impressive totals. This indicates production should be fairly steady the rest of the year.”
July is usually the weakest order month of the year, according to ACT Research, due to a pause from fleets as they reassess equipment needs for the rest of the year.
“We saw continued strong year-over-year net order performance last month,” said Frank Maly, ACT's director of CV transportation analysis and research. “As has been the pattern, solid dry van commitments helped lead the total industry, with significant year-over-year gains in flatbed trailers occurring as well.”
So far this year, the industry has booked over 153,000 net orders, according to ACT, representing a 43% improvement over 2016. The shift by fleets to a more positive outlook coincided with last fall's election, according to ACT.
“Another positive for the industry is that cancellations remain low,” said Maly. “Fleets are obviously standing firm with their order commitments, an indication of fleet confidence in the near-to-medium term outlook.”
Related: HDT's 2017 Trailer Update
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...Read the rest of this storyJuly 31 was a “crazy day” at the White House, according to Robert Voltmann, president and CEO of the Transportation Intermediaries Associations (TIA).
As news broke that John Kelly, President Trump's new chief of staff, had fired communications director Anthony Scaramucci, Voltmann and the TIA leadership team were at the White House meeting with public liaison official Melissa Fwu.
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