Transportation TIP List: Week of May 20th, 2018

This weekend’s observance of Memorial Day marks an important opportunity to honor the men and women who have served in the U.S. military, setting aside time to remember their sacrifices. Americans throughout the country will hold tributes and celebrate the unofficial start of the summer season with friends and family.

And as summer begins, we also wanted to share some of the trends that are currently heating up in the transportation and supply chain industry. Check them out below:

• U.S. Retail Sales Gain Points to Healthier Second Quarter: U.S. retail sales rose in broad fashion last month as bigger after-tax paychecks helped compensate for rising fuel costs. The value of sales increased 0.3% in April, matching the median forecast.
• How to Manage Supply Risk in Uncertain Times: Although disruption is inevitable, transportation management teams are often unprepared to respond. Organizations that can quickly anticipate, diagnose and resolve supply disruption are in the best position to weather risky storms.
• Bevy of Issues Continues to Complicate NAFTA Negotiations: Although Mexico, Canada and the U.S. continue to inch ahead on new trade rules for auto manufacturing, efforts to secure a comprehensive deal to overhaul NAFTA are facing significant hurdles.
• Trucking Market Acceleration Still Heading Up: A majority of logistics industry stakeholders continue to marvel at the current market conditions, especially in the trucking sector. This is due to factors such as tight OTR capacity, carrier pricing power and stable demand patterns.
• U.S. Shippers Warned to Act as Truck Rate Hikes “Get Stronger”: If there was an overriding message at Transplace Shipper Symposium to shippers, it was that shippers need to find new routes toward more balanced transportation budgets that include helping reduce costs faced by motor carriers and driving more inefficiencies out of their supply chains.

 As summer begins, what industry trends are you paying attention to?