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Trends in 3PL / Customer Relationships |
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Surviving the Highs & Lows of Transportation |
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 By now, the doom and gloom mentality stemming from our country's financial crisis has set in. We are daily riding the DOW roller coaster with many more chills than thrills. In our world of logistics, this financial crisis began to take form several years ago, with significant signs reflected at the beginning of 2008.
Record-high fuel prices, and shortages, have dominated the transportation headlines, leading to rate increases and carrier bankruptcies. However, a less publicized trend, namely the ongoing reduction of truckload capacity, has begun to impact shippers, and will create the most adverse affect on growth when the economy recovers.
Is your company taking steps to minimize this projected crisis? |
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Transportation Update: 3rd Quarter, 2008 |
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 As part of a continuing effort to keep each of you up to date with the trends in the transportation industry, we would like to examine some recent occurrences and statistics that continue to shape the present and future of transportation as we know it. While we all are tuned in to the trials and tribulations of the credit and housing markets, and the unfortunate direction the economy has taken, we would like to focus on some of the immediate and long-lasting effects that the overall economy is having on the transportation infrastructure that we all rely on. |
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Network News |
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In the months since our last newsletter, two companies have been accepted into the M33 Collaborative Client Network:
 Strongwell has been pultruding fiber reinforced polymer composite structural products since 1956. The company maintains more than 66 pultrusion machines and 647,000 square feet of manufacturing space in three plant locations. Strongwell's customers include Fortune 500 industrial and commercial firms, major architectural and engineering firms, leading contractors and distributors, and many other companies in a variety of markets.
 Universal Fibers Systems is a leader in producing uniquely colorful and high-quality, solution dyed, synthetic filament-based fibers for the flooring, transportation and performance textile industries. The company is a multiple polymers manufacturer with product lines that include nylon 6, PTT, and PET in both single colors and multi-end specialties. Universal Fibers has pioneered sustainable technologies that conserve resources, minimize waste, and protect the environment. |
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Note to Readers |
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If you think one or more of your vendors or customers has room to improve their transportation operations, please forward them this short survey. By using this tool, managers can learn how their company's transportation situation compares to 'industry best practices.'
Click the image below to access the scorecard:
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