"The real story is how you get to solving these problems."
— John Gentle, global leader of carrier relations at Owens Corning
and chairman of the NITL's highway transportation committee.
— See Cover Story.

Cover Story — Shippers hoping to get more transport capacity next year for supply chains that have been frayed by space shortages are getting little comfort about 2005 from carriers. In rare unanimity across modes and services, carriers at the combined annual meeting of shipper, intermodal and broker groups said their plans to add capacity next year will be based purely on the return on investment they can expect from new equipment. "We are not going to go back and do what we did in the 1990s," said Brad Scott, vice president of sales and marketing at truckload carrier Maverick Transportation.

Washington — What Congress couldn't do in more than a year voters accomplished in a single day. Highway advocates say the Nov. 2 election included votes in favor of 44 ballot initiatives that will provide more than $28 billion in funding for highway and transport programs. The states will need the money since Congress is heading for the exit leaving work on another highway bill to begin again next year.

Washington (c) — Looking to reclaim business customers lost to FedEx and UPS, the Postal Service debuted two flat-rate Priority Mail products without zone restrictions. Priced at $7.70, the boxes will make "life for our customers simpler," says a USPS official. The Postal Service is trying to win back the huge volumes of expedited parcel business it saw shift to the private carriers.

Logistics & Technology — So much for offshoring. Dell Computers is bringing its direct sales operation closer to U.S. consumers, saying it will open its third domestic plant in the fall of 2005, a step that could have significant supply chain implications. Dell is counting on logistics efficiencies generated by its direct-to-consumer sales model to offset higher U.S. labor costs.

Logistics & Technology (c) — RFID has more friends in high places. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a new endorsement for the supply chain and inventory management technology, encouraging drug makers to use the tags to better track drugs. The agency created an "RFID Work Group" and said use of the technology is critical for "the long-term safety and integrity of the U.S. drug supply."

Air & Express — Express carriers are using next year's rate increases to at least partly reverse the long-term push by air shippers to the ground. Experts looking at the price increases announced by FedEx and UPS say a close look shows the carriers are using similar strategies to bolster their high-yield express operations, extract more earnings from the growing ground services and target pricing more precisely to individual shipments. Hardest hit may be the industrial shippers using the LTL-equivalent hundredweight shipping and residential customers, particularly those in remote locations.

Trucking — Yellow Transportation may not be through breaking service barriers as it prepares to launch overnight service in the Midwest Feb. 13. In an interview, Yellow President and CEO James Welch says global service and an expanded portfolio are on the LTL giant's agenda. And as far as that corporate parent goes, "I would not be surprised to see more acquisitions at Yellow Roadway."

Trucking (b) — Canadian parcel shippers dodged a bullet. A sudden one-day strike against UPS in Canada last week temporarily sent shippers in Canada and the United States searching for alternative means to ship packages north of the U.S. border. But the Teamsters quickly returned to work after the union and company agreed on a new six-year contract.

Rail & Intermodal — The struggle over intermodal capacity in Southern California is turning into a battle between two Western railroad giants for control over millions of containers flowing through the Port of Los Angeles. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway wants to build a near-dock facility on an open parcel of land while the Union Pacific Railroad has plans for a shuttle train that would connect to an off-dock loading area. The result will dictate how millions of tons are handled for shippers in a crowded corridor.

Rail & Intermodal (b) — Grain exporters are adding containers to their shipping diets and that is putting more pressure on rail capacity in record peak shipping season. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said wheat exporters are switching to container shipments of grain out of the Pacific Northwest to meet Chinese demand for American wheat. The shift is due mainly to steady increases of dry bulk freight rates from the region to Japan.

Maritime — The era of good feeling between importers and the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection could be over. The agency issued its revised guidelines for the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism and some officials are saying the rules need plenty of work before the CBP makes them final. And some shippers say they are frustrated at a process that leaves them out of the loop while the rules are being written.