New Calgary interchange to aid traffic flow in southeast

Truckstop.com Taps Perry as Chief Economist

Noël Perry Photo via FTR

FTR and Truckstop.com have announced that Noël Perry, a partner at FTR, will lead the economic analysis for Truckstop.com, assuming the role of chief economist for the load board and technology company.

Perry specializes in risk analysis in the transportation market and focuses on the underlying fundamentals of transport demand, operations, and competition. He will continue his industry analysis with FTR as one of its experts on transportation economics and as lead author of FTR's State of Freight Insights.

“The expanded relationship between FTR and Truckstop.com opens the door for even further insights into how trucking is evolving,” said Eric Starks, CEO of FTR. “This expanded partnership will give all of us, including those in the freight marketplace, a better understanding of how the dynamic relationship between supply and demand is affecting pricing and profitability.”

FTR and Truckstop.com have partnered to provide spot market analysis through Trans4Cast.com, which provides insights on spot market conditions, including rates, market pressure, and historical trending for freight transportation professionals.

Related: FTR: The Economics of 33' Trailers Only Benefit a Few Markets

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Trailer Orders Jump 12% In June

Photo: Stoughton

The final net trailer order numbers for the month of June have been published by FTR, showing a 12% increase from the previous month.

Net trailer orders totaled 18,900 units for the month, jumping 58% compared to June of last year. The June activity was above FTR's expectations with most segments of the market exceeding their May totals.

“The trailer market had a fantastic month in June. Production was the highest since July 2015,” said Don Ake, FTR vice president of commercial vehicles. “Orders did not fall all much from the respectable numbers posted in March and April. Backlogs are dropping, but that's due to the high build rates rather than lower orders.”

Trailer orders have totaled 261,000 units over the past 12 months. Production rose 5% over May, primarily in the dry and refrigerated van sector, reducing backlog by 6%.

“Medium and small fleets are ordering trailers as the spot freight market remains hot. Large fleets are taking delivery on orders placed months ago, as the expected stronger freight growth starts to happen,” said Ake. “Replacement demand for dry vans continues and flatbed demand has begun to take off. The trailer market continues to exceed expectations in 2017.”

Related: Trailers are Smarter Than Ever

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Getting Smart in the Warehouse

Amazon has been using these small orange warehouse robots for several years to make picking much faster, increasing their number every year. Photo: Amazon

Peek inside the nearest warehouse and you may witness its metamorphosis from a largely static way station along the traditional supply chain into a “smart” staging area that is just one part of a digitally connected supply chain. It's part of a chain that fulfills shipments from all sorts of places holding goods, including regional warehouses, urban distribution centers, brick-and-mortar stores, and even right off assembly lines.

That's the vision of 21st century warehousing that is starting to emerge. Today to some degree, such as at Amazon, and increasingly tomorrow for all goods providers, a smart warehouse can be defined as one that deploys automation (and even robotics) alongside advanced warehousing management systems driven by big data to speed the movement and ultimate delivery of goods.

The latest State of Logistics Report, issued last month by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals and Penske Logistics, predicts that we're “moving toward a fully digital, connected, and flexible supply chain optimized for e-commerce and last-mile, last-minute delivery. The next-generation supply chain will enhance fulfillment capabilities and drive efficiencies through technologies ranging from big data and predictive analytics to artificial intelligence and robotics.”

The report, authored by consultancy A.T. Kearney, also holds that steadily rising package volumes are driving the trend toward more regional distribution centers, which will serve as “linchpins of advanced networks as retailers offering same-day delivery move goods closer to densely populated areas. Parcel carriers will follow suit with their own region-focused delivery networks.” Of course, those new distribution patterns will spawn – and already are spawning – new trucking routes, with volumes rebalanced between local and regional DCs. What's more, carriers will strive and in some cases ...Read the rest of this story

Commentary: What Happens to SmartWay With EPA Under Fire?

Rolf Lockwood

Looks like SmartWay's days are numbered, if not those of the entire Environmental Protection Agency. These days Washington is being very unkind to anyone who believes that our shared environment matters, that our ecosystems need protection. Climate-change deniers are having a field day.

I'm no tree-hugger, and definitely no fan of the EPA, but it seems obvious to me that this is short-sighted idiocy that will cost money and jobs in the long run. Lots.

SmartWay was launched by the EPA in 2004. A voluntary government/industry partnership with fleet and vendor members, it aims to reduce the carbon footprint of trucking operations by accelerating the availability and adoption of fuel-saving technologies and practices. EPA says it has cut fuel costs by nearly $25 billion since it was formed.

Believe that figure if you like. The EPA's numbers have always been suspect in my view, but it doesn't much matter here. The fact is, fuel-saving technologies have been promoted and lots of people have benefited.

That said, I won't be especially sad if EPA budget cuts kill SmartWay. We have options. Like NACFE, the North American Council for Freight Efficiency, and Canada's PIT Group, working in conjunction with the ATA's Technology & Maintenance Council.

The problem is, SmartWay approval became the de facto spec'ing standard for all manner of gizmology. The California Air Resources Board built requirements around SmartWay approved devices. Big shippers bought in, demanding that carriers spec only SmartWay-approved componentry. Blackmail pure and simple. I know one carrier that emblazoned its trucks with SmartWay decals that they printed themselves, simple fakery that got them in some shippers' doors.

But SmartWay has never had any testing capacity of its own, so when product X claims official approval, it does so on the basis of the maker's own testing to meet SmartWay-mandated levels of ...Read the rest of this story

Lawyer: Russian developer's staffer also at Trump Tower meet

WASHINGTON (AP) — A representative of the Russian developer who partnered with President Donald Trump to bring the Miss Universe pageant to Moscow was the eighth person at a Trump Tower meeting arranged by Donald Trump Jr. during the campaign, a lawyer for the developer said Tuesday.

Target’s CEO reveals how he fixed a mistake that was costing the company customers

In February, Target pulled the plug on big-ticket innovation ideas like its...